Crappy Thoughts

Another Set of Updates

2007-07-20T23:10:00.000+08:00

¡Hola!

It seems like this blog is semi-dead with all the delayed and irregular updates. So let's keep this blog alive and kicking shall we? (Although I doubt there's someone even reading this. Haha!)

I already have a job! I have been working for three weeks now in a Japanese company here in Singapore. I was shocked at first by the work culture. I'm not going to elaborate but I'd say that the Japanese really emphasize on organization and cleanliness. But now I am so used to it that I am already starting to like it. ;) My colleagues are also very friendly and helpful. They really try to make me feel that I am part of the company "family". As for the work, I have nothing to do yet since I am still under training. I am already itching to do some work-related stuff but I guess I still have to learn more about the work that I would do soon.

It's also our convocation next week. I am very excited because my parents and my little brother will be coming here. I hope we will have a fun time next week.

That's it for now. ¡Adios!

Updates! Updates!

2007-05-28T00:25:00.000+08:00

It's been 4 months since I last updated this blog. Wow. If you only knew how much I went through for the past few months. I basically spent most of my last semester in NTU spending long hours at the lab and writing my FYP report. I skipped a lot of classes just so I can finish my FYP on time. And boy was that horrible. Remembering it now, it was really hell. But I shall not dwell on the past, for the present is more important...

Well I guess I have to eat my words, for I just love to talk about the past. HAHA! I just want to say that I did a lot of crazy things during my last semester in university. To make things easier, I shall compile a list:

1. Took Spanish elective

Although it doesn't seem crazy at all, given my academic situation it was certainly questionable. Before I took the Spanish elective, I already finished all my unrestricted elective (UE) and general education requirement-prescribed electives (GER-PE) requirements. This meant that I only had to finish my remaining core subjects, second specialization-prescribed electives, and my FYP for me to graduate. So taking another unrestricted elective, like Spanish, was unnecessary. Also, I haven't started the experiments for my FYP at the start of the semester! So basically, I already knew at that time how much trouble I was going to face regarding my FYP. However, after watching Pan's Labyrinth (which is a Spanish-language movie) at the start of the semester, a flare for learning Spanish just lit up inside me, and I was unstoppable ever since. I had my doubts (which were HUGE), but I still insisted on taking the elective. I'm telling you, it was really hard. The elective really took up a considerable amount of time which I could have used for my FYP. Nevertheless, I don't regret ever registering for the course. It was truly fun and wonderful! And the fact that my native language has A LOT of Spanish words incorporated in it made the learning process easier for me. I think some of my classmates resented me and a Filipino junior who is in the same class for our wider, albeit very narrow, knowledge of the Spanish language as compared to them. It's not our fault! Blame the Spaniards who occupied our country for more than 300 years! =p Despite this, learning Spanish with my classmates was still fun. Anyway, enough of all this. Moving on with the list!

2. Got heavily drunk

That's true! I got so drunk once that I didn't remember what I did and had a very terrible hangover the next day. That's all I can say. Nyahaha!

(Details coming soon... or never) =p

3... I think that's it. Haha! My life is just boring.

Now is the time to talk about the present. I'm still looking for a job here in Singapore. So while I'm waiting for replies from the companies I have applied to, I'm currently doing nothing. Just kidding! I actually have a part-time job. The job is quite easy (although tedious) and the pay is good so what's there to complain about? (migraine!) *Please excuse my inner self for it doesn't seem to shut up* Anyway, although I get occasional headaches, I am still OK with the job.

Vale. Antes de irme, quiero hacer esta pregunta: ¿Estoy loco? Mmm.. Pero tu respuesta no es importante porque ya sé que estoy muy loco. ¡Jaja!

Tengo que dormir ahora porque tengo que levantarme temprano. ¡Buenas noches!

