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 about me
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 Tuesday, January 19, 2016 || 
Earlier, I've read this article from Artparasites about how Tinder and other datings apps kill genuine emotions and vulnerability in dating. I find it interesting so I decided to blog about it.
Mădălina Preda, the writer, talked about how she views men from her perspective. She's attracted to men whose qualities pretty much describe her father who had left her family, as well as those who are similar to her brothers who took upon themselves to take care of her. "Bad, insensitive, hurtful, narcissistic men and the strong, dependable, loving, caring men." And also, being in relationships for the past 8 years, she realized upon observing other people that the culture of honesty, respect, openness and passion that she lived by has become obsolete.
Preda questions how people in 2016 fall in love. From a personal perspective, relationships today are fast-paced and less conservative than ever. There are a lot of factors to consider why and one of them is technology. We can connect more to others who are even 10,000 kilometers away from us. More and more people are taking this as an advantage and resorting to dating apps to search for love. Personally, I was curious before and used some of these apps myself. In the end, I gave up on the idea not only because it's difficult to find serious people there but also, given my personal values and conservative beliefs, meeting someone face to face first is something I'd prefer. Maybe someone who had been a classmate from college, a friend of a friend. Don't get me wrong though. I don't judge people who use these applications. It's their choice, not mine. But for me, love is something that shouldn't be rushed. It's something that can't be attained by merely looking someone's display photo or reading a 140-character description about themselves.
In the age of Tinder, Grindr, Happn, Bumble and many other dating apps that allow people to flip through potential dates like picking socks for the winter season, it seems not only romance has died, but also the respect needed to nurture healthy relationships. Is Tinder a symptom of our self-indulgent, self-absorbed, individualistic, lonely society or has it perpetuated a model in which every human interaction is need-based and transactional?
Love is more than just a feeling; it's a decision. Some fall in love quickly and there's nothing wrong about that as long as it's genuine. We don't have entire control over our emotions but our decision on what to do with them lies in our hands. If I were to enter in a relationship, I prefer it to be slowly but surely. I don't know... maybe I'd fall in love right away if I really really like the person but I'd make sure that I'd have the patience in every decision I make for the relationship to work. Call me old-fashioned but to appreciate someone or something deeply, it requires effort and to show that, you need time.
I also agree with Preda that you have to be more open and honest when it comes to your feelings. Don't suppress it. Be more vulnerable. If you're worried that you might sound too eager or easy to get when you show your true feelings, don't be. It's through being vulnerable we can be at our best to love others because everything is not contrived. Just pure, genuine emotions.
How can one allow themselves to be as vulnerable as you have to be to meet someone truly important in a time when love and sex are simple commodities we exchange based on our needs? What do you give up? What do you change? How do you make it? If it is love – passionate, honest love, you are looking for, is there anywhere you can find it in 2016? When everyone is busy swiping left and right on tinder and seeing what else is out there, there is no time to stop, look and get to know someone. Vulnerability shouldn’t be a weakness, it is only by being vulnerable that we can find and give love. Games, paranoia and deceit alienate us from ourselves and from the ones around us.
At the end of the day, love is all we need. We have our different ways of searching for it but I do hope we do not abandon the culture of openness and vulnerability.
And one more thing: Don't find the right person; be one. :)
Labels: love, relationship, thoughts, tinder
breathed easy at
 11:14 PM
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Sunday, June 22, 2014 ||
When I was answering my UPCAT form 5 years ago (I'm getting old huhu!), I wrote down Diliman and Manila as my first and second campus choices, respectively. The reason is that they are the nearest campuses from home. But why didn't I choose Los Banos? Well, during that time, I wasn't that geographically knowledgeable. I didn't know how to commute back then. That's why I really didn't think of writing down LB.
