the perils of

            Yesterday, Block XX had its required INTACT (Introduction to Ateneo Culture) exposure trip to Bagong Silang, the largest barangay in the Philippines. Because we're Health Sci majors, yesterday was only the first of numerous visits we're going to be paying to Bagong Silang as part of a five-year partnership with Gawad Kalinga aimed at improving the health system in the barangay. Our mission was to educate the kids a bit about healthy habits.             I loved every bit of the trip. It takes a bit more than an hour going to Bagong Silang from Ateneo via jeep. (Ateneo provided us with three jeeps, so there quite a bit of leg room. Ateneo also provided snacks for us and the kids!) Thankfully, the jeep ride was fun fun fun. We sang songs the whole time!                       When we arrived, we were split into three groups and given a small tour around the barangay. Bagong Silang looks like your typical semi-rural Philippine area, with tiny streets and bunched-togethe

It's been such a lazy week. Just a quick recap of all the events that have transpired: Sunday, Jan 23          I told myself I'd get to watching (from start to end) the movies my friends have been so kind to give me copies of. So I watched Tokyo Godfathers and Black Swan . I thought both movies were genius (don't I feel like AC now). Lesson learned: In the future, it is best to have friends around when watching creepy, psycho-thirller movies. After seeing Black Swan by myself, I carried a pair of scissors around with me whenever I had to step out into the hallway. Monday, Jan 24          I got an A on my Lit midterms! I was on Cloud 9. I haven't gotten an A in a very,  very long time.         Our Intact session that day was pretty cool - we had to close our eyes and imagine ourselves having a peaceful walk through a forest with Jesus. We had to picture Jesus taking our hands and placing a gift in the center of our palms. For some reason I don't understand

I was reading Rap's blog  (<--- that is a link, go click it) and I was reminded of a conversation that I had with him and Jules yesterday, on the way to Ken Afford. See, there was supposed to be this huge street party over at the Ateneo dorms, but it was raining buckets so we ended up not going. The dormers, however, made the most of it by tossing away their umbrellas and partying in the rain. And so I asked my friends when was the last time they ever did something like that. Dancing in the rain. Dancing, and not just walking, be it alone or with friends. And now I can't help but ask, when was the last time you ever felt amazingly happy? Not just those brief, common "Oh, look, I found a shiny coin"-type of events, but those elsuive, genuine moments of pure ecstasy that can make people do cartwheels. Where time fast-forwards and goes in slow motion all at once. Where everything is beautiful in the world , everything,  and even the most mundane of things, like th

I really haven't been in the mood to write lately. I don't know if it's some brain chemistry thing associated with the weather (they say cold weather causes a chemical imbalance in the brain, making people sadder), but I've just lost the urge to type out the entire proceedings of my day for all the strangers on the Internetz to see. However, upon the prodding of certain friends (hi, Rap and Andy), I. Will. Write. After all, the show must go on, and the uncreative blogger must feign creativity. I don't really know what's in it for you, dear reader, but in writing this, I supposedly benefit from the theraputic nature of blogging. And then there's that other thing about my future grandchildren finding this blog and saying, "Oh look, Grandma wrote that!" (Ugh. How creepy does that sound? Hello, grandkids. Ack! So very creepy.) But what exactly do YOU benefit from reading this? You will have wasted around five minutes of your time, that's what. Fi

      Hello, incoming freshman who visited my blog thinking that this post would be about the 2011-2012 ACET results! (You're partly correct in thinking that anyway, so give yourself a pat on the back!) It looks like you're at that junction in your senior life where all the entrance exam results of any Philippine college that matters have been released, and you find yourself in a happy, confused daze. You passed UP/Ateneo/La Salle/UST/all of the above, and you're ecstatic for having accomplished so much (also inwardly proud for having done slightly better than your other classmates). But now what?     It's thinking-about-college tiemz, that's what! If you haven't decided on a school and on a course yet, then that's okay, because you've got until March to do so anyway (because that's usually the time when colleges start finalizing - ugh, "finalizing"; Strunk, White and Mr. Pulan would disapprove  - their list of enrollees). However, it is

