Our Little Project in OrgAd

It all started with an idea. Hahaha partial joke. One of the 2 subjects for my summer classes this year is Organization and Administration. Mainly, they teach us basic management so we'll know how to take on "bigger" managerial roles just in case our professional growth calls for us to be leaders in a particular facility someday. It not only shows us the basics of being an employee but of being an employer as well. It's kinda cool actually

Until a project came about and what can I say: we were all unequipped, if not under qualified for such an undertaking. Haha allow me to tell our little story

It all started with a floor plan. I'm not gonna lie, I had my dad help out for this hehe

After, we had to make certain revisions

Then, we needed to turn the little thing into a tangible reality .....ta-daaahhh!!!

Pati yung mission-vision minano-mano namin, pano ang sagwa ng handwriting ko pati bawal magpa-tarpaulin. Whew

It doesn't end there! We had to accomplish tons of paperwork that shall support every single detail that you see above. It's like the culminating application of everyaaathang we learned from all our lessons in the subject. Boy, that was brain-draining! I swear.

Here's a logo my close dear friend, a Multi-Media Arts student, Ysa Laysico made for me as a favor! So nice, noh? Thank you Ysa baby!!

But at the last minute we had to change the logo because apparently even the logo's history has to be presented too! My golly gulay. So my groupmate Annj came up with this via a logo generator online, just as bongga

Practicing for the presentation (5 professors each had their turn to listen to our presenters Lav and Eib, question, "scrutinize" and grade our work) This one's from Ren's instagram

Sobrang nakakasatisfy maghirap sa isang bagay at makitang matapos mo 'to. Especially if you've done it with a TEAM! Yeah men!

Next up? Exciting na scary SENIOR YEAR!!

Heto Na Nga Ba Ang Sinasabi Ko, Eh!

Remember when I said I'd never watch tv series again? Oh yeah, 2 blog posts ago? Well don't judge me but I am taking that back now huhuhuuhuhu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I recently came across two of the many interesting shows on earth:

I liked New Girl Season 2 because every episode is only 20 minutes long. Hehe talk about nagmamadali. It's light and funny and has just the right amount of human weirdness and stupidity in its plot, without going too far (or maybe a little bit). Needless to say, I LOVE laughing heartily.

Even though I'm not always to laugh at this next show, I found Revenge Season 1 so cool too! The backstory of Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke is just too GRABE to begin with. And boy, the makers of this show sure do know how to put certain nakakalokang twists as the season progresses. I love how it's so unpredictable that sometimes I even acknowledge the possibility of David Clarke being truly guilty of the crime he was accused and convicted of. Maloloka na talaga ako nun! I was SO hooked. It also made me wanna own a beautiful place of my own in the future... You know, minus the vile secrets and lies of the past, of course. I love Nolan Ross's character as well! This show is a bomb and although revenge is something I'm not (and hopefully never to be) inclined to involving myself in, I can't help but share Amanda/Emily's rage towards those who conspired to convict her innocent father -- no matter how hot Victoria Grayson is, among the many other hot people there. Srsly!!

These series are well-appreciated because they make me see life from another perspective. If anything, they make me wanna be better and do better in the life I'm in. I am in my own "tv series" and just because my day doesn't end with a goosebump-inducing monologue about my episode's theme, doesn't mean my story is any less interesting than these fictional ones.

Yeah men broken promise justified hahaha

Alive by All Sons & Daughters

Such a beautiful song to end my day :)

This is a call to all the dead and disappointed 
The ones who feel like they are done 
This is a word to all the ones who feel forgotten 
But you are not 
Oh you are not

We’re alive, alive, alive we’re singing 
We’re alive, alive, alive and we’re shaken 
We’re alive, alive, alive, alive in You

We are soaked in all the grace that we’ve been given 
Unchained from all that we have done 
Your mercy’s rising like the sun on the horizon 
We’re coming home 

We’re alive, alive, alive we’re singing 
We’re alive, alive, alive and we’re shaken 
We’re alive, alive, alive, alive in You

Once in a while

....you get all perked up and inspired to write about something you're not quite sure yet what's going to be about. Labo. I just miss this blog and all the happy feelings it gives me whenever I publish stuff that may not relate to anything so significant for the world but actually are just the opposite for me and my little self and a few good friends. 

