can i be a fangirl for a moment?

coz i am loooving this pic. :)

pic from here.

very inspiring graduation speech

ito ang graduation speech ni james bernard c. rodriguez. hindi ko siya kilala. hindi ko rin alam kung para sa anong school nya to graduation speech o kung anong batch cya gumraduate. pero gusto ko siyang makilala. :) kung napadpad ka sa blog ko at kakilala mo siya, pakipasalamatan siya para sa 'kin. isa siyang inspirasyon. sana lahat ng graduation speech ay kasing motivational ng speech nya. :)matagal na tong gumagala sa web pero ngaun ko lang nabasa. ni-repost ko sa paghahangad na mas maraming tao pa ang mamotivate nya. :)


Ngayong araw na ito, sa ating pagtatapos, mayroon akong dalang Transcript of Record. Ang estudyanteng may-ari ng transcript na ito ay nag- aral sa De La Salle University. Sa unibersidad na ito, kapag ikaw ay isang undergraduate, may ID number na nagsisimula sa 94 at pataas, kung lumipas ang isang buong school year at umabot ka sa 15 units na bagsak, masisipa ka sa paaralan.

Ang transcript na hawak ko ay mayroong 27 units ng bagsak. 12 sa mga ito ay tinamo ng estudyante sa iisang school year lang. Ang isang subject ay kadalasang may bigat na 3 units. Kung iisiping mabuti, isang subject na bagsak na lang ay pwede na masipa ang estudyanteng may-ari ng transcript na ito.

Ang speech na ito ay hindi ko ginawa para i-acknowledge ang paghihirap ng ating magulang sa pagpapaaral natin. Hindi ko din ito ginawa para maghayag ng political statement, o kumbinsihin kayo na huwag umalis sa bansa at tulungan itong maka-ahon. Ang speech na ito ay para sa mga normal na estudyante na kagaya ng may may-ari ng transcript na hawak ko, dahil madalas, wala talagang paki-alam ang unibersidad sa mga achievements nila. May mga awards na gaya ng Summa Cum Laude, Best Thesis Award at Leadership Award. Pero ni minsan, hindi pa ako nakakakita ng unibersidad na nagbigay ng "Hung-on-and- managed-to- graduate-despite-nearly- getting-kicked- out-during-his-academic -stay" award.

Maaaring isang malaking kagaguhan ang konseptong ito para sa karamihan. Bakit mo pararangalan ang isang estudyanteng bulakbol, bobo, tamad o iresponsable? Hindi ba dapat isuka ito ng unibersidad? Ito yung mga tipo ng estudyanteng walang ia-asenso sa buhay, hindi ba?

Ayun. Natumbok niyo.Iyun na nga ang dahilan.

Madalas, pag ang isang estudyante ay may pangit na marka sa paaralan, lalong-lalo na sa kolehiyo, nakakapanghina ito ng loob. Nandiyan yung tatamarin ka mag-aral, nandyan yung iisipin mo Ano pa kayang trabaho ang makukuha ko? Call center na naman o clerical? Ba't kasi ang bobo ko. Kung matalino lang ako, sana, sa Proctor and Gamble ako, o kung saang sikat na kumpanya.

Mas mahirap ang dinadaanan ng mga estudyanteng bumabagsak. Kahit na sabihin mong kasalanan nilang bumabagsak sila, hindi ninyo alam kung ano ang pakiramdam ng ganun. Madaling sabihin na Kaya mo yan, mag-aral ka lang pero alam ba natin talaga ang sinasabi natin?

Kapag ang isang estudyante ay bumabagsak sa unibersidad, nandiyan yung tatawanan niya lang yan. O di kaya naman, ipagmamalaki niya pang TAKE 5 NA KO!!! o Pare, magpi-PhD na ako sa Anmath3/Calculus/ etc. Pero hindi alam ng mga isang Summa Cum Laude kung ano ang nasa isip ng isang normal na estudyante sa tuwing matutulog ito at alam niyang pag- gising niya, kailangan niya na naming ulitin ang isang subject na nakuha niya na sa susunod na term. Kahit kalian, hindi naging problema sa Star Student na sabihing Nay, bagsak ako. at hindi kailanman sumagi sa isip nila na paano kaya kung sa walang-pangalang kumpanya lang ako makapagtrabaho? Dahil sigurado sila sa kinabukasan nila.

Huwag na tayong maglokohan. Grades are everything. Kahit bali-baligtarin mo iyan, hindi magiging patas ang mga kumpanyang kumukuha ng fresh graduates para magtrabaho sa kanila. Minsan din naman, nadadaan sa palakasan, pero ganun pa din. Kung hindi ka academically good, wala kang patutunguhan. Kung hindi man yun, mas mahirap yung dadaanan mo para lang makaa-abot sa prestihiyosong posisyon.

Kaya ngayong graduation, ang speech na ito ay inaaalay ko para sa mga estudyanteng lumpagpak, muntik- muntikanan nang masipa o yung lahat ng paraang pwede, ginawa na para lang makatapos. Gagawin kong patas ang mundo para sa inyo kahit isang araw lang. Kahit ano pa ang sabihin ng ibang tao, kesyo kasalanan mo man na pangit ang marka mo o muntik ka nang makick-out, saludo ako sa hindi mo pagtigil sa pag-aaral. Saludo ako na may lakas ka ng loob na harapin pa rin ang mundo kahit alam mong hindi ito magiging patas sa iyo. Saludo ako na kahit pangit ang transcript mo, taas-noo ka pa rin ngayong graduation at proud na proud sa sarili mo.

