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?

Baguio=Seattle ... Rain ... Rain ... and ... MORE RAIN!

I just got back from a 5 day vacation--within a vacation-- trip in Baguio. Here's the lowdown for all you peeps out there:

the UPSIDE:

UKAY-UKAYs --

My sister warned me to be LIST down the things that I want to buy in Baguio, cause once you enter these shopping places, your mind will go crazy on all the clothes, bags, and accessories that you will see. SISTER KNOWS BEST, i tell you that. Although my brain went bizaare, I was very tamed into not buying the all things that I want.

- sweaters and 2 jackets
I need them cause it will be FALL again in Seattle.

- a native bag and a silver Chinese character from IBAY's
I have to have them, so I caved.

I think I covered most of the 2nd hand stores there-- from Session Road to Maharlika to the market to Mines View to John Hay -- I don't know if I left any out.

Little "food for thought" that I got from this ukay-ukay shopping trip:

Its nice to shop for yourself and for your family and friends during the "rainy" season. Merchants drop the prices of their goods, BIG TIME. My sister was looking at a set of chess pieces at a store in Maharlika that was priced at P1000, she haggled, the merchant dropped the price to P600. Imagine how low that went?? My sister didn't buy the set though. Weird GIRL!

THE downside:

the RAIN -

The weather's a b*tch up there! Seriously, it was raining every freaking day!! I didn't get the chance to see the one tourist spot that I wanted to see in Baguio, which is the Cemetary of Negativism found in Camp John Hay, because it was closed due to the RAIN. GRR!!!

But the rain didn't stop me and my sister AND her KIDS (a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old) in going to the UK-UKs. We braved the rain and we shopped. Hey, we didn't go to Baguio just to get stuck in a hotel for 5 days, you know.

THE VERDICT -

Despite the rain, it was a fun vacation. I got the chance to see what was new in Baguio because it has been a while since the last time I was there.

But I ain't gonna go back there when its the rainy season.

Unexpected things @ unexpected moments.

It’s really weird how things can happen at unexpected moments.

We just heard a news yesterday that my aunt was rushed to the emergency room because she collapsed on a sidewalk near our house while she was walking our dog, Curly. I sent a text message last night to my sister, Leah, asking her what the current condition of our aunt was. She told us that the doctor was doing a complete diagnosis of our aunt to pinpoint the reason of why she collapsed. Ate Leah also told us that the story of what really happened was a mystery since my aunt had no recollection of what had happened to her.

There were a lot of assumptions being thrown in the box. My sister Lee told me that Tita Chi could have experienced a mini stroke since she could not recall what happened to her. I assumed that she was pulled so hard by the dog that she lost control of the leash and of her body.

PMS-ing SUCKS!

I woke up yesterday feeling a bit cranky. I didn’t get a lot of sleep since Mother Nature was waiting for the clock’s hand to point at 2:00 am in the morning. Since I’m sleeping in our living room, my dad’s loud voice, my sister’s incessant singing and our nanny’s squeaky voice saying “KAKAIN NA” easily waked me up at 6:45 AM.

The whole time during breakfast, I was bitching at my sister for no reason at all and in return, she too bitched at me. Talk about being dysfunctional. I don’t know. I guess PMS hit me again yesterday or maybe it’s just one of those days when I feel like I’m not in the mood to be perky.

Jessica Simpson’s Alter Ego -- Ashlee Simpson

I’m currently digging Ashlee Simpson. She’s really different from her sister, except for the “ditzy” part. She sings punk/rock music. I like the way she dresses (did y’all see her ensemble in the Pieces of Me video?) and she is really cute --- ok, I have to quote what Rob Schneider in the movie “The Hot Chick”, I’m so lesbian right now. Anyway, the genre of her music is different from her sister’s; she’s more of a rocker chick who recognizes Blondie as one of her musical inspiration while her sister is more of a sentimental/mushy-mushy type of artist. I know I said before that I didn’t like punk/rock music, but I’ll have to make an exception with her.

I only buy albums when I happen to like more than 3 songs in it. At this moment, I like “Pieces of Me” and “Shadow” in her album. Hmmm… Should I buy her album or no? Should I buy it or no? Should I buy it or no? Any of you nice people listened to it? Do you recommend it? Is it worth my 500 pesos or my $15? So… does anyone recommend it?

giving up 2 floppy disks for the greater good.

