La Cuisine de Jepoi

My First Project

2007-09-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

It's top secret! Nah kidding. It's just that a transition is occurring in our department right, and for this week I stood alone. Rewarding actually, kasi walang boss so I get to experience being boss of my own department for a few days. Anyhoo, We are coming out with a new product (we actually always are coming out with a new one), but for this one, I really feel as if it's my baby. Because I contributed something concrete to it, even if it was just a four-page report that I did for a couple of hours.

You know, what I really appreciate the fact that my big boss is very supportive and knows how to handle people. She really does. The five words you always want to hear from your boss are "keep up the good work, man." Well that is six, with the "man." She told me those exact words yesterday. And when you know that your big boss has confidence in your abilities, it makes me work better. I just thank God I don't have a slave driver as a boss.

It's just been an exciting week for me. With the promotion and recognition and the realization that this job is exactly what I am looking for right now, well it just might work. And I am hoping it will.

For four months, I was working on the midnight shift, working in packaging as an equipment cleaner. But I never gave up, I did the best I could and become the best equipment cleaner for packaging. I almost got to tears sometime after my first week. I told myself, what the hell I was doing there. Cleaning equipment? But I pushed all those thoughts away and just hoped for something better, did all I could do and more. Someone would notice my hard work I guess. But I was always optimistic and was just thankful that I was home the same time my baby was home.

After that I got a short term position as lab technician. I got a call saying they needed someone in the lab. So there were two of us, thankfully I was the one chosen to take the job. It was only for two months at first. But after a month I got an extension, and the term was made into one-year. I was already happy with that because now I was guaranteed to work in the morning for a year. People have been telling me that you can't get the career you are trained for unless you were schooled here. And I didn't accept that. I knew I would be destined for greater things, as God is with me, who can be against me? God does answers prayers. I have seen Him work in my life.

And just after two months working as a technician, I got promoted again. I was all smiles yesterday when my big boss gave me the offer and her congratulations. After all the sacrfices, at least I can say I have accomplished something, with God's grace, and hard work really pays off.

And now, well I am grateful and happy. Who knew I'd be working in the pharmaceutical industry. After our plant design, I was actually hoping I would get into the oil industry, but God had other plans for me. With my father working for a competing company while I was still in the Philippines, I was not able to get into a job I really wanted at that time. Well now, I am actually in pharma, which was actually my topic for ChE 140. Sayang di ko nauno 'yun.

Alam niyo, for the first five months here in Canada, I was never happy. But now I am. At least I can have a career that I will really appreciate. And learning, I learn new stuff and add more value to myself. It's just really a blessed month for me, I just can't contain my joy.

I still get to talk with people from packaging, manufacturing, people from marketing, and of course lab people. And I can still get access to all the areas of the plant so it's all good. Simply put, at this point in time, I can say I am happy with my job.

Things I have learned this week, you have to encourage other people and compliment them whenever you can. It helps, I know. And just smile and be happy. We need to add joy to this world.

Masaya lang talaga ako, this promotion means a lot to me. I have witnessed first-hand how sacrifice and hardwork pays off. Now I know better.

Yung project ko? Bigyan ko kayo ng sample pag narelease na. Kung andito kayo sa Canada ah :)

My Long Wait

2007-09-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

It took me 7 months, a different continent, to finally get into a career which I am trained to do. Well sort of. I am just so happy than in six months I finally get a chance to prove myself anew. I am going to train next week, oh I really am happy :) what a gift from God.

My Search has Ended

2007-09-24T18:31:00.000-05:00

Finally received my copy! And it's hardbound too. After so many years of searching, I finally have my own copy. And I can't wait to read it too. I think I have plenty of time to read in the next few weeks :)

Well on to the next book!

My Journey

2007-09-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

Another week passed. Every passing week means I am one week nearer to my goals; those in progress and those that will be conceptualized as time passes. Taking small steps everyday, the journey is very rewarding, because I know for a fact that these goals are worthwhile. Pursuing them will be a life-long endeavor. And as I grow older, I am thankful for each day, for not everyone has the privilege of growing old. Some die young, so young that their dreams will never see realization. They wouldn't be able to make those first steps because life has been cut so short. So soon.

Dying young, it is a curse. For some it is honorable, if you die for one's country. You don't get a chance to do that everyday. Dying for one's friends, that is love, no greater love than laying down your life for a friend. But to die in the hands of those whom you trust or learned to trust, dying in the hands who you think would be your future brothers. Now that is unfortunate. It would be almost a month since CA Mendez died. And as I read the updates from various news websites, I find it disconcerting that the process in seeking justice for his untimely death is slow. This is not surprising though. It is kind of expected with the prevailing system that we have in our country. And not surprisingly either, most of the people sitting in the government are also products of the same system that Cris wanted to be a part of.

Kudos to everyone striving hard to change the system from within. It is a daunting task believe me. The obstacles are not only from within but also from people outside the system.

It is really just plain sad that Cris cannot go on this same journey that I am in right now. I don't know you but I hope your brother continue yours.

***

One long week indeed! Twelve hours everyday is driving me crazy. The same routine again this week. Hope I get the energy to keep up with all the craziness at work.

My Second Purchase

2007-09-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

Okay so this was my first purchase coming from my own pocket. This is what's nice about living here, one of the reasons why I am beginning to appreciate living here up in the north. Got this in my mailbox today, I sent it to the office because no one was at home to maybe receive, I guess. Most of the hard to find books you can finally order online.

Here is an excerpt from:

No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio
o flecha de chaveles que propagan el fuego:
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.

Nice :) It's for my baby.

My Dollar

2007-09-20T16:53:00.000-05:00

Just heard this from my labmates, the Canadian dollar made significant gains today against the US. Now I am no economist, a frustrated one albeit. But I could have just paid $14 for this book.

Instead of paying $17.50 for it! It's really not that fair eh (pronounced as "e-y"). Similar to our "no?" Anyway just a rant from this corner. Looking forward to my first white Christmas. Finally Saturday! In two days, I just can't for the freakin' weekend baby, although I won't be having fun. If I get to it I might be coming in for work, but I guess I wouldn't. Too tired to do that. Twelve hours everyday is really draining. I get like an hour break but that's it.

I can't wait for tomorrow, finally after 12 hours I can spend time to rest. Couldn't even sleep yesterday, like I woke around 1 and finally fell asleep at 4 but then had to get up at 5:30. On the lighter side, working is easier compared to going to school and you get paid too. Oh I want to go home now.

My First Purchase

2007-09-18T16:35:00.000-05:00

Who knew shopping online would be that easy. People shop online to buy books, CDs, DVDs, toys and whatever hard-to-find stuff you can think of. I made my first purchase last week. Nope it was not among those that I've mentioned above. In fact it was work related. I bought $500 worth of contact plates. $500! I didn't expect that they would cost that much! Thirteen boxes with 10 plates each. Plus taxes and shipping of course.

I kinda miss the times when I am going home to the province and I stop by at SM North. Well for now, it's this mall that I pass by:

This is Kildonan Place located on Regent Avenue here in Winnipeg. I took this picture while waiting for my bus. The bus system is very different from what I was used to riding. In a few months time or maybe next year, I might be doing that again. Who knows?

Our Long Wait

2007-09-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

UP Pep Squad finally wins the UAAP cheerdance competition after 5 long years!

Let's go UP! UP Fight!

Okay lang yung 0-14 sa basketball men's.

Nakakamiss yung cheer na "matatapang, matatalino..." Ano na nga ba title nito? Atsaka yung Pagbabaybay.

Congrats sa pep squad!

U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!

My Meeting

2007-09-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

Oh okay, so we had a meeting for an hour. I was there. And I guess I only talked like for a couple of seconds and that was it. I guess they shouldn't include everyone from our department in that meeting. I mean I could afford to be not there. I don't have to report anything anyway, I would've done a lot with that hour if I wasn't there. But my boss told me I had to go. I was introduced to the group for the 2nd time, a new addition to the team. But it was nice getting invited too. Oh who am I kidding, at least I got to rest and there was food. So it wasn't a working lunch, it was a working snack.

Anyway, it's my seventh week and I have to learn more stuff. We all do.

It is getting colder everyday. So much for summer, a total of 4 months! What in the world. I have to get used to that. I actually miss seeing the sun at ten in the evening.

I was editing some of the procedures and I must say, it's as if I am writing a law. Up to the last detail you have to put it in! How many days to do it, what amount of reagent to use, how many drops, what temperature up to 4 significant figures stuff like that. It feels rewarding after achieving a task however small it is. So this is what it feels like when you are working. Very different from school. And I have realized, work is easier compared to life in UP. It pales in comparison to the hardships I experienced there. At least for now, I don't feel that stressed. But keeping a positive attitude helps. And with work you can leave it at the office, you don't have to bring it home with you anyway, with my line of work that is. If one gets more responsibilities I am expecting that will change. I will get to that point, but for now enjoy what I have.

I miss the people back at home, my batchmates, mga brod, mga sis, mga kasama sa eng'g. Sulit ang seven years sa UP.

My Working Hours

2007-09-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, now that Erap has been convicted, it comes as no surprise that there are no new news items on Chris Mendez's case. Or maybe I have to do a better search.

Oh, you know what, I am so tired from working 12 hours everyday. There is so so much to do and if I don't get enough sleep, I might be doing that in the office instead. And so I write. I have repeated those four words for so many times now. So updates on me, well I've met fellow UP iskolars here in Winnipeg, and that brings my tally to 6 UP alumni and 4 UP students. Two are orgmates from Crest, one is a brod from SJ and one is my former boss, and of course my dad and me. Of the remaining four, 2 are from peyups.com, one is my brother, and one is my real brother. So a total of ten. Ten UP people in Winnipeg, are there more? I hope there are.

I have a meeting in 12 hours and well, it is an excuse to not work isn't it? Who agrees with me? Working lunches work better with me.

It's been a wonderful experience working in the lab. Unlike in the production area where I worked before, the population is more varied. In production, it is mostly Filipinos working there. But in the lab, well there are still plenty of Filipino, I think we rank 2nd in number. Many Asians too like Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian. And Africans, people from Latin America, people from Eastern Europe, although I have one complaint, it's harder to understand other Southeast Asians when compared to Eastern Europeans, at least in my case. But in terms of population of the whole plant, Filipinos I think comprise at least 2/3s of the entire workforce.

Twelve hours again tomorrow. I am so so spent.

My Greeting

2007-08-31T17:18:00.000-05:00

For those in the Far East let me be the first to greet you a Merry Christmas. 'Tis the season. Time flies so so fast.

My Condolences

2007-08-30T18:20:00.000-05:00

Nakakapanghinayang na may isa na namang Iskolar ng Bayan ang binawian ng buhay. I was reading the comments posted at Cris Mendez's (RIP) friendster account. Tumatayo balahibo ko. I had the same feelings when I read the messages posted on the net after that shooting incident in the US just this year. Sabi dun sa friendster ni Cris, the last time he logged in was six days ago. If we could just turn back time and have those days back.

I can never really feel how Cris' parents, relatives, and friends are feeling right now. But I do offer my condolences and sympathy to them. Nakakalungkot.

Hope you are in a better place Cris. I don't know you but one time or another, our paths might have crossed while we were in UP. Rest in peace fellow iskolar para sa bayan.

My Snack

2007-08-26T17:41:00.000-05:00

This post is mainly inspired by this entry from Hanna. I remember drooling at the sight of these:

I miss eating these. It was really my regret that I got to try these just this year. I didn't know they realize they were that good. So for now I just have to resort to these:

These would do for now, now that I am here. But nothing compares to the former. They are on my to do list when I go home. Nothing beats Cello's. I can't even put into words how good they taste. The dough, the filling, the nuts, everything in perfect harmony.

My Guilty Pleasure

2007-08-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Alva did this first, then Steph. And now moi.

1. Are you taller than your mom?
- Oh yeah.

2. What color is your shower curtain?
- My shower curtain from before was beige. I miss that shower curtain, I never changed it for almost two years!

3. What is the closest thing to you that is red?
- A sticker: it's actually a Canadian Flag

4. What is your ring tone?
- He's a Pirate, the theme from PotC

5. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
- my back

6. What color is your favorite pillow?
- my pillows were white, I actually don't use pillows

7. What is your favorite pc game?
- Civ and SimCity, and Fallout too!

8. Had a nap today?
- wish I did

9. Gold or Silver?
- gold, my precious

10. Is there an animal that creeps you out?
- yes there is.

11. Who was the last person you rode an elevator with?
- cousins Marvin and Lee, and Chris at Chelsea's

12. Did you go ice skating as a kid?
- I was already in college

13. Ever have stitches?
- of course!

14. Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
- Eau

15. How long ago did you hug someone?
- Friday, during my former boss' last day at work

16. What's something you want to do before you die?
- see the world, it's a cliche, but I really do want to see it. well most of it.

17. Have you ever caught something on fire?
- not to my knowledge

18. Have you ever seen a ghost?
- not yet

19. Last movie you watched?
- Chuck and Larry, that long eh

20. Do you know how to use chop sticks?
- Haha! No.

21. Name something good that happened today.
- saw a hailstorm. sounds exciting eh?

22. What room are you in?
- bedroom

23. Are you worried about something you can't control?
- yes like the weather, it's almost winter

24. Do you take daily medications?
- yes I take them from the chamber

25. Ever been in a fight?
- I guess I was.

26. Are you wearing nail polish?
- black? nope, not into that emo stuff.

27. What time is it?
- 8:13 PM

28. Innie or Outie?
- Innie. I had to google for this one.

29. Ever used a Ouija board?
- never

30. Sweet or Sour?
- spicy

31. Sun or Moon?
- sun

33. Favorite eye color of the opposite sex?
- Brown

36. Time of day you were born?
- 11am (I think)

37. Do you know your blood type?
- A

38. Do you know how to kill a zombie?
- a la Resident Evil?

40. What would you spend 5,000 dollars on right now if you were handed it?
- i'd go home eh.

41. Name something annoying in public transit.
- when it takes forever to reach your destination. Survey says...

42. Which animal(s) remind you of yourself?
- nothing

43. Whats your background on your pc?
- company logo

44. Did you grow up in the city or country?
- both, but I spent more time in the city.

45. Would you ever consider going on a reality tv show if offered a large sum of money?
- if it has low ratings

46. Have you flown in your dreams?
- yup, flying around my room watching my body

47. What's one thing you're really good at cooking?
- I know asado.

48. Kisses or hugs?
- Kisses!

49. You have 10 dollars to spend in the dollar store... what do you get?
- I haven't been there. I think I'll go to Dollarama instead and buy chocolates.

50. Slurpee flavor?
- er banana

My Weapon of Choice

2007-08-19T19:23:00.000-05:00

One of the more entertaining music videos I'm really fond of seeing. Spike Jonze is one of the best directors, ever. How can one not like Christopher Walken dancing around like a crazy man. He's really in character. Remember that film with Julia Roberts, where he starred as a crazy director. And that movie with Drew Barrymore, where he was a crazy scientist, building a vault and thinking the commies dropped the bomb.

He's one of my favorite actors.

My Fishing Thoughts

2007-08-09T13:17:00.000-05:00

The title of this blog was inspired by my good friend and ever loving sister from another mother and father, Mabes. I really miss her. Anyway, it's been months since I last saw her. November 2006, to be exact, a few days just before my mom's birthday. Then she flew away, away to the Garden State and to the Big Apple, where she eventually found work.

Like most people here in Canada and the States, fishing is one summer activity that most people look forward too and do. I have not caught the fever, not yet. But today, while I was at work I had my own fishing thoughts, sort of.

My supervisor is still on vacation, and I was one day late with the tasks she assigned. Well my trainer called in sick yesterday, so we missed one day. Anyway, just after lunch, I was asked to perform fill weight measurements just like I did last week. I actually didn't do the actual measurements as I was still in training, they wouldn't allow me to sign paperwork. What I did was just prepare the capsules, first in their original form, where they were first weighed; and then empty them of the oil and we weighed the shells. Long story short I emptied 40 capsules. My gosh, I was smelling, how do you say malansa in English. I smelled of fish. And even the workbench smelled of the same, not even after spraying it with alcohol did the smell go away. I don't if it's still there now though.

Well when working with fish oil, you have to be careful not to squirt the oil on your hair or on your lab coat. I swear even with the lab coat, the aroma sticked to my shirt and pants, which I took off hurriedly when I got home. I even got oil on my hair. I put mousse on it to mask the smell.

I can't wait to learn new stuff, two weeks in training and I have more to learn. But I think I am gettig the idea on what our department is for. I didn't expect the pharmaceutical industry to be this complicated and interesting, and regulated too. I just pray I could have more opportunities to learn new stuff. It is only now that I can appreciate my Chem subjects in college, hope I could meet my old friend Thermo hehe.

Well tomorrow, Friday again. Time sure flies fast.