Ano ngayon ang mangyayari sa mga graduates pagkatapos nitong graduation? Ayoko nang puntahan yung pwedeng mangyayari sa mga Cum Laude. Baduy. Alam mo naming me patutunguhan ang buhay nila e. Pero dun sa mga lumagpak, ano ang meron?

Maaring makakuha kayo ng mediocre na trabaho lang. Pwede ka rin swertehin, baka makapagtrabaho ka sa magandang kumpanya. Madami pang pwedeng mangyari. Huwag kayong mawalan ng pag- asa. Kung nung college, nagtiyaga kayo e ba't titigilan niyo yung pagti- tiyaga ngayon?

Pwede ring ganito: Mag-aral ka ulit. Ipakita mo sa kanila na kung sipagin ka lang, malayo ang mararating mo. Subukan mong patunayan sa kanila na kapag pinilit mo, kaya mo ring abutin yung naabot nila. Na hindi ka bobo, kundi tinamad ka lang.

Baka sabihin ninyo, drowing lang ako.

I ve been on both sides. Naranasan ko na ring lumagpak, at muntikan na din akong masipa. Naranasan ko na na umulit ng 4 na beses sa iisang subject. Naranasan ko na na masumbatan ng magulang, kapatid at kung sino-sino pang propesor na walang pakialam sa pakiramdam ng estuyante. Naranasan ko nang hindi makatulog ng maraming gabi sa pag-iisip kung paano ko na naman sasabihin sa magulang ko na may bagsak na naman ako. Kaya alam ko ang pakiramdam ninyo. Akin ang transcript na ito.

Pagkagraduate ko ng college, ano ang ginawa ko? Eto. Nagtrabaho muna ng konti, tapos aral ulit. Kuha ng Masteral sa kurso ko. Hindi para sa trabaho o kung ano man. Kundi para patunayan sa sarili ko na noong mga panahong bumabagsak ako, tinatamad lang ako. This is a rebellion. I raise my middle finger to every professor, over- achiever, naysayer and detractor that told me that I can t make it. I raise my middle finger to every valedictory or graduation speech that only gratifies the university, those who were achievers in school or those who gratify the country when it s supposed to be the graduate s moment of glory.

You are supposed to acknowledge EVERYONE. Even those who failed many times.

Kaya sa inyong mga graduates na medyo hindi maganda ang marka, para sa inyo ito. Kung kinaya ko ito, kaya niyo rin to. Imposibleng hindi.

- JAMES BERNARD C. RODRIGUEZ

estudyanteng hinde

Ang hirap palang mag-aral mag-isa. Unlike sa normal school na babasahin mo yung readings mo tapos ididisscuss ng prof sa klase. Syempre pag nasa class na, ang ididiscuss na lang ng professor eh ung mga importanteng information at ung mga most likely na lalabas sa exam. Plus, pwede ka or ung classmates mo na magtanong sa prof or sa isa't isa ng mga bagay na hindi mo naintindihan. Kumbaga, may karamay ka. :)

Pero madali din naman magself-study in a way. Kasi super hawak mo talaga yung oras mo. Like kapag nararamdaman mo na saturated na ang utak mo, pwede kang mag-break anytime or change subject muna. Eh sa traditional school, alangan namang sabihin mo sa prof mo na "Sir, break  muna tau sa paglelecture mo. Ayaw na mag-absorb ng utak ko eh. Dun muna ko sa math class. Tandaan mo na lang sir kung san tau tumigil sa discussion." Haha. Laughtrip naman un. :)

Nakakatamad lang talaga mag-aral mag-isa. Kelangan mo talaga ng disiplina. Ang weird pa ng modules ko. Hindi ko matapos sagutan ung progress check na hindi ako tumitingin sa answer key. Hehe. Ang daya ko. Pati sarili ko dinadaya ko na. Anu ba yan, may matutunan kaya ako dito? Pero kasi naman, inaattempt ko naman sagutan without looking pero ang weird ng ibang tanong eh. Like eto:

It was in ______ that the theory of dualism emanated.

Ang sagot ko, the 18th century. Un pala, place ung hinahanap. So England ung sagot. Pero kung babalikan mo ung module, mas nag-focus sya sa dates instead of places. Sabagay, kung titingnan mo ang question, grammatically eh mas bagay na sagot ang England kesa sa 18th century. Eto mas matindi:

During emotional stress, regardless of nature, many of the physical reactions are _________.

Ang sagot ko jan, instantaneous. At matagal kong inisip yan. Ang dami kasing possible answers. Pero may nabasa kasi ako sa module na:  

Under emotional stress, just like in reflex action, bodily reactions are instantaneous because of the direct link between the stimuli and the organs.

Pero mali ang sagot ko. Ang correct answer ay common. Parang kinukutya ako ng answer key at kulang na lang eh lagyan nya ng "duh" sa tabi ng answer. At take note, walang nabanggit na common sa buong module or anything that implies physical reactions being common.

