yet another corner in a maiden's life's downtown

Moving to katoxicated

2011-06-09T19:41:00.000+08:00

It has been a pleasant 4 years. Yet another corner in a maiden's life's downtown has been a very good listener to my scribbled thoughts.

I feel like this blog has taught me many things by simply being my rant pit. And so now, 4 years after katfdax, I shall move to yet another online arena that would reflect all that I have learned from previous random thoughts.

So dramatic ever! LOL! What I'm actually sayin' is...

here's my new personal blog: katoxicated.blogspot.com
See yah there!

It's Been Ages...

2010-07-29T09:52:00.002+08:00

Wow...I cannot believe it's been almost 2 years since I last posted something here! ROFL! I must admit I've missed blogging. It's used to be such a comfort zone. I used to wallow in its ironic pool of liberation and mystery...whatever that is.

But yes indeed I definitely have missed blogging about the most random of things. I might find myself going back to doing just that. :)

I'm happy I'm able to drop by this old domicile today. :)

Laters ;)

christmas in the north

2008-12-22T01:20:00.002+08:00

It's been a helluva December for me! I hardly noticed that the month is on its 20's! About 3 days more and whoalah - it's Christmas 2008!

This year would be a bit different for me, I'd be spending the holidays outside of the city. There are both exciting and gloomy sides to that.

However, my eyes are gonna drop anytime soon so I'd better doze off. :) More of the Manila Christmas adventure when I get there. Torotots aren't gonna be the only noise I'd be hearin', that's fer sher :D

Gnyt everyone :)

Dwoppin' By

2008-11-27T08:39:00.006+08:00

It's a wonnnderful morning...well except that I haven't had breakfast yet and I've become hungrier as I looked at our photos taken at Eden Nature Park last Saturday (which I would be blogging about) and saw this snap of the garden fresh salad I fixed and took a shot of...

Waaaaa....I wanna eeeeatt...lolz!

Anyways, I just wanted to drop by here before I begin my day...so..

Here's the snap of the salad I fixed:

garden fresh salad made of curly pasta, organically grown lettuce, tomatoes, singkamas, topped with chicken bits with ceasar dressing

after the talks

2008-11-22T20:31:00.003+08:00

So where has my hunt for the Online Casinos taken me...

Sometimes, when you're a bit too busy, you tend to want to distract yourself from work just so you could tick away items on your to-do list...later...haha! See, I've been looking for diversions to help me somehow collect my scattered thoughts sometime later.

So yeah, we've been talking about how we could while away our to-be free time. And like I mentioned before, I got curious about the thought of playing games online. Not just any games, though. I actually mean Casino games and it is with this interest that I came to browse for - in my attempt to be distracted for a while and be concentrated later - some best online casinos that I could possibly consider playing in.

Whoop! Time's flying real fast again. Even if each day seems to take so long to finish, I still haven't noticed how it has come to be almost the end of November already. Tsk tsk. I do have a long to-do list. And now, after I'm through with this hunt-for-red-December thingie, I think it's time I switch again to work mode. A liiittle later, maybe. *grin*

casual talk

2008-11-21T22:29:00.004+08:00

Amidst the busy prelim days, we at the office talked about things to do over vacation time. December is fast approaching - which means a long Christmas break is coming up. We've been talking about ways on how each of us could while away the time off from work.

Aside from of course, shopping for gifts, a lot of other ideas came off such as going hiking, overnight stays at one of the finest beaches, or maybe, just maybe, aiming to win on an online Casino. All of the mentioned activities seemed to have been done by most of us before save the last one. The last time I was on a real casino, I was lucky enough to have won 500 bucks - all of which were spent easily on a blogging trip that came a few days later. The thought of trying it out over the Internet seemed intriguing for most of us, especially that none haven't tried it yet.

I wonder which of us would try out any of what we've talked about. There's always a lot of time to think about stuff. But I'm pretty sure that when the time comes to do all of them, more ideas would be coming up...squeezing off a huge part of the time into a

Back at Coco's

2008-11-18T20:31:00.009+08:00

Sir Ex previously posted our first dine at Coco's some 2 weeks ago with Mam Au and Sir Eric. I told myself I sure as heck was coming back. Lolz! And yeah, I did come back. I was with a few friends last Saturday and was once again uber busog with their yummy treats. And so, borrowing Kuya Francis' N70, I took snaps of what we had that night and more.

So what did we have this time?...

A little warning: I am as bad in food names as I am bad in remembering people's names, so expect to see much only of the "generic" food names..lol!

Before everything else arrived, we first had this soup-with-the-forgotten-name..lolz! (Told ya!) It tasted like a spicy version of white spaghetti sauce..only of course it isn't just sauce and it's a lot richer in taste. It also had seafood bits and some veggies. Yummm...

After the soup came my now-favorite Coco's baby back ribs...or, as Kuya Francis would fondly call it - baby ribs at the back..hihi :D

Ate Leah and her boyfriend Kent ordered onion rings(which I recommended) only to have this helluva platter served on our table. However, we were all grateful for the error and decided to take it as our order after we hungrily scrutinized the plate of mozzarella sticks, spicy wings, potato chips and fish sticks...

Sir Ex ordered this Cajun pasta the last time we were on this place. When they asked me last Saturday night what pasta I could recommend, I couldn't resist speaking of this...and so I was able to have it again for the second time...all with the giant crispy shrimps gracing its top... :)

So those were what we picked from the menu apart from our drinks - mine, a Jasmine tea...and Ate Anne's a pine juice. Too bad I forgot to take shots of the cold coffee that the others had.

And well of course I wouldn't end this entry without posting our shots. Wahe! So here ya go...

Ate Anne

Ate Leah and Kent (gipang gutom na..haha!)

Kuya Francis, me and Sir Denz(busog na..wahee!)

Yet another MBS2 post

2008-11-08T16:12:00.003+08:00

Some 6 days after my 2nd MBS2 post comes yet another post about the event..wehihii...

During MBS2, I was with Sir Dennis, Almz, Grace, Robs, and of course, si Mr. D40, Raphael. Wheheeh! Thnx for graciously letting me borrow your D40 and take shots, Rap. Sa dihang! Makapalit kog ahat sa kainggit. Lolz!

The one thing we didn't get to do was enjoy Gen San's night life. Mao lage ning wala katuod bah. Ug wala ka huna-huna ug pangutana. Wahihi! We instead spent the whole night techily talking about what we should be doing to our blogs.

I didn't get the chance to bog hop this week. I also need to update my links. Weee!

Before doin just that, here are a few other pics from MBS2.

5 Things I love most about MBS2

2008-11-01T18:52:00.005+08:00

After a century I fin'lly get the chance to post about the fun-filled weekend I had 7 days ago...

There was so much to love about the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit held at General Santos City last Oct 25. It's amazing how I find it pretty difficult to construct an entry about that event. It just seemed that so much happened in those two days. The people, the food, the speeches, the places, the most striking theme "Mindanawon, Paminawon Intawon" --- see, there is a lot to blog about.

I shall then sum up the whole experience into 5 chunks...

So here goes the 5 things I love about MBS2:

1. The people. There's nothing like the people of Mindanao. Or to be more specific - there's nothing like the people from the community of Mindanao bloggers. It's great to know I'm part of a group composed of very dynamic, talented, empowered Pinoys. In this first part of my list, I'd like to especially thank Kuya Avel for organizing such a wonderful event. My teewai also goes out to the Kuya Blogie and all the other conveners of Mindanao Bloggers for constantly bringing Mindanaoans together in a single, beautiful aim. There are also a couple of other peepz to thank - the Genrhythmics band, for having kept us on our feet half of the night; and the members of the Teatro Ambahanon, for a series of helluva great contemporary dance numbers - you guys are living testimonies of Mindanawon talent at its best.

2. The food. We had quite a feast during the Sashimi night. I didn't even have dinner anymore after being able to sample almost every tuna deli served prior to dinnertime. I particularly luuuuv the tuna meatloaf and the lumpia. Saraaap! And another thing...the next time I go back to Gen San, I sure as heck will be going to Chicken Hauz to savor their specialty - garlic chicken. Mmmm...my mouth's starting to water at the thought of those.

3. The camera and the sights. I have always wanted to explore the world of photography. I never took the interest seriously though. Because of MBS2, I had the chance to get to know more about the possibilities of photography thanks to Raphael's D40, which I constantly had to borrow from time to time. Now I am itching to get my own, attend photography seminars and get the hang of the real thing. I think it's very interesting and fulfilling to be able to capture little pieces of this planet and give back to the world those captured snaps. I wanna get my own cam! Buhuhu! Soon, maybe

4. The blogging tips. I don't remember being that attentive throughout an entire summit or seminar. Honestly, all of the talks and speeches really just got me hooked up the whole time. I am actually more motivated to get into niche blogging. I should fire up my entertainment, tech, as well as the newly created photoblog-like blog(I wouldn't call it a photoblog since the latter follows certain rules I couldn't follow just yet...like having my own camera...hihi!). I'd like to thank all the speakers for generously sharing their knowledge as well as the jolly emcees, Kuya Migs and Ms. Banting.

5. The Mindanawon eye-opener. The theme of MBS2 is my eye-opener - "Mindanawon Paminawon Intawon: Blogging the Mindanao Consciousness". There's a lot to love about Mindanao. However, there is also a lot about Mindanao that the world just couldn't love. Thank the mainstream media for that. With MBS2, I as a blogger from this beautiful part of the Philippines have become empowered and more conscious of my role in bringing out to the world the real side of Mindanao. I am even yet to see the whole of this place and I am loving it fully already. I am a Mindanawon blogger! And the role of serving my land through announcing its beauty to the world is mine to take. Mabuhay ang Mindanao :)

p.s.
photos by Raphael and Charles. Thanks guys!

Blogging from mbs2 real-time

2008-10-25T16:22:00.003+08:00

Hi there. It's been almost 8 hours since the Mindanao Bloggers' Summit 2 has started. It's been so much fun. So many wonderful things has happened already...

Been learning a helluva lotta things, been taking and posing for pix, been eating good food, been laughin' out loud, been inspired to take niche blogging seriously, and wooooo...what the heck...I won a Wordpress t-shirt. Thanks to Kuya Blogie for giving out the shirt from Word Camp by simply asking about Kuya Migs' site. Wehehe! I'm gonna wear it to work on Monday. Lolz!

Anyway, Sir Avel is still having his talk right now. Gonna go back to learning mode. Will blog about MBS2 more as soon as I can.

p.s.
Just sat down from a "standing ovation" for Sir Avel. Hehehe! Really fun listening to ya, Sir.

Gen San, here i come

2008-10-24T11:06:00.001+08:00

I'll be off to Gen. San. for MBS 2 in less than 2 hours. Weeee! Can't wait. I don't think I'll be able to blog until Monday when I get all the pics from the event.

See ya! Ciao for now :)

Food, Fun and Cash at the Digital Filipino Club Bloggers' Eyeball

2008-10-22T13:41:00.005+08:00

Lots of food. Tons of fun. And a bit of cash.

Those are what we had last night at Grand Regal Hotel DigitalFilipino.com Club and Bloggers Davao Networking Event. It's always fun to meet new people from the blogosphere. We also got updates about the e-commerce industry and of how we could utilize our blogs to be even more productive than usual. There's a lot to learn from fellow bloggers who have made their mark in the the world of blogging. Thanks to Ma'am Janette Toral, PAGCOR, and all the others who made the event possible. It's a great opportunity for bloggers like me who still has a lot to learn.

I guess the entree of the evening for me, Sir Denz, and Jeffrey(a schoolmate in college) was when we won 500 bucks in the Super6...whatever that is. I had definitely NO idea how we won. Haha! All I did was place the raffle-won 1st-bet coupon on the Super6 table and in less than 3 minutes(no kidding), the dealer just told us we won. Whoa! We didn't even intend to play at first. Thank God one of the attendants urged us to do. Woo! Whatta night indeed!

Here are evidences of the fun we had...
(Special thanks to Rap for the pics!)

when worst becomes best

2008-10-19T20:03:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, falling out of love may be the best thing that could ever happen to you...

...maybe...

the right slogan for your coffee mug

2008-10-17T08:57:00.005+08:00

These days, I've been a bit busy with stuff for one of my subjects in the graduate school. Luckily, I only have three subjects. And only one of those demand much of my time. Anywayz...

I was browsing through a book about Management Information Systems and I came across an interesting comic strip. Funny as the strip may be, it depicted the importance of properly identifying issues within an organization, IT issues to be exact, before attempting to implement solutions.

It's pretty much the same with making any information systems development plan(which is what we're trying to come up with right now). There always has to be thorough problem identification and requirements analysis. All should go well afterwards provided that a team with members of strong technical background is there to implement the plan.

Check out the strip below...and see how well they've been listening to each other...hihihi...
(and see why I have such title for this entry)

Learning from tutoring

2008-10-14T08:09:00.006+08:00

It's been over 9 months since I first got the chance to tutor students of a different nationality. When my bestfriend introduced me to the concept of teaching English online - to students of another race - it made me pretty nervous. A lot of questions barged in on my mind. What's their culture like? How would I adjust to such diversity? Could I possibly?

I was nervous but I was also thrilled at the thought of this fresh and challenging endeavor.

And so yeah, I was lucky to get in. And up to now I'm still doing the job on a part-time schedule. It's fun to do this! I could actually almost forget that it's a job. But the latter term entails responsibility and that's the one thing I always keep in mind - my responsibility towards my students and their learning.

The online environment makes learning a step tougher than the traditional method. With just a web camera and a headset connecting me to students, there is a bigger chance for them (especially the younger ones) to be distracted. They could easily surf, game, or do other things without me knowing. As a tutor, I always have to make it a point that, well, the lesson is interesting.

If the environment doesn't make it tough enough, there is even yet another issue to address - most of the students who enroll in the online English tutorials are, for the lack of a better term, forced to learn the language. It is all because of how English has become global. It seems that these kids' parents have realized the importance of having good command in it and so they let them have these classes.

