Random thoughts at 1:30am.. Go Figure..

Curly

Last Wednesday, I was reeling from the sadness that I felt when I learned that Curly was adopted. Yesterday, my spirits reached up for the skies when I heard that my aunt will take him back AND WILL NEVER GIVE HIM AWAY, that is IF and ONLY IF it he didn't work out for the couple who adopted him.

GOD, please make it not work. PLEASE MAKE IT NOT WORK. PLEASE HAVE CURLY bicker with the couple's other dogs so he'll come back here.

Damn. It's so pathetic that I'm feeling this much sadness because of a dog. AHHH.. Who cares?? He's my bro!

1st midterm in Calculus

So I took my first Calculus midterm last Wednesday. It wasn't good. In fact, it was bad. I hated every single minute that I wasted answering questions that (1) I don't understand and (2) I don't know how to do. I studied for the test, I really did. But the thing is, I'm just too lazy to read all the differentiation theorems, limit theorems, derivative theorems that my prof assigns. Because of such attitude, I got a 40/100. An obvious consequence of my uncanny procrastination and slacker mentality. If I keep being a slacker, y'all could guess what will happen to my CGPA if I get a 2.0 in that class. I better start shopping for ear plugs to prepare for my mom's "sermons".

I miss THEM

I miss Karlenn. I miss LinLin. I miss Joy.

I miss talking with them without having to worry about the phone bill going crazy. I miss hanging out with them.

Each week, I always send text messages to Lin about what's going on with my life here (I only send it to her because I know that she's gonna tell Lenn and Joy about it and plus it saves me prepaid credits! Sorry Joy and Lenn!). She replies through Friendster, because as y'all know the fee for replying internationally via Philippines can be a tad expensive.

This week, I told Lin about how interesting life has been for me ever since I received my 1st midterm grade in Calculus. She replies by saying, "now you know what I feel when a failing grade happens to me", or something to that effect.

Well, at least I have someone to turn to whenever I receive a failing grade in all of my Calculus tests OR my Chemistry tests for that matter. Damayan na lang kami dalwa, through the power of technology. HAR.. HAR.. HAR..

Haayyy... I miss them talga...

When we get too attached to certain "beings"

When I arrived at the house today, my cousins, Ted, Inee and Ira was there (they were there because we were to continue the painting in the living room that we started last Sunday, which is another story for another day). Ate Inee asked me if I notice anything missing from our house. At first, I got confused with by her question because if you can see our house at this moment, it's a big mess because of the painting that we're doing, meaning, we can tend to lose things in the pile of mess that we made. Then, it hit me, I asked her, "where's Curly?". She softly laughed and told me to ask Kuya Ira to tell me the whole story behind Curly's absence.

"He was taken away to Sammamish," he said with a monotonous voice.

Dumbfounded, I looked at Ate Inee to see if he was telling the truth, "yeah, my mom gave him to this couple living in Sammamish," she said. Confusion hit me, as well as, a hundred questions I wanted to ask them and my aunt.

Why did she do that? Why didn't she tell me about it? Who was the person who adopted him? Why? Why? Why?

At first, I felt like I wanted to cry my eyes out. Then again, I thought to myself that I don't want to do that in front of my cousins. So, I toughened up and went to my room to change into my painting clothes.

While painting, this conversation happened:

Ate Inee: "So are you sad that Curly's gone?"
ME: "Sure..." (Of course, this is me trying hard to control my emotions)
Ate Inee: "I cried, Kuya Ira told me about it on the phone, and I cried."
ME: "Who took him in?"
Ate Inee: "This couple who lived in Sammamish; they own a Cheasepeake Retriever but they had to take it down because it had an illness that couldn't be cured, they wanted another one, so I think they made contact with mom"
Ate Inee: "The couple owns a 1.3 acres of land, so it's a good environment for Curly to run around"
Ate Inee: "But Mom, says it's conditional, because the couple wants to see if Curly will get along with their other dogs."
ME: "And if he doesn't get along? What will happen to him?"
Ate Inee: "I'm not sure, he'll probably go out for adoption or something"
ME: "Did Tita sell him?"
Ate Inee: "No, it was more like an adoption thing"
ME: "Wow, she didn't tell me all about that"
Ate Inee: "Well, probably she didn't want to talk about it, it was pretty hard for her to make the decision to give Curly up so.. "
ME: "I see.. "

~end of conversation~

While I was painting, I kept thinking that somehow I'm one of the reasons why my aunt wanted to take him away. The reason behind those thoughts is that I didn't play with him that much and I didn't have the patience and the determination to help her train him.

