It's been a while...

It's been a long while since I've blogged. I've been so busy with schoolwork. Now, I'm on my semestral break and I hope I get the chance to blog more often. Pardon for my rough-ness, I'm still trying to get back into the motions of blogging.

You know, I honestly don't know what wrong with me. Every semester, if there's 1 class I'm always scared in failing, it's my majors. I don't know why, I always do my best in every class. It might have to do with adjusting to the teaching styles of my new professors, which is why I take a slow start. But towards the end of the semester, my grades tend to get better and I always pray that my efforts are strong enough to pull through.

I hope this works off. Fuck.

Keep Dreaming.

I am titanium

"Shoot me out, but I won't fall. I am titanium"

Don't you just hate it when plans you make never push through? Like, you spend a lot of time planning something amazing, but something always happens in the end. Now in my case, someone actually shot my "something" down.

Lemme paint you a picture. I asked you to bake an extravagant cake for a party. So you go out of your way to buy the ingredients, and prepare all the necessary tools to bake. Then, just as you're about to put the batter into the oven, I knock the batter onto the floor and tell you I want one single cupcake instead.

That is exactly how I felt. It felt like a knife was jammed into my heart, and turned 360 degrees. To have something you worked so hard, something you put so much time and effort into planning, something so many people helped you with, and something you put so much consideration into. To have something like that shot down killed me a little on the inside.

I spent weeks trying to look for a venue. I spent days conceptualizing the theme. I spent days planning the attire. I spent days talking to the photographer, going over the creative direction of the shoot. I spent hours planning out the date, putting into consideration the weather, the availability of the photographer, as well as the entire EB plus BOD.

It just sucks that you don't even consider everything that put into this as a "hassle" since it hasn't even happened yet. Ugh.

Stupid bitch.

Keep Dreaming.

Flooded

I was in the middle of our PhilSci yesterday, when I oddly noticed that the sky was getting unusually dark. I though it would be your typical rain. Boy, was I ever wrong.

Once class ended, I went straight to the org room to check out if any freshies left batch rep application forms in the BioSoc cubicle! Luckily, I found 2 more inside the envelope, and was handed one just as I was about to leave the org room.

Once we were out, the rain was just intense. There was already a layer of water over plaza mayor that was at least an inch thick. We tried to cross over to the car park, but all the roads  towards there were flooded. I didn't even want to cross, because I knew that my foot would be completely submerged. So we decided to go to the HS cafeteria near the Botanical Garden instead. Once we got there, the path from the CAL towards the HS caf was submerged in water and mud. We had to go around the place just to get there. And when we got there, we found out the place was closed. Since we didn't want to go around again, we braved it through the muddy waters. So afterwards, we split up. Half of us went to Jollibee in Dapitan, the others braved their way to the car park. One the way to Jollibee, there was the alley way that was COMPLETELY submerged in water, as in up to my ankles (or higher). Anyway, the street it was connected to was fine so we just crossed that. 

Once we got to Jollibee, we started seeing a lot of our blockmates. Turns out a lot of them had the same idea as we did. After eating, one of my friends and I returned to UST after it was announced that classes were suspended. Once we got back, we had to go through flood water, just to cross from the P.Noval Side, to the Lacson side. Once I got to the hospital though, I waded more flood water, until I was stranded at the hospital lobby. The entire lobby was literally flooded. It looked like a fountain actually. I wanted to leave, but both sides were flooded as well. So I was stranded there for 2 hours until i was picked up. Boo

Anyways, I got home safely though. I knew I'd experience something like that, I just didn't expect it to be this soon.

Keep Dreaming.

GIMP

School is right around the corner. It literally starts next week for me. As an executive board member for this year's Biology Society, we are working double time to make sure that everything is set in place to welcome the incoming Bio freshies. As one of the PROs, one of my duties is to handle the incoming elections for the 1st year batch representative.

Another thing is that just recently, I was announced to be on the Executive Board for the Biology Majors Alliance of the Philippines (BMAP). They put me in-charge of the Promotions and Publicity, which is a good thing since I'm basically online 24/7. As part of the Promo and Pub committee, it is my responsibility to produce the different posters and fliers for our different events, which leads me to the reason behind this post.

In order to entice freshmen to apply for batch rep, the PROs (Melo and I) need to create a poster to catch the attention of the students. Now, usually, I would probably be the last person on earth who would do this. I mean, leave the photoshop to the experts, and leave the instagram filters to me HAHAHA. Well, it just so happens that I'm also the OIC for the Arts and Promotions committee, which means I'm one of the people in charge of this. I'd usually get Ate Cams, 4th year batch rep, to do this for us. However, I felt like it was time for me to step it up. I can't always rely on her and other committee members to do this, especially since majority are seniors. Another is that I'm leading the promotions committee for BMAP, which means there's a lot of pressure on me to produce some eye catching posters. So, since I wasn't doing anything, i felt this would be the perfect time to start letting my creative juices flow and start practicing.

