Saturday Stress

I'm so wired up today! I have a lot of things zipping through my mind. Even my dreams acted as virtual post-its of all that I'm currently anxious over.

• I'm dreading the upcoming two weeks and the barrage of exams they will bring! (Papa Jesus take me now)
• I'm worried about her because I've never seen her this sad and depressed before.
• I'm annoyed with myself because I thought I was totally over the f*cker, but I still find myself giggling and fixing my hair in his immediate vicinity!
• I joined something I totally suck at, all because I made a promise that I would join and at the time of joining I didn't realize I would be that sucky. Now I get palpitations with just the thought of going onstage, but a promise is a promise (and it doesn't help that all of my Catholic guilt kicks into overdrive at the mere mention of Charivari). I'll just watermelon my way through the ordeal (as usual).
• I offered to write for the Lex mostly as a gesture of peace (I know you're reading this JP, peace na tayo right?), but now I don't know where I'm going to steal the needed time to do my piece.
• I'll be driving home late again from QC tonight and that's usually enough source of stress for me.
• I had money issues (which turned out to be principle-issues) with my mom yesterday and it saddens me when we fight because we're both the non-confrontational type, so we just end up giving each other the silent treatment. Sometimes I wish we could just have a scream fest and get it all over with, but I choose to assert my being a Drama Queen in other venues, not through that.
  
  Okay, my ranting's over and done with. (exhale)
  
  What's so great about putting everything down in writing is that I can actually confront them better than if they were just hazy nagging ideas wandering through my mind. By relegating them to paper, they become concrete and concrete things can be easily disposed of. I now wait in anticipation at the thought of crossing out those above mentioned things one by one.
  
  That is my only source of pleasure for now. How utterly dismal.

Doctor's Orders

I visited an optometrist today to have my glasses "upgraded". I thought it was about time, what with all the nasty headaches I've been experiencing these past few days and the fact that my current glasses are more or less 3 years old. (FYI: The rule of thumb is that one should change one's prescription eyewear once a year.)

Anyway, I was about to have my eyes checked when the optometrist (Nella Sarabia, probably the coolest optometrist in the Philippines) asked if I was "puyat". Duh! Law student! Lack of sleep is my middle name and Stress and Tension are my kissing cousins. So my check-up was rescheduled for tomorrow and I was instructed to get AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep.

What can I do? The doctor's orders must be followed to a T. Sigh. Being forced to sleep, such a travesty... :)

So I guess I'll be foregoing my beloved books for tonight. I'll miss you dears! Don't worry, mommy will be back before you can say Jurisprudence.

How To Series Part 1

How to throw a boomerang:
1. Hold the boomerang flat side to palm.
2. Face directly into the wind.
3. Turn 45° to the right of the wind.
4. Raise boomerang above right shoulder and tilt 20° off vertical.
5. Throw boomerang at an angle 30° above horizontal.
6. Release with a spinning motion as the boomerang leaves the hand.

Nothing to it! :)

Birthday Girls

Sabitski Point would like to give a great big shout out to three very special birthday girls.

First holler goes out to Toni Coo. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONI KUKS! Ang sarap ng macaroni ng tita mo! Ang galing mo magpakain! You're da bomb.

I wonder kung anong ihahanda ko for my party....hmmm...

The next "hey there" is for my sister Krissy on her 18th birthday. You have  officially reached the age of majority. Don't spring any surprises on us now :) hehehehe



Hey Krissy! It's your birthday! We're gonna party like it's your birthday!

And finally, the biggest hug goes out to Coley Waga Jacobsen, who just celebrated her 1st birthday. Labyu baby girl!


Sleepy baby with her Tito John



With her 3 doting titas and the proud mommy.


 
Coley: Please, enough of this picture taking!


 
Three birthdays in 3 days? Not bad pa rin. :)

Tumultuous Years

I don't know if I did it subconsciously or it was by mere coincidence, but I found myself watching "Thirteen" last night and after rereading my last post, I now realize just how in point that movie was to my lamentations about beginning to see things through my parents' eyes.

For more info on the movie, please go here.