Now that's what makes the job tougher. Having a young student who doesn't know the value of the classes that he/she attends daily is almost like teaching a dove to talk (if you can do that). However, if you could teach a dove to talk then it's a wonder. And I always get that feeling of wonderment each time I get an unwilling student to express his/her thoughts. It doesn't happen overnight, though, getting the students to openly relate to you. The culture barrier makes it difficult. It takes a lot of patience to squeeze the guts out of them.

It's a thing I have been learning from months of tutoring Koreans online - patience. And somehow, I have extended my meter-long patience into a kilometer...I think. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lasted this long in this job. That's what I'd call learning from tutoring. :)

Yahoo's 8 Mood Boosters

2008-10-07T09:08:00.004+08:00

I've been beating the hell out of myself emotionally these days...haha! Not that anyone notices, though. I never let my mood swings get in the way. And if it does get in the way, I got 8 rightful tips courtesy of Yahoo! Shine to make sure they could easily go away..here they go...

"8 easy, instant mood boosters"

1. Clear your space, clear your mind. It's amazing how a few piles of paperwork and a line of empty Starbucks cups can make a busy day feel even more frantic. Set a cell phone alarm or timer for five minutes and use that time to de-clutter a manageable space around you.

If you need to take three breaks a day to clean-sweep your space, so be it. As long as it helps you stay calm and feel organized and in control, it is worth the time. If you make a habit of taking one of these breaks before you leave the office or turn in for the night, think how much better your mood will be when you return in the morning.

2. Put on a little mood-lifting music. Whether pop music, nature sounds or jazz makes you smile or sing or dance in your chair, even a song or two will help you escape the blues. Stash a CD in your car, bag or desk to pop in or upload a special playlist full of songs that always make you feel better. If you don't have an MP3 player or disc at your fingertips, simply go to YouTube and search for videos tagged "peaceful" or "happy." You may end up with a crazy karaoke lady performance or a kitty cat rolling around to hip-hop, but the chances are good your mood will be boosted by that nuttiness, too.

3. Make yourself laugh (or at least grin). Studies show that laughter not only has a powerful impact on your mood, it sends your body into an instant state of relaxation. In fact, the anticipation of laughter (as we wait for a punchline, for example) sends a wave of electricity over our cerebral cortex, causing a physiological and psychological connection to even the worst jokes.

There's no need to force yourself to smile or do any of that weird belly-laugh yoga to get the good effects of humor. Make it easy on yourself by keeping an email file or manila folder full of the cards, messages and cartoons you get that really do make you LOL. A birthday card from your best friend or a sticky note of congratulations on a successful project are also nice reminders that people love and support you and are guaranteed to warm up your attitude. (Do be sure to toss items from this folder once in a while so your happy file doesn't cause unhappiness-inducing clutter.)

4. Focus on your favorite color. There's plenty of research that says painting your walls certain colors will help make you feel more serene or productive or sexy in that room. I love that strategy when I move into a new place or redecorate, but that investment's not always plausible and it's certainly not quick or easy. Thank goodness it's possible to get a quick fix with just a bit of those mood-lifting colors.

I personally know how well this trick can work. I loved the deep aubergine ribbon I used for my wedding bouquet so much that I ordered an extra roll of it just to lift my spirits long after the big day passed. I tied it around planters that sit on my desk, put a small swatch in my jewelry box and even tied it into a bow on my key ring. The color evoked such a sense of joy and serenity to me that I felt those emotions wash over me each time I saw the ribbon tucked into everyday spaces. If hot pink makes you feel happy or turquoise reminds you of the most amazing, relaxing vacation of your life, get a coffee mug or flowers or nail polish in that color as a focal point when you need a boost.

5. Mix up something good to eat or drink. Being hungry or hydrated can impact your concentration, energy level and ability to cope with stressers. No, that doesn't mean a martini and Xanax smoothie or bag full of candy bars will make you feel better. While alcohol or sugar may give you temporary comfort, you will probably feel worse once that wears off. Instead, choose a healthier snack or small meal that combines protein and carbohydrates.

6. Stretch yourself. Get up from behind the monitor or television or steering wheel. Go for a ten-minute walk or just do three or four stretches. There's no need to do a full workout but do focus in on which muscles feel tight and gently stretch and massage those areas to increase circulation. Rubbing your hands, feet, neck and temples with a lightly-scented lotion or oil does wonders if you have to remain seated. I keep a small bottle of lavender lotion in my car and next to my laptop for quick, rejuvenating hand massages while I sit at stop lights and listen in on conference calls. It's amazing how diverting my attention just slightly from traffic and work talk eases my stress (not while driving, of course).

If depression is an issue for you, regular exercise may be a way to help elevate your mood. For all of us, it's no shock that pounding out stress on a treadmill or releasing everyday anxiety on the yoga mat does wonders for how good we feel physically and emotionally over time.

7. Exhale the tension, then inhale something that smells sweet. Combine the one-two of breathing deeply as an exercise or in meditation or prayer with aromatherapy for a quick mood change. Set the stage for a few peaceful moments by spritzing a room spray or lighting a candle in a calming scent. If there is a tea or flower that evokes a sense of calm to you, keep some on hand for these occasions. Once that scent has circulated a bit, take a breathing break. Close your eyes or turn away from whatever it is that has brought your mood down and center on taking full breaths in and out. Add a mantra or prayer, or if you need guidance, listen to a meditation podcast.

8. Start over. If nothing else helps and it looks like your day is a complete wash, why not call a do-over? If you can make the time, give yourself a half-hour (or more) to linger a little longer than usual in a warm shower. Not only will the change in your routine shake off some of the stress, studies show that heating up your core temperature can also warm up your mood. Then do some simple self-care rituals like applying your favorite moisturizer and putting on comfortable clothes you feel good wearing. Even if you have to return to work or your to-do list, at least you know you can hit the re-set button on your attitude first.

Focus your efforts on your desk or kitchen counter rather than a whole room or cubicle. Stash everything that needs your attention today into a file folder and find a home for everything else in drawers, baskets or the trash. Write down any thoughts or tasks that are causing you anxiety or have upcoming deadlines so you are left with reminders rather than worries. Toast with almond butter and honey, trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, oatmeal with cranberries and skim milk are all tasty and will fuel your body longer than a treat. Drinking a big glass of water (rather than coffee...sigh) will also help perk you up.

Going to Gen San for Bloggers' Summit 2

2008-10-02T11:53:00.003+08:00

The last time there was a Mindanao Bloggers, Summit, I was too busy to attend. Now I certainly don't want to miss this chance to be a part of the gathering of the people in the blogosphere in Mindanao. This coming October 25, bloggers coming from all over the largest island in the Philippines shall come together as one blogging community in General Santos City.

I am hoping to be a part of that rare event. It wouldn't be in conflict with my schedule at all which is great!

Thank you to the following for making 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit possible:

CO-PRESENTERS:

City Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr.

Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio

NOKIA
Department of Tourism XII

ABS-CBN Regional Network Group
Bariles Republic

Gen. Santos City Tourism Association
SOCCSKSARGEN Blogers

GOLD SPONSORS:

Friendster

Globe
AMA Computer Learning Center

Grab A Crab Restaurant and Coffee Club 101

Gregoria Printing Press

SILVER SPONSORS:
Nokiahost.Com

Asia United Bank
Family Country Hotel & Convention Center

East Asia Royale Hotel
Fine Pixel Advertising
IDEAS

BRONZE SPONSORS
GenSan Sale.Com

Blogging from Home Book
Pacific Seas Seafood Market

Generals Logimark Exponent
Prints and You

Writing Edge.Com
Forest Lake San Carlos Park

Rolee Bakery & Cafe

Jehzlau Concepts
Techykid.Com

Jaypee Online.Net
Blue Media Communications

International Container Terminal Services, Inc
Shalom Wizard Academy
Dreamworld Travel and Tours

Sta. Cruz Seafoods, Inc.
Dellosa Design Build Services
Kristan Bookstore
DOLE Philippines

Husky Bus Lines
Shakey's Pizza
Family Brand Sardines
Gaisano Mall of GenSan
Chowking - KCC
Jollibee National Highway
Procter & Gamble Philis., Inc

Mega Sardinesc

Today's Reminder

2008-06-18T11:11:00.001+08:00

Reminder for today:

Forgetting reality DOESN'T change reality.

Prep Up

2008-06-17T08:31:00.004+08:00

I noticed that the people around me have become fashionable nowadays. The publication in the college I went to even placed a collection of pictures of students who have an expressive and impressive fashionista nature.

I could see a wide range of clothes these days. Puffed sleeves. Super-shorts. Wedge sandals. And many more. Nowadays, it doesn't take a lot to look hip and nice. People have to be practical. And no, monetary dilemmas do not stop anyone from expressing themselves through wearing clothes that are fashionable yet affordable. There are lots of boutique shops who price their stuff low.

The same goes for cosmetics. There are a lot of stuff that would keep ladies lookin' more than alright...and at a very affordable cost. It's amazing how fashion has become 'accessible' to just practically anybody who wishes to look their best.

Choose

2008-06-16T15:53:00.002+08:00

Make it real...
or take it all away...

What a choice!

The dance that never began

2008-06-05T20:37:00.002+08:00

I was browsing through my old entries. And found this...I forgot that I ever wrote this entry..

It was a dance number. Or a dance practice. She couldn't be sure. But whatever it actually was, the dance was done with partners.

Her partner was a few inches taller than her. Suave. Smooth. Riveting. Everything that a male dancer has to be.

They sinuously swayed in time with the music. Two dancers on a dancefloor, losing themselves in the pleasant jazzy tune.

And then suddenly the time came for switching partners. At least it was time for her to change the dance partner. She was confused. Her partner has receded already. Leaving her puzzled and alone on the dancefloor. Everyone else had a new partner. She looked around, but found no one coming to her. And so, feeling barren and desolate, she looked down on her dancing shoes with shoulders slumped.

Little did she know of the man coming to her from behind...

He looked at her with her back to him. He longed to do this dance with her. Slowly, as the music progresses its intro, he walks toward her. She was about to walk away as he reached for her and touched her shoulder.

She stiffened as she felt those hands on both of her shoulders. She was gonna leave, thinking it pointless to stay on the dancefloor any longer with no one to dance with her...until someone came. She looked to her right to see who it was....and it was him. She didn't expect to see him there. Much less have him this close. But then, fate has always been this confounding, so she didn't bother asking why.

What are you doing here, he read it in her wide-eyed stare. He didn't answer. He simply moved closer to her, slid his hands down her arms, and held in her in the warmest of embraces.

There was no need for answers, she thought. All she knew was that he's here, holding her lovingly. And that she's never felt this cherished and secure before. And that she never wanted the moment to end.

They swayed in time with fate. Two people on a supposed dancefloor, losing themselves in the heartwarming euphoria of being with each other at the moment.

The swayed together slowly, as he held her like that. Seconds passed. A minute. Two. Three.

Until quite suddenly, she felt the music change. No, she wordlessly exclaimed, not yet. The dance hasn't even began yet! But fate wasn't listening...

Something of the color white was ahead of her. It was a light of some sort. And it was coming towards the both of them. They stood immobilized, with the man still holding her like that. The light grew bigger by the second. And she knew with all of her being that fate wasn't permiting the dance to begin. And there it was, the light..still growing bigger and bigger until she couldn't help but close her eyes, in fear that it might blind her. She closed her eyes, aware of the loosening arms that had held her tenderly for a moment or two...aware of the tear that fell from her right eye.

She was on her back when she opened her eyes. There was still white...and for a second there, she thought it was gonna blind her again. But it didn't. The lifeless, white-painted ceiling of her bedroom would do her no harm.

Her right cheek felt wet. The tear was there. And so was the remnant of that peculiarly marvelous euphoria which came from being held in his arms. It's wierd how convinced she was that it was, in fact, no dream at all. But she wasn't on a dancefloor. There was no dance. And he wasn't there. How could she not be convinced otherwise?

Will that dance ever get the chance to begin? I don't know. The night is young. And anything can happen. But maybe not now. Wierd lang na ikaw ang nandun. The guy who happens to have instigated 5 of my entries in this blog(this being the 5th). Hmm..wierd talaga. You were almost history na. But then...Hmm. I'll just let time tell.

On Looking Alright

2008-06-01T14:22:00.006+08:00

People all over the world have always been concerned about their looks. I myself always go for looking presentable wherever I go. It's not about wearing too much make-up or making it a point to dress up fashionably. It's all about making yourself feel confident enough to face other people wherever you would go. This would make us live life in a more positive kind of way, allowing us to feel lighthearted not only towards ourselves but to the people around us as well.

I also believe that looking alright would result to a healthier us. If we look alright, we would feel better than we look, and we would live healthier. Looking great means being healthy inside and out. By inside, we mean out internal organs. By outside, we primarily mean our skin, which consists most of our outer part.

Taking care of the skin is very important. Among the most common and worst problems of the skin is those which are found on the face. Pimples, acnes, warts, and other skin problems are among these. However, there are a lot of solutions available for everyone nowadays. Thanks to technology, one could find pimple and acne treatments that are not too costly. I have also seen a few dermatology centers around which offer wart removal at affordable packages. So you see, one doesn't really have much reason to not stay presentable. Because as I've earlier mentioned, looking good often times means being healthy.

Crazy about Gerry

2008-05-27T09:11:00.007+08:00

These days, I am a little besotted with Gerard Butler or Gerry, as he so wishes to be called.

He first charmed me as he played the title role of the musical Phantom of the Opera last 2005. I watched the film on DVD last year and after having done so, I bought all of his other tiltles from Beowulf and Grendel, to Dear Frankie, and of course, I also checked out 300. He also happened to be Angie's leading hunk in Tomb Raider 2(Sizzling!). Moreso, I'm very excited about his flick with Jodie Foster entitled Nim's Island. I haven't seen Butterfly on a Wheel yet but I soon will. Right now what has my eyes and heart affixed to is his romantic-comedy flick with Hilary Swank entitled P.S. I Love You. (You see! I'm a little besotted.)

You can't believe how moving this film (P.S.) could be. It's incredibly fast-paced even on its more-than-2-hour length. It took me on a rollercoaster ride from being enchanted with Gerry and Hilary's on-screen chemistry to getting caught up in the web of this story of love which holds your heart and mind captive. But no, this entry isn't about that film. It's about its guy lead character who has my heart captivated. My thoughts on P.S. would be on another entry. For now, it's Mistah Butlah. Wihihi!

