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Halloween Treat!

My apologies to Sweet for delay in posting this. Thanks for passing on this treat to me. 

"Don't just choose your friends making this cliquish and 'just groupies'…Make NEW friends by choosing random visitors!!!

NCITE Convention

I had a busy one this week.

Starting with a convention. Over a hundred IT teachers from schools nationwide visited our school to attend a convention called NCITE (National Committee on Information Technology Educators). It was Silliman University's turn to be the host for the event. Last year, it was in Davao.

After months of preparation for this event, it is now finally over and i am just glad. I belonged to the committees assigned for the print/promotional items, as well as in creating presentation slides shown as background for the opening ceremony at the Luce Auditorium.

It wasn't that bad but as the event came near and the pressure to make things work as expected gets to you. There are times where i just want to leave it all and go home and sleep. I admit there were more people who had even bigger responsibilities but i would say that event wouldn't have presentable media if i hadn't been in the committee. For once, i am kind of proud of what i had contributed in the event.

So that thing was held for two days and i was glad i participated despite all the hard work required. It wouldn't have been fun if not for my new found friends and co-instructors. We had the same and different rants each day but at the end of the day, it was fun. What with all the free snacks we got. Yippee!

Imagine Cup

I recommend you check out this gallery of such beautiful photos.

I stumbled upon this photographer's portfolio when i was checking out the ImagineCup website, which is a competition that I think I can only dream of participating. I mean it wouldn't really matter if my team wins or not. The best part of it is the location of the finals. Two words for you: Paris, France. I would assume the expenses for this trip will be shouldered by Microsoft or something, since they are the ones promoting this thing. The theme is about the Environment. "imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment."

By the way, the gallery I featured above is one of the top 3 winners of last year's contest held in Korea.

*sigh* if only I was so spankin' good at photography, i wouldn't think twice of joining the ImagineCup.

Now & Then

Big School, Small World

My school is a big campus but i can say it is also a small world especially within the walls of my classroom. I am teaching two sets of students, one is made up of Freshmen nursing and medtech studes and the other class consists of ones taking majors in business and agriculture. I realized I shared common relationships with my students.

For example:

• I have a student who's cousin was my batch mate in high school.
• I have a student who's who's dentist is also my orthodontist.
• I have two students who are part of the school band, who knows a good classmate and friend of mine.
• I have a student who is part of the yearbook staff, in which i also belong to.
• I have a student who is the ex-girlfriend of one of the people i work with. (the person i work with keeps asking me about her because he's not over her yet - i think)
• I have two student who each looks a lot like a two of my college friends.
• I have a student who reminds me of a special person in the past.
• I have a student who has the same first name as one unforgettable person in the past.
• I have a student who is a friend of my sister's ex-boyfriend.

Gay Friendships by Grace

I am featuring a post from a blogmate of mine, Grace. I do agree with her entry on having close gay friends.

"Gay Friendships" by Grace

P.S. Sis Jaleesa, I'm sure you will agree with this entry let me know what you think!

Family Matters

My sister and I are not in good terms right now. We haven't been speaking to each other for weeks. And she's also giving my mother the silent treatment. she can ignore us all she wants but we make sure she knows we do not approve of her actions recently.

She's acting like she lives in a boarding house or an apartment on her own. She comes home very late, she's almost not home all the time, and if she is home, she sleeps all day we hardly don't see her anymore. In our house, it is an unwritten rule that you have to join the family in meals except for some occasions when you need to eat out. And almost everyday she is not around when we have lunch and dinner. The reason behind this is she eats her meals either in fast foods or in another friend's house. She skips chores which i end up doing because of all her reasons. and i clearly see she's giving all the excuse to skip the chores. i am mad at this because, like i said, i end up doing her chores. and i hate that because she has all the excuses to get away with it.