Everyone knows that the teenage years are the worst years in a person's life. There's the constant identity search coupled with your over-active hormones and the appalling realization that your body is changing virtually overnight (what?! this wasn't here last night!!). However, I now wonder if the turbulent teens phase is more of a Western import than anything else. For it seems to me as if the more American Filipino teeners get, the more the term "troubled teen" becomes applicable. My parents tell of the good old days when such a thing as teen-age crisis was unheard of during their days. The rules were simple then, children followed their parents and then toiled to bring honor to the family name (or at the least, not to muddy it).

Back in the pre-angst era, children were expected to immediately become little adults. There really was no time for self-discovery and the like because the fields needed to be plowed and there was still that nagging problem of where the next meal would be coming from. But now that we're more better off, we have all this time to ponder about ourselves and our meanings in life. Isn't it great just how much we have evolved and progressed from our parents' days? :)

The movie intrigued me because it also brought back memories of my own turbulent teenage years. I was the happiest kid growing up but once puberty hit and my oil glands started working overtime, I was reduced to a big mass of insecurity. All of  a sudden, from being a cute and vivacious kid (please bear with me :) I had morphed into a zitty, skinny and klutzy teenager. So I retreated into the wonderful world of books and pretty much preferred Nancy Drew and the Little House Series over actual human interaction. Oh yes, I became (and still am) a bookworm.

But my books did not stop the confluence of emotions that swirled in me. I was mad, I was sad, I was irritable, I was snappish, I was prone to bouts of crying and I had no idea why. I just was. I guess I was just a teenager.

Which now brings me to parents and teenagers. I have long come to the realization that there is no exact formula in life. Much more so in raising a child. In the movie, Mel was a hands-on mother. She insisted that her children stay at home and she constantly supervised them to the best of her capability (since she also had her own demons to handle). She was an uber-cool mom. She even tried to be more of a friend than an authority figure. But that still did not stop Tracy from experimenting with sex, drugs and rock and roll with her new cool and manipulative friend. There's really only just so much that parents can do. For they can't lock their kids up until they're pretty much over and done with their teenager years. The most that a parent can actually do is to try and inculcate all the good values in their kids (but not to the point of overwhelming them) and then hope that their kids will be sensible enough to stay away from trouble or that if they do get into trouble, that it will be of the reversible kind and that there will be enough of the kid left to save.

My next door neighbors (the Villasors) have three beautiful kids (Ariana, Victa and Thomas). I think their ages are 10, 8 and 3 respectively. So the two girls will become teenagers more or less at the same time and I'm sure that their parents are already having nightmares thinking about the not-so-distant future when their sweet girls will suddenly transform into *shudder* teenagers.

Thus, next to stretch marks, another reason why I don't want to have kids is the horrific knowledge that my cute bundle of joy will one day be a teenager. Or maybe I can make a deal with God and just go straight to being a grandparent, where my only role  would be that of spoiling my grandchildren (Don't listen to your mommy. Here, have some more candy) and the rearing would solely be left to the poor parents. Ah, bliss.

Through Litiginous Eyes

I commuted home from Malcolm today. My afternoon class got cancelled so I asked if I could hitch with the leave 230 trip and I was informed that I could. However, there was a mix-up of some sort (that would be you Matt Mathay), so the 230 trip left without me (cue: I'm so wawa type of music). Anyway, as aforementioned, I commuted and it was fairly uneventful. But upon disembarking from the bus at the Alabang market, I was shocked to see a man lying on the street, looking as if he was having an epileptic seizure.

The man was wearing a red shirt, khaki shorts and rubber slippers. The accident must have just happened because only a small crowd had begun to gather around him. Two men then picked up the prostate man and brought him to the sidewalk. I observed that there was no blood on the street. So does that mean that the impact was not that strong and that he'll eventually be alright? Or does that only mean that he was suffering from internal hemmorrhage and the extent of his injuries was just not immediately visible?

I still don't know what hit the man (if it was a bus or a private vehicle). I now wonder if contributory negligence could be attributed to him, because he was lying far away from the pedestrian lane. Meaning, if he had been crossing the road when the accident happened, he was jaywalking, and if there was an ordinance against jaywalking in Alabang, then he would have been held negligent. However, even if he had been jaywalking, it could also be argued that it is already common knowledge that in populated areas, such as the Alabang market, pedestrians dart in and out of the traffic, so the driving population should be extra cautious in such areas.

