Things are a lot better now.

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Three more papers and an exam to go. I don’t know how I’m going to manage in the next 5 days. I swear to God, I won’t allow my remaining semesters to go on like this anymore.

In spite of that, this sem still had its fair share of stellar moments. And those few good times were really good.

I’m not sure when it was that I started to feel this way, but I’m glad I noticed this one good thing right away.

All-nighters are a drag. Whether it’s transcribing a hour-long interview, studying for an exam the next day, cramming a paper equivalent to a quarter of your final grade, or interpreting your qualitative research data, sometimes caffeine just doesn’t cut it anymore.

So, my friends and I found a way to keep ourselves perky and amused during the twilight hours: watching dumb, funny, stupid YouTube videos! Here are some of the ridiculous video clips that have served us well this semester:

• Sofa King! - This is a Saturday Night Live sketch. “Sofa King Great!” “Sofa King Easy!” Say that fast and out loud.
• Human Tetris - It’s a Japanese game show where players have to pass through weirdly shaped holes on a wall moving towards them.  There are a lot of Human Tetris videos on YouTube and this is just one of them, so you might want to just search for it in.
• Gaki no Tsukai - English Lesson -  Another silly Japanese show. Funny shit. Describing it won’t do it justice. Ten ten ten…
• MS-DOS 5 Promo Video - An ancient video promoting MS-DOS 5. It’s called “Yo MS Rap.” What.
• Charlie the Unicorn - Chhhhharrrlllieeeee…..
• College Saga - Someone made a 40-minute parody of PlayStation RPGs. I love Mark Leung.

I’m turning twenty in 10 days or so.  I almost forgot about all about that.  Not that it really matters anyway, since I stopped caring about birthdays as soon as I grew too old to hold parties at McDonalds.  Sometimes I expect something special ought to happen on my birthday, but nothing ever does, and all it ever turns out to be is an excuse to ask my parents for an expensive gift.

Still, I am turning 20 - isn’t that supposed to be a milestone of sorts, like that time when girls turn 18 and blow their parents’ money on a really grand party?

Hm. 20. No thanks to that extra year I took in grade school,  I’m older than most of my friends - my batchmates in college.  Once I turn twenty, that one-year age gap will be more pronounced; there won’t be a -teen in my age anymore.   I guess that’s supposed to make me feel bad and old, but it doesn’t.  I bet I won’t miss being a teenager much, anyway, not if those years were the dumbest you’ve ever had.  And especially not if those dumb years are the only years you’ve had so far. There isn’t much glory in being young and stupid.  I’d rather be old and sure of myself than young, bumbling and whiny - although that last part probably won’t change, hahaha.

So I’m guessing this coming-of-age shiznit deserves a celebration.  Take a break from the hustle and bustle of school (which I am hating right now) and just unwind with the people you love. Actually, I’m thinking of taking a couple of high school friends out to lunch or something.  Most of them study in UP but we never get to hang out in school, so this’ll be an excuse to see them after so long.   But they’ll probably be busy, and I probably will be, too.  And my college friends… well, they have as much free time as I have, which isn’t much to speak of.  So no plans. Yet. Who knows.

In other news, Blogger is a fricking RETARD for suspending our group blog for “violation” of their Terms of Services.  They thought our blog was a spamblog. Stupid! We can’t even add entries, which sucks because I would really really love to rant right now.  I’d hate to go all emo-shitty again, so let’s just leave it at that.

Believe me, normally I try not to be a drama queen. But this week wasn’t normal at all; in fact, it’s the shittiest week I’ve had in ages. Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives really held true: anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment. And it did.

I’m not so sure if it’s safe to disclose what made this whole week so awful. The most I can probably say is that I was overwhelmed by things I had no control over, coupled with a zillion exams for stupid shit subjects I don’t care about, by stupid shit teachers that don’t care about their students. I think I’m making myself sick with anger and sadness. I can’t help it. When I’m upset, I tend to dwell on it, and I can’t seem to stop.

And to think the week’s not over yet. What the fuck. Can I just forget that this whole week had to happen?

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.

—

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.

