Digging through my brain for some Inorganic Chemistry knowledge

I'm currently feeling a little bit ignorant or as I may say, incompetent, to take the last inorganic Chem class. All the information that I've collected from the past two classes that I took are gone from my head. I felt so depressed when I looked at a question about "finding the final concentrations of all ions" in a pre-lab today, because I completely forgot the whole concept of concentration stoichiometry. SO SAD. I guess I have to start racking up those old notes from my first two Inorganic Chem class. Hopefully, I did not throw anything out.

Check out this new song by Nelly from his "SUIT" album. Watch out for it in the radio waves! CIAO!

Over and over
by Nelly feat. Tim McGraw
Album: Suit
lyrics provided by letssingit.com

Cause it's all in my head
I think about it
Over and over again
And I can't keep
Picturing you with him
And it hurts so bad
Cause it's all in my head
I think about it
Over and over again
I replay it
Over and over again
And I can't take it
I can't shake it no
I can't wait to see you
Wanna see if you still got that look in your eye
That one you had for me
Before we said our goodbyes
And it's a shame that we
Gotta spend our time being mad about the same things
(Over and over again)
About the same things
(Over and over again)
Oh but I think shes leavin
On me shes leavin
I don't know what else to do
Can't go on not lovin you

Chorus

I remember the day you left
I remember the last breath you took right in front of me
When you said that you would leave
I was too damn stubborn to try to stop you or say anything
But I see clearly now
And this choice I made keeps playing in my head
(Over and over again)
Play in my head
(Over and over again)
Oh I think shes leavin
On me shes leavin
I dont know what else to do
I can't go on not lovin you

Chorus

Now that I realize
That I'm going down
From all this pain you put me through
Every time I close my eyes
I like it down
Oh I can't go on not lovin you

Chorus x2

Over and over again
Over and over again
Cause its all in my head

College Blues - Back To School

Fall Quarter has officially started. Spending two hours in Shoreline was a relief and at the same time nerve wracking. I have two campus classes and an online class, so time management is going to play an important role this quarter. BIG TIME.

Math 124- I'm taking the first thread of the three thread system of the Calculus subject. Calculus is just like Technology, it can either be your friend or your enemy. I don't know which it will be for me, but I can feel that it will be challenging.

my calculus book

Chemistry 160- I'm taking the last thread of the three thread system of the Inorganic Chemistry subject. During the class orientation, I was a bit surprise about the information I read about our Final Exam. It consists of 2 parts: the first part was a 50-minute ACS (American Chemical Society) Standardized Exam and the second part was a comprehensive 60-minute exam of the final Chemistry Thread. The part that surprised/scared me? The ACS Test. Truth be told, I am no good in taking standardized tests. Standardized tests are like enemies to me. They tend to burn me once I get the TEST SCORES itself.

my chem book

English 102 (Research and Writing) - AHHHH... a break from the Science and Math world. BUT... this is the online (writing) class. This is where I could tend to slack off, therefore, this is where I need to give extra effort in order to get the GPA that I want by the end of this quarter. Hopefully, this class will relax me and steer me away for a moment from differentiation and chemicals.

my english books

To all you back to school people out there, have a good year! God bless y'all!

This is a late mini "memoir" about the first two days of my recent vacation in the Philippines. It was supposed to be written a week ago, but due to cleaning and a down internet connection (refer to previous entry) it had to be cancelled and done on a much later date.

First Day - First Tipsy Head - First Time I played with Therese with no melodramatic tones from her.

It was an early flight in, WAAAYYYY too early for I, myself, was used to a 12 pm wake up call. My brother-in-law, Toots, picked me up and drove straight to Starbucks for the much needed lattes.

On the way home, my brother attacked the Krispy Kreme donuts I carried around with me in the 17000 mile journey. I wasn't going to let him touch it until we reach the house, but being the sweet addict that he is, and me empathizing with him, I just let him have it.

When we arrived at our house, my sister, Lee , greeted me with a hug and my eldest niece, Therese, gave me a shy smile. I went inside the house to take a sneak peek at my youngest niece, Margarita and wow, did she have the chubbiest cheeks.

sister act: therese and margarita

Unpacking was the easiest thing to do, unlike packing, all you have to do was take all the things that you have packed and throw it to the next available space you see. My sister, being the OC freak that she is, picked every stuff that I threw on the floor and arranged it according to size, shape, who's it for, and where it's gonna go.

In the middle of unpacking, we were constantly interrupted by my niece. Being the kid that she is, she was telling us to "let's go Tita, play with my toys". Of course, being the good aunt that I am, I obliged to the little kid’s desire. Unfortunately, in the middle of our play, I started to feel light headed, a good sign that was telling me to lie down and sleep.