Just this year, I went to UPLB by myself and I realized how much of a beauty it is. Compared to Diliman where I'm studying, I might say UPLB has this more peaceful atmosphere. And the view of Mt. Makiling while taking a walk was just amazing. Albeit Diliman has a lot of trees too, being in an urbanized area with all the pollution is a turn off. I love UPD of course but one cannot deny that UPLB's awesome as well. Check out these photos I took.
The UPLB Oblation. Wondering if I would have been delayed had I took a selfie with it... Well it doesn't matter now since I'm already delayed haha!
Flag of Thailand. There are flags of other countries, too.
Pegaraw. It is a monument made by the National Artist for Sculpture, Napoleon Abueva and it is located in front of the Main Library. From what I know, it was originally gold in color but was painted black in 2010. Apparently, the Pegaraw is a combination of the Pegasus and tamaraw. It symbolizes the Filipinos soaring to greater heights and being at par or being even greater than the rest of the world.
Torii! According to my friend, Nic, this was donated by the UP Japanology Society. Feels like I'm in Japan haha!
Fertility Tree and Carillon Tower. I've always read different stories about the Fertility Tree in Overheard at UP. For me, it really looks like a big broccolo (yes, broccolo not broccoli 'cause broccoli is plural in Italian :p). I love broccoli with beef hehe.
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| Under the Fertility Tree. |
Would love to come back again soon! :D Food trip next time. Money, where art thou?Labels: carillon, fertility tree, laguna, los banos, oble, thoughts, university of the philippines, UPLB
breathed easy at
2:52 PM
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Saturday, March 29, 2014 ||
Got to fly a kite again after many years! I used to do this with my neighborhood friends when I was around 10 years old at the field near the clubhouse. Thanks to my friend, Apaule for inviting me. Although the wind was not that strong but at least for a short time I was able to do so. Happy anniversary to Agham Youth, btw!
Kite racing, anyone?
Apaule blocking my view of the beautiful sunset. Get out of my way! HAHA!
Feels good to be a kid again! A kid-at-heart!
Labels: agham youth, bee, clouds, kite, play, sky, sunset, thoughts, university of the philippines
breathed easy at
9:00 PM
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Monday, February 03, 2014 ||
It was a privilege to attend the talk by Mr. Val Reyes, the first Filipino general manager. He's an HRA (former name of HRIM) graduate which makes it more awesome! According to him, he never really saw himself being a part of the hospitality industry. It was all an accident. Didn't really absorb everything he said but his dedication and passion is what brought him to where he is now. I want to be successful like him!
After that, we went to UP Town Center which was just a 10-minute walk away from our college. This was my first time to go there. I was torn actually 'cause I'm somehow against commercialization and going there was so hypocrite of me. Haha. Anyway, I don't regret since my friends and I had a fun time.
Like! I forgot what milk tea this was. It was KP's but I thought it was mine mwahaha!
Feasibility Study groupmates! Beside me is my thesis partner. Yes, I wanna stab her with a pair of scissors haha! >:) That's for all the freeloading she did during our thesis days. Haha kidding!
Labels: CHE, feasib groupmates, filipino, general manager, HRIM, learning from the masters, tea rock, teriyaki, thoughts, UP town center, val reyes
breathed easy at
6:00 AM
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Friday, January 31, 2014 ||
Tearoom with my buddy! From January 21 to 30, the Tearoom was offering Japanese-themed food made by the catering class. Not really a fan of Japanese cuisine but I liked it! :) Especially the Chocolate Mochi cake! It was topped with whipped cream and a strawberry slice with a drizzle of strawberry syrup under the cake. The main dish was Tonkotsu Ramen. It was served with noodles, bean sprouts, naruto, green onions, shiitake mushroom, chashu pork and ajitsuke tamago. *nomnomnom* As for the beverage, we had Raspberry Yakult Tea which was a blend of raspberry tea and Yakult milk. Good thing we had reservations 'cause they had a sold out! Per set cost Php 199, unusual more expensive than the other Tearoom takeovers but what the heck, it was delicious! :)
Labels: buddy date, chocolate mochi cake, ramen, raspberry yakult tea, tearoom, thoughts, tonkotsu
breathed easy at
7:00 PM
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Wednesday, January 22, 2014 ||
After my Italian 11 class last week, I went to AS Hall to get the ACLE kit as a favor. As I've arrived at the lobby, I saw the UP Singing Ambassadors having a performance. They were celebrating their 33rd anniversary, if I remember it right. There's also an exhibit at the lobby wherein people could check out all about the prestigious choir. By the way, did you know the conductor, Ed Manguiat is an HRIM graduate? Cool, right? I think he's batchmates with one of my professors.