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: Miss Universe 2007, Riyo Mori, Honey Lee, Anna Theresa Licaros

(image from AFP/Getty Images)

I’m a closet Miss Universe fan. Ha ha. The first Miss Universe pageant I ever watched was in 1994, when it was held here in Manila. I remember thinking how messy Charlene Gonzales’ hair was. Watching international beauty pageants as a little girl was quite an experience. Kind of like a big geography lesson, only more interesting.

After 48 years, Japan gets to hold the title of Miss Universe. Congratulations to Riyo Mori, Miss Universe 2007.

Last year’s first runner up was from Japan too, the very gorgeous Kurara Chibana. Does anyone remember her? Wow. Although I was turned off when she answered one of her questions in French. I thought that was kind of showoff-y. But she’s still one of the most beautiful pageant queens I’ve seen.

Personally, I was rooting for Miss Korea, Honey Lee. She’s really pretty, don’t you think? Or maybe that’s just me. At the risk of sounding racist, I love Koreans, ha ha. The ones I know are very kind and creative. The woman who does my hair, as well as my mom’s and sister’s, is a Korean and I love her to death. She’s the best damn hairstylist I know. But whatever, Honey Lee was my favorite and I’m glad she still placed.

Aaaand.. Miss Photogenic goes to Miss Philippines! Again! For the third year in a row! Ha ha! I hope this means Filipinos are photogenic. Seriously, though, her pictures really stand out. Congratulations, Anna Theresa Licaros! She will always be the epitome of beauty and brains.

And for some reason, I really liked Miss Kazakhstan (that’ll give Borat something to talk about.

A random Miss Universe fact: the first winner of Miss Universe is Armi Kuusela, from Finland. She won the pageant in 1952. She married a Filipino business man named Virgilio Hilario and they had 5 kids. They lived in Forbes Park, Makati. Pretty cool, huh.

All that idle time this summer served me well after all - I actually figured out what I really want to do after college. In fact, it’s all I ever think about these days. I’ve been thinking about this so much that I’m blogging about it instead of studying for my Chemistry exam, which is probably what I should prioritize at the moment if I really want these goals.

I thought up of five options. Of course I can only realize one of them.

Here are my plans, in order of what I really, really want:

1. Get a postgraduate diploma in Hotel Management or any Hospitality-related course in Switzerland.
2. Get a postgraduate diploma or masters degree in Industrial/Organizational (Occupational) Psychology in New Zealand, specifically at the University of Auckland.
3. Set up my own restaurant/burger joint somewhere in UP (fo’ realz!)
4. Work at the Human Resources Department of a corporation.
5. Be a lawyer.

But… Here are my plans, ranked according to feasibility (my chances of actually accomplishing them):

1. Work at the Human Resources Department of a corporation.
2. Be a lawyer
3. Get a postgraduate diploma or masters degree in Industrial/Organizational (Occupational) Psychology in New Zealand, specifically at the University of Auckland.
4. Get a postgraduate diploma in Hotel Management or any Hospitality-related course in Switzerland.
5. Set up my own restaurant/burger joint somewhere in UP

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Tags: The Tudors, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Showtime, King Henry VIII, The Tudors screencaps

photo from the Internet Movie Database

While everybody else is blogging about the latest episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and Heroes, here I am writing about a lesser known, but equally superb (if not better) television series - Showtime’s The Tudors.

No words can express how much I love this show. It’s absofuckinglutely brilliant television right there. Maybe I’m just biased because I’m a sucker for historical fiction. But what’s marvelous about this show is its portrayal of King Henry VIII - as a desirable, sexy young king in his prime years as the 25 year old overlord of England and Ireland.

I remember when I was a child, there was a scroll hanging in my parents’ bedroom, with the portraits of a grotesquely obese Henry VIII and his six wives embroidered on it. My mom had bought it from one of her trips to England and she told me the story of a fat king who married six times, divorced two of his wives and executed two others. And I remember thinking, “What an asshole” (okay, I didn’t exactly think the word “asshole”). For many years, that’s all I knew about him. I bet it’s the same for a lot of people. The opening credits of the show is right - what do we know about King Henry VIII before he became an overweight, womanizing, syphilis-infested wreck?

Well, apparently, he was like a fricking rock star.

(spoilers below the cut)

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