Since I am up and about with this whole writing thing, I bought a floppy disk where I could save the articles and the blabs that I write. Unfortunately, I gave the floppy disk to a "person a" since I wrote an article in it that I wanted that person to read. Consequently, without any disk to save my writings to, I suffered two days of writing with my right hand. Then, it dawned upon me that on the day that I bought that floppy disk, I bought a second one for my sister. So I asked my sister if I could have the disk and being the good sisi that she is, she said to me, "sure, it might be a while before I could use it anyway". AHHH. Once again, I was writing away my critical philosophical analyses aka. "thoughts about life" and was saving away on the disk. Then, last Tuesday, my sister wanted me to upgrade their laptop computer from a Windows 95 to a Windows ME version. During the upgrading session, the computer asked to back up all the system files that were installed by the Windows ME version in a disk, just in case the computer crashes down once we reboot it. Once again, I had to give up the disk. WOW. Talk about writings thrown out of the window.

i have to start gathering bilins.

My mom is sending me constant emails, telling me not to forget the "bilins" that she wrote down for me. Hindi pa nagkasya yung letter na binigay nya sakin nung umuwi ako dito, she really had to send emails about it too. HAAAA... Mothers.. you gotta love them. Well, I don't blame her since she knows I have the "Alzheimer's" syndrome.

facing hell all alone.

Last Sunday, I went to church all alone at St. Therese in Los Banos, Laguna. I know it wasn't practical to go that far for church since we have one near our house in Calamba, but that church gives me a sense of peacefulness everytime I enter it, unlike the one near our place.

Before the mass, I was having an intuition that I was going to see somebody I knew at church. Mass started.. communion ended.. mass ended. I didn't see anyone, I thought, "wow, I guess my intuition was wrong". Then, as I was exiting my way out of the church and walking towards the Grove area of LB, I saw two people that I KNOW, two people that I didn't want to see together when I'm all alone. I can't really give any particular details about this two people, but I can give you this: when I saw them, it was like "all hell breaks loose" for me. Isn't that ironic? I went to church and then hell breaks loose on me after church.

INTERESTING.

I didn't want to be seen by them, so I broke away from the church crowd and walked REALLY FAST. HAAAA.. it was a fateful day. My friend told me, "it was just one of your lucky days". I beg to disagree.

I just have to thank God that I wore tennis shoes instead of sandals.

----> So have you guys had any instance when hell broke loose on you??? SHARE! ;)

The Art of Being Very Open

Yesterday will be an addition to the memorable days that I have of this vacation. It was the day that Lin, Lenn, Joy and I got together after 3 long weeks. It was pretty hard to get 3 of anyone of us together, let alone four: since Lin travels from QC and Joy sometimes goes home early on Saturdays leaving Lenn and I alone together. But yesterday was the fortunate day.

Lenn, Lin, and Joy being cute in front of the camera

I enjoyed yesterday because of the following reasons:

1. I had fun listening to LinLin talk about her life in UPD with so much hype and emotion. It's pretty interesting to see how UP life changed her.

all smiles

2. I had fun eating "isaw" with Lenn and Joy. Men! They eat a lot of those intestines. I must give props to both of them for making me eat it, since before I wasn't really up for eating the "laman loob" of chickens and pigs.

what's with the belly showing??

3. I enjoyed the "kuentos" that we did because all of us had new stories to share about what has been going on with our lives.

pede nang pang circus!! hehehehe..

4. I enjoyed being their photographer, albeit me not being in the pictures!! HE.HE.

Writing is beginning to be a part of my life, NOW.

I can’t help but notice that I have a huge thirst for writing these days. I don’t know if it’s the writing bug that did this to me, but I sure can’t help but notice how much of the things that run through my mind are actually things that I want to write down.

It just dawned upon me that I want to write about so many things, such as, the things that are going on in my life these days or the things that I admire or value. On the contrary, writing COULD be a pain in the butt sometimes. Say, for example, you open your text software and a blank white screen pops up in front of you and then BAM! You can’t think of anything to write about. Your mind is a complete blank. You feel like as if you’ve lost the “zest” that helps you to write about anything and everything. I wonder if the greatest writers in the past and present ever experience such loss? I wonder if they experienced the so-called “writer’s block”? I remembered my English 101 instructor, Bonnie, relating to us that there is no such thing as “writer’s block”, but of course, being the stubborn ass girl that I am, I somehow want to disagree with her.

