My precious

The purple dress (there's another red one and a snowglobe!) John gave me for Christmas and my new short hair.

He gave me 'Dear John' by Nicholas Sparks too. =) Plus a red rose. Incidentally our gifts to each other include a 'Dear John' since I gave him a card with a 'Dear John' in it. Duh.

My boyfriend's a gangsta with a tattoo.

I love you John.

Personality Test

OMG! How did this thing become so accurate?!! Saw this from Pal's multiply site and decided to take the test too.

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes. (My boyfriend is serious, smart, determined, AND good-looking. Couldn't ask for more siaaa.)

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person. (I already did!)

The seriousness of your love:

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love. (Damn right you are!!)

Your views on education:

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can. (True, true. But sometimes I need a break from school too. Please.)

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success. (Yeah, I am graduating soon and lamenting on what I would REALLY REALLY like to do afterwards.)

How do you view success:

You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying. (Yes I know I will be successful in my chosen career. It's just that I haven't chosen anything yet and I'm finding it hard to.)

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear. (I am concerned about my image, especially more so when I was in high school.)

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve. (HA!)

super annoying, can?

I AM UNHAPPY THAT I HAVE A FINAL YEAR PROJECT TO DO DURING THE DECEMBER SCHOOL BREAK.

I am annoyed that I have no school break.

I need that effin break.

WELL WHADDAYA KNOW. I edited this post and wrote A LOT, and my web browser froze so now it's all gone.

Sh*t.

1kDa

I have this lab test that I really dislike to do. It's called Molecular Weight Distribution test, one of the 10(?) tests I do for my lab sessions. Don't ask me what it's all about because I am not too sure myself.

First thing I do is collect wastewater from the BAC columns 2 and 3, then filter the samples through 0.6 micron filter paper ( I THINK). Then I proceed to this room at the back of the lab and filter some more the wastewater samples through 100kDa, 10kDa, and 1Kda membranes, which take around 5 min, 15 min, and 1 hr respectively for the water to trickle down. Then I gather the samples again and proceed to another room and do the NPOC test for the filtered samples. The steps in between are also so meticulous to avoid contamination and inaccuracies in the data.

I dislike it mainly because of the 1 hour wait for the 1kDa membrane before proceeding to the next step, and I have to do that for both the BAC2 and BAC3 samples. I would rather do something that's you kn0w, continuous, so you could just get it done and over with already.

This is also the reason why I'm here at the computer cluster, blogging. Usually there are other things I can concurrently do with that test, but not today. Why? Coz it's liddat, lor.

Maybe after I graduate and get out of Singapore I will stop blogging in Singlish.

Yesterday I sms-ed Sundeep and thanked him for all the help he gave me for Transportation Plannning last sem, because my grade turned out OK. It's one of those subjects with scary lecture notes (hello mathematical programming), and a seemingly out-of-this-world project. But I'm glad every semester I have people around to help me with stuff. Like Rotana had been the sem before that haha. Yeba!

Oops I have to get back to the lab now.

Im still here!!

EDITED: I guess the background problem only crops up when using Mac coz it looks fine with the PC at the computer cluster.

What happened to the background of my blog? I tried to put the twitter updates on the main body part instead of on the sidebar so that it would be more prominent (like in Wayne's blog), but I noticed that the plain background of the main blog and the sidebar is now gone, so the contrast (or lack of) between the text and the patterned background makes it harder for the stuff to be read.

Che..

I'm sorry for the lack of updates! I am alive and well if anyone wants to know. =)

Yeah I am much more alive in the 'real' world now so there's less of me in the cyberworld hehe=)

I still go to the lab 5 times a week, study for a while after that, and I've been exploring Singapore with John.

And finally I've been to a movie theater for the first time since the start (and end) of this semester. Yeba!!

Whudelse...oh yeah if you haven't read my twitter updates, well MK and I went to JB yesterday and people kept staring everywhere we went. MK got annoyed, and yeah me too. Like, they haven't seen a Caucasian guy with an Asian girl is it?? I thought nowadays nobody bats an eyelash about it anymore. Hrrrmph.

Sa Araw ng Pasko

This song is for my family.



Okay, I tried to sing along but I choked on my tears halfway. Not because my voice is so horrible, but because the lyrics have never been so true for me until now. This is the first Christmas I will be spending away from home, away from my family. It more than sucks.

I've always been grateful for every Christmas spent with my family. We've always been complete, until this year that is. December has always been the only time of the year when everyone's home, because for the most part of the year, I am in Singapore, Dimple is in Manila, Paolo is in Davao, and I'm really glad my father has already been assigned to General Santos (my hometown) so he could be with my mother and YC, our youngest.

I remember last December, we've finally decided to go to a photo studio to have a family portrait professionally done for the first time. However, the studio lost our photos for some reason. The management offered a refund for the fees but my mother still got super pissed (which is understandable) because my sister already flew back to Manila and I was also leaving for Singapore, and we would have to wait for another year until all of us will be complete again and be able to have a family picture. But since I am not going back this December, I guess we would have to wait a little longer to have that photo taken.

Right now this is the only family picture I have, which is already quite outdated coz my hair is back to being pin-straight again.

My final year project is the reason why I'm going to miss Christmas back home. My supervisor already told me as early as August that this would be the case. I didn't believe her at first, but eventually as I learned the scope of the project and the expected input from me, I realized why I had to stay here.