Backstory lang: I laid down in bed feeling all so tired and ready to sleep when my wandering little mind got me into thinking about my life, the people in it, the God who sustains me, my dreams and even the vague connections between my yet-to-be-known purpose/s in life and what I really like doing, stuff I'd like to think I'm passionate about. Muni-muni ba. Do you ever feel that too? Like you suddenly wanna be this someone someday and then you get all excited because as random as it may seem your heart just screams that that's the YOU you wanna be, that's the thing you wanna keep on doing for the rest of your life. And then you pray so sincerely hard about it cos it felt really powerful for you. And then you wonder maybe, just maybe, this crazy little newly constructed dream of yours is actually the very true, absolute clue to your life purpose? Even more so, what if it's not even just a clue? What if it's the answer already and you just have to keep on moving towards it? I mean just how amazing is that, right? On the (basag trip) contrary, what if it's not? What if it's just a random thought provoked by a lot of factors: things I see on tv or hear from other people or feel whenever I am placed in a situation that gets my heart rushing or what ever not? What if it's just a ridiculous product of the mind? As for this, I'd like to remember this thing I once read about: "dwelling with what you know now" and honestly, what I know now is that this unforeseen motivational drive is one chubby gumball of a blessing and I love it!!

HABA NG BACKSTORY KO. So after that, I got up and made it all the way here in front of the laptop and decided to write about it.

Oh, how playful a restless mind can be! These are thoughts I don't wanna forget about having. No matter how weird and maybe even senseless they are (at the moment).

There is a certain intangible beauty in the unknown and I think it has a name: Hope :) there are aaaaall kinds of hope we keep in our respective hearts. They all beg to be heard and fulfilled at the right time. I think we just need to acknowledge it first before anything else!
I quote C.S. Lewis, "We do not want to merely “see” beauty–though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words–to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."

Romans 12:12   

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

I'm saying goodbye to TV series

It's amazing to see a different world than my own. It's entertaining to see the characters progress, as if I really knew them. It's fun to learn, adapt and apply stuff I see there to my own life.
BUT
It leaves me empty after it's gone. There's a void I can't seem to fill afterwards. Hahaha. And I honestly think it's unhealthy for me. I've thought about it. There were pros and cons, of course. My emotional cons weighted so much more.

So I decided to officially say goodbye to television series. Forever! Huhu

I need a closure, though. Therefore this:

Number 1
GOSSIP GIRL

I read the first book of Gossip Girl when I was in 2nd year high school. That makes me 14 or 15, back then? Months later, I heard about its tv series adaptation and boy was I crazy excited. Of course, the high school life from our culture is entirely different from theirs -- which made me more curious and interested about it. I loved this series until such a time came when I didn't get the storyline anymore. Why this, why that. Now that I'm finally letting go, there's no need to spend too much time making fuss about every single episode.

My last words:

CHUCK AND BLAIR FOREVER! 

Number 2

NEW GIRL

Here comes something that actually embraced weirdness in real day-to-day life. I'm awkward and weird just as I am and like Jess, I think I'm one who's not the off-the-grid type. And this funniest thing ever tv series surely helped me to be totes okay with that. These weirdos are on the extreme level though. Wouldn't wanna compete with that. Haha. Also, I'm a Nick and Jess fan so.. deal with that!

My last words:

I'M OFF THE GRID!!

Number 3

GLEE

I'm one to say I hate musicals AT FIRST. But I always end up liking them a little bit too much. The annoying characters let me see how annoying I also am. Hahaha 'whoop, there it is'. Before the next seasons got complex and I started not getting it again, I loved the songs used, the fun storyline and all that stuff in season 1 that tackled the major teenage issues these days... teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, young love, disability, ambitions, potentials and dreams. *glee*

My last words:

 YOU THINK THIS IS HARD? I'M TRYING TO QUIT WATCHING TV SERIES. THAT'S HARD!

Number 4

ONCE UPON A TIME

At first I was like mmmkay, not my thing. But then wow! Like I said in an old post, I loved the twists of every fairy tale story we knew as kids, and how their lives were intertwined in this series. My favorite Disney princess was Snow White too so yay she's like the queen of the queens here. Bleh

My last words:

I'LL ALWAYS FIND YOU. 

(I speak to no one in particular. That's just my fave line hehe)



Books are a different story. They will have to stay with me.

Okay don't judge me but let me just finish all 9 seasons of Grey's Anatomy and I'm out! Completely out! Hahaha.

