BYE BYE BYE

Son of a bitch! It is finally over!!!

Yeah, those filthy lines came from my mouth the moment I finished my DEVC20 exam last Friday morning. That is such a fresh breath of air after the four short months of tortuting ourselves with nonstop works, and prjoects, and assignments, and exams, and whatever.

Gone are the days that I [though I know I'm not alone in here] where I'm gonna cram my paers, and sleep well the day before my exam, only to shock myself the morning and rush all the information and insert them in my mind.

I am so happy that I won't commute myself every Monday morning to LB and go back Thursday afternoon and then commute again on Monday and the routine goes on and on.

But you know what? As much as I am happy that I can funally get the paradise I am looking for, I am sad. i'm even lonelier than the bliss that I am feeling right now.

Let me shift to the Tagalog language...

Ito ang pinakamasayang semsetre na naranasan ko sa buhay college. :) No kidding there. Ang sarap ng feeling na araw araw eh nasa college ka, at tumatambay kasama ng mga friends mo.

Ito kasi yung sem na talagang makikilala mo halos lahat ng DevCom students exisitng dahil mayroong 4 na majors at ang buhay mo ay nasa DevCom na talaga. Mahirap man dahil hassle at talagang stressful lahat ng requirements, ang tanging enjoyment na nakukuha ko ay ang bonding time with groupmates.

Andami kong nakilala na hindi ko alam na nageexist pala buong first year ako. Andami kong naging kaclose na hindi ko inaasahan na magiging kaclose ko. Sa araw araw na ansa DevCom ako, hindi ko maeexplain ang sobrang business na nararanasan ng lahat ng DevCom students thinking na ito na raw ang pinakamadaling sem sa DevCom.

Namimiss ko na ang college hindi dahil madami ang ginagawa, o dahil may pera ako lagi, o dahil makakainom anytime you want, or makakuwi anytime I want, or makikitulog saanman, pero namimiss ko ang mga jokes at atawa at halakhak ng aking mga kaibigan.

Marami man ang napalayo, mas marami ang pumalit at naging malapit para sa akin.

Babye na sa sem na to. Magkakalayo na lahat next sem. So panu ba yan? See you sa mga kamajor ko na lang. :)

VERONICA MARS!!!

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I know you can't resist the very charming Kirsten Bell so join now!

DO I MAKE YOU PROUD???

Now, that's sembreak is almost over, [I still have two loooooooooooooooooong exmas next week], I'm starting to miss LB as a whole. Hmm. Maybe because it's the end for the most fun semester you'll experience as a DevCom student. Gone are the days where you'll have 4 major subjects in a semester and you'll be staying at the DevCom building every day!

But of course, nothing beats the joyous atmosphere of my dear college as we won, yes, you heard it right, WE WON last Wednesday at the Dance Contest that was held in commemoration of the UPLB Loyalty Day.

Let me give you some facts first, the Loyalty Day is only celebrated at UPLB for those soldiers of the World War II who used the grounds of my dear alma matter during the midst of the war. So, every October 10, we celebrate Loyalty Day for them [and secretly, for us. :)]

And back tot he dance contest, I was not suppose to be a part of the performance. I was asked to join several times, and though I really want to join, I digress because of the gazillion requirements that I still need to finish (i.e popularization, magazine program, LSD) so I just let that opportunity fly away.

But as what they say, if it's emant for you, it definitely is meant for you. The final night before the main event, I was watching the rehearsals because I'm quite celebrating the fact that my hell week ended earlier. By Tuesday, I am already done with my four exams. So, I was there taking pictures while taking a look at their performance...

...when suddenly, the finale will include lifters in it. So, the choreo was waiting for them to find five guys that will lift siome ladies. They already suggested me, but the last time I lifted someone was almost a year ago, when I was still a member of the UPLB Pep Squad, but after than, none anymore.

few minutes later, there I was practicing witht he rest of them. The ebst part of it is having a free dinner. And in my case, free dinnerS since I was already eating when they gave me a pack of Bugong fried chicken telling that it was exclusive for the lifters. Haha!

