i hate being sick

partly because i'm not used to being sick. since yesterday, i've had a cold. it was manageable before i got to the office. unfortunately, it's not anymore. since 3 pm, i've used a roll of tissue to blow my nose & surprise, surprise! the roll is about to disappear from the face of this earth. i doubt that it will see another dawn. my cold is that bad.

did i mention that i have to breathe through my mouth most of the time?

argh.

in honor of the momentous event of badz discovering my blog...

i am posting the " ... (mahabang email)" that he sent to our thesis egroup at 12:12 am of march 13, 2005.

i absolutely love this email. reading it even after 9 months never fails to make me smile, & relive our fun times. in a way, it might seem weird that it was the only guy in our group who was able to capture into an email all the emotion-filled moments that we shared, but i'm quite glad that badz was able to do that.

the italics in parentheses are mine. read on, if you're patient enough. ;)

=========================

hello! :)

musta na? hehe... dapat nung monday pa ako mageemail nito, pagkakuha ng grades, pero hindi ko natapos itype... buti pala hindi ako nagemail nun, may idadagdag pa pala ako:

congrats! :) naks! bukod sa may latin honors kayong dalawa, may mini st. ignatius statue pa si grace (outstanding scholar!), hehe :p

anyway, bukod po dun, magpapasalamat din ako ng madami sa inyong dalawa :) A tayo sa thesis! yey! pangatlong A ko lang to sa buong college, pero ito din yung pinakamasarap kong A... i guess dahil ito rin kasi yung pinakamahirap :)

bukod sa thesis, salamat din noong:

expe psych - sa tingin ko madami tayong natutunan dito na nadala natin sa thesis... tsaka naalala ko pa noon na alanganin kayo sa subject na to, hehe... (alanganin kasi yung A namin ni candy. hehe!)

fr. dacanay - hindi ko makakalimutan yung pagcracram natin sa papers at pagmamadali magpaprint at magpunta sa jesuit residence, hehe... (all papers were due at 9 pm)

cog psych - medyo napabayaan nga natin ito kasi kasabay siya ng expe at theo 131, pero para sa kin ok pa din naman siya... kahit papano lesson na rin ito para sa atin - mas masarap ang tagumpay kung naranasan muna ang kabiguan :)

testing - hehe, medyo nakakapagod ito, pero gaya ng expe, marami rin tayong nadala sa thesis mula dito... marami akong kilalang juniors ngayon na nagrereklamo sa subject na ito, pero na-enjoy ko to, hehe...

i/o - yung tanging night class ko sa ateneo, hehe... hindi ko makalimutan yung hirit ni grace nung isang group meeting natin dito: "we don't need a devil's advocate because we already have the devil himself" (ok, hindi eksakto yan, basta parang ganun, hehe...)

hi 166 - medyo magulo yung group na ito, ang dami naman kasi e (plus ang dami ring kailangan gawin)... pero nalagpasan pa rin natin siya...

*special mention kay candy sa ab psych* - hehe, hula ko malaking dahilan kaya pumasa ako sa subject na to e dahil nagustuhan ni ma'am yung report natin :) salamat! :D (we had the same teacher, but i took the class after theirs)

*special mention ulit kay candy sa pol sci* - kung yung ab psych malaking dahilan yung report natin kaya ako pumasa, dito naman malaking dahilan yung report at paper natin kaya ako naexempt, hehe... nagfinals pa din ako (yinaya ako bigla ni berts nung pumunta ako sa testing room para magsoli ng philo notes kay kat), pero talagang mathematically impossible na maka-A pa ako dahil sabit lang ako sa pagka b+ ko, oh well... still, salamat! :) mababa lang ng konting-konti yung group work natin (1 point nga lang ata) hindi na ako maeexempt...

last but not the least (eto na)...

[wala na naman akong nakalimutan na iba di ba?]

thesis!

medyo mahaba-haba na tong email kaya iiksian ko na lang ng konti to...

una sa lahat, naaaliw ako na nag-enjoy tayo sa thesis... oo, sayang na hindi tayo nag best thesis pero ganun talaga ang buhay... naaalala ko nun nung isang meeting natin nung nag-iisip pa lang tayo ng topic nagtanong ako, "ano ba ang goal natin sa thesis? best thesis? o mag-enjoy tayo?"

alala niyo pa yung sagot niyo?

syempre, "pareho", hehe...

pero nung kailangan ng pumili ng isa, dun tayo sa 'masaya'... at dahil dun, ok na sakin na hindi best thesis... kasi mas gusto ko na yung masaya kesa naman best thesis tayo pero nagkaaway-away tayo, di ba?