Hay.. O baka naman hindi na ako marunong mag-read between the lines o mag-deduce ng information from what has been stated dahil sa tagal na natengga ang brain cells ko. (idagdag mo pa ang damage ng alcohol.)

I guess malalaman ko lang talaga kung mahirap or madali ang distance learning once mag-final exam ako. Kasi my final grade will be based only on the final exam and the module tests. (Iba ung module test sa sinasabi ko na progress check kanina. Progress checks are the ones you do after completing each lesson. Kasama to sa module at may answer key sa next page. Ung module test naman eh parang take home exams. Walang answer key at ibibigay un sau kasabay ng modules upon enrollment. You can answer them anytime basta make sure that you submit it before you take your final exam.)

Speaking of exams, nung nag-aaral pa ko sa UP, sangkatutak na sample exams ang sinasagutan ko before each exam sa math at stat. Pero ngaun, i have no idea what to expect. Kasi kahit ung non-math/stat subjects, by the time naman na mag-finals ka mejo alam mo na kung pano magpa-exam ung prof eh.. Pero ngaun, naku. One time bigtime ka sa final exam. :(

Haaaaaaay. Right now, I'm taking a break from reading the modules. General Psychology lang muna ang inaaral ko eh. Saka na ung ibang subjects/courses. Naisip ko kasi one by one ko na lang aaralin ung mga subject then take one (or maybe two) exam/s at a time para nakafocus ako sa subject and fresh pa sa utak ko ung pinag-aralan ko. Ay hindi ko pala na-mention kanina na we can schedule our final exams. Anytime yun as long as within 4 months after enrollment. (trimestral kasi sila eh.) Naglimit na din ako ng 2 weeks for each subject. Wish ko lang makapag-stick ako with the schedule I made for myself. Madali pa ngaun kasi syempre simula pa lang at medyo excited pa ko. Plus, wala akong work ngaun.. Naku, goodluck na lang sa kin once mag-work ako ulit.

Anyway, Aja! :) Kaya ko 'yan! :)

pink slip screams clean up!

from now on, i promise to be organized.. and yes, i say that after making a lot of mess (see evidence below) while looking for a particular pink slip which happened to be at in an envelope in the last paper bag i looked in.

just to give you a rundown, these pictures are the product of 7 years of my life that you're looking at. breaking it down, that's 4 years spent in college and 3 working years. these are the piles of garbage mixed with sentimental stuff and important + not-so-important documents. 7 years of shit that have slowly accumulated in various places i've rented in and finally been brought home almost a month ago.. and yes, lazy me is just starting to dig into these stuff to have some semblance of organization in my life.

i have been dreading organizing this stuff beforehand as i've always known that it's going to be such a nightmare to have it all cleaned up but i can't put it off any longer. i realized this because of 1 thing : i have to get back to work soon.

and so you wonder : how does that relate to each other?

well, it's pretty simple. remember the pink slip i mentioned earlier? that's the slip containing my social security number. it takes forever to get an SSS ID so while i don't have an ID, that would be the only legitimate proof of my SSN and thus would be needed once i get a job.

i have most of the important documents in an envelope but i've forgotten where i put the pink slip so i started rummaging through all bags, paper bags, envelopes and plastic bags that i've brought home with me. i swear, i spent hours looking for it. and just as i was about to lose hope; a glimpse in the last paper bag showed a very familiar-looking, extremely tattered brown envelope which i used during a job hunting expedition i did years ago. i opened the envelope and there it was : the pink slip i've spent a great deal of my time looking for.

so to prevent this from happening again in the future, i have decided to get everything organized and throw away all the junk stuff (which is probably more than half of the stuff anyway. just the brief inspection i did through each bag while looking for the pink slip shouts TRASH more often than not.). and yes, i'm gonna get started on it ASAP.

ASAP.

ooops. i mean right after this blog is done.. and oh! do you see the time? it's 3:04 am. i must've spent more than 4 hours looking for the thing. probably explains why i'm sooo sleepy. so i'll just make u a deal. i'll bring up all the stuff in my room and i'll have 'em organized tomorrow. deal?

yeah. i know. you're thinking that i'm being lazy again and won't get the job done, huh? well watcha gonna do? a girl's gotta sleep right?

ugh. i hate this but i promise i'm gonna organize this tomorrow. i swear. sleep's just taking over me at the moment.

taking time to remember and be grateful

in 2006, when typhoon milenyo hit the philippines, i was renting an apartment with some friends in quezon city and was working in taguig. i remember taking a cab (in qc) to work (in taguig) and the cab i was in was almost hit by a tree along katipunan. the tree along the sidewalk was uprooted and landed on the road right after my cab passed. scary, but what my family back home in cavite experienced much worse. i remember being so worried as our phone was out of reach but at the same time appeasing myself, reminding myself that our town never gets flooded and it might just be areas near rivers that were affected.. i was watching the news and it was declared that my hometown was already declared under state of calamity and news of people dying was being shown all over. when i finally got home to our province, it was a shock to see that there were watermarks on the walls in our house. the flood was almost waist-high and our PC, and other electronics were all in the backyard: no longer of any use to us. electricity was out. landlines not working. heck, even water supply was not available. turns out that people were so unprepared for the flood. it has never happened and so they were not expecting it. unfortunately, a nearby dam almost overflowed and the gates to it were opened, thus a fast flood was unleashed, totaling most of the area's properties.