My Early Lunch

2007-08-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

I came in to work today a wee bit early, just after 7am. We were three people there, at work, that early. Anyway, so I came in early and that meant I would take an early lunch. Around 10:30 I got hungry and started eating. It was only me in the lunch room. I gotta say, bringing baon to work is entirely new to me (even in college I didn't do that). Well I work in an industrial park and the only food store I encounter are two vending machines located at the other two lunch rooms, I have to walk two or three minutes to get there.

And so I started to eat my lunch alone, prepared my meal, put it in the microwave, waited for a couple of minutes; well a minute or two. And while I was waiting for my food to get warm enough, I saw this:

What an unusual brand eh?

Well two more days before the weekend. The little things I appreciate now, just like bus ride home. It keeps my spirits up, the small things you look forward too. I still wish I'm back home. But a part of me says I like it here now.

Wish my baby's with me.

My Weird Sleeping Habits

2007-08-04T21:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, I got through the week without any hitch. The job is a bit encouraging and I got little perks that I could use to lift up my spirits.

Anyway, it's past midnight here and I can't sleep again. It is supposed to be different now because I work days now, I am supposed to be sound asleep and not, you know awake. Well to catch up on the news from our country, I always check the GMA website for updates. As I checked their homepage, reading on what could be interesting to watch (they post videos of news updates), I noticed a picture that is familiar to most of you who take time to read this blog.

It was a picture of the Sunken Garden on a busy Saturday morning full of high school seniors. It was UPCAT day 1 already. How time flies fast. I remember my UPCAT, I had to take mine at the School of Economics, I was there with Sean, dunno if he remembers though. Eh well after 9 years, I'm still grateful I passed and graduated from UP! Let's go UP! Still it would have been nicer if I got to wear my sablay, and toga and all. Well I could still do, if ever I decide to take up my MS or even PhD, ah that's that.

My New Job

2007-07-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, after four months of working midnights in the Packaging department of this company where I work for, I get a break. And now I work under the Quality and Compliance department. I have more responsibilities now than before. It is still not a ChE job but hey, at least it's in the Pharmaceutical Industry (hooray for ChE 140!). Anyway, at least I don't get that tired. And now I can have a normal life.

The problem of course is that when I get home, my baby is just starting work. And when I leave for work, she just gets home. We can manage that I guess. Besides there is always the weekend and of course the reason why I got a phone in the first place. This will be a long year.

I'm so tired right now. Not from work, but the lack of sleep. Imagine waking up at 2 am because I still have to adjust my body clock.

My Old Blog Entries

2007-07-27T23:46:00.000-05:00

Since Blog-City will no longer allow free accounts at year's end, I have moved most of my entries to multiply. It's really fun reading my old entries and see what my priorities were, what interests I had, and the stuff I did. It makes me happy you know reading them, especially now that I am so far away from home.

My Good Week

2007-07-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

Well I've been getting a lot of good news lately. I got a temporary assignment in the lab, much better work than what I have right now. It's up to me I guess to show what the UP graduate is made of. Who knows, by winter I'd be permanently wearing a lab coat :) For four months I have toiled in the packaging area and made some good friends. Actually more like a family, sisters, mothers, aunts, and mga kuya. I would surely miss their company you know but hey, I can't stay there. I have to move up, albeit slowly but that's how it is. I'm actually learning now that hard work really pays off and it is really sweeter reaping the fruits of your labor.

I'm really just happy you know. For a while, when I was back in the Philippines, I felt really bad about not getting into an oil company, because my dad worked for the competition. I wanted to follow his career path. But I guess it wasn't meant to be, because as it turned out I was moving again to another city.

And now I have a learner's license. I can now drive weee! Maybe I can buy that Corvette. Haha. I wouldn't spend that much on a car though.

Oh life is good :)

I just wish my baby's here :)

My Chance

2007-07-25T16:13:00.000-05:00

Finally, a break for me. Wish me luck people while I embark on my new journey. I got a break today and I'm temporarily moving to the QA/QC Lab services where I am working. Hopefully I get a permanent position there after the term ends.

And although I didn't get to see the Pisay movie, I went out to see another one instead. After four months of seeing the "prequel" to Silence of the Lambs, I saw the new Adam Sandler movie, Chuck and Larry. It's quite entertaining. And although it some of its jokes are stereotypical, I guess the movie was fair in portraying the gay community. True to the classic Adam Sandler casting, we again see Steve Buscemi, Allan Covert, and of course Rob Schneider, where he plays a marriage minister from Canada. And I never expected Jessica Biel to be that hot, unlike the time she was still in 7th heaven.

Anyway, I'm starting next week so I'll be having a normal schedule for a month or two, maybe more hopefully.

My Post

2007-07-12T06:41:00.000-05:00

For the lack of a better title, I'll just use this instead.

I have nothing to post anyway, another uneventful day passing, with nothing to look forward to except for the weekend. And of course payday. I have nothing interesting planned anyhow. Except it's the birthday of my youngest cousin weeee! Happy na Birthday pa! That is today. But we're celebrating it on Saturday! Hooray!

My, oh my

2007-07-11T06:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple of days since I tried blogging. I have nothing new to add, except that my life is as dull as can be. I don't even have energy or the desire to go out. The only place I go to is work, so depressing huh? The only time I do go out is if I have to take money from the ABM or if I have to pay bills. Well I did get a haircut, but I guess that doesn't cut. They've gone fishing, cherry picking, and me, slept. Somehow, I've lost the enthusiasm I once had when I was still in college. remember going out to party and going home around 4 am only to have to go to class at 7 am.

I remember finishing concerts up until the end and just not sleep after. I remember going on road trips after a long string of exams, but now I've seem to lost interest in doing that. Sleep now is the greatest luxury I enjoy. And in this big city I am in, I have yet to see all the parks, museums, malls (yes malls).

I guess, I'm still hanging on to the hope that all of this is but a dream and one day I'll wake up seeing the sun rise and not wake up seeing the setting sun.

Hey everyone get your dose of brain freeze. It's 7-11 day today :)

My Lunch Break

2007-06-28T08:16:00.000-05:00

Three months working, and I think I've finally passed my probation. Well that's what my co-workers have been saying. Three months and you're okay. Anyway, no official word from my supervisor yet, but she said albeit informally that I'm good to go.

I can do better though, I hope I can find a better job suited to my training and qualifications. But like most of the immigrants, you have to do the odd jobs here and there first. Lucky are those who get to practice their profession at once.

Anyway, I finally got my haircut last weekend. It felt right and I looked way younger now than before. I miss my stylist though, the guy who cut my hair, well let's just say I'm not "hiyang." I guess by the time I get another one, it wouldn't be from him. Although I must say, having short hair again is a welcome experience. For now, I don't think I'd be having ponytails soon, or maybe never. And of course, it's the least I can do for someone who I hold in high esteem.

I wonder how much the average haircut in Winnipeg costs, the salon where I went charged $12 without taxes. Ah July's coming soon, and we're nearly halfway the year. How time passes by so swiftly. Imagine four months ago I was still in the Philippines. How I miss home.

And a shout out to Steph. Hope you had a pleasant journey :)

My Own Summer

2007-06-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

I believe I already used this title when I was still blogging with blog-city. It's just 2 days since summer starts. I look forward to it and before you know it's already autumn! And then winter. Time flies faster now for me... It seems that when you have goals in life that you really, really wish to achieve, no matter how difficult they are, each days passes by albeit faster. Whereas when you just bum around the house, like I did last year, except for the 10 weeks I spent studying French, and the occasional job interview there, last year was practically spent living a bum's life. Although it was a blissful year and the year before that too.

I'm starting to get used to life outside the Philippines, nevertheless I still pine for home. I still miss riding jeepneys, getting stuck in traffic, the pollution, the long lines at government offices, the endless showbiz news on TV among other things. For the first time in my life, I wasn't able to vote. Okay, it's just the third elections that I was eligible to vote. Still, the 2004 elections is still fresh in my memory. I remember our campaign to vote in the USC. I remember voting at our local precinct and then taking a picture at my finger dipped in indelible ink, which actually took two days before I finally got rid of it, the ink not the finger, I have ten fingers still.

Hmmm, I still get amused by the sun setting at 10pm, and if it weren't for daylight savings time, sunset would be at 11pm! I still remember having DST in the Philippines while I was still young don't know what year that was though.

So this summer, this will be my first summer without Tintin. Pity, there are no natural beaches here in Manitoba, except of course the beaches in Hudson Bay. I don't think I can ask anyone to go there with me now.

Oh and I'm still searching for the statue of the Winnipeg Bear. Legend says it's located at the Assiniboine Park.

My Cousin Gino's Game: 7 Random facts/habits

2007-06-19T04:03:00.000-05:00

Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. When I was in 4th year, I became 11 months "younger." In our class directory for IV-Charm (break) I put dd-mm-yyyy instead of mm-dd-yyyy. So my birthday was interpreted as 1st of December, 1983.

2. I know lots of trivia (and trivial things). And I have a knack for remembering which actor starred in which movies, or tv shows for that matter.

3. I've been an admin for Peyups for 4 years now. I've been moderating the forums a year before that. My mentor is Vince.

4. The only book I read in the LOTR series is Return of the King. Well, I sort of started reading Fellowship of the Reading but I didn't finish it, I never even reached halfway. After seeing Two Towers on the big screen, I couldn't wait one year to see the final installment in the trilogy.

5. Whenever my hair is long, I wash it every other day. I actually miss being able to tie it in a ponytail.

6. I listen to 70s music, be it OPM or foreign. If you can just see my playlist. I have Juan dela Cruz Band, Boyfriends, VST and Company, Deep Purple, James Taylor among others.

7. I'm perpetually homesick.

Oh come on, now I don't know who to tag because Gino already tagged Alva! Haha.

Let's see

1. Ching
2. Shally
3. Iche
4. Nigel
5. Jonar
6. Jen
7. Jed

Happy Birthday UP!

2007-06-18T04:34:00.000-05:00

UP's 99th year today!

My Phones

2007-06-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

Finally the free memory stick arrived in the mail today. I had to search the internet on how to install the thing in my phone. I didn't find it in the manual. Anyway, as I was searching for that kind of stuff I came across a picture of my old phone. It's been 8 years since we've been introduced to the wonders of texting.

I remember that during the first time texting came out, my old analog phone paled in comparison with the hip new GSM phones that came out. No more cloned calls from those phones they said. This was the most popular phone that came out during that time, I remember Bart having one. He never changed numbers since that day.
Anyway, the phone had a built in game, Snake, the game popularized by Nokia, which eventually became a classic. I didn't have a Nokia though, the first one that I had was this:

It's an Ericsson GA 628, my number then was 09179469203. I wasn't able to see the forwarded images from my friends because this phone had just one line of text, unlike the Nokia phones which had 4. Those were pretty popular then. I don't know now, I guess they aren't.

Afterwards, I finally got another phone that September, the new 3210, which everyone knows how it looks. Plus it had new games like React, Memory, Logic, and Rotation. Of course Snake was still installed in the phone. I switched back to my former network, my number now was 09196248318.

A year later, one of the first phones that had a vibrate alert function came out. I had myself a 3310, a week before the (in)famous Edsa II revolt. We were there! My old number was 09175481240.

And after three years I finally got a phone with a camera. My old trusty T610, still running, still with me. And it's on roaming :) If you want to text me you can. If you know my number that is. I would like to offer my thanks to my parents for these phones.

Eight years since GSM phones became popular in our country. There was still a time then that for a flat fee of P165, you can have unlimited texting. Although messages arrive late oftentimes because the networks get clogged. And then the cellphone companies removed this and started charging P1/text. I remember this occurred around September of 1999. Anyway, a lot has happened during that time. I'm sure everyone witnessed it.

My Plan

2007-06-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

I had a plan and now I can never realize it fully.

Anyway, the past few days have been hard. I can't even write about it now.

It's the 12th of June and next year around this time, we would be celebrating UP's centenary. But today, Filipinos are celebrating their Independence Day! Or are they? No one even seemed to remember, at work, no one mentioned it. Even I did not! Well maybe I'm still a bit depressed. But to think that no one remembered it among my co-workers, should I be alarmed? Heck, they aren't even Filipinos on paper. Well most of them. And I don't blame them, just as long as they don't go off spouting "the Philippines has no future!" I'm okay with that. It's their life.

So where does the plan go now? I have to make some major changes now.

And so I bought myself a new phone, finally I did spend something for myself. It's not a big thing. Would've wanted to go for the car though.

Looks nice doesn't it? It has a pretty price too! @ $99,000.

Anyway, I guess I'm not buying that car this year, not this year.

And so Independence Day! I'm not even one to celebrate that. You know why, I'm not a fan of Aguinaldo. Although I did recite once in Pisay the Cesar Virata was a descendant of the General. I can never forget that moment.

Oh how I wish I could change the past. But living in the past is something that I've already given up. Sometimes you just wish you could control everything. If only life had a quicksave and quickload button, everything would be so easy. But it doesn't. Live with it.

The point is, live.

My War Heroes

2007-06-04T07:21:00.000-05:00

In a few days, it will be 63rd anniversary of D-Day. It's a pity I had work Sunday nights and wasn't able to watch longest day. Last Saturday morning, early morning actually I saw a film about General Eisenhower and the days leading to D-Day. And after that I saw this documentary on Discovery Channel entitled Hell in the Pacific.

I was just so thankful that we live in this free world that we have. Okay someone might debate me on whether we are really are free. Anyway, who knows what would've happened if D-Day failed? But I'm just thankful it succeeded and then eventually Japan surrendered in the Far East.

I could not help but admire and be grateful to those who gave up their lives defending our country. And for those who sacrificed a lot during that time, those who suffered physically, mentally, and emotionally. I cannot even imagine the horrors that they faced during that time.

I'm truly thankful for their sacrifices.

My Cousin Gino's Game: Everyone's a little weird, I bet you are too.

2007-06-03T06:21:00.000-05:00

Okay so we're playing a game now. The rules are simple. And they are as follows, and I quote them from Gino's post

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who got tagged need to write a blog entry of their own 6 weird things. They should as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

I don't think there's anything weird about me so I guess I'm not playing. Oh no I kid. So here goes:

1. I have a plan to change residences every 12 years. First, San Fernando, the Quezon City, and now Winnipeg. Where shall I go next? I wonder.

2. I only learned how to eat with my hands just a few months ago, Tintin taught me.

3. I have a high tolerance level for pain.

4. I used to be in and out of the hospital when I was still a kid. Got confined for H-fever, Typhoid fever, well mostly H-fever.

5. I look young for my age.

6. I love chatting more than talking over the phone. Written communication is really my preference. Although I can't stop talking once I start. I guess written correspondence is more concrete and official.

Who do I tag then?
Let's see
Alva
Shally
Iche
Johann
Jen
and Kla :)

You guys blog regularly. I think.

My Narrow-Minded Countrymen

2007-06-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, back again from a week's work. It's the weekend and again no plans for me. Eh well, for the past years it's always a fun-filled weekend for me anyway, for every week that passes. Or should I do overtime? No.

Anyway, it has come to my attention that there are rumors around me spreading around the workplace, propagated by, not surprisingly, my fellow countrymen. Not from my shift though but from the two other shifts. I was actually surprised when Tita Laura asked me a personal question. She asked permission first to ask it, and then she asked, in a jest, if I was gay. She said the people from days and evenings were asking her about it.

Their rational for assuming my gayness:

1. Hair - I have long hair now, but not the type that I used to have when I was still in college. I can't tie it into a pony-tail, at least not yet. Tita Laura told me she berated them on not minding other people's hairdo. If I were straight daw, I should have short hair. And I actually expected people here to be liberal. So does it follow then that short-haired women are also gay? Because women should have long hair right? Or is there a double standard? Are they actually allowed to have long and short hair?

2. The manner in which I greet people - Well, I've noticed mostly everyone here greet people every time they pass each other on the street or wherever. So I adopted that custom. I say hi and smile. What the hell is so gay about that? So is being courteous gay?

3. And the wearing of hairnets - We have a strict clothing policy. We have uniforms, dedicated footwear, gloves etc. And hairnets of course, hair should not be showing outside of the hairnet. And since I have long and thick hair, it takes time to put all those inside the net. And these people even noticed that eh, the manner in which I wear my hairnet. Aren't they supposed to be working?

And all of these came from my fellow Filipinos. But I think they're Canadian now. Most of them maybe. I wish these people open their minds more. Will they ever ask me that question personally? I think not. And wait till my hair grows longer.

My Resolution

2007-05-27T07:10:00.000-05:00

It is with a heavy heart that I resolve to be at peace with everything that is happening around me. It's the first step towards happiness and contentment. I should not be conflicting with the world. What I believe to be unsatisfactory may be heaven for some people. At least I should be thankful for that. I have to be content with what I have now so it would be easier for me to reach my goals and not be bothered by petty feelings.

The path to success, my success, is long indeed. I have set high goals and I intend to achieve them. This part of my life can be compared to a bad semester where you get bad schedules, terror professors, and horrible groupmates. And this semester will pass too, just like the others before it. And after it, one learns a valuable lesson.

