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.

I submitted my final Psych 195 project today. Which means it’s officially summer, again.

I have about two more weeks until classes start again. In that span of time I need to accomplish the following:

1. Work on that pet blog my mom and I are planning - we are crazy about our pets, so we decided to make a blog about them. Haha.
2. Finish that food videocast - damn, I need a mic!
3. Cook more food! Yay! My mom agreed to enroll me in a day-long short course over at the Center for Culinary Arts. I hope they still have before regular classes start.
4. Possibly edit my blog theme again.
5. Go to the gym. Damn it.

I am a little sad because I was not able to play an PlayStation 2 RPG this summer. Every summer for the past five years, I finish at least one RPG. Last year, I played Suikoden V, the best in the series next to Suikoden II. Last Christmas I tried to play Final Fantasy 12 but it was a bit too difficult for my liking. Too bad all the nice new games are all for PlayStation 3. I don’t think I want to get that yet. Besides, if there won’t be a Suikoden VI, it’s just not worth it anymore. Ha ha.

Well, here’s to an anti-social me for the next two weeks.

Tags: college, academics, University of the Philippines

Do you ever get that feeling when reviewing for an exam, you feel as if you’ve studied enough and you can’t read another paragraph? So you stop studying thinking you’re all prepared for the exam.  Then you go online saying to yourself “Just a 15 minute break”, but you end up surfing the hours away instead? AND THEN when you study your notes again at the last minute you realize there are so many things you haven’t reviewed yet? But still, your brain feels so saturated with terms and shit, that the information just doesn’t register anymore?

Gah. I hate studying for exams.  I love learning, just not the exam part.

It doesn’t help that the topics for my Chem exam tomorrow are kind of depressing. Chemical warfare.  Nerve, lung-damaging,  blood and blister agents. Pollution.  London Smog and Photochemical smog.  They’re interesting and all, but I’d rather it not be the last thing I think about, nor the words organophosphates or mustard gas, Ypres, chlorine gas be the last words I utter before I sleep.

I remember having to study natural disasters for Geology 1 last semester.   We watched this documentary on earthquakes.  It had some footage of the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923.  Apparently, most of the casualties perished not because of toppling buildings, but of the firestorms ignited by fallen poles, stoves and other flammables.  Thirty-thousand survivors were even crammed inside an open space the size of a football field, but that caught fire.  Only thirty people survived. THIRTY OUT OF THIRTY-THOUSAND.  My chest was so heavy after. Sure, Geology is very interesting, but that subject gave rise to a lot of irrational fears.

Haha, my Science subjects are so upsetting.

Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Daniel Radcliffe, SM Mall of Asia, Imax

Image from Click the City

According to Click The City (which is one of my favorite websites), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be shown on SM Mall of Asia’s Imax 3D Theater on July 11. Read the article here.

Cool.

Okay, I know it’s childish, but I still do like the Harry Potter series. I abhor the movies, though. Daniel Radcliffe is the worst actor in the world. Actually most of the young actors in Harry Potter cannot act, but Daniel Radcliffe is stand-out. Gahd.

But still, I can’t help myself. I have to watch this movie. Probably not in Imax though. I’m not that much of a fan, anyways. Besides, I bet tickets are sold out by now.

Interestingly, Harry Potter 6 will be shown in the Philippines two days before it is released worldwide, on July 13. I bet it’s because they want the Filipinos to watch it before we can purchase the movie on a pirated DVD.

I look forward to the seventh book more, though. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Wow, the last book. Remind me not to go online on the weekend of its release. I bet some ass out there will spoil the book for you and me. I remember when the sixth book was released, I rushed finishing it in two days because I just knew someone in school would spoil it for more. True enough, a classmate of mine wrote on the blackboard who died, and who the Half-Blood Prince was.

Okay, I’m an idiot for being excited. Shoot me.

People are like Google - we all like fresh content.

Ha, weak analogy, I know. Blame my mom, she was the one who told me that fun fact.

But seriously. It’s human nature to be fascinated by new things. We like things better when they’re fresh off their packaging, all sparkle-y and shiny.

But when the novelty is gone, we lose interest. Then we start taking the old things for granted. Because once the dust settles, we tire of the same old things.

And the same old people.

(MORE?)

Tags: Baguio, Camp John Hay, Philippines, summer, friends

I haven’t been feeling very bright and cheerful lately. That’s not to say I’m a bright and cheerful person to begin with, but you get the point. I’ve had happier days. Partly because all this free time doing absolutely nothing but school work is getting to me, partly because I was snubbed by my crush (see entry below), partly because it’s so hot and my air conditioner doesn’t condition the air properly, and mostly because I can’t find a torrent of The Tudors Episode 5. Okay, maybe I exaggerated on the last one a bit.

So until I can blog about something with more substance, allow me to incriminate myself by showing you an animated GIF of me and my friends playing with our friend’s camera’s multi-burst function.

Kat, Chesca, Me and Meg
Taken in Camp John Hay, Baguio City
April 2007

We’re not always like this. Honest!

EDIT: Oh, and I have a video podcast in the works.

I said hi to my crush today.  But he ignored me. Hmm.  I wouldn’t feel half this bad if we weren’t friends, but we are.  Maybe he’s just having a bad day?

Haha. So much for not blogging anything overtly personal.

Tags: clingy significant others, love, relationships, love schemas

I have completely given up on studying for my Chem 1 exam tomorrow. I mean, I crawled my way through a 2.25 in Chem 16 last semester- I should have at least retained a little of what I slaved for.

So let me just talk about something that’s been bugging me. It’s about couples of the romantic kind. See, there’s nothing wrong with being crazy in love with your significant other. Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong about showing the entire public how crazy in love you are with your significant other. When done with good taste by tasteful people, it looks kind of sweet. Back in high school at dismissal time, I saw our batch’s golden couple sitting on a bench, the girl resting her head on the guy’s shoulder. They were just sitting there, so comfortable enough with each other’s presence that they didn’t need to talk. T’was a lovely sight - the kind that Hallmark cards and picture frame inserts are made of.

However, announcing to an entire mailing list (with a hundred or so members you don’t even know) that you now have a boyfriend/girlfriend; flooding your friends’ Multiply and Friendster bulletin with useless messages on how much you miss your “baby”; displaying pictures of you and him/her making out on ALL your online accounts (along with a hideous layout and Piczo hearts that force-quits even the most stable of browsers) ; calling each other “husband” and “wife” - ugh, god help you. Gushing about your “baby” on your blog or Friendster profile is almost forgivable, almost. But being utterly obsessed with one another and letting the whole world know see it is not. (MORE?)

Boredom is the catalyst of many strange things.  Like this blog.

You are now looking at the finished product of a week’s worth of image editing and re-coding.  I quite like it, actually.  What a nice, fulfilling feeling.

Well, I don’t know what else to say.  These first entry posts are so awkward.

Ah, maybe I will blog something of substance tomorrow.  For now,  allow me to shamelessly plug some of my blogthings, such as my Twitter and MyBlogLog.    Oh, and do tell me if you spot any glitches here on my website, as well as wrong grammar (Thanks Tiff!).  And do leave a comment, I like comments.

After a painstaking week, I am finally done! Mwahaha!

I’m about to go out, so hopefully I’m going to have a proper first post when I get back.