I would have been completely miserable having to go to the lab everyday instead of relaxing and bonding with my family (and the fact that the rainy season in Singapore falls on December does not help at all). But God is good, as always. I'm really glad and thankful that John's coming over here to spend Christmas with me:). So there's something to look forward to:). I would have wanted it even more if I could go home and introduce him to my family...but oh well, I guess I would have to wait for another time.

At the back of my mind I know I will be missing out on a lot of things by not going back- like the Global Gathering (I don't know when the next one will be), the youth concert, Missy's debut, and other stuff. But I gotta do what I gotta do, and well my high school director have always told us that Happiness is a choice.

I won't mope during Christmas, I will be happy. Yeah.

Advanced Merry Christmas everyone.

Pinoy Pride

There may be many things in which the Philippines is severely lacking at, but one thing's for sure: MY COUNTRY'S GOT TALENT!!!

This girl, Charice Pempengco, just recently wowed Koreans with her jaw-dropping rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from the movie Dreamgirls when she got invited to perform on a tv show called Star King. As a Filipino, my heart swelled with pride upon seeing the reactions of the live audience, because they were really in awe of her.

People back home haven't really given her this much appreciation (I think) because talented kids like her aren't really that rare. There are a lot of kids back home joining local singing contests who could put any (specify country name since there are already so many franchises) Idol contestant to shame. Charice actually joined the singing contest Little Big Star in the Philippines before and ended up third place. Oh well. Just goes to show that not being first is not the end of the world, for right now she's been currently giving the Philippines some much needed honor abroad.

the girl engineer that is me

I was about to do some housekeeping for my computer for this recently concluded sem, and I found some photos I kept about the Design Project (the historical one-month only module) I took. It brought about painful memories of that hellish month (ang drama grabeh), but now I'm really glad I went through that experience because it feels rewarding to have overcome it. Thank you Lord.

Yeah I know I look tired. This is my typical no-fuss school get-up. Nobody really cares what people wear in engin.


So for our project, we were given a problem about constructing a supporting structure for a basement in a building so that it won't collapse while it's being made. One of the requirements was to come up with something like this, a layout plan.


We went to a real construction site to help us better visualize those abstract things described in our textbooks and engineering codes, and to see for ourselves how they do it in real life.


We were particularly concerned about these labyrinthine structures called struts because that's what we were planning to use for our design. These things look haphazard but they are actually mathematical equations materialized.


We paid attention to how these things are usually connected to each other, how far apart they must be horizontally and vertically, what kinds of bolts are used, among other things.


I could have shown a better picture but this is the only one of me donning the engineer get-up. I cannot camwhore while everyone else is busy listening to the consultant ya know.


This is the consultant, or a quarter of him anyway.


Pages upon pages of preliminary hand calculations just to get started with the design proper. Trial and error somemore.

Haha well, a very brief glimpse of what transpired during the first month of the school term. Sleepless nights, tons of perspiration, buckets of tears, and some hair loss were also part of it.

Words cannot describe how relieved I felt when it was all over.

Cross-post

Haha so the Blogger-Multiply blog cross-posting works! I've seen my two most recent posts in Blogger also in Multiply only this morning.

Well now I'm off to my lab.

*snore*

CSI: Jim Carrey

But this is precisely why I love David Caruso (ok, actually his character Horatio Caine ) in CSI:miami!!! I like the dramatic, "hero" effect!!! And the one-liners before Horatio puts on his glasses and the CSI:miami theme booms. Shiokness.

Drafts&Random

Really, it's so weird when I'm walking down the street, riding the bus, or taking a shower, and suddenly there'd be something that would sweep over me and I'd have the urge to write about that which is momentarily interesting, but I can't because I'm not in front of the computer. And then I'd take a mental note of it so that I could write about it later, only to find out the urge has gone, and the emotions associated with that event has already gone stale. So I would just stare at the computer blankly, *blink blink*, then stare at the computer blankly again. And then start writing about random things, making a post devoid of all structure and coherence.

Sometimes though I would actually be in front the computer when that blog bulb hidden in my brain would light up, (which is my euphemism for being distracted when I'm supposed to be doing school stuff), so I'd just write a sentence or two and save it as a draft and let it gather blogdust until I find the time or rekindle the emotion to complete the post, which never really happens.

Here are some lines saved under my drafts:

I suppose it would be easier for all of us to be the people we truly are if we didn't inherit so many prejudices about the kind of person we think we should be," says Carol Eikleberry, author of The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People.

-saved as draft on Nov 13, 2007

I believe that the word 'disaster' was invented to describe this day.

-saved as draft on Oct 29, 2007

I really hate it when I'm in the library/lecture theatre/tutorial room and people are talking loudly. I have almost zero tolerance for this, even though I might be guilty of this myself sometimes. However, I welcome it when people try to hush me, and I hope other people feel the same when I try to tell them to shut up (in nice way of course). But there was an instance or two when I glaringly told this guy in class "Would you please shut up?!" because he seemed to be unaware of people casting him dagger looks for obliviously disrupting the tutorial.

And once too when I was still staying in Ridge View Residences and there is this group of people from this certain country who would have supper at 4am at the cluster kitchen every single day, and I don't know why they have to bang the pots and pans they use every time. During those days, it's only until that ungodly hour I would get ready for bed because of the mountain of school stuff I needed to do, and as I try to get some shut-eye, the stillness of the night (or very early morning) would be spoilt by clanging pans and irritating loud voices.