This Scottish hunk is definitely a force to be reckoned with. As I've written earlier, I got obsessive after seeing him as Phantom (man, you gotta watch that, too!) and bought all his other titles. What I admire so much about him as an actor is his versatility. One could hardly typecast him into any movie genre. He has done action(one was with Brosnan, so to speak). He has done history and myth. He did a musical. He's done comedy. And I have to say he does pretty well at everything. Yeah, even when I won't anymore be besotted with him, I'd still say that.

The man has a great sense of humor, too. I have seen many of his interviews over the Web to prove that. In all the shows I've seen, he was always fun to talk to. He's very smooth at his guestings. And as far as I've seen, he sweeps the audience off their feet. Whoa! One shouldn't wonder.

To top it all off, this man also holds a law degree. While practicing law, he was also a part of a Scottish rock band. In one of his interviews, he talked about how being a rock star and at the same time, a lawyer got kinda crazy in the middle and how it led him to give up the latter profession.

So you see, this man Gerry really has me enchanted as of the moment. Like I said, I can't wait to go the cinemas and catch Nim's Island, his movie with Jodie Foster. And I can't wait to watch his other films that I haven't checked out yet. I hope to see more of Gerry Butler in the future aside from Nim's. Rock on, Gerry!

things i wanna blog about

2008-05-26T08:06:00.010+08:00

There's a helluva lotta things I wanna blog about.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is on top of the list. I watched it last Friday. And man, it really blew my mind! I was also in the cinemas the day before that as I checked out Iron Man. Wow!

What can I say I had two straight days of getting blown away by the 2 movies. On both of those days, I wished I were able to stay in the cinema after each flick finished showing. But it was late at night(don't let me define late at night, you would find it's of a different language) and yeah, I had to get back home.

I really wish I would have enough time to write my reflections about these two and the rest of the films I watched(on disc) last week(and many weeks before). To mention one, P.S. I Love You (No, it's not the Pinoy 80's flick), which starred Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank, is, by far, the best romantic-comedy film ever. My favorite. The very witty Brosnan-Moore flick Laws of Attraction was my favorite then, now it's this. I tell you guys, it's a different story. It's unbelievably moving and heck it did manage to bring out my soft side. (I gotta blog about this, I just have to. Uuugh!)

It isn't just the movies I wanna rant about, there are others on the list...

David Cook! Woohooo! No need for words, I guess. But I'll briefly rant anyway. I've never been a huge fan of shows like Idol since I rarely watch TV. However, after seeing Cook, I couldn't help but check out his other performances. And I wasn't able to help being helplessly wary about his getting the crown. When I read about his win on Yahoo! some 22 minutes after the last season 7 show, I wanted to shout! Too bad I was then in the office. Had I been at the apartment, I would've shrilled loud enough to shake the building down. Ahihi! OA! But I did somehow feel that way. Way to go, David Cook! U tha man!

Aside from the abovementioned, I've also been wanting to blog about Mike's latest Thriller 25! Haha! The record bar where I bought the CD/DVD package has this weekly chart-toppers thingy that they have. They acknowledge the top 10 best selling albums weekly. It was very ecstatic knowing Mike's Thriller 25 was at number 1 for 3 weeks and stayed on top 10 for the next 4. Wow! I got more Davaoeño fellow MJ fans than I thought I had. I'll write my full review as soon as I can get to write one. (And when is that? Ahihi!)

So you see...if I go on enumerating everything I wanna write about, I'd need eternity. Lol! There really are numerous things I gotta do first. So before I could stop myself...ciao for now!

P.S.

I want so much to blog about Gerard Butler as well. That one's comin' up. Hihi!

Sweet Nothing

2008-05-16T23:55:00.003+08:00

It feels so good to make people smile.

But I feel best whenever I make him smile. :D

It happened sometime this week. Weird. I never thought he'd laugh at that remark. But he did anyway. And all I did as he laughed was just stare at him...as if in awe...thinking, how pleasant it feels to know that I have this ability to make you laugh like that.

But gahd, I gotta slow down. Wehehe! Mahirap na...
(Bugoy jud...hihihi!)

p.s.

I'm sorry for being puzzling. It's just gotta be this way, or no other way.
Ciao for now! And I pramis not to be too cheesy nex tym. Ahihi...

Rule of thirds?

2008-05-15T09:02:00.006+08:00

I just found out that there is actually a group of photography enthusiasts here in Davao. Wow! I read in a post that they give seminars. I should watch out for that. But up until now, I am but a theory learner still. Lol! Bahala na muna. I enjoy learning photography 101 even if at most times, it's hard to comprehend some items.

What I found out this morning is said to be a very important concept in photography : the rule of thirds. What exactly is that? Hmm...

Here's an article that I found...

(full article)

(Photo credit : Wikipedia)

"The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in photography and other visual arts such as painting and design.[1] The rule states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. The four points formed by the intersections of these lines can be used to align features in the photograph. Proponents of this technique claim that aligning a photograph with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the photo than simply centering the feature would.
The photograph to the right demonstrates the application of the rule of thirds. The horizon sits at the horizontal line dividing the lower third of the photo from the upper two-thirds. The tree sits
at the intersection of two lines, sometimes called a power point. Points of interest in the photo don't have to actually touch one of these lines to take advantage of the rule of thirds. For example, the brightest part of the sky near the horizon where the sun recently set does not fall directly on one of the lines, but does fall near the intersection of two of the lines, close enough to take advantage of the rule."

history's boleyn girl

2008-05-09T20:55:00.005+08:00

I just got home from the movies. I went to check out The Other Boleyn Girl. The movie was smashing! There was not a second that I wasn't engrossed. The production, the costume, the photography, and well, the casting - everything was great!

When I got to the cinemas earlier, I was debating between this one and Iron Man. I chose this over the other because I know that whatever film Natalie Portman chooses to do is always grand. And well, Eric Bana is one of my favorite men in Hollywood. I actually didn't get the chance to read the synopsis beforehand. Had I known that Boleyn is actually about how Tudor King Henry VIII had changed the course of England (or rather, how Anne Boleyn played by Portman changed the course of England), I wouldn't have debated it over any of the others. I'm glad it was this that I chose to watch. I always have a thing for movies with this kind of setting. It's like watching my favorite McNaught novels come to life on the big screen.

This tale of love, betrayal, and family takes you to an emotional rollercoaster as it takes you back in time to the English Royal Court in the 1500's. Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second and the most famous of his six wives. If you could recall, Henry VIII divorced his first wife causing him to be excommunicated by the Catholic Church and giving birth to Protestantism.

Anne Boleyn, who might've been overlooked by many history books, was the huge reason for this defining change in English and world history.

Unable to bear a son/heir to the throne, King Henry VIII blames this dilemma on his first wife, Catherine and sought the aid of other girls. Mary Boleyn (played by Scarlett Johansson), Anne's younger sister, was the first one who bore him a son. But just as soon as the latter was born, Henry decides he wants the other Boleyn girl instead. This puts the initially hesitant Anne into a rather difficult position. She is well-aware of her sister Mary's affection for the king and at first, she didn't want to betray her. But her lust for power takes over and she eventually gives in to the king's charm.

Henry, being overruled by his love (so-called) for Anne, persuasively tried to get her in bed with no success. Anne wanted to make sure Henry was loyal to her and only her and demanded that if he really did want her to be all his, he must first legally separate from his first wife, Catherine. Being totally under Anne's spell, Henry gives in and divorces Catherine. This was a defining moment in history and gave us what we now see as England. This is the England who is separated from the Catholic church and the birthplace of Protestantism.

However, just as soon as he married Anne, Henry realized what a fool he has been for giving her what she wanted. He hated her for making him turn his back on his country and his people. This caused him to be ballistic over Anne making her life miserable. His only concern was to have a son with his second wife.

To this moment, I still could not fathom how a man of conviction and power could be entirely hypnotized and blinded by a woman's charm. And how odd of him to hate her even before proving the love he declared to feel for her. It was he who chose to turn his back on his people. Even if Anne persuaded him to do so, it was he who made the choice. If I were him, I couldn't probably have hated Anne more than I hated himself.

Women are, after all, a force to be reckoned with. Boleyn, in particular, was once a living testimony to this. I believe she has rightfully gained her place in history as her story is told. And yes, this is I guess the main point in the movie and the main point of Philippa Gregory as she wrote the novel upon which this flick was based on.

Watch it. I don't wanna tell the whole story here. Or did I already? Hihi...

Keeping the dance alive

2008-05-07T09:13:00.003+08:00

Two days ago, me and my bestfriend watched Step Up 2 : The Streets. It was only then that we got the chance to step out of our busy schedule and check out the dance film we've been wanting to watch ever since we saw the trailer months ago.

This Chu-directed sequel was good. Not a great storyline but then, it was the dance that I was there for. And the dance was aww-summ. I tell you --- they all got the moves. The lead character Andie played by Briana Evigan was a helluva mover. And her partner Robert Hoffman? Goodness, I was practically drooling. Waaah! Haha!

In this movie, Hoffman played the hunk who has been living behind the shadows of his big brother who also happened to be the I-can-turn-anyone-into-a-professional "Director" Collins of Maryland School of the Arts. The latter was where our awesome movers all went to school. It was founded by the parents of the two earlier-mentioned Collins.

Another favorite character I had was Moose played by Adam Sevani. Well what can I say, he did some Michael Jackson moves. Ahaha! Need I explain further? ;)) But really, he was one of the few I've seen who could really pull it off.

The movie was good, overall. It made me miss dancing a lot. Huuhu...

Just as I've long since known, dancing would be one of the reasons why I'd always miss college. And well, flicks like Step Up somehow keep the dance alive in everyone of us. My bestfriend and I have actually been thinking of pursuing that plan of looking for a good dance studio for a few lessons(as soon as we could afford to,maybe..hihi!). We all have something we gotta do aside from work. Some play ball, badminton, golf. For us I guess it's dancing. No recitals. No pressure. Just dancing. If you've seen Center Stage (another dance flick), you'll know what I'm talking about. Oh, well. So much for this. Ciao for now!

Things to remember when facing the real world

2008-05-06T07:57:00.003+08:00

About 43 days after graduation...

The real world is tough. I've been told about this a thousand times before. But it's different when you're simply told about it compared to expriencing it first hand.

There's a lot to learn yet. But this is what I have reflected on as of now.

Things to remember as you hit off to the real world:

-= Don't fret too much over not having clear goals yet during the early stage of your after-school life. But don't get too relaxed if you realize you don't have any goals at all.

-= Don't be bothered if someone isn't as nice you want them to be. As you may know, you can please anybody but not everybody.

-= Be ready for challenges. The real world was never and will never be synonymous to perfect world.

-= Always look, feel, and be your best.

-= Be extra good to people who treat you well and indifferent to those who don't.

-= If you think things are going crazy. Stop. Stop for as long or short as you can and think awhile. There's no use trying to get things in place when your head is not clear.

-= Whatever you do, choose what you love and love what you choose.

beggining from the start

2008-05-05T08:23:00.005+08:00

It's gonna be ages before I could save up and get the right gadgets for my expensive soon-to-be hobby, photography. And I just couldn't wait that I am actually doing what I can to start now by reading articles online. I found just the perfect spot for my being a novice in this subject. There's a lot of technical aspects I will need to learn. And as "trying-hard" as it sounds, I will try and learn theoretically by reading about them. Hihi!

Things I learned this very morning...

Apperture...a device that controls the amount of light admitted into a subject.

Shutter...apart from being the title of a horror film, this term is also a mechanical device on a camera that opens and closes to control the time of a photographic exposure.

ISO...yeah, it is the Int'l Standards Organization I'm talking about. But in the context of photography, it's the organization that set standards to photography including the ISO range, which actually refers to how sensitive the camera is to light. I also learned that the higher the ISO, the more noise would be visible.

Ok so since I already mentioned it...noise...I first learned this thing visually in Photoshop. This term actually means the amount of grain that would appear in a photo.

Hmm...I think that does it for today. There was a lot of other stuff that I read but I don't wanna hurry too much in trying to internalize them. There's much time. Hihi! I think my blog may be filled with entries on this matter of photography nowadays. Hehe! Mind you, this trying-hard photographer doesn't even own a digi cam. I got 3 film cameras, though but it hurts me so much to use them when I wouldn't instantly see outputs so I rarely take a hold of them. Lol! Til next entry!

digi album in the making

2008-05-05T07:22:00.007+08:00

I have always been awed by photography. Ever since I was a kid, I always found it fascinating --- the idea of immortalizing a particular present into a snap that would, without any barriers, last a lifetime. I was around 15 when I first got a chance to kind of experiment with an SLR camera. It was a 3-day bash for my Aunt's birthday. She was from the States and happened to own the very coveted SLR. They once owned a photography studio. It made me so ecstatic when she told me I knew my way with the camera after being able to check out all the pictures I took. I could never forget that moment for it was then that I promised to myself I would someday study photography even though I was well-aware of how much it would cost.

I have gigabytes of photographs stored in my hard drive (others on back-up discs), and I have long since intended to make a digital photo album out of them. I have been fooling around with Photoshop for quite some time now and I belive that should be useful in helping me in the realization of whatever concept I would come up with. I should probably create a photo safe for all these precious jpeg's so I wouldn't lose the chance of compiling them.

However, as of now, I'm still coming up with the whole coneptualization of the digital photo albums I'd be making starting from categorizing the snaps by event, or group, etc. After that, I'd have to come up with the individual layout of each album. Wooh! this should be fun! I plan on doing it after masteral classes this summer. Right now I'm just thinking randomly on what to do...mmm...can't wait til end of summer!

ain't necessarily written in the stars

2008-04-18T07:47:00.003+08:00

I always love to occasionaly read what my star sign says. I find it fun and intriguing. I either squirm in delight or get goosebumps each time a forecast comes to reality. It would always incite a reaction from me.

However, even over my extreme fondness of star signs, I never really rely my life on them. Never was there a time when my aquarius forecasts influenced any of the decisions I made. And I don't think there will ever come a time for that. I still think it's best to stand up for my choices. I agree with what I read in an article which said, and I quote, "WE determine our realities. Your future may be written in the stars, but you can rewrite it if you have the courage and the determination." Indeed our lives are not necessarily patterned on the stars. Making choices on our own would make us more fulfilled, whatever the outcome would be.

