This Boy's Life

HAPPY PRIDE!!!





A Mid Summer White Deam



Men in White



Fab Hag Tessa Prieto-Valdez



Party People

Images via White Party Site and Edsel Misenas

This entry is obviously a late one.

Happy Pride Boys and Girls!!!

Mommy's Birthday

Last night at dinner, I texted my Mom and asked her what her plan was for today. After maybe about ten minutes, my phone rang and it was her on the other line. I say, "Hi Ma! What's the plan for tomorrow? It's your birthday, right?"

My mom jokingly (or maybe she was serious) replies, "It's a good thing you still remember my birthday!"

I answer, "Of course, I remember your birthday." Hehe! I wanted to tell her, "I may not be home most of the time but that doesn't mean I forget the birthdays of my family members."

She replies, "We're planning to have a lunch out."

I answer, "Why don't I just prepare something for you and the rest of the family? It'll be nicer. (not to mention cheaper)"

My mom agrees and after we hang up, Hunski and I went to the grocery to buy ingredients for today's lunch. Mom wanted those tri-colored spiral pasta, which I thought looked very nice and appetizing. I got some ingredients for a rich tomato meat sauce, some herbed bread sticks, and some chicken breast fillet. And to go with the pasta, a bottle of red wine.

While Mom and my youngest brother, Andre, went out to buy a cake. I started preparing for the lunch. My other brother, Raymond, assisted in setting the table. He also bought some lovely pink roses for Mom. My dad was down with a fever so we just let him rest.

Around twelve thirty, everything was set and we all took our seats around our table. We greeted my Mom a Happy Birthday and started eating the meal that I prepared. I thought it was a very nice meal. I even thought it was better than eating out because it was prepared by every member of the family. Moments like these are very rare since we have different schedules so I really, really enjoy meals where everyone is present. It's really great.

I hope that my Mom also enjoyed her birthday. She cut the cake and got everyone a slice. Even during her own special occasion, she still takes care of us. Isn't that the sweetest? I just love my Mom so much. I wish her many more years of happiness and health.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

Model for a Day



I have always wondered how it would feel to be like her and her. My wondering came to an end yesterday. Of course, sans all the thousands of dollars model fee and all the other publicity.

A good friend of mine, Suki, works for Raymund Isaac, one of the country's premier celebrity photographers. Raymund's work has graced several covers and pages of magazines, huge billboards on the highway, and even on some publications and exhibits abroad. Armed with his highly advanced camera, he has captured several of the most beautiful faces of Philippine showbiz and fashion. He is considered to be among the ranks of him and him.

Earlier this year, Suki mentioned to our circle of friends that we will be having a photo shoot with Raymund Isaac. It will just be for fun, nothing more. Having said this, several of our friends went to the gym immediately the following day to start working out. Others subjected themselves to the easier said than done discipline of dieting. Uhm, I enrolled in a gym and tried to diet but it seems that everything just seems to work against me. Hehehe! It's alright though.

At exactly nine a.m., friends started arriving at the cozy home cum studio of Raymund Isaac. People just lounged around for about an hour waiting for others to arrive. Some people were watching television while others were smoking outside. After everyone arrived, everybody got on their feet and started preparing for the shoot. Makeup of different shades, foundations, bronzers, brushes, different hair styling products were pulled out of bags. Hehehe! Yes, we are indeed gay! There will be four costume changes - white shirt and jeans, red shirt and jeans, all black, and all white.

After about an hour of preparation, we all headed downstairs to Raymund's studio. Save for those who work with Raymund and a couple of others, most of us had no idea what to do. Someone phoned Raymund to inform him that we were ready but were we really ready? Hehe!

Raymund, clad in an immaculate white linen polo and flat front khaki shorts, entered the room and instructed his assistants on arranging the set. Suki mentioned that this was his favorite part because he just can't wait to see what Raymund has in his mind. Well, whatever it is, we're all sure it will be great. After the set has been arranged, lightings were checked, and we were instructed where to position ourselves, the camera started clicking.