Congratulations to the UP Singing Ambassadors for reaching another year! Hope to see your amazing performances again in the future! :)
Labels: anniversary, AS lobby, choir, thoughts, UP singing ambassadors
breathed easy at
10:51 AM
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Thursday, January 02, 2014 ||
Bu-bye
2013 and hellooo 2014!!! Cheers to the great things to come! 2013 has been a
very good year to me despite some bumps along the way. Yesterday,
#2013Highlights was one of the trending topics on Twitter. My timeline was full
of this hashtag and I couldn't help but jump on the bandwagon. I tweeted and
shared my own highlights most of which I can consider part of my invisible
bucketlist. I never really jot down but I always keep in my mind the
'adventures' I want to embark on. Here are some of the highlights of my 2013:
FEBRUARY 15.
I play the piano and most of the pieces I know are of classical music. But I
play a few contemporary pieces as well. But my favorite one among all is Kikujiro
Summer by Joe Hisaishi, a pianist-composer from Japan. He also composed
musical pieces that were used as soundtracks in Spirited Away, My Neighbor
Totoro, and Howl Moving Castle. Last year's Chocobuffet theme was Japanese
Maid Cafe and that's why I took the opportunity to share this simple but beautiful
music to other people. Hours before the actual event, I decided to practice my
piece in order to get warmed up but at the middle of it, a cameraman suddenly
took a video of me. Of course I didn’t stop and needed to show off a bit. Thank
God I only had a few mistakes because a portion of my practice session was included
in a video uploaded on YouTube! In fact, the Chocobuffet was featured on TV as a
benefit from one of its media sponsors. It was so cool! It was an honor to make
that year’s Chocobuffet a little bit different from the previous ones and to be
able to share my talent.
JUNE
12. I said to myself before that I should join even just one competition wherein
I would represent my alma mater. And that’s why I joined the Table Set-Up
Competition of the 7th MAFBEX (Manila Food and Beverages Expo). Most
of the competitions in the expo were related to cooking (and yes, I do not know
how to cook boohoo) and what’s left available for me was the table set-up
competition. I mean how difficult it could be: you’re just gonna need to make a
concept and materialize it. Together with Ruth, Steph, Isa and KP, we all
realized it was not as easy as we thought it would be. Being in UP, we do have
the brains but we surely didn’t have the resources. We did different ways in
order to get money and the right equipment such as selling cookies, soliciting
from alumni, and getting sponsors. I won’t get into details because it’s a very
long story but bottomline is that there were a lot of times that everything was
almost against us. Any mishaps you can possibly think of has happened to us: delay
of equipment delivery, misunderstanding between us and the table maker (I don’t
know the term lol), the weather, lack of vehicle for loading the equipment,
everything! We attempted to give up many times. In addition to that, we thought
that teams from other schools that are financially better didn’t find it
difficult in getting their equipment which apparently added to our mental pressure. In the
first place, Ma’am Asiddao was somehow discouraging us to join maybe for those
reasons. It’s been 12 years I think since the last time UP joined a table
set-up competition. Before our team, a group from
a batch one year older than us registered for the table set-up competition of the National
Food Showdown 2012 but backed out at the last minute because a lot of equipment
got lost prior the event. But what’s good about our team is that we didn’t let
any excuse prevent us from not finishing what we started. After the
competition, we all had a sigh of relief because it was over. If you’re asking
if we wanted to win, yes we badly wanted to win. That’s why after knowing that
we didn’t get any award (we’re the only team which represented UP that didn’t
land any place lol) I knew that my teammates were sad deep inside. All the
efforts were put into waste as one part of my brain was trying to tell me. We
got disappointed but while we were doing egress, some ladies asked us if it was
our set-up that won. We answered no and they were surprised about it. They
praised our resourcefulness and the concept we put into it and even asserted
that we should have won. The five of us were elated to hear that because we
thought no one appreciated it. Our frown turned into smiles. This deserved to
be a highlight of 2013 because I learned a lot from these experiences. Landing
a place is not everything but knowing that we won the hearts of even just a few
is something we can be proud of. So to the next ones who will represent UP for
the table set-up competition, know that anything that can go wrong will go
wrong but finishing what you’ve started despite the odds is a very courageous
thing to do. Push lang nang push!
