BURNING FATS AT MID-DAY...

I just can't imagine my whole semester walking from IRRI to UPLB. I just can't!!!

Yeah, you read it right. Well, I have a Wednesday class and it starts at 1 PM. With a hectic schedule, I really have to maximize my time at IRRI. So, I've decided that with my Wednesday class, I have to leave at 1230pm. Well, I did actually leave at 1230 pm only to find out that there's no jeepney at the gate. Well, everyone knows that the shuttle has a schedule and my preferred sched of going to class doesn't fall on any of them.

With the sun at it's peak, I just walked. I was just so on it that I really had to walk fast, coz honestly, it took me 20 mins!!! Oh, how I wish this walking would really help me burn my fats... =P...

The bad thing though is that our classroom is airconditioned, so with all the sweat and wet back, I just hope I don't end up having pneumonia... whew!

AFTER A YEAR...

It's more than a year since I left PhilRice to pursue my MS degree here at UPLB. Time does fly so fast. I can't even imagine that I survived this year. New friends, new environment, new relationships, new perspectives, new ideologies... blah blah blah!ü

I had my calm seas and turbulent clouds. It wasn't easy grasping for air and pushing myself so hard just to make sure I still had my hands firmly clasped at the end of the cliff. It was a process that I had to endure, sometimes at my own, but oftentimes, with family and friends.

It has been a year and it feels so liberating to know that I've lived the decisions I've made especially when it came to relationships. My relationship with other people could be likened to a flowering plant: some have bloomed and stayed beautiful while others, withered. Sometimes it's just so hard forcing yourself caring for dying flowers. How I wish I could just spray "formaline" to preserve its state even for just a moment. But I know that it doesn't work that way, sometimes, I just have to give in to the truth that people come and go. It's not because of my choosing; but it's an inevitable truth that I have to accept.

Life is to short, and life has so much to offer. So with what has transpired for the past year, I've learned to carefully keep clasping my hands, slowly and surely pushing myself forward until I'm able to fully stand again with my OWN feet and continue caring for flowering plants that bloom unceasingly and beautifully.

"FEED YOUR ANGELS AND YOUR DEMONS WILL STARVE"

I decided to make my time productive (it's not that I am not productive, it's just that I stare at space most of the time,,,lol!). Anyway, I grabbed a book from a shelf at our apartment. It's just a small book written by Conrado Barba Favorito entitled "My Favorite Fables and More". I told myself this one's for me since it's for students, yuppies, managers, parents and mentors (scrap the last four words).

While reading through, this one caught me and I think it's worth sharing.

TWO WOLVES FIGHTING
(Adapted and revised version)

Grandma Bella is teaching her grandson Kyle about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," she says to the boy. "It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. ONE IS EVIL - he is greed, impatience, false pride, anger, envy, regret, arrogance, self-pity, laziness, resentment, lies. THE OTHER IS GOOD - he is generosity, patience, humility, love, hope, peace, serenity, kindness, benevolence, empathy, perseverance, diligence, truth, compassion, joy and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside very other person, too."

Kyle thinks about it for a minute and then asks his grandmother, "Which wolf will win, Grandma?"

Grandma Bella simply replies, "THE ONE YOU FEED."

BONDING WITH THE Cs

Now I know how it feels to be alienated in my own country (in a good way of course)... Being with Cambodians for more than 12 hours can make you go crazy. First, you hafta make sure you never forget your english. I have to admit, speaking straight english can make it worse so, I had to really use my "baroque" english, hehehe... Another thing, once they start speaking in their language, am left with my own thoughts... talk about "dead air" eh...

You know how I love to eat, right? I know it will take an argument before we could settle with what food to eat. Good that they love Filipino dishes, so my taste buds really did not have any difficulty adjusting...

As for the rides, well, I actually rode on this caterpillar thing, the one where kids are the ones who have the only right to ride? Well, I rode on that one... hahaha. I don't want to take the risk of having my stomach churn and have my hair dishelved. I know that the ticket we bought was "ride-all-you-can" but honestly, I really was on my KJ mode... hahaha... anyway, I've been to E.K. Actually, I just enjoyed watching the rest enjoy themselves.