I have to prove it to myself, and not to anyone else. I am only accountable to myself alone, no one would carry my yoke except for me.

Emotionally, I would like to stay as nonchalant as possible, but not be indifferent and insensitive. I have to stay calm and relaxed in the face of these adversities that are presently hogging me. I swear, nay I vow, with dramatic effect, that come this time next year, I would have achieved some of my immediate goals. Wish me luck everyone, and I ask that you pray for my success. This early in the journey one should already claim victory.

Who cares if I'm alone? That's what I wanted in the first place anyway, right?

My Cynicism II

2007-05-26T01:41:00.000-05:00

I have reached a point in my life where it gets scary. I do not have anyone to lean on except for myself. Families and friends may be there for me but at the end of the day, you have no one to blame for all the mistakes you've mad except for yourself. The moment you lose your patience, everything goes awry. I have lived in a pampered world ever since I can remember. Sure I didn't have all the toys I wanted when I was growing up. But as far as my standards are concerned, it was nice. I went to great schools, I had all the money I needed growing up. I had the spending money In needed, I didn't have a car, but that I was also at fault there.

I miss my life before. Now that I feel so down and out and have no one to talk to except for this window, I just wish I could go back in time and experience those luxuries. It was simple and easy. But I have to grow up. I have no complaints, just wishes. Life here is still good. My first job is okay, doesn't pay that high but still it doesn't demand a lot, except of course that I work midnights and the premium is low, for me that is. But it's better than nothing.

I miss coming home alone. No one to talk to, no one around. I wish that I can go home to an empty house with no one except for me. I miss those days that I didn't need to consider anyone's feelings. If I can do it all over again I would. Somebody told me I'm in a better situation than they are because at least I have family here. I beg to differ. It's not that I don't like being around family. I actually do. But there is something missing. Or someone.

And you know what else? Goodness, yung globe ko nawalan ng load and I wasn't even notified by the damn network that my balance is below P100. I have two call cards left and I couldn't use them because I need P25 to send the SMS. How I wish I bought a damn phone already.

I think I have to go out and buy one today; this is driving me crazy. Heck I don't even have anyone to call that's why I keep on delaying it.

Anyway I just wish everyday there's work. At least I don't have time to spend around worrying about nonsense.

My Update

2007-05-25T05:33:00.000-05:00

It's been so long since I wrote here. That's what happens if you have a full-time job. No time to dilly-dally. Okay that was just an excuse. I'm still online 4 to 5 hours everyday. I just had nothing to write about. The Philippine elections passed by without me writing anything about it. So much for that. I hope they finish counting soon. I'm so glad however that the wife of the alleged jueteng lord and the alleged quarry lord lost to Among Gov.

And here in Winnipeg, there was flurry an hour ago. Just for a few seconds. I thought it would be snowing in May.

Our Call to Vote

2007-05-12T06:53:00.000-05:00

With much child-like faith, we opt to face the future of this nation with unwavering hope.

And if only for this, we encourage all Filipinos, especially the
youth, not to forfeit our right to vote, as the outcome of the coming
elections could significantly drain us to the bone or revive our
country. Let us put in mind that in exercising this right of suffrage,
we must choose not on the basis of surveys, popularity or dogma.
Rather, we must vote based on character, qualifications and platform. A
conscience vote never is a wasted vote.

Our participation in the May 10 polls is not limited to casting
our ballots. To ensure clean and credible elections, we can also
volunteer as poll watchers, vigilantly safeguarding our votes against
fraud. Let us maximize our participation this coming election.

In this belief, we will never falter: only in exercising our
rights can we realize our power to change and improve our future. There
is hope.

Mga Iskolar para sa Bayan

University Student Council 2004-2005

UP Diliman

PS.
Jepoi David was a member of the Mass Media Committee of the UP Diliman USC 2004-2005. This article was originally posted on peyups.com on May 5, 2004.

Again for those who can, I reiterate our call 3 years ago. Wow it was three years already. Vote on Monday, exercise your right to vote.

Puyat

2007-05-12T06:50:00.000-05:00

Ang sarap kasi pakiramdaman ang ganitong oras, madaling araw, tahimik
at payapa. Wala kang maririnig na busina ng mga jeep at kotse. Ang TV
nakapatay, walang mga makukulit, kasi tulog sila ngayon. Ang mga tunog
na maririnig mo ay ang pagtilaok ng manok, ang pag-ikot ng bentilador.
Kung minsan ay bubulabugin ka ng telepeno. *toot toot* Mga
nagbabakasakaling may karamay sila, puyat. Sa mga ganitong pagkakataon
lang ako nakakapag-isip, mas angkop siguro kung ang gagamiting salita
ay pagmumuni-muni.

Halos lumuwa na ang mga mata ko habang sinusulat ko ito, tapos may
paalala pa na hindi lahat ng mga ipinasa mga "article" ay nailalathala.
Ganunpaman, susubukin ko pa rin magsulat, kahit wala na. Kahit wala na
akong maisulat. Hangang pigain ko ang bawat hibla ng aking kaisipan.

Bakit nga ba ako nagpupuyat? Ironic di ba? Sasabihin mong nasa
matino kang pag-iisip sa mga ganitong oras, tapos gising ka pa! Kung
nasa matino kang pag-iisip eh sana'y isinara mo na ang computer at
kanina ka pa umidlip!

Reklamo ka ng reklamo, puyat ka. Nag-aaral ka pa ba? Pumapasok
ka pa ba sa mga klase mo? Sayang naman ang oras at pagod na ibinubuhos
ng magulang mo. Pati ikaw, sayang ang mga araw na ginugugol mo. Para
saan, para dito. Ano ka ba naman?

Nakikita mo pa ba ang sinisulat mo? Ako hindi na eh, may
hallucination na nga yata sa harapan ng mata ko eh. Mga maitim na
linya, saan kaya galing iyon? Sumisikip ba itong kuwarto kinaroroonan
ko? Mukhang hindi naman eh. Nananaginip na yata ako eh. Nananaginip ng
gising.

Kung ako ang masusunod, hindi lang dalawampu't apat na oras ang
ilalaan ko sa isang araw, para may oras pa akong matulog. Para
manumbalik ang sigla ng aking balat, may pimple na naman kasi ako eh.

This article first appeared on October 11, 2002 on peyups.com.

My Bank Account

2007-05-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

... has been weighed and found wanting. And will it be divided amongst the Medes and Persians? I think not!

So the elections in the Philippines is just around the corner. Well it's again a non-working holiday for everyone out there. Here, they will also hold it this month, Tuesday after next, just right after the holiday. Wow I finally get paid holidays. The most significant difference I've seen between the elections here and the elections at home is, the campaign is cleaner. I'm not talking about mudslinging and rumor-mongering, they have that hear too. And it's nastier, they get to mention their rivals' names in their ads on radio (maybe on TV too, but I don't have time fo TV now). What I mean is, they don't have the campaign posters on every wall. None of that gawgaw paste. Electric lines, waiting sheds are spared here. So no campaign litter here, at least not the kind we see back home.

Which brings me next to Philippine elections, pity that Juan Flavier is no longer running. And talk about Ed Panlilio. Wow just look at the support he's getting in my home province. I just cried when I saw a video of his rally at Paskuhan Village. I got homesick that's why. But it still makes me wonder if Pampanga can remain united after the elections. Well getting caught between the wife of an alleged gambling lord and the son of a former governor turned senator wannabe-mayor who has allegedly divorced his Korean wife and also allegedly involved in a quarrying scandal (whew!). We see a priest running against these two. The situation in our province is so desperate that a priest (even though I don't share his religious beliefs) has to run for governor. And he even has four top-notch election lawyers supporting him; even though they work against each other, they choose to work together for this guy. Robert Reyes can't do that man.

Okay no more ranting and I've come to accept the fact that Winnipeg is my new home. I also felt the same the first time I lived in Quezon City, I cried the first day of my stay. Well you have to let it out. Okay so I've seen the downtown area in spring, and the trees are beginning to have leaves. It's pretty. It's clean. But they have awful roads here. I thought it we be different from what we have in the Philippines. Dugald is bad, and so are parts of Lagimodiere: from Dugald to Regent. Well by their standards I guess.

I just needed someone to knock sense into this stubborn head of mine, thank you for that, I love you. I should practice what I preach. I should just stop ranting and complaining because I'm still alive, breathing, have a nice place to live in, food on the table, running water, transportation, and a job. And someone waiting for me :)

Life is good once again.

My Cynicism

2007-05-03T06:56:00.000-05:00

Oh it's been two long months and I'm still missing the Philippines. I still keep on dwelling on the what ifs and what would have been. So now let us try to put a stop to this. And move on and accept the fact, new place, new country, new continent, new life. People keep on telling me that "Oh lots and lots of people want to go there." I get them you know. It's easier to earn money here. You see where your taxes go (to the people on welfare! work people damn it!). Okay so it's not a perfect life.

You know what I hate about work, is that most of the people that I'm around with gossip. A lot. And then there are those who keep on complaining about work. Quit! If you don't want the job and you feel you're underpaid quit already! Stop telling me it's better to work in this company or that. Why don't you do it yourself. And stop talking behind people's backs. Heck, maybe you're doing it to me too. Why I don't confront them? Well I don't want to. What would you think would happen if you tell people that they should stop gossiping? Oh they'll do it again, and then they'll talk about you. I'd just let out my angst here so I can go back work with a cool, collected attitude. The worst thing about these things is that they are Filipinos and they talk about their fellows, and to think that we're in a different country. Oh my. Talk about crab mentality.

Anyway, this is just me talking. At least I get paid for what I was hired to do. No complaints here against the company. It's the people, people!

Mas gusto ko pa katrabaho mga puti.

My View

2007-04-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

Training's over finally. I get to work on my own. I agree with what Al said when we were going out of the plant today. I won't do that for the rest of my life. But now, I'm just thankful I have a job, it pays relatively well. The job's not too hard. I'm just waiting for openings in other departments so I can transfer and put my education to good use.

So now I finally understand how hard it is to earn cash. I'm just grateful for all the money I got from my parents. Good parents, no complaints on my side. Although a part of me still wants to stay in the Philippines, I think it's not that bad out here either. It's a different world altogether and I bravely face each challenge everyday.

I just wish you know that I can get the chance to prove myself anew.

Well now that spring has come, winter seems like a recent memory that will never stop recurring. Ate Eva, the one who trained me, says that it's beautiful when you witness the very first time snow falls. Well I'm looking forward to that. Good thing I have a big room and there are windows, so I can see it even if I'm at work. I love my room. I think it's one of the few which has a view :)

Ah life here is different. In the Philippines, parks are not popular. People do not go to parks just for the sake of going, and Luneta. People do go there. But here, everyone goes and enjoys going to parks. They have picnics, they bring their whole family. Oh I miss the Sunken Garden. I just noticed something among Filipinos here, they still keep on gossiping! Oh well everyone does.

Ang Aking Buhay Pisay

2007-04-29T09:39:00.000-05:00

Noong nagpapakilala ako sa mga kaklase ko sa mga kursong GE noong ikalawang semestre sa unang taon ko sa Pamantasan, ang karaniwang katanungan ay kung saan ba ako nagtapos ng hayskul. Ang karaniwang sagot naming magkakabarkada ay MPPA. At kung may mga kaklase ako na kapareho ko ng lalawigan na pinangalingan, ang tugon ko ay nagtapos ako sa Lungsod Quezon, sa isang paaralan doon.

Umalis ako sa bahay sa edad na 12. Tumira sa dormitoryo sa loob ng aking paaralan. Ito ang yugto ng aking buhay kung saan natuto akong mabuhay mag-isa. Hindi naman ako katulad ng ilan sa aking mga kaklase na nilalabhan ang kanilang mga damit, dahil pinapauwi ko pa rin ito sa bahay. Pero dumating din ang panahon na kailangan ko itong gawin dahil hindi naman laging nariyan ang mga magulang ko para gawin ito sa akin. Minsan ay lumalabas ng bansa ang ama ko at sa mga panahong iyon eh nilalabhan ko ang aking mga uniporme. May lugar sa aming dormitoryo kung saan pwedeng magpatuyo ng damit. Sa apat na taon ko sa Pisay ay hindi man lang ako lumipat ng tirahan, palipat-lipat lang ng kuwarto. Pagkain, pagkatapos maligo at magbihis, pupunta na kami sa kantina o kung tawagin namin ay Caf, pipila kami dala-dala ang aming meal card para makakuha ng almusal. Ganoon ulit ang nangyayari sa tanghalian at hapunan. Maswerte rin ako noon at ilan sa mga kaklase ko sa unang taon ay kapit-kwarto ko lang. Pero marami rin ako naging kabarkada na magiging kapatid ko sa mga susunod na panahon. May ilan na naging kapareho ko ng kurso sa kolehiyo. May mga kababaihan na aking hinangaan. Wala akong inibig hehe. Baka biglang may humirit diyan uunahan ko na kayo.

Masasabi ko na mahirap talaga mag-aral sa paaralan namin, hindi biro ang mga kurso sa agham at sipnayan. Namulat din ako sa literatura noong panahong iyon at nakahiligan ko ang pagbabasa. Ilan sa mga likhang ipinabasa sa amin ay gawa nina John Steinbeck, Jose Rizal, Thomas Mallory, Nick Joaquin at iba pa. Dito sa pisay ay natuto akong makipagkaibigan sa iba't ibang uri ng tao, marami sa amin ang may kaya sa buhay, mayroon hindi ganoon kapalad pero kinilala namin ang isa't isa na pantay-pantay.

Apat na taon, nahubog ang aking kamalayan at wala akong bakas ng pagsisisi. Wala na sa akin kung tumagal man ako ng pitong taon sa UP. Sinabi sa akin ng mga magulang ko minsan, kung di nila ako pinag-aral dun eh baka mas maaga akong nakapagtapos, malamang tama sila, malamang hindi. Sa tinagal-tagal ko sa Pisay nalaman ko kung paano kumilos na wala ang mga magulang ko. Oo nandoon na ako na binibigyan pa rin nila ako ng sustento, pero ang pag-aaral ko sa Pisay ay naging paraan upang hindi na ako mahirapan sa pagharap ko sa mga dumaan na pagsubok sa buhay ko.

Natuto akong sumakay ng bus pauwi ng probinsya. Natuto akong maglakad ng mga papeles. Dito ko naranasan pumila, at ang kahalagahan ng pagiging maaga. Pangit ang mga librong makukuha mo kapag nahuli ka sa pagkuha ng aklat. Maliban sa mga aral na natutunan ko sa loob ng silid-aralan, katambal nito ang mga aral sa buhay.

Masaya sa Pisay. Mahirap sa simula, mahirap din ang pag-alis.Natutuwa ako at nagpapasalamat pa rin na kahit ilang taon na ang nagdaan eh kaibigan ko pa rin ang mga unang kaklase ko. Kaibigan ko pa rin hanggang ngayon ang mga kasama ko sa dormitoryo. Mapalad pa rin ako. Ilan sa kanila, katulad ko ngayon nasa ibang bansa. Karamihan nasa Pilipinas, saludo ako sa kanila. May mga mangagamot, ang isa ay nagpupunta pa sa mga pook nasa kasuluk-sulukan ng bansa. Ang ilan ay nagsimula na ng kanilang mga pamilya, mga nanay at tatay na. Ang ilan ay ikakasal naman sa mga susunod na araw. Natutuwa ako para sa inyo. Isipin niyo na lang halos labindalawang taon na tayo simula ng tayo magsama. Sana magkasamasama ulit tayo sa darating na panahon. Sabay sabay tayo sa pagtupad ng ating pangarap.

Sabi nga ng awit:
Liwanag mo'y tanglaw
Sa amin ay gabay, sa landas ng buhay
Sa dakilang minimithi

My Puzzled Mind

2007-04-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Okay this song is great in itself. But the video makes it even more interesting. Take a look.

I guess we will never know what he said. Can you take a guess?

My take on this is that he really didn't want to say it. He was hesitant, going as far as saying that they know not of what they ask of him, and thay may God help them. But since he did say it, after so much pestering from the other people, they must have felt that they were wrong in pressuring the guy into saying it. And then since they knew it, they just did what he was doing in the first place. And as the song says, they did it to themselves.

My Happy Days Reruns

2007-04-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

While I was still in college, I used to watch Happy Days reruns on Star World. I knew who Fonzie was. I didn't know who in the world is Fonzie on some teen show on ABS-CBN. The Fonz I knew had a leather jacket and a signature expression: Hey!

Well Weezer has this great video inspired by that same show.

I like the video more than the song.

My Graduation

2007-04-22T04:54:00.000-05:00

I stayed so long in UP. Very long time indeed. When I about to graduate, my peers were already busy with their professional careers. Some went back to school, taking up Law and Medicine. But most of them went to work. Some taught, some went into the industries, some chose a career path different from their courses in college.

Well today and yesterday should've been the day of my graduation (rites that is). My last enrolment was summer last year taking up PE! Oh well Line Dancing rocks anyway.

