Of Seatbelt and Dates

My seatbelt snapped a few weeks ago and decided it does not want to retract and lock, and so I brought it to Banawe St. in Quezon City. I got it fixed for 700 Php which is fairly cheap compared to what Toyota was charging me for a brand new seatbelt for my front passenger seat. I know right?! WTFudge?! 17K for an effing seatbelt! I could not believe my ears to when I first heard it was 17K a pop! So anyway, I decided to go to Banawe as advised by my dad. Four hours of malling later, it snapped again and this time it is forever locked. No matter how hard my friends tried to tug at it, it just would not budge. *sigh* There went the number of hours spent doing nothing except for sweating while waiting for shady characters to finish mangling and un-mangling my poor paralyzed seatbelt.

Yesterday, I went to Evangelista as recommended by my friend who also graciously accompanied me (super thanks!) to have my seatbelt get a shot at a second life. Et voila! For eight hundred pesos and under an hour, my seat belt's life was extended. It had to get a transplant, the innards are now different but it's from a distant Toyota relative so I guess that's fine. *yehey!*

I am thrilled because now bowchog can sit in front again! :) Since the seat belt started to malfunction bochog has been sitting at the back and it sucks because it's always more fun when she's in front. It's like she's not there when she's seated at the back. We had a movie date last night and saw Sex and the City 2. Before the movie she requested for Haagen Dazs so I let her have it but this morning she got a bad case of tonsillitis and my mom is blaming me for it. No fair! I bought her water... She did not drink the water. Bad gurl!

Today, I had a shopping date with my mom. We were looking for clothes for me because all my clothes look fugly to her. It is not my fault that fashion has changed into stuff that are not so flattering. :) At least for me. We spent hours scouring for clothes but to no avail. At the end of the day I only got to buy one but it was such a steal so I guess the trip was worth it. Plus! I had fun hanging out with my mom. I hope we can do it again. :)

All I have to share for now... Gotta run tomorrow!

Ciao!

Escape

I am about to work again on my dissertation proposal. I believe this is escapism *haha!*! Blogging instead of working. :)

Let me just jot down a few notes because I really find this therapeutic. I am craving for chocolate cake, particularly Choco Mile High cake of Don Henrico's that's no longer available. Boo! I want it back! Any chocolate cake would do right now actually *haha!* ! I am willing to compromise at this point.

What I need is more Bisolvon because I think it is working. I want to rid myself of this cough. It has been bugging me for quite a while now. For now, I have to get back to work. :)

I want everyone to know about my secret but I do not want to have to explain about the details. *sigh*

My body clock has been reset I think. :) Yehey! :) Sleeping earlier tonight for the run tomorrow. :)

Must work now!

Something is seriously wrong with my memory. Just now I almost was not able to get into my account.

I have a bad cough again. I have a feeling that Lagundi is really not working for me so now I am taking Bisolvon. I will be taking Bisolvon again in a while.

On a happier note, I ran at the Nature Valley Run 2nd Leg in the Run Rio Trilogy and clocked my best time! 31 minutes! Yey!!! Just one minute more to shave and I would be able to meet my target 30 minutes. I think it helped that there was an RFID chip attached to my shoe. It gave us accurate time. I think. :) Still I think I made good time because my last time at The Fort, I clocked in 36 minutes! :) I have improved greatly. Soh happy!!! The morning runs are paying off! I ran 6KM again today and on my fifth kilometer I was ready to give up but did not. I am happy because I am not so much of a quitter anymore though I did slow down on my fifth and sixth KM. I was too tired already. It was partly my brain telling me that I am tired already. I think it has much to do where I have been running for the past few days. I am bored already. Apart from that, it may have also been my cough that kept me from breathing regularly.

When it starts to rain, I will have to go back to the gym. Boo. I enjoy running outside. I have not swam yet but I have a padlock already. :) Yey!!!

Sorry for the disorganized thoughts... I have very little sleep and was not able to take my usual nap. My only consolation is that this might reset my body clock to normal mode. This is not good for me.

Oh and yeah, I ran today because I ate roasted duck and asado last night and hakaw!!! Terrrrrible!!! :) I felt so guilty.

Nerves

Ran 6KM again this morning... Only got to sleep for a few hours. I should be asleep by 11pm and while I was already in bed by 11, for the love of me I just could not sleep. It was around 230am when I last checked my iTouch for time and then fell asleep only to wake up at 4!

I still can't sprint! It is annoying that I cannot sprint. I will practice sprinting after the big run. For now, I have to make do with my pace.

The term is about to begin on Monday and already I feel like I am drowning with things to do. We have many conferences to organize this coming trimester. At the same time, I am soh excited because just this term, I will be going to Boracay and get to stay at Boracay Regency, and then Cebu and get to stay at the Plantation Bay *woot!* and Palawan but I still do not know where in Palawan we are staying. The best thing about this is that I am traveling for fuhreeh!!! :)

I am also a bit excited about this coming term because the break was long enough for me. I am thinking if I can propose my dissertation this trimester.

I hope. I hope. I hope.

Watching Prince of Persia later! *woot!*

Loved

I had a wonderful day today because today I felt soh loved! It'snlike love-me day *hehe*! I got a three hundred Starbucks GC today, a kewl LED University uber kewl merchandise fan, a sports tumbler and to top it all off the latest DVD of Celine Dion!!! *woot* Also felt love through intangible sweet things that I won't mention here anymore. They may not know they made my day special but they did err... actually they do from day to day.

Thank You Lord for blessing me with people who love so generously. I really appreciate it. :) I feel Your love through them.


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Sleepy

I eyes are geyting heybee...

I woke up at four in the morning today. I was unable to take my usual nap after running and now I want nothing more than to climb into my bed and snuggle underneath the sheets and just doze off...

I want to schleep. I need schleep. And water. I can use some water too... And food... Okay it won't hurt to also have a completed dissertation proposal. *wahaha!*

Weeeh-search

Just spoke with the partner researcher in Japan and I got inspired again. There is a new study that I am going to try out this coming week. *woot*

Also, the new paper that I found has a limitation too. Apparently, it needs to access www.ehow.com and www.wikihow.com so they can get the steps for Daily Activities. *whew!*

Am still reading some papers anyway just to make sure that I cover the latest existing works in my area. I need to publish again soon. :)

Lalalalalala *Smurfette cough* *Smurfette cough*

The Bomb

Back has improved. I have been better but at least it has stopped making me feel miserable.

I finally saw Simply KC. Not a show I would get up so early in the morning for. Too bad I missed the John Lloyd ep, that would have made getting up early worthwhile. Back in the boot camp and about to commence reading the dreaded paper... *Jaws music plays in the background*

Also I have finally dropped the bomb. I am hoping against all hopes that everything will work out. People will react but hopefully they are quick to forget. I really do not want to explain over and over. I hope they do not make me. I have grown tired of my own story.

Oh well... Got to get back to work.

Peter Paper Pecked A Piece of Paper

I was able to find a limotation jn the paper that I saw last Friday so I was so happy... for a while abyway because I saw another paper dealing with what I intend to do. *sigh*

Also, I was unable to see Simply KC. Woke up too late... Body clock a bit messed up.

Got to eat at K.K.K. tonight. Food was not so bad. Also my back is aching pretty bad. I hope I can get a massage or better yet I hope it goes away on its own. I have a run very soon. I need to be in tiptop shape!

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Bits and Pieces

Got to run at The Fort today. I ran the Condura Run a year ago I think and was able to run the 5KM route nonstop with much energy and air in my lungs to spare. :) I think I can take 10KM next time. *woot!* Unfortunately, I also had a lot to eat today. I started my bingeing spree at UCC Cafe by eating French Toast with Frankfurter. I still prefer Pancake House's French Toast and Country Sausages, this will be forever my happy food. :) After this I slept and then my dad called me up and I told him about how wonderfully my new shoes (something he gave me :) ) are helping me run. I told him my goal is to join the triathlon and now that I think I can fun long distances, my next goal is to be able to cycle long distances... Dropped hints for a bike *big grin*. I hope I get a bike...

During lunch I ate a 10oz. US T-Bone Steak at Bigby's! *wah!!!* Calories!!! Still, I thought I had quite a loverly meal. *sheepish grin* I skipped the Dairy Queen dipped cone even if I was soh tempted and everyone was egging me to eat one. Also, I did not get myself a honey glazed doughnut at Krispy Kreme even though everyone got something from the store. I kept hearing one of my colleagues say that a doughnut is 30-minutes worth of sprint!

For dinner I had a sinful plate of Roasted Duck Rice and Hakaw at my fave Wai Ying in Binondo... *sigh*

To wipe the guilt off my system I did Hiphop Abs with my mommy. *sigh* I feel bad about eating soh much! Tomorrow morning I will not be running so... hmm... How to deal with the guilt? Maybe I will swim. That's a big maybe. :)

Who knows?!

I felt bad about my research last Saturday. I just discovered a paper doing what I am doing. Now I have to ask myself if the topic is worth pursuing as a dissertation. *sigh* I got so depressed I have not read the paper again. I will read it again tomorrow hopefully I can find something wrong with it. I really need to focus.

I also want to catch Simply KC tomorrow, it's airing tomorrow morning and while I normally do not have the patience to catch shoes during their regular schedule, this show has got me intrigued enough to actually want to watch it tomorrow morning.

This is all I have right now.

Oh and yeah, today I got to find out if one of my weird dreams from the past week is true or not... It's not. Which is a good thing.

I know this post is sounding like a series of random posts... it is actually.

I also met up with my high school friends the other day. It was a blast.

