Moving Forward!

Yes, I am alive!

I can't say "I'm back" though, for one main reason: there is no assurance that I am indeed back on the blogging, and if this time it is for real. The past three months were a whirlwind of learning and adjusting to new people, places, things... New life, perhaps?

What I can say is that my blogging would still be intermittent bordering on nil-nada-zilch. Aside from the fact that I rarely use a computer outside the office now, when I do, I always end up choosing to do other things. I love writing, especially if it's recording my daily life experiences, musings, and whatnot, but sometimes I find comfort in just keeping things reserved. At some point, I felt like I was on the verge of winning the Queen of Overshare crown. As much as it sounds like it's a royal award, I don't think I would like that.

Anyway, this will probably be the last of my journal entries...

For the year! Haha! I don't think I can ever let go of this blog. I've deleted a ton of things that contained years of memories; all those posts prior to the first entry of the rebirth of this blog, and I'm not about to put this all to waste. I will keep this like it's treasure.

I probably won't be writing as frequently as I did when I was in school; back when I had time to write endlessly because I always put off doing my homework. Haha! And I probably won't be writing as much about the details of my life, just because. I never really worried about security or stalkers or whatever; I always believed that I was responsible for everything I published and I still hold that idea that everything that goes on here will be accountable to me. It's just that life gets pretty mundane one moment and super exciting the next. I guess if I write about everything from both ends and everything else in between, I would run out of things to say, and I wouldn't want that. Or if I keep having words to say, which is mostly the case, I would become less interested in what life has for me.

I want to keep this blog for... I dunno. I don't wanna have a purpose for this anymore. Maybe this creature of habit finally found her kryptonite at breaking the writing habit, I don't know. It would be sad but rest assured that I will be coming back. To write about a new career opportunity, to write about family, to write about life and love, to write about the random things I always do, to write about what what drives me to go through day to day...

That said, I will be moving forward, with myself, with work, with family, with love... With life. I am now keeping a journal (yes, the old school one!) and so far have been unsuccessful at making the quota of writing one entry a day! Haha. Quantity doesn't deem to important nowadays when all that matters is that I write with the heart and the mind in the same direction.

Thank you, 2011. You have been an amazing, amazing, amazing year. No words for the greatness you have brought into my life. Welcome, 2012. I have high hopes with you!

And to you, my friend, here's to yet another year gone by and to another year to make hella awesome memories again! Cheers!

Lola Fridays: My Version of FFF

Two nights ago, I came home from one of the happiest and most carefree Fridays I've ever had in such a long time. I'm not much of a party-goer, as in those held in clubs because it's dark and noisy and just too high-maintenance a lifestyle for the life I'm used to; laid-back, chill, and simple. Nothing against my party-people friends, I would love to join them each chance I get but I'm just not happy. Haha.

Speaking of happiness, I was with a few of my best friends last Friday: Joh, AJ, Ivy, and Jacob. And man are they party people! Haha! It made me wonder if I somehow caused them a rare phenomenon that particular Friday night: "Lola Friday." (Cabrera, 2011.)

We met up at Greenbelt and played at Timezone, just like high school kids. We talked and jeered like college kids (well, Ivy and I are still in college haha). We bunked and settled at Chubby's Rib Shack, ate tons and drank so few, like the mature young adults that we are.

Joh, the ever so lovely best friend that I eternally miss!

This is me and the equally fabulous Ivy and Jacob!

Not in photo, everyone's boyfriend, AJ, who happens to be credited for these Instagram photos from AJ's new iPhone 4 White! So nice, I'm so jealous!

Welcome to my own FFF. Fiamma Fresh Fridays. Fun Friday with Friends!

Having a great time does not end where differences begin. I say, more Lola Fridays! ;)

Text Message Day

I really have no idea what to write right now. Last night, February 13, I had some things on my mind I wanted to blog about on a day like Valentine's Day. I was too sleepy and I thought it would be more apt to write about V-Day on the day itself; like, how mine went and all.