up until june of this year, i was renting a house in pasig, near ever gotesco and the cainta boundary and was working in mandaluyong. i'm currently taking a break from working and have been staying in cavite since then. when the rain poured harder, we took all electronics and other important stuff up to our bedrooms, which were a bit higher than the rest of the house. after we have taken all our stuff to safety, we went to the main road, waiting for news. it was kind of a hold-your-breath moment. any inkling that the dam was gonna overflow would have sent us all running back to our houses and make sure none of our stuff gets harmed by the flood. fortunately, before the dam reached its limits, the rain let down. it was as if a collective sigh could be heard all over. the crowd by the main road got thinner and thinner as time passed by until ultimately, the rain stopped. earlier today, i've been watching the news and found out that marikina-cainta-antipolo-pasig-taguig area was hit the hardest. and that they were using ever gotesco as a place to give out relief goods to people. and they were showing video footage of areas including de castro subdivision, with houses that would need boats to get to. ever gotesco was actually within walking distance from the place i used to stay in. and that place was in de castro subdivision.

i guess i can say that i'm lucky. and it makes me feel overwhelmed and grateful and sad at the same time. and frustrated upon reading comments that the media is simply hyping up the events, showing the worst of the typhoon's effects and that people they know living in the philippines told them that it wasn't as bad as media makes it up to be. it's frustrating because it IS that bad. they were probably speaking to those who don't live in the affected areas. or because of the fact that filipinos are typically optimistic in nature. that though tragedies hits our lives, we still put on a brave and happy face for all to see. but what you see on the news IS real. and it may even be worse in places that media couldn't reach.

i feel for all those affected by the typhoon. what our family experienced with milenyo wasn't anywhere near what they are experiencing right now. some have lost all their furniture and would have to start from scratch in rebuilding their homes. but sadder is the fact that other's loss isn't simply material things. some have lost family.

so join me and hundreds of thousands of filipinos in praying that the typhoons which may be hitting the country this week would not be as bad as this as well as for the recovery of those affected by Ondoy.

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the uniform project..

it's blog hopping time for me and while going through blogs, i stumbled upon a link to the uniform project. needless to say, i was really amazed by what the project is all about. (thus my rave in this blog :D)

i'm sure most of you are familiar with project 365 wherein you take a photo each day to post on either your blog or photo-sharing site or whatever space you have on the world wide web. well, i think project 365 is definitely cool but the uniform project takes this to a different level..

now, on to what the project is about.

ok. so as depicted in the very cute drawing above, Sheena Matheiken (who conceived and is currently executing the project) has 7 pieces of the uniform dress (which was designed and made by her friend, Eliza Starbuck) which she has to wear everyday.. as she explained in her website:

Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir.

Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.

today is day 142 of the project. check out some of the looks that she did for this month..



this really inspires me to do a project of my own. and i've been trying to think about what project i could do. project 365 is too tedious for me. i don't think i could post a blog entry every single day but maybe something weekly would do. yeah. and i'm calling this project 72 (see?! that's lazy me not even trying to be the least bit original about my project title.) now, for the topic.  #1 idea is about me travelling. but. i don't think i'll be able to travel once a week once i start working.. so... scratch that idea. #2 idea is about my learning to play the guitar and me learning 1 song on the guitar per week. but. i would have to do a video blog for that. #3 is a picture blog. just something that i'm interested on every week. well, too common and too broad. unless i narrow it down to a specific topic.

ok, i got it. since i'm really interested in travelling at the moment but can't do a daily/weekly thing, i'm just gonna make sure that i get to travel once a month and post a blog about it. now i just have think of a better way to call my project. wish me luck! :)

writer's block

bakit ba nagkakaron ng writer's block. sa ngaun, meron akong tatlong blog posts na hindi ko matapos tapos. i have the idea, and the details of what i want to show in the blog entries. BUT. the words get in the way (chos). kaya naman facebook na lang muna ang pinagkakaabalahan ko. socializing and gaming all rolled in one. plus hindi ka mahuhuli sa news. just browse on ur news feed at para ka na ding nanood ng news+celeb gossip. hehe.

aun. this has got to be my shortest post. (and if you've been reading my blog, alam mo na mala-nobela akong magpost.) just wanted to drop by and write something coherent pero parang puro ramblings lang muna kaya kong gawin ngaun.. :(

i'll be back soon. hopefully with something that doesn't include me rambling about nothing. :)

i dream a dream

yan ang dream ko. hehe. this was taken sa condo na tinitirahan ng isang friend ko.. naiinggit ako kaya kinuhanan ko ng picture.. pero seryoso, pangarap kong magkaron ng sariling library sa loob ng sarili kong bahay. sana in the next 2 years, makapagpatayo na ko ng bahay. i don't have any specifications sa house except that it needs a library. :D

at ung library, gusto ko as in super dami ng books. ung tipong madaming rows of shelves na pang-library talaga. tapos arranged by author then book title ung books. parang ganito:

at gusto ko wall to wall carpet ung library ko. tapos may dark heavy curtains.. tapos may PC. tapos may area na maraming throw pillows na pwedeng higaan habang nagbabasa.. haayy.. heaven. :D cguro di na ko lalabas ng library ko pag nagkataon.