New career: Wine siping

2008-04-17T06:58:00.003+08:00

I have always been interested in culinary arts. Any courses I would wanna take up in the latter would probably cost me around...I dunno...15thou? 20? Hmm...it's such an expensive area to explore.

Now I recently read in a certain article that cooking food isn't the only thing one would do in culinary arts. Can't cook? Sip wine. Not that I can't cook, though. It's just that I didn't know sipping wine would give anyone a career. Well..at least not until now.

Intrigued? Click this for the full article.

my progressing hometown

2008-04-16T20:10:00.006+08:00

Davao is a progressing city. I'm extremely proud and happy to have been born and raised in this city. Tolerable traffic, many enough people to have communities that are jovial but few enough for them to be labeled chaotic, beaches that are not-30-minutes away from any home...what else do you wanna have in a livable city? Name it and you got it!

These are reasons why, as much as possible, I would stay here as long as I could. If I would have to go out of the city for reasons such as work, I would rather it be temporary. It will make me very happy getting to stay here and settle here.

Anyways, so much ado about our beloved Davao and its majestic glory...

There seems to be a lot of new things around here. For one, there's the swarmed 72-M People's Park, the so-called Bay Walk, and lots of other industrial buildings are also starting to be built all over the city. A lot of offices also have computers with advanced features. (Haven't seen one with flat screen monitors held by a monitor holder over the wall...but soon I'm pretty sure I'd see some). It is indeed great to watch my home town progress.

Cute Mangmang

2008-04-15T19:26:00.001+08:00

Each time I visit the office we created a system for, I always get welcomed by this very cute puppy named Mangmang. The latter is a very cute, hairy little puppy who sniffs on the feet of all those who enter the office. Also beware when you got food with you. Because if she hears the sound of the cellophane of your food container, you are sure to be "charmed" by her with eyes that would be, I warn you, very hard to refuse. She barks rather nosily and alarmingly at times but she is nonetheless very cute and charming (when she's not barking).

Anyway, I found it rather amusing that this certain dog wakes up earlier than her masters and goes to sleep later than them. Aside from the habit of sniffing on people, sweetly 'attacking' people with food (or cellophane for that matter), barking noisily, I cannot help but wonder of Mangmang's other habits. She seems to be a very clean dog. Very prim and proper. Does she have this thing called dog toilet? Hmm...she could have one considering that she has masters who adore her. Anyway...enough of this mini dog tale. Gotta go for now!

life after school for medical graduates

2008-04-14T12:42:00.005+08:00

It's a wonder how my fellow 2008 graduates(at least the ones who graduated in medical courses) are still on the field working for a certain number of hours in fulfillment of their requirements. I mean, they've already marched down the aisle and yet they still they gotta work their buns off --- with duties that take 8 hours, sometimes straight 16 hours from their supposed-after-grad days off.

Well, it's good to know they're happy with what they're doing. Otherwise it would be a lot more difficult for them. One of my closest friends who just finished BS Medical Technology currently travels over an hour to one of the nearest cities to deal with the same lab supplies and apparatus that she did during school days. While graduates of other courses are out hunting for jobs, my medical course graduate friends are still on-duty. It's tough for them, I know. But like I said earlier, that's how it would have to be for them as of now. They will be reaping the fruits of their labor later on.

Japan Geisha Guys : A Step Towards Equality

2008-04-07T21:40:00.003+08:00

I'll bet some of you have seen Zhang Ziyi's 2005 flick, Memoirs of a Geisha. Can you imagine having a movie of the same kind which may be titled "A Guy Geisha's Memoirs"? Not now, maybe...but in a few more years, you will picture it out.

There are male guys in Japan who make a living by accompanying women. Yep! You heard it right. In Japan, more and more women are paying (even as much as $50,000 a night) men to be with them. Talk about role reversal...

Check out this article for more info.

End of a Chapter, Beginning of Another

2008-03-28T02:30:00.000+08:00

I can't believe how my four college years passed by like a wind!

I've finally graduated! And I'm so thrilled to be starting another phase of my life. But I'll surely miss college. :( Everything will be different from now on. I am again sinking in the meaning of "starting over". Poof!

Congrats to all my fellow graduates! This goes especially to my friends and classmates. We made it guys! I'll surely miss you all! :( Thank you very much for the meaningful 4 years of being together with you.

Big thank yous to God and my parents...my kuyas and ates...who were there all throughout. :) Words cannot express how grateful I am to you. And to my mentors --- I couldn't have done it without you. Salamat salamat salamat!

There's a lot to say. But I'm honestly at a loss for words right now. So I'll just post pics nalang..heheh...

Grad pics below (more to come later):

Real World Stuff

2008-03-27T21:42:00.001+08:00

There has been a lot of job hunting going on these days. Me, and I presume, most of my other batch mates are out on search for some place to work for. I hear of a few companies who have reached out to a certain school (not much in our school, unfortunately) in search of fresh graduates who are willing to work for their respective companies.

There are a few of these companies who disclose their salary offers. And apart from these, they also disclose other offers that they have for their prospect employees like relocation packages, insurance packages, and everything else. Off all the companies that offered their packages, I never heard of one who said anything about payday advance. I wasn't surprised thinking maybe this offer
didn't need to come from establishments and that all employees need to do is apply for this online.

There has been a lot of job hunting going on these days. Me, and I presume, most of my other batch mates are out on search for some place to work for. I hear of a few companies who have reached out to a certain school (not much in our school, unfortunately) in search of fresh graduates who are willing to work for their respective companies.

There has been a lot of job hunting going on these days. Me, and I presume, most of my other batch mates are out on search for some place to work for. I hear of a few companies who have reached out to a certain school (not much in our school, unfortunately) in search of fresh graduates who are willing to work for their respective companies.

Bro's Plans

2008-03-26T01:52:00.002+08:00

My eldest kuya, who is currently outside of the country has been telling me about his new project which is his very own online store. He plans on selling items for fellow Filipinos who are there with him or are everywhere else in the world.

He has always wanted to explore in the world of IT. He's not an IT nor CS graduate, by the way. He's an Electrical Engineering graduate who has currently discovered it's very much cool and fun being a first-hand participant of the IT world. He's been asking me about stuff like coding, developing sites, etc etc. It's mainly because of his plans of an online store. It's good that he has explored as far as usage of ready-and-easy-to-use shopping cart software for his current project.

It's fun talking to my kuya about these stuff! When he gets back home (hopefully soon..but it looks like it's gonna be a long time still) I can't wait to sit down with him and talk about collaborating for certain projects. Woohoo! Twud be real fun!

A New Endeavor

2008-03-26T01:22:00.002+08:00

Now that school's over(and I mean over), I already have time to devote to setting up my long-overdue (at least where my self-defined timeline is concerned) personal website. I'm still having some issues with my web hosting company. I need a PHP language support but I currently do not have it in my subscription. I can't switch to a Linux-running server because at the same time, I also need Microsoft SQL support which is what I currently have. Whew! I've tried negotiating having PHP support in addition to my package and I still haven't gotten a reply.

I actually uploaded already my personal website (a project that I had when I was in 3rd yr in my Computer Graphics applications subject) and it looks alright. I've been meaning to have my very own site since I-can't-remember-when and I'm well on my way to having it. Yipee! Can't wait!

Back Again

2008-03-26T00:04:00.002+08:00

I have a lot of catching up to do with blogging. It's been what...weeks...even a month...since I last blogged. And now that I have the time I can't wait to just blog and blog! Woohoo!

It's great to know there are ways to get paid to blog. Things like blog advertising could get you closer to getting that extra income that might just be of use to you. One could also advertise on blogs in order to earn. To blog for money wasn't really my target when I first started thumping the keyboard on some blog arena 2..3..years ago. And it certainly wasn't my aim to be able to advertise on blogs, too. But it's great fun to earn while you're doing what you love to do! While writing about a favorite show, music, travel spots, write-ups, or maybe about a hobby of yours, you can earn. Isn't that divine?! I've been talking about it for so long and to this day, I still can't get enough of mouthing how I am so delighted about getting paid while doing what I love. :D (If you haven't started yet, think about it...why not consider it...get paid for blogging...blog for money if not for fun!)

Blog for fun! And blog for more fun! And get paid to blog! Woohoo!

Through it all

2008-02-18T22:28:00.001+08:00

When someone really close to your heart believes in you...you just can't afford to not believe in yourself.

Thank you. Very much. You have always been my inspiration.

Kiss from a rose...

2008-02-12T23:11:00.001+08:00

Somehow, I'm finding it hard to get this song off my head these days...

Kiss From A Rose
Seal

There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea.
You became the light on the dark side of me.
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
Chorus 1

But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and,
The light that you shine can be seen.
Chorus 2

Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.
...kiss from a rose on the grey.
Ooh,
The more I get of you,
Ooh...................
Stranger it feels, yeah.
And now that your rose is is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the grey.
Inter

ba da ba da da da ah ya ya
ba da da da ba ba ee ah
Ba ya ya ba ba de ba da da da ah ya ya

ba da ba da da da ah ya ya
ba da da da ba ba ee ah
Ba ya ya ba ba de ba da da da ah ya ya
Ba ya ha ya ah ah ah ah ah ba ba ya ya
ha ah ah ah ah ah ah
Verse 2

There is so much a man can tell you,
..there....................woa...
So much he can say.
there's so much inside.
You remain,
you.......
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.. yeah.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
Chorus 1

But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.
Chorus 2

Baby,
I've...
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.
been.............. kissed from a rose on the grey.
Ooh, the more I get of you
...ooh...........the..
Stranger it feels, yeah
stranger it feels, ...yeah.
Now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the grey,
Bridge

I've been kissed by a rose on the grey,
...I've been.......................I've...
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the grey.
I've been kissed by a rose on the grey,
...I've been.......................I've...
...And if I should fall, at all
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the grey.
Verse 3

There is so much a man can tell you,
..there....................woa...
So much he can say.
there's so much inside.
You remain
you.......
My power, my pleasure, my pain.
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah (L)
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby.
Chorus 1

But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and
the light that you shine can be seen.
Chorus 2

Baby,
I've...
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.
been.............. kissed from a rose on the grey.
Ooh, the more I get of you
...ooh...........the..
Stranger it feels, yeah
stranger it feels.
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the grey.

Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
I've..........been kissed from a rose on the grey.
Ooh, the more I get of you
...ooh...........the..
Stranger it feels, yeah
stranger it feels. ...yeah.
And now that your rose is in bloom
aah-ee-aah...
A light hits the gloom on the grey
aah-ee-aah...
Outro

Writing Stuff

2008-02-11T22:45:00.000+08:00

We have been writing loads of stuff these past few days. To add more, I have about a few other reports for requirements a few articles for the school paper. It's been alllllll about black and white these times.

People who need other people to write for them buy essay over the Internet. Interesting...I'd love to write for a living. There are those who may want a custom essay that is fir for their needs, let them be companies or individuals.

As for me, though, I usually refer to essay online for guidance and reference. But maybe one day, I could write for others...maybe. :)

Protecting your identity

2008-02-03T00:17:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, there are hundreds of thousands of entities represented as websites over the Internet. These entities could either be individuals or small- to large- scale businesses. Whoever it represents, a website has one common thing that the rest of other sites posses --- identity. Even those who own things which are not online still protect their identity.

LifeLock is an online company which would guarantee the security of an identity. They have the number 1 identity theft prevention program in all of the U.S. Their LifeLock Promotion Code would give aspirant registrants the best discount available. To fint out more about this, check out their site LifeLock.com.

Auto Insurance

2008-02-03T00:01:00.000+08:00

My brother's dad in-law recently got a second hand Isuzu car. I know very little about cars (I believe it's pretty obvious..hehe) and about which ones are good and which ones are not. However, I have always been curious about how people go about in insuring their autos. Almost everyone on this planet is well aware that even cars have insurance plans which come with them. And so yeah I wonder where my brother's in-law got his car insurance from. Or most probably, the car would already be covered by an insurance company since it is. after all, pre-owned.

For the past few posts, I've been talking about how the world has gone online. And yeah, you're guessing it right --- online auto insurance is also existent nowadays. I am, however, unsure on whether or not this kind of insurance offer is available in our country. But what I am now thinking is that it is quite an idea, what the conceptualizers of this online car insurance has thought about. Things can be done without much hassle...if there is any hassle at all. I really cannot help but wonder what else...what other transactions are now online which were not as so before.

Impromptu

2008-01-31T22:30:00.000+08:00

The world has been very busy nowadays. It's sometimes a wonder how everyone could ever stop and think for a minute or two. Life has become so fast-paced that almost everything would have to be instantly obtained.

A lot of times, people would need to do a cash advance even before it's payday. There are lots of online means of getting one. The traditional means of getting cash before salary day have been elevated to the next level.

It has become very fast and convenient for workers to get what they need. Signing up and getting one's self qualified to avail of this benefit has also become very easy. A few would require that some documents be faxed before a loan would be approved. In most sites today, things are done online and cash is transmitted electronically. No hassle. Less worry. Cash is there whenever needed.

How convenient could it get? Numerous could be done in an automated manner in this age of information. It's quite amazing how technology has reshaped society. Think about the number of things that computing has enhanced...communication, business, socialization, and a lot more. Although there are some disadvantages, the benefits also come in buckets. I believe it is all in the manner in which people utilize the things technology offers.

Mix it online

2008-01-30T01:02:00.000+08:00

I just found fully animated flash website. Brice Carrington launched a site about production of sounds for videos. This is especially useful to beginners who wish to jump start in producing their very own audio prods using very cool sound effects. These effects are recorded in the field using microphones creating a sound that sounds so real and electrifying.

I am also very much amazed at the website design. I see very few flash-created sites that can pull of a very sleek and professional-looking output. I like how the animations, the color-changing, and all the other elements go in perfect coordination with each other.

On Podcasting

2008-01-27T18:50:00.002+08:00

The Internet has revolutionized the way people talk, shop, transact business...it has revolutionized the world. Marketing has been one are that has total advantage as the use of the Internet has stemmed up to an unbelievably high notch over just a few years.

