On Hold Until Further Notice

Taking a breather from thesis as I fly my butt to my home town, Davao City, tomorrow morning and come back to Manila after a full seven days. I feel guilty for putting things (namely thesis and nothing else) on hold to go on this mini-vacation. I can't help it though if my life was pretty much planned and The Bureau (Adjustment Bureau reference) suddenly decides to adjust my life plan.

I think we need to breathe once in a while. Sometimes, literally, especially when people and certain circumstances just do not make a good match and will eventually cause your blood to boil, your face to burn, and your sanity to go down the drain.

So grab that yellow tape and bind all your worries away... Until further notice! ;)

21 Days of Unplanned Hiatus

It has three full weeks since I last wrote an entry. I have so much to tell; the words are in my head, coursing through my veins, itching to be released through the power of my fingertips pounding on my laptop keyboard. I have the words, alright. But do I have the time? No.

Part of me feels bad that I haven't been writing for a long time. I actually learned to manage my time more when I plan to post an entry. Aside from that, it's a way to make incremental improvements with my writing skill and style. Or at least I'd like to think so. On the other hand, the latter part of me feels great that I haven't been spending so much time on the internet for the past few days. I actually accomplished things I don't normally even think about doing.

Time has been my toughest opponent; academics and school organization responsibilities, its mighty underlings. Add to that, internet connection deprivation has been the sole factor for the past seven days.

Now that I'm once again alive in the cyberspace, I plan to keep limiting my "stay" over the internet. New habit: time management. Ha! Gotta love it. Haha.

On the brighter side of things, I say hello to the weekend! It doesn't end there. Since I technically don't have any final exam this finals week, I say hello to you, too, TERM BREAK. Oh, how much you have been anticipated. Fourteen weeks, ay caramba. Around this time, seven days from now, I'll be on Davao soil and breathing (fresh) Davao air!

On the greener side of the fence: UAAP Season 73 FEU-DLSU Round 2 game was awesome! The FEU Tamaraws aren't very unbeatable after all! ;) Thanks to Meryl for the photo!

Fuel: Butter Cookies

Just when I decided that nothing happened today that's worth blogging about... I suddenly thought of my latest addiction:

Butter cookies. Mhmmm.

Okay, so maybe this still isn't worth blogging about. Haha. I just thought I should pay tribute to the really simple thing that's been keeping me alive lately. They're like fuel to my late-nights-to-early-mornings of homework, studying, and org work-ing, among others. (Others: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Y! Mail, and the like. Hee.)

Feeling Good

As the song would go:

It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life

For me

And I'm feeling good

I do feel good about today. Aside from the mid-week break from school, the inauguration of the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines happened at noon today. President Benigno Aquino III delivered an awesome inaugural address/speech. I kept a copy of his speech's transcript just so I could tick off his promises as soon as he fulfills them in a span of six years.

No, I am not cynical about his capabilities. I think that I should keep his promises in mind so that I know what and how to contribute in fulfilling this as a Filipino citizen.

I guess it's a new daw, new day, new life, not just for me but for all the Filipino people inside and outside the country. We all should be feeling good.

Summer Weekend

Yes, the entire summer "vacation" was equal to one weekend. I'm not bitter at all, I had a great two months of summer season; there just wasn't much of a "vacation" per se. (Come to think of it, the way I quote the word vacation makes it sound sarcastic, huh.)

So yesterday, May 28, was almost like two months' worth of vacation. Spent the whole day with Yanee, Sem, Zean, and Zean's sister and two cousins. I'm not close with more than half of the gang but I had a grand time. Everything was so chill. No preemption, pretension, or whatever care in the world. Just fun under the sun. (Okay, stop the cliches. Haha.)

We went to Enchanted Marine Base Beach Resort at Ternate, Cavite. Man, was that a looong drive from Manila! Three to three and a half hours! Left Makati at around 5:45 AM, arrived at Ternate 8:35 AM. Road trip was superb, the beach was really nice, the company was fun and crazy!