So many good things have been happening lately and I am grateful to the Lord. Thank You for this gift of a life that You have given me. :)

Heart Flutters

The Glee episode did not disappoint. I immensely enjoyed it mostly because of Idina Menzel and I Dreamed a Dream. *sigh*

Started my day right! I ran approximately 5KM! *woot!*

I had fun today with my high school friends. I hope we can do that again! One of my friends will be going back to New York a few hours from now. I hope to visit her this year or the next. I hope to see Wicked. I hope to do a lot of things but today am just glad we got to laugh our hearts out like the good old days. *sigh* We may have grown older but our hearts are still where they should be.

This afternoon I had fun browsing books. I had to really try hard not to buy books because i have e-Books that I still need to read. Also, I have a lot of papers to read and I just found out that I have a paper to write and publish wahaha!!! I was waiting for a friend and ended up reading Florante at Laura. :) Blast from the past! I still love that book. I am a fan of poetry and I think I love F&L now more than I did more than a decade ago when I played Florante. :)

Tonight I had fun eating at Yujiin a cozy Jap resto at Wilson St. with friends. I love their Crazy Maki! I hope to come back and eat more Makis! :)

Thank You Lord for the smiles and laughter. I feel my heart flutter in delight.

FTN For The Night!!!

Last post!

Two minutes 'til Glee time!!!

Passing Time

Okay, I have been posting relentlessly for the past few minutes because Glee is taking too long to download and I want to watch it NOW because NPH is guesting and I heart NPH. I am sorry I am blogging like a real uhm... *insert politically incorrect word here* but I want to sleep already and cannot because Glee is about to finish. I woke up at 4 am today to run and then slept again *thwaps self* until a bit late and so now my body clock is messed up. *thwaps self again and says ouch*

I have been pondering on writing a travel log for the past few days but I fear I may be too impatient to write a book because I rarely pause for a while to organize my thoughts. I know some people say write like crazy and then edit later but that is the thing with me. I always do the former and never do the latter. To say that that is a problem is an understatement. If you need to talk to my English teachers in the past you are free to do so. I think it's because I think faster than I write and lately, speak. *sigh* Do not get me wrong though, I also have moments when my brain feels like it's a truck moving uphill in need of a gear shift. I am not proud to say that this has been happening a lot. *becomes aggressive* No, it has nothing to do with me turning 30.

I hope I can start writing the travel log. I would really, really like to write a book before I hit the bucket. Wow, a real entry to my personal bucket list. Here are some of the trips that I surely want to write about:

Weewee stories
Money problems
Travel document problems
Yard stories
Close calls

One of these days I will start typing away. :)

I need a hobby after all... :)

Full Throttle

A friend of mine is getting out of control. This friend is in love and all of a sudden feels like a totally different person altogether. Is this the effect of love? Was I like this at a certain point of time? Frijda, a psychologist says that eventually we adapt to our emotions so the intensity of the emotion fades eventually. Does this mean that my friend will eventually turn back to normal? If not, how do we, the people around this person cope? Aaargh... in the meantime, because we are friends, we will have to put up. After all, as Warwick (pardon to the fans, I do not know how to spell the name and am too lazy because it is too late at night already to google names of artists of another era... my body clock has been smashed against the wall again but that's a whole different story... and this is turning out to be too long a parenthesized remark) and company said, "That's what friends are for".

This friend of mine I hope is heading for a good place.

On a note completely unrelated to my friend, I just saw the Telephone video of Lady Gaga this afternoon and all I could say was what the fudge?! I mean, I usually can stomach certain obscenities because I was a teenager when I started watching MTV but whoah... Gaga is a whole new Madonna level! I hope my children will never, ever have to see her stuff. I am kind of glad I am not raising a teen these days... Lots of stuff I cannot explain to them *hehe*. :)

Soft Kisses

I was so giddy last night because I heard great news from friends of mine! They are going to have a baby gurl!!! I am soh excited for them. It was definitely cherry on top when they asked me to be the godmother! I am soh psyched about this! I love their first born and now the first born is going to be a big brother. At the same time I also wondered when my turn will come... *sigh* but I do not want to dwell too much on that. The news was too happy to be tarnished by a moment of self pity and introspection.

Today, I say a prayer so that the Lord may quiet my inner storm. I have to love where I am and bloom where I am planted or blown away... since I seem to be more like a tumbleweed than a potted plant hehe... I thank You Lord for always sending me soft kisses that make me smile each day. I feel your arms around me, hugging me from the inside. Only You can do that. :)

I ran again today and now I am becoming very schleepy so I am going to catch a few winks before heading to school and reading more papers. Loving what I do. :)

The Dream

I had a dream and it seemed so real.

As I close my eyes tonight, I hope that Mr. Sandman would come visit me again and yet give me that vision.

Dissertation

Today I just spoke to our partner professor at Osaka University in Japan and I discussed my proposed solution. I had a hard time defending my work because I was so nervous and half of the time I was trying to process all the jargon *hehe*. The field I am in is new to me because I was not into AI before. I was into P2P but I shifted because there aren't so many people in my field and it is really, I-cannot-say-it-enough hard to work alone with no one to brainstorm with. I am glad though that after talking he was able to see novelty in m work. His only concern is that I found an approach that I am using as basis. It is focused on another domain but with some tweaking can be applied in my domain. He said he would reject my dissertation if I only had to do minor tweaking because otherwise it will not qualify as a dissertation. Afraid!

I am now writing my proposal. Hopefully, I will finish this summer so I can defend this coming first term and I can start working on it. *sigh* So many things have been happening lately it has been hard to focus on my dissertation. For the past few days though we have been working 9 to 5 and I think it is working for me. :) *woot*

Gratitude

If I were to sum up in one word my state right now it is grateful.

I am grateful for a lot of things.

Thank You Lord!

Bora with Bro

I just realized that I did not write about my trip to Bora last March with my brother. It was fun because it has been a while since we hung out. It was my brother's first time in Boracay so we maximized our trip. After landing we went straight to the hotel, this was frustrating for me because we had to wait a few hours before the room with a vault was ready. I made a very specific request that I wanted a room with a vault, not because I had millions with me but because I wanted piece of mind.

After that, we could not swim anymore because the sun was glaring so we just decided to walk underwater with the fishes wearing a huge helmet from a long time ago. I panicked a bit going down because my ears began to hurt so I had to stop midway and then continue going down. I equalized but my ears hurt anyway... The trip down was worth it though because there were soh many fishes that we got to feed and we also got to play around. For 500 Php we got to experience this and we got a VCD as a souvenir. :)

After that we went back to the room and then I caught a glimpse of free poi lessons. I have long been wanting to try out a poi and I was surprised that it was rather easy for me to use. The others in the class had a hard time and my brother teased me for being a show off. I think my Florante at Laura komedya days helped because some of the moves were similar to the moves using the poi. Before I left Bora, I bought five pairs of poi. :)

We also got henna tattoos for free because Globe had a promo while we were there and we also got into a party for free! :) That party was fun but I also saw a student from Cisco. Students really are everywhere! :) That night we also had a free dinner but that should be another post. :)

The following night we went island hopping and we got to swim near Shangri-la. The water was great there and I had fun doing laps. My brother said I was antisocial when in the water. I agree. After that, we had a relaxing massage and slept because we partied until the morning the night before and we were planning to party again later that night. We went to another party and my brother got drunk! It was a bit annoying that he got drunk hehe... The following morning we tried to learn how to skim board. I bruised my left knee. My right knee was bruised earlier from wall climbing because my foot slipped. I was pleased with myself though because I reached the top! :)

I had gallons and gallons of mango shake while there and we ate many times at Lemon Cafe (I love their food) and discovered a really good cake I forgot what it is called but it's Mango something... Yum!!! I am sure to eat that cake again when I go back with colleagues! I am coming back and it's all paid for! How kewl is that?!

I already miss the food and the sand and the water and believe it or not... the sun. The sun is better when it's kissing you from the white sands and turquoise water of Bora!

On my last night in Bora I decided to stay at a henna stand and experience how it is to be like a local. I befriended the people and tried to attract customers! I got soh many customers to come to the stand and the locals were so pleased they gave me another free henna tattoo!!! I got myself a Dolphin Tattoo on my left leg. I had another on my left shoulder. It was perfect for the National Geographic Earth Day Run. :)

Must get back into shape for my next Bora trip! :) I will be working so I do not think I will get to go to the beach as frequently but I will be staying at Boracay Regency so that's alright!!! I have been to Bora four times but this is the first time I will be staying at a posh hotel. :)

Discovery

I love how you make me feel like I can conquer the world. You make me breathe and live more. You make my heart beat faster and make me gasp for air. You make me go greater distance, beyond I thought I could go. You make me fight the urge to stop and slow down. You make me want to see more of the world. Because of you I realize that every journey begins with one simple step and every step that comes after will just happen.

I hope to have more years with you and discover you more as I discover myself.

Discover running. :)

What did you think I was talking about?

I have been running for a while now and while I have had a minor accident, I am loving it thoroughly. I used to be biased but now I see the fun and beauty in it.

I hope to fall back into love with swimming too. I am super excited because I am going back to Bora! Must get back into shape!!! :)

Caliraya Fun

I forgot to post about Caliraya! I was in Caliraya from Friday afternoon up until Saturday afternoon. It was just an overnight thing but it was packed with activities! When we got there I brought out my poi so the others who wanted to try it out can try it out... I demonstrated a bit and left it to one of our secretaries. After a brief merienda we went down the hill to play with a monster (because it is so gigantic!) basketball... It was really hard! We then tried their obstacle course. I was so nervous about the hurdles because I might trip and hurt my freshly healed (tocino-looking if I may be so gross!) right knee. After the obstacle course, I was able to eye the Earth Balls (way bigger than the monster basketball!) and freed the ball... The ball was too big so we just decided to play Frisbee.

My hand-eye coordination is not very good but I think my throw has improved a whole lot!!! Compared to last year's super fail throw, my throw now can be caught hehe... Also, I can now catch. Not without getting bruised but still... I had so much fun running and catching and failing most times and just laughing! After the game we were hoping we can go wall climbing but it was closed already so we decided to do Bungee Cord next!