But given the reality of things, I doubt that a case would even be filed. He seemed like an ordinary person with limited means (I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of those vendors who get on a bus to peddle mineral water and the like). With the way things are around here, he'll probably end up as just another statistic and by this time next week, no one will even remember that a life was lost or almost lost near the toll gate at the Alabang market.

After taking up Criminal Law 1 and 2 and Criminal Procedure, I'm almost tempted to just barricade myself inside the house and just order whatever I need online. For a quick perusal of the cases would immediately lead one to conclude that danger lurks everywhere. That just the right amount of alcohol can lead a man to commit the most dastardly act (like raping a 5 year old girl). That the littlest provocation can  make a person lash out at another (slander). That a seemingly trustworthy person will not think twice about swindling another person if he thinks he can get away with it (estafa and illegal recruitment).

And I'm taking up Torts this semester, so car rides have become a virtual exercise in pinpointing the negligent act whenever we pass by a scene of an accident. I now take a quick scan before stepping on the sidewalk, for fear that there may be an open manhole or unfinished digsite lurking around. When I was downed by food poisoning 2 weeks ago from eating kwek2x and cheese sticks from a vendor in front of Vinzon's Hall, I seriously thought about pursuing a case against the vendor. However, I began to doubt the success of my advocacy seeing that I impliedly took an assumption of risk by eating at said food stall (it sure ain't the Hyatt).

So gone are my carefree days when I could just shrug off my parents' seemingly overly cautious ways and chalk it up to merely being perenially OA. Because now, I can see exactly where they are coming from. And if I were to have a kid myself, I would also probably be just as strict with her/him as they have been with me (Nasan ka na?! Why do you make me worry about you all the time?!?). You know you're all grown up when you already see things the way your parents do.

LSS

I've been singing a part of this song for the past few days. The entire song is forgettable, but the chorus is just so catchy! I'm now passing on the virus to you. Enjoy!

Itsumo kokoro we hoshi itstuka
Dare katu mata koi nei utchitimu
Itsumo kokoro nei eiro itsumo
Anata dake no basho ga aru kara

Over the Hump

It's finally Wednesday afternoon! I thought the first half of the week would never end! I dread to think of just how much more similar toxic days the next few weeks would bring, seeing that midterms is practically looming across the corner. Note to self: don't hyperventilate. Breathe in and out...

I really can't think of anything to post about at the moment. I guess I could blog about school but there's just nothing substantial to say about it. It's mostly: study, study, study go to class and attempt to activate invisibility mode, cringe while cards are shuffled and either exhale a big sigh of relief when another person is called or experience a temporary numbness when your name is called and immediately stand up in preparation for the grilling, class ends and then repeat the entire thing all over again. You know, usual run of the mill stuff.

Maybe I'll blog about my law school crush. I think he's fourth year now. He looks Chinese, but I'm not sure if he is. I'm not sure if he can talk because I've never actually heard him talk, but I'm assuming he can because I don't think interpreters are allowed in recitation. He looks good in red. That's about it. So much for romance huh?

Oooohhh...speaking of crushes, one of my long time crushes texted me last Monday. It was really innocent though. By no stretch of imagination could I possibly impute anything romantic with his SMS. Anyway, that little detail didn't stop me from daydreaming about what our future children will look like and what the motif will be on our daughter Tatiana's (nickname Taters) 1st birthday party (Lilo and Stitch or My Little Pony?). Sure it was pathetic, but it was fun and I found myself giggling like a loon the whole ride home, making the whole foray into la-la land worth it.

This is what can be considered as a pro-forma post. I just wanted to write for the sake of writing because the last time I blogged was Sunday and it kills my OC self to go two days without blogging. So bear with me while I twiddle my thumbs.

Imelda is showing in Town! I wanted to watch this evening but in my state, I will probably just sleep through the entire screening. Thank goodness they decided to bring it here to the dirty South, I was again feeling wawa is me (self-pity) because I wouldn't be able to watch Ramona Diaz's controversial documentary, but now, there's no need to go into wawa mode! Yehey! I really do wish we had our own Art Film Cinema in Town or it's counterpart in Festival Mall (asa pa wishing that Southmall will also dedicate an entire cinema for art films).