so this is me unleashing my inner geek. ung nanay ko, dahil hindi mahilig magbasa, hindi maintindihan ang addiction ko sa pagbili at pagcocollect ng books. which is really sad dahil wala ako sa bahay namin sa cavite nung binaha ang bahay namin dahil sa milenyo. ang dami ko ding books na tinangay ng baha. di nila naisalba dahil di naman importante para sa kanila.. :( i had to start rebuilding my book collection tuloy.

aun pa pala. more specifications on the construction of my library : it has to be sa 2nd floor ng house para bumaha man, kahit wala ako sa bahay. andun pa rin ang books ko.. now all i have to worry about is making sure na fire-proof ang room without using water.. hay. (btw, burning books reminds me of the book fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury. have you read this book?)

pero kelan pa kaya mare-realize ang dream ko na to? sa ngaun kasi konti pa lang ang books ko..below are pics of my books.

the first pic (upper left) has 2 half-rows of books which are mostly for academic purposes. (plus a few other books. btw, the bin laden book is not mine. i just borrowed it from a friend and must be returnes soon.) the red envelopes contains readings in college (specifically spanish10, stat131, and a photocopied MGB). the second picture (upper right) contains 2 rows of hardbound and "big" books.. and the last pic (bottom center) contains 3 rows of "pocketbooks" aka my paperback books.

haaay.. kelan kaya dadami ang books ko para makapuno ng kahit 3 shelves man lang? mukhang kelangan ko magbooksale every week. hehe. :D ayway. reality check muna. tama na muna pangangarap. (sa totoong buhay, gutom na ako at maghahanap ng makakain.)

Note : library shelves pic was taken from Mount Angel Abbey Library's site.

going back to work? must go travel first. :D

may taling ako sa talampakan. i guess this explains why i love to travel. but i haven't done much travelling lately. so i'm looking for places i could go to before i start working again..

so i decided to make a list to pick from. so here goes. my top 5 places to go to before i go back to work. :)

1. sagada : i've wanted to go there since college. at nag-enlist ako nung college ng PI100 class dahil nagpapafield trip daw sa sagada ung prof na yun every sem. but it was just my luck that above-mentioned professor decided not to hold a sagada field trip during the semester that i was in her class. hay. i saw 2 travel packages the other day (both linked from philippine beaches' page sa facebook) and these are the packages:

package #1

Sagada Caravan Tour for only 2,750.00/person

Inclusions:

* Roundtrip Air conditioned Van Transfer (Manila-Sagada-Manila)

* 3days/2nights accommodation

* Service of a Tour Guide (except at Sumaguing Cave and/or Burial Cave)

* Entrance Fee

* Gasoline, Toll Gate/Parking Fee

* Day Tour at the following sites:

— Echo Valley, Kiltepan Rice Terraces, Sagada Weaving House, Sumaguing Cave and/or Burial Cave, Bomod-ok Falls or Mount Ampacao and Lake Danum,St Mary’s Church.

Publish package rate is good for 4 persons and above. For 3 persons and below package rate will be Php 3,000/person.

package #2:
Places to see:

Banga-an Rice Terraces, Bomod-ok Big Falls, Lake Danum, St. Mary's Episcopal church, Calvary Hills, Echo Valley, Hanging Coffins, Sagada Weaving, Kiltepan Viewpoint

Inclusions:

3D/2N accommodation, 9 meals (3 breakfast, 3 lunch, 3 dinner), round-trip transport (Manila-Sagada-Manila), van rental, entrance fees, guide fees, souvenir shirt (your own size)

Number of participants: 6 pax and up

Price: P4500/head, minimum of 6 pax

hmmm. parang ang laki ng difference ng price. ganun ba kamahal ang souvenir shirt? hehe. :)

btw, package 1 is from here and package 2 is from here. :)

 2. ilocos : so i've been to ilocos (both sur and norte) when i was 18. but i did not bring a camera and thus, i feel that i was robbed off of the experience. haha. seriously. sayang, we went to a lot of churches, beaches, to the light house, toured vigan etc. but i don't remember some of the places na. if  i had pics eh di sana i could just go through the pictures and say, ah i remember this was taken at so-and-so where it was blah-and blah.

3. bangkok : international naman. para makalabas naman ako ng pilipinas. :) want to shop and explore thailand's culture. add the fact na it's probably cheaper to go to bangkok than to mindanao. :) kaso mukhang malabo na makapunta ko dito dahil sino naman ang pwede kong yayain pumunta in such short notice? i don't want to travel alone. mahirap na. i'm sooo bad with directions pa naman. (at wala pa nga pala kong passport. di ko kasi sinipot ung interview ko for passport eh. haha.)

4. khao pad : ok, so hindi naman talaga to place. hindi din cguro macoconsider as travel. (hmmm.. kelangan ko ba baguhin ung title ng blog entry na to?) but i stumbled upon a blog about this restaurant. it's a restaurant formerly known as the UP thai canteen. shet. bakit ngaun ko lang nalaman to? eh tambay ako ng ortigas... dito na pala napunta ang thai canteen. weeeh! buhay pa ang thai canteen! :D grabe. its been at least 5 years since i last ate there (nung nasa balara pa cya). i remember a few years back, i wanted to eat there kaso nagsara na daw. have. to. order. mixed seafood. aw. i missed thai canteen. *must control squid cravings, now na.* btw, it's located at ortigas home depot sa OJV behind starbucks.