At first, almost everyone seemed to be a little conscious of themselves and feeling tense. But as the shoot went on, everyone finally began to loosen up and just be ourselves. Of course, Raymund was also very helpful with his comments while shooting, "Feel like a Calvin Klein model. Okay, just think you're the most beautiful person in the world no matter what other people say." Add to that the very upbeat music which really helped.

We finished the photo shoot by three thirty in the afternoon. People started to remove the makeup from their faces. We changed back into our comfy clothes again. And after a little more chatting with each other and Raymund, people started to leaving in groups, as if we were real models headed to another shoot or maybe a runway show. Harhar! When I got back to the apartment with Hunski, I felt a somewhat exhausted. I never thought that posing in front of the camera could be that tiring. Harhar!

I wasn't able to go to my afternoon class anymore. Harhar! That's alright, though. I can always ask my classmates what we did. This Raymund Isaac photo shoot, together with friends, was more important at the moment. It's not everyday that I get to be photographed by a top photographer.

One Year



Today, I am celebrating my first year anniversary with my blog. My heartfelt thanks goes to Carlo, who introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY DEAR BLOG! May we spend more years of writing together. Hehehe!

Rainbow Boys



There are some books that when you pick up and finish reading the first few pages, you just can't put it down. It's either the book is so good, it's so easy to read, or there's really no other thing that you have to do so you might as well continue reading.

In my situation, all three were the reasons why I finished reading Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez in just a day.

The story revolves about the lives of three young men who are trying to survive teenage life. Jason Carillo is the school's popular jock. He has a girlfriend. But he's also confused. Neil Glassman is a stereotyped homosexual and is the school's resident homosexual. Kyle Meeks is Neil's best friend who is deeply smitten with Jason. Unknown to Kyle, Neil's heart is beating for him. The book talks about the different things that teenage homosexuals often encounter - asking oneself if he were gay, coming out, being discrimination, standing up to others, safe sex, dating, and other things.

You can read an excerpt from the book here.

Would I recommend you read it? Yes. I actually can't wait to get a copy of its sequel, Rainbow High.

Will someone ship me a copy of the book? Please. Hehe!

Danger, Danger

Informationi

angelo is a restricted area. Authorised personel only

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

Summer of 2004


Hunski and me with his officemates I


Hunski and me with his officemates II

I have been remiss in making entries on this blog of mine, so to somehow make up for it, here are two of my nice pictures from the summer that went by so fast. Harhar! The photos were taken during the trip to Subic Bay last May 1.

It was a very fun trip. And it's just great that I have some pictures to bring back memories of that trip.

Carlo Zaturnah

I am, more often than not, really not big on going out. I don't know why. There was a time when I was out with friends almost every night, and I guess that somehow, that was already enough for me. Lately, I would rather choose to stay home, particularly during weekday nights. On weekends, it's a different case. I would go out to have fun and hang out with my friends.

However, there are some nights during weekdays when you just feel that you have to go out. Tonight was one of those nights. My class was about to end in an hour and I really didn't feel like going home yet. So I decide to text a special friend who I haven't seen for quite some time now - Carlo.

Luckily, he didn't have any important appointments that night and he was able to adjust his schedule so he can meet with me. This is one of the nice things about Carl. He's always willing to rearrange his schedule in order to accommodate people.

So at exactly, nine thirty in the evening, Carl and I met up at Starbucks at the Podium.

After getting myself a tall glass of Mocca Frappuccino, and Carl a Venti glass of Green Tea and Tuna Sandwich, we settled ourselves at the seats outside the store to enjoy the cool, crisp night air. Carl has always been a favorite coffee companion of mine. We never seem to run out of topics to talk about. And it's hard to notice the hours pass by because you just enjoy his company.

Carl and I separated ways a little after midnight. I took a cab going home and was in bed by one. It may have been a long day but it was okay. I really didn't feel tired. I actually enjoyed the whole day and night. Thanks to good friend Carl.

Watch Out Manila



While watching television yesterday, I just got all excited when I found out that Amazing Race 5 will include the Philippines as one of the legs of the race! Woohoooo! Isn't that cool?