I was soh excited and partly scared hehe... I tried to somersault and realized that it was not so difficult so I did it many times! Everyone was cheering and the feeling was exhilarating! You see, I have never somersaulted in my life before the Bungee Cord! :) I didn't know it was soh fun! :) After Bungee Cord we tried a variation of zip-lining. I tried it once because I was afraid of getting down hehe... A friend of mine had to help me down. There is a rope that has a round flat thing that you sit on and then you basically cross the line hanging on to the rope for dear life. The other end of the rope is a bit high and has no landing platform so it's hard to get down...

After the zipline we ate dinner, and then sang at the Videoke. After that I changed into my two-piece and we swam in the pool! The water was surprisingly warm. I have to practice my strokes if I want to compete in the next FA swim meet. I sucked hehe... Speed has never been my thing. I have endurance. I think I can swim 2.5 KM but I do not think I can swim fast... Even in swimming I am no sprinter. :)

After swimming we took a bath and then hung out outside eating chips and drinking (water for me, lambanog for the others!). We were planning to run in the morning but nobody woke up so we just had breakfast, after which we played Frisbee again, of course I still suck at catching but it's a vast improvement from last March. :) I just need a bit more practice. After Frisbee, we went wall climbing. I was able to climb five times! :) Before the climb, we decided to zipline first, it was pretty easy already because I have tried it in Chiang Mai but it was fun nonetheless... It was the walk back that was kind of boring...

After all the activities, we just rested for a bit and then took a bath. When we got back to Manila we decided to watch Iron Man 2 hehe... I was so surprised that we all had energy left! We even played basketball at TimeZone! I think my hand-eye coordination is really improving already because I scored 35! Highest I have ever gotten! I need more practice but I definitely am improving! *woot!*

I had fun at Caliraya! Food and service sucked but I had fun because of the company!

Until next activity!!!

Grateful

The past few days have been great for me. My knee has healed nicely and I have been in great company among friends. I have gone back to reading papers and I feel like I have some knd of purpose again. I ran again today and it felt good to sweat it out. I hope the good days keep on rolling in.

Thank You Lord. :)


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The Last Days

I just saw The Last Days with my sister. It's a documentary by Steven Spielberg about the holocaust's five Hungarian survivors. I have been to Budapest but I did not know that there were also Jews who were persecuted there.

I feel rather sad as it was inhuman but at the same time I am in awe of their faith and strength. The two sons of one of the survivors became rabbis. Now that is faith.

This made my challenges easier to accept because what they went through was indeed so much harder to overcome and yet they still managed.

Thank You Lord for never leaving my side no matter what state I am in. Never let go of my hand.


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Under

I have a very weird set of feelings gurgling underneath me and it is making me sad and confused. Go away weird feelings. I need to move around I am like this when my lifestyle becomes sedentary. I have to start working agaon tomorrow!




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Scraped Knee

It took me a while before I was able to access my blog. Has it been that long since I last posted? Nah... My memory is just failing me is all... and this is with Berocca!!! Yikes!

I just turned 30 and a lot of my friends have been warning me about the magic number 30. They say once you turn 30 you will feel your body age and you will start feeling funny... but mostly old. Hmm... Apart from the memory lapses that I have been having since I was 16, I do not feel at all old. I am more active than ever, joining in fun runs... I am thinking about moving up to 10K. I have just made my best time ever at 35 minutes. Five minutes short of my 30 minute goal but close enough. I have learned how to make myself run faster but unfortunately, in the process of trying it out, clumsy me tripped and fell and scraped my right knee. I have not been able to run for many days now and it upsets me that I have missed out on a lot of things like wall climbing. I was there but I was not able to try it out, instead I just took pictures of people. I know I was the saddest person there. :)

Just last weekend I had to also pass up on swimming. Me! Of all people! Passed up the chance to swim! Worse! With an inflatable shark. Since I was a kid, I have been wanting an inflatable killer whale. I remember asking my dad to buy me one and I remember him telling me I might drown because I was not a good swimmer yet. Heck, I think I did not know how to swim yet at the time. I was nine.

Last Sunday me and my college friends went to EK and I had to pass up on riding Log Jump. I did not mind though because I enjoyed taking their photos using my friend's D90. :) Also, they decided not to ride the Rio Grande *hehehe* so I did not miss out on that too. There is a new feature there called SRR or something like that. It's a haunted house and I had to be very careful with my knee. I think the haunted house was cool and I would like to go back again with other friends, this time with a healed knee. :) I also got to see one of my friends in the apostolate there who is the daughter of the owner. She is performing there on weekends, I was glad we got to talk again after a long time.

Now, I can swim 36 laps and tread and do other things in the water... I think it is about time I get an inflatable killer whale and I still do not have one. When one of my college friends found out, they decided to get one so that I may be able to live this childhood dream... And then the knee happened... *sigh*. I had a picture taken with the shark but everyone else got to ride it... boo... Everyone but me... How sad is that?!

Still, there were good things that happened last week like... I got to play bowling with friends and I think my game improved. I think I know more or less how to throw the ball now. :) Thanks to the patient coaching of my friends. I have to practice though so I can really improve. Also, last week, I played ping pong for the first time. I got teased a lot about my hand-eye coordination but in the end, I learned!!! I now know how to serve the ball and how to receive the ball and how the game play goes... Yahoo!!! I learn new things all the time!

I think my knee is healing nicely *relatively anyway* and I hope it will be fully okay by Friday because I am going to another outing. Hopefully, this time I can wall climb and I can Zorb and do other things! *woot!*

Walk-a-Ton

Muscles are way too sore to run because I walked from ehzeralee to Zutphen which is at least 14 km away one way from Almen walked for three hours only stopping once to buy water in Zutphen. Walked back again so I walked 28 Km!!! I was going to ridee a bike but the bikes were too big for me. My feet were dangling from the ground. Not just an inch from the ground but a good 6 inches!!! Yikes!
It was fun and scary at the same time. I got to observe what they do when everything else is closed on Sundays. There was no bus which prompted me to walk hehe!!! They just rest all day in preparation for the brand new week. They also visit their loved ones. Grandchildren visit their grandparents with their parents. I think I like that scheme. Also, it was nice to see more farm houses and the animals! People must have thought I was some freak taking the pictures of their animals haha! I do nkt think they get a lot of tourists.

It got scary when I was running out of daylight but the good Lord looked after me.


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Almen to That

Here is something I wrote at a restaurant while in Almen:


I ran more than 10 km today in the countryside of Gelderland and that is without walking! i felt like Manny Pacquiao except I do not have a dog named Pacman running alongside me... heck, I do not have a dog period and instead of running to the tune of Eye of the Tiger I ran to the tune of my most fave musicals like Les Mis, Phantom, Rent, Wicked, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast etc... The nice landscape, picturesque houses and fancy (at least to me) animals served as the perfect background to the music. I got to go to two towns today. I am now at a restaurant 2 km away from my hotel. There is not other restaurant nearby and the hotel is charging 28 Euros for the buffet. Haha... No thanks. Not pigging out (yet) and not willing to spend that much. They will be feeding me that meal for the next few days I am there for the seminar so no thanks. Tomorrow, I am going to the nearby historic town of Zutphen just outside of Almen. Maybe I will ride a bike. I was going to rent one today but decided against it. I wanted to run and so when it stopped raining, I ran.

I ran like Forrest Gump did. I did nkt want to stop running except it was getting too dark already and I had to get some dinner. I ran to the restaurant. Many drivers who drove by gave me the thumbs up sign. :)

I just finished dinner. A glass (they served it in a glass) buillon or soup and a pile of yummy but cold ( I thinknthey really serve this cold) roast beef. I was soooh juicy! After eating nithing but sausages in Amsterdam, I embrace the succulent roastbeef. Thank you cow, you were very yummy, please donjot visit me in my sleep. I saw impprted cows today the white with black spots ( or... or... is it black with white spots?). i also saw the small horses and sheep and the only thinf missing was Babe the pig and there could have been a movie. No. I Am not Babe. I am naaaht a peeeg!

In the menu it said light linch but it is anything but light. The lady said I will be given a small piece of bread. No. It was huge it is half a French bread overflowing with butter. I scraped the butter out, it looks like there are five sticks there. There was also salad and karanamelk which I think, this is after downing the entire glass, is yoghurt. Not bad really. I had a wonderful dinner, thank you Lord.

Please help me get back to the hotel safely. i am nit sure if I can still run since I am full. I will try to walk briskly instead. :)

Update: I ran all the way!!! *woot!* Now time for bed.


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Mardi Gras

We did something bad today...

We went to an Eat-All-You-Can Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant at Tomas Morato. Very bad. I had Miso soup, Kani Salad, Sashimi, Beef Teppanyaki, Beef Teriyaki, Baked Oysters and Ebi Tempura. Yikes. I was soh full and still after that I had gelato from Amici... thanks to my friend who had his birthday recently, my gelato was free of charge *woot!* plus I tried the gelato of almost everyone *wahaha!*. I still like the mint with chocolate chip flavor the best.

I had fun at dinner because of the food but I think it has much to do with Gabo! He is soh cute he is now two and a half years old and he was playing with my iTouch. He liked the games I installed and he hugged and kissed me too. *aww...*

We walked going to Amici which I think was a guhreat plan because it was just near and we had to burn the calories. I know, that will never compensate for the gluttony we demonstrated at Zensho but still... it's better than not walking.

My friends are planning to hold a 12-hour marathon of the extended version of Lord of the Rings tomorrow but I think I will pass. I want to watch A Dangerous Life on TV with my sister. I also have a paper and a final exam to write so I better get cracking tomorrow.