This morning, I received several text messages from this boy that went well with the day's "theme" but not with the days tasks. It's really confusing. A bit stressful, too, given all the things I needed to accomplish. The text messages turned into an invitation to dinner on Friday, yay! About time. Haha! Anyway, it was the usual vague conversation but at least we got one detail right. Only for it to be retracted because of inconsistencies with his schedule, which was a bummer; but he did try to redeem himself right away. We settled on a casual Thursday dinner.

That said, I can't deny the giddy feeling that's been fluttering in my tummy. Hihi.

That said, I'm not easily swayed. This morning, I sent a really mushy text message to the best girl friends that a girl can ask for! And I stand by what I said, which I sadly can't retrieve from my phone with such uhmayyyzing performance; try, deleting messages on its own. *_*

My friends (or sisters?) taught me how to be thankful for what I have and not yearn for what I don't or can't have. Aren't they just the best? :) You wouldn't know, but I tell you, they simply are. ;)

Ugly title.

I Love College

I know I've been wanting out for quite a while now, but thinking about the responsibilities that await... Nah. I don't ever wanna rush college. Ever. Sure, there'd be times I'd fee like shiz and just give up. I know in the end it's not that easy after college anyway.

There's never an easy way out of anything. However, though, there will always be temporary bliss; especially when you're with people you love!

Orgcom, cheers!

(Photo by Therese Ong @ Rooftop, 7:00ish PM)

College friends, drinks, memories! Cheers to college!

From The Heart to The World, BIDA: Be The Change!

Last weekend was the deadliest, most tiring, and equally fun weekend of my life so far. I was recommended by the Cultural Arts Office Director to be a facilitator at the CEAP Bidahan youth camp, with two other officers from the same office. I was iffy at first, thinking that it would be such a hassle, with thesis and the term nearing its end. But I met new people who are now good friends of mine; that alone takes away all the worries and doubts. I also gained so much experience in facilitating a large group of people with a vast set of unique personalities, as well as in dealing with different kinds of situations. I still have so much to say! But I'm still tired from those two days, so here I am, reporting that I am still alive after all the mental, physical, and emotional chaos I went through last week.

Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP)

BIDA: Be the Change (Bidahan) 2010 Youth Camp

November 27-28, 2010 | Assumption Antipolo

From the heart to the world, BIDA: Be The Change!

Earth keepers, ethical leaders! Ate Misyel Avelino pep talks all facilitators at the Faci HQ, aka Bat Cave!

Facilitators from DLSU (CAO, SLIFE, DO, LSPO) with Sir Lysander and Sir Jupiter!

The fusion of crazy facilitators that is DLSU and CSB! The oldies couldn't handle us. Hehehe.

More photos!

Butterfly Twin Popsies with my newly-found cousin, Margie!

Ever so kulit duo from LSPO, Nino and Chase!

Co-facilitator Aya and I with the brains of Bidahan, Mr. Rene Salvador San Andres!

Thanks to Geom (in blue) for bringing us to untouched girls' room with a shower head!

Okay, so on my way to the wash room to brush my teeth... Let's just say there were so many interruptions that led me to this... The most dyahe fan photo that Paolo Santos will ever have. Haha. He was cool about it anyway!

On to the next day...

I have to admit. I like sleeping on the floor but I hate waking up to find that I was on the floor all night. My back, hips, and joints won't stop screaming at me. But at least I was wearing the panda socks that Joh gave me. Hihi.

The trio just can't stop bonding. Haha.

Forcing a smile despite the extreme exhaustion.

Time to go home!

The Care Bears

My Management Communication class group went through a ridiculously challenging ordeal. Joa, Lyns, Meryl, and I started working on a communication crisis case yesterday afternoon and emerged victorious after six long hours of online bonding. Random that I am, ooh, light bulb! Turns out, we had been working on the wrong crisis after all! We're back to square one.

Our minds were overworked, our bodies were drained, our eyes were strained. We called it a night and decided to start working at 6AM. And work, we did! By noon, we were ready with our statement, arguments, and excuses. We were also ready to reunite with beds for a power nap and grab a quick brunch. Oh, we were so drained.