JUNE 21. It
was a privilege seeing Fil-Am Chef Comerford in person. It never crossed my
mind that such thing would happen. I mean she’s like THE Executive Chef of
President Obama. The reason why she was in our college is because she did a talk
to us HRIM students as a part of her visit in the University. She was invited
long ago for an award but her schedule was always full. She also came from the College
of Home Economics like me wherein she was an FT undergraduate for 2 years before
going to the U.S. UP still considers her as an alumna. If I heard it right,
staying at least 2 years in UP despite not formally graduating still makes you
an alumnus or alumna. With Chef Comerford’s achievements, who wouldn’t? I don’t
dream to be a chef but I want to be successful like her. Such inspiration.
JULY
26. Who would’ve thought I’d be the one representing my course in a college-based
pageant? To make things clear, someone 'volunteered' me to be the Mr. HRIM and it
wasn’t in any of my intentions to join. That someone being Karlone Kaye Catalan (yes you deserve to called by your full name lol). When
Dottie was persuading me, I declined at first because I wasn’t confident enough
and I was busy but after knowing that no one wanted to represent, I gave it a
go. I would just credit it to experience. Besides, I already participated in a pageant
before and it wouldn’t hurt to do so one more time. But because of feasib and
thesis, I forgot to give time in preparing for it so I asked for my feasib groupmates
to help me make one. A day before the actual pageant, I still didn’t have
costume. They sleptover our house while simultaneously doing the costume and our report for the
next day. In addition to that, I had to memorize When I Was
Your Man by Bruno Mars for the talent portion. I wasn’t able to have a good
rest. Nevertheless, I still managed to place 1st runner-up. I admit
that my talent portion was an epic fail. Fortunately, I answered well in the
Q&A portion where Ramon Bautista, one of the judges, asked me what would I
choose between honor and excellence. I said honor and elaborated that even
without excellence, a person can achieve a lot of things as long as he keeps
his honor. Something like that. I can’t remember the exact thing I said haha.
In the end, I unexpectedly became the 1st runner up. Can’t help but
think that I could win the pageant if I did well in the talent portion. I
really screwed that up haha. Anyway, 1st runner up is not an easy
feat!
In case you want to see photos of me during the pageant, click here and here. Photo by Dindy Feliciano and Seyra Rico, respectively.
SEPTEMBER. Ever
since 1st year, I’m already a CHE-Arki volleyball player. But it was
my first time to enter the semi-final rounds. For the past four years, a lot of colleges were really strong (i.e. Engg, NCPAG-CAL, CHK, and CS) and being able to enter the
top 4 was a great experience. I volunteered to be the officer-in-charge to fix
the lineups of both men’s and women’s teams and to conduct training sessions. I
spent a lot of money, time, and energy just so the training would push through
despite only few would come. I did these because it was practically my last
Diliman Games since I’ll be having my practicum next sem. I’m unsure if I can
still commit to play for the team. Nevertheless, I know they can do it! Go for
the championship!