I wished I owned a laptop computer instead of a personal computer. I think now I’m regretting buying the personal computer. Had I known then that I would have this sudden thirst for writing, I would’ve bought a laptop! Again, I’ll have to face the fact that there is a reason for everything that goes on in your life. So, I just have to think that there’s a reason why I bought a PC instead of a laptop computer.

I have to thank the world of blogging for getting me up and about with the whole writing thing. I think reading and writing blogs has helped me to give writing another chance.

Within the next three years:

....I have to have a laptop computer. I just have to have one.
WISHFUL THINKING: a blue colored APPLE laptop computer
REALISTIC THINKING: a DELL 2400 laptop computer

Counting down memory lane..

10 years ago.

/ I was 8 years old.
/ Sadly, I can't remember an event or a memory that I had 10 years ago, must be the anesthetics I got when I had my tooth extracted 2 years ago..

5 years ago.

/ I entered high school life.
/ Jesus Christ was introduced to me as the Lord and Savior of my life; from then on, everything in my life changed for the better.
/ I became a part of a great friendship; one with many memories - me, heids, grace, lin, shiela, and gust.
/ The first time I won something in a contest: 3rd place in the Science and Math Quiz contest. I didn't win that alone, I had Gustine as my partner.
/ First boyfriend. First puppy love.

3 years ago.

/My mother told me that we were moving to Seattle to be with my aunt and my eldest sister. I was really bummed about that since I was enjoying my high school life here already.
/ TRIO was born. Up until today, we're still best friends - Lin and Lenn.
/ Second boyfriend. The serious one. The one that I took for granted.

1 year ago.

/ I was figuring out where my life was.
/ I was still in the process of moving on.
/ I was a volunteer at Northwest Hospital Daycare Centre. Oh! what fun times I had with the kids.

6 months ago.

/ I was frustrated with all the Chemistry equations that I had to learn, specifically frustrated in the art of Chemical Stoichiometry.
/ I celebrated my 18th birthday at Crab Pot with my family.
/ I realized that being angry with someone is not good for your health.
/ The movie, Passion for Christ, lowered my pride and cooled down my anger.
/ I brought back Jesus into my life.

1 month ago.

/ I was hunting for a venue for Lenn's birthday.
/ I was having some quality time with my 2 cute nieces

1 week ago.

/ I did nothing.
/ I was excited for the next day gimik.
/ I started reading The Da Vinci Code. Got hooked on it pretty badly.

Yesterday.

/ My sister gave me a new book to read--Lovely Bones.
/ Once again, I did nothing.

to hipstah and gail.. Thanks for this IDEA!

The Da Vinci Code.

I just finished reading the book yesterday. It was a pretty interesting book. It was mind-boggling and mysterious in some ways. Every chapter of the book gives you a cliff hanger that will keep you from putting it down and not returning to it anymore. Dan Brown described each character, each place and each event using all the parts of the English language. Let me put it this way, as you read through a description, you can picture the person, the place or the event in your head, just like the way he describes it. It's crazy!

This book depicted Jesus Christ as a not-so-perfect person; a person who was said to be "perfect" had a relationship with Mary Magdalene (who was described as a "prostitute" in the book). Somehow, it felt like it was non-fiction because of all the historic people, places, and things that he tackled.

The most eeriest thing he described was the "Hieros Gaimos" (if it ain't the right spelling, tell me), which was a ritual that was done by the Priory of Sion---a secret society, as to what the book says. A ritual which, in layman's term means, sex.

Bamboo rocks.

Their song "Noypi" has a line that says, "Sa dami mong problema/Nakuha mo pang ngumiti/Noypi ka nga/Astig". When I read that line from the lyrics written in their album cover, I remembered my friend, Joy, praising or maybe telling me na "nakukuha ko pang ngumiti kahit na me problema ako at the moment"---this was the time when I had a problem back in Christmas '03.

Before, when I had problems regarding my life, I looked like a theatre mask (you know that mask that you see in front of play invitations?? Those two masks?? One smiling and one crying??), anyway to be a bit more CLEARER, I was doning a poker face, on the outside I was all smiles; on the inside I was either mad or crying. Up until now, I still don the poker face. I don't know, I guess that helps me in a way, because I hate being dramatic all the time. I sometimes hate to talk about dramatic stuff also. I cringe everytime I see people in telenovelas acting like someone's going to die with their cries and whinings (but I still watch those damn telenovelas, pretty weird huh?).

Only a month left.