(Good luck translating! Haha! =p)

A Happy New Year Indeed

2007-01-03T15:29:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, while we were going inside the condo compound to play tennis with Tim, the guard asked us how we spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. And you know what I said? "We just ate the whole time". LOL! I must have been thinking of Christmas. Christmas Eve and Day was like a gobble fest for me. We prepared a lot of food so we had to eat a lot. My Christmas this year was definitely a blast. Despite the sadness I felt for not being home for the holidays, I still felt good celebrating Christmas with my friends here in Singapore. During Christmas Day we played billiards and bowling. And guess what we did during New Year's Day? We played billiards and bowling. Ha! It might sound boring but our NYD was definitely exciting. We had 2 teams vying for the "Olan's Cup" and "Jimmy's Cup" (which are literally cups). I'm not going to elaborate on the origin of these cups but I shall say that these two cups are the most prestigious awards in the history of NTU Pinoy Bowling. Haha! I never thought I could enjoy bowling as much as I enjoyed it last NYD. Perhaps it were the mishaps and the thrill of winning the "prestigious" cups that made the game fun. I would definitely want to play bowling in the future (and soon!) =p

Til here for now. I still have to rest my whole body. I never thought tennis would be that gruelling! My whole body is really aching right now. I need to prepare my body for the next bowling match (if ever there is one this weekend). Ha! Ciao!

Bummer...

2006-12-12T01:58:00.000+08:00

I feel so alone right now. I am just... unhappy with my life. I won't be able to come home for Christmas, which makes this Christmas the first Christmas that I'm not going to be able to spend with my family. I am also sick (just cough and sore throat though). The uncomfortable feeling I've had during the past few days made me realize how pathetic my life is. I am alone in this world. I may have friends, but I only get to talk to them once in a while. I just can't ask them to accomodate me since they also have their own stuff to worry about. When I'm sad, I don't have someone to lean on. And when I'm happy, I also don't have someone who I can share my happiness with and understand my happiness. I know I know, I'm turning into a baby. But sometimes we just need to air out all our insecurities. Wow, this feels like the bridging days again.

I just want to cry. But I can't. I'm just tired of having these mood swings. One minute I'm happy, the other minute I'm sad. I just don't understand myself anymore. I can't even be coherent with my thoughts anymore. It's like there's this one huge pot of emotions deep within me that is just waiting to overflow. Here I go again with the incoherency.

I want to go home, but I can't. I have to do my FYP. Although I may have a couple of days free around Christmas, I simply don't have the money to buy me a ticket. I just miss my family. They're the only people who truly understand me. How I wish I could have the power to teleport. It would just make things easier.

Despite the loneliness that I feel, I still know that God is watching over me, guiding me in every way. Sometimes loneliness is a way for us to realize that God is always there for us and that He will never abandon us.

Finally, a teardrop falls. Maybe I just need to let it all out once in a while...

He's My Brother...

2006-11-08T20:48:00.000+08:00

Finally, FINALLY, my brother has signed up for a Friendster account. Can't wait to mess with him everyday (*evil*brother*laugh*). With this latest development, I could just message him on Friendster whenever I want. You see, my brother is deaf-mute, so I can't talk to him on the phone. And I can't just text him because a reply text message would cost him 20 pesos. And even if I send a text message through Chikka, he still doesn't reply. He's really like that, ignoring all my texts. And now that he's in college in Cebu, I just can't ask my mother and father about my brother because he doesn't text them nor reply to their text messages. Haha! My mother even threatened to stop sending him money for cellphone loads. Haha! My brother is really funny. Hopefully he won't ignore my messages too.

In other news, EXAMS! Need I say more?

Jia you everybody!

Don't Make Cornchild Mad, Or Else...

2006-10-09T01:04:00.000+08:00

Wow. It’s this time of the year again. I’m in a mood! It seems like I just can’t get rid of my hot-headed, mad side. I’m not normally like this (well, I used to be normally like this). I thought that I would change. But thanks to some certain circumstances, my mad side has resurfaced. I just want to point out that this started last Saturday. There were two instances where I just felt like exploding. I’m not going to give out the details, but I’ll just summarize what happened. The first instance involved someone who did not inform me or anyone of something, which resulted to people bombarding me (yah, me and only me!) with questions about that someone’s whereabouts. It was really quite annoying, but I managed not to show everyone how annoyed I was. I know that that certain someone had a reason, but that person should have told us the reason early on instead of leaving us clueless throughout the night. The second instance involved someone who was not honest with me. Well, I’ll just leave it at that.

To the persons involved, I’m not really that mad. But I just hope it won’t happen again. I may not have any right to tell you what to do, but please, please, let’s not make each other mad. Thanks.

I’m trying to cool down now. Bye.

Closing Down... Not

2006-09-02T22:29:00.000+08:00

Hi! Seeing that my latest entry was written 4 months ago, I've decided to finally end this nonsense and close down this blog...

