I did not blog for seven days! Egad.

Is this crazy week really over?

Academics always keeps me occupied, but this week it was my extra-curricular activities that ate up most of my time.  The Psychedelics held two events this week alone - last Wednesday and today -  and I had to churn out publicity materials for them all day and night.    Not that I mind, though.  It’s nice to be busy with things I actually enjoy. There wasn’t a dull day this week. Cheers.  It’s going to be weird not having any after-class meetings anymore.

Now would be the opportune moment to have a little downtime, but there’s no time to rest, though. I have a couple of reports and exams (MATH!) to study for for the next fortnight.

I haven’t cooked in a while.  I think I should embark on a culinary endeavor this weekend, just to keep my mind off things…

Appetizer
Name a funny habit you have

Funny habbit? I’m not sure. Like most people, I’m not really aware of my quirks.

The funniest thing I can think of is a habit I eventually stopped doing. Around this time last year, I was a compulsive heart-doodler. So long as I had a pen in my hand, I would doodle hearts everywhere. I wasn’t even aware about my obsessive doodling, nor was I conscious of the wrong signals a bunch of hearts along the margins of my notebook would send to the unassuming fellow. For instance, I only noticed that I had drawn so many hearts on an exam paper when it was returned to me with a note from my professor saying - “Marielle, why is your exam paper littered with hearts?” Ha ha. But I wasn’t in love or anything at that time. I just really liked the shape of hearts.

Soup
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?

Oh god, the violin. That’s one of my biggest frustrations. I played the piano for a long time, but I absolutely hated it. I’ve always liked the sound of string instruments as a kid, and the musicians who play them looked especially classy to me. I still like listening to the violin when I’m in the mood for classical music.

And the flute, too! The silver kind, not the plastic/bamboo recorder one. When I was a kid I wanted to take up the flute instead of piano, but alas, I noticed they don’t let you use the silver flute when you’re just starting out. I think beginners are taught with a recorder first, and you have to work your way up. But I wanted to skip all that kiddie crap and proceed to the fancy, cool kind of flute.

Salad
How long is your hair?

An inch below my chin. This is probably the longest it has been in about a year or so. I look horrible with long hair. Seriously. So I always keep it short. Besides, it suits my personality better. It’s so easy to maintain that when I wake up in the morning, all I have to do is run my fingers through my hair and everything falls in its place. No combing/brushing required! And eventually, that point when my hair will need the aid of a comb to look nice means it’s too long, I need to have it cut. Ha ha. I love changing my hairstyles every so often, and I tend to do so whenever I’m stressed. Hair therapy, I call it.

Main Course
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?

If I remember right, one of my closest friends made an awful remark that made me angry. They say I have a terrible temper that no one should ever trigger, but I think that only applies when people I don’t really know piss me off. But when it comes to my friends, I can never stay mad at them for long. I just hope no one abuses that.

Dessert
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

NON-STICK PANS FOR THE WIN!

And sharp knives, too.

The microwave isn’t all that bad, either.

Oh, and the coffee press!

I love kitchen appliances.

Tags: Taste Asia

I’m going to the Taste Asia event with my dear Tiffany on July 3, 2007! Is anyone else going to be there?

Ha ha, my first bloggers’ event as a blogger. How exciting. I’m a little nervous though, since I tend to be shy and reserved during big events. But I can’t wait to meet everybody. And to eat.

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The semester so far has been… well. Let’s just say I’ve had better semesters before. You see, I genuinely like school. I like everything about my college life - my school, my friends, professors, the lessons (to some extent) - and the whole learning and growing bit that comes with studying in UP. I enjoy being in school so much that at one point, I would get disappointed every time school got called off due to rains. It seems like there’s always something to look forward to everyday, be it the people I interact with or the lessons I learn. I don’t think I am as inspired to go to school this sem as I used to be. Partly because a good half of my teachers are terrible.

