the perils of

Lookie, I'm blogging from Android! So cool. Finally, I can blog while lying down (isn't that The Dream?). However, because I'm not using a keyboard, it isn't as easy as blogging on a laptop. I also make a lot more typos on a keypad. But I get the extra benefit of being able to write on the go. And I can just directly upload pics from my tablet instead of first bluetoothing them to my laptop. So I guess I'll be using this technology for making short, quick posts like this one. Technology is wonderful. Anyway. Today Rap took me to HealthDev, a lab/clinic in Ateneo, so that I could get to work on those lab tests I need for my treatment (for my rheumatoid arthritis). Since the clinic is just on campus, we dropped Caitlin off at school along the way. Sadly, HealthDev didn't do serum Vitamin D assays, a blood test that I needed to have, so we had to go elsewhere. We drove to LabWorks upon his mom's suggestion and then I got the tests I needed done in less th...

I know I promised a Batangas post (as if you really keep track of the things I promise), but in the past two days there have been about four people chatting me up on Facebook to ask about the NMAT. So perhaps this post would be of greater interest to the general public (as if I really care about the interests of the general public). I took the December 2012 NMAT (the earliest option for me) because my parents told me I should. They made me take it that early because they said it was to prepare me for the April 2013 NMAT, which I thankfully don't need to take anymore because I got a score of 99+. And yes, I have to mention my score here, because in the words of my friend Mike, it gives me "the right" to share my NMAT tips. Frequently Asked Questions 1. How long did you review? Two weeks before the test. I know that Cheryl and Karl, my two other friends who got 99+, reviewed only two weeks prior as well. But those two weeks include time that I spent at school, and...

      Lesson learned: drinking coffee the night before a 7:30 exam = bad idea. I can't sleep na hinuon. Yeah. Little bits of Bisaya have been finding their way into my conversations lately. "It's like this man gud." Maybe it's because I've been thinking so much in Bisaya ever since I wrote my paper about language last Saturday.       You heard me. I actually did some work over the weekend, because I knew I wouldn't have time to write during finals week. Hooray for productivity, right? :)       WRONG. The deadline got moved to AFTER the finals. :| Ohhhhh as flies to wanton boys we are to the Gods of Deadline!      Right. Anyway. Chem exam is later, 7:30 AM. That's six hours from now, but the caffeine in my system refuses to let me rest. So here I am, online. (MY BRAIN IS FULLY SATURATED I CAN'T LEARN ANY MORE CHEMISTRY)     . . .      I can't believe I'm going home this week...

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 ...

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...

The following events are the main constituents of my day: Cram-wrote the introduction and conclusion of the first draft of my research paper today. :| It sucks so much it puts black holes to shame.  Attended a Gawad Kalinga talk for Health Sci majors with most of the block. I know now that I made the right choice in choosing Health Sci and in coming to Ateneo.  And, hey. Is it me, or did the speaker at the GK talk just say that they needed more men and less women to volunteer because women only give birth? :| First (and last) Ma 20.3A long test of 2010!!! I think I did pretty well for someone who still doesn't know what a derivative is (Yeah yeah yeah, it's the slope of the line tangent to the graph, yadda yadda yadda. What is all that even supposed to mean!? :|) Kapelikula with the Rapster! We watched three awesome short films from director Raymond Red. Also, I recommend that all of you come to next year's Kapelikula. It is a very wonderful and rewarding activity bro...

My Countdown Countdown SEM BREAK'S COMING!!! Can you tell by the huge and gay countdown timer at the top of this post? It's only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! Goodbye Manila and hellooooo SUBIC! (please) In other news, ATENEO WINS! It's a three-peat! I'd never paid much attention to UAAP games before, but when you're studying in Ateneo, you just can't help but embrace the sports culture. The campus itself is decked out in posters of the basketball players wearing Nike and tarps saying "GO ATENEO BLUE EAGLES!". Even the teachers suspend their consultation time to watch games. In other, other news, I just took what is probably the worst test of my life last night, Mr. Pulan's notorious English 12 critical thinking exam. Ugh. Worst. Test. Ever. I guess that just goes to show what a critical thinker I am. Hurrr durrr. Twilight is better than Harry Potter, durrrr.

My first A on a Pulan exam! Woohoo!!! And I've got three of them too! (and one C+ .__. ) I would like to mention here that I find it a bit unfair how the teachers of my block give such hard exams and low grades. People barely passed the Filipino midterms in my block, and I'm quite sure that nobody got an A in the final grades. From what I've heard from the other blocks, they're getting A's all over! I'm not saying we have bad teachers. Mr. Devilles, our Filipino teacher, does an excellent job at bringing to life Filipino literature. Last meeting, we spent fifteen minutes listening to songs from Glee and Les Miserables, talking about the romantic elements of the lyrics! It's fun. But I'll tell you what's NOT fun: the exams. For our midterms, we were given a poem to analyze on the spot. I  thought I did all right, but when my grade came out, I got a 33 over 50. The passing grade was 35. FAIL. As for my grades in Math 18A, our teacher, Mr. Mar...

          I was taken off the Internet some two weeks ago because of this long test in Chemistry that I'd been so dreading. Chemistry never was my best subject, and the memory of the last long test I had taken (Subject: Math. Grade: C.) was more than enough a reminder to stop procrastinating and start hitting the books.          The results of that test were released today, and I got an 87 out of 105, equivalent to 82.9%. *Sigh.* What a let down. I guess it's not a bad score (it's a B), but it's not a very good one, either. I want an A!!!          *sigh, again* I didn't find the test that difficult, actually. In fact, if I were sure that Ma'am Terrado would never find this page, I'd go so far as to even call it easy. But... 87 :'(          All the grades I've been getting so far point to one thing only: I. Am.  AVERAGE .          Average average...

OH YEAH!!! At long last, I've finally gotten an A on something: an essay for Filipino! I now get this nice medal stamped on my paper. Ahh, it fills me with pride. Now, back to studying Chemistry!

        Today, our Filipino teacher, Mr. Gary Devilles, returned the essays we wrote on the comparisons being made in Rolando S. Tinio's  Payo sa Bumabasa ng Tula. I find it really cute how he stamps all of ours test papers with these symbols that correspond to your grade, e.g., if you get a perfect score, you get a medal... stamped on your paper. A B+ gets you a bunny stamp!           I got a 6 out of 10, and my equivalent reward for this was a flower and the words  "Let's work together on this one!" stamped on my paper.          This reminds be of my preschool days when I didn't know the difference between "ilog" and "ilong." (And my sentences sounded like, " Marami ang tubig sa ilong ng Cagayan de Oro." )   Yep, that's the accursed paper. And there's the stamp. And, if you take a closer look at the word "work", you can see the number 6 written over a patch of liquid eraser tape....

Yesterday afternoon, my dad and I went to attend the DOST (Dept. of Science and Technology) scholarship orientation. I learned that I had been granted the scholarship more than a month ago, but I never really factored it into how I reached a decision about my college and course. See, one of the rules you have to comply with if you're gonna receive the scholarship is your choice of course has to be among their list of Priority Courses, namely, a Science, Engineering or Education in Science and Engineering course. Problem is, my chosen course, BS Health Sciences, isn't on the list. It really makes me wonder why not. BS Health Sciences sounds just as science-y as Biology, or Chemistry, or Computer Science. Heck, it's even got the word Sciences in its name! Nonetheless, my dad and I were going to attend the orientation anyway, so we could ask the DOST people if they would consider BS Health Sciences as a priority course. Chances were slim, but there's no harm in trying,...