sagot ko na din dun sa sinulat ni grace sa grad pic, yup, isa pa sa ikinatutuwa ko yung hindi tayo umabot sa point na nag-away away tayo... natupad natin yung pact natin... (one of our pacts when we began our thesis was to remain friends until at least april 2005)

[pero aaminin ko na naging mahirap siya... sobrang hirap... lalo na yung isa pang pact...] (our other pact was not to mention "the effect of color of paper on test performance", which was one of the topics badz wanted to do a test on, which i absolutely hated, to say the least)

alam ko na may mga oras na naiinis na kayo, tayo... sa kin, sa tin, o kung saan pang iba... pero at least hindi natin aalalahanin yung mga yun pag binalikan natin yung thesis (at least ako hindi)...

mas maaalala ko yung nag-e-enjoy tayo, lalo na yung hiritan...

gaya nung sinabi ni candy, nakakamiss yung mga hiritan... isa din sa pasasalamat ko sa group natin yung nagagawa nating maghiritan sa gitna ng mga matitinding pressure, hehe... wala lang, ilang group ba nakakagawa nun? (at makaka-A pa din sa thesis? hehe)...

gusto ko na ring humihingi ng paumanhin sa lahat ng pagkukulang at pagkakamali ko... kung madami (o sobrang dami) man sila, isipin niyo na lang... at least natapos na rin yung thesis at gagraduate na tayo :)

isa pa pala, tungkol dun sa thesis adviser natin... alam kong naging mahirap siyang hagilapin, lalo na kung kailangan natin magtanong, at nagiging malabo siyang kausap nung nakakapagtanong na tayo... minsan hindi nababalik agad yung mga papel, hindi nasasabi yung grade natin, at minsan nahihirapan tayo lalo...

pero pagkatapos nung lahat, na-appreciate ko din na kahit ganun, ok pa din tayo sa thesis... ma-i-improve pa sana natin, oo, pero di ba medyo ok din naman na nakaya pa din nating siyang gawin - naging resourceful tayo at nagtanong sa iba, hindi lang tayo umasa sa kanya... mas naging independent tayo at nag-isip para sa sarili natin...

hindi ko naman kayo pinipilit na sumang-ayon sakin, gusto ko lang sabihin na para sa kin, ok na din yung kinalabasan... kung nag-induce man ito ng dagdag na hirap, at least kinaya pa din natin yung hirap na yun... mas naging masarap yung matapos sa tayo thesis dahil dun... (at least para sa kin)

ok, wag kayong mag-alala, malapit na matapos to...

sa dinami-dami ng laman ng thesis natin, yung pinaka hindi ko makakalimutan e nasa first two pages...

sa page 2 (ii), lahat nung mga tumulong sa atin para matapos ito, mahirap nga naman gawin ang isang psych thesis ng wala kang ibang taong pasasalamatan, lalo na't kailangan natin ng ibang tao para matapos yung thesis natin... yun at yung dedication sa ilalim... ;) (badz wrote, "this study is for everyone who has loved, who is in love, & who will fall in love")

sa page 1 ( __ -> nakatakip nung white na square para hindi masama sa printing), yung title (malamang!) at yung pangalan nung mga nasa group...

oo, yun yung pinaka hindi ko makakalimutan...

bukod sa lahat nung napagdaanan natin, ilang thesismate ba yung makakaintindi sa priorities ko sa college? ;) hehehe... (his priorities were social life/basketball, orgs, & acads, in that order)

muli, salamat sa lahat-lahat... :)

ngayon, pupunta na tayo sa "next chapter" ika nga, life after college...

good luck sa ating lahat... :)

sa trabaho, kung sakaling mag-aaral ulit, sa love life, sa pamilya, sa mga kaibigan at sa lahat-lahat...

God bless!

wag niyo kalimutan tong egroups ha? email lang kayo "kamusta" lang o kahit kwento lang... :)

francis

ps.

congrats sa ting lahat, after 140 units in college (51 dun psych), tapos na tayo :)

"..."