For example, I am taking a subject that is reputably fun, life-changing and interesting, but only if you take it with the fun, dynamic and vibrant professors. I, unfortunately, got stuck with a withered, gray and boring one who doesn’t teach us shit. Seriously. I’m not saying that to be mean, it’s the truth. There are professors who aren’t animated and enjoyable, but even if their attempts fail you gotta give them credit for trying to teach you something. I can tell my professor isn’t even trying. All she ever does is parrot to us what is already written on the book. As if we couldn’t read it ourselves, which by the way is all we ever do in class anyway. I feel like I’m in a fucking reading comprehension class. We just read for an hour and a half. Agh.

I don’t mind boring professors. I’d like to think they’re really brilliant people who simply don’t know how to express their knowledge in an interesting manner. Still, they know their stuff, so it’s worth drinking 3 cups of coffee and staying awake in class since you’ll end up learning something new anyway. The worst professors, I think, are those who are not only boring, but who don’t teach you anything beyond what you already know (e.g. simply reading verbatim what’s in the textbook).

–

Yesterday, a friend asked me if I’m happy. I said I am, I just like bitching a lot. Ha ha.

But it’s true. In spite of my incessant complaining about how much my life sucks, I am generally a happy camper. When everything around me is crap, I always seem to find ways to keep myself sane. Go me.

It was hard, watching a friend’s struggle to distract himself after breaking up with his girlfriend.

We were right outside our classroom, waiting for the class before us to leave.  When they were dismissed, a girl rushed out of the room and right into the arms of this guy waiting by the door. Her boyfriend, apparently.

They kissed.  We watched.

My friend and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.  A little nervously, in fact.

“That’s sad.” he said, shaking his head.

‘Tis.

—

Heart break is just awful, isn’t it? There’s no way around it, but with time.  Yet, even then, one cannot tell how long it will take.

Tags: Divisoria, 168 mall, college

I adore fashion, but I don’t really devote as much time and money to it as I would like. Especially for school. All I need is a nice top, jeans, and slippers/sandals and I’m out the door. I’m not big on accessories and jewelry, either. With everything else I have to worry about, my outfits are the least of them. I find it impractical to be all dressed up just for school, especially since I do a lot of walking and occasional commuting. Also, I would never purchase a top that’s more than 500 bucks if I’m only going to wear it for school. I’m no fashionista, but I try to make sure my clothes are aesthetically… acceptable. And the easiest way to do that is to buy a bunch of colorful tops with funky designs. My friend Karen once said that the tops I wear are tops only I can pull off. Aww. She’s so sweet.

Since I had no meetings lined up for the day, I tagged along with my sister and mom to Divisoria’s 168 Mall to shop for some school clothes. Whee. I love shopping at Divisoria; not only are the tops cheap, they’re really cute, too. I wasn’t able to buy much when I went to Divisoria last week with my friends because Tiff criticized the tops I chose ;p I only bought one top ( I didn’t bother showing it to Tiff. hee hee. ;p). But today I was able to buy a week’s supply of tops, along with a few shoes and bags. Wheee!

Something really annoying happened to us, though. So we went to this stall that sold really cute dresses. I saw one I really liked: a red floral dress with a satin bow that wasn’t attached to the dress- you have to tie it in a ribbon around your waist. So I tried it on, but on my way to the dressing room I accidentally stepped on the bow and dirtied it a little. The dress didn’t fit, but the owner demanded we pay for it anyway because I had “damaged” it already. She said there was no way to remove the stain from the satin bow. Uhm, what the fuck? Okay, I would understand if I ripped the dress or stained it with a permanent marker. But it was dirt, not paint or anything permanent like that. I don’t see how you can’t remove a little dirt from a ribbon. She couldn’t even give a good answer when we asked her why they can’t remove the dirt themselves. The owner was obviously trying to rip us off. My mom was willing to pay for cleaning or whatever, but refused to pay for the whole dress. Besides, my sister saw a top she liked, so it’s not like we weren’t customers. Eventually, the owner let it pass. I’m never going back there again. How dare she try to con us into buying something we don’t want. What a creep.

–

And so the most uneventful first week of school I’ve ever had is over. My classes and classmates are all right. I finally met my Math 100 professor. She’s really nice.  I will make it.