Evening came and we were jittery but more than ready to present our communication crisis plan. The press and stakeholders group were great at grilling us. Personally, I think we did equally great at being the simulated professionals that we supposedly were: CEO, President, Corporate Communications Manager, Human Resources Head.

Just something to remember this day by, here's one for the team. Good job, Care Bears!

Oh, and by the way, I didn't know Care Bears gossiped that much. Hahaha. I love you!

- - - - - - - - - -

*Just wanna add!* I think I've gone through the entire emotional spectrum today that no particular emotion exists. I'm a somnambulist! Haha. But I still think the photo says it all. Hahahahaha.

Memzie Turns Vente

One of my bestest friends, Memzie, is no longer a teen! Or perhaps... Twen-teen? Haha. I feel so happy that Kay and I get to share a few hours to celebrate Memzie's birthday. All of us missed each other a lot that six hours were spent mostly on chitchat, updates, gossip, and of course, eating! Haha! A Venetto, Sebastian's Ice Cream! Thanks, sis, for the treat! :)

An awesome time is guaranteed when I'm with these two amazing girls! :)

Back From Hiatus

Such an eventful Friday! (Okay, fine, fine, delayed post. Hahaha.)

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, walk this way!" Mr. Carlos Celdran, thank you, I had an awesome walking tour! Manila never looked so different until you made us see beyond aesthetics. :)
On a kalesa with Meryl, Kay, and Paula! Thanks manong kalesa driver for this photo!
Later that Friday, Royale: Rule the Night at Gasthof, A-Venue, a party for the benefit of Project: Brave Kids. I rarely go to parties but my friends, Lych and Reg (and their group for their event class) organized it. Congrats!

(Okay, so they're not in the photo. Hahaha. Sorry, the ones with them aren't up yet!) Here's Pam, Ate Clarence, Kuya Jojo, AJ, and Mommy Ria! Some heart-to-heart with Ate Clarence made a lot of things make a lot of sense! :)
And then my Saturday and Sunday were very uneventful. Home, grocery shopping, church, dine out. But it was awesome, nonetheless.

I didn't mind three things for three days:

1. SCHOOL - Yes, I know it's almost finals week but I think I can manage to take a break. Besides, my classes this term don't require a lot of reading, reviewing, studying, and the like. Most of them (if not all, hmm) are method- or process- application classes. Of course, having Monday as a no-class-day is always a plus! :)
   
2. WORK - I know I'm not really "employed" but GMG, more than an extra-curricular school activity, is almost my life. Well, my lifestyle is dictated by it sometimes. I haven't been very MIA (missing in action) because I'm like glued to my phone, still. I think I really, really deserve a break from all the production services request. After all, I have academic, family, and social life to lookout for as well.
   
3. CYBERSPACE - My mom always told me that I'm an internet monster. Or a computer monster. Something like that. I look like a zombie because I stay up until the wee hours of dawn, just hooked up to the internet, eyes glues to the monitor, fingers typing away to infinity. And beyond! (Haha, Buzz Lightyear in the house?) I'm glad to see only 77 email messages for a span of three days, as opposed to my more estimated 50+ email messages per 24 hours.

Now that I'm back from my so-so but relaxing weekend, I expect my world to be the way it was three days ago: noisy and erratic despite the awesome, cheap thrills. I don't expect the stress to be murderous anymore. I think I owned the weekend.

Best Weekend Yet

I believe I had the best weekend of the year yet.

Last Tuesday, I received news about what lies ahead for me in the next three terms of the incoming school year. I pulled an MIA (missing in action) Wednesday because the news from Tuesday has not sunk in yet. Oh, and because I had to cram a project and study for an exam. Thursday was another MIA day, but mostly from obligations and other responsibilities. It was a chill-day Thursday where everything's already perfect except for the parental issues that come and go. Frustrating.

Anyway, I'm here to word-vomit about my weekend. And to me, and other four-day-class week students, the weekend starts on a Friday!