I can't stretch this post any more than I already have. I'll probably be sleeping in an hour or so because I've been up since 3am studying for Transpo. Sorry to seatmate Roy because he experienced first hand just how crabby and terse I can get when stressed:

Roy: Anong assignment for today?
 
Jill: Last 6 cases.
 
Roy: Six? Diba five cases lang?
 
Jill: Fine! The last FIVE cases then!
 
Roy: E ba't parang galit ka?
 
Jill: Kasi I'm stressed.
 
Alrighty. My work is done. My beloved blog has been updated. Jillsabs now signing off.

Simple Pleasures

I remember reading this book for Children's Lit class called "Serendipity". It tells of a girl who read the word serendipity in the paper, became fascinated with the word and was not quite satisfied with her mother's explanation, so the little girl went out on a quest to find out what it really meant. I have kinda forgotten exactly how she went about with her search but it more or less followed this pattern: Could serendipity be the feeling I get when I'm high up on a swing? (as she swings back and forth) Could serendipity be the leaves falling from the tree? (as she dances amidst the falling leaves causing the people around to also join her) Could serendipity be this little puppy in my arms? (as she nuzzles and kisses the puppy) and so on and so forth.
 
So what is serendipity? The girl's mother called it  "finding happiness in the most unlikely places", which was exactly what the little girl discovered on her search.
 
I think that this world would be so much better if we were to find happiness in the little things around us and the little gestures of love and kindness bestowed upon us. Sure, having lotsa money and a great epic-story-kind-of-love affair is fantastic, but sharing a quiet evening bonding with a good friend can also be just as amazing.
 
Call me shallow but these really do make me happy.

1. Knowing that my friends will listen and commisserate with me when I whine (for the nth time) about how X is so much happier than I am right now.

2. My Malcolm friends and how we can just hang out for hours without doing anything at all.

3. Warm brownie cup at this place in Banilad, Cebu.

4. The Sunday paper.

5. The start of every month, because that means new magazines!

6. Driving around aimlessly with Riza and Peachy.

7. Congregating at the Mojes or the Wagas when the gang's all complete.

8. Teasing my nephew (No baby, we're not laughing at you, we're laughing with you!)

9. Gossiping with Tessa about our dysfunctional relatives.

10. Hearing my tatay's Dolphy jokes at the dinner table.

11. Watching my mother embarass my siblings as she reduces them to being 3 year olds once again (Baby! Shamangalangga-langga!) and then seeing my siblings cringe with embarassment (specially Krissy, who's the most pikon among us all).

12. Toiletries shopping.

13. My blog and anything about blogging in general.

14. Making lists :)

Test Results

Now these are the types of test results I like. From this site.
 
Wackiness: 44/100
Rationality: 34/100
Constructiveness: 62/100
Leadership: 46/100

You are an SECF--Sober Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a hippie. You are passionate about your causes and steadfast in your commitments. Once you've made up your mind, no one can convince you otherwise. Your politics are left-leaning, and your lifestyle choices decidedly temperate and chaste.You do tremendous work when focused, but usually you operate somewhat distracted. You blow hot and cold, and while you normally endeavor on the side of goodness and truth, you have a massive mean streak which is not to be taken lightly. You don't get mad, you get even.Please don't get even with this web site.  
 
Remind me to start wearing peasant blouses and peace signs come Monday morning :)

New Look

I wonder why Blogspot sprung this new look on its subscribers? It's definitely more user-friendly than the last one (I think I can now upload pix directly to it and not through the way of the Photobucket) but I miss the old format. The font I use is not in the menu of fonts and when I try to copy and paste from my past formats, they just don't come out the same! I guess I still need to figure out this new thingamajig. Good luck to me.
 
Oh why wasn't I born with technical savvy instead of these damn good looks?! :)

Horrible!

It was utterly horrible! This evening's traffic that is.
 
It would usually take us around forty-five minutes to an hour to get home but today, that same amount of time only got us as far as the Ortigas intersection. If I had walked, I would have probably gotten earlier to the C5 intersection. However, surprisingly,  the SLEX was an easy ride. I guess someone above decided that the torture of trudging from Katipunan to the C5 intersection was more than enough and so pulled a few strings (or deleted a few cars?) and made the second leg of the trip more bearable.
 