My mother took up Nursing when she was in school so she knows what activities are required for the course. And my sister keeps telling her she's making this report with her groupmates, that she's making the care plan with her groupmates, she has to go on duty in the hospital, and all those precede "… Ali will drop me home." Ali is a female friend and her constant cover-up whenever she asks permission. My father will obviously allow her to go because a female friend will drop her home no matter how late it is.

You see, my parents are very overprotective. My father's rules: 1)No boys 2)No guys 3)No men. I'm having difficulty understanding how he has come to hate people of his own gender. Anyway, my siblings and i have lived with this rule ever since we were born but apparently, my sister is quite the type who easily gets close to guys. So now he keeps all kinds of secrets to my parents, lying and dropping names just so she could go here and there. I know it's perfectly OK for other kids to behave like that but each family has their own standards, lifestyle and rules. And ours do not approve of what she's doing. It's absolutely disrespectful and she keeps my mother worrying and i don't want that. Mom is already tired of working all day and she has to add to that! How insensitive!

She keeps making her schoolwork as an excuse to go wherever she wants, with anyone she wants. We know that Nursing is a study that is very much demanding of one's time and dedication. But my mom knows better. but somehow, after constant reminders and all the sermon, my mom has gotten tired of telling her over and over how she should stop whatever crap she's keeping secret. She just doesn't listen to anything so my mom gives up.

My father seems to not see very well how his daughter is acting. Yeah, she's acting exactly like him. My father is also acting like a fourth child to my mother. What a useless person. I swore a long time ago, that i wouldn't have someone like him as a lifetime partner. I'd probably marry a gay friend or just be a spinster (as bad as that would sound, it would be better than having someone like my father to deal with for the rest of my life. i will just die of heartache). My mother is emotionally battered but she lets it all pass because the consequences are much worse, otherwise.

So that's how life goes for some of us. Each family has their own crap to deal with and for mine, this is it.

Smallville and Heroes

I've been catching up on downloading and watching some of my favorite tv series. Some things that i can't help but comment on:

Heroes. I know most of you have watched all episodes of season 1 but i'm still on the last few episodes as of the time i write this

• Hiro. I hate it that he is so childish sometimes. Like in the episode where he was about to get the genuine sword, he should have grabbed the thing while the stupid watcher was lecturing him about security. i mean, he practically just allowed himself to be caught. if i was in his place, i would have grabbed that sword and slammed it to the guy's face and ran to the nearest exit. or whatever.. and yeah, when he realized Ando came in to help, as urgent as it situation already was, he wasted more time hugging and thanking Ando for coming to save him! I swear, i wanted to just strangle Hiro if i had the chance! "langayan kaayo syaaaaa!!!"
• Jessica/Nicky. This is the one character in this series that i don't particularly like because i don't know what her purpose is. Is it just to kill people around her? play a good mom to his son? or keep looking at her other self in the mirror.
• Ted. The radio-active guy or something. He is so stubborn and full of anger. And his powers are so destructive, it hardly does any good.
• Claire's Dad. I didn't like this guy until the episode "Company Man." That's when i realized everything he was doing was for Claire's safety.
• The Morphing Girl. I don't know her name yet. She's the newest mutant so far from the episodes i've seen. Her powers are cool. She can change herself into anyone. but then… i hate it that she looks so bitchy all the time. and she works for bad people. so she's a villain in my list.

Smallville. I'm already following season 6. Warning: The following contains spoilers:

• Clark Kent. I can't believe he has not gotten over Lana until now. Each episode, i look forward to finally see Clark move one and not care about Lana anymore. They've been having awkward moments ever since the first season started.
• Lois Lane. I love everything about Lois. I was happy to see that episode "Crimson" where she put on that magical lipstick which made her fall in love with Clark. Too bad the effect of it wore off in the end.
• Chloe. She's everyone's bestfriend and it is better that she knows Clark's secret. But now she is wondering what her powers could be because they just recently figured out she is also a meteor freak. hmmm. i would consider her hacking powers to be it. she always has a way of figuring out codes and all the things she does with her computer or laptop. But really, i wonder what her powers are…
• Lana Lang. I lost interest in her character last season. i just didn't like watching her insist on knowing Clark's secret all the time. I know she's pretty but she has mannerisms and there are some tones in her voice that i don't like.
• Lex. From being the best friend, he has turned out to be Clark's enemy. It's sad that they had to be enemies now since they really make good friends in the previous seasons. The reasons are of course 1) Clark's secret and 2) Lana Lang.
• Jonathan Kent. I was very surprised he died. I wonder why they killed his character…
• Lionel Luthor. He knows Clark's secret and i am almost convinced he is protecting that secret from Lex. But i don't quite get why he's keeping 33.1 a secret.