I'm pretty bad at making final decisions, and this post is just one to prove such. But I'll get better. You'll see

Thanks for reading, reader!! :)

A slice of summer

Why hello there reader! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Boo me, I thought I could actually post here on a monthly basis but I guess I'm really bad at keeping my word, am I not? Well... so I've been told!

A lot of school-related stuff happened, as the ever usual. I don't really feel the need to tell you more about it as I do not wish to bore you off. I like school though! Don't get me wrong :)

Well anyway. As of writing time, it's 12:08pm, April10th here in Illinois. I just finished brunch with my mother and siblings and I don't know what to do next, so I decided to visit my poor, neglected blog.

My siblings and I have been here for more than a week now and we won't be gone until next week. It's a shame we can't stay for long because of MY summer classes. I guess we're all just gonna have to live with life's conditions. Am I right or am I right? Go go go! Sometimes it doesn't have to be so hard to choose to be thankful and happy.

Ok so remember that 2013 witty diary slash planner I got for myself? Well guess what. I haven't written to it for most of March and I even left it on my bed in the Philippines. :( BOO ME! But hey! That's fine, I'm still human, I'm still whole. What

Our stay here has been really nice, so far. Just like 2 years ago. Though simple, our daily routine of netflixing ourselves to death, eating and eating and eating, endless wifi, Jedi, and play are always more than enough. The roads are wide and there is more than enough space here and impressed I really am. Every now and then, we meet acquaintances and I gotta admit: I have to practice conversing naturally in english more. It's hard enough that I'm shy and boring and awkward to be with especially when we just met, and it gets even more challenging that I have to express myself in straight, all-the-way-down english. Because that's how it is here and there's pretty much no other choice but to adapt. I speak english but I speak Filipino better. Nuff said. Haha

My Long Kwento About Our Trip
The beginning of our journey
Our connecting flight this time around was in Beijing. We had a 10-hour layover there. I was reminded of our 5-hour layover in Korea two years ago. So I said okay, that shouldn't be a problem. We'll just sleep and enjoy the airport's nice facilities. Haha. We arrived there and it was fuh-reezing. We're humans from a tropical country so extreme low temp's clearly not how we roll. They didn't have the necessary heater! And we had 10 loooooong hours to go. Huhu. We were to have a free bus ride to the Terminal 3 airport.
The bright side of the matter
Although I'd complain about the absence of heater, and the lack of personnel who could speak basic english notwithstanding that it's an INTERNATIONAL airport... Terminal 3 was REALLY nice. From afar, the lights and glasses were so nice to look at. It was so huge too. Imagine Araneta Coliseum, prolly thrice as big, with all its walls in glass instead of those blue and yellow thingo. I loved how it looked. But not how it felt inside. We stayed inside a cafe and at first it was warm but soon the reality of the freezing weather would dominate the atmosphere so.... damn, girl.
It gets better
Nothing lasts forever and so did that 10 hour layover. All got well when we boarded the plane to U.S. I watched Wreck It Ralph (among others) for the first time. Boy, SUCH a good movie! We were well taken care of but the Korean flight attendants from two years ago did WAY better. They were drop dead gorge and barely made any mistakes. They moved with this great ease and just......wow, very well-trained indeed. Sabi nga ni Katy Perry '...comparisons are easily done once you had a taste of purrrfection' ---- Terey

Wow I just blabbed non stop without any pictures to show for. I'm tamad so maybe I can just save the photo uploading part for later? Hihi

Travelling can be such a drag, not only for one's pocket but for one's body as well. But it gets better. And I guess, before you know it, you're already entering with wonder and delight "a whole new wooooorld" :) You realize how really, really, reeeeally big, majestic and wonderful but still limited the world is aaaall at the same time.

May we all praise Him for this wonderful work of art that is our habitat too: earth. It's so beautiful.  Nakakakilig isipin na kahit ang dami dami kong pinagsasabi, it all comes down to this truth:

Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Joyful January

The highlights of my January are as follows:

Witty Diary/Planner

Finally, something for the forgetful me

Such joy it is to be investing in a real diary/planner as quirky as this one. I'm not promising anything, but I really hope I'd keep on enthusiastically making good use of this little brown book for the rest of the year. It gives me that "responsible on-the-go girl" feel. Haha. I also get to journal-ize my life a little bit here on a daily basis. Now that I think about it, it's such a plus that its size is a handy one cos it helps inhibit my tendency to "say too much".  Instead, I'm compelled to cut to the important, happy parts of my day. :)

School

When real learning and understanding take place, things become a liiiiittle bit more exciting, no longer scary and boring.