The formula still holds true: Payday weekend + rains = monstrous traffic jam. Man I hate Manila traffic! This is the sole reason why I choose to cultivate friendships and relationships primarily with my fellow southerners. I have long lost track of the numerous gimmicks I have had to forego because the party planners set it up in Ortigas or Quezon City and me and my lonesome self would still be coming from Las Pinas/Alabang. I don't like driving alone late at night. It's just not a smart thing to do these days.
 
As with relationships, let's just say that the next boyfriend has to come from the south too, no ifs and buts about it (So you're from Project 4? Ummm...let's be friends na lang, pwede?). Sure, the romantic will say that love will (or should) conquer all, even the monster known as Metro Manila traffic. But this romantic-realist-optimist-pessimist wants her quality time baby! And quality time is not the two hours spent trudging through a sea of automobiles.
 
Bottom line is, traffic sucks. Big time.

A Font-astic Romance

This made me laugh out loud. To read up on the background, please go here.

Anyway, enjoy :)

Times New Romance is a wonderful story of two lonely individuals who find love when it's spelled out to them in a bold 72-point font. Poor graphic artist Jake Estrella hates the new member of their design team. She is a loud headstrong female who's popular with the company but is quite too much for Jake who finds Camy (short for Camilla) uncouth and illiterate (she only reads Paulo Coehlo and J.K. Rowling). He discovers her weakness for terrible fonts and sends her fake memos in Chalkboard and Marker Felt with the forged signature of their boss in hoping that the notes bring about her immediate resignation.

When this attempt fails, Jake brings out his greatest prank and re-prints all her printed documents in Comic Sans MS. Finally this gets a reaction out of Camy, although not one Jake hoped for. Camy is affected gravely and suffers a seizure and is rushed to the hospital immediately where she remains unconscious for several days. When she wakes from her font-induced coma, Jake is there. No words come from his mouth. Instead, he raises a sign with the basic 72-point font that reads: I'M SORRY. Jake is forgiven by Camy immediately and they embrace and kiss. Why? Because the simplest fonts express the deepest of feelings such as love, oh! They learn this moral lesson and delete the thousands of useless fonts they have accumulated all these years, thus freeing hard drive space and freeing themselves from font dependence. Their story gives courage to other lonely font-obsessed individuals and soon they start their popular workshops and seminars like "Superscript Your Life" and "Verdana & The Truth About You."

They spearhead an online petition to remove Comic Sans MS from seeing print in any medium, and soon even Microsoft heeds their demand.

Then their first implied tasteful love scene, and the end.

Now that's a great love story!

Hmmmm....

I played hooky from school today, in an effort to avoid embarassing myself in school (I'm not going to elaborate any further) and amidst all the free time I had, I seriously got to thinking about volunteering again at Zobel's Adult Night High School. I could sure use the extra money and I can spare 2-3 hours per week. The last time I taught at ANHS was the year before I entered law school and it was a very memorable experience. I taught English to two sections and as the cliche goes, I learned more from my students than they did from me.

So I guess I'll be paying Ms.Telen a visit tomorrow and I'm crossing my fingers that she'll hire me again. Wish me luck!

P.S.

This is my third post for today. Somebody obviously had a lot of time on her hands this day.

Poor Little Girl

Poor GMA. She wanted to be president so bad. She pulled strings left and right and moved heaven and earth just to be seated again in Malacanang. And now, even before the honeymoon is over, she's faced with the Angelo Dela Cruz hostage taking situation. The most apt saying to this fiasco would have to be: It's like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea.

If she refuses to withdraw the Philippine troops from Iraq then her popularity ratings will plummet. However, if she does remove our presence in the Middle East then she will most probably displease the United States and its allied countries (as they have already eloquently hinted)

What to do, what to do...

This morning's news said that there will indeed be a troop pull-out and so the corresponding American show of displeasure was quick to come (Tsk-tsk-tsk! Bad little brown monkeys!).