What is even more exciting though is that Manila will be the last leg of the race? I don't know if that's for real. I'm just telling you what I saw on TV. But in case it is, then this is really exciting.

There is no gay couple though in TAR 5, but I still hope it'll be as exciting and as thrilling as TAR 4.

So make sure, you're home on July 6 in time for the broadcast premiere of THE AMAZING RACE 5.

Click here for more info.

The Biggest Smile on My Face...

Two years ago, on this same exact date, I remember waking up with the biggest smile on my face. It's been quite a while since I have had that kind of smile on my face. It felt like it was my birthday and Christmas combined in one day and I was happy, because there would be a lot of gifts. No, actually, it was better than that. I wasn't exactly sure why. The thought that the following day, I would be starting my first day as a teacher freaked me out big time and yet during those moments, I didn't care.

I was happy. Really happy.

I turned to my side and I found out why I was very happy. There right beside me, sleeping serenely, was the cutest boy in the world. The man that I was starting to fall in love with. He was sleeping like a baby, and just watching him sleep gave the best feeling. I wanted to tell the man that I loved him, but I chose not to. It wasn't the right time yet.

A month later, I told the man that I loved him. And I became even happier that the man also told me he loved me back.

Today, I still wake up with a big smile on my face when I see the cute boy sleeping beside me - my Hunski. And today, we are celebrating two years of being together as a couple. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that it has already been two years. But it is. Hunski and I have been through ups and downs in our relationship, and we survived. I dunno how but we have. That is what's important.

Today, as we celebrate our second year anniversary, I want to tell my Hunski that I look forward to several more morenings of waking up and seeing his beautiful face beside me.

I love you very much, Hunski! Happy 2nd Anniversary!

The More Significant Occasion

Sometimes, you forget an important occasion because of a more important occasion. That's what happened to me today.

The third course I enrolled in for the semester holds class every Saturday afternoon. The course is Communications 241. Course description is Communications Theory and Socio-Cultural Change.

Eventhough my class is still at one in the morning, I still woke up at nine in the morning. Yes, people you read that right - nine in the morning! When I woke up, I watched a little bit of TV. Listened to a little bit of music. And when I had nothing more to do, I crawled back to bed and hugged my sleeping Hunski and waited for him to wake up. An hour later, Hunski got up and we both had breakfast...err, I mean brunch.

We headed to our usual breakfast place, Pancake House. Most of the time, there would only be a few people at Pancake House at the time Hunski and I take our breakfast because we usually eat a little before nine. But today, when we entered the diner, it was packed with people - moms and dads with their kids, and extended family, old gentlemen's and old ladies' clubs, college kids, among others. Because of the volume of people, Hunski and I had to settle for a table where, unfortunately, the airconditioning unit situated on the ceiling directly above the table drips once in a while.

It was okay. As long as the water droplet doesn't drip on us or on our food, we're okay. Hunski and I are too hungry to think of moving to another place.

After a hearty breakfast, Hunski and I went to the mall to do some walking since I still have some more time to kill. We found our noses and our selves being led to Breadtalk. It is a newly opened baked goods and pastries store located at the ground floor of Glorietta 4. If you haven't checked out the place, you should. They have a lot of goodies on sale. You don't need to know where it is because the sweet smell of freshly baked goods will lead you to it.

While Hunski went inside the store to get us some desserts, I stayed outside and stared at the window display of Paul Smith. I was captured by the messenger bag on display, which I know I can't afford at the moment. Now, this is the goods that I like. Hehehe! It's a good thing Hunski arrived before I was able go inside the store to check out what the other goods were. Hehehe!

After Hunski and I finished our dessert, Hunski walked me to the train station. I took the train going to school while Hunski went back to the mall to do some more shopping. My travel time going to school usually takes about thirty to forty minutes. From the train station, I have to take another ride. If I take the jeepney, it'll take about fifteen or so minutes. If I take a cab, it'll take about ten or minutes. I took the latter.

When I reached the college, I notice that there were only a few students at the entrance to the college. It was okay. I didn't mind because it was, after all, a Saturday and only few classes are held. But as I reached the entrance to the building, I noticed that the doors were closed and padlocked.

