downgraded

I've forgotten how much of a pain it is to use a little keypad. My fingers hurt after five days of having to contend with a barely functioning navigation pad and hard plastic keys.

Nearly two years on, and it's finally time to retire my XDA2. Hahahaha. The old PDA has been going on and on for quite some time now. It still works, but the battery is no longer reliable. The phone will shut down and reset over and over again at the slightest change in temperature.

Using the camera will cause the PDA to reset. I have to charge the phone every time I use Pocket Word or Excel, or when I have to make a call. There goes my portable office. Hahaha.

Now I have to make do with a second-hand Nokia 6020. Argh. From a touch screen to a keypad. Handwriting recognition to text-speak. It's insulting. Hahaha.

Haaay... At least I still have a phone though. There are many others out there who don't have the luxury of complaining about the loss of their portable e-book reader or the removal of their ability to store thousands of text messages.

Look at the bright side, I'll get a new phone by next month. Hahaha. I'll just sell my old phones for quick cash.

that perfect moment

I hadn't seen the inside of a Starbucks in a very long time, so it was a real special treat when I walked into the one at Santana Grove in Sucat this morning.

I had a fun time at our batch reunion last night, even though I was tipsy the whole time from four straight shots of Absolut Vodka. Hahaha. At least I did not walk into any glass doors!

It was all worth it though - I won a Starbucks gift certificate! It's always the little things... That's 100 pesos worth of free stuff from my favorite coffee shop, and I still have that other gift certificate I got nearly two years ago.

So there I was at Santana Grove. I wanted a steaming cup of White Chocolate Mocha, my favorite drink since I discovered coffee. Hahaha. Who knew that I would cause such a fuss in that little shop?

I had been saving my other gift certificate. It was a Christmas gift from my cousins, and it would get me any drink of any size I wanted anytime I wanted it. I was waiting for the perfect moment to cash in that certificate for a Venti White Chocolate Mocha, and I thought, what the hell, better use it now so that I could stay awake during the long journey from Paranaque to Marikina.

My world crumbled when the barista told me that the certificate was no longer valid.

Exxagerated, yes, but I realized a lot right there and then. I just ordered a tall drink. 125 pesos for coffee. How sad. Hahaha.

Waiting for that one perfect moment cost me my gift certificate.

I sat on that certificate for nearly a year, waiting for the one perfect moment to use it. A lot of opportunities came by, but I chose to hold back and wait for another time, one better than the opportunity I had right then and there.

The ironic thing is that I myself had no idea what "the one perfect moment" was.

It was just something I thought I would know when it came, but everytime I had an opportunity, I always thought that it was not the right time. Always. I waited for perfection.

But nothing is ever perfect.

It's not just with coffee (Oo may lesson dito hahaha). Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect. There is no such thing as perfection. There is no such thing as "the perfect moment".

There is only the here and the now.

Live life, live each moment to the fullest. You never know when that one moment would be your last. You never know when that would be your last chance.

You may be so engrossed with waiting for that impossible perfect moment that you let life pass you by.

It's not that we should live loose and fast. It's not that we should be careless with our lives. It's not that we should not plan for the future. It's all about making each moment, each day, each opportunity count.

Hahaha. All this because of a cup of coffee. But there is more to this tale. I was waiting for my coffee at the counter when the barista asked to see the gift certificate again. She said that she wanted to ask their manager about it. Guess what?
The certificate was still good.

Hahaha. We all had a good laugh over how I had kept it with me for a very very long time. Apparently, the certificate had no expiration date, but they were using a different color for their certificates already - it was that old.

I'll have that Venti White Chocolate Mocha next time I go to Starbucks. Hehehe.

canton ng pancit malabon

I had the singular experience of going home last night with a drunk man by my side. He obviously had one beer too many, and he was very, very noisy.

Apparently, he and the jeepney driver were friends, and he kept saying that he wanted to treat the driver to dinner. Pare, pancit canton tayo! Sagot ko! Gusto kong kumain ng pancit canton ng Pancit Malabon! Over and over and over again.

And the driver would always answer him nicely. Pare, sa susunod nalang. Inaantay ka na ng misis mo e. Ingatan mo pera mo, mawala pa yan!

Right beside me was a drunk man clutching quite a few 500 peso bills in his hand. Haaaay... Hahahaha.

Anyway, this went on and on until we got to Concepcion Market. All the time I was hiding a smile - more like holding back laughter - since I did not want to risk insulting the man. But I was really amused by the incident. Kind of reminds me of a certain someone who tried going through a glass door some time ago... Hahaha.

It was a fitting end to a very stressful day. I know some of you are waiting for the inevitable blog entry about the events of last night. I wanted to write about it, yes, but some things are better left unsaid.

Especially if you want to forget them.

This will be the last time I write about this sad part of my life. I'm moving on. This chapter has ended. A new one has begun.

The past will remain the past. I will move on to the future. For now, yes, I will be sad. But I'm not mad. Yes, I may have fallen into despair last night. Yes, I may have thought ill of others.

But now I'm back in control.

I'm closing the book on the last five years of my life. It all ends - really - today. No more going back. Now it's public. Now it's policy.

Today is my Independence Day. Hahahaha. (I've always wanted to say that!)