And so I find myself fortunate that I finished college, with no amount of violent stuff happening to me, not being involved in rumbles, not being a victim of crime. My heart mourns for the students and teachers who lost their lives in Virginia. My sincerest condolonces to the families.

My Troubles

2007-04-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

Oh help. I can't seem to find the time to sleep. I can't sleep during the night because I have work. And sometimes I can't too during the day. It's a messed up situation really. Oh I can't wait to move out and get my own place. My timetable, maybe next year. I need to save up first.

Now dealing with home-sickness. Youtube videos don't help anymore. I have to get back to the Philippines soon! Again, next year!

My professional career, well right now, I haven't decided if I would still pursue my engineering career, because for me I'm not really suited into all of that. I'd like to study again. Uh I don't think I'll be doing that next year, the year after most probably and pursue that Economics degree which I should've gotten in the first place! High school students should only choose their field of study after two years in college. After taking up their general college courses. Maybe that is one of the rationale of having grades 11 and 12.

My weight! I've been losing weight since I started working. The pants I bought now need a belt to hold them up. Right after I left the belts annoyed me. Now I need to start wearing them again. And again I think of growing my hair long again.

My work. Almost a month already. No complaints here yet. I'm just thankful I got a relatively good starting job for an immigrant like me. I should thank Ma'am Shee for assigning me that Pharma report for 140. Or did she? Did we draw lots then? I seem to have forgotten. Who was with me in that class? I think Pame was. The following pictures are from our ChE 140 class. I think I lost my certificate, it was Best Loveteam I think.

This was the cake.

And this was the backdrop.

My name's there somewhere.

And now our French words.

Doctor - Medecin
Singer - Chanteur/Chanteuse
Engineer - Ingenieur
and of course
Chemical Engineer - Ingenieur Chimique

My Role Play

2007-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here goes, I've been able to install three classic games this weekend. The first two are my favorites, and they are of the RPG genre. Oh you just gotta love these games.

In random order.

Le numero un, nous avons Fallout. Set in the barren deserts of western America, particularly California and Nevada, like yourself, your player character is a tabula rasa. He doesn't have any idea about the wasteland as he stayed in a vault since he can remember. So it's pretty much a learning experience for both your character and you as a player. You get to explore the California area years after a nuclear holocaust. As the game's title suggest, Fallout is set in a post-nuclear world. I first played this game while I was still in Pisay, most of my buddies played it. Anyway, I already spent hours playing the game and I'm not planning on spending more, maybe finish it once or twice and then that's done!

Basically the story of the game goes like this, you live in one of the underground vaults of the United States, Vault 13 to be exact; they were constructed in preparation for a nuclear holocaust, which unfortunately occurred after the planet's fossil fuels ran out. China attacked the US and a nukes rain out from the sky. So that's how you ended up in the vault. After sometime, the vault's water chip, the essential component of the vault's water supply breaks down. The leader of your vault, the overseer, sends you out to find a replacement. In the course of your travels you discover what has happened to the surrounding area and learn new stuff, including of course the location of a water chip. Your next quest is to eradicate the growing mutant menace, and in time you finish the quest. After returning to the vault, you are sent out, cast off to wander the wasteland, the overseer finds you too powerful, a threat in fact and even claims that you yourself has mutated. So that's how it ends, the hero sent off to exile.

Le numero deu est la suite a le numero un; nous avons Fallout 2. Set eighty years after the original. Your character is the descendant of the Vault Dweller, that how he is now called. Your village is dying, famine is spreading across the land. After passing a series of tests, the village elder tells you of a legend of the Holy GECK, or Garden of Eden Creation Kit: the answer to your problems. You must now search for the Holy GECK in order to save your village. Eventually finding the said artifact in Vault 13, which you find populated by Deathclaws. You return home only to find your village destroyed and your fellow villagers missing. You search for them and discover where they are held captive and then save the day.

And lastly, Sid Meier's SimGolf. It's my favorite collaboration of all time. Sid Meier of Civ fame and the Sims series in one project! It's a golf simulation game, and even you can play in your own course.

What makes this games interesting and amusing are their references to pop culture like Godzilla, Coca Cola, Bruce Lee, Magic: the Gathering, just to name a few. And for SimGolf, you have "celebrities" like Britney Aguilera, Jennifer Elopes, William Robins appearing in the game.

Well just killing time here.

My Tagalog Speaking Action Heroes

2007-04-19T18:02:00.000-05:00

Ah remember those days?

And when the show's ending

Then we had this guy

Oh and on sundays we have these guys

Oh those were the days.

My Vocabulary

2007-04-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

My Dad forwarded me this message around two years ago. 
And now that the elections is nearing; 
I thought I'd share it with you.

President                       -           Pasimuno
Vice President                  -           Kunsintidor
Secretary                       -           Palsipikador
Treasurer                       -           Kubrador
Auditor                         -           Kasabwat
Business Manager                -           Gastador
Public Relations Officer        -           Tsismoso
Sergeant-at-Arms                -           Pasaway


Representative                  -           Pahamak
Observer                        -           Usisero
Advocate                        -           Taga-batikos
Spokesman                       -           Bolero
Moderator                       -           Taga-bulabog
Announcer                       -           Manggugulat

Monitor                         -           Taga-silip
Inspector                       -           Taga-lapirot
Investigator                    -           Mangangalkal
Enforcer                        -           Tirador
Jail Warden                     -           Sadista
Prosecutor                      -           Tagapaglait
Judge                           -           Pilato/Tagahugas-kamay
Aide                            -           Taga-istorbo
Assistant                       -           Galamay
Adviser                         -           Sulsol
Consultant                      -           Manggagancho
Contractor                      -           Estapador
Expert                          -           Punong-Yabang
Technical Writer                -           Manlilinlang
Spin Doctor                     -           Taga-himas
Headhunter                      -           Taga-silat
Headshrinker                    -           Basagulero



Director                        -           Taga-udyok
Manager                         -           Taga-silip ng stock
                                            sa stock market
Boss                            -           Busabos
Supervisor                      -           Taga-salo ng galit ng
                                            Boss
Chief Accountant                -           Punong-Gahaman

Sales Vendor                    -           Pirata
Collector                       -           Mangingikil
Custodian                       -           Taga-ligpit
Dispatcher                      -           Taga-dispatsa
Distributor                     -           Taga-kalat
Delivery Man                    -           Taga-iwan ng Gamit
Circulation Head                -           Taga-bilog ng Ulo
Purchaser                       -           Palengkera
Receptionist                    -           Palikera
Clerk Typist                    -           Taga-parami ng Papel
Messenger                       -           Tagatulak ng Papel



Janitor                         -           Taga-limas
Plumber                         -           Taga-tagas
Repairman                       -           Mambubutingting
Gardener                        -           Damuho
Utility Man                     -           Inutil
Watchman                        -           Istambay
Security Guard                  -           Bantay-Salakay
Doorman                         -           Nagpapalusot
Driver                          -           Kaskasero
Chance Passenger                -           Malas na Nakikiangkas
Comedian                        -           Alaskador
Entertainer                     -           Kerengkeng

Tumpak ba?

My Coffee and Tv

2007-04-16T06:39:00.000-05:00

This video brightens up my day. It doesn't fail. Who could resist the milk carton? I mean isn't he cute. He's being heroic, looking for the lost son, which is no other than Blur's guitarist Graham Coxon. He goes in search of Coxon and during his journey meets a lot of character including empty cans, empty bottles, and a strawberry milk carton (to which he falls in love). Unfortunately the strawberry milk carton gets crushed and dies and so our hero suffers a heartbreak. Eventually he finds Coxon, which allows the latter to come home. When he does finally get home, he drinks up the carton and oh just watch the video.

Okay the carton gets reunited with his strawberry queen. Ah what a happy ending.

My Friday

2007-04-13T06:09:00.000-05:00

Holy. It's Friday and I'm at home. With nothing else much to do. I sit yet again in front of this computer until sleep comes to me. So ever since I started work, it has always been like this. Go to work in the evening, come home in the morning, eat breakfast, and then sit in front of the computer, blog, chat, listen to mp3s all that stuff.

I'm still the way I am. Back home, I rarely go out. I just visit the supermarket once a week to buy stuff you know; don't even eat out because I cook. I've learned one thing today, I should plant calamansi. They cost a lot here. It's better if you harvest your own. Asado with freshly harvested calamansi from the yard. It sounds delicious. I also miss eating adobo. It seems they haven't cooked adobo since I came here.

It's just vinegar, meat (chicken or pork), onions, pepper, and a little bit of garlic. So how do I cook mine? Well, apparently, Kapampangans cook it in a different manner. First, you sautee the onions and garlic. Add a small amount of fish sauce, a teaspoon or two would do. Depends on how much meat you're cooking. Anyway, so after adding the fish sauce, the next step is adding the meat to the mix. So it's the onions, then garlic, fish sauce, then pork: chopped in strips or in cubes, whichever one prefers. So wait until the meat gets a little brown, after which you add vinegar. Usually I add a cup and a half. Let the meat boil in vinegar. When the vinegar boils, wait 3 to 5 minutes and add half a cup of water. If you wish add also a small amount of soy sauce to give the adobo sauce a little color. And there you go.

Another way of cooking it, the way Tagalogs do (as my grandmother calls it), is fry the pork. Fry a little bit of garlic. Then let the pork boil in a solution of vinegar and soy sauce, which will eventually serve as the sauce of the adobo.

Oh I'm hungry now eh. I'll just open a can of meat instead.

I guess no Friday night out for me too tonight. I'll just stay home and sleep. I am not doing overtime either.

Oh French word for today:

Croitre v. to grow

But has to conjugate this verb, like je crois or nous croissons. I don't why google translates the former as I believe, maybe that's how it's used. On the other hand, the latter phrase is translated correctly, "we grow."

French is fun if you get to speak with other Francophones. But not here in Winnipeg.

My Empire

2007-04-12T07:32:00.000-05:00

I have lots and lots of territories. In the world of Civilization and other Sid Meier games that is. I've been playing Civilization since my 2nd year in high school. It was introduced to me by roommate Eugene. And from then, began my journey standing the test of time.

The first game in the series was Civilization, originally released in 1991. I started playing it 1996 so it took me 5 years before I knew of the game. That same year, Microprose released the sequel Civilization 2, more popularly know as Civ 2. And the rest is history. As soon as the next title in the series were released, I purchased a copy and started building my empire.

What draws to this series is the power one has in shaping history. And I don't even finish the game. I just play and play building empires. Building different cities, cultivating them until they reach their full potential. Researching technologies and building huge armies.

Just like life. Most of the time, what matters is not the result but how you achieved it. You don't really get to appreciate something unless you've worked hard for it.

May malupit akong pick-up line na nabasa, para ito sa mga taong nakaranas na mag-experiment at gumawa ng report:

Lecture mo ba ako? Kasi lab kita!
Pinaglihi ka ba sa keyboard? Kasi type kita.

Oh one more day to go and it's the weekend again. Right now it's around 1 am in the Philippines. It's best I should sleep. That's how my days are now. My body clock is still set on Philippine time.

My Own Prison (Break)

2007-04-11T06:24:00.000-05:00

Season two concluded last week. It shows Michael ending up in prison, Lincoln "exonerated," Sara freed, Agent Kellerman, arrested (don't know if he died though), and T-bag, Bellick and Agent Mahone incarcerated. Although I'm quite disappointed with the season-ender, it just adds more excitement to the fact that now, Michael has to escape yet again.

How will he do it? We'll find that next season. Too bad we have to wait that long. There are a lot of speculations as to what will happen in season 3. But a lot of people want to see Agent Mahone and Michael utilize their wonderful brains and plan their escape.

I was disappointed to see Patricia Wettig (President Caroline Reynolds) gone from the cast, as she is now appearing in another series starring Callista Flockheart (of Ally McBeal fame, in case you've forgotten). And did you guys know about Agent Kim being a Filipino? Well he is. You can see it on his profile on IMDb.

My training will soon be over next week. By then, I will be done shadowing my trainer. Ah and the weather finally seems nicer today, and so I hope spring will be here, now. There are still no leaves on the trees, except for the evergreens. They have leaves, because they are "ever green" duh.

Anong kotse ang tanga? eh di Hon-duh!

Eh anong kotse ang higit ang katangahan sa Hon-duh? eh di Mas-duh!

Eh anong country naman ang tanga? eh di Cana-duh!

Kung sino man ang nag-joke nito, duh!

My Half-Life

2007-04-10T05:27:00.000-05:00

Okay I'm not decaying. I just want to have a cool title, which isn't even cool come to think of it. Half my life I spent away from home studying in Pisay, in UP. And now that we've left the country I'm living again with my parents. That's not the hard part. Living with your parents have great benefits. No rent, free food and everything. So I was independent right, at least up to a point, I was independent in all aspects except for my finances. And so I realized that I wasn't really independent then, I can take care of myself, live alone but I still depended on my parents financially. So until I move out, only then can I say I'm fully, totally independent. Ipon lang ako, di naman ako nagmamadali eh.

Living in Canada for the past 2 months, it made me realize that there are a lot of things I should be thankful for. That we got here safely, that I got a nice job even though I have just been here for a month, I didn't go through the usual jobs, although my work is more or less physical, I get to work in a very pleasant environment. At least I get to dilute solutions and work with machinery.

To make life easy, I've stopped counting days.

My Fellow Iskolars (the UPians)

2007-04-09T06:06:00.000-05:00

Surely you've heard of the term UPian. Why in the world will you call yourself that? Okay, to me it sounds ridiculous. It is like someone trying to sound like an Atenean. Of course you can't call yourself that because you're not from Ateneo. This term UPian, I only saw it on online forums particularly PEx. And I think it wasn't coined by UP students but by other students from other universities. When I was a freshman, I didn't hear upperclassmen call themselves UPians. It's taga-UP.

In the cheer even, "matatapang, matatalino, ganyan kaming mga taga-UP." I propose that we discourage UP students, present and future, from calling themselves UPians. Of course if they want to call themselves that I can't stop them. To each his own.

And the bird in our seal is a Parrot!

My Sleeping Hours

2007-04-08T03:15:00.000-05:00

Working during nights simply is not helpful if one wants to maintain regular sleeping hours during weekends and holidays. My days are reversed. Today right, I slept at around 12 midnight and I wake at 4am in the morning! And now I can't go back to sleep. That was just like a siesta. And now my neck's bothering me again. I have not been able to get my sleep regularly.

I spent the last hour reading on Immigration Laws and other pertinent information regarding such. I just want to fast forward time and just be with the one person I love. It's hard being away. In the weeks that passed, I have been longing and longing and sometimes I just feel helpless. Being in a long distance relationship is very new to me. And I tell you it's difficult. In these early stages, I always feel the emptiness, and the absence of my partner. I wouldn't say I regret coming here, because I still can't make that assessment.

The set-up is really different. No physical contact, no hugs, nothing. All you can do is talk and write each other. And being in a relationship for the past six years, it's really a difficult time to adjust. I'm just thankful that I can talk with her regularly, and we write each other everyday. It's difficult but I think our love and commitment will be enough. O just hope someday soon we can be together.

Right now, I just feel thankful that I have a job, and for my first job, the pay is not that bad.

My Long Weekend

2007-04-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

Oh this was a long weekend, and tomorrow night, I'm going back to work. The good thing about being on the first shift is it seems like your days are shorter. Imagine no more work on Fridays. It's like you're just working 4 days a week. So how'd I spend my weekend?

It's either online or on the bed asleep. If I were home I'd be doing the same. But of course I would have had time to visit my other relatives, go out with my girlfriend like we always do during weekends and holidays. Here it's different. Right now, I'd rather sit and spend hours watching Prison Break, Scrubs, or any other primetime hit on youtube or any other video sites.

Today I checked on the Manitoba Museum website. Seems they have an exhibit on CSI, maybe I'll go there and be David Caruso. I just need sunglasses and a one-liner, if you know what I mean. They have a contest there and if you win you might get a chance to go to Las Vegas, Miami, or New York. Personally, I'd go to Miami, if I win. Beautiful weather they have there.

Oh and I hope the Suns beat the Spurs in the Playoffs; a very disappointing loss by the Suns last week. In the East? I think it would be Detroit. The Raptors, I predict will advance into the 2nd round and then they get eliminated after that.

My Inner Nerd

2007-04-05T05:28:00.000-05:00

Okay I have nothing better to do so I took this quiz. I actually found it on Tina's blog.

So I'm Lightly Nerdy, I thought I was wannabe. Anyway, I just got home from work. I have a long weekend. Although most of you guys in the Philippines already started theirs. Hey you know what, here in Canada they have Easter Monday, I have to see that for myself first, but I heard it on the radio. Is that really an actual holiday, I wonder.

Haha. I got my first paycheck today. Hooray, my 7 years of training and study in the UP College of Engineering has finally paid off; well in terms of monetary value it does, but career-wise, no not a chance. I don't even design stuff, I don't even operate machinery, not even close to quality control. Oh but it pays well for the amount of work that I actually, it's not bad.