I was already fuming mad and I didn't bother to check how I looked with my sleeping clothes before going down to tell them off.

So anyway, now that I am working at SELF (which is sort of a library), I now have an authority to maintain the

-saved as draft on Oct 18, 2007

Anyway. I don't know how to make my sister understand how I am hurt by how she thinks I am obligated to impress her by giving her material things. I wanted to write more, but whudever, nuff said.

***

Some old photos from Wyldfire! I stole this from Chin's multiply hehe!:) WOAH WE LOOK SO DIFFERENT NOW!!! These photos were taken after the very last church service held at Trader's Hotel (then we moved to YMCA at Orchard!). We were waiting for the bus going to Ate Cla's place, Wyldfire-style of course muahaha.














And this is Wyldfire now (not really complete though). Spot the differences na lang!!!

Huy

Nakakaloka ha kapag ang buong pamilya mo gusto mong tawagan tapos lahat "subscriber cannot be reached".

:)

I can't believe how a person who's 9548 miles from me can also be the closest person to me. Soon the irony of it will subside, because ten days from now you will be with me, and bebeside me. Thank you for making me happy every day even though there are oceans and mountains between us.

Our situation has made me come to associate the Big Bang Theory not so much anymore with the beginning of the universe, but with your astronomical phone bills. There is nothing convenient about having a long-distance relationship, and I really appreciate your efforts to make this work. Thank you for not letting me spend my first Christmas away from my family all alone. I admit I doubted when you first said you were coming for me, but I've seen how you turned mere words to reality. Thank you for your hard work, for your determination, for making things happen, and for being true to your word. I know it wasn't easy, and most of the time it actually sucked, but you never gave up because you made a promise. I admire your character more than your good looks (and good looks is a severe understatement by the way).

I love you John! Welcome to Singapore (sooooon).

B****

You know the b-word that also describes a female dog? She is the epitome of that.

She sent her peer evaluation form to the whole class when it is supposed to be emailed back only to our lecturer. And you know what, there is a disclaimer on the top of the form that says The information provided will be treated as confidential. Confidential my ass alright.

So now everyone gets to see it, when things like problems encountered in detail should only be kept to ourselves and not broadcasted to the public. I know I have been hinting annoyance, frustration, and disappointment in this blog about her, about my group, and about the project in general...but I never once disclosed her name because I respect her as a person. And as far as I know, none of my blog readers know who my classmates are, because they are all in different social circles.

Now I am not so sure though whether I should use the past tense of that word, respect.

My father taught me not to retaliate in situations like this because upsetting someone in the same manner he/she has faulted you will only justify that person's actions towards you. Of course I need to defend myself because some of the things she wrote are half-truths designed for her benefit. But I will send my form to be seen only by the rightful eyes, and not feasted upon by classmates who will only benefit from having a juicy bit of news for the day.

Anyway, she is really like that, I have nothing more to say. I just hope our paths would never cross again in the future. When the module bidding period comes for next semester and I see her name on the class list, I would immediately drop that module without thinking twice.

Goodbye Transportation Planning

This calls for a celebration. I am done with Transportation Planning forever and ever amen!!! Yaaaay!!! And another good news is, the paper wasn't as scary as I had expected, and I think I would do ok. :)

But I still have one more paper to go, Environmental Management Systems. I like this module, but I have a very petty problem with my lecturer. It's not at all his fault that he reminds me of someone whom he also shares his last name with. The first time I attended his lecture, my eyes became as wide as saucers because he and this person have the same mannerisms. And I do not need any more reminders of this person.

Anyway, I shall not mention his name lest this post will pop out at Google, like what probably happened with this certain Belgian lecturer I blogged about before. It was back in Year 1 and I had a crush on him but I loathed the way he taught us, because really he cannot teach...and it's really embarrassing because I think he managed to read whatever I wrote and every time I bump into him at the hallways in Engin he would have this secret smirk (or is it always just my imagination?) - also because I successfully managed to grab the lowest mark possible for his module without really trying. I was horrified to know that he actually knows me, knows where I come from...because I thought I was a nondescript individual out of a sea of 300 faces in class.

In other news...I was curious about what happened to me this very day in the past. This is what I found out:

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

my first semester as an official NUS undergrad...

i was demoralized and disheartened,

dared until demented,

tortured beyond tolerance...

i had been to the edge and back

and still in one piece...

~aLL gLoRy AnD HonOr And PrAisE To My GoD aLonE

wHo SusTAiNed Me and NevEr LeFt me No MatTer What.~

WoooooHoooooo!!!! the sem is finally over!!!!

Well, my sem's not over yet. And even when I'm done with my last paper for this sem, I still have my final year project waiting for me. I will have to do a multitude of tests and analyses and the whole shebang, and start writing my report too especially for the coming interim presentation this January.

Gulp.

But it's amazing when I think about it. Wow, congratulations to myself, I have come a long way. It wasn't easy, which I think is glaringly obvious from the post I dug up and displayed above. But God's always been with me through the ups and downs, and I take heart in His promise that He will never leave me nor forsake me whatever happens. FYP, kaya to!!!