I want to thank those who stayed with me last night. I want to thank all those who made me smile, who made me laugh, who gave me their time, who offered a shoulder to cry on, who walked with me... Everything. Thank you.

Even if i never told all of you exactly everything that was going on.

I learned a lot from everything that has happened. I'm a better person now. I know better now, but my idealism is still intact. I do not hold any ill will towards them. None whatsoever. It's amazing, really, that I feel this way - even after everything that has happened.

But I'm telling the truth.

Haaaay... They say that time heals all wounds. Well, I was deeply wounded. But I'm still here. I'm still standing. My wounds will heal. I'll keep pushing forward. I'll keep hoping for the best. I'll always look on the bright side.

Time will tell. Sooner or later, time will tell.

Now let's get to work. I have two final examinations tomorrow. One's a take home exam which is still just a bunch of incoherent doodles on intermediate pad and jumbled ideas in my mind. The other is a law exam that will most probably last very late into the night.

I still have an organization to run. The second semester will be no joke. Come January, it will be the International Year of Astronomy. I do not intend to fail in that endeavor.

Haaay... Hehehe... Always look on the bright side of life.

Remember: as long as you can still laugh and smile, you are not defeated.

crappy retarded sh*t

And so the CRS bashing begins. It's that time of the year once again when UP students from all over come together to vilify that most beloved of all our university's institutions.

The (delayed) results of the first run are out and - amazingly - I got four classes already. That's 12 units in the bag right off the bat.

Of course, all I have left are majors. No more GE subjects or electives for me. However, I still need to get two more subjects; if I don't take Comm Res 101 and Comm 140 this semester I will be delayed by yet another semester.

The Computerized Registration System this semester is quite different from its previous iterations. While no less slow and prone to other 'problems', this version now allows the student to prioritize classes for enlistment.

A welcome new feature, yes, but can the people behind CRS please come up with a way to make the system more efficient?

Every semester there's something new, but the major problems still remain. Painfully slow service and unexpected disconnections are the big ones. Will someone please address those issues first before making the system even more complicated?

Haaaay...

This is what happens after another long evening at M 213. Last day blues? Hahaha.

thawed

Midnight. I couldn't sleep. It was baffling; I felt sleepy, yet sleep wouldn't come. My electric fan was at full blast, yet the heat was still unbearable. I tossed and turned, but sleep would not come.

Two weeks later, and this is me. All the ideas frozen and locked up in my mind have been thawed and turned into reality. Three major projects done and over with. Now I'm only waiting for the results, hoping against all hope for the best.

It's all over.

I can breathe easy now. One last class to go. Communication 120 with Prof. Avecilla. I'll be home late tonight. Hahaha.

But after that? No more. Just two exams left. Exams... Easy.

So much for the First Semester of Academic Year 2008-2009. I have at least three more to go, most likely four, before I graduate cum laude.

Confident. Hahaha.

Like I said before, it really helps if you know what you're fighting for, if you have a goal to reach for, an ambition or a dream to fulfill. It drives you forward, even through all the obstacles and adversities that life throws at you.

Of course it also helps if you also have inspiration by your side, something to look forward to.

Haaay...

One last General Assembly for the semester. Two exams to go. Three weeks of rest. Four more semesters before it all ends.

Now why did I find it so hard to sleep last night?

winding down

I want my pork chops.

For some inexplicable reason, I have been craving for my mom's "special" pork chops. Marinated in some secret concoction, fried in butter, then drenched in a good helping of mushroom soup...

Mmmm...

It's been two days now of non-stop pork chops. Lunch and dinner. Hahaha. I just can't get enough.

Yesterday, I downed five in one sitting. Five. It just begs the question; how come I'm not gaining any weight?

Hahaha...

Maybe it's just all the stress. I've just started wrapping up "major combat operations" for the past semester. With three major subjects done and over with, I can now breathe and relax.

Two more classes left. Two exams. Exams. Hahaha. Easy.

Haaay...

Now all I have to wait for are my grades. Hahaha.

Okay... My pork chops are ready. Hahaha. Eating time!

something to look forward to

Storm clouds darken the sky. A strong wind howls all around. Rain pours down in torrents. The streets are flooded.

But there in the distance, the sun breaks through the clouds - a little ray of sunshine piercing through the gloom.

It's a sign. The storm will end soon. The wind will die down. The rain will stop. The flood will subside.

Soon enough.

When problems start to pile up, when crisis follows crisis, when failure trumps success, it helps when there is something to look forward to.

Call it what you want. It may be inspiration, a goal, an objective, even ambition. What matters is that through all the hardship, you know what you're fighting for.

You must have something that drives you forward.

Haaay... Wala lang.

Less than a week to go. Three major projects left. Two exams. An organization to tend to.

But I can still smile. Hahahaha.

Right. Back to work.

time is running out...

...but I am still very much in control. Hahaha. My feature article is well on its way. My topic for the poverty story was approved. I have multiple sources and interviews lined up.

About the only thing not going to plan is that MRT website. I may have to go directly to their main offices next week. Hahaha.

A little over a week left in the semester, and the stress levels are starting to rise. Good luck to everyone. Hahahaha.