It's the freaking education system here, although I have yet to have my credentials assessed. But here they don't actually recognize college education in the Philippines, well I have no first-hand information on that one so until my appointment, I'll put my opinions on hold. On the other hand, I've searched the websites of universities and colleges here and so far I have yet to encounter one that is offering a Chemical Engineering program.

I haven't answered a survey for a long time since I've deleted my friendster account. And now I have nothing to post, I've ran out of thoughts to share. Oh yeah, it feels like winter again here. It's so cold, for the past few days the temperature has been around -10 or less. And I thought spring was already here eh.

I want to learn a new language so now what I'll try is one word per day, so now let's try it today's word is:

Ecole - school.

My Name?

2007-04-04T15:33:00.000-05:00

I Got this from Gino, subukan ko nga sa pangalan ko.

Ok, here's the code:

A: Likes to flirt.

B: Likes to talk.

C: Really likes to chill.

D: is one of the best personalities ever.

E: Good Kisser

F: People adore you.

G: Never let people tell you what to do.

H: Has a very good personality and looks.

I: Is always there for friends

J: Lives life for fun.

K: Really silly.

L: Loved by everyone

M: makes dating fun

N: Dead sexy

O: Best in relationships

P: Popular with all types of people

Q: A hypocrite.

R: Freakin crazy

S: Easy to fall in love with.

T: a sweet heart.

U: Really wild and crazy.

V: Not judgemental.

W: Very broad minded.

X: Never let people tell you what to do

Y: One of the best bf/gf anyone could ask for.

Z: Always ready.

and the results:

J: Lives life for fun.
E: Good Kisser
F: People adore you.
F: People adore you. (they really do!)
R: Freakin crazy
E: Good Kisser (shucks that's too much)

Y: One of the best bf/gf anyone could ask for. (nya bf lang?)

My Nights

2007-04-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Okay I'm working nights right now. So in the Philippines, it's days: 12 noon until 8pm. So yeah, it is like i'm working in the Philippines. A good thing? Maybe, eventually I can study during the day and get the degree that I wasn't able to get from UP. Well school starts September, so by that time I'll have the money, or if ever I can get a scholarship.

Glad to have a carpool now, work just became easier. I have no problems going home. The bus ride is like an hour so I get home at 8:30. Now I get home at 7:30. So I'm away for 9 hours. When I feel get used to working, I'm going to work overtime. Right now though, I still prefer sleeping over working. Although my workmates say pay is better during overtime.

My Facial Features

2007-04-01T02:01:00.000-05:00

Okay here goes, I've been in Canada for more than a month. And so I met lots of people. Anyway, I was mistaken for a lot of things, particularly my looks. I dunno, maybe I have an innocent face, a deceiving one I suppose. I'll enumerate them:

1. I look younger than my age, some thought I was still a teenager. You see my younger and brother and I, we don't look alike. They thought he was the eldest. If I remember correctly, it was Anne who pointed that out, she thought my brother was the eldest cousin. Anne is Lee's girlfriend and Lee is my cousin. I don't look my age, I look around 5 years younger than my real age! And even at work they think I'm not fit to do the job because they think I'm younger than my actual age.

2. I'm not Filipino, sort of. Yeah, the first time someone said that I looked like an Indian in my ID. Another instance, someone thought I was Japanese. It was like this, there were four of us. And among the four, only one didn't understand Filipino. So the two were conversing in Filipino
right, and then I spoke to the other one in English. So we were talking see, anyway, when the non-Filipino left, this guy asked me if I could understand Filipino. I said yes. He thought I was Japanese. Sometimes, people forget it's impolite to speak in a language that is not understood by everyone in a group. The last instance was one person thought I was of Latin American origin.

3. Ah another misconception is that I grew up in Canada. The reason, I speak good English, even better than some of the Filipinos who have been here for quite a long time. When they ask me how I can speak that well, I just say TV! Hollywood! Of course the real reason for that is the excellent education I got from our country (Re: the University of the Philippines and Philippine Science High School).

Okay that's not entirely true either; school teaches grammar and that other stuff. It's really hours watching TV since I was a kid that helped me learn the language.

My City

2007-03-31T13:11:00.000-05:00

Hello again, it's been more than a month since I left my residence in QC. And now because it is the weekend, I kind of miss it more. I think Let's Go has already aired and it's already Sunday there. I miss QC, I may not be the king or queen of QC, or maybe I could have been.

This is what I watch when I miss the city. I'll try to identify the places in the video.

at 0:07 - Ever Commonwealth, they're going towards Fairview I think

at 0:21 - hey it's Quezon avenue and Quezon's Monument

at 0:36 - hey it's UP! that's the gym right there and you can see the overpass that all AIT students are grateful for

at 0:38 - it's the overpass in Philcoa

at 0:50 - you can see the INC main church and the big McDo arc, that's the one in Tandang Sora

at 0:54 - the AIT overpass again!

from 1:00 to 1:04 - they are around the QC circle in the background, you can see Philcoa (the real building), the unfinished building behind QC City Hall

at 1:59 - this is Quezon Avenue again, lots of bars in the area

God bless Juana for making this song and video. I like the song Goodbye too, by the way.

My Midnight Snack

2007-03-26T00:08:00.000-05:00

It's a good thing these guys order pizza at around midnight. That is why I just had pizza. Nakakabusog. Basta don't convert the cost into pesos, manghihinayang ka. Anyway, after a month of stay here in beautiful Winnipeg, the weather is becoming more tolerable and finally the snow is melting. Thank God for the beautiful weather for the past couple of days, I was able to go out sans the thermal wear.

I went to the doctor last Saturday and thank goodness everything turned out okay except for the part where I had to pay 50 bucks! I was $5 short, good thing Lee was there. The people in the clinic were very helpful the staff was mostly Filipinos, doctors and receptionists. The topic of the talk was cellphones, retail, and clothing. They were talking about how cheap it was to shop in the Philippines and the quality of the clothes according to them is way better than those found here. I agree, I miss shopping at People are People.

And cellphones! Calls are cheaper than text messages relatively. Anyway, culture shock is not really an experience for me. I think 'tis easier for me to adjust when compared to my folks. But I'm not about to go into that. This blog is about me :) And I wouldn't talk about them here anyway or of my other relatives unless I really need to air something out.

I have little photos as of late, anyway I'll post more when I get the opportunity, like my own camera. I don't have my own anymore. And my camera phone is not that reliable.

And here in Canada, they have two teams in the NBA: the Raptors and the Suns (because of Nash).

My Playlist

2007-03-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

I've been updating my playlist lately, organizing the mp3s that we ripped from the CDs we left at home and then downloading some, okay a lot. People sing about the coming of spring, says one 311 song. But it still doesn't come, for me. Bukas 4 degrees Celsius na! Nakakainggit sa ibang lugar may mga cherry blossoms na. Mukhang white Christmas pa rin dito.

Anyway, I've chanced upon the whole 1896 Ang Pagsilang album. I miss my cassette tape, I lost it in high school. I lost a lot of records in high school! Too many, more than half of my collection. Also, I had Silverchair's first 2 albums. We did a cover of Tomorrow, I think or was it Israel's Son? Good thing there are mp3's of Sgt. Pepper's available on the net. I can't rip them off the DVD, I don't know how.

I'm feelin' a bit nostalgic right now as I'm listening to these tracks. I remember fondly how it was during high school; simple, no complications, just school and back to the dorm. Not even a high school girlfriend. What the heck was I doing then? I have one regret though, I didn't bring our V8 of Can I Graduate. Hope it's still there when I go home.

Now that I'm older, I'm more into 70s and 80s music, the songs I heard growing up. I still love the 90s and the early part of the 21st century, but for me the best songs were written in the 70s. Okay, The Beatles were great, so the 60s were okay too.

Right now though, my favorite is Tear Drop by Massive Attack, recently famous as being the theme from House MD. Very addicting, lulls you to sleep.

My Slippers

2007-03-13T22:28:00.000-05:00

I can't wear my slippers when I go out. Ang tagal kasi ng spring eh. Anyway, one of things that I took for granted while I was still at home was the weather. Right now, I'm totally missing tropics. Hindi pa rin ako sanay sa lamig, tapos my skin gets dry and lips chap.

Hopefully, spring comes soon. The good thing about being here is you can watch Prison Break on TV, right when it first comes out.

Here in Winnipeg, people are crazy about spring and summer. They crave for it. According to my aunt, people would go swimming even after work. One maximizes their time out. This is mainly due to the fact that summer lasts around 2 months compared to the cold winter season which may last as long as 4! I can't wait to see the trees, I heard their beautiful during that time.

I got out of the house today to go to my first job screening. The last one I had was in the Philippines a couple of months ago. I was applying for a sales position then. This one was a tech support position, a job that I am not very familiar with, but most of the yuppies in the Philippines are.

I also went to a mall to buy shoes. I forgot that aside from the tag price, you also need to pay applicable taxes. They should already include that in the price like they do in most malls in our country. Anyway, I actually miss SM.

Prison Break's new episode next week on Fox!

My Phone

2007-03-06T02:05:00.000-06:00

I have with me now a T610. It's pretty much of no use right now since I'm in another country and to use it would too costly. I have been with it for almost three years now. You see, here it is no longer a necessity as much as it was in the Philippines. Phone booths are almost everywhere. Even the picture quality is not that satisfactory, although it still receives the occasional text from home.

Anyway, what I've noticed here is that there are lot of Filipinos residing in this city. I mean you can find Filipinos almost anywhere, in the hospital, at a clinic, at the mall, restaurants, bus stations, at the cinema. In my experience, they don't greet you when you see them, unlike other residents.

It's freezing here. I hope winter ends soon.

My Vote

2007-02-18T10:45:00.000-06:00

I can't vote this coming May. The reason for that is I'm not registered. Here in our province, the gubernatorial post is heavily contested, pitting incumbent Gov. Lapid against BM Lilia Pineda. Most of the mayors in Pampanga have withdrawn their support for Lapid, advocating instead the bid of Pineda.

If it were me, I'd rather vote for Lilia Pineda. Did you know that for the past 12 years, Pampanga has fallen from being the #1 province in terms of economic growth/develoment to #4. From #1 in the country, Pampanga fell to #4 in Central Luzon! How in the world can something like that happen? What was the governor doing? In a recent statement, Vice Gov. Guiao stressed that the Provincial Development Council has yet to convene in 12 years since the Lapids' took over from Guiao's father, the late Gov. Bren Z. Guiao. Anyway, I'm hoping that Mark Lapid won't win another term. This province deserves better.

I saw Alan Peter Cayetano's campaign ad last night. I was hoping he would just reuse his sister's jingle. It sounds okay di ba? "Kay Peter, Peter Cayetano!" Hahaha.

My Luggage

2007-02-12T08:48:00.000-06:00

This will be the longest two weeks in my life. I can assure you that. In a matter of days, I will be leaving the country. It never felt real, not until I've began packing my things.

I started to sort my belongings, particularly clothing. It's the easiest way to start packing. I never realized how much fun it is to pack. Deciding which article will make the cut.

Anyway, I'm just checking how this multiply thing works. So now, I'll be going back to packing.

My Canadian Bacon

2006-12-31T12:25:00.000-06:00

This here picture is the result of my futile effort in capturing the night sky during New Year's Eve. I somehow managed to take this picture as the were still lighting the sky. I never touched a single firecracker or firework this year. I really don't want to spend money to buy stuff like that. It's free watching my neighbors' fireworks.

What I love doing on New Year's Eve is eating. So far, I've devoured at least a kilogram of chicken, a few strips of bacon, and two eggs.

Have you noticed how much fat a bacon strip has? Too much, enough to use it later to fry eggs. As I was frying my bacon strips, I smelled the maple-y aroma that was being emitted my breakfast. When frying bacon, one need not use cooking oil, as I mentioned bacon has enough fat (or oil) that can be used for frying. It was my mistake that I fried the eggs before the bacon, I could've saved on cooking oil. I think I'm hungry again, it's too bad there's no bacon here. I would want to eat bacon again. Bacon and eggs, perfect combination for breakfast. God I'm hungry, I'm craving for bacon.

Saddam Hussein was executed. I on the other hand would have wanted to suffer more. For me, it would have been better if he was put in solitary confinement. But I'm not an Iraqi.

It's already 3:00, the noise has already subsided. We have another 365 days and then we'll be back again to another new year's celebration. I wonder what time it will rain.

My Yearender

2006-12-31T01:00:00.000-06:00

As the day ends, I get nearer to my 24th year on God's green earth. Somebody will love me again hehe (because I will no longer be 23 - see Blink 182's What's my age again).

This year marked my 11th year of living in Quezon City. I practically spent half my life in QC, from high school to college. But I only realized how large Quezon City really was when I went to Alex's and Jon's birthday party last March. You see they live in Novaliches, and it took us an hour to get there. Then there's Cubao and Projects 2, 3, and 4. On the other side is San Francisco del Monte and La Loma, the lechon capital of the country. Then you have Tandang Sora. And the remaining Projects, Projects 5, 6, 7, and 8. I wonder where Project 1 went.

But my favorite place of course is here. This is the spot where I hang out during college. The photo was taken by TJ. I dunno if he's blogging though. I think we were experimenting with my camera phone. TJ of course is an artist locked inside an engineer's body (in my opinion that is). I practically spent most of my free time in this area. And this bench, this nice and comfy bench is my favorite bench in UP. I will also miss this green bench which I think is about 3 years old.

In just a few weeks I will be moving again. I would have to say goodbye to the city which I found to be my second home. Four years, I spent living in a dormitory near Agham Road, another six spent in a boarding house in Matatag St, and the last two in Loyola Heights. I always lived in that side of EDSA, the side near Quezon City Circle.

Growing up in QC i'd like to list down the places I frequent

1. SM North - although not the first mall in the Metro, I think this is the most popular. This is the first mall that a mallrat should go to, a rite of passage. The place has already been renovated for several times in the past few years, new buildings and sections have been built but it still is one of the malls I still frequent.

2. Philcoa - the place is littered with fast food joints, a convenience store, and several internet shops. The place or mall (Citimall) is frequented by students needing printing services, those who want a quick snack, and commuters going in and out of the University. Philcoa in fact is located along the corner of Quezon City Circle and Commonwealth avenue, and it does not house any fastfood establishment, but it houses the Philippine Coconut Authority hence the name Philcoa. I have only visited this place one in my life. Now Philcoa has a gasoline station near it which distributes biofuels.

3. Cubao - the first time I went to Cubao was when I was still in prep, it was our field trip and we visited Fiesta Carnival. The next time I went there on purpose was my visit to Gateway. When Gateway, opened I had no idea where it was. The first time I went there, we had dinner with girlfriend's college buddies. It was also my first time to take the LRT2. What a cozy train, the station in Katipunan is situated when underground so it has a subway-esque feel. Gateway is the nearest mall that sells my favorite slippers that is why I used to go there frequently, not as frequent as now. And I shop there for my shirts.

4. Quezon City Hall - I used to pass time here and hang out when I was still living along Matatag st. I usually go home from school in the afternoon and then just sit on the benches.

5. 7-11 - the convenience store nearest to my place, the one on Matatag then, and the other one in Katipunan now. Open 24/7. Ministop is just too far for my feet that's why I don't go there often.

I also noticed this, all of the major roads that leads to UP have a McDo. One on North Avenue corner Mindanao Avenue. Another along Katipunan Avenue. One in Philcoa. Another along Quezon Avenue. And another on the corner of Commonwealth and Tandang Sora. Neat huh? And if you try to enter UP via Maginhawa, there is also a McDo along Kamias. I have eaten in each of these branches, that's why I know.

My University

2006-12-19T06:40:00.000-06:00

The majority of incoming students of the UP will experience higher tuition fees next academic year. The Board of Regents, the university's governing body approved this last Friday. Another thing that happened last Friday was the cancellation of the annual Lantern Parade. This was due to a threat to campus security according to Chancellor Cao.

As I was weighing the pros and cons of the tuition fee increase, I realized that I haven't paid the electric bills yet. So I did. Anyway, I believe the University should just utilize its idle assetts in order to augment its funds. I don't think that students whose parents have high incomes should be penalized by imposing higher fees on them.

Yesterday I met with a couple of my high school bodies. It was really difficult to set a night out with these guys. Okay it was Ivan who said that not me. That was not an original thought. I realized how much we've grown. I did, when i first met these guys I was a little above 5 feet now I'm 5'5. We exchanged pleasantries, had dinner, talked about how things were going, how each other was doing, the usual kumustahan topics. I guess I missed hanging out with them.

Following the shooting of Cong. Bersamin last week, another Abra-related shooting incident occurred in the last 24 hours. The rest house of the mayor of Dolores, Abra was shot by unidentified gunmen, a rainfall of bullets hit the said house (pinaulan ng bala hehe).

Next year UP will celebrate its 100th year!

Bienvenue!

2006-12-07T08:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my newest blog. I have decided to move to a new one after more than 3 years with blog-city. The reason, I find that I have more freedom to design here.