Since search engines have become almost like the pillar of everyday information extraction, it has also been a very excellent medium of delivering different kinds of information to different kinds of people in different parts of the globe.

Over the Web, one can find sources tantamount to the sands on a shore. Quite an exaggeration but yeah, I would love to describe it as I have been encountering buckets of information sources every now and then.

As these buckets of information continue to increase, people have found it important to collate the most significant ones and to put them on the primary spot over those who have less significance.

This is where the trend of search engine optimization comes in. With this technique, a website owner can be ensured of being on top of search engine results. With this, they can stay ahead of their competitors as their rankings are better. And as end results, the company that these websites represent get more returns as their establishment is more publicized and stays on top of the list.

Among the many practices that marketing over the Internet has generated is podcast production. There have been many entities who find this technology to be effective and efficient tool in marketing. Since the human voice is what's being broadcast, the idea of connecting to surfers(who happen to be the target customers at the same time), is very practicable.

There are lots of other things that search engine companies offer, podcast production is just an example.

Twavelin

2008-01-27T18:49:00.001+08:00

I have always wanted to travel. Every kid has a dream. When I was little, mine was to reach as many places around the globe as I can. Ha! big dream for a small girl..lol!

Longs trips on land, sea and air always excite me. I can't begin to describe the wonderful feeling I get each time I'm on a trip.

Traveling entails loads of preparations. There's bookings to make, transpo tickets, hotel reservations, etc. etc.

Here's a sure good buddy during the trip would be a Cabin Cuddler. This is actually designed by a pilot. It's a basically blanket specially made for those loooooong flights as a passenger would be on planes. It has a pocket area for the feet. So it's not just your ordinary blanket. It will actually keep you warmer than most conventional blankets do. Even as it is designed for a flight, it can also be utilized during those long land trips especially when you're riding an air conditioned bus. It is also ideal for those cold nights at home.

This is so cool! I'd love to own one. I dunno when I'd' be able to use it though, hehe.
Here it is...take a look.

What it's all about

2008-01-26T20:20:00.000+08:00

I have learned one important lesson out of all of this...

that it isn't about what's there at the end of the journey, nor is it about reaching the end of the journey...it's all about what you have learned and how you've grown along the way.

Elusive Silence

2008-01-24T21:21:00.000+08:00

And never has it been...
...that unwanted silence bred complete inner satisfaction...

Gadz

2008-01-24T01:15:00.000+08:00

I've been eyeing certain mp3 players and a cellphone these days. I've been meaning to save enough so I could purchase one of either, if no both.

My player is with my ate. She borrowed it after she lost her 30 GB iPod. (Geesh!) Since I haven't been using it that much for the past few weeks then I just let her borrow it. It's a 1 GB Creative Nano Zen. It has been very handy for a music lover whose playlists are not really that lengthy. I have always been a huge fan of Creative. I have one of their SBS boom boxes. Awesome! Their products give out very crisp and detailed sound. I can't help but be indulged each time I listen.

However, I'd also love to explore other good brands to check and compare. There's always room for discovery. This is even truer for a music-lover like me who loves to explore.

A player or a phone. Hmm...Haven't made up my mind yet. I'm low on budget so I gotta figure it out.

Travel stuff

2008-01-24T00:33:00.001+08:00

Travel. It is one of the things that I loooooove to do. I have always wanted to go to different places. And often times, I find the time I spend on air, land or sea, more exciting than when I have actually reached my destination. Wierd, eh? Hehehe!

Of course, it is very important to settle things like accommodation, food, etc. This is why travel agencies are very useful. This is even truer if you wish to have less hassle in your travel, reservations for tickets, you can get hotel discounts, and many other privileges.

I've traveled to very few cities apart from the one in which I live in. I really wish I could get to do it more in the future when I've saved enough. I would love to visit different resorts, parks, landmarks of different places here in the country. I would be even more ecstatic if I could visit places outside of it, too. I mean, heck , who wouldn't be? Lol! Extra big dreams...gotta give extra effort to achieve them.

It's nice that online booking are available nowadays. Reservations on accommodations and transportation are well taken care of. It's also nice that vacation packages are readily available for travelers and tourists to choose from. I couldn't imagine having to get my traveling ticket, pick a hotel, try to find another one if I don't find the right room and price, and do a billion other things. I think doing so would somehow make the whole experience less enjoyable. With packages, everything is in a single group. You just have to choose which one would fit your taste as well as your budget. Discounts are also a thing you would get when getting packages. You could usually save a lot compared to getting things done one by one. Of course it would also have to depend on which package you would choose.

But of course, for the meantime, I would still have to do what I got to do so I could get to enjoy these kins of stuff one day. Gotta work hard, baby. :)

Fate

2008-01-23T23:49:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, fate has very creative means to make you feel that you're human. Whatever happens, you just gotta put it in mind --- life ain't no walk in the park. :)

Online Backgammon

2008-01-22T23:39:00.000+08:00

There are backgammon websites that offer technical support to players. They aim to give the best service they can possibly give to surfers who play backgammon. It's even more amazing to know that their team of technical support is there to help out 24/7. Backgammon online is sure to be very enjoyable experience to players.

Online Fun II

2008-01-22T18:48:00.000+08:00

Online slots...these must be pretty interesting to those who go to the casino for slot machines and have never tried to play slots online..just like my cousin. Although she frequented casinos, she was never an Internet addict and so she hasn't tried playing online. (I found it really interesting how anyone could ever be not addicted to the Internet nowadays).

Casino slots online are quite enjoyable at Sloterix, I've heard. The site's new design looks good too. I should tell my cuz about it. She should try taking her habit to the next step by enjoying it online. I'm sure she'd enjoy it.

To be insured

2008-01-19T19:42:00.000+08:00

My parents used to work for an insurance company when I was a kid. Back then, I didn't fully understand the vital role that insurance plans play in people's lives. Of course, I was just a little kid trying to get the hang of things in such a huge world.

Anyways, now I tried searching about how life insurance plans could possibly be of use to me in the future, or maybe even now. At least I have to browse through life insurance quotes as early as now so I could get a picture of how much I'll be possibly spending later on by the time comes that I need to get a plan.

There are certain stuff posted on some websites such as term life insurance, universal life, premium, etc etc. There's a lot to see, there's a lot to explore. And I think I might wanna get a plan later on..hmm....quite certain about it.

Cash Before Payday II

2008-01-16T18:37:00.000+08:00

In a previous post, I spoke of a certain online means to obtain cash even before payday. Payday loans is quick and can be easily done online. Within minutes, the loan can be processed. It is a small short-term loan that can range from a certain amount to another. However, this can only by done if you're above 18 and is employed for a job.

There are also existing Faxless Payday Loans which are even less of a hassle. Things can be done in just three easy steps. SImply fill out a 1-page online form, connect with your lender to work out terms and then get your funds via direct deposit into your bank account. THAT easy!

It's indeed amazing how the Internet has revolutionaized people's lives nowadays. Superb!

Finding Homes

2008-01-16T00:05:00.000+08:00

My kuya who is currently in the UK told me he has a fellow Pinoy who recently relocated there and is looking for some place to stay in. Kuya has been there for quite some time already. However, there are still lots of places he hasn't explored yet.

Good thing there's the Internet. After searching over a few sites, kuya's friend could possibly buy 2 bed flat in Bedminster Bristol since he said he has enough to do so. Or if he prefers, there are also Abram Manchester one bed flats for sale. There's a lot to choose from at a property finding site named WelcomeHome.

Stop and Think A While

2008-01-13T23:35:00.000+08:00

Goodness! Nowadays, things are happening too darned fast.

Sometimes I yearn for even just minutes of silence at a not-so-frequented location. One that is tranquil and invigorating. Gee! I could always find time if I'd want to. (Oh, I definitely will!)

There's sooooo many things to do for this month and the next and the month after. Lol! Hai!

Stop and think. We all gotta do it sometimes.

???

2008-01-10T23:40:00.000+08:00

Where are you?

Cash Before Payday

2008-01-09T16:18:00.000+08:00

I didn't realize 'til just recently how the Internet has revolutionized the way people handle their cash. If they need to, people may actually acquire cash even before payday. This is what payday loan does to those who need cash before payday comes. They can transfer emergency cash right into their checking account safely and securely with just a few clicks. Whew! It's amazing how technology has leveled up people's lives these days.

Of course there are a few prerequisites before one can avail of this service. To name a few, one needs to be employed for a certain number of months, one's salary has to reach the minimum per-month income, etc. etc. Everything would then go well once these requirements are met.

It's one easy world to live in, the Internet. Whoo!

Business Online

2008-01-09T15:57:00.000+08:00

I have been meaning to purchase collector's item stuff from different eCommerce sites. I have always been curious of how these kinds of websites are made possible. It's been an entice and a tickle in my mind to have the thought of developing one possible. (Geesh!)
Just recently, I learned that there are avaiblable ecommerce software to answer these needs. These software programs offer complete solution for those who wish to do business online.

That notion was actually conceived when my older brother asked me if I could possibly gather together a team of developers and develop a business web application. Pretty challenging. As early as now, I can imagine what we should be doing before we could even come up with the application. We would have to conceptualize first…what shall be the business all about. What is its nature? What is its goal? How do we make the business competitive? Those, and a million others are supposed to be answered.

More Than Just Fun

2008-01-09T15:06:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, the world has gone from physical to virtual. There are dozens of stuff one can do online --- socialize, shop, be entertained (or entertain), rant, and even make money.

It is more than just widely known that the Internet is a very quick and easy means of generating income. One can earn even while having fun updating an online journal. Yes, indeed...even a hobby like blogging can be turned into a money-generating activity.

A lot of people nowadays get paid to blog. Now that's one great treat...getting paid for doing your thing. I have come to realize I should take this hobby of mine to the next level so it would be a thousand dimes..I mean...times...more fun! Can't wait to do just that.

More Online Fun

2008-01-09T01:13:00.000+08:00

Curiouser and curiouser. That's how I've been with checking out what goes on in an online casino.

I found yet another site that would feed this curiosity. This one's less colorful than the first one I found. This site has a simpler web design. I could also find less stuff surrounding what most enthusiasts would be interested on clicking --- the online casino links.

Nonetheless, it still enlists existing online gambling havens and would again satisfy the curious virtual gambling onlooker like me. I wonder where this curiousity would lead me. Hm.

Online Fun

2008-01-09T01:05:00.000+08:00

Way back my late elementary years when I wasn't yet acquainted to pop-up blockers, online casino sites often popped up on my screen. Back then, those pop-ups were such nuisance to my surfing hours. However, just recently, my cousin's husband got hired at a local Casino and I couldn't help but think back to those years.

Technology has leveled up people's lives that even games in the nonvirtual Casinos exist online. I got curious and browsed through an online casino.

I ran across this site which give out reviews about online gambling havens. The perfect site for a curious onlooker like me. I then compared what I saw on this site with what I've heard from my cuz's husband and saw very little difference. What is present in an actual casino is basically there in a virtual one...except of course, that they're intangible.

Little by little, the world is going online. Whew!

That four-letter word

2008-01-09T00:52:00.000+08:00

I just chatted with my friend a few minutes ago. She says they're celebrating her grandmother's birthday. My friend's grandma is now amazingly aged 90 years old. And even at that age, she still travels with her daughter, from the Philippines to California, and vice versa, every year. Sadly though, there are moments when she couldn't remember some people around her. I guess it comes with the age.

With the very busy life in the U.S., people have the time to take care of their loved ones. This is where the very good use of nursing homes come in. It is very important for them to have their loved ones taken good care of and these institutions definitely do just that.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T01:50:00.000+08:00

Happy new year, everyone! I just gotta drop something off in this rant pit as 2008 kicks off.

Have a grand year of the rat! Mwah!

Christmas in CDO

2007-12-25T23:33:00.000+08:00

It's my third night here in CDO. I thought I was gonna get my old Christmas nights in Davao --- those nights when one wouldn't even just think of attempting to go to sleep with so much whooshs and whams going on. However, I was surprised when the fireworks display and the 'putukan' were over not 30 minutes after the clock struck midnight. Hehe...hindi naman pala maxadong maingay dito. It's basically just a Davao Christmas...plus a little noise.

Anyways, I'll be off to Davao again tomorrow. Whoa! Time flies too darned fast. I've had a really great time with my relatives here in CDO. The food, the videoke, and of course - the presents. Ehehehe! A million thanks! Mwah!

Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope you've all enjoyed the holidays so far. God bless. :)

Almost Christmas

2007-12-18T13:45:00.001+08:00

It's almost Christmas. And I'm back after an unusually long hiatus from blogging in this arena.

There hasn't been a lot of things going on in this blog. However, a LOT of things has gone on in my life. Can't even keep up with 'em. Poof!

So many things have happened too fast the past few months. It's been frantic in school. My bestfriend and I are growing bamboos around our ears..etc. etc. (No...scratch that...hihi!). And my Mama went to Manila and stayed there for about two months(to be with my preggy Ate Cy). But in a few days, she'll be back. Yesterday, she went from Manila to CDO. And so this Friday or Saturday, I'll be joining her there and we'll be going back to Davao together.

Yeah, I'm excited and nervous at the same time about going to CDO. Why nervours? Well, I have gone there for more than just a few times already. However, it's the first time that I'll be traveling alone. Weheheh! My first 7-hour-long land trip. The last time I traveled alone, it was from Manila to Davao and that 1-hour-45-minute trip wouldn't quite compare to this CDO-I'm-coming adventure. Wehehe! Can't wait.

But that would be Friday pa. I would still have to deal with prelim examinations and a few project deliverables for the last 3 school days before Christmas break.

Ang super biles! It's almost Christmas na. Poof!
Ho ho ho! Happy holidays, everyone! I wish the spirit of love and giving would dwell on all of us this holiday season. Mwah! Ciao for now!

The So-called Sem Break

2007-11-01T09:30:00.000+08:00

Life's been kinda dry lately. Empty. Meaningless.

It's not that there's nothing to do. As a matter of fact there are lots of things to do. For school, basically. My college diploma is at risk and I'm acting as though I deserve to have a semestral break when I actually don't.