JUNE-OCTOBER. This semester was the most dreadful of all. Having thesis and feasibility study in one sem can kill you. Each of the two have an infamous reputation how it can make a student drive him nuts. A very lethal combination. I had a choice not to take them together but I do not know what possessed me to do so. I guess I was trying to avoid the agony for one whole year. In addition to that, I also took my 3rd accounting subject, the first two being HRIM 101 and HRIM 115. I took a substitute subject which was Tour 136 instead of HRIM 141 since it wasn't offered for that sem. Despite that, it's still financial accounting, ghastly enough to drain out your brain juices.
After months of hell, the happiness I had was so genuine after seeing my grades. I became a College Scholar for the first time in that sem which was ironic. Now that I'm currently taking GE subjects, two (easy) major subjects, PI 100 and a language elective, I am pressured to have a higher grade because if I can do it in the hardest sem, what more should I in a relatively easier sem.
OCTOBER. So far this is the most organized blog I had. The previous blogs were not managed well and some posts were insignificant and crappy. I hope I'd be able to update this one very often. It's my way of storing important events in my life and also one way to practice my photography skills since I post some of my shots here.
NOVEMBER. My dream of being a pianist is slowly coming true. I need to take things step by step. No need to hurry. Being able to enrol at the College of Music Extension Program is a privilege. Apart from the fact that the enrolment fee is high, it took me years before I got to persuade my parents to let me have my piano lessons here. That's why I will seriously devote my time for this.
Here's hoping for a better 2014! Let's stay positive and just keep moving forward. There's no other way but to get better each day, each year.
2014, bring it on!!!
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| Fireworks display as seen outside our house. |
Labels: 2013, 2014, blog, CHE-arki, chef comerford, chocobuffet, diliman games, extension program, feasib, fireworks, happy new year, highlights, MAFBEX, mr. & ms. CHE, piano, thesis, thoughts, year of the horse
breathed easy at
1:35 AM
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Friday, December 20, 2013 ||
Last December 18, 2013 was my last Lantern Parade as a student (hopefully). It's kinda sad that I'll be graduating and leaving UP soon. It never sank in to me so easily before but now it does. I guess I just have to make the most out of what's left.
I didn't join the actual parade although I stayed at the amphitheater with some of my friends. But before this, I first attended the Christmas Party of UP SHARP at the Vinzon's Rooftop. It was fun and the food was delicious haha! Yum and I even won the first game which was Basagan ng Itlog! Woooo experts lol. We got fans as prizes. Very useful and timely 'cause the weather was so humid. Anyway, the apps handled the party well in my opinion and it's good to know that they're bibo for undergoing the app process. After that, we had our exchange gift activity at the tambayan. I picked Sami and my gift to her was a make-up brush set worth *secret* since that was in her wishlist. I'm happy that she liked it because I'm not really good in buying gifts. As for me, I was picked by Marge. I already had an idea that she was my Santa Clause so to speak because Mila slipped out about it. She gave me a gray bonnet which I am using right now hehe. Funny story how she (or I for that matter) bought it. HAHA. I rather not tell the story. HAHAHA. If you wanna know, perhaps, just ask me in person.
This year's theme for Lantern Parade was "Pasko 2013: Maalab na Serbisyo Publiko ng Mapagkalingang Kampus” in line with relief efforts for victims of Typhoon Yolanda. It started around 3pm but Diane and I headed straight to the amphitheater where KP saved us seats. As we passed through the crowd on our way, we witnessed some of the lanterns from UPAA, OUR, CHK, etc.
Minions were all over the place!! From the balloons to the mascots to the headdresses HAHA! The UP OUR also participated in this year's Lantern Parade and I didn't expect that they'd be this witty and creative. Good job!
Although they didn't really have a lantern, the first one to show up was the UP ROTC Band which shared their talent in playing musical instruments. After that, the colleges, orgs, and UP units made their stop and took the time to present their lanterns to the people while the hosts explained their respective concepts. Some even performed with entertaining numbers. Moreover, Eng'g had an overwhelming number of delegates compared to others.