Haha!! Just kidding! Never would I close down this blog for eternity. My blog is my refuge in times of boredom and stress (how ironic is that?). As you may have already guessed or known, I'm already in my final year!! One more year and I'm already out of this safe and clean campus. One more year and I have to work my butt off to earn money. Sometimes the prospect of having to work full-time scares me, but in the end it makes me yearn for that moment. I don't know, maybe I just want to give back something to my parents. They have been fully supporting me ever since I was young, and the least I could do for them is to support them financially, especially in paying for my brothers' school fees. I am more than willing to do so actually, since I really want to help my family. That's why I need to have a job right after I graduate. And now that recruitment talks are coming, I have to act fast! I've already registered for the networking night, which is a special networking session organized "for the best students in NTU" (that's what the email invitation says). It's really interesting because a lot of high-profile companies will be coming for the event. There's ExxonMobil, Keppel, Hitachi, Rockwell Automation and many more others. I've already finished writing my resume. I'm not sure if it's actually impressive enough to "wow" the prospective employers, but I hope it would work out fine for them.

Anyway, back to my usual weekend activities of watching TV shows and occasionally trying to solve some tutorial problems. Ciao!

Exam Fever

2006-04-10T01:12:00.000+08:00

Exams! Wow, what can I say? Good luck everybody! Study hard! Jia you!

BTW, my first paper is on Thursday. It's just a prescribed elective, but it's still tough. Wish me luck! ;)

Peace out!

Finding My Happy Place

2006-03-30T18:05:00.000+08:00

It's this time of the year when I feel like I'm in a weird mood. I currently hate myself. I love slacking around. Although I'm motivated to do something, I don't do it. I feel like people are ignoring me. And that they ignore me because they hate me. Wow, I've been through this a lot of times. And I really hate feeling this way. It's so toxic. It's killing me inside. This is the time when I feel like I have nobody else except God and my family. The good thing is that one friend of mine is keeping me from bursting up inside. Thanks, my friend ;)

Maybe this is stress. Yah, I'd like to think it is.

Anyway, I gotta finish up two assignments due tomorrow. Hopefully this rotten feeling of mine goes away soon.

Ramblings of a Stressed Lazy Man

2006-03-24T19:28:00.000+08:00

So much has happened for the past 3 months. There's just so much that I've decided not to mention them, because you know, IT'S A LOT! Anyway, I've been really busy lately, doing such things as watching TV shows, doing projects, watching TV shows, and... wait... watching TV shows! I know, I know, I'm lazy. That's why I decided to blog because when I blog, I tend to think of important things like exams, stress, and oh wait, MY FUTURE! I really have to do well in my exams this semester. I got a VERY depressing grade for my IA, and that's 10 AUs killing my already good chances of getting First Class or Second Class (Upper) Honours upon graduation. That's why I have to do well in the remaining semesters, including my final year project, so that I could balance my VERY depressing grade in IA. I may not get First Class, but I really do hope I get Second Class (Upper) Honours. Anyway, enough of the nerd-talking!

Ok. I may have mentioned that I would not discuss any event that occurred in the 3 months that I've been away from my blog. But just let me talk about the International Cultural & Food Fest (ICFF) 2006 that was held last February. It was quite fun. With the additional Filipino students this school year, the practices for our performances were, shall I say, unforgettable. There were the card games in between practices, the emotional moments, and the goofing around during practices. Anyway, the Filipinos performed the Polkabal and the Fashion-cum-Cultural Showcase, which I shall call the Posible performance since the song we used was Posible by Rivermaya. I think the people were impressed with our Posible performance. It was really unique, in a sense that we were the only group to incorporate dance movements into our fashion show. The other countries did their tradtional costume fashion shows, but theirs were the walking and posing ones. Ours was indeed colorful. For the first part of the performance, we had 3 dancers doing neo-cultural dance or modern jazz (I'm not so sure of the dance style). Then, during the chorus part of the song, 2 pairs and 1 person were showing off their stuff on the stage: The "Moro" pair, the "farmer pair", and the "maglalatik". By the way, these people were dancing while modeling (interesting right?). After the first chorus, the modern dancers came back to do more impressive dances. Then on the second chorus, the "Igorot pair", the "Spanish-times elite pair", and the "dalagang Filipina" had their turn on the stage. Anyway, if you're curious, I belong to the "Spanish-times elite pair", which my partner and I called the "Pre-American Conios". Well, it was fun. Anyway, for the ending, Derek (who was wearing barong tagalog) joined all the performers with the flag. And I swear that at that moment, I really felt proud of my country. The Philippines has been given bad publicity lately (Last week, there was one lady who asked me why our government was corrupt, while another time, someone asked me if we Filipinos always wanted to oust our leaders). But despite these bad images of my country, I can still proudly say that I'm a Filipino. Anyway, back to the topic, people were really cheering after our performance, and we were really happy about it. We knew that all our hard work paid off. And it really felt good.