—-
I'm excited for season 3 of Prison Break. I miss watching Wentworth "His Royal Hotness" Miller. *Hehehe

People I Work With

Here are photos of the people i work with.

Rainy Days And Mondays

I recently went out to a resort with a Zyra (last monday). We went to Bahura Resort, Dauin, Negros Oriental. It went out perfectly good and fun even if there were only just the two of us who went there to have fun. Even a little rain didn’t stop us from going there. our little outing was gonna happen “rain or shine.”

We didn’t have our own ride so we had to make use of public transpo in going there. it’s about 30 minutes away from our place so it was quite a long ride. we stayed at the resort for about 3 and a half hours, ate food, dipped in the pool for a while and took lots of pictures.

The Jeepney Ride we got on a jeepney on the trip home and it was unbelievable packed! all seats taken and additional mini seats were added at the center of the jeep to give more seat space for more passengers. i was knee-to-knee with another passenger but all that just brought a little smile to my face. “kahit ganito ang mga pinoy, natutuwa pa rin ako.” the whole thing should have irritated me because i was already tired and i didn’t need another stressful situation but it didn’t. I actually was amused at how distinct pinoys are, trying to cram as much people in a jeepney. i was so surprised to know that the driver still picked up about three more lady passengers when i thought the jeepney was going to collapse from all the people on board. oh well, but the jeepney was a tough one so we arrived in our destination safe and sound. all for just Php14.00.

About A Dream

I remembered my dream two nights ago. In my dream, I was in the hospital giving birth to a child. As to who the father was or the gender of the baby, I do not know. Everything was a blur. Only thing i was sure of was that I was inside the operating room, nurses and doctors crowded over/around me. There were times I was looking at that particular scene, like in those scenes you see yourself like you're already an angel or something, and there was also a moment when I felt was really the one experiencing it. Like two different points of views.

In that dream, there were a lot of people in the operating room, wearing white robes, also i remember feeling surprised that the whole thing was not as painful as i have always feared (I do have this fear of giving birth because of the physical pain associated with it). After that, I don't remember them letting me see the baby, or anyone near me that might closely be presumed as a husband or the child's father.

The only funny thing here was that right after the procedure, i was advised to transfer to another room probably because there was another woman that's going to give birth next to me! (i couldn't believe i actually rose up the bed and walk around like i was just having a bad stomach-ache! Of course, i was flustered and confused as to why it was happening but still, i obeyed the doctor's orders. Well, that was the weird part.

Anyway, I am wondering what that dream could mean (sometimes i think dreams have meaning, i also believe that some dreams of mine are also glimpses of events that may happen in the future, but not all - like when I have a dejavu). But sometimes, I get these really useless and nonsense ones that I'm convinced they were just products of the stressful day I had.

So, anyone out there who can interpret dreams? Wehehe

Afternoon with Zy

Met up with a good friend of mine, Zyra. She just came home from Manila after more than a year of studying a Practical Nursing course. She just graduated so I was happy to get another treat from her.

We had coffee and pasta at Cafe Antonio's. It was also a pretty neat place. Old Spanish-house look. very cool.

Thank you Zy! Lookin' forward to Bacong fiesta.

Useless Entry

Waaaa! wala akong updates! tinatamad akong magpost!

Busy Me

Well, well. The last two weeks had been quite busy. But not too busy to post an entry to tell you about it!