Thank You Lord for this beautiful day. I loved it and enjoyed it immensely. :)

Hakuna Matata

I do not know why I logged in today. I do not feel like retelling what has been happening to me though... too lazy. I guess I will just share what I learned while I was doing the zipline activity in Chiang Mai. The guide said, If you worry about how far down you can fall you will not enjoy. Everyone has to come down eventually so why worry. I think the same can be said about life. If we worry too much how much we can lose or how badly we can fail, we can end up not enjoying or living life to the fullest.

I guess that morning I learned more than how to zip line. :)

Got to run again last night with friends. The air was cool so it was really great. I hope to be able to run more in the future. Just found out MIzuno has a shirt that has a pocket especially for the iPod Touch!!! *woot!* Gotta get one of those! Maybe two... We'll see... Oh and yeah, I finally got myself an Oakley for running! *woot!* Speaking of acquisition, my long time crush is now mine! My dad gave me an LV Insolite for my birthday. Not the color that I was crushing on because Rubis is an old color, he got me the latest color of Insolite Orange! Love it still... it's like part Hermes part LV now hehe because of the color Orange. I lahveeht!!!

GTG!

From the Netherworld

I know I said I will be posting about Shmango but I do not feel like talking about something that has happened almost a month ago. I do not feel like talking right now actually. I am too sleepy but am too lazy to take my contacts out. I am such a sloth. I guess I am a bit tired. I just got back from the Netherlands yesterday and I have not gotten any proper rest yet. Still, I had a wonderful trip and I thank the Lord for keeping me safe and for guiding my way during the trip. I spent two nights in Amsterdam and then moved on to Almen, Gelderland which is twenty minutes from Zutphen which is twenty minutes from Apeldoorn which is an hour and a half from Amsterdam. It was a rather complicated train trip and in fact, going to Almen I even got lost because though I boarded the train from the correct platform I somehow managed to still ride the train that is going to a wrong direction but the Netherlands is small and so I only got delayed by an hour. I was not in a rush though so I was okay.

It was just the Ehzerworld Langoed Hotel and farms and fields around it. Nonetheless, being the restless person that I was, I decided to just run. I brought my jogging pants and running shoes because I really planned on doing this there. I wanted to practice for an upcoming bout with a friend of mine. It was still rather cold but I wore my Nike sports jacket and yes, it has rightly earned the title sports jacket because for the first time in the two years that I have owned it, it was used for something sporty. I ran more than ten kilometers (nonstop!) and I felt like I can run more! It was probably because of the nice cool weather. When I wanted to go to a restaurant, I ran. When I want to buy water I ran to the nearest grocery store (14 KM roundtrip!). I even walked for 28 kilometers going to Zutphen because there was no bus on a Sunday. I had fun!

I was able to see sheep and lots of cute ponies and horses. I found out that fresh air smells like cow dung and I found out I can outperform my 5Km no walking record. It was during that solitary experience that I was able to think about everything that is going on in my life. It gave me a nice venue for introspection and retrospection. I was able to pray and I was able to reflect. I felt so free just running with the cold wind slapping me in the face. I was flushed after running but I always like what I see in the mirror after running or walking. I also love the sleep that comes after. :)

Life treated me well in the Netherlands and I think or at least I would like to think that while I was there I lived and ate and slept healthy. Now I am back to abusing my body. Tsk. Sleeping late and waking up late. I will try to sleep already so that I can keep up the healthy life style I picked up in the Netherlands.

I realize that I have not really talked about my Amsterdam visit but I am really too lazy right now. And sleepy.

Good night world!

P.S.

I hope I will be able to finish the paper I am about to write. I only have a few days left. I must move. I must.

Pearl Farmazing Race

Last March 3 to 6 I was finally able to go to Davao!!! I was supposed to go some years ago but my mom did not allow me due to the abductions happening there. There us still that fear but because I went because of a conference my mom had to let me go. That and I just turned 30. More on that later though! :)

On my first day I got there at 745 in the morning! I barely slept the night before, it was great that someone woke me up! Thank you!!! Whew!

I just went into my hotel room at Marco Polo, applied n-layers of sunblock and off to Pearl Farm I went. When I got to Pearl Farm wharf I learned that you had get there by 8 in the morning or you have to take the one pm boat and then leave by 4 pm. My friend after learning there is a buffet lunch inclusive of the 1550 Php charge was de ided to go that morning so we asked for another way to get there. The receptionist said we can take the ferry for 13 php and then the "motor" to the Pearl Farm. We first had to take a cab to the Sasa Wharf. We thought, okay that sounds doable. We paid for our entrance fees and we were off to the other wharf.

We had to walk a bit to get to the Sasa Wharf. For a while I thought we were lost already because we had to pass by a lot of alleys and a little market but alas we saw the wharf. It helped that my friend knew how to speak the Visayan language.

The water was amazingly clear, I coukd even see the schools of fishes swimming by and this is a wharf!!! I was super excited to see Pearl Farm!

It was a rather quick ride. After the ride I saw the "sky lab" which are tricycles. We asked where the "motor" was. Up to this moment I thought they were talking about a motor boat as in my experience in Phuket. No. They. Were. Not. They meant a motorcycle! I almost backed out if it were not for the fee we already paid! So off to the craziest motorcycle ride I went! We went up and down the winding rough road of the mountainous island we went! After 30 minutes of motorcycle adventure we saw the majestic sea and of course the famous Pearl Farm. Whew!!! We paid the driver 150 php each and then we went inside Pearl Farm.

We were given welcome drinks and then we ate at the lunch buffet by the infinity pool. The food was grwat but i did not want to overeat so I just chose the food I liked. After, I slathered on even more sunblock and then we headed to the other island to swim. The water was soh clean I eanted to swim to the other island!!! The sand was also white and fine but unlike Boracay sand, the sand was hot. I had to tiptoe while shrieking in pain. The sand was littere with dead corals which made it harder to get to the deeper part of the water. The water was very salty it hurt my lips but because I love to swim in the sea, I did not care. I touched a star fish for the first time! There was a diving board but I was way too chicken to jump. I was afraid the fall might dislodge my goggles and water might get into my contacts.

Better get a lasik first. :)

By the end of the day my friend and I have gone to all the beaches and pools that are there. On the way ho e we were able tk catch a ferry going back to the Pearl Farm Wharf. There was limited bathroom and super limited time so I just changed into my dry clothes withiut taking a bath. I know, I am gross like that. :) Whew! I was soh tired I fell asleep i the ferry and my friend had to wake up because I kept on leaning towards the Korean guy! How embarassing! But you see, I was too tired to care.

When we got back to the hotel most of the participants minus the students were already there so we were asked to take a quick bath and to prepare for dinner. I had to move quick because normally it takes me aound an hour to bathe but I only had 30 minutes!

Made it on time with time to spare and luckily too because The dinner that was to come was amazing! With us was a Vietnamese professor working on the same field we are.

More on the dinner next time. I have to get to work like everyone else. :)





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You Chiang Mai Life

For a moment... Corny!!! :)


I have been uber busy for the past few weeks hence the silence. I apologize for those who were trying to reach me while I was away.. *sheepish grin* I could not answer phone calls... too expensive and I am too much of a cheapskate. :)

Just a run down of stuff I have been doing, well the fun stuff anyway. :)

I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand from March 4 to 8, I did not drop by Bangkok and I do not regret it one bit because Chiang Mai snagged my heart. I love it soh much I think it is now my most fave city! :) *sigh* Thinking about it now makes me want to fly there now.

On my first day, I got there at 5pm already. A bit too late to do anything so I just went around the Night Markets (yes, this is in plural form) and had my most fave and most missed coconut! Sweetest coconut juice where art thou? :) I started searching for pasalubongs and of course the quest for pickled mangoes began. This is (aside from the coconut) my fave food in Thailand. Surprisingly, pickled mangoes is not so big in Chiang Mai as it is in Bangkok. I found no pickled mangoes in the night markets. They had assorted preserved fruits but no pickled mangoes. It was during this time that I learned about the Flight of the Gibbon (this was featured on Amazing Race Asia with Marc Nelson and Rovilson which was enough to get me all excited!!!). Needless to say, I signed up right away for my last day in Chiang Mai because the following day I had to attend the conference already. After a yummy noodle soup dinner, I went home to get some rest. I also told myself I will not leave Chiang Mai without experiencing Fish Spa. :)

That night, I found out that the conference was not to begin until the afternoon so I decided to go to the Flight of the Gibbon the following day!!! I was so excited! It was 3 KM worth of zip lines and hangging bridges and rappelling! I have not done something like that before and it was so exhilarating! I met a Slovenian and a Swedish girl, a couple of Canadians and Brits that look like Middle Eastern! We all had a grand time! :) After the zipline adventure, we had lunch at one of the houses in the village and then we went to see the waterfalls where I hiked and hiked until I was panting like crazy... Boy, was I out of shape. I hate climbing!!! Of course I looked mindlessly happy in the pictures. I'm a pathological cam w&*^#.

After this, I was pooped but I had two hours to kill until the conference so I decided to go to the Wellness Center at the hotel for a sauna. It was soh relaxing! After a nice warm bath I went to the conference venue but I found out that the registration was literally just a registration and I was to come back after two hours for the welcome cocktail! I had two hours to kill and I wanted to maximize my stay so... I went for a Fish Spa for one hour!!! :)

It was ticklish at first but then after a while you get used to it. The fishes are called Gara Rufa (yes, like that actress who walked out from a talk show) and they were originally used in Egypt. After the Spa I saw wonderful improvements on my feet!!! It felt smoother... I wish the Fish Spa would be as cheap as it is in Chiang Mai. A Chinese friend whom I met at the conference told me it's cheaper in Bangkok... Next time I will be sure to try that out too! :)

After the fish spa, I went to the welcome cocktail... and then I saw a spa there and started craving for a body scrub, a massage and a royal bath *hehe indulgent brat!!!*. So... When I got back from the Welcome Cocktail... I went to the hotel spa and got myself a Tom Yum Body Scrub, Tranquility Massage and a Tom Yum Bath (yes they made me a human Tom Yum soup! Who would have thought the prawns are pampered like that! ). I had a nice long sleep after this! I loved the massage, this is the first and the only massage that I have every truly enjoyed in my life! I long for a massage like that to this day! *sigh!*

After this it was serious work and a series of conferences that I attended. After the first day of conferences, I went to the Warorot Market to look for (still!) pickled mangoes and found the mangoes... Along the way I discovered the Elephant Safari and signed up for a trip on my last day. I also discovered a designer and promised I will come back. I bought my mangoes and cheap cherries and went back to the hotel and then off to the conference banquet where we had a feast, a cultural show and got to fly our own hot air balloons!!! How cool is that?! After the dinner, I was pooped! I just transferred photos and then I was off to the Internet shop to chat with the people in the Philippines. :) Missed home already!