Still ain't the brightest in class yoh! But I'm still trying my very best every chance I could get. When all else becomes tiring and uninspiring, I try to think about the fact that this very thing called college under the very demanding course Physical Therapy is the very same path to my purpose which, oftentimes, I forget about. And then the passion kicks in again. All due to God's grace, amen? Amen!!! 

By the way, the photo above was from one of our HMP sessions as part of our participation to the thesis currently being conducted by our seniors. The research is about the effectiveness of hot moist packs versus ventosa for treatment of low back pain. I wonder what we'll be up to for OUR OWN research next year.

My Lolo's 15th Death Anniversary

Can't believe this many years have passed since then

My cousins and I are all big girls and boys now. One of my cousins is even asking me for some "prom tips", haha! As if naman I'm such an expert on the topic! But still, I try to give constructive, very objective tips for him. Hahaha. Some others couldn't make it that day cos of their respective busy lives. We miss you always, Tatay! Anyway, I can't find any 'group picture' that day so here are a few random shots.

Les Miserables 

A tender heart so moved

I've known Les Miserables from high school, when we were all required to read. It's amazing how we all get a taste of what it was like during a historical event through novels and films. In this case, the French Revolution. It's easy to get lost in the familiarity of this masterpiece, but when we really think about it, even if it's already in the past like duuuh... What miserable lives they lived way way back. :( It's nice to be thankful for what we already have, even if it's not perfect, even if it doesn't go according to what we want. Nagsermon pa si manang blesse hayyyy

I have to admit that sometimes it's kinda funny when the characters converse with melodies, but as the movie progressed, I became more and more into the humor and pain of every scene. My heart broke the most when Fantine sang I Dream A Dream,  when little Cosette sang that song in which the last lyrics were "she says, 'Cosette, I love you very much.'", and when Jean Valjean was in his dying moment in front of Maurius (who's so cute btw) and grown-up Cosette. Towards the ending, the people in the moviehouse applauded as if we all just watched a live musical. Huhu. Wow. May I also note that, as the ending approached, I hurriedly calmed myself and my teary eyes so I wouldn't look like I've been tearing up more than one would expect.

January 2013 is passing away, never to return again. But hello there February.

Oh and also...Here's a favorite verse for this month:

Matthew 6:6 

Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

As I bid 2012 goodbye...

I am one among the many, many people who hate goodbyes. I hate saying goodbye to someone I'm used to having around. I hate it when I slowly drift apart from someone who, in a way, was a good friend or so. I hate it the most when an ending feels too soon!!

Thankfully, goodbyes are not the end of the end of the end of the end. I mean, what will become of us if everything else in our lives stopped at goodbye, right? We'd be doomed, forevah bitter and lonely and stuck in such misery!!!! But then again, it doesn't go like that. So that's something to be really really thankful for. 

And thankfully, NEW YEAR'S EVE is a positive kind of goodbye. Whether or not your year has been epic or faaaail or somewhere in between, this is the time of the year when you get to say goodbye to all the hurts, regrets, heartaches & other negative blahs, and look forward to new hopes, new chances, new beginnings --- facing them all with a better version of yourself, tagging along all the things you've learned (the hard way or, maybe not) from the past year. You get to bid the happy memories goodbye too, but this also means another set of new ones for the new year!

I think practically EVERYONE on earth welcomes and celebrates the coming of a new year, only that their ways are of different approaches. Mine is spent here at home with the family and the vibe is just so refreshingly different, I swear. 

Above it all, I thank the Lord for leading me through everything. For countless of times this year, I admit I've felt lonelier than ever, misunderstood, hurt and just plain worthless. Ang drama hahahah omg but ugh it's truelaloo. But as I think about all that right now, I'm actually kind of grateful. In ways I don't exactly understand, I was drawn nearer to Him, and He's never been more real and closer to me than He has been this entire year. Was it magic? NO, haha. I got committed to reading the Bible as often as I could. It gave me time to pray hard. To reevaluate my attitude to life in general. I learned how to give more value to myself, not so I could feel more superior to other people (of course), but to actually be a better member of the society I'm in. I know I'm still selfish (can't help it) but.... I do see and feel changes in patterns in my life and something tells me that I really am learning to do more things selflessly. 