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UP ROTC Marching Band sharing its beautiful music to the madlang people.
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I bought a Mickey Mouse balloon before the main program started. Please don't judge me. I originally planned to buy a Minion balloon but changed my mind because a lot of people already bought the Minion balloons and I didn't want to be a part of the mainstream.
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| (From the left) Me, KP and Mila waiting for the lanterns. |
Here's a solo photo of me. Forgive me for doing so. This is my blog anyway! XD
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| Selfie! Or is it? |
At 9pm, we decided to go to Technohub for dinner without finishing the program. It was almost at the end anyway. Since there were no jeeps passing by the road, we walked from University Ave. to Technohub. We ate at *drum roll* KFC as usual. We parted ways around 10:30pm and I arrived home at midnight. I'm never a fan of going home late since it's always a hassle to commute during those times but the day was spent well and I couldn't have asked for more.
Sorry if I didn't have a lot of photos of the lanterns. I planned to just so I could post it here in my blog but my camera ran out of battery because it was used for the Chocolate Buffet photoshoot a few hours before. And speaking of Chocobuffet, here's a teaser you ought to see! If you haven't gone before, I'm telling you, you should or you'd miss half of your life! :)
Labels: CHE, christmas, lantern parade, last, minions, thoughts, UP Diliman
breathed easy at
5:42 PM
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Last December 12, I attended a conference at Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center as a part of the celebration of the Settimanna della lingua Italiana nel mondo. There were three speakers who are all Italian natives. The first one was Professoressa Adesini. Then, the next one was an Italian architect. The last speaker was my favorite among the three although I forgot his name.
Basically, all the topics were related to Italian culture and language. The first one was about E-Learning. I agree that online learning is pretty effective if used properly. It has its own advantages and disadvantages but as Professoressa Adesini had implied, the former outweighs the latter. In fact, she is currently enrolled for the online course she was talking about. I was actually interested to enroll for it. I really want to further improve my knowledge about the Italian Language as well as the culture. I do not want to end it at Ital 11 even though I’m practically graduating already. I might take extramural classes if I have time and money. Italian is and will be very substantial for me most especially I will be in the hospitality industry soon.
For the next speaker, I got bored since architecture was not exactly my field though I appreciated how he integrates biomimicry to his works. It is always good to know that architects nowadays integrate environment sustainability when designing structures most especially with climate change inevitably plaguing our planet. I personally want to visit their buildings that are already constructed here in the Philippines. I guess the Philippines needs to learn a little bit of Italian architecture, too. I remembered one of my major subjects (Feasibility Study). I could have used some of the things I learned from the architect-speaker.
The third one was my favorite. It was all about food. The speaker was very funny because he talked so fast. As in presto! I learned from him that parmesan is not really an Italian word. They termed it as Italian Sounding. The real term for that is parmigiano reggiano. The same thing with macaroni—the right term is maccheroni. As an HRIM student, it was very important to know that. I was able to relate when he discussed about the labeling of wines. He even mentioned the term DOCG or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the Italian version of Appellation d'Origine Controlee of France. I realized how Italians appreciate their food so much. It is really a part of their culture and it cannot be taken away from them. I hope to go to Italy someday and taste their cuisine firsthand.
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| 3rd speaker talking about Italian food. |
Overall, the conference was informative. It made me love Italian culture andlanguage even more. It was a nice move to hold such an event because I noticed that the promotion of the Italian here in the country is relatively weak and unnoticeable compared to French. Even in my course where it is required to pass the Language Proficiency Exam (LPE), I’m one of the few students who are taking Italian as their language elective but I do not feel out of place. I take it as an advantage because I’m different from them. In that case, you can all me a hipster. I do hope that there would come a time that it would be as in demand as the other prominent foreign languages here in the country. Ce la facciamo!