Ok, here's a recap!

• I have dedicated more time to preparing and proofing hand-outs and exercise tasks for my students. The only thing I hate about doing this is printing out all that stuff. Us part-time instructors have only been provided with only two ancient printers in the office. And these things produce such loud printing sounds at very low printing speed. It's so frustrating to always be there early just so i could have a lot of time to print! I'm just really thankful for carbon papers, they make my printing life in the office a bit less of a hassle. the papers are usually 2-ply or 3-ply. what i do is place a carbon in between two of these and voila! double the output. oh well, at least we have unlimited paper supply.
• have been catching up on my reading. i have started reading books (about 5 of them) in the last month and i have not yet finished any one of them.

• Twisted by Jessica Zafra - not yet done! but almost!
• PHP and MySQL book - i'm a long way from finished… still on page 99 out of 700+ pages!
• Flash MX book - something i wanna finish as soon as possible! would wanna try making my own flash-driven website…
• Visual Basic 6.0 - trying to refresh my programming skills now. i actually miss coding in VB. reminds me of the good old junior and senior years in college and our OJT working days.
• The Art Of War by Sun Tzu - i started reading this together with Twisted. almost done.. almost done. next month, perhaps.
• Harry Potter 6 - gonna start this one very soon! the book is just lying there gathering dust. poor harry! don't worry, you're always in my reading list.
• Not only have I been catching up with movies and tv series! but not too much priority on this. Smallville can wait until i'm done with homework.
• at times i feel i have no more creative juice left in my brain. i've been asked to create t-shirt designs and posters, memopad and letterhead designs (Portal, SU-band, Nursing classes). But i'm not complaining about this. I like that i'm being pressured in this field because i can practice on thinking fast in coming up with design concepts. i'm just overwhelmed with all of these coming in all at the same time.
• will be attending the animation workshop on friday. I have to wake up early (it starts at 7:30 am!) just this one time. I'll do it in the name of Flash! hehe just kidding. I really do wanna learn more FLash so a little sacrifice won't hurt.

That's it so far for this week. I'm very glad to know Elle is coming home this weekend. Hoping to push through with the outing. If not, then i'm always in for a long relaxing sleep.

Slumbook-ish Questions

Latest post by Joy. I'm tagging myself since I haven't done something like this for quite some time.

1. Where is your dad right now?

• Preparing lunch (one of the few good things my father does)

2. Last time you kissed someone?

• two weeks ago, when i bumped into an old friend

3. Name 5 things you did today.

• sent emails, blogged, watched a movie on video, prepared for class, brainstormed for SU band's tshirt design

4. Last person you text messaged?

• zyra. she asked for a teacher's email address.

5. What kind of phone do you have?

• Nokia 6680

6. Where does your bestfriend work?

• erm.. i don't have a best friend in particular. but i have good friends here and there! hehe

7. What are you listening to?

• theme music from "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" movie.

8. What do you smell like?

• like a person (?) lol.

9. What color are your eyes?

• dark brown

10. Have you ever done a Chinese fire drill?

• nope. i don't even know how that is done.

11. What color is your bedroom floor?

• sky blue.

12. Do you have a chair in your room? w/c room? bedroom?

• an old, beat-up swivel chair in my room. (i like some things old)

13. What are you doing tomorrow?

• prepare for the next class discussion, post another entry probably, and watch another movie, eat more CONGEE and SIOMAI!!

14. Do you know someone named Betsy?

• yeah, a highschool batchmate. Her nickname is Betsy.

15. What color is your mom’s hair?

• black (and white kay naa nay "uban" … )

16. Do you have a dog?

• no. not an animal person (but i'm kind to animals!)

17. Do you remember singing songs as a kid?

• yes! air supply and barry manilow songs. i even remember singing OPM oldies by ray valera and gary v.

18. Are you married?

• no (!!)

19. When was the last time you talked to one of your siblings?

• last night. will be talking with them again in a few minutes when they get home from school

20. Do you play an instrument?

• no talent in that department, sorry.