Anyway, what's new with me? Well first of all, I have a new haircut. After deciding that I would want my hair to grow back to its extra length two years ago, I changed my mind and got back to my old short messed up top.

I just heard this on the news, the House of Representatives has just approved that it "will convene as a constituent assembly" so that they can discuss amendments to the 1987 Constitution particularly the shift in government, from presidential to parliamentary. I didn't see the session but I read that it was televised on cable. And from the sources that I have read, the deliberations were railroaded by "lawmakers loyal" to the President. And of course as expected, protest actions were held by groups opposed to charter change; I believed they are disgusted by the railroading done by Congress.

Now I am all for Charter Change but I don't think that the time is right. I think that Congress should focus their time on education. I am for UP's Charter Change! Ang tagal na nito eh, It's been 2 years since I was a councilor and there has been no progress at all. And now UP is faced with an impending tuition fee increase and rebracketting of the Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program.

Ensuite, since I have graduated, I am not really up to date on what is happening in the university. But from what I saw last Monday when I was there, I didn't see any outrage or violent reactions from the students that I saw. And to think that tuition fee increases are really big issues in UP. Very little people were talking about it. At least in peyups people are discussing it. From my preliminary inquiries, the highest bracket would be A where the tuition fee per unit would become P1,500. A 400% increase. Wow! Anyway I will not dwell on this anymore until I find a more concrete answer.

Elsewhere, we have a typhoon coming and if it enters the Philippine area of responsibility it will be called Seniang. So far it is registering wind speeds of up to 50 km/h and it is moving westward at around 20 km/h. It was last seen at around 1000 kms. east of Leyte. Let's pray it wouldn't wreak havoc again. Climate changes are really happening. Typhoon season used to end at around August but it's already December and it is only now that we are experiencing these devastating typhoons.

Did you know that Cebu's current governor is named Gwen Garcia?

Au revoir. Bonne nuit.

My Cake and My Card

2006-08-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

Wow. Ang sarap talaga ng Sans Rival. This has got be my favorite pastry. It's been a while since I had one. Anyway, I bought one last Saturday, Saturday night. It was really that good. Actually, I wanted to buy chocolate cake or something with chocolate, kaso ubos na yung rocky road, yung choco roll. So ayun I bought Sans Rival.

The bad thing about that night was, I forgot my card sa bakeshop. I only realized this when my other card was cancelled. I checked my wallet to find that the card was missing. I was completely calm and not hysterical. We checked with the company if the card was used and thank God it wasn't. I returned Monday morning to find out that they have my card. Thank you!

Kudos to the staff of Red Ribbon Katipunan.

My Phone was Lost and now was Found

2006-06-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

Waaaaah! Nawala yung cellphone ko. Pagbaba ko ng tricycle, kinapa ko yung pockets ko, yung keys ko lang at wallet yung andun. Although I did this noong pagpasok ko ng supermarket. Ang nangyari eh ayun, lumabas na ako ng pinto ang naghanap ng tricycle, sakay ako at dumiretso ng terminal. Inisa isa ko yung mga dumarating ng tricycle, and finally dumating yung nasakyan ko. Buti naman sinoli niya, he asked for proof pa. Okay lang din 'yun, I just showed him my picture dun sa phone. Di niya ata alam kung paano gamitin yung phone eh hehe. Hindi kasi nagtext man lang or something, o kaya pinatay. Ang bait ni manong salamat naman! Yung tricycle na yun eh #059 na biyaheng Loyola Heights (kulay white). Yehey I got my T610 back!

Salamat na rin sa Diyos at nakuha ko yung phone, kung hindi, eh hindi ako nacontact ng baby ko, waaaah. Tapos di pa ako makakabili ng bago eh wala naman akong trabaho. Ang hirap maghanap ng trabaho. Ang dami kailangan puntahan. Hay naku, I had this one where i had to go to Bulacan, di ko na lang sinipot ang layo, tapos hindi ko rin naman tatangapin yung work. Tapos yung isa sa may Tondo, dumaan ako ng Divisoria, nag commute ako. Maling desisyon, dapat pala sa may Navotas na ako sumakay. Yun baka i-consider ko pa if ever I get hired.

Hay enrolment na ulit this week, namimiss ko yatang pumila ah. Ipagenrol ko kaya yung kapatid ko hehe. I always wanted to enrol at the School of Economics.

My Last Day

2006-05-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

It was the first day of college. My form 5 indicated that my first class was Chem 16. The room was PH 1328. After searching the entire 3rd floor of Palma Hall, I found room PH328 which was not a chemistry class but a social science class. I went straight to the hallway connecting Palma Hall to the pavilions, there I found the classrooms having room numbers PH13xx, but I still didn't find 1328. I only found it after asking around, it was located at the mezzanine, I had to go down the 2nd floor and look for another set of stairs that would eventually lead me to the said classroom.

We didn't have class, that meeting was cancelled to give way to the Freshmen Orientation Program handled by the FOP Committee (FOPC). The University Student Council took their oath during that day too. And of course, we were greeted by StandUP members doing their show. And I couldn't forget when we sang the UP Hymn. The only lyrics I knew then were, "UP naming mahal pamantasang hirang" and "Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan."

I think at that time, we ate lunch at Katipunan, at a chicken store. I was with my high school friends, most of us were attending UP and one was from Ateneo. That was I think the first time I went there. Although I have lived in Quezon City for 4 years, we mostly hangout at SM North. I remember that we used to go to this burger joint because their soda was refillable, well it used to be.

Then in the afternoon, we were entertained by our blockhandlers. We stayed at the track and field oval behind Bahay ng Alumni. We were asked to introduce ourselves to one another, the usual stuff. We played some games. Then when we were finished, we all went home. Most of us were a bit bored during that time. I believe we were only 7 guys in the block. Not surprising though, ganun talaga pag Chem Engg block. I think I didn't go home to my boarding, instead I went home to Pampanga.

After 7 years, my journey finally ended. I finished my last day of undergraduate studies last Wednesday and I got my classcard last Friday. It was wonderful and fulfilling. I finished college, finally. The last class that I enrolled as I've previously mentioned was Line Dance. It was another learning experience for me, and at least I got to prove to my teacher that engineering students can have two feet, the left and the right.

My official graduate date according to the application I accomplished is June 5, 2006. That's the date of my parents' 24th church wedding anniversary. I would've graduated last April had I finished my PE earlier. That would've been my gift for their 25th civil wedding anniversary. Well at least I'm done :) On to the next step!

My Summer Musings

2006-05-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Eto pa! Bakit parang wala tayong show na katulad ng The Daily Report with Jon Stewart, kaya nating mangopya o kumuha ng franchise ng mga game shows pero bakit yung tipong public affairs, talk show type wala. Well we have Jojo A. All the way pala. I like that one, I try to watch it everytime I remember that it's on. Mas magaling naman sumayaw si Jojo A kay Conan O'B.

May bago ng knock knock pala si Vic at Jose, dinagdagan na nila yung Sing; may Pasko na Naman na knock knock na sila, tapos yung isa pang pakulo nila eh yung pagsusuot ng iba't ibang costume. Ngayong linggo lang ata nagsimula 'yun eh. Tapos 'yung EB Babes na portion ng Eat Bulaga, woah ang ganda ng mga contestants, di hamak na mas maganda sila kung ihahalintulad sa SexBomb.

I hope I could also climb a mountain. I think I already did, I'd climb another one. Dun sa field trip namin sa Kas I inakyat pala namin yung Mt. Buntis. Ang masama noong panahon na yon eh naka-tsinelas lang ako, kaya ayun pudpod ang slippers ng lolo mo at putik putik. Sino na nga ba yung kaklase ko dun?

Tama na muna siguro 'to. Wala akong makausap ngayon ah, dito na lang ako magdadadaldal. Ang dami ko na namang sinasabi, wala kasi akong ka-kwentuhan. Nagpunta nga pala ako sa dentista kanina, yun sulit naman yung prophylaxis, sarap ng feeling. Medyo pumuti naman yung ngipin ko. Tapos kahapon nagpunta pala kami ng NBI, kumuha ng clearance ulit. Buti na lang mas mabilis na kasi renewal lang; yun nga lang nasira yung camera dun sa pila ng renewal kaya sumabay rin kami sa new applicants, kaya yung bilis na inakala ko eh tumagal din. Masarap naman yung lunch namin kaya 'di ko na rin dinamdam yung matagal na kilos nitong mga nasa opisina. Mukha kasing nakatambay lang sila at nag-uusap.

I've been to several interviews, two were with oil companies, one was a battery company, one was a food giant, and the other, a techie job, I wonder, who will hire me? I passed up the battery company's 2nd interview. It was in Bulacan, and I had no interest in working there, unless they'd pay me more, which I think they wouldn't. I want to work somewhere in Makati, I don't want to work in the province. Although right now I think I'd like to work for my city, if they'd accept me.

Ang hirap maghanap ng trabaho, punta ka ng interview, exam, interview ulit tapos hintay ka ng tawag, dapat may bayad na yung pagsipot mo sa interview pag di ka tinanggap eh. Wala na akong baon no. Kaya yan dapat talaga magkaroon na ako ng work, di naman kami mayaman. Kung anak lang sana ng hari yung lolo ko eh.

Ayus din tong si Bayani Fernando, mamigay ba naman ng deodorant. Yung pink flags niya okay na rin. Ang hirap kasi dito sa Pilipinas, you have to legislate discipline. Dalhin mo naman sa ibang bansa 'yung Filipino, masunurin. I don't know where the problem lies. Kaya gusto ko rin maranasan yung manirahan sa ibang bansa, para maihambing ko kung totoo nga na masarap pa rin manirahan sa tinubuang lupa. Minsan ayaw ko rin magtrabaho kasi alam ko makakaltasan ako ng buwis na mapupunta lang sa mga tamad na government employees na ganito ang ginagawa: darating sa opisina ng late, magmemerienda kaagad, coffee break, lunch break, siesta, afternoon snack, uwian na! May matino pa rin naman, tulad ng pinsan ko. Asset ng city government yun! Alam ko she graduated with latin honors, magna cum yata. Kaya bilib ako sa mayor namin, magaling pumili ng staff, I heard he's restructuring the bureaucracy sa city hall.

Miss ko na ang Katipunan ah. Balik ako doon ng Tuesday after my job interview.

My Waterloo

2006-05-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

Mukhang natupad yung wish ko ah. Umuulan na. Ang pangalan pala ng bagyo eh Caloy. Akala ko Charles. Biruin mo, ang aga-aga may bagyo na. Sarap tuloy matulog, di na kailangan mag bentilador o aircon. I have an important insight that I wanted to share but now I can't seem to remember what it was. I think it is somehow related to our current political situation. O tungkol yata sa mga chismis. Iniisip ko yun kanina habang pauwi ako galing ng SM eh.

Speaking of which, bukas na pala ang SM Clark! Wow 2 stores here in Pampanga. Kahit ang hirap ng buhay ngayon eh mukhang kumikita pa rin si Henry Sy at maraming pang-gastos ang mga Pinoy. Kanina when I left the Metro, sobrang konti ng tao sa daan. Ang lakas pa ng hangin, muntik na nga akong liparin (hehe). Ang lamig kasi, mas masarap tumambay sa bahay.

Nagpara ako ng taxi from Katipunan then I went to the Victory Liner Terminal sa Cubao. Ang tagal bago umalis ng bus, ten years. I've discovered that you can now use your credit card to buy tickets. Atsaka meron na silang bus na may stewardess and CR, yung mga papuntang Baguio. Tagal ko na di sumasakay ng bus dun ah. Last time I went there was 5 years ago, noong pumunta kami kina PaoPao.

Now that the review season has started, at least for ChE graduates, my congratulations goes out first to those who passed the recent exam and those who managed to top the exam (go UP ChE!), mine has yet to commence. I think I'll review sa June :) Good luck na lang sa mga masisipag magsiaral, relax muna ako and I'll finish my dancing lessons first.

Hey check out the latest Pugad Baboy collection, its already out! My favorite strip would have to be one of Mang Dagul and Brosia's. Mang Dagul a la Susan Roces: You have insulted me not once but twice! The Brosia offers her apology a la GMA: I am sorry.

On the title of the blog entry, Waterloo is my favorite level one line dance. It's named after the music to which you dance it to, Waterloo by ABBA. Everyone should take up Line Dance.

My Eat Bulaga

2006-04-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

wohoho. After 10 years, magsusulat ulit ako. Sayang naman eh. Anyway, I have been doing and finishing all of my academic requirements for past months. I have been bored, tired, wasted, dumbfounded, and i had my moments of brilliance as well, however infrequent that may be. Last night, I went to my high school to attend a benefit concert. I came in late, the show was already on its final hour. We waited for Romeo Lee to perform. There are a lot of things that happened in the span of two months, we had a succesful fair night, we got the no. 10 spot of councilor among others.

We had videoke nights the past week, and videoke days too. It was a good thing that the song list had VST songs and EWF songs. I scored, surprisingly 7 or 8 100s, don't know about the accuracy of the machine though.

I was watching Eat Bulaga last week, as usual. And I chanced upon Bulagaan. Fortunately, the Blenders were complete so I looked forward to their knock-knock. I'm excited to watch their 1st anniversary. According to Vic, "malapit na." Chihuahua, chicharon, sinangag, sinigang, Julia Roberts, Laguna ... these are but a few of the knock-knocks Vic and Jose did on Bulagaan. The act never gets old. I still look forward to seeing them do their sing-a-song routine.

I also chanced upon Bubble Gang last Friday, I was surprised that Isko Salvador is back with GMA.

Speaking of Dating Doon, when I have nothing to do, I just switch the tv to UNTV, to watch Eli Soriano's programs. I saw a segment where he was criticizing and discussing Apollo Quiboloy's ministry. When I heard him say that Mr. Quiboloy was from Lubao, I wondered why is it that these two preachers come from Pampanga?

My Lolo's sick, I hope he recovers soon. At sana weekend na ulit!

My Youngest Cousin

2006-01-09T15:00:00.000-06:00

I have a new cousin. Sayang di kami magkapareho ng kaarawan. I have pictures, I haven't transferred them yet though. Anyway, his name is Gian, he has a second but I don't know how it is spelled eh, Emibert, I think. Maputi, just like her sister. Tapos kulot just like his mom and dad. Good thing I went home, as the eldest grandson, it is my responsibility to welcome him to the world, as if. When we came to the hospital, I saw my uncle at the door, and welcomed us. He was a bit nervous and moving from one end to another. Ganoon pala talaga 'yun pag naghihintay na manganak 'yung misis mo, di ka mapakali. He told me that my aunt was in the delivery room for two hours and still no baby. Gian came out after 30 minutes, more or less. I thank God that he's okay and healthy, he is 3.6 kg by the way. He's very lucky, because we were able to film his first moments, unfortunately I was unable to get pictures from the delivery room. I took pictures when they placed him inside the room where my aunt was confined. His grandmother was trying to give him dimples by pressing his cheeks, I don't know if that is right.

I got home around 5pm, I came from Katips, my mom asked me to go home because she wanted me to burn something for her. And that's what I'll do just about now.

My Plant Visit

2006-01-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

Today's plant visit brought us to two bottling plants, both located in Laguna. During the morning, we visited the Coca Cola Bottling plant, in the afternoon, we went and visited the Tanduay Distillery. Damn it. I can't write a damn thing. Something's bothering me. What the hell? I feel so sad and confused, again for the nth time, and this is how I try to elucidate my thoughts. However, it isn't helping. I feel as if I'm just full of angst, that is what I have just a bag, a sack, whatever.

Nanay and Tatay are going home next week and we will fetch them! hope there aren't classes then. I wanna go see them eh. Oh well. I'm also going out next week and the week after next. I haven't seen Tintin this year.

Have you noticed that in the plot of most teen movies (American that is) there is always a ball or prom somewhere near the end (or at the end) of the film.

We weren't able to get any calendars from Tanduay. I heard it is Renee Summer this year.

My Old Pictures

2005-12-21T15:00:00.000-06:00

I've been browsing at our family albums and I was able to scan some pretty old pictures. Let me share them with you.

Photo #1

This was taken during my parents' wedding. This was in June of 1982. This is taken in my lola's house (my mother's mother). They seem pretty excited and happy don't you think? This house no longer looks like this. It was rebuilt because of flooding and other natural causes, wear and tear, decay what have you. I don't know who the other three people in the picture are.

What in the world? I'm not even included here. This was taken six years ago, when my uncle (Uncle Ting) and his family immigrated to Winnipeg. This was taken at the parking area of NAIA. Dunno which one specifically. I'm not here again. Maybe I was the one taking the picture.

Again, I'm not included, I really think I took this one. My parents are here and so is my aunt and my cousins. Whose blog is this supposed to be? No pictures of me again. This was taken at my uncle's house, this was their despedida party.

Aha! There I am. This was taken around 1986 I think. This is our terrace, and like what Rex Navarrete said in one of his sketches, the Filipino house is impenetrable because of broken glass incorporated in the fence. The things that reflect light in our fence are pieces of broken glass.