My friend and I promised that this semester, we will emulate the study habits of two of our batchmates with summa cum laude standings. We hypothesized (how very Psych of us) that if we study the way they do, maybe we’ll get better grades. Even boost our Grade Weighted Averages to summa cum laude standings as well. Ha ha. We observed the pair of them, and noticed that they seem to spend every spare minute reading something academics-related. Be it required reading material, a textbook, etc. They read it during those idle minutes before the professor arrives, in general assemblies, at lunch, in the tambayan etc. They read chapters in advance as well. Whoa. I wonder how I’m going to pull that off. I can’t even bring myself to read the chapters my professors asks us to before going to class, much less read in advance. I’ll probably start with diligently reading the required reading materials so I go to class prepared for the day’s lecture. That way I don’t have to cram like mad before exams. Ha ha.

My Psych 150 told us to read the first two chapters of “Theories of Personality” for Monday’s lecture. I think I ought to start on that right now.

Or not.

Tags: University of the Philippines, Diliman

I just woke up from a two-hour nap. I don’t know why I suddenly felt sleepy. I mean, last night I slept at 8-fricking-PM and woke up at 7 this morning. You’d think ten hours of sleep is enough keep me rested. Ha ha.

Anyway, I wasn’t able to blog about the first day of school yesterday. I was too tired. We usually don’t do anything on the first day, but yesterday I was assisting the Psychology freshmen at the Freshmen Welcome Assembly. It wasn’t easy sorting a couple of excited teenagers into organized blocks. We made those poor kids walk from AS (Palma Hall) to the university theater. In the heat. And after the assembly, we all had to walk back to AS. Still in the heat. They all looked so tired, those poor things.

I just realized I’ve been present at every Freshmen Welcome Assembly since I was a freshman. I sang at last year’s assembly (with a certain choir). This year was the only time I sat through the entire thing. And now that I’m an upperclassman, it was just dragging and boring. Ha ha, upperclassmen are so jaded sometimes (this merits another entry, but not now). It hasn’t changed much, though - same old Kontra-Gapi performance, same old UP Pep Squad routine, same old lightning rally from the same old protesters at the end of the program… only this time they weren’t protesting Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the band deliberately drowned their voices, and the sound system was switched off. Weird, they let them speak during our Freshmen Welcome Assembly. The freshmen looked a bit shaken. Ha ha.

As for my classes… I STILL HAVEN’T MET MY MATH 100 PROF! AGH! He didn’t show up yesterday.

So there you have it. My first day of school was tiring. Just tiring. I don’t have any “vibes” about how this semester’s going to be. We’ll see tomorrow.

Math 100 (Calculus) will be my first class everyday, at 7:00 AM. Tomorrow is our first meeting and I’m nervous as hell. I really hope I get a good professor.

Once upon a time, around four years ago, I actually enjoyed Math, Geometry to be exact. In fact, I excelled in the damn thing while rest of the class practically crawled their way around just to pass. It was one of those rare moments when I discovered it was possible to be good at (and ultimately appreciate) something you’ve loathed all your life.

But that was in my junior year of high school. Excluding that glorious year, I’ve always gotten abysmal grades in Math and Science, and no matter how much I study, I guess my abilities can only take me as far as a 2.25 (80+%). A lot of my friends got top marks in their Math 100 class, and these friends are normal students, by which I mean those who were not necessarily born with extraordinary brains and impossible IQs, but do good in other academic fields anyway. So if they’re just like me, the optimist in my head says I can nab a good Math 100 grade, too. But, being the pragmatist that I am (read: cynic), something tells me this subject won’t be any different from the other Math and Science subjects I’ve taken - I will still study for hours on end for a mediocre grade. A mediocre grade borne from sweat and blood. Mind you, I study very very hard for my waterloo subjects, but alas. A 2.25. That’s just about the highest grade I can muster with my sweat and blood and then some.

I know I am jaded and shit, that my cynicism won’t do much for my Math grade, that no wonder I suck ass in Math, I’m so negative! Sigh. But I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that Math, Science and I are mortal enemies, and that I’m lucky enough to pass.

Wish me luck.