Ok. That's it for now. I have to start on my simulation assignment, which I need to submit next week. Adios!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-28T15:15:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas!

Wow. Matagal na pala akong di nakapost. Now I'm here!

I'm in the Philippines na pala! =D I'm really enjoying my stay here. I've had quite a few shocks when I arrived here since I haven't been home for about a year. First, my little town of Cabadbaran already has a bigger supermarket! Haha! And now, there are taxi cabs in Butuan! What a shock! Basta ang daming changes. Pero masaya pa rin. =)

I don't get to watch a lot of local TV shows here. Mahilig kasi mag Disney Channel, HBO at Star Movies ang aking mga kapamilya (not ABS-CBN =p). Parati din kasi kami nagvivideoke. Haha! Nakakaadik pala talaga magvideoke. Hihihi. Pero most of the time lumalabas kami ng bahay. Pumupunta kami sa Butuan para magshopping or sa relatives. I can't wait to post my pics here. =)

I have to go now. Nangungulit na kapatid ko dito.

Sa uulitin!

The End

2005-12-09T12:27:00.000+08:00

Last day ko na ngayon sa company. Masaya, pero medyo malungkot. Nasanay na kasi ako sa work. Basta big change uli siya for me. Well, kailangan ko na magmove on. Ganyan talaga ang buhay. Hehe.

Excited na ako for school next year! =D (nerd! nerd!)

Anyway yun lang. Haha! =p

Paalam!

Hay Naku

2005-12-07T10:07:00.000+08:00

2 days na lang. Gusto ko nang matapos 'to. Sana bumilis ang oras. Kasi nag-iinit na talaga ulo ko. Grrr..

Buang. Baliw. Loco. Fou. Pazzo. Crazy.

2005-11-18T12:59:00.000+08:00

Waah! I'm going all sorts of crazy right now. I just wanna go home. now. I really miss my family. And my relatives. And my family. Did I tell you that I completely forgot to greet my little cousin-and-godchild on his birthday, which was like 13 days ago?? Seeing his birthday photos (in friendster) just made me miss him (and his very adorable parents) even more. And did I mention that my brother got fat? Like really really fat? According to my mom, his waisltine now is around 29-30 inches! And he is just 9 years old! Wow wow wow! I was really shocked upon learning that. I just can't wait to see him and cuddle him! Hihihi. HAHAHA. Waah! Haha!

Ok I'm officially crazy. What is happening to me? Maybe it's my lack of sleep that's causing this. Hehe. Wow, I really need some therapy =p Just kidding la!

In a lighter (and saner) note, I already passed my IA report draft to my supervisor. So no worries for now! =) Also, we'll be watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire tonight! I can't wait to see it! =D

Ok. Have to work now.

Bye

Absolument Rien

2005-11-09T15:17:00.000+08:00

Wow! Do you realize what date it is today? It's 9 November 2005. Which just means that... I have exactly 1 month before I end my attachment! "=D" AND "=("

Yah. My emotions are quite mixed about this whole ending-my-IA thing. Although I feel happy and excited by the prospect of not having to wake up so early everyday, I still feel a little sad. Honestly, I don't know exactly why I feel kinda sad. Maybe it's the company and the work I've been doing. Maybe it's the routine of having to go to work everyday. Possibly, it could be my "colleagues" (I still don't feel comfortable calling them as such). Well, maybe it could be all of these reasons that's making me feel this way. Anyway, I don't have the time to contemplate on these mixed emotions of mine. I still have one thing to obsess about, and that is my IA report. Obsess may be a strong word to use, but I need to think of it (obsess! obsess!) so that I would be sort-of-motivated to start on my report! You see, the deadline for the report is on 25 November (which is still 16 days away). But I have to submit a draft to my company supervisor before the deadline! She would still have to edit it. And given that my supervisor is very busy, I may have to submit the draft at least a week before! That leaves me a week! A week! A week! And I haven't even started yet! Well I already wrote the introduction, but it doesn't really count. According to my seniors, the report should have around 50-80 pages. That's a lot! I'm really starting to panic now. Hehe.. I guess I should already start on my report tonight then.