Despite my shortcomings, I love the dog, I care for him, I missed him when I was vacationing in the PI, I parade his picture all over Friendster, I always make him as one of my subjects for my photography stints and I treat him like he was my dog (hypocritical, I know).

Growing up, dogs were introduced to me as house guards or house sitters. They weren't considered as "part of the family" (here in the US, domesticated animals or any other animals that are owned are always treated like they're part of the family). Curly was the first dog that I considered as part of the family, I didn't look at him as the "house guard", instead, I treated him like he was "the brother I never had". Y'all know that when it comes to family, you become too attached and that you consider them as being there with you till the end. I got too attached to Curly. But now, that attachment was broken apart (a little bit exaggerated, I know, but I if you put yourself in my position, you'll know how it feels).

I hate emotionally-attaching myself to people or dogs or things. When I get too attached, I get too emotional and/or sentimental when they're gone.

Next time, I'll remember to not get too 'emotionally' attached to beings/things that come into my life, that way I could spare myself from the sadness or bitterness that I could feel when they're taken away from me.

It's letting go all over again and this time it's letting go of "the brother that I never had".

See you around Curly...

side note: forgive me for the run-on sentences, confusing grammar, and confusing story-telling.

A quick trip in LESSONSville (re: COLLEGE)

I'm in the 5th week of my fall quarter. A food for thought that I want to share with fellow college students and future college students is this: never say that you have surpassed the "vacation" syndrome. Last week, I told a friend of mine that I'm actually starting to take my coursework seriously, meaning, I have already come into terms that it's SCHOOL time once again and that I have left the remnants of my summer vacation behind.

I was wrong.

I didn't even have any seriousness till the last day of last weekend. It was bogus. It was merely a feeling that I felt. A feeling that led me to believe that I was already serious with work. I hate that feeling. I hate feeling like as if I'm top of my game when all the while I'm actually not. Today is the official start of 5th week, we have 6 more weeks to go before this quarter ends. When will I take this 2nd year of college seriously? When will I learn my lesson?

To future college students who are reading this blog, here are some lessons that I have learned during my 1st two years in college:

1. College is a whole different ballgame. When your in high school you can get away from deadline submissions, you can get away with being absent for a class because you know that your gonna be given makeup stuff at the time you show up again. In college, when a deadline is set, you have to meet it, no exceptions, no buts, no pleases. A deadline is a deadline. You can't skip classes, because once you do, you'll miss a lesson or two that will not be looked at again the next day. You can't MIA (missing in action), even if you're sick, because you just miss a whole lotta stuff that has been "said and done". Makeups are rarely given; you're lucky if you're prof is considerate enough to grant you one.

2. You have to be self-reliant once you enter college especially when it comes to acads. You only do the dependent game, when your in a group doing a project or a research, but most of the time, it's only you who need to remind yourself that you have to keep up with all the deadlines and all the readings.

3. Being an adult equals being responsible. Teachers does not do "reminding" over and over again, they consider that the fact that your in college means that your responsible for your own actions, for college IS the start of adult life.

4. It's good to have friends to share college experiences with. Socialize with your blocks. Join an org or a club to meet new people.

5. Budget your time well. Prioritize.

6. Use "break" times wisely. If you don't, your study schedule will suffer alongside with your acads.

7. Always treat yourself after a midterm, a project, a paper or even a quiz. You deserve it.

8. College is a time for soul searching, i.e. figuring out what you want to do with your life AFTER college.

9. Remember that family is always there to support, no matter what.

Download: Howie Day's Collide

Juxtaposing Technology with Reality

Lifting weights is the best way to tone my mouth for barking, eating and gnawing



Curly thinks it's a yummy exercise dumbell



Here's Therese, my niece who knows how to channel her creativity through her hands.



Kids at play



A secret society formed under a "nipa" hut



She's camera shy



Mt. Makiling: from an electronic painter's perspective



A black and white view of Mt. Makiling

I "read" this from some weirdo's computer

In the process of moving on with your life, there will be times that you feel like as if you don’t want to let go of the person or the thing that you are moving on from. In the fantasy world, you’re still with it. You act like as if nothing has change. You act like as if that person or thing didn’t break away from you. But in reality, they’re just gone from you. In short, that person or that thing is simply not in your possession anymore.