I approached one of the students sitting on the bench and asked, "Why is the college closed? Are there no classes today?"

The student, unsure whether I was joking or not, replied, "There are no classes today. It's a holiday, remember? Independence Day."

As soon as I heard him say this, I felt humiliation started building up within me so I immediately said thanks, turned around and walked away without looking back. The student must have thought that I was the most unpatriotic Filipino. Hehehe!

What can I say?

When your anniversary falls on a national holiday, your anniversary would still be THE occasion that you'd celebrate and not the national holiday.

Last Day of Work

Today, Thursday, June 10, 2004, is my last day as a technical customer care representative.

Nothing special really happened. It was just like a regular day for me. The only difference is that when I got home in the evening, I didn't have to think about what I have to wear, I didn't have to be in bed by nine so I can wake up at four, I didn't have to be anxious that I'll be taking in calls again when I wake up in the morning. There's less pressure I feel and I can take my sweet time doing the things that I want to do.

It feels good.

The special thing that happened was the afternoon get-together I had with my team mates. After work, we went to a nearby restaurant to have some heavy snacks and just enjoy each other's company.

When we were at the restaurant already, the team surprised me with a card that they all signed and a friendship bracelet. I was really touched by what my teammates who, in time, have become my friends. If there's one thing that helped me keep my sanity and gave me reason to go to work, it was my teammates. I may not have loved the job, but I sure loved my team mates and Team Leader. They were my family.

And I'll surely miss them.

Over snacks, they were telling me, "Don't forget to visit us. Keep in touch. We'll surely miss you." While I was touched by these comments, I had to say, "Guys! I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving the country so let's not get too mushy, aight?", just to break the impending dramatics. Hehe!

We separated ways a little before six in the evening. I had so much fun with my teammates and I'll definitely miss them. Uhm, sometimes I feel weird that I didn't cry because I resigned.

But I realize, there's no need to cry because I'll still be around. I'll definitely visit them from time to time. And we will still keep in touch every now and then.

For now, let me just express my deepest gratitude to each member of Tomb Jaders. It was a real pleasure working with you all.

Back to School...

It's my first day of school today.

The class is at five thirty. The venue is at the College of Education. The subject is Educational Foundations 241 (EDFD 241). The course description is Philosophy of Education. The professor is...uhm...I dunno who the professor is actually.

I get out of work at two thirty in the afternoon so that gives me a lot of free time before I head to class. Today, I spent that free time with colleagues, Ruby and June, having afternoon snacks of pizza at the neighboring mall of our office. We just talked about stuff.

We separated ways at exactly four thirty. I took the bus going to school since I figured I still have a lot of time and I really don't want to be the first person to arrive at the classroom. I'm not really a bus person though. Well, I am unless there's a better and faster alternative means of transportation, in this case, the train. You should how a bus turns into a moving can of sardines with wheels during rush hour. But like I said, I chose to take the bus given the free time I had. I found myself entering the College of Education three minutes before the class started.

I almost lost my way to class because our classroom was located within a bigger classroom and I wasn't exactly sure which of the three would be the EDFD241 classroom. I just asked the person nearest the door if it was EDFD 241 and when he confirmed it was, I made my way in and took a seat. There were already a lot of people. I would usually take a seat on the first row mainly because I get distracted easily when I'm in the rear rows and also because, I can hear and focus on the lesson more.

I ended up taking a fourth row seat. No one was sitting beside me and nobody seemed to be in the hi-what's-your-name mood so I decided to just wait for the professor to show up. Five minutes later, a lady comes in and boy I was happy to see that she was also in the same class as mine. It's Miss LC. She was my Speech Communication professor in college which is why I call her Miss. She is a young and very funny lady and she was one of my inspirations why I wanted to teach Speech Communication after graduating. Her method of teaching was really fun and I really learned a lot from her. I took up her subject during sophomore year and now, we're classmates.
This will be fun, I thought.