What else? There's the upcoming 2005 SEA Games which will be held in the Philippines. I read in the news that the Philippines is aiming for 3rd place. Hmm.. Why not aim for 1st place? I think our players have the ability to go for the overall championship. But maybe I'm just dreaming. I don't know. I just wish and pray that Team Philippines will do well in the coming SEA Games. And since I'm being fed and sheltered by the Singapore government (by the way, I'm under the Singapore Government Scholarship, so that explains it), I might as well say good luck to Team Singapore! Go Philippines! Go Singapore!

That's all for now. Au revoir!

Buhay IA

2005-10-21T00:50:00.000+08:00

Work day na naman bukas. Gising na naman ng maaga. Nakakapagod na. Di na ako makapagpigil. Gusto ko nang ilabas lahat ng nararamdaman ko. Parang drama noh? Hehe :P

Tatagalugin ko na lang to. Nakakapagod na mag-Ingles.

Kakaiba talaga ang IA, lalo na ang IA ko. Ako lang kasi ang only IA student sa company namin. So wala talaga akong makarelate sa work. At alam niyo naman ang personality ko: di ako kaagad nag-oopen up sa iba unless ibang tao ang magbibigay ng effort para maka-open up ako sa kanila. Kaya wala talaga akong makausap sa kompanya. Busy kasi ang lahat ng empleyado sa pagtatrabaho. Minsan naman kung walang ginagawa ang lab boss ko, naglalaro or nagsusurf lang siya sa computer. Malaki din kasi age gap namin, at medyo tahimik din talaga siya na tao. At kung may usapan man sa opisina, eh intsik naman ang linguaheng ginagamit. Buti na lang at hindi lang ako ang di intsik sa office namin. Anyway, ang opisina pala ng department namin ay nasa loob ng lab. So yung mga technician sa lab parang "officemates" na rin namin. Lahat pala ng technician sa lab namin ay mga pana. Kaya may sarili din silang usap-usapan. Hehe. Whole day, nakasarado lang talaga ang bunganga ko, except lang kung tatanungin ako ng boss ko about work stuff, or kung may tumawag man sa akin na kaibigan o kakilala sa school. Basta, feeling ko para na akong baliw kasi kinakausap ko na lang sarili ko. And mind you, everyday yan! (except Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays =P) Kaya nga pag nag meet-up ang NTU Pinoys, napapansin ng iba na napaka active ko. Happy lang kasi ako na may nakakausap ako. Tsaka gusto ko rin lang talagang mag-share. Kaya ayan, solved na ang mystery ng aking weird behavior.

Nakakapagod din talaga ang IA. 6:30 ko kailangan magising. Tapos kung kulang man ang tulog ko, di ako makarest. Bawal kasi matulog sa office. Pag lunch break naman ay di ako makatulog. Ewan ko ba bakit. Basta di comfortable tulugan yung desk ko. Kaya sa bus pauwi na lang ako natutulog. Pero napapagod pa rin ako kahit 8 hours tulog ko. Haay. Kung ganito man ang working life eh ayoko nang magtrabaho. Haaaay.. At ngayon, na-appreciate ko better ang father ko. Dati kasi pag umuuwi siya from work, parati siyang wala sa mood. Pagod daw siya blablabla, kaya di namin siya pwede istorbohin. Dati di ko talaga maintindihan bakit bad mood siya parati. Ngayon ay alam ko na. Ngayon di na ako nag-oonline sa MSN kasi nakakapagod na magdeal with other people. Ang tanging ginagawa ko na lang sa room pag gabi ay manood ng tv shows at magsurf sa internet.

Anyway, back to the office. Minsan boring. Wala akong ginagawa. Nagcocomputer lang. At NAKAKAANTOK TALAGA pag nakatitig ka lang sa computer for ilang hours. At yun nga, bawal matulog. Kaya kahit wala akong ginagawa sa work, napapagod pa rin ako after.

Minsan nagwowonder ako. Paano kung sa ibang company ako nag-IA? Si Ivy kasi, sa ICES nagtatabaho. Marami silang students dun. At galing pa sa iba't-ibang universities. Tsaka medyo flexible din schedule niya. Pwede siya magday off or something (basta I think di lang madalas). Minsan nga naiinggit ako. Parang ang saya ng buhay niya. Tapos doon niya pa nameet boyfriend niya. Paano kaya kung natanggap ako sa HP? Or kung nag-apply ako sa ibang company? Magiging masaya kaya ako? Kasi ngayon, medyo depressed talaga ako. Parang gusto kong lumipat. Pero too late na. Nakakaaliw naman yung work ko sa company. Ang environment lang talaga ang di ko ma-take. Haay, buhay nga naman.