When I found out about the posters, I was in Anvaya cove at the time with no laptop, only my iPhone. I had no way to note down my ideas except for notepad. I came up with 2 concepts, one of which was also thought of by another member of the council. The first one I came up with was top model inspired. It basically was a dark, gradient background which focused on the middle, as well as a silhouette of a man and a woman. The font on top would be similar to the America's Next Top Model font, with metallic, gradient colors. It would read "BioSoc's Next 1st year Batch representative". The details would follow underneath, specifically Melo and my contact information. It would also bear the logo of the Biology Society and the University of Santo Tomas.

Here's the final outcome. The background was changed because it wasn't exactly how I pictured it. In fact, the background looked very plain. So i decided to look for a more interesting background. Luckily, I was browsing through my iPhone wallpapers and saw this number. This was perfect for me. I also changed the title. I added "The Search for" at the top because there was this huge space on top that needed to be filled. I still stuck with the top model theme, match the font as well as the silhouettes of the man and woman.

Later on, Tisha (the assistant secretary) commented that it looked to much of a pageant poster, rather than searching for an officer. After this, I decided to change the silhouettes to head shots so it would seem less "pageant" and more election. In the end, it looked more like a kiddie version that what I had imagined.

My second idea was an old school, western, Wanted poster. Ciara was the first one to comment this, so I decided to go through with it anyway. Not much to say about it except that I tried to keep it as authentic as possible. I only changed the texts just a little bit so that it would fit our situation more. For the silhouette, I used the icon on facebook for users who don't have a profile picture. I edited it a little to look darker, and a little older. I also searched for fonts that had a western theme that was often used on wanted posters such as this.

At the end of the day, I felt good. It felt good because this was a product of my hard work. I felt like I had accomplished something because it was a product of my hard work and dedication. I also felt that these were decent enough to publicize and be posted around the third floor. At the end of the day, what I did was for me more than anyone. I not only designed some posters for BioSoc, but I also taught myself how to use GIMP.

Before I go, I'd just like to send a shout-out to my bro JB. He really helped me while I was in the middle of creating my first poster. He was there for me everytime I had a question to ask, and whenever I needed advice. Love you bro!

Big thanks as well to all the people I went to for their opinions on what I should do, what fonts I should use, etc etc to make my poster better. And thanks as well to the YouTube videos I searched up when I was lacking ideas on how to do something.

BTW, I know these posters aren't the best. But for someone who just learned how to use GIMP in 24 hours, I felt that these were good enough.

Keep Dreaming.

BioSoc 2013 || May 24-26, 2013 || Kim Siong Community

(C) Franz Del Rosario

I spent my weekend at the Kim Siong community in Silang, Cavite. I can't go into the specific details of what we did (I don't want to spoil the surprise for future LTS-ers). I just want share my experience as a whole, and how it changed me.

One of the highlights from my experience was meeting all the people who attended. The heads, assistant heads, core members, and even the facis. I would've never met any of them if I'd never attended or been part of BioSoc. I would've probably met them at some point during our journey together, however I don't think I would've been able to memorize their names or gotten to know them as well as I did during that weekend. I know now that I've found a new family in BioSoc <3.

In addition to that, one of the most important things I've learned this weekend is camaraderie, teamwork, and trust. Through all of the activities that we underwent, the usual theme behind it was how "the project of one, is the project of all" and how we should always be there for one another, through thick and thin. We learned that sometimes, we need to trust our gut instincts and take a leap of faith. We learned to trust that we always have each others backs and that someone will always catch us.

That's basically the gist of what happened last weekend. Hope you learned as much as I did

Keep Dreaming.

Davao! [Part 1]

So I just recently came back from Davao a few days ago and I wanted to share my experience with you guys. Overall, I fell in love with Davao. As I traveled from the airport to our hotel, I was at awe with my surroundings. The place game this sort of rustic, cozy, provincial feeling. Yet at the same time, it still had that city sense which made it more modern.

May 15, 2013

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:30 am. We decided to play it safe and be there 2 hours before the departure time so that we could check our luggage in and settle in so that we wouldn't have to rush when we get there. Between 4-4:30, we were already checked in. In order to pass the time, I went over to the laptop station and continued my FRIENDS marathon (I was about halfway when I started). This was my first time to fly a plane without my parents with me, it was just me and my sisters. I was a littler nervous at first because I didn't know what to do or where to go, but it turned out fine in the end.

We got out of the airport in Davao at around 8:30. The man who picked us up (he was friend of my dad's) told us that the Inn we were staying at was about 14 km away. A big difference between Manila and Davao is the way people estimate distances. For example, my house to Manila would be about an hour's drive. However, places in Davao are measure in kilometers. In my opinion, I think people should start estimating in distances rather than in time because sometimes time is ineffective because of different factors (traffic, weather, street conditions, etc).