Friday was awesome! I spent the whole day with my best bud, Bru! We went Greenhills shopping in the morning, lunch at Savory Chicken, chilled at Gelatissimo, a little more shopping at Greenbelt in the early afternoon, and wasted away chatting at Starbucks until sundown. I missed Bru so much, and now that he's back in Davao, I miss him again! And very late that night, I sat and bonded over coffee with my mom and two ate cousins! Looong day but it was hella good.

Zippo necklace I bought for my bud for P80!

At Topman. Yes, we both tried on a shirt. No problem for him, see. Ugh, I can be such a boy sometimes! Haha!

Chilled at Gelatissimo! Love you, bud!

Goofing with my mom at Bo's Coffee. Two cousins' photos were too goofy for this entry that they might have me killed if I put them up. Haha! Baboy! (Inside-joke!)

Saturday was majorly super mega ultra awesome! I met up with Lexie at the MRT Magallanes Station so we could go to the Shang together. We met up with thesis-mates Tracy and Nadine, went to Cartwheel Foundation, Inc. (their chosen organization for thesis) where Joh was, to help them prepare for the night of their lives, the event!

I got to do what I do best, event production! Well, by best, I may not be that good, but event production is something I believe I can really manage long-term. I acknowledge all the panic and stress pre-, during, and post-production. It's part of a long process that involves mega fulfillment in the end! So, to my three amazing friends: Joh, Tracy, and Nads, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take part in producing your event! I know I do those stuff in GMG but I think your event gave me satisfaction that's totally in a different league!

Being the Green Media Group person that I am, I spent an awful lot of time running from the stage, where the AVP was located, then up the tech booth for lights and sounds. Above is me taking a breather in the tech booth. Hahaha.
[Photo courtesy of Therese Ong]

Oops? Photo size fail? Haha. Okay, I'm lazy to re-upload. Make do with this, please. Thanks. Haha. So above is a photo of 8 lovely Org Comm girls as production crew; 3 thesis-ers and 5 friendly helpers. Haha. Plus! The thesis group's mentor and three other professors from the panel. Congrats again, girls! ;)
[Photo courtesy of Lexie Cerezo's camera. I think. Haha!]

How nice is it that the event title fit squarely with what the night really was? A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Cartwheel Foundation, Inc.'s recognition dinner held at The Legend Villas, Mandaluyong City. A night worth remembering, definitely.

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME.

Ice Cream Therapy

Just when I tried to appreciate how nice yesterday went for me, today has been one hell of a day of stress. Maybe it's the hormones kicking in, yeah? I believe I made it clear to a lot of people around me today that I'm not one to be joked around with. I made it clear that I wasn't a grouch, either. Haha.

One of my best friends, Meryl, and I have this Ice Cream Therapy thing. Whenever things would go out of hand that it leaves us stressed and irked and frustrated and all that, ice cream is definitely the ultimate comfort food. After a crappy day, I just wished for ice cream. I was running low on cash so the best option is to just keep on wishing. Haha, sad. I went home and voila, ice cream in the freezer!

January 16, 2010 at Gelatissimo, Greenbelt 5
Oh, I didn't get Gelatissimo today. I ate ordinary chocolate ice cream you'll find in the supermarket. Aye, Gelatissimo! I wish, though.

Good Start

Midterms week. Ack!

It's Tuesday, I know, but it's technically the start of my school week (just for this one) because of the special holiday (People Power Anniversary) yesterday. In my previous blogs, I have mentioned a couple times too many about how my February weeks haven't turned out to be so great. Ergo, wishing hard that the last week of this month would turn out okay, at least.

So today, as I start this week right, I tried to be productive, see. I did normal stuff. You know, the usual class-Agno-meeting-tambay combination. Today proved to be worth all the stressful weeks that passed. Thus far, that is. I hope this week is awesome-epic-like-you-can't-imagine. Although I try not to expect a lot, I have high hopes because life makes bawi in due time like that. (Sorry for the poor grammar, brain and body's tired and is shutting down earlier than expected.)

Something extraordinary that I did today was voting for the next set of Green Media Group Executive Board.
Enough said.