5. one of carlos celdran's tours :  because i believe that there is much to rediscover in manila. :) at kahit napuntahan ko na tong places na to, i was probably there for a grade school/high school field trip and didn't care much or just passed by the places while on  the way to a different place and paid no attention at all. :p

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK!

Intramuros Regular Walking Tour

Includes: Manila Cathedral, Walk on Walls, San Agustin Museum, Plaza San Luis

Note: Tour has slightly mature content (2 hours)

Recommended for ages eight (8) above

Php800.00 - Adult

Php400.00 - Student

 

LIVING LA VIDA IMELDA!

Walking Tour of the Cultural Center of the Philippines

Tour of the National Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, and CCP grounds.

Note: Tour has slightly adult content (3 hours)

Recommended for ages 14 above.

Php700.00 adults

Php350.00 students

 

DOWNTOWN EXPRESS!

A Stroll through Binondo and Quiapo

Note: Recommended for all ages.

Php600.00 - Adults

Php300.00 - Students

i'll probably take my sis with me to go to #5. goal ko to join at least 1 of the 3 tours listed above and go to one more place from my top 3 places. khao pad is definitely somewhere i'll go to within the month. :) btw, visit carlos celdran's blog here to see the dates available for the tours. :)

sintones, sagimes, atbp.

Kumakain ako ngaun ng sintones. Hulaan ko reaction mo: “huh, sintones? Ano un?” Well, mas kilala mo siguro cya sa pangalang dalandan. Pero sintones ang tawag dyan dito sa min. Hindi ko nga malalaman na ito pala ung dalandan kung hindi nauso ang mga dalandan flavored drinks at nagkaron sila ng commercial sa tv. High school o college na siguro ko nun.. Kahit hanggang ngayon, pag gusto kong kumain ng dalandan, “sintones” pa din ang pinapabili ko..

Parang turon. Alam mo bang dati, hindi ko alam na turon pala ang tawag dun sa saging na binalot sa lumpia wrapper. Sagimes kasi ang twag namin sa turon eh. At dati, naweweirdan ako sa shape ng turon. Kasi ang sagimes (na paboritong paborito ko nung bata pa ko) eh square ang shape. Parang ganito:

Pati ung tinapay na tinatawag nyong monay? Ang tawag sa min dun eh bangka. (Ung pronounciation nito hindi ung pagppronounce ng bangka na ship ha. Mahaba ung bang. Baang-ka. Malumay lang un pronounciation.) At ang laki pa nyan nun. Ung pisong bangka dati, mas malaki pa sa limang pisong bangka ngaun. Naalala ko pa, ang everyday merienda ko pag bakasyon eh isang bangka na may palamang peanut butter (ung walang brand na peanut butter na nakalagay sa malaking plastic container) at softrinks (8oz na coke o kaya mirinda o 7up, hindi ako umiinom ng sarsi). Kaya naman nung bata pa ko, tumataba ako lagi pag bakasyon.. :D

lowering my cyber-presence

since i'm decluttering my life (i.e. cleaning up my room, my e-mail, my life in general), i decided to track down all my cyberspace accounts and delete all those that i'm no longer using. besides, baka isang araw, sumikat ako at makalimutan kong may account pala ko in whatever site at may magamit cla dun na pics or notes or whatever that they can use against me. (haha. as if) pero seriously, ang hirap kasi, masyadong madaming username and password.

so below are all the accounts that i've set up on different sites. ung mga naka-strikethrough are the ones that i've already deleted. the others are accounts that i will either be keeping, deleting soon, unable to delete because of some reason, or those that i haven't made up my mind about yet.

these are just the ones i remember or have notifications of in my e-mail accounts (which, by the way, i have 4 of. 2 from yahoo, 1 from gmail, and 1 from UP.) matatawa ka na lang siguro dahil para kong adik na sign up ng sign up sa kung anuano or maiintindihan mo ko at marerealize mo na may point ang ginagawa ko or may iba ka pang reaksyon na hindi ko na iisipin pa kung ano. :D

hi-5 
onti lang ang friends ko na gumagamit nito. not fun. deleted as of 08/29/2009.

myspace
hindi ako nag-enjoy dito. basta. naguguluhan ako sa layout ng profile ng mga tao. nakakahilo dahil halos fully customizable ang lahat ng makikita mo sa pages.. ang daming gumagalaw na icons, words, ang daming effects sa pictures, comments at kung anuano pa. nakakasakit sa ulo. i kept this for more than 5 years 'cause i know that this is the social networking site with the most users. (pero baka nalampasan na cya ng facebook) plus sikat cya sa US. eh baka sumikat din dito someday so i kept it. or baka naman sikat na cya sa pinas, di lang sa friends ko. well, mukhang di na cya sisikat sa friends ko. masyado na nilang mahal ang facebook. deleted as of 08/29/2009.

tagged
dahil sa dami ng nagsesend ng invite through email. eh nakulitan na ko so i set up an account. onti din lang naman friends ko dito. i rediscovered it lately dahil may friend ako na kinulit akong magmafia wars sa tagged para lumaki ang mafia nya. naadik ako sa mafia wars. pero dahil may mafia wars din sa facebook at mas madami akong friends dun na nagmamafia wars, kinalimutan ko na ang tagged account ko. wala na cyang use ngaun. deleted as of 08/28/2009.