Once we got to the Inn, we transferred rooms to a bigger one because the one initially given by the company my dad works for was way smaller. Our room was on the first floor, and was closer to the front desk and had wifi access, so it worked out in the end. We went to the cafe/restaurant that the inn was partnered with and had breakfast (I only had a piece of bread with some nutella on it before I left for Davao). I was hungry enough to order some bacon and eggs with garlic rice since I didn't eat anything on the plane since I was asleep for the entire trip (I fell asleep before we took off, and woke up just as we were close to landing).

Once we were ready and our dad was done with his conference, we first went to SM Davao to purchase tickets for the Pearl Farm beach resort for the next day. After having merienda at KFC, we took a cab to our next destination: The Philippine Eagle Research Center.

So, when we got to the research center, the place looked really cool. The buildings looked old, but it didn't bother me. The place was very nature-y too, it was filled with trees and a lot of different types of plants. We strolled through the park and saw many types of eagles nesting around. Some were quiet and peaceful, while the others were just plain noisy. To be honest, the entire place kinda creeped me out. I have this irrational fear of birds, and just being around them made the hairs on my arms stand up. This place was especially creepy because there were birds out of cages, on perches, with their legs chained to the ground or something (whatever, they were chained). The thought of any of them escaping gave me goosebumps. But aside from that, the experience was pretty cool. I was able to appreciate the beauty of the place.

For dinner, my dad took us to this place called Jack's Ridge, which is a huge compilation of restaurants  as well as a sort of resort since the place has an amphitheater, a pool and some cottages. We ate at this restaurant called Taklobo. Our table had a great view of the lights of Davao City. The food was amazing as well, especially their kare-kare, lechon kawali and Marlin, which were my faves of the night. The only thing that seemed off was the prices, particularly the centavos, because they seemed American. Usually, we'd get centavo prices that end with 5 or 0, like 0.50 or 0.75. But here, the centavos were like 0.63, 0.42, 0.89 etc. But other than that, the food was terrific.

That's it for now folks!! I'll update you guys on what happened the rest of the trip on the next few posts! Byeeeeeee!!

Keep Dreaming.

No Place Like Home

(C) Kris Sanceja

It's May, which officially means that school is right around the corner here in the Philippines. Since I was in need for another blog post, perhaps it's time to reflect on my ADMU-UST experience this past year.

So when I was deciding on which University to attend, I was torn between these two. Ateneo because it's become my second home. I mean, after spending 12 years there, it was pretty hard to leave. UST was also up because I knew that if I wanted to be a doctor, this was the place to go. Like how some universities are known for producing specific professions, UST is known for producing doctors. Also, I felt it was time for a new beginning. At least if I went to UST, you could probably count on your hands (and maybe feet) the number of people who knew who you were. This was a chance for me to start fresh, where people didn't know you or what you did in the past.

Fast forward to the first few months of school. During the first few days of school, I felt like an outsider. Sure I was part of our facebook group before the year even began, but things were so different once we met in person. When I walked into the room, I kept this stern, straight face, which probably lead some of my blockmates to think that I was masungit or something (oddly enough, some of the other MC and AHS people got the same reaction, so it must be a Katipunan thing hehe). And it seems like those who were in the group before school didn't seem to recognize me. Back then, my profile picture was the "photo shoot" during graduation, so my hair was styled differently, and I wasn't wearing glasses. But once school started, I was wearing my glasses and i was semi-kal. I could hear people whispering around like, sino yun? or si Howee ata yun? and shit like that =))

Probably the entire semester, I dreaded being there. It was nothing against the school. I mean, the school was amazing, the people were really friendly, and I really felt like what I paid in my enrollment was being put to full use (for most of my classes anyway). I really felt like I was in a good university, and now I know why it's a part of the top 4. But for me, there was just something missing. Like there was this whole in my heart that wouldn't close, no matter what I did. Now, you might say that I might just be homesick for Ateneo, considering I was there for majority of my life (12 years to be exact). I was feeling like an immigrant in a foreign land. It didn't know anyone, I was in an entirely new culture. For the most part, sure, it was homesickness. But later on, it felt like homesickness to the next level. Again, there was something missing.

In between the first and second semester, i found time in my schedule to go back to the high school (I forget the reason). But for some reason, as I was roaming through those hallways, as I passed through the EDSA walk, it felt good to do so. I don't know why, but I was invigorated in a way. It felt like a brand new energy flowed through my entire body. This was the feeling I remembered when I was a student back in high school.

Once the second semester began, I started feeling better. I still missed my alma mater, but for some reason, I was actually fine being away from it. I think my body had already adjusted to my surrounding, to the new environment. As the months passed by, I learned to love and appreciate my school more than I ever did at the start of the year. By the end of the year, I knew I had made the right decision to transfer to UST.

