SuperCeleb to a SuperSem with SuperFriends! :D

The beauty of friendships is the fact that no distance or time constraint can really keep you apart. You may stop seeing each other for how many months, years, or so, but when you see each other the separation feels never really too long.

"Pag ayaw may dahilan pag gusto may paraan" :)

The past few months have been really toxic for me, juggling work and school has been eating up way too much of my time and my only saving grace have been short weekend breaks with my family and dinner dates with my boyfriend :) That guy just kept me SANE throughout this semester and I can't thank him enough. His patience and support is just amazing.

Anyhow, needless to say, I've been terribly missing my friends. My life-friends :D Alam mo yung mga taong pag nakita mo alam mong naka-kunek na sa puso mo?

AAAAAND I'm super happy to have met up again with two of them, Narkee and Oc-Oc, just this afternoon. Yey! We had lunch and coffee at  the Fort and just chatted the whole afternoon away. It's just really sad that Joanie wasn't around.

It was a very refreshing experience. These are people who have known you for a longtime in as much as you have known them. It feels good that you know that no matter where you find yourself, you know that they're just there and they still love you and you're always going to be there for each other.

dropped by at gelatissimo :)

After the lunch and coffee date we went to Robinsons Manila to accompany Oc-Oc to her friend and dropped by the St. Thaddeus Church near the Malacanang to light some candles and pray. I was really thankful that I had the chance to visit the Church today because my heart was just overflowing with gratefulness for all the blessings that I have been receiving, the most recent of which was passing the hardest lecture that I've had so far in my graduate class.

Happy! Will now have to maximize the next couple of weeks before I hit the next semester.

Thought to keep myself going: "Success is not gained by pressuring yourself to win every time, instead it is achieved by NEVER.GIVING.UP." \m/

Things to Remember during Report-Writing: Note to self#1

Let me make a confession: i have AWFUL MEMORY. I swear. I'm a mess with my stuff. I used to forget logging in and out of the company all the time (only stopped when i finally realized how much money i was losing), i'd leave my eyeglasses everywhere,and no ballpen has ever lasted me for a year of regular use.

I used to blame this on stress and the hectic schedule of being a working student, but my childhood friend since i was 6yrs old quipped:"hindi kaya! Maliliit pa tayo anu ano na nakakalimutan mo!" 0_o

So i dunno, maybe it really is just me. I tend to get easily distracted. Heheh.

The classic victim of my forgetfulness are my reports. Dates, numbers, names, labels... name it, somehow I've forgotten editing it. And these happen alot of times. At first its funny, but eventually it gets annoying (for others, even if they dont tell), and embarassing for me. That was even at the forefront of my boss's concerns about me -attention to detail.

So just the other day, i came up with a list of reminders for me, when working on a report, or any document for that matter. This also has a couple of notes I learned from a recent paper-butchering I had for a research conference at the university. heheh! (Dibale natanggap naman yung research namin for oral presentation :-) )

Just thought of sharing it here just in case someone else finds it useful :-p here goes:

1. Focus. In as much as it's almost next to impossible to focus on your document/report alone, just try to focus. Note: If you can plug in your headphones, do so. They help to create a personal zone in a noisy workplace.
2. Be mindful of your spelling and your grammar. This isnt always easy because not everyone is grammar-savy, but asking always helps. And definitely reading. This gives you a 'kutob' instinct on how things are supposed to sound like, heheh.
3. Keep sentences concise and direct. One" comma" is fine, two is enough to be wary, three is too much. Blogging is waaaaay way different from technical writing.
4. Tell a story, and a story that 'flows'. No gaps. Note: Ensure that your images are linked to your stories. Images should aid the understanding of the statements.
5. When all is said and done, do your initial review: From page 1 to the last.
6. (And MOST important for my case) Leave your report for at least 10-15minutes. As in don't look at it, close the file. Then get back to it afterwards. Review your own work with a fresher mind. You'll be surprised at the small nuances you'll see. :-)

So thats basically it. Presence of mind really is the key,but for people like me who just cant grasp everything all the time, these types of lists really help. :-)

A Cab To BenCab

The highlight of our Baguio trip is fulfilling my 2 year-old dream of seeing the Bencab Museum. This is the Museum set up by National Artist Ben Cabreras in the mountains along Asin Road, Baguio. We took a 15minute taxi ride (main mode of transpo, all taxi drivers give the exact change! lol) and weeehew hello Bencab Museum! :D :D

AMAZING IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I felt like I was in a playground hahah. It's a simple three-story building, all painted in white, and with different rooms each having a different name: Erotica Gallery, Contemporary Gallery, Philippine Contemporary Art, Print, Patio Salvador, and the Bencab Gallery.

Daylight filled almost all corners of the place and made me feel like it tries to be one with the nature that it surrounds itself with. The white walls and simple cubic rooms provided the right backdrop to the different kinds of exhibits that the museum housed. The structure in itself is refreshing and awe-inspiring at the same time.

My favorite part of the museum is the Bulol Installation (see above). It's a whole wall filled with wooden images of people in a sitting position. Those are the Bulol's- gods of our Ilocano forefathers. Carved out from age old wood, these images are known to watch over crops and ensure abundant harvest and protection against natural calamities.

"Handcarved from hardwood abundant in the region, these primitive sculptures emphasize the male and female genitalia, representing fertility and abundance…"

 I kind of felt starstruck. This is actually an altar for the ancient gods, and couldn't stop myself from paying homage.

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Up...Up… and Away! :D The Baguio Getaway ;)

One year! How fast time flies! Wasn't it just yesterday when he asked me out for dinner after how many palipad-hangin-patay-malisya months? :D

"Time flies when you're having fun"

To mark the first of many years to come, we decided to spend a whole weekend on the land of Pines: Baguio City.

"Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. The name of the city is derived from the word bagiw in Ibaloi, the indigenous language of the Benguet Region, meaning 'moss'. The city is at an altitude of approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion condusive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids."

- Wikipedia

I was a giddy kid as the Victory Liner Bus (1st time on Deluxe!) rode off to the north. (I tried the CR in the bus and I went out almost nauseated hahah.)

True enough, you knew you were already in Baguio when leaves of the trees changed from rounded corners to spiky thin greenies. It's been almost 10years since I last came to Baguio but I don’t think I was able to appreciate it the way I did last weekend. I really got to experience and get a feel of the place. Iba padin pag commuter ka! :p

The roads. Maygad. It's like a Rollercoaster City. Sharp curves everywhere, and their highways are more like high-WAVES. Pataas pailalim ang mga kalsada! And their jeepneys weave in and out of the streets without even breaking a sweat. I think they've got more powerful engines there than they do in Manila. Kung makapag-backing wagas!

 So I guess this could justify why on the first night I was DEAD.TIRED. My feet almost died. We walked around SM Baguio and strolled along the Session Road. Downtown Baguio is very much like Manila except that it's cooler. Literally and figuratively :p

They've got affordable dining lined up at the Session Road. We ate at Steaks Toppings, where you had a hefty serving of steak and great ambiance for less than Php150 a meal.

"Seryoso ka paglalakadin mo ulit ako dyan???" Medyo tawa-busangot mode nako nung hinihila ako ni Papa Ray. Hahah! He practically succeeded in luring my attention somewhere else to forget my tantrums (he's getting better at this actually lol) and managed to drag me back, climbing to SM. We had coffee and just took in the chilly Baguio air. It was some silent time discussing random matters (including our budget lol!) and I think, this is the part of the trip where we just breathed and really realized that, "hey sweetie, we're actually in Baguio! " :p

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