In life, when we get too attached to a certain being, we get too possessive and/or obsessive. When the being is with us, it’s like we want to be with them all the time. A common example is a girl/boy relationship. One person gives all the love in their mind and body to the other person and doesn’t leave anything behind for himself or herself, while the other, well, let’s just say he or she does give love but not to the point that they lose their identity just for their behalf. When misfortune happens, the former experiences challenges in moving on with their life than the latter.

In this world that we live in, chances are way over its head in giving us humans either good or bad experiences. Sometimes, chance is on a person’s side, it makes the whole moving on process easy and foolproof. On the other hand, chances tend to play with a person’s head and heart at the same time. It gives a person a hard time deciding whether or not he or she should carry on with another person without thinking that he/she is only on the rebound.

There’s a saying that to be able to move on from the past, you have to take a chance with the future that’s waiting in front of you.

But how do you know if you’re truly sincere in wanting what the future holds for you?

Listen to: Dare You To Move by Switchfoot (I know it's old, but it brings out a great feeling, whenever I listen to it.)

Foods that make my mouth salivate (Warning: a very long post that may or may not make you salivate too.)

Yesterday, as I was waiting for the bus to arrive, my mouth suddenly went upside down and at the same time my stomach began to churn and grumble, when I heard these two people talking about their favorite Chinese food. Yes, I can get exaggerated when food is talked about

I absolutely love Chinese food. It's actually one of my favorite cuisines. Everytime my family gets together and goes on a Chinese food trip, I'm always there. If there's someone celebrating his or her birthday at a Chinese resto, I'm always there.


Chinese cuisine
My favorite Chinese restaurant here in Sea-Town is Fushen located around North City way near Lake Forest Park. They serve authentic and delicious Chinese food, they have a restaurant ambience that I would like to describe as being "plain and simple" and your clothes won't smell like stir-fry or fish fry once you exit your way out of it. No other Chinese restaurants compare to Fushen, seriously, whenever I eat at other Chinese joints, I always end up saying that Fushen is still the best Chinese restaurant there is.

Here's my "all-time" favorites in the Fushen menu:

1. Steamed Sea Bass - The fish and the sauce that comes with it is absolutely to die for. I honestly don't know what ingredients it consists, but who cares about ingredients right?? As long as it makes my stomach and my mouth happy, then I'm happy with whatever is in it.

2. Lobster in Oyster Sauce - Another yummy treat in the menu, it's quite expensive though since the weight of the lobster is taken to account in the pricing, but I tell you, it's worth your $$.

Talking about Chinese food makes me want to talk about my other favorite cuisines, read on if your bored:

Japanese -

Sushi, sashimi, and tempura are the main Japanese food that I love. I don't know, I guess my stomach yearns for raw food and cook food all at the same time. It's a good thing that I haven't had any traumatizing experience after dining out of a Japanese restaurant.


sushi

sashimi

tempura
The Japanese restaurant that I always tend to go to is Susumu: Japanese Steakhouse. I always go there with my sister, since we both love how the sushi tastes there and we both think that it's the best sushi place in town even though we haven't really gone to any other sushi places.

The restaurant is divided into two parts: one part is big enough for big parties to dine in with sushi and teppanyaki as their main course and they can also watch a Teppanyaki chef work his magic with the ordered food on a big hot iron plate. You can find the sushi bar and the bar in the smaller part of the restaurant where small parties can enjoy sushi orders and small portions of the menu.

Here are my favorites in the Susumu menu:

1. Cajun roll - consists of salmon, scallops, hot chili oil, mayo and shrimp. This roll is for the spicy fanatics out there.

2. Sashimi deluxe - consists of a variety of sliced raw fishes such as tuna, salmon, bass, octopus, and the others I can't remember.

3. Tempura Dinner - if you love Tempura, then this is the menu item for you.

Visit the Susumu website to see pictures of the Teppanyaki and Sushi chef at work and also to see what's on there menu.

Italian -

I have a strong penchant for pasta marinara for my red sauce and carbonara and white clam for my white sauce.


By far, the Italian restaurant that I enjoyed dining in is Joe's, located in Agapita, Los Banos, Laguna (in front of the National High School)in PI. The restaurant certainly has an Italian feel to it, because once you enter, you would hear Italian music playing in the background and you will see lots of pictures and memorabilia of Italy in it. In addition, foods that are originated in Italy are also displayed.