The following morning was the special day. the call time was 6:30 am because we're all gonna be attending the parade. And free breakfast! LOL! So there we were under the sun, together with the instructors, professors, department head, waiting for our turn to be called since they are introducing every college. When it's our turn to be called, the hair on the back of my head rose because of the flattering introduction that the host [a DevCom student] gave to us. After all, the College of Development Communication was CHED's choice as one of the only two in the whole Philippines as the Center of Excellence in Communication. Haha!

Before we performed, another set of free food were given to us. This time, it's a cheese burger meal from McDo. I'm trying not to eat the whole meal because I may feel so full and might not be able to lift my partner, which would be a disgrace since that's the my only participation.

When it's our time to perform, I can say w emanaged to do well. Very well in fact. I already felt that we have a big shot of winning. I would be confident in that statement if the group who performed sxth was wearing lovely costumes that looks like they are back up dancers of a noontime show.

And finally, when the winners were announced, we won! Yoohoo! We all jumped for joy. It was so much fun and makes all of us proud. We all have a moment to touch the trophy [a wooden version of the famous mariang banga] and have our own pictures with them.

After that, a celebration followed which means free lunch! Oh, the perks of being a lifter. LOL! It was so fun! All of us at the college is celebrating that day! After eating, we went to watch THE performance, and it was so excellent. There are some mistakes at the first part, but it was complimented at the end.

Later that night, we watched the fireworks display at the Freedom Park. It was beautiful, and we spent the night taking pictures, and still, celebrating. :)

**************************************************

OK, from the famus Mariang banga, let's go now to the infamous Desperate Housewives scandal. Just gonna say my two cents at this issue. I just feel that people here are overreacting. It can be quite understandable that students and graduates from medical schools might feel furious about it but honestly, there's nothing worth fussing about.

It's as if we are not yet used with the jokes that they throw at third world or not so known countries. We have been mentioned in movie as hot spots for drug relocation, our women being known as prostitues, aren't we used to it?

We have been mentioned in other comedy series such as Friends, and Will and Grace, and only now that we're complaining? Why? Is it because the ones affetced are medical specialists? In My Name is Earl, there's a joke thrown to Filipino bellboys, but did we hear such a clamor? No. It's time we stop this ridiculous thing.

And please, let's not involve Teri Hatcher in it. I might hate her so much, and think that she's a bitch, but come on. She's an actress. She's known for acting, not for making political remarks. Anyone who thinks that Hatcher must apologize just wants to feel that Hatcher is begging to us. Come on.

That's all. :)

STRIPPED

After finishing the script of our feature program for my DEVC30 (Community Broadcasting) class, I decided to take a shower and make myself feel comfortable before jumping to bed to study for my ENG1 exam the following day.

Normally, I took a shower for five to ten minutes, which is basically the same amount of time that women will use just for applying shampoo, conditioner, and other hair treatment bottles they have in their mini baskets. [which almost looks like the shopping baskets at groceries.]

As I enter the shower, I know that this will take much longer than the usual. Not because I want to, but because I have to. As I start to rotate the handle of the shower, the same time the water starts pouring, I feel like a weakling. I want to cry. I am so tired. I want to rest. Thoughts left and right are pouring at the same time the water is. Many ideas have crossed my mind. Will I graduate on time? Am I really being harsh? Does anyone like me? All of the insecurities I have within myself came in front of me. All of them. I was so ashamed, as I enumerate them in my mind. Questions keep on bothering me.

For that moment, I simply closed my eyes and let the water drops invade me. In a few seconds, I hear nothing, just the peaceful sound of the water passing by me. It was so wonderful to hear. How I wish that moment will never end.

BUT!!!!

Of course, in the middle of my “soul searching” there was this distraction once again. The ceiling is making weird sounds again. That is not the first time I heard that sound. It only means two things: a couple is making love once again or somebody is pleasuring himself. I’d go for the latter since I know no female living upstairs.