Second Day - Friends Reunited

It was Friday. I was desperate to see my friends, but sadly, I didn't have their numbers memorized. I called my friend, Karlenn, the night before to ask what Joy's cellphone number is and also to tell her that I was going to Los Banos the next day. She then called me up the next day and told me that she wanted to come with me and was gonna be at the house by 2pm. I was ecstatic. After that phone call, I sent a text message to Lin that said: "u comin' home 2day? kta tau!!" No reply.

On our way to LB, we sent a text message to Joy, asking her if she was free. She replied, "HEEYY!! Nnd2 ka na!!! Ala n q class ng 4." We replied, "k, kita tayo sa VEGA ng 4." I became excited after that 5 minute long send and reply repertoire. I was finally going to see the people I want to see.

Once we have reached our destination, Vega Centre, my pulse began to rise. I was back at a place where I use to hang out and eat with my friends, just like the good old high school days.

Here is a chronological list of the people I saw:

1. After eating lunch, Karlenn told me to send a text message to Noel asking where they were. He replied, "D2 kami gamerum, san kayo?"; we replied,"punta kami dyan"; they replied, "d, kami n lng, punta kmi dyan." And so we waited in front of Chowking.... Ron, Noel and Jamu came.

2. Since it was almost 4, we told the guys that we should wait for Joy. 4:30 pm came, with no sign of Joy around, the guys decided to go to Ron for a mini drinking session. But before they were set to go, Dianne and Jaynee came.

3. When the guys were gone, Joy finally showed up.

.... stayed at vega for a while... went to Ron's place... decided to go internet surfing... received a text message from Lin saying she's arriving at around 6 pm... went back at Ron's place to chill and wait for Lin... Dianne and Jaynee left.. Joy left since it was getting late...

4. Lin arrived with a white car tailing her, which was apparently driven by Nyo.

I was getting hungry, so I asked Lin and Lenn to accompany me at the nearest restaurant, Nyo went with us also.

5. On our way to the restaurant, we said hi to Ryan and Earl who drove by us.

Lin, me, and Lenn

This picture was taken at 06-18-04 in Inihaw Express located in Umali, Los Banos, Laguna. Special thanks to Nyo for taking it with his camera phone.

School starts tomorrow. I, on one hand am pushing it away from me because I am in no school mode yet. I still have remnants of my recent vacation, remnants that I doubt I'll even forget. Many memories were made from it. Many friendships renewed in 90 days. Many stories unraveled.

to be continued....

My Dell computer and ME.

In the world of technology, everything evolves in faster and better mode. We, the people, can't keep up with the ever changing ways of the tech world. Once we try to keep up with it, it tries to eat up our asses because it makes us look like dumb nuts because we are not able to connect it or use it or play with it because we can't figure out how to CONFIGURE it!

Today, I had a one-on-one brawl with a computer who didn't fight back. Instead, it just looked back at me as if it didn't know what it has done to me. The wireless connection of my internet, once again, went down on me. I have no clue what I'm doing wrong. Everytime I get my hands on this computer, I somehow make every process that it's making seemed so hard to comprehend. Unlike before, I had control of this computer; I had no problems with it ever since the first time I laid my hands on it, except for some minor hardware problems. But now, it seemed like the computer is the one controlling me.

Gone are the days of dial-up connection. Dial-up was much more fun than DSL connection. True, it was much more slower, but HELLO?? It was much less complicated! It was easier to figure out what went wrong with it unlike the DSL connection.

Right now, I just want to smash my computer into pieces. But on second thought, I bought this with my scholarship money. I don't think the scholarship people nor my parents would be happy about 1000 dollars scattered around my room.

side comment: this entry was written by the author this morning when she was cursing to herself because of the down wireless connection.

9:06 pm - Now, my wireless connection is up and running again. Don't ask me how I figured how to "configure" it, I'm just glad that it is UP.

Ok, I just lost the entry that I typed before this entry. Anyway, here's a lowdown of what to expect from this blog in the next few weeks.. that is, if my computer gets fixed.

- P.I. vacation lowdown
- running down memory lane
- loads of pictures

From 18 to 30: Tying a knot out of a very crucial decade

A week ago, I was watching an episode of Sex and the City entitled, "Anchors Away". It was the episode when they were talking about having 2 great loves in a lifetime and showing that having a baby changes your lifestyle from social to maternal. The episode inspired me to jot down things that I want to do before I get "tied" down. Things that I want to do before I reach the age of 30.

Things that I want to fulfill before I reach the age of 30:

1. Earn a degree in Biochemistry

2. Travel back to Philippines after I graduate college

3. Go island hopping, from Boracay to Mindoro to Palawan, with friends

4. Come back to Seattle

5. Apply to respectable medical schools

6. If I don't get admitted in the medical schools that I've applied to, I will, apply for
a researcher job in the Biotechnology field.