Batanes

I cannot NOT watch this movie!!! Wow, great cinematography. I never knew Batanes is such a beautiful place. Plus, of course, I'm a sucker for love stories. Inter-cultural, inter-racial, inter-whatever love story somemore haha. =p

Hey Maybeline I think you will like this movie too. Hee=)



Can anybody please scold me, like why I am watching youtube videos and blogging instead of studying or doing my assignment for transportation planning?

Anyway, I think this would be the last of it until the end of my exams. Furreal.

If I don't chao mug now, then later exam sure can die, one!

Happy mugging uni people:)

PS I saw a poster in PGP with what looks like a gigantic A+ on it. But the plus sign is actually a cross with Jesus on it, and the caption read Study with Him and see the difference.

Yeah, I shall do that.=) God bless you people.

PPS John, mahal kita. =)

PPS Sobra.

Uncle Bus Driver

I was able to hop on the last bus back to my place tonight. When it was nearing the last one or two bus stops from the terminal, a group of guys on the sidewalk wearing sports clothes suddenly went scrambling to the nearest bus stop as they caught sight of the approaching bus. They were frantically flailing their right hands to signal they want to board the bus. Upon seeing this (or not), the driver ironically started to accelerate and finally just sped past the poor fellows. I thought it was rude, especially since they were already AT the bus stop when the driver ignored them, so now they would have to walk all the way to the terminal. Maybe the driver thought it wasn't such a long distance anyway. Maybe the driver thought, "WHO CARES?".

Anyway, I was really tempted to tell the driver off and ask him a rhetorical question of why he didn't take those guys on board. But instead, as I was alighting the bus through the door opposite the driver's seat, I gave him a polite "Thank You". He responded with a wave of his left hand. Maybe if he realizes his work is appreciated he would go the extra mile. Or even just the extra bus stop.

Teenage Affluenza

I want to do something. I'm going to figure out how.

Yess.

Salamat Wayne!!!

:):):)

hmm so many things to blog about, so little time. exams are just around the corner!

the spice girls are back!

rivermaya has a new vocalist! (but i loved rivermaya because of rico, and now he's gone)

MeNeedsToStudy.

Dear God I know I've been complaining a lot lately, you know that's just how I am. But thank you for everything. Really.

Go away.

There are days when I feel like I'm talking to a wall.
There are days when Murphy's Law is just so true.

Life Goal

I want to visit all of the seven natural wonders of the world. I've already been to one and it's not possible to adequately describe how much I love the Grand Canyon experience. It made me realize that there is so much more to see in this planet, so much more to experience beyond this mundane and routine-like existence. I want to break free, to see the world in all its grandeur and glory that most people have forgotten the earth possesses.

Northern Lights


Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA


Paricutin Volcano in Mexico


Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe


Mt Everest in Nepal


Great Barrier Reef in Australia

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
- Genesis 1:31

...

It pains me too.

And I wish I could take it away.

But I can't.

And I feel helpless.

But I want you to know that I am here.

It is always darkest before the dawn.

Tony Blair is coming to town

I opened my NUS mail and woah!



So happy I managed to secure a place at the event. Last time when US President Bush came, it was a hush-hush sort of thing and they only broadcasted it to the elite few students belonging to the University Scholars Programme (if I remember correctly), and kept everyone else in the dark (which includes yours truly).

It would be this Friday, and Fridays are supposedly my whole day FYP lab sessions. But that won't be the case for this week anyway since I will be going to NeWater plant to collect wastewater for my dearly beloved final year project. Collecting wastewater is usually on Thursdays but tomorrow is Deepavali, which is a public holiday.

So. When I'm done collecting wastewater I'd need to rush back to my place to dress for the event, and I'd have to figure something out on what to do with all those lab tests that would have to be postponed. Tony Blair what! It's not everyday you get to meet important people you think you'd only see on TV and read about in the news.

Yeba!

Vanity

Well, I just got a new webcam and I couldn't stop myself! Haha=p And I am supposed to be doing my dearly beloved Transportation Planning project by the way. Which I really am going to do after this.

TAGLISH COXFORD DICTIONARY

I got this from Aldwin's blog. It made me smile. I miss hearing these words in everyday conversations. They're Tagalog slang by the way and they're probably not in the dictionary. =p

A FOREIGNER'S GUIDE TO PINOY CONVERSATION


1. Achuchuchu (A-chu-chu-chu) . This refers to the pointless insincerities being said during long, involved conversations about nothing at all.

2. Ano (A-noh). The all-around, all-purpose word for everything.
(1) Pronoun in interrogation: Ano? (What)
(2) Noun: Where is your ano? (Where is your father/mother/ dead-uncle' s-second- cousin)
(3) Verb: Anuhin this. (Paint/kill/ maim/castrate this.)
(4) Adjective: This is so ano. (This is so pretty/big/astoundi ng.)
(5) Interjection: Ano! (What the hell!)


3. Checheboreche (Che-che-boh- re-che). Same as achuchuchu. It is interesting to ponder on the reason why there are so many words in the Filipino language that beautifully describe meaningless chatter.

4. Epal (Eh-pal). An individual who believes he is God.

5. Gigil (gee-gil). An uncontrollable desire to bite something.

6. Hipon (Hee-pon). Literally "shrimp," whose body is eaten while its head is thrown away, this refers to a person whose body is to die for and whose face looks like it belongs to the dead.

7. Kikay (kee-kay). Refers to individuals who carry a brush, hand wash, moisturizer, lip-gloss and various other facial enhancements in a case (aptly called a kikay kit) inside her bag. Recent inspections of various backpacks have led to the conclusion it is not a purely female trait. This breed cannot resist checking themselves out on mirrors, glass windows, bread knives, sidewalk puddles and plastic-covered notebooks.