There. I've mentioned it. Semestral break. The first week was a lot of fun. I was off to Cebu with classmates. We all had a great time being temporarily away from responsibilities. But that was what it was. A 3-day getaway. A temporary retreat from all the hype. But then again, like I said, it was totally fun. It's always great to be with my college buddies. There's never a dull moment when I'm with them.

And then the three days were over. Just like that. I can't even believe it was a week and a half ago. Seems like only a few hours have passed.

Now I'm here. Fingers wild with my keyboard. I've been kept company by a few good movies, a previous TV show on DVD, Michael's and a few other good artists' music. That has been my life these past few days - home videos, sound trip, food (but not too much, gladly), and some books. Been kinda taking care of myself.

What is this blog entry getting at. What is its purpose? Heck, I don't really know. Or maybe...I do..

Purpose.

People always search for answers. And the most probable dominant reason for that hunt is meaning...their purpose in life. The last few years have been that for me. Soul searching. Like any other people existing on this planet, I've always wanted to know what I am here for.

All the things I've mentioned in the first few paragraphs of this entry. School. Break. Hobbies. I always wish that somehow, they will pave way to making me realize what on earth I am here for. Yes, I own the book which, they say, would tell me what I'm here for. I own it. I have for a few years now. But I haven't read it yet. I don't know why. I just haven't.

Anyway...

Why I can't get myself to be significantly productive, I don't know. I've been stressed out just thinking of the things I should've gotten done during the vacant hours I had. No turning back. It's almost time for school. And I could only pray that I wouldn't allow myself to procrastinate then.

Not significantly productive. That's how I've been this mini school break. I don't have any excuses. And I don't have anything more to say..ehehhe...

Ciao for now!

Hectic

2007-09-23T14:28:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month of hiatus and I sure have missed dropping stuff here in my rant pit.

So much has happened - Erap's verdict has been given, now this NBN thingie is surfacing..in fact it's been suspended...we've had our thesis proposal already...and yeah...a lot of other stuff has occurred. (*wink*)

It's been such a busy September. Thesis proposal. School paper. End-sem Literature play. Exams. Personal matters. And the list could go on. It's been so hectic I hardly even noticed there's only 7 days left before the month ends. Woh! I've almost become an all-work-no-play senior. Well...almost. Hihi!

So much will be going on for the rest of the school year. I've no reason to relax, actually. But I will be getting that chance real soon.

This October 16, I'll be off to Cebu with a few classmates for an educational trip. It'll be such a fun-filled and informative semestral break. But then, after that, it'll be back in the city and devulge in the actualization of our thesis proposal. There are but very few months left to accomplish that.

Gosh...so much to do...so little time. Hmm..

As for now, though...a good sound trip would help me visualize which one to do first. So, then...ciao!

All Feigned

2007-09-23T01:01:00.000+08:00

Jerks do exist. They are definitely not theoretical.

Just today, I understood grandly, for the second time in my life, what it was like to meet a total jerk. Not that I haven't met this guy before, though. I've known him for more than just a few years now. But it was only today that he proved to be one of those guys who try to get you under their spell. And once you're there, they take off, leaving you stuck in that world of wonderland-turned-purgatory.

He was supposed to be just someone who was no skin off my back. But these past few months, he was acting real cute and all, trying to be Mr. I'm-the-one-for-you. Unfortunately, it was just the cute side of him. He had another side. The jerk. The one I just met. And I couldn't help but cringe in disgust at the thought of me almost giving in to his..well..charm..so-called.

The good thing though is that I didn't give in just yet. I was guarded, thank goodness. But I admittedly was almost at that point when I could've hurt myself. Right now, it's just my pride that's a bit damaged. Nothing more. Poof! Still, I should've been more guarded.

You didn't have me at hello. You might've charmed me with your feigned lure. But I got it all clear now. And thank goodness I hadn't fallen in to your trap.

In life, losers are those who fail, if not refuse to look for the light each time they're situated in a dark tunnel. And I ain't no loser. ;)

I strongly believe that any woman deserves to be treated with sincerity. Not because of the fact that we're stereotyped as the weaker sex, but because we're humans, too. Born with dignity [period!]

Sure, you might've gone a little out of your way by staging that imperceptible manner of "reaching out". Other girls would've most probably been flattered. But I hate assuming. I never assume things. And I especially don't assume that a guy is interested each time he comes to me and almost jokingly asks me out on a you-could-call-it-a-date-if-you-want-to adventure. So yes, you have been sending messages across. And I'm not insensate as to not feel that you haven't been doing so. However, I'm also sensible enough to know that if you had unblemished intentions, you would try to give a more sincere and genuine approach. Not a safe, noncommittal attempt at getting a YES so you wouldn't have to be degraded if ever you'd get yourself a NO. I always thought you can do better and braver than that. Lol! Brave men do not cop out by playing it safe. And they certainly do not choose to take the easier road to..uh..perdition. Hihi!

This is not exactly Kathy talking. This is an offended girl's rants. I normally wouldn't give a guy the satisfaction of admitting that I took a little offense. But you were a friend. Or at least I thought you were. And I imagined you as a good pal. I should have known better. It's just so disappointing. I used to think of you highly then. Now? I don't know. All I feel is indifference.

Thank you, though, for all of this. For the interest you feigned, I learned more than to just allow myself to be easily fooled.

As for you...time to go back to the circus. Showtime's over even as it hadn't started yet. Hehe.
:P

Boulders in the Box

2007-08-17T16:47:00.000+08:00

I have had such a tight schedule this week. It would be the first round of our thesis defense this coming Thursday. Tomorrow, papers are due for scrutiny by our instructor. Me and my groupmates have so much to do.

But before I dwell on`all those stressful details, I intend to reflect first on the untimely-yet-invigorating experience I had during our 3-day Seniors' retreat.

Our beautiful journey with God, through a wonderful retreat master, Fr. Patrick Mariano, concluded not five hours ago. And here I am right now, missing that tranquil place somewhere in Digos.

I had such profound realizations. First one - where has life brought me? How was I shaped by my experiences? I realized, through Father Patrick's talks, that I have been stuck up on a certain issue in my life.

There was one big question I have always wanted to answer - why do I sometimes feel a certain inexplicable emptiness? I blamed myself for feeling that. God blessed me with many good things. Wonderful parents and siblings. Thoughtful friends. An opportunity to go to school. And others. I had no right to feel empty. But I felt so anyway. And I found the retreat a great opportunity to answer the question which plunges a dagger through my heart each time it is asked. Thankfully, Father Patrick helped me open my closets. There were skeletons in it, I found out. And I didn't realize it did until that 25-minute one-on-one with him. Thanks a lot, Father. You helped me let go. I can be freer now.

Second realization - behind the gaily smile may lie a wounded soul. This is true for me as it is for some of my friends who shared their taste of life's bitterness. But there's an attachment to this learning...the smiling behind the pain doesn't necessarily mean hiding from it. On the contrary, it is one way of fighting it. It's like telling yourself - "Life is painful but I won't let it crush me to pieces."

It's amazing, the pain. And it's even more amazing to know that no matter how crushing they may be, they are never larger than life. They are never more powerful than we are. And it's thrice as much amazing to know that there's God, a million times more powerful than us, and willing to give us a hand.

The huts along the grassy field, the quarters where we slept in, the lounge area, and that special hall...they were all witnesses to the the hugs that we gave each other, the pats on the shoulder, and the heartaches that we once had and got rid of. Tears flowed like waterfalls and most, if not all negative energies were released.

Third slap of reality - how ready am I to face the real world? Do I already have boulders in my box? Or are they filled with sand and pebbles? Let the boulders be the wisdom, and let the box be the space where I put in all the things which is to become the foundation of my life.

I realized during the retreat that what I have in my box are stones which are a lot bigger than pebbles but a lot smaller than boulders. In short, I am not that ready to face the real world.

There's one important thing to take note where our own individual boxes are concerned --- it's important to stock up on boulders.

All the learnings in the retreat goes down to one thing...the box. More importantly, the boulders in the box. The emptiness that I felt before, the pain, the lessons I learned from listening to the stories of my batchmates, the strengthened bond that we now have...how do I turn these things into useful wisdom that would influence how I deal with life and all its bitterness? I (and so have everyone else) have made the most out of the retreat. Now it's application time. Time to fill in my box with boulders.

I have our retreat master to thank for all those realizations. Although I've said it infront of everyone else, I'll say it here again...

Thank you, Father Patrick for guiding us in what has been the most beautiful and enriching spiritual experience I have ever had in all my college life.

eL-Oh-eL

2007-08-07T23:10:00.000+08:00

My classmates have been bugging me to watch Troy and 300. Well, not the Brad Pitt Troy and not the Gerard Butler 300 original film but their Ilonggo subtitled and translated version which has been attracting viewers in YouTube.

I finally found time to see for myself. I wouldn't wonder now why my classmates are soo eager to let people around them check these out, too.

You guys gotta see these...
"Tonton, Ang Paghaharap" (Troy) and "Benjo Kag Ang Bataylon Pitbul" (300).

"Tonton, Ang Paghaharap"

"Benjo Kag Ang Bataylon Pitbul"

One of Life's Fundamental Lessons

2007-08-07T15:25:00.000+08:00

...If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all...

I got p***** off by someone today. That person has always been fond of saying unnecessary and often times irritating comments. I guess it's just in that person's nature to make the people around reach their boiling point. Unfortunately, my patience wasn't that stretched and I retorted.

Sorry na lang. Everything has limitations and my patience is definitely not an exemption. Today is just not the day to p*** me off. Haven't been feeling well for the past few days actually.

And so yeah, I almost came to the point of confronting and telling that person to get rid of the s**** habit. If not for the location we were at, that person might've received a real blow from me. It's not all the time that people around you can adjust and just laugh at your irritating poops. A lot has been pushed to the edge actually. By now, you ought to have learned one of life's simple principles...

...if you can't say anything good, then don't say any darn thing at all!

More Annoying Ways

2007-08-06T20:31:00.000+08:00

I promised to give you more ways to annoy peepz in a computer lab...and so here they are...
Enjoy!

17.Quietly walk into the computer lab with a Black and Decker chainsaw, rev that baby up, and then walk up to the nearest person and say, "Give me that computer or you'll be feeding my pet crocodile for the next week".

18. Stare at the screen, grind your teeth, stop, look at the person next to grinding. Repeat procedure, making sure you never provoke the person enough to let them blow up, as this releases tension, and it is far more effective to let them linger.

19. If you have long hair, take a typing break, look for split ends, cut them and deposit them on your neighbor's keyboard as you leave.

20. Put a large, gold-framed portrait of the British Royal Family on your desk and loudly proclaim that it inspires you.

21. Come to the lab wearing several layers of socks. Remove shoes and place them of top of the monitor. Remove socks layer by layer and drape them around the monitor. Exclaim sudden haiku about the aesthetic beauty of cotton on plastic.

22. Take the keyboard and sit under the computer. Type up your paper like this. Then go to the lab supervisor and complain about the bad working conditions.

23. Laugh hysterically, shout "You will all perish in flames!!!" and continue working.

24. Bring some dry ice & make it look like your computer is smoking.

25. Assign a musical note to every key (ie. the Delete key is A Flat, the B key is F sharp, etc.). Whenever you hit a key, hum its note loudly. Write an entire paper this way.

26. Attempt to eat your computer's mouse.

27. Borrow someone else's keyboard by reaching over, saying "Excuse me, mind if I borrow this for a sec?", unplugging the keyboard & taking it.

Still from www.bored.com.
Anyone out there who'd ever dare to try any of these?? Hihi!

Mid Wednesday

2007-07-31T16:01:00.000+08:00

It's the middle of the first day of August and I'm working at our paper. We'll be having our proposal defense by the end of the month so it 's gonna be a predictably busy month for all of us seniors.

Anywayz, I had a helluva night last night thanx to the headache I had. That was a new kind of headache for me, actually. I never had a headache like that before. I was afraid I might have hi-BP or sumthin. But then my Ma said it might be because of my eyes. I haven't been wearing my eyeglasses for two years now. And yes, I am supposed to wear them. I hate wearing eyeglasses, really. Sunglasses, yeah. But correctional lenses? Nah.

But then again, I'm left with no choice. I don't wanna get constant problems of headaches like I had last night. It makes me ineffective. And so I had an eye check-up earlier today after my first class and found out that I have astigmatism on my right eye. Poof! The opto said it might have been the cause of the discomfort. And so starting tomorrow, I'm gonna have to wear spectacles again. And the doc said I always have to wear them. Geesh!

After my eye check-up some two hours ago, I dropped by the mall to see what's on the cinemas. I decided on checking out Disney's latest - Ratatouille (pronounced Rat-a-too-ee). It's about a rat wanting to be a chef. Haha! This animation features two things in this world that I love - cooking(or food for that matter) and Paris. Wooh! It's gonna be a lotta fun. Two more hours and I'm off to the cinemas. Can't wait!

And yes, I'm gonna be wearing my new pair of correctional lenses tomorrow. :( Twud take a lotta getting used to.

Ways to Annoy People in a Computer Laboratory - Part I

2007-07-31T00:04:00.000+08:00

I know I should be on a Microsoft Word interface right now instead of this blog arena but I just couldn't resist sharing some stuff that I read yesterday. This entry's title would tell you what it's all about.

I had quite a laugh reading these. Check em out...

Ways to Annoy People in a Computer Laboratory (Part I)

1. Log on, wait a sec, then get a frightened look on your face and scream "NO!!! They've found me!" and bolt.

2. Laugh uncontrollably for about 3 minutes & then suddenly stop and look suspiciously at everyone who looks at you.

3. When your computer is turned off, complain to the monitor on duty that you can't get the darn thing to work. After he/she's turned it on, wait 5 minutes,turn it off again, & repeat the process for a good half hour.

4. Type frantically, often stopping to look at the person next to you evilly.
Work normally for a while. Suddenly look amazingly startled by something on the screen and crawl underneath the desk.

5. Ask the person next to you if they know how to tap into top-secret Pentagon files.

6. Enter the lab, undress, and start staring at other people as if they're crazy while typing.

7. Light candles in a circle around your terminal before starting.

8. Every time you press Enter and there is processing time required, pray "Ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease," and scream "YES!" when it finishes.