7. Apply to grad school and earn a masters degree in Biochemistry

8. After grad school, I will continue studying until I get my Ph.D. in Biochemistry.

9. If grad school or Ph.D. doesn't prevail, I will self-study or enroll myself in a photography class

10. Pursue freelance photography

11. Create a picture portfolio

12. Contribute an article to a magazine

13. Design my own graphics

14. Travel California, Hawaii, Florida and New York

In the midst of these goals maybe I will find the man God set aside for me and be married to him. Or maybe I will still be single when I reach the age of 30. Who knows? God only knows what. I don't know if I can manage to fulfill all these goals, but one things for sure, the past and the present has given me determination and inspiration to do what I think I want to do. Time can only tell when these goals are going to be fulfilled, but only God can tell which things will be fulfilled before I get "tied" down.

4 ambitions in 1 lifetime: a futuristic view of my Life

I'm a pediatrician/scientist who specializes in oncology/hematology field. I make rounds at the Children's Hospital near UW when I need to and hold clinic hours at UW Clinic. When I have finished all my routines at the hospital and the clinic, I go to Fred Hutchinson Research
Center to oversee what's happening on the research I proposed doing.

Whenever I'm free, I put my photographic skills to test or I write an article for my column in the Seattle Times. I'm about to start working on a novel temporarily entitled, "A Memoir: Getting over one of life's greatest challenges". Above all else that I do, I still find time to shop for myself and cook food for myself and thank God for the energy and the determination that keeps me going.

Outlets – Not just for the happy and sad, but also for the mad.

When you’re pissed or angry at someone or something, its either you confront them or you just lay low from them until the time you know your anger has subsided. But what do you do during the span of your "fury" time? Do you snap at every person you encounter? Do you smash all the things in your bedroom? Or do you go to a bar and drink until you get drunk? These three attempts to release you anger out in the open can only be described in one word, RISKY. I would have to admit that I have done two of the things that I’ve mentioned, but like I said, doing them can be a bit risky. In fact, after you have done any of those attempts to let loose the anger, guilt instantaneously follows.

Learning from experience, I decided to pour out my anger/fury into a much safer way. The last time I was really pissed off was last July of this year. I won’t give any details of the said dramatic event, but I will recount how I released the fury inside me. I wrote. I wrote down what I felt then, I wrote down what the person did that made me so furious. (See the July Blog archive and look at the July 20 entry). I must say that writing about it has done a great job in calming my nerves down.

The way that you could just go on and type endlessly about your repertoire on your computer is a good substitute to a blabbing mouth. Also, you have done a favor to a best friend because you have spared them the agony of hearing "rage against the machine". Writing is just like blabbing, the only difference is that your pen or your hands is the one doing the action, not your mouth.

Here are no-risk "I want to pour out my anger" attempts:

1. Listen to music. Rock, alternative, and hip-hop are the best choices. Nix the slow jams.

2. Surf the net. The Internet is a great place to find humorous things that will help ease your anger.

3. Design a web page. You could use your anger as an inspiration on a page layout and design.

4. Shopping. Not for the "I’m a shopaholic and I have some anger issues" type of person, but seriously, retail therapy is a good way to calm your nerves down.

5. Basketball. Creative visualization: Picture the ball as the person or the thing to which you are mad at.

6. Writing. Do I need to explain this again?

There are a lot of other "outlets" out there. It’s all up to you to choose what suits you best. Just remember that snapping, destroying and getting drunk aren’t really "outlets", they’re just merely attempts to ease the anger for a really short period of time.

Pet Peeves 101

Two Sundays ago, I read an article written by Celine R. Lopez in the Philippine Star's Lifestyle Section entitled, "Where's the beef?" The article was about showing your "inner diva" when instances or situations such as salesladies giving you a snobbish attitude or cellular phones going off during a movie, bothers the heck out of you. The author also listed ten things that tick her off, which gave way to me in writing my own pet peeves.

1) snobbish, apathetic, bitchy salespeople

2) unfulfilled promises. Promises are promises. If you know you can't fulfill a promise, then don’t make a promise at all. Go by the mantra: "promises are NOT meant to be broken".

3) The "Gold" card bank members who get VIP treatments from the bank people. What's up with the discrimination??

4) People who cut in long lines.

5) Sales people who follow you around like rabid dogs while you shop.

6) Restaurants who serve food slow

7) People who take advantage of other people's weaknesses

8) "all-knowing" people

9) Cellular phones that rings/vibrates loudly during class, movie or mass

10)Merchandises that has no price tag

11) People who don't say "excuse me" when they pass across or beside you.

12) Sales people who lack the determination to find out the price of an unmarked merchandise.

--- from Celine Lopez to me to you, how about writing your own pet peeves?