Me, Badz & Candy after the mass & before the graduation rehearsal.

congo grille party mems

our 4th year high school class, embryology, had a Christmas party at congo grille, westgate alabang, last thursday. i almost did not go because i was already falling asleep on the bus, but louison told me: ano ka ba? minsan na nga lang tayo magkikita-kita e.

oo nga naman. minsan lang kami magkita-kita. the last time i saw most of them was after selene's (the first & currently only 'embryo' baby) baptism last october 2. so okay, i'll go.

louison:if ever mauna kayo sa kin, get a table for at least 15 seats.
me: get a table for at least 15 seats? seats ang kasama natin?
louison: haha! editor! table na, seats pa. bwehehe.
me: oo nga, e. i didn't know that you had a fetish for furniture.
louison: haha! alam mo naman ako, kinky! bwehehe.

cracked up over that text exchange. anyway, i got to westgate & started looking for congo grille. sabi ni loui, malapit lang daw sa fitness first. however, congo grille wasn't anywhere near fitness first! it was practically on the other side of westgate. the cold, cold wind almost froze me to death, as i was walking from one end of westgate to another.

well, found congo grille, mission accomplished at 7:55. no one from embryo was in sight, so i had a table set up for 15 people (not 15 seats :) ). i thought that i could occupy myself for a couple more minutes, but the length of the table for one person was overwhelming. kinukulit ko na tuloy si loui na pumunta na para may kasama na ko. sabi niya, parang hindi mo pa kilala ang mga yun. pag sinabing 8, it means 9, even 10 for embryo.

oo nga naman. oh, well. started making their phones ring, then. it's a message in a sense: where the hell are you people?! i'm here, waiting! harhar! good thing, je-ann, dianne & calai arrived soon after. calai brought selene with her.

Ricaflor, with Stephanie Selene Isabel Cabingan. Selene's not smiling here, but isn't she cute nevertheless? She'll be a year old on the 29th.

then the rest of them started coming in. my, it's ironic how we've all changed & stayed the same! i'm not sure if this is making any sense, but that's the way i feel about us. we've changed as we've grown older, & wiser through all of the experiences that we've been going through - going to college, getting a degree, working, starting relationships, ending relationships, losing loved ones, finding ourselves. but we've stayed the same to an extent, because we've remained friends. the bond is still there.

we talked about what's new - mostly about how our jobs are teaching us new things, or stressing us out infinitely. looney & i especially made time to talk - she heard something about me, that's why.

Embryo's Graces: Grace Roselle & Kristine Grace. May I just say, I hate this pic! My face looks round enough to roll around & never stop. I hate gaining weight. Argh.

ayun, coco, tin, deirdre, shai, calai & i went home at around 11, because many of us still had work tomorrow. grabe, ang traffic papuntang moonwalk! pero okay lang, we were able to talk a lot because of that. i remember one of us saying na sana, wedding na ang next na pupuntahin namin together. :)

so, the night ended for us. i heard though, that papu & john (i think) arrived at around 12. grabe papu, anong petsa na yun?! hehe...

i can't help but think, what will we be like in our next christmas party? which things would change, & which would remain the same? we will know in a year, i guess. ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

the day has just begun, but i feel great. :)

it's a day for love & gift-giving, but i will not be giving out gifts yet. hehe! my gifts for my co-mt's are still in their respective plastic bags, yet to be wrapped. these are the fruit of my two nights' shopping spree in sm southmall (in which i was able to buy only two gifts on the first night!). the irony of today for me is that later, i will be wrapping gifts. but it feels heavenly to be giving out something that you bought with money you worked for, so it's all good. :)

by the way, it seems as if my parents have passed on to me their role as santa claus to my younger siblings. when i was in sm with bene yesterday, i bought a police station with cars for kiko, & a barbie for angel. ang mahal na ng mga barbie, grabe! but they're happy (kiko: salamat at binigay ni santa ang pangarap ko buong buhay ko), so i feel that the costs are negligible.

hope this day ends well. merry christmas again, friends. ;)

naisip ko lang...

kaya siguro sinasabing para sa mga bata ang pasko ay dahil kapag naghahanapbuhay ka na, posibleng may pasok ka hanggang ika-23 ng disyembre. wala kang panahon para mamili ng mga regalo. masyado ka nang pagod at puyat para magsimba. pag gising mo sa umaga, nagmamadali ka nang pumasok at halos hindi mo na nararamdaman ang malamig na simoy ng hangin na nagpapahiwatig ng nalalapit na kapaskuhan.

sa totoo lang, nakalulungkot isipin...

random thoughts (the second installment)

random thought # 1:
thank God the revalida is over! i was finally able to give my big blue binder a break. not to mention my arms, which have been plagued with the weight from thursday last week, to tuesday this week. the next & final revalida will probably be on the first week of feb, so we could give ourselves a break. whew.