No matter how utterly exhausted I was all week, now that it’s all over I still can’t bring myself to wake up any later than 6:30 AM. For the last five days I’ve been doing a lot of walking, talking, and thinking. School hasn’t even started yet but I’m tired already, in every which way. And yet I’m not sure if there are any pressing matters to be so stressed about. I guess I just have this uncanny ability of creating a big thing out of nothing, to generate my own headaches. I am glad, though, that the people I work with are there to make me feel better. It was a treat getting to know each other, in every aspect of our lives if you know what I’m saying. This week will really do a lot for our projects and plans, considering we’re stuck with each other for the next 10 months or so.

Case in point, I had fun braving the streets of Divisoria with four of them yesterday. That far-flung place is a wonderful treasure cove for random things, and for cheap, too. I wish I had more time to shop for clothes, though. Retail therapy works wonders for me, ha ha.

My feet were aching and I was all sweaty and awful after that, but I still managed to go to a small get-together over at a friend’s house. We sat by the poolside, although we couldn’t swim since the chlorine was still fresh. To amuse ourselves, apart from the normal booze, food and terribly funny jokes courtesy of a friend’s cellphone, we doused a few passing centipedes and ants with isopropyl alcohol, and set them on fire, flambee-style. Too bad I was too tired to really enjoy the whole affair (if I recall right, the first thing I did when I got there was sleep on the guestroom’s bed).

Wah. What a random entry. I think I will take a nap now. I ought to get started on the next batch of publicity materials.

Well, I finally got my classes in order. I am officially enrolled. Whew. Successfully enrolling yourself in UP is a big triumph in itself.  Finally, my days will start and end early, just the way I like it.

I thought registration would be so much easier as a registration assistant, but no.  For the past three days, I’ve been going home extremely tired.  I’ve only been in the registration committee for three days but I feel like I’ve been doing it forever.  We spend so much time enlisting people for their Psychology classes that the days stretch on longer than they usually should.  The perks are swell, though : having funny co-registration assistants and professors for company, staying in an air-conditioned room all day, and getting free food.

I really don’t have much to say until school starts again. Wah.

I consider today my last day of summer vacation. For the upcoming week, I have to be in school for the whole day because of my registration committee duties. And after this week, the new school year begins.

I had a quiet summer. I spent most the time alone, and at home. I purposely arranged my schedule so I would have a lot of “me-time” this summer, and that’s what made these past two months enjoyable and worthwhile, I think. I always find ways to amuse myself when I’m not in anyone’s company. I enjoyed my daily 2-hour breaks browsing through the books in the AS walk tiangge, or sipping overpriced coffee in a nearby cafe. I found an odd creative outlet in cooking (and eating). I revived old hobbies like creating photo manipulations in Adobe Photoshop and tinkering with WordPress. I liked being able to do what I want without hassling anyone, or being hassled by anyone. I wouldn’t have had all that if I wasn’t alone. Most of all, if I didn’t take this social downtime I wouldn’t have figured out what I really want in life. I probably wouldn’t have discovered that I wanted to go abroad after college, or that I actually had a knack for cooking, or that I want to be in the Hospitality business (for now, at least). In fact, I think I kind of prefer being alone. I’m glad I took this time to do just that.

People are surprised to find out I’m an introvert, probably because I talk in a loud voice and I tend to do something really attention-grabbing (read: embarrassing) when I’m with friends. But truthfully, I think that’s just a facade. I know this makes me sound like a social reject, but I’d like to think I’m not. If I am in good company, great. But if I’m not, that’s alright, too. Basically, I’m just comfortable with being alone. Unlike some people I know who can’t even walk to the next building without an escort.

I probably won’t have much me-time this school year, since I will be a busy college junior in the next 10 months. But being alone can be taxing, too. I’m excited to meet new people, and new blood (okay, that sounded wrong but you get it right?), especially since two of my close high school friends are going to UP. I kind of want to avoid being so anti-social this year, so I plan to be more involved. I think 6 months of being away from everyone is enough to appease my introvert self. I’m ready to socialize again.

But I think I will still miss being alone.

I can’t wait for tomorrow. Summer outfits for the Psychedelics! Ha ha.