Ang haba na pala nito. At malapit na mag 1! Oh no! Kailangan ko na matulog. May work pa bukas. Buti na lang Friday na bukas. Last work day of the week! =D

Adios!

Chicken and Egg

2005-10-13T11:53:00.000+08:00

I'm back =D It seems like I need to update my blog since Little Ms. Ivy here is giving us fellow bloggers/diarists some attitude! Haha! Joke lang po Ivy. (Ayaw ko isumbong sa imong uyab ha =p)

I was very busy last week. For the first time in my attachment, I felt more like a full-time worker than a student intern. My lab boss was away for 2 weeks and so I had to do the moulding and sample testing all by myself. But now he's back, and so it's back to slack mode during work. Hehe

I didn't realize that the exam season in NTU is coming! To all NTU students who are about to face the toughest time of the semester, this one's for you: BWAHAHAHA! =p Just kidding la. Study hard everybody! Kaya niyo yan! ;)

And to my fellow IA students, just hang in there! We've got less than 2 months before we go back to being normal undergrads. Although I'm gonna miss working here in the company, I'm really reeeaaallyyy excited to go back to mugging and cramming. Haha. Sounds nerdy right? Wait a minute, I can still cram during IA! I still have to write on my IA logbook. And I have a final report to submit next month! Hmm.. I guess I'm still doing what undergrads normally do (except for the mugging part).

That's all folks! I have to eat my chicken & egg lunch now. By the way, which one really came first? The chicken or the egg? @_@

Haha! Ciao!

Balyan, Bangka, Sesyon

2005-09-28T16:57:00.000+08:00

While I was surfing the internet, waiting for my HDT test to finish, I came upon this short story titled Balyan. It's a Cebuano short story written by Macario Tiu, a professor from Ateneo de Davao. This story won first prize for the Cebuano Short Story category in the 2005 Palanca Awards (a prestigious literary awards event in the Philippines). It's a story about a balyan (a Bagobo sort-of-doctor practicing traditional medicine) and a nonbelieving "man of science" living in a remote village in Davao. It has some funny elements, like when the balyan was dialing his imaginary cellphone to call the abyan or diwata. I really laughed hard upon reading that. For those who are interested, here's the link to the site: Balyan by Macario D. Tiu.

I also found 2 other Cebuano short stories in the same website (which I realized was the 2005 Palanca Awards website). The short stories are Bangka sa Kinabuhi by Don Pagusara and Sesyon by Josua Cabrera. Bangka was in second place while Sesyon was in third place for the Cebuano category. I liked the conversation between the 2 main characters in Sesyon. It just seems so ordinary. And it's also hilarious! But the ending was heart-breaking though. Bangka, on the other hand, is quite serious. And the words used were so deep. Nonetheless, I had a good time reading it.

That's all. Back to work now.

Talk About Time Management

2005-09-19T12:49:00.000+08:00

Forgive me for not updating my blog frequently... (who reads this crap anyway? :P)

Today is another workday. A Monday actually, the first workday of the week. Wait, it's already Week 11 of my attachment in my company! I have completed half of my IA. Half! Half! Then I'm finished! And then I get to go back home! And then school! School! :D

You may think I'm crazy, but I actually miss studying. Yes, I miss those days when my head wanted to burst with all the analyzing and memorizing. Because now, I feel like my brain is empty. I think I'm getting stupider. I've been trying to read some research papers for my URECA project, but I just couldn't take all the info in. It's like my mind has blocked off these important info. I can see a sign in my brain saying "ACADEMIC STUFF NOT ALLOWED". And below this sign I can see another one, with "STUPID, SENSELESS STUFF, PLEASE ENJOY!" written on it. Does IA really have this effect on people? I don't know. I still have to ask my seniors. But maybe it's just me. And besides, I'm the one to blame for this. I've been really lazy lately. Instead of doing my readings, I watch TV shows. Instead of writing my IA logbook, I play badminton or card games or online games (and watch TV shows). And instead of doing the MS2010 Past Year Paper (which I will be payed for), I just surf the internet (and play badminton or card games or online games, and watch TV shows). I've got to stop my destructive behavior. And I need to start NOW!