That's the trouble with being the Chief Executive, you just can't please everybody. But on the other hand, she shouldn't even try to. I think that we've played the role of America's willing sidekick/servant/brownnoser for a long time now. It's time that they clean up after their own mess. After all, the Earth is not divided into America and others (or at least it shouldn't be).

GMA is probably asking herself right now: "Why did I want to be president again?"

Post-Its

1. Stay away from kwek2x, isaw and the like. The past few days have more than adequately shown the disgusting consequences they bring.

2. If he wanted to, he would. But he didn't, so he doesn't.

3. Pana-panahon lang yan.

4. You receive in proportion to what you're willing to put out.

5. If it hurts you, cut it off (so goodbye friendster!).

6. Sure, your breath still catches in your throat, but what matters is that you choose to breathe again right after.

7. Hang-ups are only good for hanging yourself with.

8. Early mornings are the worst time to write an entry. It's so lonely and conducive to shoulda-coulda-woulda musings. Sigh.

9. Enough.

My one and Only

Sabitski Point would like to greet the most important woman in my life on her 51st birthday (hahaha your secret's out :)

This woman knows which buttons to push and sometimes pushes them all at the same time. Thus making her a most worthy adversary.

I would have gotten you a more expensive gift but that was all my allowance could afford... (hint! hint!)

Happy Birthday Mama!

Heartbreak

Text messages with my brother right after yesterday's La Salle-Ateneo game

Me: Hahahahahaha! Loser!

Melo: Fock yoo

Me: Loo-hoo-ze-her

Melo: Fo-hock yoo-hoo

Well somebody's obviously pikon :)

A Comparison

Yesterday's Jill would have been extremely irritated with her mom's constant badgering to finally get her hair cut. But today's Jill would just zone out her mom's incessant nagging about how her hair tends to go limp so a short 'do suits her more; how a "pa-sweet" hairdo is not "bagay" on her blah-blah-blah.

Yesterday's Jill would have had a sassy retort ready when her mom criticized her outfit for the nth time, comparing her to a street walker (Hello! We're in a tropical country! What do you expect me to wear, a nun's habit?!?). But today's Jill would just shut her trap and bite her tonge, letting her mom finish with her ranting and then walk away when said mother ran out of steam.

Yesterday's Jill would have snuck out of the house to go out, just to avoid the impending lecture from the parents. Today's Jill would stand her ground when the sermons would start to roll and then say "Hello, 25 years old! Never been pregnant! What other proof of responsibility do you need?!"

Yesterday's Jill would have made a snide comment when the mother started talking about her religion. Today's Jill would really listen so that she'll know where her mother is coming from, in an effort to finally understand her.

Yesterday's Jill would have made some feeble excuse in behalf of the people who disappointed her. Today's Jill would do no such thing. Some things just can't be explained away.

Yesterday's Jill would have obsessed and cried over why a certain someone doesn't like her. Today's Jill would say "Kung ayaw mo, wag mo. Jerk!"

Yesterday's Jill would have insisted on wearing contact lenses even if they sometimes made her head ache like crazy, just so that she'd feel like she looked good. Today's Jill would wear coke bottle glasses and wouldn't care less.

Yesterday's Jill would have attempted to control everything open to control and would have gotten upset if things didn't go according to her daily planner. Today's Jill no longer keeps a daily planner (but she still prints out a calendar once a month just to have a semblance of organization in her life).

Yesterday's Jill would have thought "If you loved me, you'd change" and then think: "I'm so wawa". Today's Jill would say "Kung ayaw mo, wag mo. Jerk!"

Yesterday's Jill saw things in black and white. Today's Jill sees that nothing is clear-cut and certain. Thank God.

Yesterday's Jill lived in a bubble. Today's Jill still lives in a bubble BUT already acknowledges the existence of said bubble.

Yesterday's Jill would stiffen up when people complimented her. Today's Jill can handle compliments with panache while saying "Thank you. But tell me something I don't know"

Yesterday's Jill cried the first time she watched "I Am Sam". Today's Jill still blubbers while watching that movie.

I guess the point of this self-serving blog entry is that I've finally become comfortable in my own skin (large pores and all). And all I can say is, it's about time.

Father and Son

I wanted to post a better pic of my brother and nephew, but apparently, the Mandala pix weren't uploaded or something. So this will just have to do.