Wow, days fly by so fast and before I know it, its "buhbye PI, see you in 3 or 4 or 5 years". Well, I can't go down memory lane yet, since this vacation isn't officially over. I still have the Baguio trip that my sister's family and I are going to do next week. I still have 4 birthday people to greet and celebrate their birthdays with and I still have some serious shopping to do (for the bilins that my mom told me). OK. Gotta get my groove on or else..

Midnight Rendezvous.

This is really not the normal me, but everytime the clock gets closer to 12 am, I feel hunger pangs. I constantly stand up from the couch near the tv and search for food in the fridge. REAL FOOD, I might add, not junk food. After this blogging, I will go heat up some kaldereta that my sister cooked this lunch.

i caved.

OK, I know I said that I was going to change the face of this blog when I get back home. But I can't help it! I'm too bored today with nothing to do, except to just take care of my nieces. So, I caved. I had to fight my way through the rain today just to get a 9 hour internet card for this blog face changing event.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

monday -

i went to karlenn's college to meet her, but when I got there I found out that she was not in our meeting place. but, i saw my other friends and i just hanged out with them until time told me that my pal ain't gonna come there.

then, i went to a shopping center for some retail therapy, bought the Bamboo CD and a sleeveless blouse.

tuesday -

stuck in the house with no place to go. i just took care of my nieces and just played around.

wednesday -

my sister, therese and i went to see Catwoman. For me, it is not a must-see movie. UNMATCHED SOUNDS FOR THE FIGHT SCENES, POOR STORY PLOT, INTRODUCTION TO THE MAIN VILLAIN WAS WEAK. although, it wasn't up to my movie standards, halle berry sure played the part well. if any of you watched it, did y'all love the "WALK"?

thursday -

my friend, joy, went to our house for some little chitchatting with me. therese really had much fun with her, telling her, "tita joy, sleep with me" or "tita joy, read a book".

friday -

home sweet home. slept, read the Da Vinci Code, played with my nieces.

saturday -

gimik time. played billiards and went to paw's place for the "drinking sessions", chitchats and playing around.

sunday -

church and ... GUESS WHAT I DID TODAY...

MY LAMINATED LIST: Part 2

Freddie Prinze Jr.

- Yes, I know his married, but I can't help but like his smile.

Vin Diesel

- His body makes me melt.

Orlando Bloom

- Is he Irish? or British? I don't know, but what I do know is that he has a beautiful face.

Shane West

- Did y'all watch A WALK TO REMEMBER? If you watched that movie, you will know why he's on my list.

Hugh Jackman

- 6 pack ABS baby!! AND! AND! He plays Wolverine, my favorite X-MEN character!

side note: make your own laminated list! :D

party pics

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeAOXLFw5aNGzlY&open=1&sm=0&sl=0


Here's the link to the pictures of the party that we had last Saturday. It was Karlenn's early birthday celebration and my very late birthday celebration. CIAO!

Reality Bites Me Up in my Ass. AGAIN.

I can't wait to go back to Seattle. I must admit that I miss everything there. My mom, my sister, my aunt, my cousins, Curly, my friends, the heat of "summer sunshine", the MALLS, studying, my room, my computer. OK, let's just say I miss EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong here; I'm enjoying my vacation here in the PI. I enjoy being with my sister and her family and of course, I enjoy being with my friends. But, just recently, I realized that my life is very much "complex" here -- I don't know if "complex" is an exaggerated description, but I think that it's the right word to use in this kind of issue/situation.

So how complex is it? First and foremost, the complexities regarding my family here. Somehow, being the paranoid person that I am, I feel like a burden to my sister and her husband. I don't know why. You see, they have 2 kids that they have to attend to and then there's the house that our family owns and there's their farm that they are currently taking care of. Then, there's the whole issue of my brother-in-law moving from one region of the country to another because of his job and that automatically affects my sister and their kids. See why I feel like I'm an "extra" baggage? Imagine what more could I feel if I was living here for real. I now understand why my mom doesn't want me to go to college here.

Another complexity is my life HERE. I realized that if I did still lived here, I think that I will be living in the past. I don't want to get any more descriptive than that, but yeah, I think that if I did still lived here, I will dwell in the memories of the past and not think about MOVING ON.

It's not that I don't like to live here anymore. It's just that I realized what my life will be like here if I was still living here at the moment. COMPLICATED. PATHETIC.

I love my sister, i love my friends. But FOR NOW, I think my life belongs to Seattle.

I now know the answers to the questions that I had 2 years ago.