After chatting I went back to the hotel to rest early as I had to talk the following day. After my talk, I listened to other people talk some more and after the conference, I went to the mall and bought three pairs of the same shoe of the same color (only one color was available) of the same size! The sales lady was baffled but was happy to sell all the shoes. I got sandals by Scholl with arch support for my mom and then my sister said she wanted a pair too and then I figured I wanted a pair too so I can rest my aching feet after wearing heels... :) I also got myself a DQ dipped cone! Fave! I got some Wacoal stuff because they were sooh cheap there! Also I got something for my heels that I have, to this day, not found yet... I wonder where it went. I saw it the day i unpacked and then lost it forever... Darn.

On my way to the mall I saw the most tender moment of a dad and a kid. The dad was a caucasian European with his wife and three kids. The youngest (and cutest) looked exactly like him with big round clear blue eyes, blonde hair and he was very schleepy already. He looked like he was two and the older brother is four and the eldest girl is I think six. I digress. The father had huge biceps and he carried in his arms so tenderly and lovingly his little boy who was slowly falling asleep and he gently kissed his forehead...*sigh* That, I think is the most tender moment and I wish I could have captured it somehow. I have the scene play in my head on demand at times when I want to think of a nice moment. :) It's one of my happy thoughts. :)

After shopping, I went back to the spa because the massage was so great, I had a foot massage, and Indian Head Massage, Body Wrap and a Rose Petal Bath. I love that the spa has better service than The Spa and it's way cheaper too and it was in the hotel so after the treatments, I go back to the hotel and laze around. I was checking out the following day though, so after relaxing, I had to pack my stuff. I had to wake up really early the following morning too for the elephant safari.

The Safari was beyond words. At first there was a show and then I got to ride the trunk of the elephant. I thought that was the closest I will get for a ride but no. I got to ride the bare back of an elephant!!! I am afraid of heights but the photos looked amazing hehe! It looked like I was having the time of my life. As if that is not enough, I also have a photo sitting on an elephant 's lap and got sneezed on *major eww!!! Good thing I had alcohol in my bag!*

After the Elephant Show we went for an Ox Cart Ride to the village and went shopping for stuff. At least the other tourists went shopping, I just looked around as I was on my last few Bahts hehe... I think I had only around three hundred Baht left. :) After the shopping I went for an Elephant Safari. I crossed the river and climbed a mountain on the back of an elephant driven by a Mahut (elephant trainer). I also had my photo taken feeding the elephant sugar cane. That was fun! I was laughing because the elephant kept on asking for more!

After that long safari, I had a hearty lunch with a couple of retired Brits who were not snobs, perhaps because they were not from London. They are from Kent, yes, the hometown of Becky Bloomwood *hehe!*. They were very nice. :) After lunch, we went for a bamboo raft ride that I got to drive btw. My darn camera ran out of battery though! Boo!!! After the safari, we went to the orchid farm and because I did not have battery anymore, I could not take pictures anymore.

I got back at the hotel at around four pm and I was going to leave for the airport at around six pm so I decided to walk around and check the other shops nearby and then at quarter to six I went back to the shop of the designer whose clothes I adored and bought some pieces for my sister and for my self after this, I ran to the hotel and off to the airport I was.

When I got to the airport there was DQ again. I wanted a medium cone but I could not buy it because I was one Baht short!!! Darn!!! :) So I got the small cone. When I got to Bangkok it was boarding time already so I did not even get to visit the shops! Boo... Then it was time to go back to Manila again and as always, I could not wait to get back.

I always miss Manila after a trip outside. Nothing beats my Philippines.

That was just my trip to Chiang Mai!!!

*whew!*

What a mouthful! I will write about the other stuff next time... Too tired already. :)

Perfect Feet

Today I discovered a work haven at MOA. I have a feeling I will be back to work at that cafe again. Not as a barista haha!!! Work as in write papers and prepare for classes. I hope they do not mind that I stay there, there aren't a lot of customers anyway *hehe* Wifi connection is really good too! I was able to finish all my deliverables for next week thanks to my stay there. I have my sis to thank for asking me to be hwr chauffeur today. If I stayed at home, I am pretty sure I would not have been as productive. Not omly did I get to work, I also enjoyed the food! I had my own world as I listened to my kind of music ( abusing my Senheissers).

To reward my self for such great work, I am now, as I write this, having a foot spa! Which is weird I know because I will be walking all over Chiang Mai very, very soon! I will be back to this place right after Chiang Mai *hehe*! The place I am in does not have good ambience but I think the technician is pretty good. I still have to see if the result is okay though.

In the meantime, I am sitting back and relaxing.




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Energized

I am.

I just feel like I have been wound up again after a long time. I feel like an Energizer Bunny that can work and work to no end. :) I love this feeling. Could this be because of the overnight stay at Balay Indang?! I finally get the people who would leave the comforts of their own home to work at a remote place. i thought the location did not really matter but now i realize that it does something to a person. :) Wow... And this is after I have read many papers and a book on Environment Psychology. I finally got it! By George, I finally got it!

Anyhow, I have a deadline tomorrow and I would like to finish my deliverables today so I better stop blabbing and start typing away. :)

I just really love the type of work that I do.

I really, really love it!!!

Indang Will Always Love You

Yes, that is to be sung to the tune of I Will Always Love You. :)


This is the life...

Got to Balay Indang early morning yesterday and enjoyed the beautiful old charm that this place has to offer, not to mention (but I am already mentioning) the cool breeze that tickles my skin every now and then. Not only am I enjoying this beautiful paradise with the amazing gastronomical experience due to the intricately and lovingly prepared food, more so I am enjoying the great company of the people I share a laboratory with who also happen to be great friends. :)

We are now finalizing the meeting and I find it hard to make my self leave this place. I am still lounging in one of the cottages... Just hanging around. I love that I got to use rocking chairs (Yes, I used many!) again after a really long time. I finally got to take a bath in a fab bathroom with pebbles and open windows *haha!* (I might be an exhibitionist at heart!) *eww!* and sleep in a house similar to that of Sonya's Garden.

This place really gives your money's worth... Just the food is worth it! :) Service is impeccable and the place is really cozy and homey! :)

I love Balay Indang and I hope to come back again!

Music and Me

It's a wonderful feeling to wake up to beautiful music. It really does something to a person.


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Best Things in Life are Free

I feel free!

Thank you Lord for the opportunity. I thank you for the chance to finally open up and for allowing me to unload. I thank You for the gift of people. It really felt good. While my fears are still ever present, at least now I know I have a sanctuary when things get ugly though I am hoping it will not have to come to that.

I am also happy that the DOST presentation went well and that we do not have much problems. I also thank You for the unexpected bonus *beams*! I will not use it on a bag. I will not use it on bag. I do not need another bag. *big grin*

I am also grateful that the research that I am doing now is finally taking shape. *woot!* I am grateful for the group that you have sent me to because I am really having fun! :)

Thank You for not only getting me a research group but also for getting me a group of friends that I can really talk to.

Thank You.

Gid-Day!

I really had fun in my classes today. After five hours of teaching at the end of the day I was pooped but I felt good. It was not like the really long vacation. Not that I did not appreciate resting, it was just I felt empty not doing anything productive. :) Also, I really believe teaching rejuvenates the very core of my being. Having this feeling about teaching tells me that I am where I really am supposed to be. I guess this is really what I am supposed to feel when I am where I am supposed to be.

Teaching is a big chunk of who I am and I wonder if someday I will be able to start up my own school... I would be happy with a preschool. :) Very much happy with that indeed. I would love to teach kids. I wonder if I will be any good with kids who are not my siblings hehe...

I really thank the Lord for leading me to this vocation/profession. How many people can actually say that they love what they are doing and get paid for it too? *sigh* I just marvel at the generosity of our dear Lord.

Today was a really good day.

Thank You Lord. :)

Oh and yeah... Tonight I was soh giddy because I finally read the paper that I need for my dissertation!!! I already have an idea how to do the dissertation! Soh thrilled!!! I will be meeting with my students tomorrow and we will identify things that we need to finish this term. Soh darn excited. :) Another thing to thank the Lord for. Thank You for leading me to the solution that I need dear Lord.

Irked

Oh yes I am...

Each one of us has a button, okay, we all have many buttons. Tonight, one of my buttons has been pushed. You see, sometimes it is not so much as the action but what comes after that can tick one off. I suppose it is not too much to expect for a person to react the way one would expect another to react if the roles were reversed. I know I am not making much sense but I really do not want to retell the entire event as it just might resurrect the emotions that occurred earlier. To give you an idea, my palms were sweaty and I was shaking and yes, almost on the verge of tears. I was that upset, nay, angry.

Anyhow, I know I am better than this. I do not hate the person, I despise the action and the reaction that came after. I will try to get past all this and be positive again.

I am just irked.

Is all.