8. Kaek-ekan (Ka-ek-e-kahn) . Same as achuchuchu and chechebureche.

9. Kilig (keel-leg). A rush of excitement due to the actions, presence or even mention of he whom you see as the future father of your children.

10. Indyanero (In-jan-neh- ro). An individual who fails to appear at an appointment without prior warning. Not to be confused with individuals who appear according to Filipino time (approximately 10 minutes before the meeting ends).

11. Japorms (Jah-porms). Describes an individual dressed differently from the usual (typically involves clothes that have been laundered and pant legs of roughly the same length).

12. Lagot (Lah-got) A prophesy of evil things to come.

13.. Para (Pah-rah). A term that informs the driver of a jeep to stop and pause (usually in the middle of the road) as the individual speaking intends to leave the vehicle. Dangerous for individuals as drivers seem to believe having one foot in the air is all that is necessary for descent.

14. Takusa (Ta-kuh-sa). Derived from takot sa asawa (afraid of wife), this is a term used to describe the silent (very silent) minority of males married to feminine reincarnations of Hitler.

15. Torpe (tore-peh). A gentleman who is desperately attracted to a female yet by some strange compulsion is reduced to a frozen mound of stuttering male whenever that female is near.

Armed with this list and a smile, you will be sure to make the proper impression not just on your new relations, but on your loved one as well.

***

Now let's practice:

"When I finally got the nerve to date you, I almost became indyanero, because I didn't think I had the right japorms. When you're around, I'm kilig, when you're not, I get gigil. You may think all this is achuchuchu, kaek-ekan, or just plain checheboreche, but in truth, my darling, I'm so ano with you."

Transportation Planning

My teacher has a sense of humor.

Click to enlarge.


This module, Transportation Planning, is *$#%$#&*^$$%. Go figure. I spent 3000 bid points for this at the beginning of the sem (yes, we are pre-allocated bid points and we spend them accordingly to get our subjects). To put that into perspective, I had to bid only 1 puny point for my other modules. Well, regrets in life do come later right.

Last lecture, I had to excuse myself from class to go out and cry, and went back only when the lecture was already done.

Anyhoo, Nov 30 would be Independence Day for this module. And I will never take Transportation Planning modules ever again.

Can't Wait

December 12, 2007.

12:30 am.

Me.

MK.

Together again.

:)

Rim to rim and this sem

I just read Maybeline's blog, and I couldn't agree more.

rather than complain about what i have not yet accomplished, it would be better for me to count how many blessings God has bestowed upon me than to live in stressful misery!

Anyway, that's what mama told me over the phone too. She reminded me that I just need to hold on for a little bit more. I'm reaching the end soon, I should not give up. What I worked so hard for all these years would be in vain if I surrender now.

Paano na lang yung apat na taon na ginugol mo diyan anak? Konting tiis na lang.

I've extracted something from my memory bank that proved to be encouraging at the moment. It's when I did the rim to rim hike with MK, Daphne Duck, Ho Chee, Pearly, Shu Sing, Fabian, and Eric. There were moments during the hike that were very physically challenging, especially climbing the last three miles up. My goodness.



This is yet another peak we had to climb.

It looks daunting, especially when you're carrying a backpack that's bigger than you and you're exhausted beyond words. To push myself forward, I'd look back and savor this view:


This is how far we've already walked. It's as far as the eyes can see.

Of course, having someone to walk beside you and face the challenges every step of the way helped a lot.


No Justin, we're bringing sexy back. haha.

Finally, we reached our goal. It's one of my proudest moments. And I'm glad to share it with the people I was with.


We did it!!!

***

I'll be having my first exam at the end of this month. I am so relieved and happy that this sem would be over soon.

And after that would be...bliss. =)

PS

Pictures courtesy of Daphne Duck's blog.

I blog a lot because I don't have any other form of "life" apart from this. And this is how I connect with people. Hah. But it won't be loooong now until I could again interact with the rest of the human race in the real world.

Makita Kang Muli

I was a mess yesterday and last night. I don't even want to think about it anymore. I am just glad that God always provides me with a life line when I most need it. Thank you Mama, Papa, and Dimple. And of course MK. Thank you for giving me something to look forward to. Really. =)

I fell in love with this song when I first heard it a few years back. But it wasn't very relevant to me then. Well, now it is. haha=p Hmm but the whole song is in Tagalog, and the lyrics are very beautiful that way. But there's an English translation below. =)



***
Makita Kang Muli (Panday Theme)
Music and Lyrics by: Jimmy Antiporda
Sung by: Sugar Free

Refrain: 1
Bawat sandali ng / aking buhay
Pagmamahal mo / ang aking taglay
San man mapadpad ng hanging
Hindi / magbabago aking pagtingin

Bridge:
Pangako natin /sa Maykapal
Na tayo lamang sa habang buhay /
Maghintay..

Chorus:
Ipaglalaban ko ang ating pagibig
Maghintay ka lamang ako'y darating
Pagkat sa isang taong mahal mo
Ng buong puso
Lahat ay gagawin
Makita kang muli, Makita kang muli,
Makita kang muli..