This was taken August '86. I think it's around Ninoy's third death anniversary. As you can seem i'm sporting the Laban sign, popularized by our then President Cory, who got the presidency only because he was Ninoy's widow. See we have a black and white tv, which uses a dial to change channels. [reminiscing] Life was so simple back then. No cellphones. No internet. I had no problems whatsoever. I had no issues. [/reminiscing] I'll add more next time =)

My Trip (part II)

2005-12-20T05:00:00.000-06:00

So I went to Baguio. Here's how my trip began. I was hangin' at the tambayan, calling ma'am tessa. Ana was about to leave and I asked him if I could join him since Nes wasn't going. He said yes. Of course I was only joking, I had no money, saan ako kukuha ng pang-gastos. Well Ana said, he'll lend me money, and I couldn't refuse him. Someone had to accompany him because it was expected. Anyway, so we went. We took a taxi from UP to the MRT station at Quezon Ave, we went off at Ayala Ave. Funny thing happened on the way to the Shell station where we'll meet up with our companions for the trip. As we were waiting for the traffic sign to say "walk" a man jaywalked. Ana looked at me and said "di hinuli?" I just shrugged and looked at him, and then I looked at the traffic aide who let the man walk free. Well we got tired of waiting and then we asked the aide if we could also do the same, he just said "go."

At the Shell station, we boarded the van that would take us to the City of Pines. Some of the passengers teased me and my red shoes. They warned me not to wear them during times when security is the utmost concern, you know what I mean. So it was the start of my journey back to the City of Pines, the last time I went there, I was still a sophomore in college. We stayed at Pao's house. This time, though unbenknownst to me at that time, we will be staying at the Baguio Country Club. We stayed I think at cottage 112, I had the 2nd room upstairs, good thing it had cable tv. Of course it would. It had to have tv. We left Makati at 3pm and we arrived in Baguio around 11pm, we were finally settled around 12mn and I got to sleep at 5am.

The following morning we had to buy clothes, as the trip was really abrupt and I wasn't able to pack. We went to the ukay-ukay where I bought a red coat. Then we went to SM City Baguio to buy shirts and other personal stuff. Afterwards, we went back to the cottage to have lunch. I had liempo. Well we all had liempo. Walking around Baguio is really tiring, with the street sloping up. I was catching my breath, I realized I need to jog more.

In the evening, we went to a party. I went back to the cottage early because I wanted to sleep. And sleep soundly I did.

My Trip (part I)

2005-12-17T17:00:00.000-06:00

Alam niyo ba yung kanta ng PnE na Absorbing Man? Well it is one of my favorites in their Bigotilyo album. Naaalala ko nga yung isa kong kaibigan pag naririnig ko 'yun, kulang na lang gawin siyang santo. This past week is one of the most exciting weeks of my life, albeit memorable. Nakapunta ako ng Baguio hanggang Los Banos this week. At hindi lang yan, hanggang Marikina Riverbanks umabot ako. I would have taken pictures if I had a decent camera, kaso ang dala ko lang eh yung t610 ko. Di ko na nahiram yung digicam ng dad, di rin naman siguro ako papahiramin noon. So what was I doing in Baguio, how in the world did I end up in Los Banos, and what was I doing at Marikina at 3 in the morning? I dunno, I just wanted to have fun and hang out with my friends, most of which are friends from high school. The only thing missing was Tintin, pity she couldn't join me, she's at her new job, eh ang sked niya is 830-530. There was no way she could come with me.

On my trip to Baguio, I was able to eat in 4 different provinces, I had merienda in Bulacan, dinner in Pangasinan, of course in Baguio too, where we stayed for two days. The cottage where we stayed is splendid. Di na nga kami nakapag sight seeing kasi ang ganda noong cottage eh, sarap ng bed, okay na lang na tumambay dun eh. On the way home, they dropped me off at San Fernando, so nag dinner din kami dun. I ate my first turkey sa Baguio, di masarap yung turkey kung walang gravy, bland. We arrived in Baguio around 11pm, wala nga akong dalang sweater, actually, all the clothes in my bag were dirty. We had to go shop the following day, pero di naman sa ukay, bibili ka ba ng underwear dun, gross. So saan kami namili? Eh di sa SM, kung saan walang aircon ang mall area. Good thing may credit card ako, la rin akong dalang pera eh, P500 lang laman ng wallet ko eh. So yun punta ako ng Baguio, naglibot, nagtaxi, mura pa rin ang taxi dun.

I also took a picture of that big Lion's Head kaso di ko pa na-upload eh. I took it on the way down. Nakapunta rin pala ako dun sa La Trinindad, namili pa ng veggies yung mga kasama ko eh, mura talaga ang gulay. P35 ata yung isang kilo ng brocolli.

Anyway, sa susunod na yung LB trip... mahaba pa itong kwento ko eh. Dagdagan ko na lang mamaya.

My Frustration

2005-12-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

December na naman. That means, you have Eng'g week, the Lantern Parade, Christmas parties, long exams before the vacation and other events associated with this month. The ones I named, are the ones that are close to home.

It's so frustrating not being able to do anything. When things are out of control, I feel so hopeless. To you who should be reading this, I'm sorry for doubting but I can't help it. I'm not getting what I deserve, I should be treated better. I feel as if I have been doing everything, sometimes I feel like I need to be on the receiving end. It's hard. It's not yet over. We should talk. You won't be reading this I bet. Ah what the heck. It's therapy. It's better this way, at least I get to release my angst. I still feel tense. This weekend is one I should just forget about. I have better things to do and I shouldn't dwell on events that do not have any positive effect on me. And with this, I end.

I didn't even remember now why I was frustrated.

My ChE 140 class

2005-11-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

ito ang unang araw ng pasukan, well technically, that was yesterday the 9th, kaso walang pumasok sa mga teachers ko. Anyway, again teacher ko ulit si Ma'am Shee, this is the 3rd straight semester na teacher ko siya at nagulat pa siya kasi 1st day pumasok ako. Of course, I'm really excited to learn new things, hahaha! I even went to the library after our class to work on our project, unfortunately, there were no books there that I could use for reference.

Tomorrow, there will be an Ecumenical Service for Angelito Nayan at the UP School of Economics Atrium at 5:30 pm, everyone is invited to attend!

Anyway, I'll be reporting on pharmaceuticals. Di pa ako nakakagamit ng lib sa ibang UP Campus, is it possible to check out books from other campuses? I plan to visit UP Manila in the coming weeks.

It's amazing that I am actually working now in the Pharmaceutical Industry :)

My Luck

2005-09-19T16:00:00.000-05:00

Back to the days when blogging was a habit. Or maybe it was just brought about by Kla who wanted me blogging again. Or maybe I really want to blog again. But the real reason I guess is it is that time of the year when stayin' up late has become the norm. Yes, it's that time of the year again when the semester ends and everyone loses a lot of precious sleeping time. Most cram, well a lot of people I know.

I was watching Celebrity Poker and I realized, I'm really not good at gambling and bluffing. Reminder to self, no more poker for me. Ever. I will just sit and watch. All in all, I guess I lost P70 - P80. Beginner's luck is just for beginner's, it's for your first time to have a try at cards. But if you do bad, they call it a rookie mistake.

I had a "Santos" dinner, pizza and pasta is great a combination, potatoes, well ya, french fries that is. I am tired of cooking for myself, it takes a lot of energy from the cooking to the cleaning up. It's hard work, it's better if you just go out and buy yourself food. Cooking is fun, occasionally. Or when you watch Iron Chef.

Someone's moving out.

My One Night (brown)out

2005-09-17T04:00:00.000-05:00

Lazily typing away at my keyboard, 24 hours ago I was at my groupmate's house and we were busy doing our plant design when the unexpected occurred. The lights went out. And so we waited and lay down on a single bed. The air bed, we were supposed to prepare but alas, the electricity went out before we could air it. And so we shared a single bed. My stiff neck pretty much ruined the evening as I was unable to sleep, moments turned into minutes until I saw a glimmer of sunlight, I left the house without waking them up. I wanted to rush to my place and just throw myself upon my bed. Next thing, 8:30 am. I left at around 4:30 and arrive 15 minutes later at my place. I had maybe 3 hours of sleep, and it would do. However, I had no classes today! And I wished I just stayed home and slept.

I got home to the province around 2 or 3 in the afternoon after "going" to class. It was really fortunate that I didn't wait that long to get on a bus. I was able to watch bulagaan, my day isn't complete if I didn't watch today's episode.

Nothing much, nothing special occurred today, I had fish for dinner. How I longed for home-cooked fish. Tomorrow is another day, and I can't wait for it. Just a regular September 16 for me.

I remember this day still, nawalan ng kuryente sa may Teacher's Village laking himala nagkasya kami dun sa bed ni Hanilet. Tagal na nun. Almost 2 years na. The best years of my life in Eng'g. Finally graduating :)

My Chill

2005-09-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

eto na naman ako at nagbabalik mula sa mahimbing na pag-idlip at hindi pagbibigay pansin sa aking mga sulatin. Ilang buwan na rin ang lumipas at hindi ko na naibahagi ang aking mga kuro-kuro at saloobin patungkol sa iba'ta ibang pangyayari na naganap sa lumipas na panahon. Nariyan ang pagtaas ng presyo ng pamasahe, at pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina at kung anu-ano pa.

anyway, it's nearing the end of the sem and as like the previous semester, time runs faster. It's what I experience everytime, as soon as something needs to be accomplished, the time needed to complete is somewhat shorter that it used to be when the task was given at first. I am having trouble writing, it is as if my vocabulary has been sucked out and everything is replaced by the word "chill." Chill this. Chill that. Did you chill what I asked you to chill during the chill time? It can stand for a verb, a noun, an adjective, heck it can even mean a whole sentence. It's like "forget about it," or as they say "fuggedaboutid."

And then I also heard this news when I got home last week, another student committed suicide, here in our building.

Nakausap ko pa yung supervisor ng security agency na naka-assign sa building namin two or three days after the incident. Nasa elevator ako nun and I overheard them talking about, as I was curious and I wanted to know first-hand what really happened. He didn't tell a lot but he said he was the one who brought her down. May she rest in peace.

My Inappropriate Comment

2005-04-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

I attended my brother's graduation, you know how many graduates there were? a thousand and two hundred, but that was just for the morning session, the after session had just as many graduates. Imagine the long wait, their classs went to the stage first because they were a part of the special science program. Then we had to wait for another 1000+ students. Imagine the applause the last student who walked the stage, at last the graduation rites were over. But no, of course they had to pledge, sing and sing a little more.

I remember the emcee saying that there were only two high schools in the Philippines, Pampanga High School and the others. When I heard that, I, out of instinct I guess, and pride, uttered loudly "that's not right!" My seatmates stared at me, I guessed surprised at what I just said. Ano yun parang UP and the rest? Anyway, no harm no foul, I was just playing around, and I wanted to know how they would react, I bet they also graduated from there. No offense meant friends!

I would have wanted to scream no it's Pisay and the rest, but that would have offended a lot, too many, the venue was full of PHS students and alumni. Ah I kid. As long as everyone does their part :) I actually am proud of that school, my dad was valedictorian of their class, my grandfather was a member of the football varsity and very active in their batch even up till now. It has produced great Kapampangans, one of which is our very dear mayor, Tatang Oca (feeling close ku neh Ching?). If you want to know more ask Ching :) Boss niya ngayon. And of course my cousin Ching :) I would have gone there had I not entered Pisay, but that is a different story altogether. And I'm happy I went there.

And so it was, during the graduation of my brother, they expected he would take top honors among his class. But hey, he got into UP unfortunately though we are now here in Canada and I guess he won't be going back there anytime soon.

My Parents' 24th Anniversary

2005-04-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

My arm hurts! I played bowling two days ago, Tuesday, went to megamall played with my dad. My score was terrible, I couldn't even bowl properly with a ten-pound bowling ball, and that was the lightest of the balls that were available. I couldn't find nines or eights. I'm getting weaker and weaker by the moment. I should work out na. Or lift something heavy. Damn it. This sucks.

Batista! The first Pinoy heavyweight champion of the world! He's Fil-Greek by the way.

Anyway, the MMDA has been putting up signs inside the campus, this one near the Molave waiting shed

Today's the 24th anniversary of my parents. I don't know if they will be celebrating it. But I just realized that my dad got married when he was 22. I'm 22 now, and I couldn't picture myself being married at this age. Tapos he became a father when he was 24, I don't see that with me either. My mom said, my dad is very responsible, so he could really handle all that at that time. And what does that say about me? Well, nothing really. I'm not into the marriage thing yet, aside from the fact that I'm still in college and have no means to support a family or a wife right now. Maybe in the far future say 5 years. Or ten.

Oh my aunt just arrived from Winnipeg, dunno how long she'll be staying here. She brought lots a chocos hehe. I wonder, what would it be like if I left the Philippines and lived with them? I still prefer it here, but, there's a but. I haven't lived there yet, so I have no basis for comparison.

I had weird dreams as of late, there was this one where the Abu Sayyaf were staring on my window, they were going from house to house shooting people at random. When the first shot was fired at me, they missed. But when it came to the 2nd shot, I woke up.

Wow, now I am actually living with my aunt, until I buy my own house or move out. Eh that's too soon. I'm first buying a car and then the house comes next. This post is more than two years old. So much has happened since then, and I'm just glad I wrote about this during that time. I am 24 now. Still single, and no kids. But I have the greatest girlfriend in the world who fully supports me, and even though we are separated by this huge body of water called the Pacific Ocean, everyday it just seems she's right beside me when we talk over the phone or chat over the internet. I just wish that the time would come when we don't have to do that and just talk to each other face to face and walk hand in hand. Soon :)

My Ordinary Day

2005-04-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

Nothing much happening around these parts these days. Its just a plain vacation, spending hours and hours of sleep, looking at the computer, staring, playing. Although it is quite a surprise I hadn't updated my blog. I went to Tagaytay last week. I spen the entire weekend lazily strolling around. We went to Tagaytay to experience the lush greenery and the fresh air, but the weather was not a comfort. It was surprisingly hot.

Does the phrase "exact change" mean anything to you? In Filipino it means "tamang sukli." Apparently for the NLEX, "exact change" means "exact fare" but we don't use the term "change" for fee or fare, it means sukli in the vernacular, or loose coins, or change for large bills, you get my drift. My father tried to pass thru this lane and he paid P100 and asked for his change, the teller refused to give him his change, but he argued the reason he chose to pass thru that lane is that it gives exact change, implying that the other lanes do not. Anyway, to cut the story short, he paid for the exact fare because the teller wouldn't exactly give him his "exact change." Point is, the new NLEX should use appropriate signs.

I was reading a lot of love quotes, browsing thru peyups. Sadly, right now I cannot think of one of my own. But I have to agree about the one that said love makes poets of us all.

After this summer, I would be in my 7th year in UP. I don't say I'm proud of it, but it is something that I have to accept. And I'm still enjoying it, and I will enjoy it up to the day that I graduate. You'll miss it when it's gone. I might accompany my bro when he goes to UP this week. The School of Economics may have rejected me when I applied there, my dreams of being an economist may as well be realized by my brother. He's an incoming Business Economics major. Too bad Prof. Canlas isn't there anymore. He's the brother of my doctor. And also the great thing about next year, I might be able to be in my bro's PE class. Who knows? Maybe we'll be classmates.

Last week, I was in UP and I didn't get my classcards as they weren't ready. Hope I get them this week. It's already Monday and I might go to bed in a while. Also good thing our high school batch has a new forum. Oh and did you know? Dean Guevarra is an alumni of pisay, and also Dr. Vea, currently president of Mapua, and Butch Dalisay I think, according to Aris. So this is where the alumni are.

My Holy Week Road Trip

2005-03-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

Here are the details of the recent roadtrip that I took. It took us more than 400 kms as of the time when Pallo left and accompanied Erma to Cavite.

March 23
Run 1: Quezon City to Malolos
The Fellowship met at Jollibee Philcoa, we were waiting for the others, as they were waiting for Yhan in Tandang Sora. Apparently, Yhan misunderstood the instructions given to her and in fact was waiting at McDo Philcoa. We left at around 9 after a little drama. We first visited United Doctors. Leaving at around eleven in the evening we reach Malolos, taking the Northern Luzon Expressway and stayed at Libet's house.

March 24
At Libet's house, we ate. Feasted in fact. We ate when we arrived, and we ate again when we left, we had our breakfast there.

Run 2: Malolos to San Miguel
We left Malolos at 9:30, Scoobs and Punx planning on going back to Manila but we convinced them to the opposite, in short they stayed. From Malolos, our next destination would be Sandy's house in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. We passed by the towns of Plaridel, Baliuag, San Ildefonso, San Miguel in Bulacan. We stopped by Mabel's house in San Miguel.

Run 3: San Miguel to Bongabon
At lunch, we continued the journey to Bongabon. We passed by Gapan, San Leonardo, Sta. Rosa, Cabanatuan City, Palayan City, and finally Bongabon. We stayed until 3, after convincing Sandy and Erma to join us.