Yesterday, I came back from the Ateneo. I went to the college area before lunch because I had an interview for the Biology Majors Alliance of the Philippines (BMAP) with the outgoing executive board, as well as some of the members of the board of directors. I met up with Galo to have lunch with him since he had to wait for Natya to finish her summer volleyball class. After a little trip around the college (we were near the JSEC, but we headed back to Xavier hall because I needed to withdraw money; we didn't know there was an ATM machine there), I was feeling a little nostalgic again. I haven't been there since the high school fair last January, and the college area was definitely unfamiliar to me because I'd only been there to submit application forms and have Jaz Reyes sign a contract for Avenida. I think I've finally gotten closure because as I roamed the campus, I didn't have that clingy feeling of wanting to transfer back. The only thing that was on my mind was how different my life would've been if I stayed.

No matter how long I leave, whenever I come back, I know I'm welcomed with open arms.

My home away from home.

Keep Dreaming.

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day 2013, I've decided to share some of my earth tips that I've always found helpful that you can use in school. Please mind that this is from a student's perspective.

1. Turn the lights off when not in use

When I was in high school, my class used to turn off the lights during our lunch and recess breaks. The main reason we did this was because some of us liked to use the breaks to catch up on sleep, so they thought closing the lights would help them sleep better. This is good because it not only conserves energy, but it gives the classroom a "cooler" setting because you don't get the heat from the fluorescent bulbs.

2. Reuse old school supplies

Not only will some of these provide nostalgia from time to time, but it'll save you a ton of money as well. Now that I'm in college, I re-use some of the old filler notebooks from high school, as well as a pencil case I've had since 3rd year high school, and for the entire first semester, I used my bag from 4th year.

3. BYOB (Bring Your Own Baunan)

If you're like me and you come from a high school were there are food stalls that sell food in those paper-covered-with-plastic containers, this won't only help you save the environment, but help you save some money.

4. Save Water, shower together

So after PE class, some of my blockmates and I tend to get really sweaty, so we decided to shower together. No, not literally together under the same shower cubicle at the same time (Well, we've done it once or twice when the place was really packed HAHA). But what I mean is that you share cubicles. For example, there are 4 of us taking a shower. So instead of using 4 stalls, we'll use 2 stalls instead (1 per pair). We'd usually wait it out, and take turns. Like when one of us has to soap, we'd step out of the stall and let someone else rinse it out.

5. Use public transportation/carpool

From grade 6 up until 4th year high school, I carpooled with on my good friends, who just happens to be my neighbor! Also, I know a lot of friends who commute on public transport going to and from school. This not only saves money you'd normally spend on a lot of gas, but you'd lessen a lot of the fumes that would be released by a lot of cars.

6. Re-use old papers

As a biology major, I've had to make a lot of reviewers in order to memorize shit. Also, I've had to sketch a bunch of shit as drafts for many different projects. Instead of writing (or occasionally printing) them on new sheets of bond paper, I prefer doing this on old sheets of papers I've used before for projects and stuff. I seem to never run out of reusable, one-sided papers.

7. Buy secondhand books

Now that I'm in college, I don't get my books during enrollment period. I have to wait for my prof to tell me that I need a certain book before I go out and buy one. Lucky for me, the biology society has a program where upperclassmen sell their old texts books to undergrads and freshmen who need the books for their classes. It'll save you money because books like this usually go for a fraction of their original price, and you'll lessen the paper needed to print new books.

Those are my tips for the day. Hope you'll be able to use them like I have :)

Keep Dreaming.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to use technology

One thing that really pisses me off is when people claim to be upset on social media, like twitter or facebook, or even when they tell you personally that they're upset. Now, I find this particularly annoying because whenever I ask that person if something's wrong, they end up saying that they're fine or that yeah something's wrong but never expound. Here's an example of one of my conversations with a friend a few days ago:

Me: What's up? You okay?

Friend: Nope

Friend: :((

Me: What's up bro?

Friend: None bro :(

*end of conversation*

This pisses me of because I am the type of person who likes helping other people out. And this person I was talking happens to be a close friend of mine. This is irritating because this has happened so many times. You always let people know that something's wrong, yet when they try to help you out, you put up this barrier that prevents them from helping you out. Especially since it seems like you could use a little guidance here and there.

Another thing that irritates me is when people send in late replies on purpose. By this, I mean those who see the messages, yet refuse to reply immediately for whatever reasons they have. I can understand late replies if you saw it some time after I sent it to you, but if you see it immediately and don't reply, that's where I get pissed off. And to add to it, it gets even more rude when you see that person tweeting away especially if they use the same device for both texting AND tweeting. I mean, what's the point of replying to a message/text after 7-8++ hours, especially if the text was looking for an immediate response. I just think that it's rude and a waste of load, especially if there isn't an valid reason behind your late reply.

I honestly don't know what to do with this person. I think I'm just gonna lay low from my friend. If they miss me, they'll let me know. point blank.

Keep Dreaming.

