the perils of

Sometimes I can get really excited over the littlest things, such as petting a puppy, deciding to have yogurt for dessert, or going for a walk outside. BUT this is not one of those times, for I am excited not for any of those silly reasons. I am excited for this one BIG reason: TOMORROW IS MAY 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's not even the real reason!!! It's just an umbrella reason!!! But I emphasized it anyway!!!  *breathes*  Anyway, tomorrow is May 1, and that means: No classes (which isn't a big deal to me, since my class schedule is so light, it's like I do practically nothing all day) SUMMER CLASSES ARE HALFWAY OVER!  My birthday is nigh! (Must do eighteen-year-old things while I still can!) GAME OF THRONES!!! (Just kidding, I don't watch u_u) I'M HAVING YOGURT FOR DESSERT! (Just kidding I'm not  :'(  ) Annnnnnd, reason of all reasons:     6. I'M MOVING INTO THE CONDO!  I'v...

THE END IS SO NEAR. VACATION IS FIVE DAYS AWAY. And instead of devoting my last breaths as a Sophomore to mind-numbing, mega intense studying, here I am in an uncomfortable sitting position in my swelteringly hot dorm lobby, absorbing Wi-fi from the restaurant next door. I don't know why I do this to myself.  Anyway, my life has been a flurry of activity in the past few weeks, starting with my roommate Jean and I finally closing the deal on this new condo unit we'll be living in, starting May.  This is an old ad. We've found our two roommates already! (And I just noticed the typo.) I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to start moving in my stuff. I'll finally be able to eat at an actual table!  Oh yeah, speaking of housing matters, a good number of people have been asking me about dorm recommendations. Sadly I have only ever lived in Dormitoryana, which means I cannot give a fair review about other places. So if you still want to know what it's like here, ...

    This morning was rather... uneventful. My first (and only) class of the day was at 1:30, so I was free to spend the morning tagging along with Rap as he went about fussing over his ID picture.     We went to the libe and bumped into Jules. Serendipity! The three of us then had lunch at JSEC. (Tip: Get the Dynasty Meal from the Great Stall of China! You won't find a better deal in Ateneo!) There we ran into Chris, our ex-InTACT student facilitator, and we talked about Chinese medicine, magnets, and network marketing.     At 1:30, I had Statistics with my block. It's in an aircon classroom with computers for everyone! n_n It's a fun class. Our teacher is Ma'am Leslie Lopez, and she's cutesy and has the ability to read people's minds.     Our class ended at 3:00, and after that I had nothing to do. As all of my blockmates scurried off to their respective classes (some Environmental Science, some Filipino), I figured I'd make good us...

       I like to think that I'm rather open to changes. As a kid I had always thought of myself as adventurous. Look back on things, however, I realize that I wasn't quite as daring or audacious as I would've liked myself to be. For instance I remember how strongly I protested when my mom gave me chocolate milk that was a brand other than my favorite (it was Sustagen. My old favorite, that is). Or how I was never eager to go on family trips to the bukids (that isn't to say that I didn't enjoy those outings; I most certainly did. It's just that I was slow to warm up to the idea of stepping beyond the four walls of my home).      And then I thought myself very adventurous when I agreed to living on my own in Manila. College, as they say, is the adventure of a lifetime (actually they say marriage is, but I'm sticking to college for now). And now that I've tried out the independent lifestyle for almost a year now, I can say with all certainty that it is ...

a floor plan of my new room (things not really drawn to scale). click to embiggen

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!...

So this was the scene earlier in the dorm. Architect de Guzman, the man who founded Dormitoryana, passed away last Saturday. Today, a Mass was held for him right in the dorm lobby. I never knew the guy personally, but he must have been a lovely person to have created such a wonderful home for us probinsyana (and city) girls. I love my dorm. I know what I said about it being a terrible place to live in at first (I've expressed my disdain for it in some of my earlier blog posts), but now I'm sure that I've picked the best place to live in in all of Metro Manila. The rent is cheap, the people are delightful, and a walk to Rustan's is like a walk to your own kitchen. (The dorm's prayer room, by the way, is a must-see.) I've also come to find that despite the tiny corridors, the gaping hole in one of the walls, and the strange-looking mirror out in the hallway, there is no place in all of the big city that's cozier or more homey than this humble little r...

           Hello, dear reader of mine! I'm sorry for not having posted anything insightful, relevant or revolutionary in the past few days. Or in the entire course of my life, for that matter. But anyway, that's because I've had neither the time nor energy to write a "real" post in a while. So here I am right now, hoping to change that. We got a lot of catching up to do.            There was a brownout in the dorm last night, at about eleven o'clock. It didn't seem like a big deal at that time because my laptop was fully charged, and so was my roommate Jean's, and so when we had them on, the light coming from the screens kept the room sufficiently lit (not that I don't have a flashlight). Also, the room was still pretty cool (literally, cool) because the aircon had been on full blast for over three hours until then.            But then Jean decided to turn in before me, and I couldn'...

April 22 Registered as a volunteer for PPCRV , or Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, together with some of my classmates and schoolmates. Well, former classmates and schoolmates! April 23 Paid for a room at Dormitoryana , an all-girls' dorm across Ateneo . It's got an aircon , three beds and a view of Katipunan Avenue (can't say whether it's good or not; the windows weren't open). Found that one of my roommates is a fourth-year student taking up Industrial Engineering at UP Diliman ! I hope we get along well... Two words: Communal. Bathroom. Ugh! Two bathrooms, eight girls. Oh dear... Visited my college for the first time, and it's beautiful! Felt really good about going to Ateneo and thought that I can't feel alone when I'm studying there :) April 25 Learned how to ride an MRT ! Well, at least from Shangri -La up to Shaw Boulevard. April 29 Back home, safe and sound in Cagayan de Oro City (because I'm sparing you from the rest of...