Remember, He loved us first. Always have, always will. He gives sense to my existence talaga. It's like I'm in love! Haha! And what great satisfaction it is to receive such a powerful kind of love which, I believe, is the very root of all other kinds of love there is that we know here on earth. AMAZING.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.

Isn't it the best thing ever? To invest in forever? Happy new year to all. 

Nineteen

My last teenage year. I'm both happy and sad about it.

Please be patient as I try to Journal-ize my 365-day-period of being a beauty queen of only 18.

I honestly don't know what to say. Sooooo. Hahahaha. I'm a year older again!! There's really no stopping time no matter how much we want it to freeze (or not) huh. As I try to think about how my year has been, the first thing that comes to mind is how immensely tiring but somehow satisfying it's been to study study study read read read understand understand understand everything I'm supposed to, as a student. That's pretty much what I've been into my entire 18th year! (Though it wouldn't be immediately obvious with my mediocre grades and all. Ha. Ha. Ha. Nat pany @ ol)

Besides that, what else? Uhhhh I'd like to think of my 18th year as the year I became the biggest dreamer I can ever be for myself. This is when I learned a lot about what I want for myself in the future which is quite near, by the way. So many ups and downs, from my inner battles to the ones that concern people around me.

I thought I always knew who I want to be, how I want my life to be. But being a teenager kind of messes it up yah knowwww. I have so many feelings and varying degrees of moods! As much as I'm happy about being young, I have so many cloudy questions and fears in mind that I tend to forget about the sunny part of this life. Ang drama ba pakinggan kung sabihin kong sometimes I don't like myself. HAHA.

Anyways, as I was saying... I used to not want to go into specifics when it comes to my future (and by future, I mean after I graduate college) because, basically, I'm scared of disappointments (confession right there, but then again, who isn't?). Strangely however, this time around, I found delight in daydreaming about the "better days to come". They were pretty specific. And lofty. Allow me to share them with you in another post, okay? hehe

Dare to dream and DREAM FIERCE. Narinig ko sa tv yan. But of course... Don't let your dreams just be dreams. Nakita ko naman sa Tumblr yan.

Again, I am thankful I'm a year older. It's like a reminder that life goes on no matter what and that whether or not we realize it, we will all keep on moving forward. I guess that's what we call the human race. Narinig ko rin yan sa movie, The Switch.

God bless you, reader!

I love birthdays,
Blesse

Bloggeroid: A little history of my personal blog

Hi there. Trying out my Bloggeroid app for the first time. Hope this works.

Whether or not this actually gets published on my personal blog, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you why despite the many times I had thought of abandoning this blogsite, I just ended up posting more! Ultimately, this personal site, to me, signifies my friendship with my closest HS friends namely Kat, Pat, Ysa, Giell & Aice. We named our little circle Chicas.

Merely 15/16 years of age, we started a life-long career we never knew would actually count. Chos.

We all just entered our respective university lives when Giell 'pioneered' the blogging thing among the six of us. Her earliest posts were a lot of fun to read (perhaps the fact that I know her could be a plus) haha and to this day, they still are! She tells you stuff about her life and they're always coupled with the funniest anecdotes, I swear! For such an undeniably gorge lady on the outside, you'd be three times more pleased with Giell because she has the brightest personality and the best sense of humor among all the ones I know. And her writings will always show. If you know her too, you'd deff agree with me.

And then her bff Pat (also in our circle) made one as well. Her own blog had its own vibe: it was more on the food and fashion photos. She was the chef slash fashionista gal. To this day, her posts about the food she cooks will definitely leave your mouth watering. Although the blog is a private one, so... Good luck on actually seeing what I'm talking about. Haha. She has an Instagram anyway and yup her food creations are all there. Also, she posts about personal emotional battles (like I do occasionally) and brutally honest is all I can say! One thing I love about Pat is that she's always so comfy and honest to us chicas and with the way she tells us everything about her, what's happening to her etc, etc - be it thru her private blog or personally - one could easily tell how much she trusts us. And I value that the most.

So there I was quietly & willingly enjoying every bit of Pat's & Giell's latest posts, always excited for the next one coming. It never really occurred to me that I'd make one myself. I don't remember what exactly triggered me into doing it but whatevs I ended up making one but it took a great long while before I could actually post something. Haha 'ano ba kasi pwede kong ikwento' was all I could think of. When I finally posted one (about my 17th birthday), Giell and Pat went on a very nakakakilig level of supportiveness which all the more inspired me to go on.