Less talk, more photos:

In Zean's car. Still sleepy. Can't wait to get to Cavite, though!A "We're here!" photo with my kumares!Hello, beach! Hello, sea! Finally!"Dolly? Otep?" My Agua Bendita shot. Hahaha.Basking under the sun with Yanee! Tita, mission accomplished? Haha, based on the results, it's quite over accomplished. Sunog! Sunburn, oww! We asked for sun, we got sun. Haha!Lounging and chitchatting under the tree was awesome. That same tree where we all fell asleep under for at least an hour! Power nap under a tree along the shore, for the win!
Love these kumares! To bits!

Will most definitely happen again! ;)

A Day of Sorts

MOST AWESOME FAMILY BONDING WEEKEND YET!

We all woke up at the ungodly hour of 3AM because we headed to Nuvali in Laguna for the Bull Session 3. No, I didn't participate in it (wish I did, though), but Daddy did! And yes, the whole family was there to support. Haha. :)
The Bull Runner, Jaymie Pizarro, giving out instructions on groupings.

If I'm not mistaken, that's The Bull Runner's group doing a 5 minute run, 1 minute walk.
I think 5:27 AM is pretty late starting time for a long run. By long, I mean marathon long. It'll be too hot by the time runners cross the finish line. Then again, that's just my musing.
Mom, brother, and I ran our own route. I disappointed myself with my performance today. My mind, lungs, and legs weren't in harmony. I lack practice! I've been a bum for three weeks now. But can you really blame me for bumming and pigging out after the finals week of my third term for junior year? Haha.
Hi-ho, hi-ho! Laborers on their way to work on a bright Sunday morning. Two more and they'd pass up as the Seven Dwarfs. Heehee.
With these signs, Nuvali seems like a very friendly place. I like it there!

While we were running back to Solenad, we decided to quit so we could take in the scenic surroundings. They may be man-made but it's almost unnatural to not be awed.
So yes, we had to stop for photo-op. Haha! :P
And so after we cleaned up, we fed millions of Koi fishes! They're gross when they crowd and go crazy over tiny fish food pellets. It's fun, none the less. :D
The taxi boat ride was just too tempting to let it pass up. Haha, such dorks. Besides, Daddy was still running then. Haha, excuses!
Speaking of Daddy, spot Dad run! In case you can't zoom in, he's making a funny pretend-binoculars gesture with his hands against his eyes; and I wonder why I get too goofy at times. Haha!
Yay, fun boat ride! Dorks 101.
I am not ashamed to say why this photo looks pathetic: I'm such a chicken for not going up to Jaymie Pizarro (The Bull Runner). All I wanted was to take a photo with her but I don't know what got to me. Hey, don't judge me for being pathetic, okay. We have our days. Haha.
So... Here's Daddy, with really bad tan lines. No, it's brown lines. It doesn't show how burnt his arms and legs were, though. Anyway, it got too hot that morning. Point is, it's a summer morning. I hope the TBR Dream Marathon starts earlier so each first time marathoner can finish the run sans injury and heatstroke! Haha. I'm excited for my dad! Someday, I will run my first marathon. Someday!

We were exhausted! It wasn't from running, I'm sure about that. Say, the Koi fish feeding? Or the boat ride? Oh, it's the heat! We were too tired that after an Italianni's lunch, we weren't so interested in shopping at Paseo. There wasn't much to see anyway. Too lazy to have taken photos on this part of the day as well. We all collapsed onto our beds and woke up hours later. After hearing mass, hello, Selecta Ice Cream Land!
Selecta Ice Cream Feast at the South Parking of the SM Mall of Asia! For only P50, you get a free ice cream on a cone, and once inside, line up all you want and get high on unlimited ice cream! Well, it got limited when they ran out. Haha. I had a cone and three cups. Ow, my tummy. I know.
The ride wasn't THAT great. It wasn't too shabby, too. But I. Was. In. A major screamfest! HAHAHA. I blame my brother for pushing me to experience "Underworld" on the X-Rider. Haha. The lady at the counter sheepishly nodded when I asked if my screams were too loud. Dammit. Hahaha.

I look forward to more days like this. It's hella tiring but it's great to get to spend time with folks despite my unfair summer schedule. :)

Academic Emancipation

And after today, I might not have to. Well, academically-speaking, at least. My last academic requirement met its flat line this morning. However, I have tons of other things to accomplish. All the tons of other things, thanks to GMG for this responsibility; a window of random chance to keep my brain from being idle.

[Photo taken from I-forgot-whose-Tumblr.]