She was surprised to see me and she kept on asking me if we really belonged to the same class. I kept on telling her, "Yes, this is EDFD 241!" Before we got to chat more, a guy in a white polo shirt and black pants came in and took the seat facing the students. I guess that identifies him as the teacher, huh?

Instead of introducing himself, the man asks the class if it was EDFD 241 and when we said yes, he took the seat and began talking. First, he began to talk about the subject and then, later on. he was already talking about philosophical matters. I thought I was the only who got confused with how the man discussed things but when Miss LC passed a small piece of paper to me, I knew that there was something odd about the flow of discussion of the man.

Miss LC wrote, "I feel like we're in the middle of watching a movie but we came in late so we don't really know what's happening." I just laughed quietly.

This is not to say though that I didn't pick up a small bit of knowledge that night. I did. And it can actually be summed up in fourteen words.

"In order to transmit true knowledge, one has to be careful in formulating statements.", the man in front of the class said.

Although the urge to share what my thoughts are on this statement is strong, I choose to just keep it to myself for the meantime. I definitely agree though with what he said. I think it's true. And I think it's something everyone should know, especially people who are in the academic field.

The class ended early because it is just the first meeting. During the last few minutes in class, one of the students actually got to ask what everyone has been wanting to ask the man in front of the class for the past two hours, "What is your name?"

The man told us his name and with that, we all stood up and left the room. Class dismissed.

There goes the first day of school...

The Longest Week of My Life

It's my last week of work! Whooopppeeee!

Sweet Sunday...



White Choco Cashew Cookies



Oatmeal Bars

For Christmas 2003, Hunski and I gave out mini-Christmas baskets to our close friends. The Christmas basket contained macaroons and food for the gods, and a couple of other little things. It was our first attempt at baking and I have to say we did well because our friends loved our baked goods. Either that or our friends just really love us.

In any case, Hunski and I decided that we can actually continue doing the baking after Christmas. Since we both have ovens at our homes, baking stuff wouldn't actually be difficult. We also actually save on some other expenses like electricity, gas, rent and labor since the first three are taken cared of by our parents (Hehehe!) and the third one is for free since it is the two of us who do everything from buying ingredients to packing the finished products. Looking for a place where we can sell our goods is also not an issue since we can put the stuff at the school canteens my Mom is operating.

So for quite some time now, Hunski and I have actually been spending our Sunday afternoons mixing flour with eggs and other ingredients, greasing and lining pans, waiting for the timer to tell us the goods are done, and cutting and packaging baked goods. Our regular lineup of baked goodies include white chocolate cashew cookies, oatmeal with raisin bars, oatmeal with apple and cinnamon bars, food for the gods, and brownies.

When the second semester ended and summer season came in though, we had to stop baking for the meantime since there would only be a few classes, ergo less students in school.

Today, the first semester kicks in again and it's time for Hunski and I to spend Sunday afternoons again in the kitchen. Yestreday, we baked some oatmeal raisin bars and white chocolate cashew cookies at Hunski's place. We only made a few batches though since school just opened and classes won't be in full swing til next week. I made about thirty-two oatmeal bars and Hunski made about forty-five cookies. We'll see how the first week goes and from there, we'll probably increase the number of goodies. Also, we would most probably start baking other pastries mainly because we'll both be out of jobs soon, thus, giving us more time to learn and bake more things.

Anyway, you see the baked goodies above. I know, we have to work on our food photography but in any case, I just wanted you guys to see what the finished products look like. Hehe! I can't help it. I'm so proud of us. Hehe!

So do you want to know whether the products are good? Or are you in need of some baked goodies for your parties? Well, just please feel free to email or leave a message here at my blog for orders.

Have a great week everyone.

The Ordeal UP Students Have to Face Twice a Year...(Part II)

I am an officially registered UP student as of 4:45 in the afternoon of Friday, June 4, 2004.

Wooohoooo!

But it wasn't an easy process. And you'll agree with me in saying that since you all now have an idea on how the registration process in the country's so-called premiere state University goes.

Last Thursday, I went back to the college to begin the registration proper. This entailed filling out the Form 5, which is the standard registration form. After that, I had to go to my adviser for Post-Advising. And then from there, I had to wait in line for my form to be checked and assessed.