The restaurant serves their food fresh that's why it tastes so delicious and they have yummy appetizers too, just try the spicy calamari. They also serve pastries and bread.

The only drawback to this restaurant is that it takes time for them to serve your ordered meal since they cook their food fresh. My suggestion to you is that don't go in this restaurant with an empty stomach or else by the time you get your food, your hunger has already passed.

Next time your in Los Banos, try to ordering this in the resto's menu:

1. Cheesy Bacon Linguine - cheesy and creamy and yummy

2. Spicy Calamari - squid is good, the sauce is better.

RIBS AND STEAK -

Ever since I was a kid, I always loved to eat meat. Baby back ribs and marinated T-bone steak are my likes. The only drawback to this kind of food is that you feel awful whenever you see people promoting vegetarianism on TV or in magazines or even in the cyber world because they show (and tell) you how cows and pigs and goats and chickens are put to death (i think that's their mode of convincing you to be a vegetarian instead of a meat person).

Filipino -

I'm writing about this last because it's genre of food that is closest to my heart (dramatic, I know.)

My FIip menu -

1. ISAW and PROVEN (flour covered chicken) - I first learned eating isaw through my friends, they practically forced me to eat pig/chicken intestines. har har har.. but I gotta say after my first try, I came back wanting more of it. (GROSS, I know, but some people say it's good for you, others say it's bad if you eat it from the streets, either way I don't really care, as long as it is cook and I don't see it RAW, I'm good with it. )

2. Sinigang (sour broth) na fish/baboy/manok/beef - I love sour food. 'Nuff said.



3. Chicken soup with noodles or SOPAS - good for the rainy season or if your sick.



4. Bulalo (meat soup with bones that have edible bone marrow in it) - YES, I have a strong liking for animal internal organs. But admit it, you also make the "bone marrow" as ulam too!



5. Tinolang manok (chicken soup) - I love chicken. 'NUFF SAID.

Next time I'm gonna talk about my favorite desserts.. CIAO!

A successful surprise PARTAAYY for Mummy

My sister and I held a surprise birthday party for my mom last September 26. I know it's kinda late for me to be even talking about it, but I have a good reason why though, I now have in my possession the set of pictures taken on the fateful day my mom was duped. But first, you have to endure my narrative commentary.

According to my sister, Leah, she has been planning this party since July. I myself had no clue that we were gonna have this party since, as you all know, I was in the PI enjoying my "summer" vacation. I was only informed about it when my other sister, Lee, told me that Ate Leah filled her in about what was gonna happen in a phone conversation. So, during the my time in the PI, Ate Leah filled me and Ate Lee in about what the theme was, which is Hawaiian, that she's gonna have it catered by d'Unik (a Filipino store near our house in Shoreline), that I'm gonna be the official photographer, that Tita Chi was the one in-charge of bringing our Mom over to the place and that we should buy the candles for the coconuts souvenirs when we get the chance. She also told us that our lola (my mom's mom's sister, go figure..) and our aunt is flying over from San Francisco on the day of the party and relatives from Canada where also coming over.

A week after I arrived from the PI, I slept over at Ate Leah's house for the purpose of going shopping with her for the last minute embellishments and decorations for the place where the party will be held and also to help her "tag" the coconut shell souvenirs.

On the eve of the party, I slept over at my sister's house again, because I had to. I'm entitled to help her set up the place, get the last minute items needed for the party, and to make her sane because she gets antsy, nervous, excited, and forgetful when it comes to hosting events such as this party.

On the big day, we were out of her house by 8 am, we stopped by Top Foods to get flowers and extra plasticware, afterwards we headed straight to the center to set it up for the party. Mind you it was only the TWO of us who put the place together. WE, who are both skinny, unloaded heavy boxes and bags from the car. WE, who are both skinny, prepared and arranged heavy tables in the hall of the center. WE, who are both skinny, took out stacks of chairs and arranged them to fit each table. Thank goodness our cousin, Inee who came over to deliver the balloons, helped us with the decorating part.


black and white and colored view of the decked out hall/center. Imagine the place with no decorations whatsoever. BLAND.


Two skinny sisters who made the place look fab.