Crazy For You

We all have our own type of mental illnesses. It's nice to be able to hear about other people's kind of crazy. Today, I discovered a really weird type of crazy. Misery loves company I guess, and in the case of neurosis, it feels better when people are far worse. :)

Watching Big Bang right now which exacerbates the craziness of even the smartest people. *hehe*

Would say more but my attention is being hogged by four geeks. :)

Guhleeh!!!

I have finished 13 Glee episodes! A friend of mine said that the rest will be coming this April. I cannot wait!!! I still have the last song playing in my head... Coz we belong together... Must stop. :)

This series as cheesy as it is makes me sooh high! The songs are just soh happy so no matter what drama is happening in the other characters' lives, every episode is a happy episode. Life is like that though, no matter what your drama is, the world will not stop turning. It will go on without you, so if you wish to sulk, you will get left behind. Time travel, according to theoretical physicists is possible by traveling at the speed of light, however, this will make you move to the future not to the past... So, better to sing a happy tune even when you feel like killing yourself or others... :)

Guhleeh is my happeeh thought!!!

Tsk Tsk Tsk

I have so many things ahead of me which us good because work is a good distraction. Being idle is really bad for me. I have long been familiar ofnhis condition of mine. But take bite though that having much to do does not really mean I am doing my tasks tsk tsk tsk... It just means my task list does not just have take a bath in it hehe...

Which reminds me there is something I really need to finish by tomorrow... Going to bed now... I am going to emcee... again... tomorrow. Ugh.

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First Day High

First teaching day today and I can feel my adrenaline flowing again. My body clock is still messed up but hopefully it will get fixed soon enough. My students made me smile again today. They came up with this tag line.

Open your eyes. Visualize. Actualize.

I thought this was catchy it can even become a shirt. :) Open your eyes to the problem at hand. Visualize what you can do to change it and then act on it. *sigh* I think today was a good first day even if my lecture lasted only two hours today. I love teaching! :)

I am awaiting the paper that will be submitted for PCSC and after that I have to book for Chiang Mai. I just found out that the hotel where the conference will be is already fully booked. I have to make do with other nearby hotels. Ugh. Also, I have to book a flight. There is no direct flight to Chiang Mai via PAL and while I would like to drop by Bangkok. I think I am going to pass because for one, I have been there twice last year and I know I will be spending a lot of moolah if I stop over in Bangkok. I also cannot afford to miss more classes this term as something is eating up my time. I have decided therefore to just stay in Chiang Mai and explore the place as much as the time I am there will allow me (which is really not much). I would probably just end up visiting a couple of temples and the night bazaar perfect because during the day I will be in the conference.

I have not prepared my slides yet *sheepish grin* but I think I have enough time still. I must focus on my DOST report for now.

Past Text

I just had the most exhausting night last night. I saw Sherlock Holmes and while it had a nice ending, it was quite too long for my short attention span. I found the London setting drab and gloomy. I don't know what to make out of the revamped image of Sherlock Holmes as a super genius, super hero bordering X-Men abilities... Hmm... It entertained me but I thought there was something lacking. I liked the tandem of Law and Downey though... But I am not really a movie critic so... yeah... hehe...

I also got a blast from the past after I saw a notebook filled with text messages from the past. I was a big loon back then and I transcribed messages from my crush back in 2000-2001 *wahaha*. Funny, because I really, I mean seriously enjoyed reading the messages. Too bad, a few months before our falling out, I did not transcribe anymore... Too lazy I guess or did I just lose interest? Not sure anymore. Still, I think I know how we managed to text each other day in, day out, consistently, obsessively almost, he was so darn funny. I only transcribed his messages and not my replies so I only know half of our conversations from way back but boy... it was a riot!

In case you are wondering, he is now married with a cute baby girl. I am very happy for him. He was always a free spirit and I did not think he would settle down. Ever. He has proven me wrong then again, he was never the predictable type. :) I am glad our paths crossed and believe it or not, I am happy too that I was crazy enough to transcribe his messages. Something to show my grandkids someday. They would roll on the floor laughing! I mean seriously. :)

As I was reading it last night, I could not help but remember those days when I was idealistic, and I had values that I would never compromise. Now, I do not think I can say the same. Last night, I wished that I were that girl again and that I had so much still ahead of me. If I could talk to that girl I would tell her to hold on to those things because those values are your compass so you will never get lost.

At the same time, I am grateful because though I have lost my compass, the Northern Star guides me. Hopefully, It will lead me to where I really should be. In the meantime, I just have to do my part, and hope and most importantly trust.

Hanging

I was able to get a lot of things done today yey!!! Also, I was able to go out with old friends and some students of mine. It was fun being able to laugh with them again. I also got to hang out with the staff earlier this afternoon.

I was also able to hear a nice love story. I am very happy for them. :)


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Love and Cholera

I just saw Love In The Time of Cholera. I found it frustrating and a tad bit far fetched and yet the hopeless romantic in me, that clueless girl who read countless love pocketbooks, would like to believe that such kind of love exists in the real world. I am nit done reading the book yet so I am going to continue. I wonder how faithful the movie was to the book.

"Love is without age. It is neither alpha nor omega. It is an end in itself." -Florentino Arriza


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Lesson on Listening

It does not boggle me how I can talk and talk and still yearn to talk some more... what is mind boggling is that I think I am beginning to learn how to listen. I do not believe in New Year's resolutions but I think at some point we begin to learn to improve ourselves regardless of the time of year. Like a toddler learning how to walk I am learning how to listen.

I had a great conversation today about things of little and of great consequence and I found it very amusing but at the same time nourishing.

Thank You Lord, You made me smile and laugh today.

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Tummy Tunes

My tummy is singing a tune... Or did I swallow a Drumania machine last night?! I think it's because of my ice cream diet... I cannot eat anything solid yet because of my operation and I have been eating nothing but frozen vanilla yoghurt since yesterday. I was going to buy ice cream but Nestle did not have the plain Vanilla flavor in 2L so I got a BTIC 2L instead. It's sugar-free and 99.99% Fat free so I hope it will not make me gain weight. While not gaining weight was not a factor when I chose the yoghurt, it helps me to stick to the diet. Not like I have much choice but it makes me feel good about eating just that... Hopefully, this will make me lose weight wahaha!!! I hope it won't give me pimples though. :)

I have not been productive today... yet again. Very bad. I think my brain will activate in a while... *chirp chirp* Okay any moment now... *chirp chirp* Okay, I will try again later.

Tripping!

I have a flight to book for a conference and yet guess what?! While I have not really booked my conference flight yet I have already booked to Boracay for a long weekend wahaha!!! Sooh excited to go to Bora with bro! This will be his first time! We'll be there for five straight days! How kewl is that?! My sister did not want to come, she's not into nature beaches.

Hopefully, we'll go to Palawan next because I have not been there yet. I will be his tour guide in Bora and he will be my tour guide in Palawan in case he decides to go back there! I might go to Bora twice this year because on of my HS friends is coming back from the States and we plan to go to Bora with the gurls as well!!! *woot!*

This reminds me... I have too book my trip for a conference. I am not sure if I should purchase the tickets online so I think I will have to wait until next week so I can inquire about what I may or may not do. I have not been to this city yet in this particular country so I am excited. I wonder if I can drop by to the other cities... I will pay for my accommodations of course... Just so I can shop! *hihi!* Very bad. I have to hold out from shopping. *thwaps self* Must not go crazy!

In the meantime, I have to lose weight! This also means, I have to not overindulge when I leave for conferences this year... I have already many trips lined up! I am soooh excited! The beginning of the year is always filled with trips! *woot!!!*

Tooth or Dare

I got rid of my impacted teeth today... Yehey... Maybe am still drugged or something but I feel great! Finally am free of the darned tooth that was making me miserable... It did not hurt, but it was silently scratching my gums and affecting my other teeth. The other tooth while less bothersome was also affecting my other tooth... Bad. So I got rid of them. The dentist said I had nice teeth and that they were like a man's haha! Is that a good thing? After she pulled them out she showed me and boy, they are huge!!! She and her staff asked me aeveral times if I wanted to take them home. I said no firmly many times, after all I am not the sentimental type. They are just teeth. Teeth that I never wanted in my gums to begin with. There is this other tooth that I need to save though... *sigh* I hope it is not too late. I still have two more to get rid of but I will save that for this summer.

I also finished reading Son of a Witch. My last book that is connected to Elphaba... It was bittersweet finishing the book. I wanted to hold on so it will not end but I wanted to learn of the ending too... Elphaba is an amazing character. I miss her already.

The year has started and already I have pending tasks ooops... :) Will step right to it. Tomorrow. I'm high tonight hehe... whooozeeeh....




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Defying Gravity

I am currently obsessing with Wicked. I have read the book and it had a pretty sad story but this did not stop me from checking out the musical on YouTube. Learned that the story was totally overhauled and the musical has a lighter story and it has a happy ending! I soh want to watch the musical! I love the songs! I love the lyrics! I found out that it was Stephen Schwarz wrote the lyrics, the guy behind the lyrics of Pocahontas and I just love the songs of Pocahontas!

My current favorite is Defying Gravity. i love it because it just empowers me. Something that I need right now. I just feel myself rejuvenated with positive energy after listening to it. It makes me feel like I can really soar the limitless sky and really explore. I love that Elphaba is such a strong character, unafraid to be alone. Once upon a time, I had that strong a spirit and I hope to get that back. In the meantime, I am going to listen to Elphaba sing about how things are unlimited and hopefully, her independence and free spirit will rub off on me.

ELPHABA
(spoken) I know:
(sung) But I don't want it -
No - I can't want it
Anymore:

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

GLINDA
Can't I make you understand?
You're having delusions of grandeur:

ELPHABA
I'm through accepting limits
''cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down:
(spoken) Glinda - come with me. Think of what we could
do: together.