Run 4: Bongabon to San Fernando
At 3, we resumed the trip after taking a breather. Sandy, said her goodbyes to her parents and again we were on our way. I fell asleep during the trip, only to wake up at a gas station around San Leonardo where we took a detour, inquiring on how to get to San Fernando from there. We took a left turn, eventually ending up in Jaen. After Jaen came, San Antonio, San Isidro, Cabiao (all in Nueva Ecija). Crossing the Nueva Ecija-Pampanga border, finally convinced me that we weren't lost that we were going the right direction. It was also a relief to see the Sierra Madre Buses, reassuring again that we didn't take that left turn at Albaquerque. We managed to see Mt. Arayat as close as possible, from the town of Arayat, we proceed to Sta. Ana, Mexico, ultimately reaching my house here in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. I originally planned on reaching San Simon first, I had to scrap the idea when we reached Mexico, I thought we would reach San Simon first before reaching Mexico. We had dinner at my house. Good thing Ate Riza cooked something, and so we ate. Resting for a few minutes afterwards, and me taking a bath. We proceed to Subic town.

Run 5: San Fernando to Subic
After receiving instructions from my father, and the map he drew for this trip, we all went back to the car rarin' to go to Subic and dip in the South China Sea. The towns we passed during the trip were Bacolor, Guagua, Lubao all in Pampanga, crossing the border into Bataan, passing by Dinalupihan, and then into Zambales inside SBMA, finally reaching Subic town after taking the Kalaklan exit. On a personal note we passed by a tunnel. SBMA was a revelation, it was Eastwood-ish. We went to Driftwood beach, and the fellow went for a dip, I stayed in the car, took a nap to re-energize myself. I have stayed up late for the past week, and the week after going out night after night.

March 25
Run 6: Subic to San Fernando
We got lost, somewhat, missing the route we took inside SBMA, and so we went back to San Fernando via the Olongapo-San Fernando-Gapan Road, all the way from Olongapo City to the City of San Fernando. Again we go lost in Guagua, going right of left going from Lubao to Guagua. We passed by the town of Guagua. I asked for directions at the PUV terminal, and after a couple of minutes driving, we were back on the OSG, ultimately reaching our house, where everybody went to sleep. Except for Pallo and Erma, they went to Cavite.

Run 7: San Fernando to San Simon
This is sort of the last leg of our trip. We had to change vehicles as Pallo already went home. This time it was my father who drove for us. This is one of the times were I really wished I knew how to drive. Oh well, gotta learn as soon as possible. From our house we took the McArthur Hiway passing by the city proper where we saw a number of flagellants. We missed the crucifixion in Cutud by the way. We passed by Sto Tomas, a little bit of Minalin, and then reached San Simon. We had lunch at my aunt's house where they served fish and chicken, and bananas and nangka for dessert. We saw two movies and had halo-halo before leaving.

Run 8: san Fernando to Malolos to Quezon City
My father drove my fellows to the FX terminal where they boarded a van bound for Cubao. And that concludes our road trip.

More than 400 kilometers, tons of food, five provinces and more than 30 towns and cities, and the 11 fellows who made the trip succesful, and to our gracious hosts most of all. So where do we go next?

Our route:

Map courtesy of www.wcorridor.com

Ah I could still remember the time we stopped by at that Shell station just before entering Bataan on our way down from Subic. Pallo told me he fell asleep! My goodness. I'm so grateful that we were still in one piece. Ah great times indeed :)

My Weird Dreams

2005-03-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

I have been spending so much time, well more time than before with my sisses these past few days. Starting around the fair when I found comfort with them when I was freakin' tired as I was, like I said awake for the whole duration of the fair, goin' to bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. Anyway, I shared a roadtrip or two with them, talked with them most of the time, or just spent time hanging out. I'm still getting used to the fact that I spend more time with my female friends now than ever. I think this started during this year, when I went out with my long-time buddies, my classmates from grade school. Since then, it was hangin' out with them or the sisses. It used to be the peyups people, however for the time being, I haven't seen most of them, last time I saw kuya Karl and ate Mimi was during the fair, and we didn't even chat long. Tapos, in most of my ChE classes this year, more than half of the class were women. Before I got comfortable hanging out with the aforementioned groups of women, there were only a handful of women I was comfortable with. When I say comfortable, I mean talkin' with them and confiding, joking around, you get the picture.

For the past few years, I spend most of my free time with my brods and high school buddies, and Tintin of course. Weekends are reserved for the family. Right now, I'm listening to Toto's I'll be over you. I think it was Nath's brother, kuya Kokoy, who sang this time when we went on a roadtrip to go to a videoke somewhere in the north.

Two people dear to me had new hairdos, one had bangs and the other had her hair treated, or rebonded, or straightened. Basta they did something with their hair.

Had to share two of the weirdest dreams I had the past week. First was that the Abu Sayyaf breakout was succesful and that they went from house to house shooting people randomly. Well in my dream, they reached QC and one was staring outside my window. Finally noticed I was awake, shot me once but missed. After that, he carefully aimed his M-16, shouldn't they be using AKs? Anyway, he aimed and as he pulled the trigger, I woke up. Phew! Second dream a rumble broke out, we got away, I lost my shoe, went to SM to shop for a new one. Cool shoe! I think after the rumble, we even had time to eat at Casaa but we had to leave because i had to buy a new pair of shoes. There was a third dream involving seduction, consultation, and transport processes hahaha.

Oh did I mention I went to Antipolo last week? Kaya nga siguro ako nagkasakit, baka nahamugan. That was the 4th roadtrip I took, medyo malapit lang.

Gone are the days when we could get into Pallo Mert's car and just go somewhere. I should get one too, soon :)

My Peyups Experience

2005-02-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

I’ve been a member of this community for 3 years. It is amazing that a lot has happened since joining this bustling community. I have posted a lot of my experiences during those past years but let me enumerate some of the most memorable, some of which were a direct consequence of my being a Peyups member.

Let us start with my first post; I’m hoping it still posted here although the moderator might have deleted that thread. I joined Peyups last February 2002, as I was browsing the net that is related to UP, I was pointed to this website. During that time, you can still post anonymously. I on the other signed up for a new account. I had a previous account but I forgot what my account name was. I had no choice but to register for a new one, at that time of course, new accounts are still allowed; so I became calvinluther. We were sponsoring a night in the UP Fair at that time. That afternoon, I was with my fraternity brothers posting publicity materials along Commonwealth Ave. up to the mall at Fairview. Afterwards, we went straight to UP. We parked our car at the Institute of Biology, a few moments later, I heard an explosion and I saw smoke coming from Kamia Residence Hall. Seconds later, men wearing improvised masks, i.e. shirts wrapped around their heads, carrying lead pipes were running towards the dormitory. A melee ensued. It was a rumble right in front of my eyes. That was the first and only rumble I ever witnessed. That was first post in Peyups; I believe the title of the thread was “Wala na bang rumbles?”

Fast forward, May 2002, I attended my first eyeball (eb); there I met Ate Mimi and Kuya Karl, pillbox, dementor, arkaell, gesundheit, marius, just to name a few. I got hold of my first Peyups shirt, which I don’t wear because it just doesn’t fit me anymore. The next month, Peyups held an eb at the Enchanted Kingdom; it was my first time to visit the theme park. I threw up after riding the big swing; I forgot the name of the ride. It was also there that I met an old friend from grade school, she was shocked as I was that were Peyups members.

Shortly after, Peyups held its first concert in UP, which was aptly titled Rock Enroll. I was invited by Kuya Karl to host the concert; there were 4 of us: gesundheit, pillbox, kink_gurl, and me. It was my first time to host a concert and I thank Kuya Karl and Ate Mimi for letting me host their event. I got to introduce Cynthia Alexander! The next year, Peyups held Rock Enroll 2. This time, I worked behind the scenes. Actually there were a lot of concerts that Peyups organized and sponsored. In one that I attended, there was a near brawl. Good thing it was prevented.
I also joined Peyups’ Virtual Survivor 3 and Crab Mentality. Sadly, I didn’t win.

The introduction of the Photo of the Day gave me my 15 minutes of fame, okay 24-hour exposure on the net.
Fast forward, February 2004, it was the University Student Council elections. As an independent candidate, I had no party supporting my candidacy, and I was fully dependent on my friends and orgmates to help the campaign. Fortunately, Peyups supported me and I’m very grateful that I was POTD during the campaign period. With the limited resources at my disposal, I came in 12th.

After 3 years, I still log-on despite my busy schedule. I usually check the Campus Issues forum to check on what people have to say to us in the USC. Back then, I know almost everyone posting in the Members’ Area, now I barely know who’s posting. Despite this, Peyups never ceases to be my regular online hangout.

My Entry for February

2005-02-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

It is not surprising that after 10 years, my friends from my grade school class are getting together on a regular basis. We're trying to organize a get-together as soon as we're able to collect information regarding the whereabouts of the others. There are a couple who've left the Philippines but most of us are still here. Surprisingly, most of us are now working or graduating, me on the other hand still has one more year to spend in college. Anyway, I hope we're able to meet soon. It's also fun reminiscing.

I really miss those guys. Last Saturday, we attended the celebration of the 4th anniversary of our city. We saw Magnolia, wow she's still pretty, it was Frederick I believe who said that. A lot has happened since my last entry. Let me enumerate them:

Kristine and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last Monday. We ate cake. Last year we went to the Manila Baywalk. Ngayon sa SM lang, busy eh. I'm happy. Can't wait for next year's.
Had an oral exam last Wednesday, what a relief. I believe I did well.
Finally saw Kung Fu Hustle. Would you believe it's still showing after a month. That's a long run.
Did stuff for the UP Fair, which is on the 14th to 19th.
Went out again with my grade school friends.
Went to my uncle's house to visit him, went there with my family, including grandma and my aunt's family.
I started learning Autocad.
And finally, I celebrated my 22nd birthday with my family. The following day, I
celebrated it with Tintin. The weekend that followed, celebrated it
with some of my batchmates.

I did more, but these are the ones that I can readily remember. Wala nga palang ACLE ngayon.

My Friends from Elementary

2005-01-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the 7th marked the month before we, Tin and I, celebrate our 4th year together, I still keep count. I also heard that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston separated after 7 years. The number 7 is special to us. Or at least is significant, whatever. Anyway, I had coffee with my friends last New Year's we stayed in the coffeehouse until midnight, only 5 went to our impromptu reunion, that's around 1/7 of our elementary class. Frederick arrived first, then me, then Tony and Iona, Kristine arrived last. We talked for hours, the topics ranged from our days in elementary, their job experiences, as I am lacking in that department. Hmm I just realized, the five of us went to different high schools. Except for Frederick however, we all went to UP; Iona, Tony, and me are from Diliman, while Kristine went to Clark. I used to remember Kristine as one of the tallest in our class, I on the other hand was one of the cutest, and still is, how I wish. I remember in elementary, when I was just starting, I wore short shorts to class, I believe it was only when I was in the 3rd grade or 4th that I started to wear pants as part of my school uniform.

Talking about the past almost always brings good memories; it was a relief to share the past with the people who you actually spend it with. Telling Tintin about past experiences somehow gets tiring after a while. So we were talking about the play that we staged when we were in 4th grade. The class was divided in groups of 10, 5 boys and 5 girls each. Each group was assigned a fairy tale, ours was Cinderella. Guess which part I played? The prince hahaha. That was really surprising, I didn't boyish good looks that princes have. I don't even remember any of my female classmates having a crush on me, save for a rumor or two. I really think I was assigned that role because no one was willing to take it, so I accepted. The princess was Gina, and weeks before the play we were practicing in St Jude during weekends. It was really a disappointment for me that I had but a few lines, the bulk of my performance was dancing with Cinderella and one of her step sisters played by Jinky. Wala nga palang kissing scene hehehe.

My elementary years were also plagued by sickness, there never was a year that I got sent to the hospital and confined for days. Now I'm healthy, just out of shape.

My EEE Disaster

2004-10-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

I was really so happy when I got my classcard in EEE1. The highest grade that I expected that I was going to get was a 3.0. Okay truth is, I was worried that I wouldn't pass the course because my grade in the lab, when i last saw the grading sheet of my professor was 24%, you need 27% to pass the course. When I saw my grade, it was a very joyous moment. I was all smiles. And even as I left the building and was walking towards the street, I was in jubilation. I was even kissing my classcard, and I think I saw two girls who saw what I was doing and they were a bit amused. Well if you exceed your expectations, then you should rejoice and be thankful. I got a 2.75 and I'm really thankful I got that great, now if only I have higher expectations, maybe just maybe I'll get higher grades. For me, grades are just rewards, learning of course comes first. But hey, they can comfort you after a tiring semester, can't wait for the next one.

I did so bad in this class, my grade for the first exam sa 3. Not 3.0 but 3% how embarrassing.

My Equipment Design Adventure

2004-10-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

I woke up early because I have this mouth sore that is really bothering me. Ang sakit niya, nakaligtaan ko pang gamutin bago matulog kaya ang hapdi. Anyway, I have to meet with my groupmates this morning regarding our ChE134 project. It requires time and motion studies as what was relayed to me by our professor. It is a good thing that she has our telephone numbers. She always texts us when a problem arises, thank God for that. And also I changed my schedule for next semester I cancelled everything I got during the first wave of enlistment. If all goes well, wala akong class pag monday! Please Lord, no classes on Monday. I decided to take the 140 class on wednesday because I have an ES12 class during that day, sayang naman, 1 class lang papasukan mo ng Wednesday. I also cancelled my street dancing class as it was scheduled during MH. Ang problem lang siguro nito eh, wala walang problema 3 araw pa rin ng bakasyon yahoo!

So our tasks for today is to complete the subject. I also have to meet with my girlfriend it has been a week since we last saw each other. Baka nami-miss niya ako. Kasi miss ko na rin siya eh =)

My Hero (dies)

2004-10-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

Do you worry that you're not liked?
How long till you break?
-- Our Lady Peace, Superman's Dead --

Yesterday while I was channel surfing I came upon a segment on CNN, it showed a picture of Christopher Reeves and then at the bottom was "1952 - 2004." And so I thought to myself, he's dead? What? That's a shocker. I changed channels, and on Fox there was a report that he succumbed to heart failure. So he's dead. Incidentally, a few minutes before, I saw the commercial of the upcoming Smallville episode, which was supposed to air today, well kanina, and it was the episode where Christopher Reeves guested.

Before I forget, I was watching Mel&Joey last Sunday, it was Joey's birthday celebration. In th 1980s, he starred in a tv series where he played Ian Veneracion's father. If this show ran on air before 1983, then maybe, my name came from Ian's character, Jeffrey Laperal. Just guessing. And whenever I see the new sitcom, Bahay mo ba 'to? I remember Joey de Leon playing gay roles, it's because Keempee is doing it too. Like father, like son. Very funny indeed. Among the trio of Tito, Vic, and Joey, Joey is my favorite, although some would say Vic is my favorite, because I look like him. Joey's a great lyricist, just listen to VST hits, you would sing along immediately, easy to follow, yet poetic, straight to the point and clear.

And I saw Feng Shui today, I went with Tintin, we had another movie critique =)
Oh yeah, the movie is indeed funny, because of the subtle promotion of all of the commercial products.

My Sigh of Relief

2004-10-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, for me was the longest week of my life. I had to finish 2 presentations, 2 take home exams, design a traffic light, of course those EEE students can easily do the last one, but for us non EEE, it was hard work. Anyway, I have 5 more things to do on my checklist, 2 of which should be done by this week. I have 2 exams, one is on Thursday, the next is on Friday, but for now I can rest. I'll start working tomorrow, reviewing for my upcoming exams.

I bought a new shirt yesterday, I wore it today for our presentation. It's a white, and it has long sleeves. Modesty aside, but I really looked good in it. Some of the people I met today gave positive comments on my appearance. One professor even said, while I was at the department, she looked more "tibak" than me. I retorted that I'm not "tibak" and some may even label us (in the USC) as elitists. I then added that I was at the department to pick up the projector that we will use in our presentation. She jested that why I had to dress up when I would only be carrying a projector. Our report went well, not as we planned it but hey, our professor didn't ask save for one question for our group. Would you believe that we had 87 slides, and when the time expired, we were just halfway through our presentation? Even with the extension, we didn't finish our presentation. It's great working with my groupmates, there's omar, cecille, and ana. Maybe next semester, we could join forces for another round.

Today's my grandpa's birthday. Tomorrow is an aunt's birthday. There are a lot of people in my family who have October birthdays. In my immediate family, there are 3, my dad, bro, and sis. Mom's is on November. My girlfriend's dad has an october birthday, just to add. I did a lot of stuff for today, and I'm really tired because of all the things I did for the past week. I'm about to rest.

And this month, my girlfriend started blogging =)

I got a new phone too! After 3 years and 8 months, me and my 3310 bid each other goodbye, sa wakas!