After we put the place together, we went home to eat lunch and got dressed for the party. My sister told me that before we go back to the place, we were gonna pick up my mom's cake and she put me in charge of holding it. Since I was thinking that the cake wouldn't be big, it wouldn't be a big deal for me to hold it wearing a skirt (yes, I'm that maarte). To my surprise, the cake was big and heavy, thank God my sister came to her senses and instead of letting me carrying the it, she placed it in the trunk of the car.


Hawaiian/Lilo Cake
After the cake, we went back to the center to wait for the catered food and to be on standby for early guests. People started pouring in one by one, but around 5pm, there were still a few guests and we were expecting my aunt to bring my mom at around 5:30 pm. I told my sister that we should call Tita and tell her to bring our mom at around 6. The clock stroke at 5:30pm and guests started pouring in by the numbers. My cousin Inee played "decoy" and called her mom to tell her to bring our mom na. So far, the plan was working without any hitches.


main course and dessert


poor piggy became the "main" course of the evening


Excitement was building up upon all of us. We were all looking outside the window of the hall to see if the guest of honor have arrived. In the perfect hour, my cousin, Eric, shouted, "they're here!". So we all shushed down the talking crowd and we waited until we heard a knock on the close door.


Kuya Eric's the one carrying the girl

SURPRISE..SURPRISE.. When my sister opened the door and we all shouted SURPRISE!, my mom was in shocked, it took her a second before she could come in the door that my aunt had to pull her inside the hall. I was surprised that she was surprised, because I kinda had the feeling that my mom already knew that something was up. But, she didn't know NADA. The surprise was a success.


60 candles were blown away
On a side note:

Here's how my aunt played the whole thing to my mom: She told my mom that she was gonna attend a dinner party that was hosted by Northwest Hospital. She told her that she was allowed to bring one guest, ergo, my mom being the perfect candidate for that 'guest' part. Little did my mom know that the party that she was going to attend was actually a party for her. Sneaky...sneaky.


The people in this picture duped the woman who's wearing the peach colored blouse

Insomnia attacks... AGAIN.

Summer is a perfectly good season to be an insomniac. You have tons of free time, plus, you get to do all the things that you couldn't do when you were at school (i.e. watching shows that are shown during school nights, watch DVDs that came out during "hell" (finals) week of spring quarter, update your website or your blogsite, etc.). I admit, I'm an insomniac during summers, just ask my friends, they know that I can stay up as late as 3 am in the morning, or even 4 am in the morning. Weird, I know.

However, I only intend to be an insomniac during the summer season so that's why I train my biological clock to sleep at a more reasonable hour two weeks before school starts this way I can wake up early to attend classes knowing that I won't be feeling any sleepiness for one whole hour. Unfortunately, my recent routine of sleeping early has been sabotaged by my summer disease.

Why can't it wait till Christmas break?? WHYYYY??

Before I do anything related to school..

Today I woke up feeling groggy, the reason behind this state of being is that I slept at 4 am in the morning. BWAHAHAHAHA... pretty insomniac don't yah think?

My face was in front of the computer from 3 pm onwards yesterday. I was surfing, bloghopping, answering a quiz for my online class, posting a thread for my online class, playing with MS Picture IT editor, updating my blog's template and watching "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" DVD, which is a kick-ass movie by the way, and I highly recommend it if your a science fiction/fantasy/action/adventure movie fanatic.

It's really crazy that I don't think of myself as being a geek and/or nerd, when in fact I'm doing all these technical computer stuff that makes me look like a nerdy girl. I think now I have to start thinking it. :-) (so Lin, if your reading this, I agree with you na! har har har..)

*****

I'm contemplating on whether or not I'll edit and upload all the new pictures that I have in my computer this week, there are a lot of pictures: pictures that I took when I was in PI, pictures that I took during my mom's surprise birthday party, and pictures that I took just for fun. But I have homeworks and classes, so I have to make that as my top priority. Hmmm.. I wish it was Thanksgiving week already..

*****

All I want for Christmas is... my two front teeth..

• To be spiritually driven again.
• For this country to unite.
• Iraq governed by its own people.
• Terrorists be gone.
• A laptop computer - 2.8 GHz processor, 40 GB of HD, 256 MB of RAM, CD/RW/DVD/W drive, and a wireless card port.
• To watch the final 6 (or 7) episodes of Sex and the City in DVD.
• A black, acid free paper photo album.
• Adobe Photoshop Software.
• an Ipod 20 GB mp3 player (this counts as "wishful thinking")

******

Here's an article written by one of my favorite writers:
Women who lunge
By Celine R. Lopez
10/17/2004

There are a couple things that I can never trust: Stairs, revolving doors, people with teeth that look like chiclets, absurdly beautiful men, children too clever for their own good and women. The last comes bold, italicized and underlined.

http://philstar.com/philstar/LIFESTYLE200410183707.htm ----> CLICK THE LINK to read the whole article

*****

Have a good week y'all!

side note: I edited this entry 5 times! YES, I'm ANAL like that.