(sung) Unlimited
Together we're unlimited
Together we'll be the greatest team
There's ever been
Glinda -
Dreams, the way we planned 'em

GLINDA
If we work in tandem:

BOTH
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity

ELPHABA
They'll never bring us down!
(spoken) Well? Are you coming?

GLINDA
I hope you're happy
Now that you're choosing this

ELPHABA
(spoken) You too
(sung) I hope it brings you bliss

BOTH
I really hope you get it
And you don't live to regret it
I hope you're happy in the end
I hope you're happy, my friend:

ELPHABA So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

GLINDA
I hope you're happy!

CITIZENS OF OZ
Look at her, she's wicked!
Get her!

ELPHABA
:Bring me down!

CITIZENS OF OZ
No one mourns the wicked
So we've got to bring her

ELPHABA
Ahhh!

CITIZENS OF OZ
Down!

Bag Reveal

The bag that my Dad gave me last September. Mine is larger





than the one in the pic though because he gave the Gucci Web Large Tote. The one in the photo is a medium.

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Pexts

These are Pests who text (i.e., candidates who are campaigning and ruining others' reputation via text). I do not care about what you have to say. Spare me the negative vibes.


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iTouch Blog

Wow!!!

Finally an app that works with my blog! Now lazy me can just blog away on my iTouch!!! *woot* I think this is one of the best apps there is... nifty!!! Of course That is a biased opinion so do not listen to me. Allow me to apologize in advance for typos, I have stubby fingers :).

I accompanied my sister to Greenhills after meeting up with cousin and niece at SM North who are staying in Novaliches. Found out iTouch 3rd Gen is 1,700 Php more than my 2nd Gen! I shoild have waited for that but then again am having a blast with my current iTouch already, who needs the camera... I do. I can be such a cam w@$&3 sometimes... Photobooth on my MacbookPro should be enough thwaps self! But there are a lot of apps that are available on the net... OMG Gollum moment... Pardon. *sheepish grin*

Last night I felt sad. I mean really sad like depressed sad it was really not good. Thank goodness today is a better day and am no longer sad. I am waiting for better days, for when the sun will shine brightly again, for when my rainbow will appear again. Gloom has been around for such a long time already. I think I am ready for the new day the rainbow promises.

On the brighter side of things, my paper got accepted at a conference and so I will be leaving early next year *woot!*. I really do

need this! I need time away from many things. I will be submitting another paper to a local conference too so I guess there are trips in the early onset of 2010. I am liking 2010 already :).

Thank You Lord!







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Serendipity

I just finished watching Serendipity and I did not like how it was presented. I did not like the parts that seemed utterly useless... I did not get why the director decided to always show the traffic or why there were a lot of things that were shot in fast forward. It just did not make much sense to me.

However, I liked the story. While it may sound far fetched, sometimes life is hard to explain like the movie.

Life is complicated like that and sometimes we just have to trust where our feet take us.

Just Another Day

I like it that we no longer have to give out grades on course cards. It saves me time and voice. It also makes it less stressful for me as I need not see all the students all at once. I just have to deal with those who really need me to answer their questions about their grades.

This morning a student of mine was asking me to give him a .325 since it was Christmas and all. I hate being asked to play god because I am not a god. I do not know where I can get the score from. .325 is a whole lot of points and my students had to work for that. I told him this and it was just not sinking in. I do not give them grades, I merely compute their grades. I was glad that most students embraced this and understood this.

Upon checking my records I found out that this kid consistently had low scores in his written exams. I checked his written exam scores and I noticed that he has difficulty writing programs. This is the objective of the course and based on the written assessment he was unable to complete this objective. The wise voice told me to allow him to program something. I asked him to program Bubble Sort, something I discussed in class and it also appeared on their finals.

He was not able to do it.

After this, he accepted his grade wholeheartedly.

I thank that voice that told me to have him program because it saved me from emotional anguish and I think it helped the kid accept his grade too.

A-MACE-ing!

Today I was asked... yet again... to become a nun! *haha*

The Sisters at MACE were asking me if I wanted to become one of them. Now some of my colleagues are prodding me to become one. *haha* Life is a very unpredictable ride... Who knows? For now, I do not think I am being called for that. :)

It was fun giving away gifts at MACE. The kids had fun but we had more fun. Somehow the Lord always outdoes us. It's amazing.

Thank You Lord for the opportunity to be able to help out and to make kids smile.

Next year I hope even more people will join us at MACE. :)

Rebel

What makes an individual act against what one really wants. As in deep down inside it is what you want and yet you act against it? Is it a Messianic complex thinking that if this person displeases oneself, it will be for the greater good? I am trying to dissect this phenomenon because it has happened to me and you see... at the end of the day, it did no one, as in no one any good.

I wonder if this happens to other people too... It is frustrating, infuriating and mind-boggling for after all, was it not Freud who said we never act by virtue of altruism? It is always for reasons of self-preservation. I think I have witnessed this many times in my life to be able to really say that yes, I find this very true.

So, I wonder, what was it that pushed me to do what deep inside I knew I did not want? Is it a history of not getting what I want and still getting by? Is it pure sheer misconceived notion of convenience? Is it a history of being a doormat? Is it because I was just not thinking or was it a case of overdoing thinking? I have been asking myself these questions for a while now because really, this has changed the course of my life forever and I cannot even, for the life of me, figure out the answer to this very simple question.

Why?

Another Desperate Moment

I am crying like a crazy woman over a Desperate Housewives episode... again!!! *haha* *sob sob*

There is this episode where Lynette was judged because she was emasculating Tom her husband. She was telling Tom how upset she was that she was said to be "cracking his walnuts" *hehe!*. Tom said, "Don't mind them, we both know we are fine.". Later, Tom went to the porch of the old man who judged Lynette and he said, "What you do not know about Lynette is that she grew up without her dad and her mom was an alcoholic. She was the one in charge and in control. Because of this she has the need to be always in control because she is afraid things would fall apart. She cannot control everything but she can control me if I let her. So I let her because that makes her feel safe. Lynette is my job. I need to make her feel safe. ".

*sigh*

I love the writers of Desperate Housewives, the just know how to make my tears fall.

*sob*

Now, I have to get to work well... not really... I have to get to a party in a few minutes so I better get dressed. Another episode might be another hour of my time and I cannot afford that right now.

Yesterday, I was at one of the branches of Shiseido and accidentally *duh!* left my M&S paper bag there that had the gift for our dear secretary. I was really not sure if I left it there but when I got home I rang them and they really do have it. I am going to claim the gift tonight and thank that woman behind the counter. She is soh nice for telling me the package is there. I love their service. Note to self... will buy all Shiseido stuff from there... I might get my mom sunblock from there too.

Now my head hurts from crying...

Darnet!

Eureka Moment

While strolling in a mall half-awake yesterday with my sister, I had a eureka moment. I realized that I never like where I am. I am always worrying about tomorrow that I do not get to enjoy the moment. When I was single, I wanted to be in a relationship. Eventually, I was able to fix this when I became an active member of the Singles Apostolate and Center for Arts Foundation and many other organizations. Those times were the best times of my single life. Really. I am glad I went through that phase. Best of times!

When I was in a relationship, I wanted to get married. With all the books that I have read about being single and about getting married, you would think I already understand what I was asking for. Clearly, no, I had no clue. Reading books is different from actually being in the situation. Except of course, being in the situation means you just have to live with it.

When I got married, all I could think of was wanting to become a mom. I am never in a phase while really being in the phase. I am always wishing I were in another phase. That totally ruins the experience. So now, I am simply going to enjoy the limbo where I am in. I will live my life a day at a time and see where the Lord will take me. After all, what parent will wish his child ill? Clearly not the Father.

I think yesterday, I finally realized that I have to give my life to the Potter's Hand.

I would be the most terrible of clay to mold but He is the best Potter there is.

La Tex

I have finally finished writing the paper for a conference. I have sent it to my colleagues for comment and while I know I will have to revisit it, it makes me smile knowing I have written my first paper on LaTex. It really is so much easier to take care of citations using LaTex. Taking care of my bibliography used to be my most loathed part of writing the paper... Now it's actually very manageable especially since I am also using citeulike.org! It makes my life so much easier. While I was already able to tweak TexMaker so that the font of my editor is bigger, I still have difficulty editing my work because I like reading my work from beginning to the last part and it annoys me to see so many "tags" on the document. I get annoyed that I compile my work so I can get the .pdf format and then when I see things I want to edit, it annoys me that I have to close the .pdf and go back to editing my "code" again. Apart from this, I have no complaint.

I had difficulty adding figures at first but a friend of mine pointed out that I should use .eps format. After I started using that things became soh much easier! Yahoo!!! I will tell my group to use the same format because they also had problems with the figures. I am yet to learn creating tables *duh!* but I will get there when the need for it arises...

Tomorrow I will focus on machine project demonstrations *gags!* . Hopefully my students will be able to do very well. I have not tabulated their Finals yet although I already have the results in my bag. I had to focus on the paper first. Oh and yeah, I have a grading sheet for the thesis that I need to take care of too...

Whew!!!

What a long day. I am now very tired. I am hoping to wake up really early tomorrow morning for the simbang gabi...

I hope this is the year that I get to complete the simbang gabi. :)

Good night world!

Thank You Lord for the yet again very beautiful day that You have gifted me with. I am very grateful.

Cafe LaTex

I am finally writing in LaTex for a few days now. :)

I struggle because I like writing with big letters. I struggle because one of the two topics is really not my area. It's hard to write about something that is not your area. Nonetheless, I am making do. :)

I need to finish most of this by tonight so that my adviser can go over it and give me comments. I cannot say I have really been slaving over this for a while now hehe... I have put it off because I had other things that I had to attend to like teaching and other papers and other unnecessary things haha like watching musicals! Darn!