Labels: ambassador, claro m. recto, conference, italian, italy, la settimana della lingua italian nel mondo, thoughts
breathed easy at
12:20 PM
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Monday, December 16, 2013 ||
A stray cat at Iskomai, Area 2 where we ate last Friday. It was making landi to me. Joke. I read from somewhere that when a cat is purring, it's in a good mood. This cat certainly was!
Labels: cat, iskomai, random, stray cat, thoughts
breathed easy at
3:00 PM
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Sunday, December 15, 2013 ||
10 days before Christmas but it hasn't sunk in me yet. Christmas decorations are all over the place but they fail to make me feel that Christmas spirit. I do hope the breeze gets colder. I wouldn't want a very hot and humid Christmas. Winter's practically impossible here since the Philippines is a tropical country but it gets chilly during December. The problem is that it's not getting any colder. Global warming sucks! HAHA.
Oh well, advanced Merry Christmas!
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| Christmas-themed centerpiece and menu at the Tearoom. |
Labels: 10 days, christmas tree, merry christmas, tearoom, thoughts
breathed easy at
4:00 PM
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Yesterday, UP SHARP, spearheaded by the Internals Committee, had its 'TBA' for this semester at the Sunken Garden. The supposedly Team Building Activity was changed into The Bonding Activity instead as many have put it because the invited speakers/facilitators were unavailable. Nevertheless, it was a fun day for all of us. HR invited the apps to join us. TBA is usually exclusive for members but I don't see anything wrong inviting the apps. It's also one way to give them a good impression about the org.
We played different games conducted spontaneously by the Inte members. The first game was dodgeball. I used to play this when I was younger. Boasting aside, I was very good at evading the ball but I don't know what happened now haha! When it was our time to throw the ball, I was able to hit a lot from the other group mwahaha! Since we were able to hit all the opponents faster, we won!
Next game was 10-20. I didn't join this game because I wanted to play volleyball at the side. I also taught Marge and Diane how to serve the ball overhead. Marge learned fast but she still needs to put some force to the ball. But with practice, she'll get it eventually. As for Diane... hahahahaha! (my laugh says it all) Anyway, I kinda like the feeling of teaching volleyball. It's very different from playing. You gain this sense of fulfillment.
The last game was Agawan Base. Childhood was all coming back at me. I also used to play this game with my village tropa. During the game, I was caught as a 'prisoner' together with my buddy, John. But one of my groupmates saved me, leaving John at the opponents' base which was Cara. Yes, the bases were people instead of trees. The trees near us were infested with antik so it was decided to assign one group member as the base. After some tos and fros, the game was taking so long because both groups were unsuccessful to finish the it so it was decided that the winning group would be the one with the higher number of prisoners. Our group had 3 or 4 prisoners which made us win again, much to our delight.
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| Francis running away from JC (applicant). |
After the games, we went to the tambayan to eat. Good thing there were food and drink. We were all exhausted and hungry from all the running.
For me, it was a good idea to not postpone the TBA because we still got to bond with the members and apps. Good job, Inte! :) I became more motivated to become active again in this org I used to have up and down feelings to. #longstory Refuel the passion! :D
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| UP SHARP group photo with the apps. |
Disclaimer: All photos were taken by Vincci (hi buddy!) and Dindy (hi freshie buddy!).
Labels: 10-20, agawan base, apps, bonding, dodgeball, mems, org, sunken garden, TBA, the bonding activity, thoughts, UP, UP SHARP, volleyball
breathed easy at
11:39 AM
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Saturday, December 14, 2013 ||
Finally, I'm officially enrolled in UP College of Music's Extension Program. Ever since 1st year college, I've always been wanting to have my piano lessons there. My piano teacher from high school, Ms. Jo, told me to grab the opportunity most especially knowing UP CMu's reputation. She actually took her studies there. Not sure if undergraduate studies.