windows live spaces
i don't even remember why and when i made this.. according to my profile, it was created december 2003 pa. but it's empty and i haven't even updated anything on the profile. deleted as of 08/29/2009.

photobucket
ginamit ko lang to nung time na nagxxanga ako to store the files that i'm using for that site. after nun, wala na kong ibang inupload. nung naging busy ako at nawalan na ng oras magblog natigil na din ang paggamit ko ng photobucket. inassume ko lang na wala na ung account ko dito. kasi i found the email from photobucket regarding my registration while i was cleaning up my email. pero nung nagtry ako maglog-in wala daw account with that user name. can anyone confirm if photobucket automatically deletes inactive accounts? years ko na hindi nabuksan ang account ko. ;p

hipstir
isa lang ang friend ko dito. bakit nga ba ko nagsign up? kausuhan ata to ng social networking sites. mga 2004. pero dominated pa ng friendster and social networking nun. again, no friends = no fun. deleted as of 08/28/2009

scribd
i used this around last year. i've been looking for books kasi that were not in stock sa mga bookstores here in the philippines. eh halos mga wala din naman sa scribd. will be deleting this soon. i have no use for it anymore. (if only i can remember my username and password)

facebook
no plans of deleting this anytime soon. enjoy ang games, lots of my friends are using it actively, and it's  user-friendly.

plurk
enjoy ako dito ngaun. kahit konti lang ang friends ko. at hindi pa sila lahat, kilala ko. im not much of a chatter (which is parang chat ang nangyayari sa plurk) but i do log in every few hours to update my account with what i'm doing/thinking. and i have my plurk updates automatically posted to my facebook account and twitter and it's on this blog. i love the interface. plus naaaliw ako sa concept ng karma. kaya ikaw na nagbabasa ng blog ko (kung meron mang nagbabasa nito since i never told anyone na i'm blogging again.), kung may plurk account ka, iadd mo ko. click mo lang ung plurk ko sa ilalim ng header ng blog na to. :D

xanga
my first 2 blogs were on this site. i'm still thinking if i'm gonna delete them 'cause i feel sentimental about the blog posts.. that was during my late teens so nakakatawa pag nagbabackread ako.)

youtube
bakit nga ba ko nagregister ng account dito? eh pwede naman akong manood ng videos kahit wala akong youtube acount. icclose ko na to.. (as soon as maalala ko ang username at password. argh.)

blogspot
dahil wala akong ginagawa lately, namamaintain ko ang blog na to. sana lang mamaintain ko pa din pag nagtrabaho na ko ulet.

imeem
wala din tong kwenta for me. lahat naman ng gusto kong songs eh nasa hard drive ko. i usually burn cds or download songs so like the youtube account, i'll be deleting this na. (and like youtube, di ko din maalala ang username at password.)

multiply
ito ang naging photo storage site ko. nung time na lumabas to, it was the easiest photo-sharing site na social networking na din.. i enjoyed it for a few years.. hanggang sa dumating ang facebook. kung video killed the radio star, facebook killed the social networking stars.. at hindi ko gusto ang bagong multiply. naguguluhan ako. basta. magulo. wag ka nang magtry pa na iexplain sa kin kung bakit nila pinagulo ang dating simpleng multiply. gusto ko na din tong idelete. sayang lang dahil ang dami kong pics na nakaupload dito.

friendster
honestly, friendster scares me na. there's a lot of friend requests of people i don't know, daming spam testimonials with the girl inviting people to video chat with them, messages are all about applications, it's starting to get boring, and most of my friends transferred to facebook. still thinking about deleting my account but some of my friends in here who i don't see anymore don't have facebook. so i guess i'm keeping it in the meantime.

twitter
i've had it for a few weeks. kanina lang ako nagpost ng status message. (hindi pa pala. i just arranged for my plurks to be posted on twitter) maganda lang cyang pang-stalk ng celebrities. pero i can view celebrities' accounts naman kahit na wala akong twitter so i'm thinking about deleting this.. on the other hand, i have all my plurks automatically posted to facebook and twitter so di naman hassle i-keep ung account.

livejournal
i only have this because of a handful fan-fictions on this site that i like. i will probably delete the account once all chapters of those fan fics have been uploaded. hmm.. or not. seriously, there are a lot of great writers on live journal kaya i'm still thinking if i'm gonna delete this account.

*end note* mas madami pa ung natira kesa sa nadelete ko. sana maalala ko na ung mga username at password na nakalimutan ko. naalala ko lang, ,may account din pala ko sa neopets! may neopets pa ba ngaun? mai-check nga para maclose ko na din. :D

ETA:
neopets
deleted as of 08/29/2009.

logic says if one has a driver's license then surely, one knows how to drive

think so?

well, not always..

i traded in my student permit yesterday and applied for a non-professional driver's license.. i haven't driven any car, haven't even touched a car key and btw, i know next to nada about driving.

so... is the above-stated logic wrong..?

hmmm. not necessarily.. 

you see, it's not about what you know.. it's about WHO you know and HOW MUCH you give them ..

and i'm not really sure if i feel happy or irritated about the whole thing..