Screw sabbatical!

I wasn't successful in going "sabbatical". You see, I may not have been posting entries, but I was constantly checking my blog and have been doing some "mini-updates" to its template during the past 4 days. HMM... Remind me next time never to announce "I WILL GO ON SABBATICAL" again.

Here's what's up in my world:

1. One of Seattle's sports team, the Seattle Storm, won a championship title. They were crowned the WNBA champions of this year. Finally, a team who gave a winning title to Seattle. Sonics should get there act together this season.

2. Presidential debates are finally over. I honestly don't know what the purpose of those debates were. But from what I heard, they were intended to help the people who are still "undecided" of who they will vote for the November elections. Since I'm not voting, I'm not gonna give my whole schpill about how those debates are played out. You see, if you're not voting, you're not allowed to bitch about political stuff.

3. I had my first midterm for Chemistry yesterday. I cannot tell how well I did on answering the questions, but hopefully I get a grade that will pump me up to study HARDER.

4. My Calculus instructor started talking about Calculus concepts last Tuesday. To tell you the truth, I didn't understand one bit of her lectures about limits and continuity. I must.. I must.. I must.. read my Calculus book and ask QUESTIONS.

5. My bedroom have been experiencing earthquakes and whirlwinds for the past 4 days. It looks like a big ass trash can. Seriously, I gotta get my act together and clean that room up!

6. During my so-called "sabbatical leave", I have come across blogs that has well-written entries in it. Check out mikhail online, joey, and gail.

7. Yesterday, in my mom's car, I heard this old song playing in KIXI 880. The singer was singing lyrics that I thought some of us can relate to. I searched the net for the title and the singer. The song's title is "She's got You" and was sang originally by Patsy Cline, remakes were sang by LeAnn Womack and LeAnn Rimes.

She's Got You
by: Patsy Cline
provided by letssingit.com

I've got your picture that you gave to me
And its signed with love just like it used to be
The only thing different
The only thing new
I've got your picture, she's got you
I've got the records that we used to share
And they still sound the same as when you were here
The only thing different
The only thing new
I've got the records, she's got you
I've got your memory or has it got me
I really don't know
But i know it won't let me be
I've got your class ring that proved you cared
And it still looks the same as when you gave it dear
The only thing different
The only thing new
I've got these little things, she's got you
I've got your memory, or has it got me
I really don't know but I know it won't let me be
I've got your class ring that proved you cared
And it still looks the same as when you gave it dear
The only thing different
The only thing new
I've got these little things, she's got you

That's it for now.. Have a good weekend y'all!! ciao!

I'm going to try SABBATICAL

...at least for a week, so I can get back on track with my school work.

SURE. Let's see how successful I will be in doing that.

I'm having my first midterm exam in Chemistry this Thursday. Truth be told, I haven't even read half of Chapters 12 and 13 of my Zumdahl book. SAD. The only time I had my eyes on that book was the time when I was doing my homework for Chapters 12 and 13.

Memories... Memories... Memories:

My head is travelling down memory lane again. These past few days I've been going through some recollection of memories that have happened during my 3-month long vacation in PI. I miss my friends. I miss my two nieces. Don't worry, I won't write a long dramatic paragraph about how I miss them. I'm just gonna write down the memories that I've been recollecting.

1. Therese's version of "Noypi", which was originally sang by Bamboo. It cracks me up everytime I remember her singing that song; she sings it with an American accent. I asked my sister if she could send me the recorded sound of her daughter singing that song from her phone. Problem is, I don't know if she knows how to send it to my email from her phone.


silly picture of Therese
2. Margarita's loud noises. You know how a baby sounds when he or she shouts? You know those coos and AAhhss?? Well that's what I miss about that big 6-month old kid. She sounds like a cat when she shouts, which led me to nickname her, CAT (Ain't that unique?).


Marga already knows how to flirt with the camera!
3. Saturday gimiks with friends.