What the heck! It's TV Season. New shows! New episodes! How can I even start on my non-New Year New Year's resolution? A simple solution would be TIME MANAGEMENT, the solution to all problems regarding time. How can I manage my time properly? I'll just come up with a plan later.

I have to continue with my usual Internet-surfing-in-the-office. (Talk about time management!)

Cornchild Out!

Waiting for my Rocket to Come

2005-09-07T13:30:00.000+08:00

Yah. I'm an alien. Actually, I'm half-human, half-alien. My dad is a rocket scientist (literally) while my mom was a citizen of Planet U-Hopia. One day, my mom went shopping and got lost. She was supposed to go to the Earth Mall where they sold earthly stuff. But instead, she landed on Planet Earth. And my dad, who was in his space rocket doing things rocket scientists do, luckily, or shall I say unluckily, saw the flying disc my mom was driving. He chased her with his rocket. He catched her. They talked. Blabla. And boom, there I was (I'm not going into the gory details, ok). And all of those things just happened in 30 minutes. Fast right? U-Hopian pregnancy actually lasts for 10 minutes. But in my case, it was 15 minutes. Apparently, the human thing moves (or swims) slower than the U-Hopian thing. It just explains why humans are very slow and lazy.

Now where is my rocket? I have to meet someone in Mars. And then I have a dental appointment with my dentist in Jupiter. Hmm..

-----

Haha. I'm really bored. I'm waiting for my HDT test to finish.

OOH. Apparently, I have to do something else. Boredom gone!

Bye

Addicted To Coke

2005-08-29T10:21:00.000+08:00

That's right. I'm a certified coke addict. And please, hear me out first before you make any judgements =p

Anyway, I'm not talking about the drug cocaine. I'm talking about Coca-Cola. Well, I should say I'm addicted to cola since I'm also craving for a Pepsi. Last Saturday, I think I drank 4 cans of cola. That's right, 4 cans!! And yesterday, I drank 1 can of Pepsi for lunch, 1 can of Coke before going to church and 1 regular-sized cup of Coke during dinner at Long John Silvers. What is wrong with me? The last time I had this addiction was during high school. My lunches at the school canteen weren't complete without an 8 oz bottle of Coke. But when I went for my university studies here, I found myself addicted to, guess what, Mandarin Orange Tea. And slowly, my cravings for Coke have diminished over the years. But now, it's back! I have noone to blame but me, and the damn Coke machine in the office selling a can of Coke for only 80 cents! That's 10 to 20 cents cheaper than those sold outside! Waaah! Right now I want to grab a can of Coke. But I should learn to control myself. Olan, control, control, control! Ok. I think I'm going crazy. Maybe it's caused by all these cola in my system. Whatever.

Wow. September is coming! Yay! But what's so special about September? Well, it just makes me feel that December is coming. Do you see the logic? It's Septem-ber so it's already near Decem-ber. It may seem stupid, but that's how we think of September in the Philippines. Maybe we think that way because of the importance of Christmas in every Filipino's life. Just the thought of Christmas makes me go crazy and excited. Oh how I love to go home now! But sadly, my flight back home is still on December 16. My IA will end on December 9 and I still have to do some URECA stuff after my IA. But at least, I get to see my family during Christmas, and that's good enough for me.

I'm ending this boring piece now. I have to... what am I supposed to do? Nah, I'll just wait for my supervisor's meeting to finish. Or whatever it is.

Bored. Bored. Bored...

Maybe I'll just grab a can of Coke

Or Not! =P

Bisaya Blues

2005-08-25T16:32:00.000+08:00

I'm in the buhaton right now, getting laay at the moment. Hehe.. Pasensya na sa mga di marunong mag-Bisaya. And I'm so sorry for those who don't understand any of the Filipino dialects. You can look up any Cebuano dictionary to know what I mean. (Hint: Type "Cebuano dictionary" in Google then click the first link. It's a very good dictionary)