21. Do you like fire?

• yeah, in the sense that it cooks food and warms us up when it gets cold.

22. Are you allergic to anything?

• no. to conceited people, yes.

23. Do you have a crush on anyone?

• yeah! especially celeb crushes

24. Do you have a bestfriend?

• see answer to question #6

25. Have you ever been to a spa?

• surprisingly, i haven't. i'm not exposed to these things and i don't find it necessary to visit one (yet)

26. Did you take science all 4 yrs. of High School?

• of course, otherwise, i won't even get past high-school

27. Do you like butterflies?

• yes, they are pretty things. they're ok. quite harmless.

28. Do you miss someone right now?

• yes, some friends and special people

29. Do you think they miss u too?

• obviously not, some maybe… i don't know really

30. Have you ever seen your school counselor?

• yes, i have. but not on special cases (like getting summoned because i did something wrong and they think i need counseling)

I tag no-one. You are free to repost and answer these questions if you like!

Bad Taste

I can't stand people who boss me around especially when i think they have bad taste in art. I may not tell you to get lost but I've seen your previous creations and so I'm definitely not taking your suggestion. Not if i want the yearbook pages to look better this year (check out a sample of Portal 2006 or 2007 and you will see what i mean).

He thinks he knows better because he's been in the yearbook staff (as graphic artist) for two years and now he is next-in-command to the editor-in-chief (it's too bad i don't think those two years prove anything). I normally respect any person's suggestion but you said a little something extra yesterday that hit the wrong button. By the way, here is another "horoscope coincidence" for me today:

Watch yourself around the most influential people in your life today. You definitely want to come off as confident and capable, but there is a fine line between having a healthy ego and having an inflated ego — do you know how to stay on the right side of it? Don't be pompous about your achievements — people are well aware of the magic you have created; there is no need to remind them of it again. If you play things cool, you'll make one hot impression.

Hot Men and Chowking

I'm loving Chowking food nowadays. It's mainly because my dental braces are giving me trouble chewing food so i only get to eat soft food like noodles, rice, soup, or lugaw. So my current fave from Chowking is the Meatball Congee and Siomai! (Siomai is my all-time favorite, by the way.) Hmm. Thinking about it makes me wanna grab some congee and siomai again!

And I had the craziest DREAM last night! I dreamed that I made out with no other than Mr. Brad Pitt. Wahaha! Makes me wanna laugh at the thought. But hey, at least i got to experience what it felt like, even just in my dreams. Weeeee! Unfortunately, Brad Pitt is no longer the title-holder for Hottest Man Alive (in my opinion).

This is the Hottest Man Alive:

And the 2nd Hottest Man Alive:

Better Apart

I often wish my parents would just have one so we could get on with our lives. My mom is much better off without him. Having them apart would be a lot better than having them together in one house. It seems like having both our parents together is doing us (their children) more bad than good. My dad is just so full of useless crap, i just want him to go away and never come back. They have been fighting more often and it's always because of my father's temper and all his rotten traits. I have written previous entries of how i hate him and i simply cannot stress enough how bad his parenting skills are, and not to mention how he sucks as my mother's husband.

But then again, i keep thinking how much worse problems other people have and it makes me feel hopeless and just accept whatever is there. When it comes to my father, i become doubtful that prayers work. I've always prayed for God to change him and enter his heart but now i am still waiting for answers.

Is he the price we pay for all the material things we have right now? Is he the price that my mother pays for choosing to marry and live with him despite family issues?

I think he is. Whoever said life is fair?

Is She "Plastik"?

I think my friend is "plastic." She recently admitted to me last week that she doesn't like this other classmate of ours. Then recently, she told me we should go to her (the girl she dislikes) birthday party.

So, i'm thinkin'… why on earth would she want to attend the party of a person she doesn't like? Unless she's only there for the food, which is totally "bad" in my vocabulary. Not to mention, "plastic."