The weekend's here at last. It's been a really tough week.  Bahh, how generic-sounding. I'm not satisfied with anything I've been writing lately. I think I might be going into blogging hibernation. It happens at least five times a year, when I somehow lose the urge to write. Anyway. Tonight, I actually read a book. :O I feel a lot smartyer lolzzzzzzzz Kidding. Tonight was quiet night for me and apparently lakwatsa time for the rest of Dormitoryana. I basically had the lobby, and all its wonderful, charming, rustic kiosks to myself. I decided to ignore my laptop and forgo my usual Friday night routine (consisting entirely of Facebook, Tumblr, and music) to solo a kiosk and have some nice, peaceful quality time with Harper Lee. I wanted to finish To Kill a Mockingbird in one sitting in the hopes of being able to return the book back to Mike tomorrow, but I guess that in the meantime he's going to have to content himself with that huge Chemistry book he (voluntarily!

     I know that there's a million better things I could be doing right now instead of blogging (on a Friday afternoon prior to two huge exams at that), but my writing impulses have been coming few and far in between lately, so I just thought that once the moment I felt like writing arrived, I would seize it. And now, despite my unpreparedness for my two exams, I'm writing.     . . .     Then again, there's nothing to write about. I think I've lost the ability to make my normal days sound interesting. And just listen to me now, so somber and bland. Blergh.    . . .     Earlier I got a new comment on this blog entry I wrote last summer about Missy Bon Bon (yeah, the cutesy cafe in Cagayan de Oro), and the comment came from one of the blogs I feature in my blogroll, www.cdokay.com. It's an honor, really, and it's made me think that there's a good chance I'll get a bigger readership if I stop posting senseless, shallow posts like these and start wri

        I thought my blog was getting a bit boring, so I decided to shake things up a bit by changing the layout. What do you think? I personally enjoy the darkness and the simplicity of my new theme. Check out the classy white border around the header, reminiscent of the Renaissance period. The picture of the Grim Reaper sitting atop a pile of skulls is also a nice touch, don't you think? It is a reminder to cherish every second of life we have left before we end up empty skulls underneath Death's tushie. Plus, the squiggly text that says MYSPACEBRAND underneath the picture just encapsulates the mangy grunge feel I knew this blog had always lacked.       I'm kidding, of course. If you haven't guessed already, I changed my layout because I lost a bet to Rap . Thanks for not showing up to class, Mr. Javier. :|       (I'd post this drawing I made just now of me with an ice cream cone to brighten things up in here a bit, but my SmartBro connection won't let me

Hello, dear reader! This is me attempting to make conversation with you! *smiles and waves Hi!* So... *cough* Uh... *awkward pause* How have you been? *polite smile* :) Me? Oh, nothing much. *small chuckle* Internetz. Food. You know, the usual! *shrugs* *weird silence* Okay. *shifty eyes* Well, talk to you later then! *forced smile* *waves Bye!* . . . Sorry. I'm procrastinating. Please allow me to. I am troubled. My flight back to Manila is tomorrow, and it's another one of those nights where I feel like I'm supposed to make the most out of my time here at home- And eww. I rolled over and sat on a plate of pansit grease. And I just blogged about it. Lolzzzzzzz Sigh. My mom's making me pack my stuff. This is the part I worry about every time I come home: having to pack up. I should've brought a bigger bag. I won't be able to bring all my Christmas gifts now. . . . Around this time tomorrow, I'll be back in my dorm room again, eating sioma

Hello, my five readers. I swear I've got a New Year's post in my Drafts box just waiting to be published, but I thought that tonight I'd defer from that; something else came up that I want to write about. I'm going to be seeing my high school classmates later (pizza party at my house! U jelly, Block XX?), and by "later", I mean after I finish writing this, getting some sleep, cleaning the house, and attempting to make myself look presentable. Yeahhh. I'm never one to organize gatherings, but around Christmas time I felt like I'd been neglecting my old friends. My mom wasn't too keen on letting people see what a mess our house was (is), but I promised I'd spiffy the place up myself. And so, my parents gave me the go signal. I think that they think I need to get out more. I hate to admit it, but I think one of the reasons it took me so long to meet up with my old friends was that I didn't want them seeing how much weight I had gained. I