The reason as to why it took me years before I got to enroll here is because of financial reason and postponement. Last year, when I was able to manage my mom to let me enroll before, the extension program was postponed. Very untimely, yes? It was as if the gods didn't want me to pursue it. The other attempts also failed mainly because of financial reasons. FYI, the piano lessons cost around Php 8,000 which is for the 30-minute session/week for 14 weeks and Php 16,000 for the 1-hour session/wk for 14 weeks also. For this semester, my mom didn't actually allow me because she had no money for the fee. Same reason as always. I understand that, of course. It's never too easy to make money. But even if I'm aware of that, I still felt heavyhearted. I posted on Facebook and made a little bit of drama about it. Since I'm friends with my mom on fb, she read my status and then she made a way to get money--she borrowed from my ate. I knew all of these 3 days before the last day of registration after telling me. I was hesitant to accept it at first because I was sulking but eventually I did because I realized it was a blessing that should not be rejected. And so I enrolled at the last day of registration, hoping that there was still a slot for me. Fortunately, there was. The process was so fast and smooth and I couldn't believe that I was enrolled! I even made a friend with a student there. I forgot his name though. He was nice 'cause he oriented me a little about the college and the program.
My teacher is Ma'am Pia Balasico and based from our 1st meeting, she's really a kind and jolly person. I think she's the perfect person to be my teacher. For our 2nd meeting which was today, I was late for 20 mins. I blame the unexpected traffic haha. I sincerely apologized for my tardiness because it was embarrassing. She didn't get mad although she reprimanded me to not do it again for the other sessions. After my class was her only 1-hour break and she allowed me to practice up until she got back at 1pm if I wanted to. And I did. So technically, my supposedly 30-minute session turned out to be around 1 hour and 10 minutes. I hope she allows me for the next sessions to always extend my stay at her room even after my actual schedule. 'Cause 30 minutes is just too short for a session. It's my only class for Saturday haha! Anyway, I practiced the first few parts of Sonatina in G Major Opus 36 No. 2 by Muzio Clementi and Czerny Opus 599 No. 15. And I got the hang of it. *woot* Practice does make it perfect. When Ma'am Pia got back, she commended me for being diligent in practicing which motivated me more to do better.
I'm gonna practice a lot this Christmas break so that when Ma'am Pia and I meet again, she'd be impressed. I need to make her recommend me for the recital because I want to! It would be an achievement for me to do so.
Ce la faccio!
Labels: college of music, dream, extension program, music, piano, thoughts
breathed easy at
11:41 PM
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Monday, December 09, 2013 ||
Last week was the UP Diliman's Pailaw 2013. I attended for the first time in my college years. I was actually hesitant at first because my last class ended at 3pm and the program would start at 6pm. I had a load of things to carry because of preprac and my energy was drained already. But knowing that I haven't attended it even once, I compelled myself to witness the star behind Oble be lit. It was the very same star last year but I want to see it being lit firsthand.
A number of Christmas songs were performed by people from the College of Music. One of the songs was 'Pasko na Sinta Ko' by Francis Dandan. This is memorable because it's the piece we sang for last year's Karolfest. We didn't win in that competition but it was worth the experience. Unfortunately, we didn't join this year. :( *sigh* Oh well haha.
Aside from singing, UP Streetdance Club also performed an awesome number. I think they did their routine from a previous performance because some of the moves were very familiar. Nevertheless, it was awesome! I also saw Jaime, a coursemate of mine. He's one of the current presidents of the club.
I took a similar photo last year but I decided to take a shot of Oble again. I fancy taking night lights because the darkness that surrounds the subject makes you appreciate the light more. If you're wondering, I increased the shutter speed to avoid blurriness and to avoid the light from spilling out. I used this photo as my new FB cover photo and in an instant, 'likes' started to pour in.
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| Oble says Merry Christmas! |
Labels: merry christmas, oble, pailaw 2013, star, thoughts, UP Diliman, UP streetdance club
breathed easy at
8:17 PM
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