Anyway, the two are currently in Agta, Biliran right now. Living away from the hustle and bustle of the city life and with their own pre-established missions.

Santi: to dig for hidden gold in Tinago
Mik-Mik: to detoxify his system from too much addiction to computer games

Hmmmm...something tells me that it would be far easier to strike it rich than to expect Mikael to give up his computer games.

Anyway, my dad called up his brother there and basically gave Tito Sandy the go-signal to discipline Mik-Mik if ever he starts acting up again (brat alert!). However, we were surprised to learn that he had been, and I quote, "perfectly well-mannered" ever since they arrived in Agta. It seems as if on their first day there, he fell into the fishpond and so has been less makulit than usual and would actually listen to his dad! Well, miracles do happen after all.

Poor baby...hehehehehe

Dear You,

One thing you have to know about me is that I "love hard" but, I don't "hate hard". Instead, I just ease the offender out of my Life Radar. It's because I believe that the opposite of love is apathy.

I also don't believe in communicating, I personally think it's a waste of time, I stick with my tried and tested "Rule of Three" (I don't tell a story more than 3 times; I forgive only up to the third time; I let myself be used only for 3 times). I know Jesus prescribes forgiving seven times seven (or something to that effect), but I'm no God, I'm a goddess wehehehehe.

But I digress. Let me establish the fact that with you, I even managed to go beyond my usual Rule, so that should give you an idea of just how much I valued your person. However, though exceptions are sometimes to be admitted, the general rule should still be upheld. So please note that from now on you no longer exist for me. If ever I do acknowledge your presence, know that it's mostly pro forma and for the sake of being polite.

It was nice knowing you.

Scammers at Work

Yesterday was Maha's birthday and Maha is Prof. Bote's favorite student in our block, so a scam was immediately concocted by the scammers and jammers collectively known as C2006. A "reliable source" told us that Prof Bote's class last year threw a party during class time and he gamely went along with the festivities (meaning no class for that session!).

So Ian called Pizza Hut and had some pizzas delivered to the Ambion Room. Some kind soul also took the initiative to write "Happy Birthday Ms. Llamas!!" on the white board. Unfortunately, there were a few kinks in our plan. First, we weren't sure if the pizza guy would arrive before the Professor and, most importantly, the birthday girl was missing! We were all afraid that she was going to cut class to spend some QT with her boyfriend. Anyway, Plan B was quickly hatched, so if Maha was indeed going to ditch Evidence that afternoon, the "Happy Birthday Ms. Llamas!!" on the board, was going to be changed to "Happy Birthday Ms. Dimaano!!". Ms. Dimaano happened to be our Professor's second crush, next to Maha. However, there was no need to switch to Plan B because Maha, being the trooper that she is, showed up 2 minutes before 2pm and the pizza guy a minute before her.

Maha was quickly appraised of the plan of attack. The basic plan was that she would walk in a few steps ahead of the Professor so by the time he entered the class, we would be in the middle of singing the birthday song. She waited in the corner and a look-out was posted on the other side of the Hall. When the look-out gave the signal, she hurried inside and we started with our song.

When he entered, albeit a little belatedly because the College Secretary caught up with him outside the room, necessitating a second round of the birthday song, Maha asked him "Sir, if you're hungry, we ordered some pizza for the class." Judging from his girth, you'd think that he wouldn't turn down a free slice, but apparently, he had just come from the new faculty canteen, and he kept on raving about how good the food was and how much it looked like a hotel dining room.

But seeing that it was Ms. Llamas' birthday, he offered to sing her a song. With a few caveats to the class about how his taste might be a little antiquated for our generation, he then proceeded to serenade Maha with something that went like "My beloved...the moon on your face...you will always stay young to me...". I had no idea what that song was but it didn't matter, I was laughing so hard that I probably didn't even catch the rest of the lyrics.

Anyway, we ended up having class that afternoon (boooo!) and I got called for recitation pa (double boooo!) so the failure of this scam brought a couple of coulda-shoulda-wouldas to mind.