9. Start making out with the person at the terminal next to you (It helps if you know them, but this is also a great way to make new friends).

10. Put a straw in your mouth and put your hands in your pockets. Type by hitting the keys with the straw.

11. If you're sitting in a swivel chair, spin around singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" whenever there is processing time required.

12. Draw a picture of a woman (or man) on a piece of paper, tape it to your monitor. Try to seduce it. Act like it hates you and then complain loudly that women (men) are worthless.

13. Try to stick a Nintendo cartridge into the 3 1/2 disc drive, when it doesn't work, get the supervisor.

14. Print out the complete works of Shakespeare, then when its all done (two days later) say that all you wanted was one line.

15. Sit and stare at the screen, biting your nails noisily. After doing this for a while, spit them out at the feet of the person next to you.

16. Bring a chainsaw, but don't use it. If anyone asks why you have it, say "Just in case..." mysteriously.

Hmmm...
I'll be in the computer lab tomorrow(or later today, rather) with my classmates...
Maybe I should try out a few of these tricks? *evil look* Ahihihi...
I could think of daring to try a few of these except maybe for numbers 6 and 9 and a few others which are too nasty. Hehe!

More to come in the next few entries.

Source: The Humor Bin

Answers to Questions

2007-07-30T22:02:00.000+08:00

I just received this enlightening message from a friend. It kind of hit the bull's eye. The perfect good night message for this roller coaster Monday.

Anyway, here's the gist of the message...

Sometimes, we question a lot of things in life. We constantly search for answers because we want to prove to ourselves that we made the right decisions. But the truth is we can't search for what isn't there.

Things happen because they're meant to happen. We have decided upon certain things because we were meant to decide in that manner.

That's the reason why we forgive those who have done us wrong and love people who don't love us. It's the one reason why we smile despite of every painful crash is our hearts.

At the end of the day, the lessons we get are the answers to our questions. They make every single struggle worthwhile. The lessons help us make sense of eveything that once didn't. They make each decision right.

Roller Coaster Monday

2007-07-30T21:44:00.000+08:00

As I climbed up the stairs to my apartment earlier, I sighed a "What a day!" to myself recalling how the day has been such a roller coaster ride.

There weren't any special happenings, actually. It's just that there were minutes-short segments which triggered hours-long of thinking and contemplation. (Uy, murag seryoso ni..hihi!)

Naah..nothing grand, really. It's just a few manifestations of how He never abandons me. He gave me something that I didn't ask for. Something which I think He knew what my heart has been asking for. He always listens. He even answers unsaid prayers. He knows what is truly in our hearts.

The first part of the day was pretty light. I didn't wake up at the wrong side of the bed or anything. And then suddenly, a discussion in class stirs up restrained emotions. And then here comes this friend of mine who did something that kind of pushed me to the edge(but it wouldn't have affected in the least me under normal uh..conditions..lolz!).

And so, my friends had lunch with this moody Kathy who tried(but failed) her best to hide her somewhat irate state just so no one around her would get unnecessarily affected. But then, I shifted mood after I was told, "Wala ka ata sa mood ngayon, ah...". I realized then that I was acting rather irrationally. No one should notice or be affected by any of my mood swings. Ever. And with that, I was successfully in another mood shift and tried to build up light conversations with my so-called lunch dates.

After which, I wasted about 3 hours in the library trying to grab books from the shelf and placing(just placing) them on the table where I slumbered-and-chatted-unburdeningly-with-a-friend-and-slumbered-again. It helped a lot in restoring my good mood but not in totally unloading the uhh..bug(?) I've been carrying for the past few days.

It's just that before today's unasked-but-answered prayer, I've been feeling like I lost someone who's actually there physically...just physically(yes, you might know what I mean). And it's a helpless situation. Ahh...I can't totally tell.

I can tell you this much, though - that in just a snap of a finger, unexpected things happen. I was in the roller coaster's first slope downwards during the early part of the day. But in the later part, I was crazily on top, screaming my lungs out for this inexplicably exhilirating "coincidence". Wooh! I'd be less(if not totally) unburdened after today.

Hmm...
Life is so unpredictable. And this day is a blatant testimony of that theory.
I'm awfully sorry for having to be vague. But sometimes, I have to get some messages across in this hazy manner to save myself from uhm...total devastation(?)...or...annihilation(?)...hmm..perti!! Hihi!

It's one of my hopeless hopes that no one has wasted their time reading this fuzzy entry. Lol! Silly hopes!

p.s.
Poof! That was relieving!
I can now go on with my skul werx peacefully. Lolz!
Ciao!

Ads of the New Age

2007-07-27T20:52:00.000+08:00

I went through my recent blog entries and realized how I've been awfully reflective and mushy these past few weeks. I think it's time I to do a little turnaround and fill this blog with a tinge of wackiness for a change. Hehe...

I'll do minimal wacky talk, though. I'll just let these ads speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Tech here, tech there, tech everywhere!

Photo credits: www.bored.com

Little Plans

2007-07-26T23:57:00.000+08:00

I have always thought about which thing I should embark on once I step out of college.

I mean aside from jobs, I want to do something else to add up on my would-be income. Sidelines, I mean. I wanna make my parents' and siblings' efforts in making me go to school with decent supplies worth it all.

Right now what I have in mind is money on the Internet. Contextual advertising, pro blogging maybe...mm...I dunno...there's a lot for me to find out. I'm scouting as early(early pa ba?) as now.

Anywayz, I shouldn't be blogging right now. I got lengthy reading assignments to accomplish so I won't make this long. Hihi!

Ciao for now! :-)

Life's Little Warrior

2007-07-25T23:46:00.000+08:00

"Manong...fair lanes?"

This was what I heard from the thin, estimatedly-9-year-old boy whom I came across with earlier today. This happened sometime between my very short trip from school to the aparment. Fair lanes is actually a destination. The little boy(who talked and acted almost as though he were a 20-year-old) was asking Manong tricycle driver if he was to head that way. Manong said yes so the little boy hopped in. I thought he was on his way home from school. I apparently thought wrong when I realized that what he was carrying wasn't a school bag. Carried by his left hand was a huge cellophane full of chicharons. On his right shoulder, was a big plasticware containing salted peanuts. He obviously sells them, probably to help feed a family of I dunno how many.

It's amazing. It was around 6 p.m. at that time. And I realized - most little Filipino kids who are of his age probably are at home, enjoying cartoons, making their homework, or maybe having dinner with their families. But this little boy wasn't. He was battling poverty by selling the rest of his chicharon and peanuts. Being a huge fan of chicharons, I didn't see a reason to not buy one from him.

"Tagpila na? (How much is that?)", I asked.

The kid answered, "Diyes."

He looked at me and gave me a sincere "Salamat." after I paid him.

In his eyes, there weren't any sign of contempt over his current situation. Not anything that I saw showed annoyance or frustration of being spared from the joys of childhood. What I saw was resilience - quite an amazing contrast from the vulnerability that his physique sported. Or maybe he's just like me - used to hiding the pain.

Whether or not he does hide his agony, I could only say one thing about him. That is the fact that he is one of life's little warriors. Hundreds of thousands of other kids might have the same fate as he has. My wish for them is that day when they'd taste victory after their untimely confinement in life's battlefield. May they be blessed with fortitude, the will to carry on.

God bless life's little warriors!

Photo credits : "Child Warrior", www.karenthompsonart.com

Just Musing

2007-07-23T21:17:00.000+08:00

A few months more and you'll be off to the real world...

That implication was stressed to me twice...no...thrice...this day.

I've said this a zillion times already but I'll say it again anyway..time flies really fast. I can still clearly remember being this little girl cuddled around my kuya's arms, mumbling to be carried to my bedroom after falling asleep in our couch watching 7th Heaven(my fave TV show then). I remember being the nightmare of my Ate's suitors. I remember, each time there was a manliligaw who would visit at home, I would interview him and sit in between my Ate and him. Wahaha! Now, here I am, 20 years, 5 months and 19 days old...my kuyas would get awful backpains if any of them ever carried me. And I would hide in embarrassment behind my school stuff each time I cross paths with one of my big sis' then-suitors around the city.

Seriously, though, time really has flown so fast. So much has changed. I've watched so many things, friends, relationships, lives come and go. Life has given me so many things to reflect on I could hardly put all of them down in words.

Growing up around people who are not 10 years younger than I am has made me think kind of differently than most teens my age. (Ay, tama...dili na diay ko teen..hehe!). But it's somehow ironic that even as I was closely exposed to real-world situations, I still have a vague goal in life. Yes, I do aim to reach for very distant stars. (I guess we all do). But the steps to reach there still are not crystal clear. I seem to see numerous paths which lead to a lot of unseeable ends. Grr!

Great people usually had their lives blueprinted in their early years. And some big influences I know tell me all the time, "know where you wanna go and know how to get there". I am the type who takes on roads where my feet would lead me to. I decided to take up this BSIT course about two weeks before my high school graduation. I usually don't plan the biggest agenda in my life. The big events in my life aren't planned architectonically. I normally rely on that voice in my gut. Afraid to take risks and afraid to be disappointed, that's why. The latter has always been my weakness.

Now, I can't help but wonder how it would be like to be in the real world. Am I ready to face invitable burdens and challenging phases? Would I still be afraid to take risks? What silly questions these are. But they're ones that I'd love to answer.

Right now, I'm simply following my heart. I'm doing what I think is right. Kind of like taking the path chosen by my feet. But I'm also trying to gear up on boldness and bravery. 'Coz I know it won't be long 'til I got to let go of this weakness I have. When it's time for the real world, disappointments would come in bundles. And I have to be ready for that.

The Week-Long Weekend

2007-07-17T23:21:00.000+08:00

So many things has gone on for the past few weeks that I haven't blogged about. It's been such a busy month. I almost feel like it's the third quarter of the semester when it's only the first. Poof!

It feels nice to blog after so long a time.

Among those many things, the most victorious one that I ought to blog about is our win at the 2nd Tertiary Schools ICT Quiz Show which was organized by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sticky Media Solutions, Inc. and STI College Cagayan de Oro IT Quiz tournament held in Cagayan de Oro City just last Saturday, July 14. Whoo! With me were fellow seniors Grace and Mechelle, with of course, Sir Ex as our coach(dili kalimtan kay magyawyaw na...ahihih! peace, Sir X!).

That was such an ecstatic experience. We were really blessed to have bagged 2nd runner-up. I didn't actually expect us to win any place at all. We were all so preoccupied with stuff that we somehow paid less attention to preparing for the competition. I was busy with our thesis proposal, the school paper, and other stuff. Each time(which are very few times) I did some review, I prayed that at least a part of those that I was studying would come out in the contest. And wow...God was so good, really...He answered my prayers! Almost everything I could remember studying were there. No kidding! I have Him to thank for guiding us all throughout.

I truly had a wonderful weekend in CDO! Well, for one, I love to travel. So any trip to anywhere in this country or planet would be considered a pleasurable adventure. To prove that...I was wide awake the whole trip while my teammates and coach were dreaming of I-dunno-what...hihi! For real! I never slept on both trips to and from CDO. Ate Mechelle was constanly asking me -- how many more hours before we have to get off this bus? She hated being on the bus. She and the rest slept to while away the hours on the road while I was bobbing my head to the music in my humble MuVo, enjoying the view(even if it was nighttime...duh?..hihihi!).

After the competition, the tension all went off and it was unwinding time...whoo! We were treated a huge dinner by the organizers. Afterwhich, me and the gang had videoke with Sir Denz 'til the wee hours of the morning. Wehehe! We do know how to unwind, ya know. Siaok to da max! Kami pud nanirado didto. Lol! That was really fun.

And then Sunday came and we had to go home. Too bad we couldn't extend our stay there and have more of CDO. Anyway, the weekend felt like a whole week already because of the many fun things that transpired. So okay na pud.

Well...that's it for now. Thank God we didn't come home empty-handed(quite the opposite...the organizers and sponsors graciously granted us lots of stuff and freebies). And thank God for the fun and safety travel.

Ciao for now!

The First of June

2007-06-01T22:25:00.000+08:00

It's amazing how time sped off like a racing car during summer '07.

Well...not that I knew what summer '07 actually felt like..but..lolz!

It's just amazing. Mean heck...it's the 1st of June. *shakes head* First of June, man! Time flew real fast.

This day marks the end of summer(for most). And in a few days, it'll be the start of another school year, of course.

Haha! I'm a student pa pala. With all the real world thingy I had going on during the whole summer(as in from day one), I almost forgot that I still have a year to finish in college. Poof!

Anyway...I'm excited to go back to school. :D I missed the pressure...the stress.

There's one thing I've proven this summer. The pressure in school...it's far too different from the kind of pressure you get when you work. That much I know. Both may be parallel, yes. But similar...hardly.

I've got one more year to enjoy (yes...enjoy) school life. I sure will miss it soon.

Four Play

2007-05-13T00:05:00.000+08:00

Haha! That's a carelessly fun title for a blog entry...four play. Lol!

It's actually the title of the meme that I was tagged with.

FOUR PLAY..

4 JOBS I’VE HAD

- Call center agent
- English online tutor
- Blogger
- [blank]...I've only had three jobs to date. Hehe!

4 MOVIES I’VE WATCHED OVER & OVER

- Charlie's Angels
- Moulin Rouge --- nothing compares to this musical!
- The Devil Wears Prada
- The Bodyguard --- describing this a chick flick would be sacrilegious...lolz! no kidding!