Dad: "nakakainis yung sa cashier, ang dami daming isinisingit.. kaya ang tagal bago ako natapos.."

Me: *ouch* "isa na 'ko dun.."

Dad: ...  

well, dad, it's not really my fault. it's just that mom knows someone who can help .. she would have helped you too, you know.. but since you're there to apply for a student permit (yes, my 55 year old dad is still applying for his student permit), someone can't. someone can only let you skip some of the steps if you're applying for a non-prof or prof license..

so.. some of the steps i skipped were taking the exam and payment to the cashier. and most of the long lines.. all i did was go straight to the office upon arrival, get my medical exam done (which was the only thing i did the conventional way).. get back to the office and give my payment (plus additional money to "thank" someone..), get my picture taken, and i was asked to go back at 3pm the following day and go straight to the office to get my license from someone..

so there, this afternoon i went there and got my license. so i guess i should be thankful that i didn't have to go through the long process. but then again, this greatly concerns me as a citizen of our country. i've always said that people wanting to work for government institutions should have a heap of integrity. cause even if a person goes to work without any intentions of being corrupt, it doesn't guarantee that they wouldn't be. ang dami daming kusang nagbibigay ng pera. and they can be subtle at times.. and during difficult times, that would be hard to say no to..



i do not wish for world peace. i just wish that everyone would learn the virtue of integrity..

header : the evolution

the one on the top of the page? the sunset on the sea?

yes, i took that photo. and no, i'm usually not that good a photographer.

it was originally from this pic. 'twas taken during our trip back to manila (to be specific, on the ferry from balanacan to dalahican) from marinduque.

don't you just love the sunrays peeping through the clouds..?

anyway.. i love sunsets. there's something dramatic and eerie and beautiful and haunting about it. something so compelling and amazing and all sorts of <insert word here>+ing. :D for me, it's the thought of the sunset being the meeting point of two different things. where day and night coexist. where it is no longer the sun's time but not yet the moon's. well, the sunrise is pretty much the same but i'm rarely up by that time. plus, sunrise is all hopeful and happy whereas the sunset is more moody and sad.. so being the emotional crap-tastic person that i am, (guess what!) i am more drawn to sunsets..


so i cropped the pic above and added the word authenticraps (which is my blog title, duh.) so that i could use it as my blog's header. i wasn't really in the mood to photoshop the pic properly.. so this was the resulting pic..

 authenticraps v1.1

and yeah, i know. it's still boring so i decided to add some oomph to the photo but i'm too lazy to do proper effects so i just smudged the edges a bit and voila. here is the final (as of now) version of my header.

(which i proudly call) authenticraps v1.2

well, the smudged edges kinda took away the sunrays (which i sooo love) but i think it sort of highlighted the sun..i still think authenticraps v1.1's photo looks better but the edges were a bit too plain for me.. so i guess i'm just gonna settle with authenticraps v1.2 at the moment..

bored out of my wits end

so i've had nothing to do the whole day yesterday and decided to go with my mom when she told me that she was gonna check out the pigs that we were breeding.. (plus, i need the exercise as i have gained a considerable amount of weight for being a bum for almost 3 months..) the piggery was located near my lola's old house which was a good 15-minute walk from the main road.. (my lola has recently relocated to a place by the main road.) well, what initially was a trip to see the pigs became sort-of a trip down memory lane for me.
the first picture shows my mom walking through the path between the fields.. i used to hate walking through this path as it was a very long one for a kid about 7 years old.. so when i learned how to ride the bike, i always used the bike to get to lola's place. the road may look smooth in the picture but what you don't see are the stones of different sizes scattered across the pathway. once, i was riding my bike and right across my lola's house, the bike hit a rock which caused the bike's handle to turn a bit to the right, sending me downwards, straight to a creek. i remember, the only thing that was on my mind was that i should turn the bike's handle to the right to avoid the creek (which was actually just about 1-2 feet deep). so i turned the handle and YAY! i missed the creek! but guess what i hit instead: the HUGE mango tree that was right beside the creek.. DUMB, DUMB move. haha. i wasn't hurt though.. but since this all happened across lola's house, all my aunts and uncles and cousins saw what happened. i could hear some of them screaming during the incident (which in my mind happened in slow-motion but in reality was probably just a split second.) but i became the butt of their jokes after they all found out i was okay.
pic#2 -----------------------> shows a lot of trees.. (and i'm not even gonna pretend that i know what kind of trees they are) but when i was younger, instead of all those trees and galvanized iron sheet-walls, was my favorite tree. it was a mango tree whose growth, instead of straight upwards was in a 20degree angle. giving an impression that it is nakadapa or lying face down: thus we called the tree manggang dapa. because of its structure, the tree was easy to climb and we had lots and lots of picnics in the area and played around the tree. as far as i can remember, that tree was my dad's possession until he sold it around 10 years ago and it was turned into a shooting range of sorts. the new owner put so many trees around that it's quite impossible to figure out what's going on behind these trees..
well, i could go on and on and post more pics but its gonna make this blog way longer than it already is so i guess i'll just have to leave it as it is.. 'twas nice to walk through the fields once more. i've gotten so used to polluted and saturated manila. it's such a breather to walk through the places of my youth, and to reminisce the innocence and carefree ways that wears off as we get older.