Ysa, Kat & Aice went on to make their own blogsites too! Though less active, their posts let me know about their whereabouts once in a while. They read my blog too and like G & P, they all made BOLA to me and I got sa KILIG and so I was like so nag iinarte. Hahaha. I love you guise. Bolahan man o hindi, I'd like to point out that you are the my friends forever and corny as it is, you are the earliest and still are the greatest inspiration of this humble little blog.

Just so you know, dear reader, I am one emotional, sensitive, sentimental young lady and my rationalizing skills would always show for it.

Now, it's time! I'll have to wait and see if Bloggeroid app really works... 3, 2, 1. Pressing 'Publish'...

posted from Bloggeroid

The Pursuit of Happyness

Christopher Gardner: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right? 
Christopher: All right. 
Christopher Gardner: You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period. 

Always will I be moved by this film. Touching different aspects of myself as a person, this one's a definite favorite.

Officially Missing You: lol

It's the starting week of the second semester. New hope, new life as many would have it. I know just what to do to stay on the right track and make everything worth it. Academics is academics, top priority. But school is also about the friendships built while we're in it, right?

Apparently, my very close friend Gracie from the last 2 semesters I've had prior to the one I'm in right now, is assigned in a class in which I am not a part of. I never realized how close we've really been until I had to walk my way all alone into the bus stop earlier this morning 11AM. I know no one ever dies from having to walk alone in a pretty safe environment, with the sun so bright and all. But to me, at that moment,  it was a symbolic walk of missing someone badly and realizing how much he/she means to you. This moment was familiar, and I know I felt almost the same thing, only greater: the first time my mom had to leave for work abroad. 

Gracie and I used to be together a lot. Being that we pretty much spend our daily long days at school together with our other friends, she and I became real close. We bonded like crazy, talked about stuff, understood each other well,  shared our individual music favorites, knew "every bony prominence" (one of our lame Anatomy jokes) of each other's faces. We've expressed how sick we are of each other's company cos it's always been us haha but we never really meant it, of course. At least I don't. Do you, Gracie??? Hahaha. We used to talk about our dorm plans for the new sem cos all the daily commuting has been tiring our bodies out already and the energy left in  us (if there's still any) becomes used-up, making the art of studying our lessons a three-fold more challenging. 

While waiting for our turn || Practical quiz in PT2

I know I'm gonna carry on cos I still have some good friends around class and I'm still gonna get to see her every now and then. Like duuuuuuuuh! It just doesn't feel the same that we only share 2 out of the 6 subjects we have for this sem. Attachments oh attachments. Lol. 

Miss and love you, Gracie. How cheesy is all these. I know, right. I'll find a way to delete this some time in the future. But right now, I'm just missing a super friend, and I am entitled to it. We all are. 

Almost, but not quite: Anatomy

I PASSED MY ANATOMY 1!!!!!! :D

The Lord has been so good to me for allowing me to live another semester without a failed subject to constantly bug me. I'm certainly not the brightest in class, especially in Anatomy. I can honestly tell everyone that it's the Lord's great mercy & grace that lead me through. Nothing more, nothing less. If you must know at all, my hard work and efforts may have been there, but for some reason I can't quite explain right now, I know, I just know that the credits belong to the Lord alone. And I mean it. 

These past few weeks I've been nothing but extremely anxious about my final grade in the said subject. I won't even go out cos I felt so undeserving of any form of comfort/unwinding/rest. 

I've managed to survive somehow and I have the Lord to thank for everything. He gave me family and friends whose mere presence and kind words have been more than enough to reassure me I'm not alone.

I promise to give my all in everything I do from now on

Waking up to the sweetest morning yet.

Actually, ang daming naglaro sa isip ko while waiting for the day the grades will be posted. I realized na kung ako lang, sige ayos lang bagsak na kung bagsak. Uulitin ko next year & alam kong para sa ikabubuti ko yun. But considering the people around me, I had to fight til the end, til the last word of my final prayers. This dramatic emotional scare made me realize the importance of living not just for myself, for my own good, but for others as well. For my mom and dad, mostly. The last thing I'd ever want to do in this life EVERRRR is to disappoint the two people I call my parents

Things are not perfect and they will never be so. But we can always pray, keep calm and know that there is a living God, always there to listen, to be a very present help in trouble.