Trusting your gut instinct

Everyone has this feeling right? When you need to make a decision, and you're torn between the choices. There's usually this voice telling you to pick a certain choice. Usually, there's a reason behind this and I don't think most people trust their gut instincts. Sometimes, the person would focus more on what others or society would demand from them, rather than what they personally feel would be the better choice. I just don't feel that people often listen to that "voice of reason", especially in a world where the youth's motto is YOLO (You Only Live Once).

So this reason for this post is something that happened to me recently. So tonight, just like any other night, I was just browsing the internet when I get this friend request from a stranger (let's name her "Lisa"). So Lisa adds me up on facebook, I'm automatically curious as to who she is. So I decided to check out her profile. The first thing I checked out was the about section. All I could find there was that she was from UST, so I presumed she was a batchmate of mine. Then I checked out her photos, which were mostly pics with friends as well as ads for ladies dorms around UST. So, after what I saw, i was still hesitant to add her since I didn't know who she was. There was this gut feeling I had not to accept, but I went ahead and did so anyway. This is where I should' ve listened to my gut.

When I accepted her, I prayed that I would avoid one of those conversations where they immediately message/chat you up and introduce themselves and shit. Well, turns out she did exactly that. She gave me her name and said that she was an alumnus of UST (both my course and med proper). Then she started spamming me up with adverts for ladies condos around UST (which I honestly don't understand, since I'm clearly not a woman). So once she did, I turned off my chat, but she still kept leaving messages in my inbox. Being as socially awkward as I am, I blocked her. I didn't know what to do, I just felt so afraid because I didn't know what to do and what her deal was.

Lesson learned. Always trust your gut, no matter what. That way, whether you succeed or fail, you only have yourself to congratulate or to blame.

Keep Dreaming.

Back at the Gym

So today I finally went back into the gym! The last time was near gym equipment was probably last summer, when I used to go to the nearby gym with Kim! I finally felt that this was the right time and opportunity for me to lose weight and go back to the gym, since my dad wanted me to have a summer activity!

Today made me realize how much those first days back at the gym suck. Literally almost every muscle in my body was aching. Thank God was just able to find the strength and energy to take a shower. I felt fine until I got home. After using the laptop for sometime on my bed, I felt the need to go to the bathroom. Problem is, I couldn't get up. As in f'real, I tried every position possible with my hands yet still couldn't do it. I kept on tossing, until I lay on my back. From there, I was able to push myself upward. Up until right now as I'm righting this, my body is sore all over. I hope this blows over tomorrow because I need to go to UST and enroll my sister. *groan*

You know, standing in the shower made me realize something about myself. I hate hardwork. I mean, yeah I appreciate the value of hard work, but I just don't want to do it. As in, I want a 100% completed game without playing through the mini games and side quests. I want to be a doctor without studying for more than 10 years. I want to get rock hard abs without working out. I think this "behavior" of mine isn't mine alone. I'm sure right now, there are a lot of people thinking the exact same thing. I think this stems from an "instant" culture that my generation has. Instant food, instant noodles, instant coffee, instagram, etc. I don't think we value hardwork as older generations have, since they didn't have the conveniences that we have. For example, our rights. Our forefathers had to fight for our rights, yet somehow we don't even acknowledge the rights that we do have, or the responsibilities that come with it.

I can't do anything about this right now. This is just the way that I am. All I can do now is work hard, and hope that soon, my hard work pays off.

Keep Dreaming.

These past few weeks...

I don't what it is about these past few weeks, but it has definitely been a downer for me. I don't necessarily think I'd consider what I went through as drama though. I'd rather call it demons. Yeah, I like that. These past few weeks, I've been battling some of the demons inside of me. Well, not necessarily inside of me since it did involve someone else.

These past few weeks, I haven't had the relationship I imagined with this person. It's been really rocky. I haven't been talking with them as much as I wanted, nor have we been the ideal friends to one another. It's been a rocky road. We were both at fault here in this situation.

Let's just say that I'm glad to have finally won the battle with my demons. I'm glad that I got that off my chest, and I'm just happy that I finally have my friend back :)

Keep Dreaming.

With great age, comes ...

So I recently turned 19 a few weeks ago, and it's only really dawned on me on how much older I'm getting. Not only physically, but mentally as well. I've been feeling it for quite a while now, but now's the only time that I'm being open about this and exposing myself.

The other night we had a dinner party at my place to celebrate the graduation of my sisters. I stayed at the one of tables with my titos and titas and a few cousins, most of which were college/doctors. Our main conversation consisted of operations, diseases, dissection, and other medical jargon.

This situation isn't foreign to me. Now that I'm in college, some of the frequent topics of discussion is the lessons in biology class and lab, our future, diseases, medicine etc. The time has past when we'd plan what we'd be doing this weekend. Instead, we're planning on what we're doing 10+ years from now, once we finish med school, residency, the board exams etc. The time has past when we'd only talk about video games, girls, and food. Now, we're thinking about what medical schools we'd go to, when we're going to get married, and how many kids we want to have.