+ Session at Pao's place. Nakipaginuman naman talga ako with the guys. It was fun and it was memorable for moi.

+ Eating isaw at Ron's place. ME, Lenn, Joy and Ron pigging out with isaw. HEHEHE....

+ Eating spaghetti, which was cooked by Lin, and watching the pirated version of Spider Man 2 at Ron's place. Both YUMMIE (LIN: Your spaghetti is GOOD!) and fun times.

+ Session sa Split Hit. Note: Dito ako napaamin ng.. BASTA! (diba NOEL??) I was outnumbered, since I was the only girl there.

+ The serious talk that Lin and I had at our house. 'Nuff said.

+ Dining at Chowking with Lin, Lenn, and Joy. It's girls night out. ;-)

+ The parties (refer to October 1 entry).

+ Road trip to Festival Mall with Nyo, Jamu and Lenn.

4. Thursdays with Joy. I had fun with her, all we did together was eating and shopping.. HAR HAR HAR.. And we watched the South Border concert at UPLB together!



ME and Joy at Lenn's party

5. Session with Heidi at our house. Fun times. She's one heck of a tickler! Grabe! nahulog ako sa couch namin! hehehehe..

Heidi and Me

That's it for now y'all.. I'm signing out.. Have a good week! CIAO!

Computers: Is it an advantage or a disadvantage?

Computers have given people like me ways to communicate in a cheaper and faster way to loved ones across the country and across the globe. I can talk to my friends and family through the voice chatting and/or video conferencing features in Yahoo or MSN instant messenger and send e-mails that can be received within a minute in x amount of hours and only pay five dollars every month. But there’s always a downside to everything that is fast and cheap: computers experience “melt-downs” such as “pauses” or hangs and also a down internet connection.

Computers also paved the way for “online” everything, which means, you can shop online, pay your bills online, file your tax forms online, book a flight online, and research online and so on. The only drawback to this advancement is that you have to worry about how secure such online services are.

Students like me see the computer as an alternative learning environment. It helps me unleash my creative side when I design a webpage. It makes me self reliant when I’m in an online class. It also gives me thousands of information that could help me get through my everyday life. Of course, like any other environments, computers have the power to influence a student’s way. It replaces studying with online gaming, chatting and surfing and it also limits them from doing physical activity such as house chores and exercising.

Has computer become an advantage or a disadvantage? We can never really tell which way the computers have geared our lives to. We can only tell what it has done for and against us.

"A true writer doesn't need embellishments to make a good piece. All he or she needs is a better understanding of life and a willing acceptance of all the bad things that go with it."

"If I were you, I'd write about what I know, instead of what I would like my readers to believe I know."

---- Writer's Block by Omega Anne Vaflor

Read more of the author by clicking this link:

http://you.inq7.net/youngblood/06042004/ybl8-1.htm

Getting to know an individualist

During my recent summer vacation, I had the chance to get to know a ka-tropa. He became my schoolmate during my CSI (Christian School International) junior high school days and soon became an acquiantance after my friends introduced me to him. I didn't get the chance to get to know him since I was deported far far away from the land of many islands after a quarter of my junior year in CSI. OK, LIANE, enough with the mindless blabbing and introduce this person already. Friends, meet Paolo...



On one lazy Saturday night, me, Lin and Lenn, decided to join the guys's drinking session happening at Pao's place. When we were inside his place, I took a glance at the nice drawings that were hunged on the walls of his living room. I learned from Lin that it was Pao, who majors in Fine Arts, was the one who drew those pictures. I wish I took pictures of some of his drawings, it would be nice for y'all to see how talented of an artist he is.

On to another Saturday night, September 4th to be exact, which was Ron's birthday party, I had the chance to talk with Pao. It was one of the best "talks" that I had. In that conversation, I had the chance to know who he really is, his tastes in music (punk rock and if i remember correctly, he also likes grunge music, is that even spelled right??); his takes on life (he is an individualist at heart); his love for his parents and his sister; his talents (other than drawing, he also paints and writes music); and finally his love for his "someone special". What really struck me the most in that conversation is how he talked about his parents so candidly, heck, it almost made me cry (maybe because I remember my own parents).