random thought # 2:
i promised myself last week that if i'm satisfied with my revalida grade, i will buy the other books in the shopaholic series (i've read three out of the five, though i only have shopaholic takes manhattan). but when i was in national last tues, i settled for lipstick jungle instead, because it is #1 on the fiction best seller list. sana maganda talaga. :)

random thought # 3:
we were invited to the Christmas party of the office of the president last wednesday in manila yacht club. masaya, in fairness. my co-MT's kris & justin were the impromptu hosts. kris: they're going to make tusok-tusok the balloon. ika nga ng iba sa min, "nagsama ang dalawang coño." haha!

random thought # 4 :
nakakatuwa na kaming MT's ang nanalo ng karamihan sa prizes. read:

me - free overnight stay at a superior room in traders hotel
aisha - toaster & wireless kettle
connie - P200
roxy - thermos
crystal - optical mouse
sarah - gift certificate from magnolia ice cream
cecille - P500 gift certificate from shakey's
kris - microwave oven container

to think na fifteen lang kami...8 ang may raffle prizes! pero medyo nakakahiya rin, kasi saling-pusa lang naman kami sa party na yun...

random thought # 5:
paano ko kaya gagamitin yung free hotel accommodation? haha! sana okay lang sa traders kung marami kami, kasi gusto kong gamitin naming MT's yun after our final revalida. pasensya na lang, dalawa lang ang kama, kaya may dapat matulog sa sahig (o sa bath tub). haha!

random thought # 6:
i brought my chicken soup for the romantic soul (a gift from deirdre) to the office. mabenta, in fairness! binasa nina justin, jonah, at aisha, at pinag-agawan pa ni roxy at rina. may pila na, at meron pang nag-propose na kabitan ko na ng library card sa likod. haha! maganda naman kasi talaga. my favorite story is "the road to romantic ruin is paved with practical gifts". bagay na basahin ng guys before they buy gifts for girls. :)

random thought # 7:
inaantok na ko. to be continued tomorrow, if i get the chance. i have so much more to blog (the remedial party, & going back to school for starters), after all.

i won an overnight stay at a superior room in traders hotel!

that's all that i can say for now. i'm too tired from our Christmas party, but i'm happy nonetheless.

it's a happy day!

revalida officially over! we all passed! i am alive!

finally, my co-mt's & i are starting to feel the Christmas season. tonight, we had dinner at glorietta, & played at time zone. some of us even shopped for cowgirl/boy costumes for tomorrow's party at the manila yacht club, with the office of the president. i, on the other hand, went to national bookstore & bought myself a light read, & checked out the stalls at the activity center & bought a jar of strawberry jam. :)

such a heavenly feeling! no manuals/notes/hand-outs to read, no revalida with vp's & avp's to be worried about. just celebrations to look forward to, in the spirit of the season. :)

judgment day looms near...

it's on tuesday. 4 senior officers will be evaluating whether i learned enough about credit during the past three months. i hope that i'll be able to deliver.

sometimes i wonder, what is it about formal examinations that scare us so much, when we have grasped the material anyway? all i know is that i am often nervous before exams, whether written or oral ones. before orals, i often find myself unable to eat or drink, even though i'm supposed to be hungry already. when i enter the room where the exam will take place, it's as if a cold hand is on my throat; i'm scared, i walk mechanically to my seat, & i feel that i won't be able to utter even just a word.

the thing i could be grateful for is that i loosen up once i start anwering. plus, i could look calm even when inside, i'm trembling.

my revalida's on tuesday, either before or after lunch. last week, i was thinking about it already. now, i'm close to obsessing about it. but in a way, i'm comforted by all these emotions that are tumbling in me. as i told sarah last friday, i would rather be nervous than not. at least, i know that i'm taking this important thing seriously.

in the air :)

i've been reading a few blogs & i noticed one thing - love's in the air. people are finding each other & getting together. i'm not directly involved, but i get quite thrilled at the thought that my friends are happily attached. i hope this goes on & on & on. :)

two's a company, three's a crowd

i now have three arrovo bills. i should be happy, but i'm not. think: i now have 300 bucks that i can't spend, because these are supposedly collectors' items. but when i come close to going broke, i swear, i'm going to sell them.

sana noong college pa...

ako nag-blog. sayang. i envy the people who had blogs during college, because they were able to immortalize so many precious memories. it's just that i was so harrassed by everything then - acads, extra-curriculars - that i couldn't find time to blog. there was just so much to do, and senior year was especially fast. oh, well.

so pardon me if once in a while, i decide to go back 10 months or so, and write about a college moment. it will just be my way of making up for lost blog time. :)