Back to my shower, as I am standing there in my birthday suit, I was so overwhelmed by everything that I got. I realized so many things. I AM LUCKY. I AM BLESSED. I must be happy with all the things that I am getting. I must be underestimating every blessing that I receive that sometimes I look so foolish not realizing so.

After an hour, I got out. And I realize another thing:

Taking a shower can bring you to the best places you can ever experience. [And I’m not referring to heaven as you fantasize and satisfy the heat and lust in your body]

Stupid but true.

LIFE'S A PARTY

Yesterday was Arianne's debut, the "supposedly" end of the trifecta of debuts that I'm gonna be attending to. Techinically, it's really the tail of the three but there's already a new set of parties that I'm invited [invited or force? LOL!] to go to.

Anyways, it was at Purple Ostrich at Island Cove in Kawit, Cavite. The place is of course familiar since it was the same place where we had our JS Prom both for our junior and senior year [which made me think once again that I was robbed of a Prom prince/King title! LOL!] The party started at almost 8:30 though the invitation said seven but it's because the debutante's class was extended for that day!

Oh well, I was wearing a green long sleeve because they said that the motif was earthy colors, and though it's a toss up between dark yellow and dark green, I went with the latter since the dark yellow was unavailable since it is at the laundry shop.

Only few batchmates went, which is surprising because I didn't expect that many won't show up, though by judging the invitation, only few classmates were a part of the eighteen lists. I'm a part of the 18 Gerberas which in layman's term is simply 18 Roses. Gerberas, according to Hazel [not a reliable source! Kidding!] is a Turkish kind of flower.

The funniest part of the ceremony was the 18 Shots because most of those who were originally part of it were absent, so they just called on fillers, which was the role of most Burix members for the night, and all were surprised because they had nothing to say. What's funnier though, is that the emcee of the night, a Nene Tamayo [PBB Season 1 Big winner] look alike slash a DJ in the hittest radio station in Cavite, keep on butchering all of the names one after the other. From A-rah Dulog [re: Airra], to Rizza Hermosa [re: Hermoso], to Monique Salud [It should be sa-LUD, not SA-lud] to Maria Merexe Vale [she read Merexe with the last letter as a silent one and Vale as in "veil"] Vale, up until to her tongue twistered pronunciation of Hazel's surname, I was so thankful that she didn't butcher mine! Haha!

Incidentally, it was also her parents' silver anniversary! Wow! That is so good. [one, because they lasted that long, and two, because the debut costs expensive, why not make it a two in one celebration? LOL!] Arianne also performed twice [thrice if you count the singing part] that night with the Cotillion, and the Candyman performance.

No one danced THAT much to the disco because most of the DJ's song we're danceable. [sarcasm!] and when I say danceable, I mean those European music that one can hardly move his/her body to. But, of course, most of the songs rocked, but we're not just into out dancing personalities that night.

I was wondering how much stress would it be for the debutante if she finds out that someone from her entourage is absent, because that would be really nerve-wracking. Oh well, don't need to care bout that anymore, because as long as one invites me, it would be a pleasure and you can count me in.

Here are some pictures: [though it's difficult to get one since the stage is quite far, and there's some problem with the lightning of the venue and with my digicam]

DROWNING

A line from the 2002 movie The Hours:

I would tell you that I wrestle alone in the dark, in the deep dark, and that only I can know. Only I can understand my condition. I wish I could be happy in this quietness.

That pretty sums up how I feel right now.

SAVE ME.. ERR. BETTER SAVE HER

Everyone's feasting right now, on the article "From Boracay to Greece" that was published at the Manila Standard and the June issue of People Asia magazine.

And as every feast goes, there's definitely a pig in the middle of it, in this case, it's Malu Fernandez, literally, and figuratively a pig. She lambasted every OFW with her sarcastic remarks and demeaning obvservations like the excerpts here:

To save on my ticket, I bravely took an economy class seat on Emirates as recommended by my travel agent. Ron excitedly told me to go for it - Emirates had won best economy class and some award. However I forgot that the hub was in Dubai and the majority of the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) were stationed there. The duty-free shop was overrun with Filipino workers selling cell phones and perfume. Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them.