Anyway, I've spent the past few hours trying to relearn my native dialect which is Cebuano or Bisaya. I grew up in Davao City, where Bisaya is widely spoken, although many people can be heard conversing in Tagalog. Davao is some sort of a melting pot of people of different ethnicities. And thus, with the mix of people in Davao, it's not uncommon to hear its residents, including former residents like me, speaking some sort of a hybrid of Bisaya and Tagalog. Most people have actually given this hybrid sort of language a rather unsophisticated name, the Davao Tagalog. Some people may simply call it BisTag. And having lived in the city for 15 years, I have mastered the art of screwing pure Bisaya and Tagalog and speaking the, shall I say, lingua franca of the city. Thus, although I understand Bisaya and Tagalog, I cannot speak nor understand clearly deep Bisaya and deep Tagalog. And unfortunately for me, after 15 years of living in Davao, my parents have decided to go back to their home province, Agusan del Norte, a place where Bisaya, and I mean deep Bisaya, is widely spoken. I can speak straight Bisaya, but my relatives just keep noticing how screwed my grammar is. Even my parents are surprised that I don't speak Bisaya the right way. And there are those words that I can't understand! I have to constantly ask my mom what this word or that word means. There was this one time when my grandma was telling me some story. She was enthusiastically telling me about what happened to her and her family during the war, and although I found it very interesting, she said a lot of words that were sooo deep that I also have to think deeply what they meant. I just couldn't stop her. It's rude to ask your grandma to suddenly stop while she's talking to you. So I ended up translating some words on my own, not sure whether I made the right translation. There was also one time (it was years ago) when I was talking to the phone with my uncle. I told him "Angkol, paadtoon na daw mo ni mama diri(Uncle, mama wants you to come here now)" Then he suddenly laughed. I was wondering why, so I asked him. Then he told me that my grammar was wrong. It should be paanhion instead of paadtoon. As he explained, the root word adto means go there, while anhi means come here. And since I was telling him to "come here", I was obviously wrong. But I didn't know it that time! I knew the words anhi and adto, but I didn't know how to properly use them. So as you see, I'm a total Bisaya screw up. :P

But over the years, I've managed to add some words to my Bisaya vocabulary. My friends from Davao are even commenting that I speak Bisaya too deeply. And I'm quite proud of it. It's my way of commemorating my ancestors, most of whom have come from Cebu and Bohol. Although I'm proud to be a Filipino, I'm even prouder to be a Bisaya.

But still, there are words that I haven't learned yet. Checking the dictionary, I came upon these words:

pailub - perseverance
ligdong - gentle, formal, honest
maharuson - violent
kinampay - violet
madalag - yellow
hibangkaagan - culture
bulong - medicine

Wow. I never encountered such words before. It's good that I know them now, though I doubt I can use them. They're just so new to me. Hehe

Anyway, I've been also trying to learn the Butuanon language. It's a dialect spoken by the natives of Agusan. It's similar to Bisaya, but much less common. Some linguists even say that it is a dying language. I've only heard it once in my life, and I never got to hear it again. Anyway, here's the link to the only sort-of-dictionary I found in the internet: www.butuanon.org. Have fun :P

That's all. My work time's almost over. Need to go now.

Adyos! Mabuhi ang mga Bisaya! :P

An Update of Sorts

2005-08-23T00:10:00.000+08:00

Ok. Here's a quick update bout me:

1. I'm on Industrial Attachment this semester. I'm attached to PolyOne. It's in Tuas, so I'm quite satisfied (although it wasn't my first choice). I like the work I do there, although it's tiring sometimes. I basically deal with polymers. I do testing, moulding and other stuff. And polymer science is my favorite materials field. So I'm really happy with what I do in the company.

2. Umm.. Should I even mention this? Ok. I was in the Dean's List. I was really shocked when I found out. When I came here in Singapore to study, I didn't think I'd be in the DL. My only aim was to pass. And that was it. But now, WOW! I never knew I could achieve something this great. It was really a blessing from God. And because I was in the DL, I was invited for the Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus or URECA program. It's a program where a student is made to do a research project with a professor. And we get paid! Finally, I could save up some money for my PC loan. But actually, the main reason that I decided to join this program was to have something to write in my resume. I just thought it would be helpful when I get to find a job, or when I apply for my postgraduate studies. But nah, the money factor was still important. hehehe

I think that's it. I'm really sleepy now. And I have work tomorrow, so I better get as much sleep as I can.

Bye!

A New Beginning

2005-08-22T16:30:00.000+08:00

Wow. I never considered myself to be a "blogger". I was a loyal Diaryland user (I've been with them for 3 years!) But nah, everybody's using Blogger now. So I'm just going with the flow. And wow, Blogger is definitely easier to use than Diaryland. No need for complicated html codes.

I'll definitely stay here ;)

So...

Welcome to my crappy thoughts