Refrain: 2
Puso'y nagdurusa, nangungulila
Iniisip ka pag nagiisa
Inaalala mga sandali
Nang tayo ay magkapiling
Ikaw ang gabay sa akin tuwina
Ang aking ilaw sa gabing mapanglaw
Tanging ikaw..

Chorus:
Ipaglalaban ko ang ating pagibig
Maghintay ka lamang ako'y darating
Pagkat sa isang taong mahal mo
Ng buong puso
Lahat ay gagawin
Makita kang muli, Makita kang muli,
Makita kang muli..

***

Here's the English translation of the lyrics to the "Ang Panday" (The Blacksmith) theme song:

TO SEE YOU AGAIN (THIS HEART'S CRUSADE)
Music and Lyrics by: Jimmy Antiporda.
Sung by: Sugar Free

(Refrain 1)
Each moment of my life
I hold on to your devotion
Wherever the wind takes me
My passion never wanes

(Bridge)
We vowed to God
To be as one all our lives
To wait

(Chorus)
This love is my crusade
Wait and I'll make it home
Because to the one you pledged
Your whole heart to
You'd do anything
I'd do anything

Just to see you again
Just to see you again
Just to see you again

(Refrain 2)
This afflicted heart longs for
And thinks of you in solitude
It remembers every moment
We're together
You're my every moment's guiding light
In all my lonesome nights
Only you

(Chorus)
This love is my crusade
Wait and I'll make it home
Because to the one you pledged
Your whole heart to
You'd do anything
I'd do anything

Just to see you again
Just to see you again
Just to see you again

***

PS

Yoz MK did the band's lead vocalist steal your red checkered shirt???

sos

dear God please help me, i just want to disappear right now

Ha ha.

I THINK THIS IS A BIG JOKE.

MY THUMB DRIVE IS GONE.

SO FUNNY RIGHT?????

and i have a deadline later. no, i have 15 million deadlines later.

the best thing anybody's ever told me

PS

I deleted the previous post because the person was very nice to me yesterday and I kindaf felt guilty. Hah.

To Robinson (and Wyldfire)

GET WELL SOON ROBS!

Miss na namin kakulitan mo.

It seems like it's been 5 million years since I last hung out with my Wyldfire family. After church (and if I even get there in the first place), I'd always have some project to rush off to. It's sad, and I don't know how it came to this point. I was looking at our Multiply page, and it brought warmth to my heart. I love you guys, though I don't say it often and I'm always missing-in-action these days.

Facebook and happy me

Just came from class. Mondays and Tuesdays I have night classes. There are many things I dreaded for today (can I please whine one more time that I HATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING I HATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING I HATE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING..ooops that's three times).

Anyway, I am not supposed to blog, but I cannot contain the happiness I felt when I checked my Facebook and saw John's mom's message (yeah she has an account, so cool). It was heartwarming and I am really so so very happy right now. John's sister Phoebe messaged me twice too. =)

It means a lot to me when my boyfriend's family know of my existence, and even more so when they are actually warm and welcoming towards me. I'm really looking forward to meeting them someday.

Like, next year! Haha!

MK!!! You make me feel very special. Sometimes I still can't believe that despite the oceans and mountains and miles and billions of people between us, our paths still crossed and our lives are never the same. Maybe we were made for each other. :)

Tired.

I am tired to be in an environment where being stressed is the norm, where appearing relaxed and 'happy' is misconstrued as being a slacker, where people boast among themselves who is more busy, where people scoff at you for doing lesser modules than them, where drowning in work is a badge of honor and having 'free time' means you are not doing enough, where maligning another person's work to elevate oneself is not uncommon, where cutthroat competition is ubiquitous, where not being able to breathe should be the case, and where my efforts are NEVER enough.

But then again...

If I really think about it, there are still a lot of people who would rather trade places with me regardless of my whining. Like the people at the hospital, where I came from just now. I think they would rather be stressed in school than lying in a hospital bed with alien tubes connected to their bodies, suffering from diminished health and being in physical pain.

...He is strong enough to shake all earth and heaven
Yet meek enough to take me as I am.
He says come unto to me
All who are weary
And I will give you rest...

I am trying to look at the glass as half-full, not half-empty.

PS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IVY!

Happy 4th.=)

Our very first picture together, starring my chucks and your big brown hiking shoes.

It was just
Last summer when I met you.
Our first encounter is something I find
Very amusing,
Especially because
You first saw me when I was
Obviously tired from a long day's work, and totally
Unglamorous.
Just when I thought it was unfortunate that a very cute guy would see me like that, it was
Out of this world that you even asked what I'll be doing after work. My
Heart leaped when I saw you the
Next day at the Deli when I was putting salads inside the fridge, and
Everyday after that. You were
Very, very sweet
Extremely persistent (haha), and
Really caring, loving, understanding, and all that. The way you love me is the
Epitome of how I've always wanted to be loved, and I hope
That's how you feel about me
Too. I hope what we have right now would be
Forever.
In my every waking moment, thoughts of you abound; and
Sweet dreams of you fill my nights.
How I wish I could be with you right now, and
Every single day...but for now, memories of you are worth
Reminiscing.

*_*

If I can't go home this Christmas, I want to be there on my birthday.

My Final Year Project interim presentation will be on January, my birthday month. *rolls eyes* I hope it will be before my birthday.

Please, please.