I honestly don't know if this has anything to do with my course, my school, or my choice of friends. Though I think I can rule out friends. I don't see any of my high school friends sharing in my predicament. I think I can also rule out school since I have some other friends in my school who aren't as burdened with the future as I am. I think it's because of my course, of the standards it sets, with the expectations people have of the students come from my course. The pressure that society puts on us practically forces us to grow up faster than we would like. I remember that when I was in high school, I would spend my nights playing tetris battle on facebook, having a movie/series marathon, or playing with my PS3 until the wee hours of the morning. But now that I'm in college, I NEED to study every night. Before in high school, when I did study, it would for about less than hour, an hour at max. But now, I need to study for multiple hours, until I memorize and understand the topics for our test.

I think that this entire thing comes with age. It's like with what they said in spider-man: "with great power, comes great responsibility." The older one gets, the more freedom he/she has to do whatever the fuck they want. But along with that, they have more responsibilities that they must fulfill, in exchange for their "freedom".

Anyways, I think that now that it's summer, I need to enjoy it as best I can because I'm at the point in my life where I am given the freedom to do as I wish, since I am legal. And since it is summer, it's the best time to go out and enjoy myself because I don't think I'd be able to once the school year begins anew.

Peace out!

Keep Dreaming.

Can't believe I survived second sem

I am so glad I was able to survive this sem. I'm thankful that all the hard work that I put in, especially during the finals period. I know I can still do better, and that's my goal for the next school year. I have to put in 2x the effort since I have BioSoc duties to balance with my academics now.

On a side note, I'm still shocked that the highest grade in my roster belongs to Track and Field HAHAHA

Keep Dreaming.

My 19th

So yesterday, I celebrated my 19th birthday. So lemme just roll out how it went.

I woke up.

I heard mass.

I had breakfast with my dad (my sisters still had school).

I watched the new episode of Once Upon A Time.

I went to church for a meeting with my acolyte group.

I had dinner at Tender Bob's.

I watched Oz: The Great and Powerful with the fam.

The day was okay, I guess. I've had worse. I've had better. I just don't think I'll be able to remember this day in, let's say, 20 years.

I'd love it if I got a surprise party. I don't know, it's just something that I've always wanted. The mystery and the shock you'd get to find out you had one. It'd be priceless. 

Though I don't think I should expect anything like this in the years to come *sigh*

Keep Dreaming.

Measuring the Academic Year in teachers [Part 1]

Now that the year has ended, I decided to give my opinion on the different teachers I had this year, whether or not they were memorable.

Professor # 1

One of the first profs I met in UST. This teacher is like watching beige paint dry: boring as hell. I seriously swear it's like he/she doesn't even have a personality. Well, I'm sure he/she has one, it's just very boring. It's not that I'm hating on this teacher, whoever, I felt it very boring to focus in this class because his/her voice was very monotonous. I swear, once I tried to record the class so I could make notes afterwards. It would've worked, except I wanted to sleep while re-listening to the lecture. And I'm still pissed that this teacher gave my group a low score on one of the major requirements for that class. I swear, we deserved a better grade because our output was more creative than everything else that I saw. Also, this teacher said that they wouldn't be around in the next semester for consultation, yet I constantly saw them around.

Professors # 2 and # 3

I had these professors work hand in hand for this particular class. When the semester began, I didn't really care for these two. I found them to be very, yet again, boring. But as the semester continued, I can honestly say that I grew to love these two. There were some times were I felt bored during their class, and there were times were I felt they were being a little to harsh on us, but overall, they were nice people.

Professor # 4

I loved this next prof. First off, he/she was a great teacher. I really understood the class and was really motivated to do my homework and study. More importantly, this prof was funny as fuck. Whether it was making fun of other people, or just being sarcastic as fuck, I really appreciated his/her sense of humor.

Professor # 5

This prof was really annoying. I hated his/her hair, and the fact that it always looked wet. The way they spoke english was annoying as well because it felt very forced. But I will admit this, I found that the class he/she taught was very easy. I don't know if it's because the tests were easy, the topics were easy, or because I've been succeeding in this class since high school. But on a good note, I think that this prof seemed more like a class moderator than our actual mod. I think it's because we met this prof more often, she usually checked up on us, and reminded us on different requirements and announcements around the college and the university.

Professor # 6

This prof was really adorable. I think it's because of the age. He/she was really nice and friendly and approachable in and out of the classroom. However, the class was very boring. As in I would sometimes doze off and when I'd wake up, it'd still be his/her class. And I'm still bitter that the very long assignment he/she gave us was only considered 10 points, considering it covered  almost 10 chapters.

Professor # 7

Hands down, this one was my all time favorite prof for the first semester. This was one was the coolest I might ever have. Aaminin ko na ngayon na lalaki siya. He's literally like a brother to a lot of us, especially considering that he's a new teacher. Smart, cool, pogi,I'd love to have a prof like him every year (every sem nga kung kaya eh hahaha). He's down with talking about personal stuff (like his girlfriend) and even video games! And it's cool na medjo may pagkamanyak rin siya hahaha! But not like the pedo manyak, the funny manyak.