While I was on the plane (where the seats were so small I had bruises on my legs), my only consolation was the entertainment on the small flat screen in front of me. But it was busted so I heaved a sigh, popped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sounds of gum chewing and endless yelling of “HOY! Kamusta ka na? At taga saan ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?” Translation: “Hey there? Where are you from? Are you a domestic helper as well?” I thought I had died and God sent me to my very own private hell.

…. On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more. This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air.

As expected, people are so furious, and bloods rose up to this infuriating article of this woman who sees herself so high.

Here's my two cents worth about the article:

Let's not be inconsistent in saying that all that she stated were opinions. Some, and I repeat, SOME facts are true. Let's give the props to her. But, haven't she learned the lesson? Never ever underestimate the power of the Filipino crowd.

I remember when Claire Danes went to shoot in the Philippines sometime in the mid-90's, she called our place [specifically Manila] as "dirty and home for cockroaches." Back then, people snubbed the movie she shot and boycotted her. Well, up until now, she's still a stranger to the Filipino masa.

Danes' comment, though demeaning, was passable. She was a foreigner who's going to the Philippines was a part of her job. But still, Charlie Sheen, and Josh Hartnett did not mention the same comments.

On the other hand, Fernandez shot herself on the foot when she said those nasty comments. After all, she was a Filipino herself. She must be familiar with our culture... or not. maybe she's too busy choosing what dress to wear, what perfume to put, or what food to eat, that she forgot that she's also a Filipino.

As much as possible, I try to think if it's fair to call her a "pig" or a "bitch" because after criticizing her about what she did, it will be pretty much ironic that I'll do the same for her. Because if that was the case, then I should have no basis of starting this post at all.

As someone, who has relatives working as OFWs, this is really a below the belt comment. Truth does really hurt, but in this case, no. What hurts more is the fact that Filipino mentalities are still still prevalent, whether rich or poor, educated or not. She could have had kept the comments herself, but to share it to every Filipino? Damn, seems like soemone forogt to taught her the rules.

There's nothing wrong about being open-minded, especially, we are in a democratic country. That's primarily the meaning of democracy. But what really is she against to the poor people? Oppression of the poor is something so natural and has been a part of our culture already. Such people [poor ones] have already been deprived of material richness that they don't need moral or social degradation anymore. Remember how Filipino people always love the underdogs?

Last thing I heard, she resigned already. She received lots of death threats and was forced to resign from writing. But before that, she released a follow up article explaining that it was all an acerbic wit. It was even entitled "Am I just a diva or people are just lacking common sense?" To which my response was yes, you are so much of a diva, and an ACERBIC TWIT for that matter, and no. WE are not lacking in common sense. Someone better save this woman from drowning to her Jo Malone perfume or better wish that she was the one who evaporated into thin air.

This was her final statemt regarding the issue:

I am humbled by the vehement and heated response provoked by my article entitled 'From Boracay to Greece!' which came out in the June 2007 issue of People Asia. To say that this article was not meant to malign, hurt or express prejudice against the OFWs now sounds hollow after reading through all the blogs from Filipinos all over the world. I am deeply apologetic for my insensitivity and the offensive manner in which this article was written, I hear you all and I am properly rebuked. It was truly not my intention to malign hurt or express prejudice against OFWs.

As the recent recipient and target of death threats, hate blogs, and deeply personal insults, I now truly understand the insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice disguised as humor. Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions. It is my fervent hope that the lessons that Ive learned are not lost on all those who through anonymous blogs, engaged in bigotry, discrimination, and hatred ( against overweight individuals , for example )

I take full responsibility for my actions and my friends and family have nothing to do with this. To date I have submitted my resignation letters to both the Manila Standard and People Asia, on that note may this matter be laid to rest.

Well, now I'm pretty sure that she learned her lesson. So much that she'll get an A for it.