And ultimately, ito lang masasabi ko: Walang progress o walang kahit anong kinakaya kung wala si Lord!!! :)

Once Upon A Time

Gotta love its twist!!

From wikipedia:  

The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) interrupts the wedding of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) to announce that she will cast a curse on everyone and take away all their love so that she is the only one with a happy ending. Many of the fairy tale characters are transported to Storybrooke where most of them are stripped of their true identities and memories of their previous lives.

For a week in October, I couldn't help tweeting and tweeting about Season 1. As I said, I love its twist and I think for the first time in a pretty long time, it wasn't all about kissing and hugging and you know. I love that they made interconnections with every fairy tale character and how they lived in one world, not just separate stories --- as opposed to what we know. 

There is a story behind every cliché once-upon-a-time we've known -- true love, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Belle, Pinocchio and The Evil Queen among others! 

Would you just take a look at some of the characters <3>

Smart little Henry

Rumpelstiltskin (Still hate how everyone falls prey to his "deals")

Cute Pinocchio and his father, Gepetto!

Snow White has always been a favorite... Ever since I first laid eyes on her when I was a little girl

Prince 'James' Charming (charming indeed)

Little Red Riding Hood, so hot

This and a lot more when you watch Once Upon A Time yourself! Magegets niyo kung ba't ang OA ko hihi

Mainly, the idea that this story gave me is: We all experience bad things but that doesn't make us who we are. What matters is who we choose to be after all the bad things. Take this as an example: See the contrast between The Evil Queen & Rumpelstilskin vs. Snow White, Red & Pinocchio? Thanks for clarifying that to me, Once Upon A Time :)

Gaaah I love this series. Retweeting my tweet on October 7th: 

Truly, one of life's greatest delights is to discover something brilliant from that which you never expected anything in the first place! :)

Can't wait for Season 2! 

Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Instead of drowning myself in self-pity and worry over my grades, I resolved to making better use of my sembreak time by cleaning up my study table (which I share with my sister). Majority of the table was occupied by my possessions and I never realized how ugly-cluttered it was until I took a picture of it (and posted it on Instagram):

Upon doing the "great clean-up", I got a couple of interesting finds, stuff which I hadn't given attention to in a loooong time. Among them was this book I used to read back in 2nd year high school

*accdg to my memory* 

It's about Roni (short for Veronica) and her two younger sisters, innocently playing hide and seek around their home one day. Their schizophrenic neighbor, Scott Early, got in their house and, tragically, lacerated the 2 little girls' throats... sending the both of them quickly to death. Roni was scarred for life.  

Roni was around 12 or 13 years old when this happened, if I'm not mistaken. The novel went on to tell us the story of Roni as she, in all her brokenness, went through the next years --- controversy of the crime, moving on with the help of her parents, mainly, "finding love in a hopeless place" hehe, going to college and most interestingly: her constant desire for revenge to the one who killed her two sisters.  

I don't know for you, but I think it's important detail that they were Mormons. It's a religion I've never come across with until I read the book. Even if people around, like her parents, were already willing to forgive and move on, she just COULDN'T feel and do the same thing. To me, it was totally understandable.  Forgiveness in that kind of situation would be most impossible. But as the story went deeper into their lives, through the years, changes inevitably unfolding... Somehow, I unexpectedly discovered something more. It gave me a new light to the true value of forgiveness. 

I remember grabbing this book just because it had a pink on it and I was so mystified (yes, mystified) by the word "Schizophrenia". I couldn't even pronounce it properly back then! But now that I'm in college, this word would definitely rank as one of the 'most-uttered'. As discussed in my Psychiatry class, Schizophrenia is a brain disease which causes an affected person's thinking, perception, behaviors etc to be very abnormal and potentially dangerous not only to self, but to others as well. The man was trapped in a dysfunctional mind... how was he to overpower that?

Sobrang nadala talaga ako, as usual, sa mundo nila. It felt like I was there too as Roni grew up, with her inner battles and all. That is, until I had to say goodbye when she became a doctor and happily had a family of her own (Ooopss, spoiler hihi)

I never knew I'd be gaining so much from a little act of getting a book for a supposed pleasure-reading. If you're not so tamad, I suggest you read it too :)

*transition over here*

Before I finally end, I'd like to tell you also how the discovery of this old book from my shelf was some form of a gentle reminder to me of God's redemption through His son Jesus Christ. Now that's ultimate love & forgiveness right there!! 