4 PLACES I’VE LIVED

- Davao
- Davao
- Davao
- and uh...Davao *grin*

4 TV SHOW/STATIONS I LIKE TO WATCH

- Punked
- MTV shows
- Charmed
- Maging Sino Ka Man (this, by far, is the only Filipino TV series I've been hooked to)

4 PLACES I’VE BEEN ON VACATION

- Baguio (isang araw lng...hehe! Still the best, though!)
- Laguna
- Makati
- Pampanga

4 OF MY FAVE FOODS

- pizza
- Mojos or Shisha fries...yyyuuuummm...
- chicken empire
- pasta

4 PLACES I’D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW

- PARIS PARIS PARIS!!!
- at a remote island somewhere in the Bahamas
- on top of the Eiffel tower
- beside him *grin*

4 PEOPLE WHO WILL (hopefully) RESPOND TO THIS MEME

= Ate Antonette
= Kendi
= Sir Ex
= Ate Lorei

Thanks for this, April. I had fun! =)

My So-Called Summer Break

2007-05-12T22:24:00.000+08:00

After more than a month of hiatus from the blogging world, I've finally found time to inscribe my latest endeavors in this virtual domicile of mine. *grin*

Gawd, I've missed blogging soooo much. I've been online day and night since my last post but where I'm having my practicum at and in my nighttime job, blogging and accessing of sites which aren't related to work is...well...prohibited. Tsk. It is, after all...work. Poof!

If you check on my twitter box at this blog's sidebar, getting a glimpse of the real world is what's being published. Yes, indeed, the last few weeks for me have been about learning what it's like to be in the real world.

Here's how my days have been like ever since summer commenced...

My day starts at 6:30 am. Yep. 6:30 AM. Uh...I'm not talking about waking time, here. That's actually the time I arrive at Link2Support, the company where I'm having my practicum at. We work as agents catering to customers with technical problems on the devices they've purchased from a certain Networking company. My shift at the aforementioned call center would end at 3:00 PM.

Ive been enjoying my stay there so far. The people. The management. The place. The company. Everything's been great! It's such a privilege for me to be able to have my on-the-job-training there.

Anyway...

After 3, I go straight home. And what do I do?....Sleep. Hehe. But don't let this milead you. My day doesn't end at three. The first part of my day does end at that time. But the second part is yet to come. That's why I get some sleep -- to charge up for the second part of my summer day.

Last time I blogged here, my room was being spruced up and the plan of getting my PC back in shape was premeditated. Also, I mentioned something about a job interview...implicitly so.

About a month and a half later, my room is still spruced up. My PC is far from being brought back to shape. And I'm being kept occupied at night by tutoring English to Koreans of various ages via video conferencing. Yes...the job interview I had during the day I wrote my previous post was actually for the parttime job I'm blessed to have now.

When the clock strikes 6:30 pm, I'm poised at another office station where I get ready for a series of English classes come 7pm. Right now, my students range from around 12-17 years old. All of them getting online at a certain schedule every night for a 30-minute session of feeding their English skills. It's another thing that I'm so happy about, this job. I didn't know it was this fulfilling to be able to share what you know.

At 11:00 pm, I log off and go home. That's when my day would end. I get some sleep and get up a few hours later to get ready for yet another busy day.

I have Saturday mornings and Sundays to take my break. (I have classes on Saturday afternoons.) During those days I try to unwind as much as I can so I could sort of recharge my body's battery which has been consumed during the weekdays.

So you see, my summer break isn't really the ideal vacation that others may deem to have. Nevertheless, I am having a great time! At first it was kinda tough adjusting to such jam-packed schedule. It took me about two weeks to adjust fully. Before that, my Saturday mornings were unusually groggy and I felt like I were under the ocean all week, swimming my way to the surface. Hehe! After the adjustment period, everything sailed smoothly.

This summer 2007 I'm not just getting a glimpse of the real world. I'm having loads of fun too. =)

Sprucin' Up

2007-03-30T22:48:00.000+08:00

Aside from awfully-lengthy intervals of moviehouse trips, there's one more thing I get each time it's class months --- piles of varied, unorganized documents generated out of months of printouts from school projects and papers. Ha!

That's what I dealt with the whole afternoon. And I was overwhelemed with the amount of papers gathered and mixed-up in my cabinet. I just collated all those for scratch and kept the ones for filing. Haha! It's a great feeling to know that it's now easier for me to retrieve documents in the future. (Mmm...I'm starting to sound like I'm trying to build an archive library in my place..haha! Why not? Lol!)

Anyway...after I finished the first phase of cleaning up at around 4:30, I readied myself for an interview which was to become the first step of getting me completely preoccupied this summer. Hehe. I'm not gonna elaborate on that for now. 'Coz I'm sleepy na. *grin* Plus, I've got more sprucing up to do tomorrow. There are CD's(back-up files) to label, a three-drawer mini cabinet (filled with books, folders, homevideos, etc.) to organize, and uhm...a movie to watch afterwards. *grin*

Just wanted to drop by here before I call it a day.
Au revoir, my friends. :-)

My Star Sign Says

2007-03-25T01:04:00.000+08:00

I've always enjoyed reading my horoscope every now and then because it oftentimes coincidentally matches with reality. My reality, that is. And I can't help but smile either happily or otherwise, at the times when they do match.

Take this for an example...

Getting in touch with your emotions is not always as easy as it sounds -- there are many distractions in your life right now, and they could make figuring out your feelings difficult. To ease the confusion, spend some time alone. Your increased impatience could be a clue that you are out of sync with the people around you -- which is all the more reason to slow down and remove yourself from the world's hustle and bustle.

It really is hard to figure out things these days. *sigh* And yes, my impatience is increasing by the day...no...bv the hour(?)(.) Yeah. By the hour. Lol!

Anywayz...Yun lang. Just couldn't let this pitch black night pass without sharing this. Ciao!

Almost Done

2007-03-24T23:21:00.000+08:00

The semester's finished. :-)

Or lemme say - the semester's almost finished. Lol.
That's because we still have one more project for defense. Just one more and then everything will be wrapped up. Yay!

Classes actually ended 3 days ago. But we're still finishing off these documents for the defense come Monday morning.

As an IT student, I was never really one to experience starting vacation on the first official break day. Our school days are always extended. With piles of project every last period of the sem, there has always been room for extension. Always. Ever since I was freshman. No problem with me, though. It's way better than being idle and bored.

Poof!
Bored. It's a state I won't ever be in for this summer. We're having our practicum, that's why. I'll be working(*slash* practicing) at at call center here in the city named Link2Support. We had our examination and series of interviews about two weeks ago and I was one of the lucky ones to pass. I was told we'd be going beyond our required practicum-number-of-hours because the 300 hours(which is what's required) would cover only our training. During the final interview, I was asked if I had any problem with that. I was hesitant to say yes. But then, logic struck my head like lightning and I realized it'd be stupid to say so. Hihi. And so there, I was, saying, naah...no problem with me, Sir. I'd be more than willing, if that's what it takes to fully maximize what I'd be here to do. A second after I mouthed that, I realized I actually meant it.

Other plans for this summer..hmmm..I've actually been meaning to apply for this certain tutorial thingy parttime job. My bestfriend Lala has been bugging me about it(she works there) since two months ago. I promised her I'd be joining her there this summer. But now that there's Link2, I'm not so sure of my timetable anymore. Maybe if all schedules are planned out, I'd be staging my resume for the second time this month.

Well, well...that's it for now. I just dropped by here while waiting for all the docs to be printed out.

Au revoir! :-)

Bijoke't Kape

2007-03-24T02:54:00.000+08:00

Earlier this evening, I went out for videoke and coffee with my classmates Roan and Ate Rina. :-)

It wasn't premeditated, actually. I didn't actually plan on spending more of my already insufficient monthly funds. But earlier today, bout 6PM, I was on my way out of the campus and met the two. Told me they were going out for dinner and I was like...Uban ko!(Sama 'ko!). We just finished our last post-sem exam and I felt it was proper that I go out and give myself a break kahit sandali lang. And so there we were, having dinner. Afterwhich, we went out and walked a little.

Are we going home already?...I so undecidedly asked. Luckily, though, both my companions didn't feel like heading for their houses, neither. Haha! Anong trip natin?...Ro asked. Kabalo ko, gusto nimo magbijoke! And ano pa bang iba kong sasabihin kundi...Tara! Bijoke ta! Hahaha! Haven't done that for a while already. And so there we were in an hour of sha-oking our lungs out at the videoke bar.

The plan was to head straight home (assumingly so). But after all the singing we were all still hesitant to go home. Too early to be home -- was what we were telling ourselves. Lol! Unsa na pud trip?...

Coffee...coffee...coffee...hahaha! What do you expect from three coffee addicts flocked together? Kaya yun...we headed for the nearest...Coffee Monster...and had another hour of chit chat at one of the coziest spot in town. Coffee was great! And yeah, it's keeping me awake 'til now. Hihi. But I have to get some sleep na. Got documents to finalize tomorrow...I mean...earlier today. :-)

So then...ciao!

p.s.
Been a great day! :-)
As in guraaaaayt day.
And it wasn't just because of the bijoke't kape.
Haha! :-)

Davaoeño Bloggers' First Get-Together

2007-03-18T20:40:00.000+08:00

Last night, bloggers from all over Davao gathered at Netfront Coffee Shop and Internet Cafe for a occasion of fun and learning.

It was great! First time I heard about it from Raine, I was really excited. I thought it was really nice that bloggers from within the city meet and greet.

Not only was it a night of acquaintance, people from the more significant side of the blogoshpere also shared their knowledge on turning blogging into a much more relevant endeavor. Aileen Apolo, a representative from Google Philippines, was there to share about Google AdSense and AdWords. Blogging ethics was also shared by Yuga of yugatech. I learned a lot from that talk. I've been told once before that there's actually more to blogging than just expression of thoughts, mouthed or otherwise. Last night reinforced that info and I'm actually becoming motivated to explore the other arenas of blogging. There was also a presentation of DigitalFilipino Club by Janette Toral. She also spoke about iBlog 3. A blogging summit --- waaaahw!

There was also Davao Blog Awards wherein certain blogs were awarded under certain categories. The organizers hoped to have more awards like that the next time. And more serious ones, they said.

And speaking of the organizers --- congrats for a job well done! Blogie and all the others really initiated such a meaningful activity. And as far as I know, what you guys established was actually history! The first bloggers' get-together outside Manila. Wow. :-) Kudos!

Met a lot of fellow bloggers last night but I'm looking forward to meeting more at the next party. Can't wait to get to know more of the bloggers I only talk with in shoutboxes or comment arenas.

Anywayz...here are some of the pics. Got them from village idiot savant and Blogie.
(Davao bloggers)
(More Davao bloggers)
(Ara, me, Blogie, and Raine)
(More Davao bloggers)

Will be scouting other blogs for more pics. Hehe. Ciao for now! :-)

Time Out

2007-03-16T13:11:00.000+08:00

I looked at my watch earlier when I woke up and jumped in haste when I found out it was 8:30 am already! I got up, grabbed my towel, and just when I was at my room's doorstep, I stopped and realized --- wala nga palang pasok ngayon...hahaha!

It's my hometown's day to celebrate its foundation day - Araw ng Dabaw, as many calls it. But for me, it's not just that but also a chance to wake-up late and recompense the array of sleepless nights I've had for the week. Hehe! And so earlier, after realizing there was no need to rush, I jumped back to my bed and indulged in another 3 hours of uhm..snooze? So it seemed.

Now I'm up and finishing this documentation thingy for our project management so that later I could finally get to watch 300...waaaaah...I can't wait to watch na! i feel like I'm the only one who hasn't check it out yet(ngek!).

Gotta split.
Have an appointment with Microsoft Word. Hihi.
Ciao!

Perplexed, As Always

2007-02-27T21:30:00.000+08:00

You know what I'm doing right now???...trying to stop myself from writing yet another gallingly mushy entry. *sigh*

Sometimes, silence doesn't really mean tranquility. Behind it may lie cloaked perturbation. A series of unfathomable conundrums desperately restrained.

Oh the puzzle of life. One never really gets to fit the pieces correctly. Or maybe it's just us trying to pick up the wrong pieces when the right ones are blatantly laid in front. Hmmph...

It's confusing. The only thing I'm holding on to is that no matter the vagueness...the awfully frustrating vagueness of everything...there is (c'mon, this is my only consolation) a reason behind all of this. It's all hidden for now. But sooner or later, I'll find out. I know I will. Patience, maybe, is what is being taught to me. That's why I shouldn't rush. It all be laid down. All in good time.

*sigh*

Sometimes, I do get tired of striving to see the light of everything. But then, in this cruel world, doing so is practically the one thing we should master in order to be happy, if not survive.

Ahh, I'm getting vaguer by the second. Have to leave before I leave you with another puzzle. (Or did I, already?)

Gotta go for now. Ciao!

For the Nth Time...I'm Grateful

2007-02-26T21:07:00.000+08:00

I don't know what occured to me. But I suddenly felt like I should say all of these.

What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you? You may never know how much I value you but I do. I really really really really do.

You've taught me so much about life. Things may be a little offbeat between us but that doesn't really change your worth. Nothing would change the fact that you've touched my life in ways I could never understand. And yes, I love you. Beyond reason. And beyond comprehension.

There are things I could and would probably never fathom. But one thing I'd always know is that I'm grateful...grateful that I have you as a friend. As someone I could talk to. As someone who has once and would always make my life seem brighter. The sweetest blessing, the unsolicited-yet-appreciated euphoria, you'd always remain to be. You're never nothing to me.

Know this and know this always...
Your words. Your friendship. Your good heart. Your humility. You. I'd forever feel so blessed.

Thank you. Thank you for you. Love, you, my friend. :-)

Breathing

2007-02-26T20:43:00.000+08:00

Wow...been ages since I've last posted. It dated way back Feb 4...the day I turned twenteen..este...twenty. Hehe. :)

Anyways, I'm gald to be back. So much has happened in...what...22 days. It almost felt like more than a month had actually passed. Been awfully busy with a lotta things. School...the college program and student government elections...and other stuff. I'm just glad they're all over now. Well at least for the meantime, they are. Impending to-do's are still lined up in my cellphone's tasks list. But I tell yah, I just have to breathe for now. Gawd...I just have to.

And yeah, oftentimes, for me, breathing and unwinding means being able to update this blog. And my other blogs. But this blog, chiefly. :-D

And so, well, my being able to update means I am taking a teeny tiny breather..or so to speak. Poof!

I don't know what else to say. I've got...like...a million things to blog about. Can't publish 'em all, though. Have to keep some for my eyes alone.

What else is there to say...I'm just glad I'm actually typing something in this blogger compose area. Hihi! Guess I'm gonna have to split for now. Lotsa stuff to finish.

Au revoir!