So Pao, if you're reading this, I enjoyed talking to you that day and sorry for putting you through this embarassment, I just had to narrate memories that got stuck on me from my vacation. Hope you don't mind.. ;-)

Apple iBook G4

Apple iBook G4

I'm currently thinking of selling my Dell desktop computer and buying a notebook computer instead. I just like the idea of having your computer with you wherever you go and plus my desktop is currently bugging the heck out of me. I'm thinking of either buying a Dell Inspiron notebook or the notebook in the picture that you're looking at.

So for all you MAC users out there, is this notebook worth it? Will I get my money's worth from it? Is it really easy to use? Are the MAC technical support people friendly and helpful and knowledgeable? Does the MAC have the features of the PC?


Thinking.. Thinking.. Thinking...

I'm suppose to be doing homework..

But instead, I chose to read blogs and write an entry for my own blog. DAMN. It's so hard to come back to reality when you've just experience a fantasy that you've long for for two years AND it's also hard to keep my hands away from my computer! When I was in the PI, I only had the chance to blog and surf the net when a) my brother-in-law, who owns a laptop computer, is sleeping at the Calamba house or b) when I'm out with my friends.

I was suppose to finish my Chemistry homework today and perhaps read a bit of paragraphs from the Technopoly book. But instead, I watched Sex and the City, in DVD. But in my defense, while I was watching SATC, I was doing something productive: I was ironing my mom's clothes AND AND I vacuumed the living room! So I guess that makes up for the fact that I didn't do one single schoolwork. ARGGHH... I'm gonna have to sleep late again tomorrow, unless I do my work all afternoon with NO deviations from it. God help me.

So, I'm writing this entry to remind myself of what I have to do tomorrow, so that when I check this site out tomorrow, I will be able to know what THE IMPORTANT STUFF I HAVE TO DO.

1) Do my Chemistry homework.
2) Read all Chapter 2 of Technopoly.
3) Do my Math homework.

I gotta get my act straight starting this week or else regrets will haunt me when finals week arrives.

Parttaayy... till dawn...

Here's the continuation of the Philippine '04 vacation recollection.

In this entry, I have posted (some) of the pictures that was taken during birthday parties or debuts of friends to which I have gone to. I hope y'all enjoy this "mini" photojournal.

Gustine's Late Surprise Party

This picture was taken at Max Restaurant in Pansol, Laguna last June 26, 2004.
Gustine's is the girl in the blue outfit whom I was sitting with. It was actually a last-minute invite because her family called us up on the DAY of the party itself.
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Karlenn's Early Birthday Celebration

Taken last July 24 at some resort (forgot the name)in Miramonte Village, Pansol, Laguna. We all look wasted in this picture, because it was 3 AM and we're all fighting the sleepiness by drinking and swimming.

Still at Karlenn's party. Don't us girls just love to play dress up when it comes to parties?


More drinking at 5 in the morning and still during Karlenn's party.

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Nyo's DEBUT

1 guy, 5 Beauties: Taken last August 28. This was the party I was worried about for I thought I won't be able to attend it since we drove down from our Baguio vacation on the day itself. Thankfully, we arrived on time (around 1 pm) and I had time to fix my stuff, take a bath and meet up with Lin before going to his party at around 6-ish pm...without any rest... AHH.. the love that I have for my friends...


Food trip...


Dogg Pound guys
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Ron's DEBUT

A barkada picture taken at Captiva Resort, Los Banyos Laguna last September 4. I think this was the first picture I've ever taken with all of us (guys and girls) in it. By the way, Ron is the guy wearing a blue outfit.

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Grace's Late Party

Grace is the girl carrying a kid. Her birthday was actually September 1, but since that day was a school day, it was decided to be celebrated on September 5.

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Yes, I attended two parties for two straight days. Imagine: I went home from Ron's party at around 5 am. I slept until 9 am. I stood up from my bed at around 9:30 am. I got dressed and waited for Lin dahil magkasabay kami pupunta kela Grace. We were at Grace's house until 2:00 pm. I went home, took a bath and went to Baker Hall in Los Banyos to watch my brother-in-law play in his soccer league championships. Afterwards, I went to church. IMAGINE how TIRING that is. Seriously, I have that much love for my friends AND my family.

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Lin and Mimi's DEBUT/PARTY

The debutante is wearing a white flapper-like dress. This was taken at Villa Morales Resort in Real, Calamba, Laguna. It was Lin and Mimi's, who are twin sisters by the way, debut. It was fun times. Almost all of my friends were there.


after the program


during the program

WHEW!

to be continued... part 3: An "ODE" about a friend.