I know I just need to focus on this and I will be able to do this. I just know I can. What in the world is wrong with me?! Must. Focus. Of course it does not help that I got less than an hour of sleep last night. I hope my brain will cut me some slack tonight and allow me to finish this paper so that I can really rest well later.

I have to think about what is to come... If I finish this paper... *big grin* I must. I must. I must. I need this. :)

Desperate Housewives

I have not had this little sleep since I had to do my master's thesis. Funny thing is, I was not up doing my dissertation last night. I was just really awake but trying so hard to fall asleep. It was already an ungodly hour and I was still up. Aaargh... I just could not stop my brain from churning useless things. It would have helped if I were at least processing something useful and significant... but nooh... it had to be something as mundane as... never mind. Too mundane to even mention here. *sigh*

I saw Desperate Housewives last night because my sister has been harassing me so we can watch on my Mac. She has now copied them to my HD so she can watch at her own convenient time which should really be not this week because it's Finals Week but I do not think that will stop her.

In one of the episodes, Carlos was diagnosed by the doctor and was told that there is a big chance that he could see again. Gabby his wife started panicking because she has gained a lot of weight and she felt she has let herself go. Of course this is Eva Longoria we are talking about so yes, she still looks hot hehe... Anyhow, compared to the old Gabby, she is several notches lower, use your imagination. She has gained a bit of weight and she is not as glamorous as before anymore because they do not have money anymore since Carlos went blind.

So one night before they slept Gabby told Carlos that she is worried that Carlos might be disappointed because she has lost her luster. She did not want him to be disappointed. Carlos just laughed and he said, "Do you know when I knew I was going to marry you?". Gabby answered, "Yes. When you saw me walking on the catwalk.". To this Carlos said, "That was the time when I knew I wanted to sleep with you. I knew I wanted to marry you when we had dinner and you were up to your elbows eating ribs and you did not care if there was meat hanging in between your teeth and when I told you how terrible you looked you just laughed. When I heard your laughter I just knew I wanted to hear that for the rest of my life.". This of course made me tear up already but what Gabby said made my tears fall. She said,"Do you know when I decided to spend the rest of my life with you?" and Carlos said, "No." and then Gabby said, "Two seconds ago. Before that it was pretty much touch and go.".

Aww....

They fight a lot but I have always known Carlos loved Gabby soh much. *sigh*

Another episode that made me cry was that one about the handyman Ely Scrubs. My sister pointed out, sometimes the person who touches our lives deeply is the one we tend to overlook and take for granted. Aww...

I have missed watching Desperate Housewives. I really have.

Yes, I am still thinking about what Carlos said to Gabby and I am wondering... *sigh*

Cast Away

I feel like I am a drifter right now, aimlessly swimming in an ocean not knowing where to go or where the waves will take me. I sort of wonder every now and then if being shackled at the bottom of the ocean was better. Sure, I was drowning slowly, but at least I knew where I was. Now I don't know. At all. Where am I? Where is the current going to take me? Will there be a shore that I can finally land?

I stare now in the heavens, in all its wonderful order, it stares at me back. Amidst all of these clashing noisy waves, I see serenity in the dark velvet sky studded with stars of hope. While everything seems to keep on moving there is the Northern Star that will remain constant. It will guide my wandering bark, my vagabond vessel to where I should go, for now I just have to trust and let the waves carry me to where I should go. Hopefully, the waves are enough to wash me of my skepticism and cynicism so that when I land, I am ready to start anew.

Don't Die on Me Sim

My sim is dead. No not the game Sims' Sim. My SIM card is dead. I hope it comes back to life soon otherwise, I have to get a new effing number!!! Arrgh!!!

I feel really sad because I feel disconnected. Yes, even with FB, YM and Skype, I feel horribly disconnected without my phone. *sigh* It's not even that I text a whole lot, it is just knowing that I have a phone and I cannot use it anytime I want makes me sad. Today of all days, people were looking for me and they could not contact me because my SIM decided to die on me last night. Aaargh...

Okay enough ranting. On the brighter side of things, I have had a restful day. This is a good preamble to the hectic days that will come very soon like uhm... tomorrow. I have to visit a company tomorrow to talk about the practicum program. After which I have to pay for my insurance which by the way, I cannot do because I need to transfer funds and to do that I need the transaction number that will be sent to my phone which is not working!!! *arrghh!* Right, everything leads to me and ranting about my phone... Grrr....

I got to run today and i got to use the stationary bike longer because the guy on the treadmill just won't quit hehe... I still have adrenalin and endorphins pumping in my blood right now so the phone is not getting me all depressed as it may seem here on my post. I just like to rant all the time. :)

BTW, I got to go to a mall penniless for two days today. The first time was last December 8 because I heard mass. The schedule at our chapel was changed and so I was displaced at another chapel. Boo. Today, I got to go to the mall without money because my friends bade me to go with them and eat at the mall. I just finished my workout then and so my stuff were still in the faculty room. They just lent me money and so I got to enjoy at the mall without having to carry a bag and a wallet. *wow!* So not me but it felt liberating. :)

All for now! :)

Grateful

Today, my being a humble teacher was yet again justified by my students.

It was our last meeting of the trimester and I was not at all expecting my students to show up. I started with a prayer and then after which, I started distributing their papers that I have amassed over the trimester. I have checked all of them and left my notes on them as well.

Then I started to notice that some of my students were in the hall. I was asking some of my students why their classmates were outside and then one by one my students also walked out of the room. One of them said, "Miss before you go on, we have something for you." They then surprised me with a cake and a song. One of them was playing the guitar. For the love of me, I cannot remember which song this was. All I know was that at that very moment I was really, really touched. My heart was touched by these young people who were so thoughtful.

After a while, because they looked like they were in a procession, one of them started singing "Ave Maria". This kept me from spilling my tears. I was really fighting the tears because I did not want them to see... Wow... The students came prepared with a camera and they captured the entire thing and all the other moments after that. :)

I will really miss that class. I hope and pray hard that I will be given another class as wonderful as them because they make teaching worthwhile. And no, no money in the world can take the place of the feeling that I had earlier.

*sigh*

The cake tastes wonderful too... Hehe it has mallows and caramel in between. Yum! My sister loved it! :)

Thank You Lord for this wonderful gift.

Judge... Only for Now

Do not think that because I am not in the same road as you are, I am lost. I simply choose to travel the path not taken. Ergo, I do not want to travel with you.... just kidding.

I habe been judged and I have judged others as well many times but you know what? Life has taught me not to judge because it has a way of making you understand. You find yourself sooner or later in more or less the same situation. O nly then do you feel the fangs of life biting your behind. So beforeyou speak remember that life has a way of teaching.

Brewing...

I am shaking...

I do not know if I am angry, frustrated... All I know is that there is an intense emotion inside me choking me. I guess I am angry. I hate it when people tend to think they completely understand when in fact they do not. I was anticipating this and I am guessing more will come my way. Very soon. I have to brace myself.

I know it will be a difficult ride but this must be done to avoid more damage.

Some things others would never understand lest they have walked a mile in my shoes.

I feel better now.

iTouch-ed

I am now addicted to iTouch. I do the following using my iTouch:

1. iCal
2. tweet and check out other's tweets
3. listen to music
4. YM
5. play games
6. FB
7. check out my fave blogs there
8. doodle


I am soh glad I got the iTouch!!!

Feat

I finally finished checking one section's deliverables yahoo!!! Tomorrow, I will check another batch! Goal is to finish all three sections this week so I can focus on the paper by next week. I still have a mentoring report to write ayayayay!!!

I am still on overdrive but I think I'm a go home now to spend some quality time with my gushing sister! :)

Now, if only I can finish uploading the grades of one of my sections... *sigh*

It's taking forever. Then again, with my patience (or lack thereof) everything takes forever.

Ack.

Perky Perk!

I am very happy because today is the last day of one of my classes. This is a nonacademic class that to me means, spa teaching *hehe!* because I get relaxed when I teach these courses. Just pure unadulterated good feeling.

Academic subjects while mentally stimulating can also cause deep emotional stress, particularly the academic subject I handle this term. I worry about my students a lot. I will talk about this some other time though. :)

Going back, I asked the students to write an integrative essay and I found out that they appreciated the Community Project that I have asked them to come up with. They felt empowered and they now know that they can do so much to make a difference. Of course it helped that Efren Penaflorida won the CNN Hero of the Year Award. I got to vote for him! *yehey!* Some of my students voted as well!

The best perk of teaching is knowing that I not only get to teach minds but I get to touch hearts and hopefully in the long run, transform lives. That and I get to sleep as long as I want and do whatever I want on the side *hahaha!*. Thank You Lord for this gift. :)

Definitely, Maybe.

I just saw Definitely, Maybe tonight and it reinforced what I have written on my journal many, many years ago (I think it might have been a decade ago already). Love is not like an opportunity, it does not knock only once. Cheesy I know, and you may say I did not know any better. Back then, I was probably nineteen, never been in love, never had a boyfriend. Ironically though, I find that that girl had more wisdom than I do now. I was just too arrogant to read my old journals to realize how much the younger me made sense... I digress...

The movie reminds me that the door will open if you have the patience to count to thirty. Nothing in life is as we plan because otherwise it will be so boring and predictable. As they say, no matter how far down the wrong road you are, you can always turn back.

i think this is why I loved the movie, it was full of choices and while there were so many wrong turns, at the end of the day, there are still many more choices! *wahaha* Just kidding! The optimist inside me (which is not a huge chunk of me) thinks that it all worked out in the end. It just took some time but the most worthwhile of things are the most worthy of one's time.

I loved the movie... I do not think I will watch it again soon but it's definitely one of the movies I enjoy the most. Other films would be:
1. City of Angels *sigh*
2. Shakespeare In Love (This I can watch over and over and over)
3. Before Sunset (I find this overly romantic)
4. Definitely, Maybe
5. Legends of the Fall (And it's not just because of Brad Pitt)