1. We should have stacked the pizza boxes on the teacher's table and not at the corner of the room.
2. When should timed it so that we were in the middle of eating when the Prof arrived, that way, he would have been forced to wait for us to finish or he would have joined the merry-making.
3. The scam worked last year because they had balloons. We should have had more foresight and also put up balloons and streamers. Party hats for everyone would have also been great.
4. Aman is not a reliable source.

This also proves that students will resort to anything just to have a free day.

But it wasn't a total loss, we still feasted on the pizza after class. And in fairness, pizza still tastes good even when cold. However, it would have tasted so much better if it had been coupled with an Evidence-free Monday. Sigh, oh well, next time.

Prophetic Feeling

I woke up today amazingly rested and energized. I spent all day of Sunday sleeping and reading "The Da Vinci Code". So I guess it's safe to say that I'm battle ready for the upcoming week.

Upon waking up, I had the strongest feeling that this week would a be generally a good one. I'm not sure in what way, but just that it would be different, in a good way. I then went down to the computer room BUT it took me around 50 tries to log on! So now I'm thinking, was my intuition off track? Is this really going to be a good day/week? Or judging from the difficulty in logging in, is the Universe trying to tell me to reign in my optimistic mood because this week is going to be a doozy?

I love being fatalistic. I get to discard my being Type A for at least a few moments :)

On another note, the Inter-C party was great! Kudos to 2C for sponsoring the event. Not to brag or anything (hehehehe) but the C parties are known for being fun, rowdy and noisy. You know, the good things in life.

The most memorable moment for me would have to be the Stripping Game. The general rule is that every item of clothing corresponds to a certain amount of money. So the more pieces of clothing you plunk down in your designated heap, the more money your team gets. So the boys started stripping off their shirts (it was then I realized that the Malcolm boys need to work out more, seriously!) and harassing anyone who was too shy to remove theirs. Prompting Woowee to say "Guys! We don't need the money that much!" in response to Garth and Johnny wrestling with him in an effort to remove his shirt. But this wasn't about the money, it was about block pride!

I immediately took off my shoes and socks (20 pesos) and dumped then in our pile. However, I was kinda worried when I saw that the other piles were bigger and that some guy was removing his pants (50 pesos!). So when a bra was produced by the sophomores, I started assessing my blouse to see if I would be committing a public scandal if I were to do the same and I tried to remember if I had a good, "pretty" bra on (because if it was to be displayed, it might as well be display-worthy). Apparently, the choice really wasn't up to me anymore because Toni suddenly wrestled me from behind and removed my strapless bra. So we had 60 pesos more for our pile! Yahoo!

The funnier thing was that I guess Toni felt guilty for her strong arm tactics that she eventually removed hers too and even made a public celebration out of it. But as I told her, I wasn't mad, not the slightest bit "Konting kalabit na lang no, tatanggalin ko na rin naman e!" hehehehehe

So anyway, our block did win. Go 3c! And we accepted our 260p prize with Tupas of 4c shouting from the audience: "Ang lalandi niyo juniors!" I ended up with 50p for my contributions. Block pride and toll fee, definitely not a bad deal in exchange for a bra, socks and shoes :)

So to the freshmen, please remember this Inter-C tradition (the fun parties, not really the stripping game). The bar was raised last year and it was adequately met this year. The challenge is now with you to sustain our pristine reputation. :)

A Long Saturday

3:00- Alarm clock rings. Hit snooze button.

3:30- REALLY wake up

3:30- 6:00- Study for torts/ fix things/ shower.

6:00- Leave for school.

6:45- Arrive in school and study some more.

8:30-10:00- Torts class.

10:00- 12:30- Read Da Vinci Code.

12:30-2:00- Lunch at Munch.



2:15- 3:15- Hamming it up in Malcolm Hall.









3:15- 6:30- Malling at Greenhills with Garth and JP.

6:30- 7:30- Detour and pit stop at Garth's house.

8:00- 9:00- Dinner at Kamirori.

9:00- 1:30am- Went to Inter-C party at Town and Country.









2:30- Arrive home and update blog.

3:15- Sleep. Good night!

Cosmo Girl

Guess who's in this month's Cosmo makeover issue? Yup, it's the lovely Joan! If you like what you're seeing, send me an email and I'll arrange the meeting :)

Cyber-pimp in the house! Hahahahahaha!