Acceptance Form

Besides getting a phone call from John, this sheet is another highlight of my day:



Actually, the internship coordinator emailed me last Friday, but I emailed her back the acceptance form only today. As if I had to think about it more haha. But yeah, my mind's already made up. I want to go to US right after graduation and I'm trying my best to make it happen.

The projects are on-going year-round so they can give us the flexibility of when we want to start. I indicated my start date as 20th of July 2008, which is just a few days after my graduation. The maximum period of the internship is 6 months, and when I first applied I told them I'll be doing it until January 2009. But then...I want my internship to be over during the Christmas period so that hopefully I can go someplace else where there's snow, so I could experience a white Christmas for the very first time haha. Coz Florida got no snow mah..

Aaah so nice to think about it. =) I hope I could have the visa and stuff. Last time the consul at the US embassy was so stern, but I guess they're meant to be like that.

This is a very exciting time of my life.

Because of you. =)

PS
WHO IS TIRAMISU???

*-*

Hah. I was organidling because of the dreaded transportation planning project, but I've finally come to grips with myself that I must just take the plunge and do whatever I can because I promised my group mates I would deliver something before I sleep tonight. So, I just sent them 4 gigantic files that would hopefully help us proceed to the next stage of the project.

Thank you Jesus for being a very present help in times of need.=)

So, FYP stuff still before bed.

TPsux.

I can't wait for my transportation planning project to be over. But the lecturers haven't even set a deadline for it yet.

I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

I need patience.

Right now.

Reunion

Okaaaay. I have no idea with regards to the algorithm the web developers or whoever is responsible for putting up the Verse of the Day thingies, like how random the whole process is or what. There may be a lot of reasons - ranging from pure coincidence, or it's God's way of getting the message across that everything will be alright as long as I put my trust in Him - why the verses are relevant to my recent blog posts of what's next after school.

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I choose to believe the latter.

It's really encouraging. Thank you Lord.

***

Just met up with Daphne Duck and the Grand Canyon people for dinner. It was really nice seeing them all again. We ate at Changing Appetites in Suntec and I treated myself this:


This picture would have been nicer if Duck was the who took it haha.


I'm very tired already. But I still have to work for our transportation planning project. It's all gooooooood.

Lil prayer on a Saturday morning

Proverbs 19-20-21

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

This is the verse of the day when I looked at the little box with daily Bible verses on the left hand side of my blog.

Lord, I hope my plans are also according to your will. You know the desires of my heart, but you also know what's best for me. I sincerely hope they are the same thing. I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future. Let your will be done.

Bits and Pieces of Today

Today, I discovered that splashing ferrous aluminum sulfate in your eyes isn't painful, and touching concentrated sulfuric acid with your left index finger and with gloves on would make it look like the finger's going to wither away - but no worries, it won't. In addition, peeling off a bit of your skin due to errant jerking of the stupid door lock would only be painful for about a millisecond, then it would just mind its own business bleeding a bit, which you won't even notice because it won't register pain, unless you see with your acid-splashed eyes the red coming out of the tiny wound.

So, those are the little 'accidents' of my 10-hour session at the lab today. Moving on...

Yo dude-who-thinks-he's-so-cool, the next time you call me a slacker, I am going to shove to your face my weekly schedule so you'll know how ignorant and obnoxious you are.

On a happier note, I received this email which got me all excited I'm about to do cartwheels.



If all goes well, right after my graduation on July next year, I'll be doing a traineeship in the field of environmental engineering (something very similar to my final year project right now). And the best part is, I WOULD BE IN FLORIDA!!! In the USA again!!! Whoooopeeeeee!!! =) MK!!! haha=)

God I hope this goes well, with the visa and all. This time, I am going to do the paperwork on my own, I guess, because I searched for and contacted this US-based company myself. Last time I went, the agency did everything for the Work and Travel program and I'm impressed by how systematic they were in handling us. It was all a breeze for my part. This time, I would appreciate any help I could get. Hehe=)

Anyhoo. I am going to see Daphne and my Work n Travel newfound friends tomorrow! FINALLY!!!

P&G versus Citibank Career Talk, and then some.

I've only been to two career talks held on campus: the first one was by Citibank, and the next by P&G, which I wouldn't dare to miss. Actually the first one was supposed to be by DBS bank, but they turned me away because I wasn't dressed appropriately. That gave me an excuse to go to the mall on a weekday and splurge on appropriate clothes for such events.

The one by Citibank has turned me off and made me think I am unsuitable to be in the corporate world. It's like everything is stiff, you always have to put your best foot forward, and you'd always have to plaster a plastic smile on your face whenever you network with other people, which is an integral part of your career. At least that's what was impressed on my mind after attending their talk. I appreciate the effort of their bigwigs to come down and talk to us students who are eager to learn what's out there beyond the four corners of our school, but then...they were super boring, can. We are students, not your stockholders or CEO's of your client companies.They spoke about how great their company is and gave us charts after charts, figures after figures, dollar signs after dollar signs of their net revenues and anything else that would serve as evidence of their 'greatness'. At first I was, WOW...then eventually my reaction turned to ZZZ.

I went away feeling that this whole banking career thing is so not for me, thankyouverymuch. And it's just ironic because Citibank was just recently ranked as employer of choice by graduates in Singapore. Well, to each his own.