Sothea and Loumeng: pila sa SNOW WORLD

Sothea, Vibol, Daream, Thearith, and Loumeng

I so love my cap!

Ms. Cullen

Welcome cholesterol!!!!!

Gutom na kami nito...

THE EARLIEST CHRISTMAS SOIREE EVER!

Had the earliest Christmas soiree yesterday! A record breaker actually... LOL! Did last minute shopping of prizes and had to finalize the program, aside from the fact that I had to attend a class around 1pm (whew!)...

Moving on... it was a blast! good food, good music, good company... really had fun! Nice way to start my semester eh? hehehe... ü

Mga windang...

Akow!

Joey boi, aketch, Aiza

Loumeng and Uro (mga addict! hahaha!)

Whacky with Tito Macky!


Hanap ng makakanta... at ng makapagkalat! hahaha!

Greatest hobby! CHOW!

Tarap!

FIRST DAY OF CLASSES

Third sem ko na mga peeps... at first day of classes ngayon... 22 kami sa isang klase... (AERS 282 - Social Research Design)... As usual, united nations ang dating, daming mga foreigners...

Eto ang nakakagulat, pinagkamalan akong tiga-INDIA ng isa kong pinoy na klasmeyt.. ASTIG! HAHAHA... Naalala ko nung nagbakasyon ako, nung pumunta kami sa dentist kasama mga kapatid ko, pinagkamalan naman akong balikbayan at iginiit pa ng doctora na hindi halatang Ilokana ako... hahaha.... kakaloka... ü

Anyway... nasa pa-easy-easy mood muna ako ngayon kasi wala pa gaanong requirements pero alam kong ratratan rin ito two weeks from now... anyway... hope this sem will be another great semester.... at siyempre, ihahanda ko nanaman sarili ko sa mga puyatan (kunwari) at susubukan ko ng tanggapin na normal ang magkapimples sa ganitong edad... toink!

FRUSTRATIONS

When frustrations and disappointments get the best out of me, I literally want to bang my head on the wall. The screaming, jumping or being in my own bubble of "silence please, don't touch me, go away or leave me alone," doesn't usually work.

There are times that I just want to break out from this shell and see the other side of me. Do something I have never done before, or explore realities of life for once... But then, before I even take my first step, that's when I snap out of it and and see myself SCARED... AFRAID... at the end, maybe, I am not yet ready.

Or maybe, just maybe, this is me... I know there is still something hidden in me, something waiting to blossom or die... but then again, maybe this is just me... WEIRD, ABNORMAL, nothing extraordinary, just wanting to be different among the rest. This reality sometimes pulls me down knowing "whoa! I have my own world..." but at the end of the day, it's worth knowing that "I am different."

BAKASYON...

It’s been four days since I’ve touched down Baguio City. I have to admit though that I miss LB already. LOL! (Hoist Loumeng, sure ka bang LB ang namimiss mo? Toink!). Anyway, moving on, bonding here and there, met with old school friends, had a closure with ****.

Went shopping and of all the shopping days, I really wanted to enjoy this one but I got pissed when I asked the sales man where the male pants were (it’s not that I am lazy to scan across the shelves, it’s just that I find the shop disorganized, lol (excuses)) and he pointed me to the wrong rack!!! Am I a *&^% or he’s just ^%$#? Anyway, I walked out tagging my two li’l siblings with me saying “let’s get out of here, there not even paying attention to us!”... Unfortunately, I passed by a female clerk while I was blabbing and my li’l sister saw that she was taken aback. Ehem...

Had bonding time with my li’l bro and sis at the dentist. Well, talk about three hours of babysitting eh? I could just imagine how it would be like if I had my own li’l lou having her teeth checked out. Whew! Well... I CAN’T IMAGINE... hahaha...

I know I have all the time to hop from one mall to another or just do my traditional “ukay-ukay” shopping but sometimes, I just opt to have myself house arrested. One thing that scares me though is that an inch would be added to my baby fats... With the weather right now, it’s not surprising to just be under the blanket the whole day. Actually, right now, I am fully wrapped (socks, pjs, thick sweater, bonnet and even a scarf)... yeah yeah yeah, I know you are envying me right now.. hehehe...