Professor # 8

Ugh. One word. Boring. I literally felt like his/her voice was some kind of rape drug, meant to put us to sleep. I'm not even gonna go into the details of how boring the class and prof were. Let's just say that the prof is a nice person in and out of class, although he/she never fails to comment on my weight :|

Professor # 9

Last one for this entry! I've had this prof for both semesters. Turns out this one was also prof to my dad when he was in bio years ago. During the first sem, I really could not stand this prof. I mean, up to now, but for some reason he/she's kinder than he/she was before. I swear, ever since we gave him/her pizza, he/she's always been in a good mood towards us.

Keep Dreaming.

Change your world, change your mind

"This is the beginning, the beginning! This is the beginning of the rest of your life!"

- RuPaul

This academic year was full of ups and downs. Good times and bad times. As a matter of fact, when it [the academic year] began, I was a bit doubtful about the decision I made; whether or not I made the right choice in transferring from the Ateneo to the University of Santo Tomas. As this school year is nearing it's end, I've made my verdict. Moving from Katipunan to Espana was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I'll admit that I was hesitant that I wasn't so confident in myself and my decision to transfer last June. During the first few days of school, I'll admit I had a hard time making friends. In fact, during the first few days of school, I spent the breaks by myself. I usually just bought food from the carpark and sat down and ate, praying that the break would end soon so that classes would resume, which would mean that I'd get to go home soon. It reminded me of the scene from Mean Girls, where Lindsay Lohan sat in the bathroom during her lunch break because she had no one to eat lunch with on the first day of school.

I'm just thankful that there were people there who somewhat recognized me from our facebook group. I'm glad I was able to talk to them and prevented me from being a loner on the first day of classes. While this continued on for the next few days, I'm glad that I was finally able to make a group of friends that I hung out with.

Later on, as the months progressed, I slowly started coming out of my shell. No longer was I the quite boy from Ateneo who sat by himself on the first day of school. I slowly morphed into this loud, outgoing, confident young man who owned the world.

Also, I was able to establish my own set of friends. At first, it started out as a group of individuals who sat together and whined and bitched and moaned and talked smack about anything and everything under the sun. Though, as the days past, we slowly grew up. Soon, it just became a small set of friends that I felt safe and comfortable around.

Cabana Crowd [03.08.2013]

Also, I kind felt lonely in my group of friends, mainly because I was the only guy in there. Luckily, I was able to establish my own set of bros. My own set of manyaks that I can be myself 100% of the time. If it wasn't for them, I don't know where I'd be able to release all of the tension I have, especially since I'm used to an all boys environment. With them, I get to be loud, rambunctious, crazy and all that shit that I'm used to from hanging out with boys 24/7. And I can easily open up to them. I mean, yeah, I do the same with the Cabana girls, but there are just some things I can talk about with the boys that I couldn't with the girls.

The Chikinini Gang (w/o Dan)! (L-R: Me, Louis, Raf, and Rex) [02.28.13]

With Dan at his surprise 17th birthday dinner! [11.21.12]

The chikinini gang! [11.21.12]

This year also marked several firsts, but the one that stood out to me most was just recent. For those who follow my blog, in my last post I was pleading for you guys to vote for me and my party #TatakBio for this year's Executive Board of the Biology Society. Well, the results just came out yesterday. It turns out that I won :) and so did a lot of the members in my party. This was the first time that I decided to run at a higher level (I'm used to running in class, but never anything for my batch, let alone the ENTIRE biology community). I'm honored, but I know I have big shoes to fill, and an even bigger responsibility. Not only am I part of the executive board of the ENTIRE biology community, but I am the school's OFFICIAL representative to the BMAP or Biology Majors Alliance of the Philippines. God, that is some pressure. To represent your entire school to an alliance of the bio majors in the country, that's insane. But it is a duty that I am proud and honored to have.

Anyways, this school year has been amazing so far. I've met so many new people, made new friends, experienced new things and I've grown so much since March of 2012. I think if I were given the chance to go back in time, and talk to HS me, the biggest piece of advice I can give him is that there is Life beyond Ateneo. There are so many things I would've never experienced and so many people that I would've never been able to meet if I didn't leave. It's like being an artist or a performer. Playing it safe will not take you to that next level. It's all about taking a risk, taking a chance, making a change and breakaway.

Keep Dreaming.

TATAK BIO

So, I decided to run for the home org/student council type of thing for my course here in college, Biology. Apparently, their original candidate dropped out and my friend Tisha (who is also running) asked me if I wanted to run. As someone who was active in extra-curricular activities in high school, I immediately jumped on the chance to be active again. I can't even express how much I've missed extra-curricular activities this year. I also found this as an opportunity to widen my circle of friends and break out of my shyness shell as a freshman.