I guess I shouldn't trifle so much about my grades after all. If there's anything among the countless of good things one has to know about God, it's that He's merciful and forgiving.

Psalms 86:5 

For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.

Matthew 21:22

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Is there anything bothering you today? Try opening up your mind and ask God to guide you through. God bless you, reader!

The Butterscotch

For the fun of it, I decided to take my baking skills to the next level --- actually do it. If you ask anyone from my college friends, I've always been one to joke around about having baked something. Of course, they'd know that I'm just totally kidding every time I take credits for anyone's pastry masterpiece. My friend Sarah's mom sells homemade cookies, cakes & brownies. Sarah, the goodhearted that she is, would always bring sets for free taste. They were such a yum and being the pastry-lover that I am, of course I was one of the many customers!

So on a pretty random Monday school afternoon, I hit the grocery store to buy the SIMPLEST possible thing to bake. I'd be lost without someone and who would better make as company than Sarah! She was like an angel, a darling guide. There I was, the biggest joker yet the most ignorant too... Joke's on me huh

My Anatomy book says hi from the back :(

I headed home with an excited little heart. Palpak man o hindi, I thought.. "I'm ready to take the risk." As much as I'd like to make the steps sound complicated, it's really super simple lang. Do as follows :))

For formality, I'm gonna show what you need hehe :)

I know, I know. No one in the house really bakes thus our lack of materials appropriate for baking. I believe in the power of improvising. Nyehehe

First, you're gonna have to preheat the oven. I had no idea about the exact preheating "measures" but I just preheated it for as long as I was doing the mixture. Haha how genious right. Not.

The Big Boss

Then, grease the pan and set it aside for later. I didn't know how to do that really so I just went with my common sense and just greased it with the butter that I had.

Is this enough? Is this too much or too little? I had no idea.

Now, we do the mixture! 1/2 cup of butter (tinansya ko lang as usual haha), 2 eggs, water (mga 2 or 3 spoonfuls) and ovvvv course the butterscotch mix! See its progress:

The chambahan amount of butter 

2 pcs of egg

Butterscotch mixture

Mix mix mix

This was the phase when I realized... I've never seen a butterscotch mixture before. How on earth do I know how it's supposed to look like? Big uh-oh right there. I simply took a sniff at it and trusted that that yummy-buttery smell was gonna be enough to assure me that I'm on the right track baby.

It was so much like a peanut butter in appearance (btw I hate peanut butter). The instructions said something about the size of the pan that would correspond to the amount of butterscotch mixture presented. I didn't put much thought to its technicalities hahahaha so I just did the smart thing: chinambahan ko

Horrible mistake # 1: I stuffed as much mixture in the pan as possible. I forgot to consider the laws of physics regarding heat and all those stuff going on when something is heated in an oven, specifically

Ayan, umapaw-apaw tuloy. :)))))

Horrible mistake # 2: Because the box said I'd have to heat it for 30 minutes, and our oven just had until 15 minutes.... I thought it'd be right to just heat it full-time for 2 rounds. And one can only be correct about what happened next: nasunog. Kawawa yung oven. Such a mess. 

Chararaaaaan!!!! The outcome.. Does it even look like a butterscotch at all?

EXPECTATIONS

From myrecipes.com

REALITY

Taray. Black kung black.

I swear on that moment, I was so not infinite. I realized why we had bakeshops around... so people like me won't have to try doing silly things such as this. Lol. I can only imagine how disappointed Peeta Mellark my love would be if he ever sees this!

Minabuti kong i-scrape off yung top at kainin ito all to myself. No one at home took an interest to it anyways. #HUHU!

Dark chocolate as topping... Choz.

Well well well, as many would have it, beginnings are always the hardest. I'm not sure if I'm still on to "exploring" my baking skills after this.... but for now, all I know is that I'm still that bread-fanatic/lover and I will keep on devouring them for as long as I am allowed to.

Moral Lessons :D
And as it turns out, a good 5-7 minutes would've been enough time for the 'batter' to be baked. I found this out days later when I tried to bake again with what leftover mixture I had. Also, I'm not supposed to stuff everything in cos it will just overflow and I'm tellin yah, it can get pretty messy in there. It's smartest to leave enough room for when the mixture begins to "expand itself" as it is heated.

Hirap. I salute all the foodies and bakers out there.

HERE'S TO BREADS!!!!!!,
Blesse

P.S. In all fairness, effort magpicture every now and then ah hihi