But for P&G, it's different. Their people came in wearing nice corporate clothes and all, but they were all very casual in the way they gave their presentation- and they were very engaging. I found myself on the edge of my seat, hanging on to every word of whoever's speaking, yearning to learn more about this great company. They all made it seem like it's such a nice, fun company to work for, without compromising the fact that they are all smart people who could deliver. They are not intimidating, and they do not alienate newbies.

I've been to the P&G Roundtable discussion last year, and I've had similar reviews even back then. Every one of those who spoke were full of energy (as opposed to the Citibank representatives who seemed bored even of themselves), and everything they said made sense.

Oh by the way, one of P&G's representatives tonight was a Filipino and I'm kind of proud of him because when he spoke, everyone in the lecture theatre gave him his/her utmost attention. He exuded this certain charm, that even if he's already a bigwig in the company, he doesn't make a fuss out of it and he spoke to us like we're his buddies. Of course, I approached him after their presentation and I introduced myself, and I even asked him if he knew my aunt who also works for P&G. Then he said 'Dina? I HIRED HER'. Hah! Jackpot!!!It was so nice of him to give me his email address and told me to email him if I have any questions, and he'd help me clarify my doubts

Maybe I can't really directly compare a bank with a company that deals with fast-moving consumer products such as P&G because each deals with different things. And maybe it's unfair to judge a company based on their campus recruitment talk representatives. But in the viewpoint of a penultimate year student looking for my options of what's next after school, the fun/dynamic/casual workplace factor is a big part of my decision-making process, because I am still young and young people usually gravitate towards these things. When almost all the speakers are boring, it makes me think 'So these are the people I'm gonna work with at the office...heh no thanks.' And it makes you wonder why it seems that the dementors from Azkaban in the Harry Potter series came and sucked the life and happiness away from these fellows.

Back to P&G. It has been my dream company even in highschool. I dug up archives (Daydreaming, P&G part deux) from my old blog to remind me why, as well as this post of why I thought I'm not cut-out to be a civil engineer .

Hmm, but recently I have come to appreciate what I've been doing for my FYP (related to environmental engineering-I'll blog about it some other time), and I was thinking maybe I finally found my niche in this world. BUT after attending the P&G talk, all those feelings of excitement and whatnot from the mere utterance of the name P&G came rushing back to me.

God, where do I go from here???

The Notebook

I love the novel from which this movie was based, and the movie certainly didn't disappoint.
I don't know of anyone who watched this movie and didn't like it.

I already found my Noah.

MK

Mahal Ko

Mahal Kita

Miss Kita

...SOBRA....

Pogi, you understand right? Hehe=)

baa baa but no black sheep

One very fascinating thing about the Filipino language is that two people can actually have a sensible conversation with a mere repetition of the syllable 'ba'.

In an elevator:

Pinoy 1: Bababa ba?
Pinoy 2: Bababa.

This whole scenario is literally translated as:

Filipino 1: Going down, is it?
Filipino 2: Going down.

Bababa. Hahaha!

Ooops he did it again!

CONGRATULATIONS MANNY!!!

There's a smorgasbord of articles about the recently concluded Pacquaio vs Barrera match, but this one is my favorite:

Pacquiao boxing victory briefly unites Philippine combatants

It's amazing how this one man can unite a whole nation and stop a war even for just a few hours.

Other articles can be found here and here.

Gratitude

Dear God,

Today I was just reminiscing those moments throughout the course of my life that made feel grateful because I have you. I remember I was a worrywart even at a very young age because of the crime news I'd see on prime time TV. Every night before I go to bed I'd do the rounds of checking whether all our house doors are securely locked, as well as the windows. But even that is not enough to vanquish horrible thoughts of masked men breaking in and harming us, just like in the news about this family earlier on TV. But I'd be reminded of what the chapel time teacher told us, that I could always call on you whenever I'm scared. So I'd imagine you being in our house, specifically in the bedroom I share with my siblings, as well as in my parents room (the teacher said you could do that because you are what she called 'omnipresent') and guarding us, together with an army of angels. Then I'd feel safe and fall asleep. The next morning in school, the teacher who would lead the flag ceremony would pray and say "Thank you Lord for the good night's rest", and I would mean it with all my heart.

That time when I was 9, we were traveling from my hometown to Bukidnon to attend my tito's wedding, thank you for that Don Moen cassette tape which I think is the only thing we could listen to at that time, because Papa kept on playing it over and over and over and over and over again for 10 hours straight. That is where I learned what is now my all-time favorite song "God will make a way", which is also your promise I hold on to whenever I feel I'm at my rope's end.

When I was in my first year of high school and I was miserable because my family was undergoing financial difficulties, thank you for your providence and for helping us get through it.

Those times when I felt rejected, unappreciated, or alone, thank you for making your presence felt when I called on you. Especially that time at Synovate office and I was just crying my heart out at the corner of one of the toilet cubicles, and I whispered "God are you here? Please hug me." Thank you because I felt that you did, and it made me feel a lot better.

Thank you for the unanswered prayers that turned out to be doors for better things, or hardships that turned out to be blessings in disguise.

Thank you for being my father, my brother, my best friend, my buddy, my fortress, my savior, my redeemer, my God all rolled into one.

Thank you for never giving up on me even if I'm not always faithful and I've failed you trigazillion times already.

Thank you for the people who love me and for the people I love.

And most of all thank you for your love, for your grace that saves, for the peace that surpasses all understanding because of your presence, and for the joy of knowing you.

Ho hum...

my phone's pretty useless right now

Happy Birthday Mama:)