So for three days, we spent our breaks (and sometimes during our own classes) to campaign to the different bio blocks that are eligible to vote. I honestly felt good with my speech, but I was more confident about it after I added the 'tweeting' part. I'm honestly still scared about the elections on wednesday, even though I'm running unopposed. I think running unopposed is riskier than running against an opponent. Think of it this way. Let's say there are 1000 voters. If I ran against an opponent, an it ended up 200 for me, 199 for my opponent, and the rest abstained, I'd still be the winner. If I ran unopposed, I would need 501 votes for me to be considered the winner. No less.

So, if there's anyone from UST Bio here reading this, I hope you guys vote me and my party :)

TATAK-BIO: Tapat, Totoo, at Aktibong Kabataan ng Bio!

Service for All, kay CHINO ROBENIOL

BIO will go far, with ABBY ESCOBAR

JANE GALAMITON dahil sa serbisyong on na on, siguradong ikay' matuturn on

Kay JONA VASQUEZ, serbisyo'y at it's finest

Dahil kay TISHA, IN ka

Kay KRISTINE, walang pondong mabibiTIN. Level up!

You're gonna like, like a VIRGIL, running for the very first time

CASSANDRA DELA VEGA, ang inyong CASSama, CASSanga, at CASSandalan sa kwentahan

MELO MELO MELO MELO, ang inyong INTERNAL PRO

Hatid ni HO HO HO, information on the GO!

Always ready ang serbisyo, basta kay IVY BULESCO

Serbisyong walang palya, basta't kay ANGEL ESTELLA

DARLS ALOYA, ang DARLEN ng buhay niyo

Dito ka na sa BIBO, AKTIBO, TAPAT, At KARAPAT DAPAT

Keep Dreaming.

Subic Bay Venezia Hotel

Happy 2013 everybody!

So last week, my family and I decided to go to Subic for some R and R, and we decided to check in at the Venezia. So... I decided to make a short review about our stay at the hotel :)

Masks 1

Masks 2

Okay, so when I walked it, the first thing I noticed was the wall of masks. Well, it wasn't just a single wall. It was a whole baffle of masks, extending up to the near bedroom area. I personally loved the whole mask theme that the hotel had, because it reminded me of the old school carnivale that I used to hear about in Italy (Venezia, better known as Venice, is in Italy). 

On the first floor (I think there are only 3 floors), if you look forward, you'll see the front desk. To your right, you'd see a small waiting lounge, as well as a mini-bar. I don't know if they serve drinks, but I do know they serve dessert. Since it was Christmas time, they had a small faux fireplace near the lounge area where a lot of guests had their picture taken. 

Fireplace

Lounge

Beyond the lounge was their partner restaurant, The New Feng Huang Restaurant. As you can tell by the name, it's a chinese restaurant. We only at there for breakfast because we were out for most of the day. During our 3 day-2 night trip, I had their Bangus and Bacon with egg combos respectively. In my opinion, the Bangus was alright (I still prefer the Bangus dish we prepare at home). The Bacon and Eggs dish, however, was actually pretty good. I don't mind it if my bacon is soft or crispy (Bacon is Bacon). The bacon was the right mix of soft and crispy, and together with the eggs and sinangag, it made the perfect breakfast.

The New Feng Huang Restaurant

On the left side of the first floor was a mini store. I'm not sure exactly what they sold, all I know is they were selling a bunch of foreign alcohol. If you go forward, you'd encounter the first set of bedrooms, as well as a stairway leading to the upper floors. Our room was actually kinda nice. I loved the whole, old school, victorian feel that our room had. One concern though, for me, was the bathroom.

First of, there's no divider between them, except that the bathroom is a little more elevated. And it's not even a room. Like when you get to the platform, to your right is the toilet and to the left is the shower, with a vanity mirror/sink in the middle (thank God at least the toilet had a door). Next, the shower door would not lock. As in it wouldn't even close, there'd be a small space where the door would be open. The shower, I don't if this is true for all rooms, has a bipolarity problem. Once you find the perfect temperature, the shower would tip over. Like from your desired temperature, it would become scorching hot, then it would become freezing cold.

Another comment I had was the air conditioning. It's one of those hotels with centralized air conditioning, so there really wasn't anything we could do to control the temperature. We felt that their coldest temperature wasn't really that cold. I mean, sure if you put your hand infront of the aircon, you'd feel a little bit cold. However, in general, the temperature was pretty normal. Though I guess this could also be a positive thing since I usually get cold as well.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay. I think my favorite part of the hotel was the free wifi that it offered, since it allowed me to keep in touch with all my friends back in Manila. I'd say that Subic Bay Venezia Hotel was worth going to. I also enjoyed how friendly and hospitable the staff were to its guests. Each time we'd encounter one of the employees, they'd always to stop to acknowledge us, and even greet us good morning/evening when they saw us.

The revolving Christmas tree outside the main entrance

The casino outside the main entrance

The roof over the driveway infront of the main entrance

Rating: 4/5

Keep Dreaming.