Again I finished at nearly five in the afternoon so that means I have to return again the following day to, hopefully, complete everything.

Yesterday, I completed the registration process. I asked permission from my Team Leader to leave the office early so I can finish the registration. I left around one p.m. I reached UP at about two so that gave me enough time to complete everything.

First stop was the cashier unit where I had to pay an outstanding loan I have with the University. This was one reason why I was a bit irritated last Thursday because I thought that the loan was already settled by someone but it turns out it hasn't been and to make things a teeny bit worse, it has already earned an interest big enough to fund a nice date for me and Hunski. Haha!

Moving on, after paying the loan, I had to go to the Student Loan Board office again to apply for another loan for this semester. This is one of the nice things I appreciate about the university. The program allows me to loan up to 80% of my tuition fee and that's already helpful. I could have paid for the tuition fee in full but I chose not to since again, I'll be out of job by next week.

After getting the application form, I had to go to my aunt in another college to ask her to sign the form. She'll be my guarantor for the loan and she'll be accountable for it should I not pay it. After having my aunt sign the form, I took a ride again to the Loan Board so they can release a check for me. After handing me the check, the guy informed me that I can now proceed to the College of Engineering to pay my tuition fee and finish the registration.

It was only three thirty in the afternoon and boy was I glad because I would be able to finish early. Wrong!!! When I reached the College of Engineering, what welcomed me was a very long line of students and parents who are waiting for their turn to pay.

Oh my gawd! The line looked longer than the line of people who were buying tickets for the latest Harry Potter movie. Hehe! Oh well, I had no choice but to fall in line and wait and wait and wait and wait...

The people next to me were a mother and son tandem. The mom asked me, "Are you the last person in line?". I go, "Yes, I am.", trying to sound as positive as I can be. What we all need at that moment was some positive energy and none of those irate moods.

In my effort to make the mom laugh, I told her, "You know what. When I was in freshman year, the system has always been like this and now I'm taking up my Master's and it is still like this." Furthermore, I said, "UP doesn't only stand for University of the Philippines. It also stands for University of Pila (pila is the Tagalog word for falling in line).

After almost an hour of waiting, I finally reached my turn to pay and the process only took about three minutes. The cashier gave me my registration form and after that, I couldn't help but really smile because the ordeal is now over. I should have a shirt made saying, "I survived the UP registration process."

The first person I texted was Richie, because he was also starting his Master's degree this semester although he'll be taking it in another university. I told him, "I'm not an official UP student. When the finals week comes, we'll be screaming at each other to lift each other up in support, okay?". And I also texted Hunski just to let him know that his Hunski is now a student again.

Classes begin next week. I'm scared and I'm excited. Angelo is a schoolboy once again, friends...

The Ordeal UP Students Have to Face Twice a Year...

Twice a year, every student of the University of the Philippines has to go through a grueling ordeal. For some, the suffering lasts for only a day while for others who don't have time on their side, the torment may last up to three days.

Too bad for me, I belong to the latter. And that hardship I am talking about is called registration.

One may think that I am exaggerating here but if you would have joined me in the registration, you'd know what I mean.
After work yesterday, I proceeded to the College of Mass Communications to begin the registration process. I arrived at the college, which was crowded with noisy undergraduate students, at about fifteen minutes before four. That meant I only had an hour and a half to do stuff. And to make things worse, rain started to pour and little boy Angelo had no umbrella with him. Bummer!

I dunno about but when you've been away from school for about two years, you forget how the whole registration process goes. Good thing there were guidelines posted around.

I went to the department to consult with my adviser as to how many subjects I should take. An insane person would take three subjects because two subjects alone is enough to make you crazy. I said I'd like to take up three subjects since I'm going to have more free time. After advising, I had to do the pre-enlistment. This meant going to the department of each subject I had to take so I can reserve a slot in the class.