To top the day off, the La Salle Dance Company - Street (LSDC-Street) invited us, the Danz Dish 5 production crew of GMG, to their post-concert celebration at the Torre Lorenzo roof deck. I got there and I saw all the LSDC-Street members/dancers in costume! How cute they all looked! They sported different looks: Avatar, Boys Over Flowers, WWE, Saw (?), and yeah, that's all I remember. Heehee.

I felt unsure as I entered because I believe I was under-dressed, you see. It took me a while, though, to realize that my white shirt topped with a navy blue vest/chaleco made me pass as one of the hosts! Jay Leno and Ellen Degeneres, go figure. Hahaha!

Ellen Degenereses: Ikat Gallardo and Cee Salvador. There are a couple more from them dressed this way but she's the one nearest me that I could grab a photo with. Haha.
[© Leia Anne Medina 2010]

Hahaha. REALLY FUNNY COINCIDENCE, MAN.

Collapse, Lay Dead, Hibernate

What is up with my February? There are only four weeks, and the third week is about to end today. The first week was one hell of a busy one. I spent the second week being sick to the bones. The third week was a no-academic-stuff-accomplished-just-pure-org-work week, which gave me more than the stress and exhaustion that I expected: two shows.

Taken last Thursday night, during the Culture X production. Yuchengco never looked this pretty until that night.

Last night, when I went to the University Week Animo Fair and Culminating Night, I felt like I wanted to collapse and lay dead and hibernate. I wish I could do just that. Hibernate! I feel like I need that now. I collapsed on my bed last night. I lay dead and slept. All that's left to do is hibernate.

But before anything else, here are some photos to show that despite insanity, I look sane. Or not? Hahaha! Well, fine. I look too damn tired.

I was telling them a funny story that happened two weeks ago. I'm really this animated when I tell people about my experiences and whatnot. I'm enjoying my mango juice, that's for sure. Haha.

Ugh. Fat cheeks plus deep, dark eye bags. Not nice. Not nice at all.

Both photos courtesy of Yanee.

I know that hibernation is a far cry right now; what with midterms week coming up and all other requirements attached to it. For sure, I would love to hibernate from GMG, even just for this week. I know I still have a lot of responsibilities despite the midterms, but I think I can put them off somehow. Even just for a week.

To make things light again, here are some photos from Friday night:

Most photos courtesy of Yanee, Lexie, and Meryl.

Hanging On

I've been sick, battling coughing fits and popping paracetamols, since Sunday afternoon. Four days of this isn't much of a big deal, really. I've had worse days. This has been hell week so far. Add to the feverish mornings that end with wasted nights, this week should be awarded: "Hell Week of the Year" and that's only the beginning, I can tell. School is making me feel like I'm nearing midterms already; schoolwork are piling up! Work, as in org work, has been by far at its most erratic state. I'm also in an erratic financial state. I just can't seem to at least learn how to budget my allowance. Haha, that sucks, yeah? My social life is okay, nonetheless. It's steady.

Every day, I feel like giving up on my responsibilities; be it in school, with the organization, at home, la la la. But it all comes down to sleeping the stress away with a glass of milk or a mug of green tea, late night internet blahs, petty text updates with my friends back home, et cetera. In short, it all comes down to everything feeling alright when I close my eyes at night (or midnight, or dawn) after my nightly prayers preceded by random ramblings, cussing, and ranting (to myself, in silence, in the dark, haha) about what a hellhole the day felt like.

Like tonight, I was supposed to do two group works with, well, two different groups for my two classes tomorrow. I'm sooo glad I have such amazing friends (who are like my sisters, really) as groupmates. The two of them spared me and my sister-bestfriend (what haha) from absolute insanity from all the things that kept us busy.

Ah, friends. They're like presents on a Christmas morning. You already know that they're good stuff no matter how nicely or badly they're wrapped. (Not that I'm friends with badly-wrapped packages. I choose my friends, you know. I befriend beautiful people. Haha! Just kidding. I'm Miss Congeniality, for crying out loud. Bahaha! Again, I kid.)

As for the other group, of which three are guys and I'm the only estrogen, uhh, good luck, I guess? Haha. I'll settle the matter tomorrow. Before class. Major cramming, hahaha, that's what I'm good at.