the perils of

All places have a story to tell. The challenge for you, the frazzled college student still brooding over last week's exams, is to just shut up  for a little while and listen to that story. Batangas was a conversation that I almost never had. I had found out on the morning of the trip that a revised thesis proposal was due in five days, so a few hours before we were scheduled to leave, I was 90% convinced that I wasn't gonna go. But I still wrestled with the question out loud, and I made such a big fuss over it that Rap deftly reversed my decision by telling me, "See this is why you need this vacation." And so I went. And I am really glad I did. It was my first overnight block outing, and also my first time in Batangas. It's a really beautiful place. What follows is not a narration of the events of the trip. Usually the best parts of any outing (the people you spend time with, the friendships that you strengthen, the priceless conversations that you share, t...

I know I haven't been posting as often as I did when I was a freshman. I guess it's because I've actually made some friends now, and am less of a self-absorbed loser. (Yeah, right.) . . . Interesting Thing #1 SPONTANEOUS SHOOTING Last Wednesday, I tagged along with Vito, Diane, Rap, and Andy for an impromptu filming of a top-secret project (you'll know what it is soon). We had to wait until 6 at night to shoot, because we wanted some darkness. I brought my camera so that I could practice using it (I still haven't gotten the hang of it after a year). Here are some pictures (unedited because I'm too lazy). Rap with a Blizzard (and an ice cream sandwich for me). He looks so dangerous. Night classes JSEC at night A little part of Katipunan (taken from the back of Vito's pickup). A behind-the-scenes of the actual filming It was a pretty cool experience, even if the shoot ended a little early. I'm still a really bad phot...

Tonight was the the night of my block's usual sem-ender "party" at Albert's house. Since me, Pat, and Bel (and Albert himself) are this month's birthday celebrants, we brought food. A lot of it. There were six boxes of pizza and a lot of KFC chicken. After we ate, I just sat around, absentmindedly watching a Dr. Who episode with Andy. Then for some reason the lights went out, and Rap came through the door carrying a cake with a single lit candle. It took me a while to process this, and when I was finally able to wrap my mind around what was happening, my heart felt like it was soaring. Rap told me to make a wish and blow the candle. As I did, everyone there sang happy birthday, and I wanted to cry. Cry like I did on  my previous birthday surprise . But to my relief, this time around I managed to keep myself from breaking down into a teary mess as I let out a shaky "Thank you" to Rap and to everyone. This is one reason why I love summer classes - your ...

Okay, this will be a really short and boring post, because I just wanna get all these thoughts out of my head as quickly as I can without giving any thought to how good my writing is. Tonight, Karla generously treated Block XX to some much-needed bonding time, in celebration of her birthday! We finally got to see Avengers!!! I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint. Ever since the movie hit cinemas this Wednesday, people have been talking about it nonstop. Especially on Facebook, where you can see everyone posting something to the effect of "AVENGERS OMG HNNNNG." I am not joking. Three of my friends said exactly that.  The last time I've ever seen a movie that *titillated* the Internet (and the real world) like that is, I think, when the last Harry Potter came out. Personally I didn't see it as that much of a big deal, since my love for Harry has, sadly, waned in the gaps between movie releases. But it meant truckloads to everyone, apparently. ...

Lately I've been in a state of dizziness, and I say this in a strictly literal sense. I opened my eyes one morning to find my bedroom spinning wildly. Then I wobbled my way over to school, where my Environmental Sciences test paper wouldn't stand still. The doctor at the AdMU clinic says it's an allergy-related thing. If it were, then that would suck a lot, because I don't know what I'm allergic to. I got a second opinion from the doctor at Loyola Grand Villas (thanks to the Abacan family), and she said it might have something to do with skipping meals, or the heat, or my low blood pressure. She also said it had nothing to do with my allergies. Now I don't know who to believe. But whatever the cause of my vertigo is, I'm still feeling it right now, which makes today the third in a series of dizzy days. Anyway, I'm almost halfway done with summer classes, and May couldn't come sooner. The April heat is killing me, and I'm extremely jealous of...

Second sem grades came out today, and I did better than I had hoped! Hopefully all the hard work I put into this semester will be enough to get me into the Dean's List. Then I can get out of doing the dishes today heeheehee Yeah, I'm back home now. I have been for about six days. That means I've got a little over a week of vacation left, but I don't mind. So far it's been going fine. Like yesterday, I finally tried my hand at cooking. Well, if frying luncheon meat and making an omelette counts as cooking. Okay  it's no fine dining, but I bet Rachel Ray started out frying meatloaf and eggs too. (The fact that the best chef I can name off the top of my head is Rachel Ray should give you a good estimate of how much I know about the cooking world.) Anyway, last Saturday, my block threw Deo a very late birthday surprise (his birthday was back in November) at The Mind Museum in Taguig! It had opened just that week. (Click any photo to enlarge!) We all put on De...