Enlisting in the two subjects that I had to take up in the college was a breeze, but not with the third one. My adviser told me I can take up an elective outside of the college. This meant I can take up any Humanities/ Social Sciences subjects with a course number of 200 or above. The first thing that came to mind is to take up Education subjects. I've always planned to be part of the academe someday so an Education subject or two would definitely be most helpful.

So braving the drizzle, I left the College of Mass Communication and proceeded to the College of Education. And just so you know, the two colleges are far from each other that one needs to take a ride to get there.

When I reached the college, I looked at the available subjects I can take up. For my plans, the best subjects I would have to take up are Educational Foundation (EDFD) courses. I immediately listed down EDFD 201 (Psychological-Philosophical Foundations of Education) and the schedules that were available. There were four classes available so I wasn't worried at all.

When I reached the pre-enlistment table to reserve my slot, there was a post that read "All EDFD 201 classes are now closed". My reaction was, "You gotta be kidding me!". But it's true. So I had to go back to the list of subjects and the next thing I saw was EDFD 203 (Psychology of Teaching). I said to myself that this was a better subject to take up. So after getting the class schedule, I went to the Pre-Enlistment table to have a slot reserved and the pre-enlistment guy told me the class has also been filled.

Oh my gawd! I never knew it was this difficult to get subjects in the College of Education. I ended up taking EDFD 241 (Philosophy of Education). I dunno what it will be about or how toxic it might be but that was the best subject left for me.

By the time I finished pre-enlistment, it was already five p.m. There was no more use for me to get back to my home college to continue with the registration process since offices are now closed.

So I decided to just go home and take a much needed rest.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was just the first day of registration. We haven't even began with the registration process proper yet.

Bad Day

There are just days when you feel bad.

This is one of those days. For a reason I didn't expect, I'm feeling down right now. And I want shut out everyone. Gawd! I just don't like some things that happened.

As much as I don't want to say this because I don't want to appear pessimistic, I have to say it.

Life is unfair.

I just have to sleep this off.

Weekend with my Teamates...(continued)



Team Tomb JADErs with the Unfinished Banner

So I spent Saturday with my teammates.

We went to a resort in a town just on the outskirts of Manila. The resort was okay. It wasn't what I thought it would be but it's okay. We reached the location at about nine in the morning. After putting down our stuff, we had a hearty breakfast.

Following breakfast, we began the activities. The activities basically gave us an opportunity to know more about one another. It was a chance for us to get a glimpse of the each other's life when we're not taking in calls and helping people solve their DSL issues. I have always enjoyed activities like this given the fact that I'm such a sentimental person and I really look at situations like these as the moment that will really bind us together as a team (eventhough I'm leaving in a week) and as friends.

I would not write down what the stories of my teammates were, for respect for them. It's enough to say that after hearing their stories, I understood them more and I became more grateful and appreciative for the things that I have. David and I were the last ones to share our stories. The people who shared before us broke into tears or really had a moving story. When it was David's and my turn to share, everybody just laughed. Not because ours wasn't as dramatic but because David and I just wanted to make them laugh.

Later on, I was telling David, "Oh my gawd, Dave! I feel like the two of us are such shallow people because we didn't have stories like theirs." And he laughed in agreement and then later on said, "What can we do? We're happy people." I also added, "You know, had this happened three years ago, I would have probably cried as well but right now, everything seems to be going well and there's nothing for me to cry about. I've come to terms with myself. Everything's okay."

Moving on, we finished all the activities by lunch time. We then had a sumptuous lunch. Everyone brought a yummy Filipino dish and it really felt like a feast. Boy were we stuffed! There goes our diets! Hehehe!

After lunch, we worked on the team banner. There was a competition at the office and we had to create a team banner. It was nice to see how we worked as a team and how everyone really contributed on the project. The banner making activity was yet another activity for us to bond and have several moments of laughter.

We left the resort at five in the afternoon. David and I had to go ahead because he had a date and I had my own date. The others went to Michelle's house to finish the banner.

It was such a great Saturday. I know I may not have spent it with Hunski and his friend but I think that's okay. That teambuilding activity was the only opportunity for me to get to know my colleagues more and a great way to strengthen our friendship not just as teammates but as friends....