Time to Liven Up the Dead Blog !:p

Wow...I really have to be sorry for this...IT'S BEEN HOW MANY MONTHS!:P
Now I really know that I haven't lived up to my blog's title....LOL...
I'll be making up for all those months nlng instead...So for the following entries,
it would probably contain the things that I've failed to narrate here the past months.
Probably starting with my 2nd Semester experiences here in school....Again, my apologies....:P (My valid reasons would be stated in my next entries...PROMISE!:P)

Academic Life Status : Currently On A Halt

Hey there!:P Another come back...Obviously!Hehe!:P (it's quite a late one though....Since sembreak's almost over...Boohoo... :( ) But nevertheless,enjoying my well-deserved break...That's why I'm able to blog again and make it up to you guys today... :P

Well, the first half of the academic year has finally gone...Atleast now,more or less so,we already have an idea of college life.Honestly,first sem felt like a whole year!No joke...Maybe the reason for it to seem like so was because we had so many things done and learned in such a short span of time.Not too mention how we've changed a lot!Since I'm in the same block with 2 of my closest h.s. buds, so we were able to judge ourselves how much we've changed and matured.Comparing college from highschool.Surprisingly, even our pictures managed to show evidences of such!:P

It's been quite hectic for us the past sem.Though the first few weeks of class weren't,the remaining half till the end of it was.We had a bunch of experiences actually....Probably considering the sem our first dose of CFAD life.(Yup.Just a dose of it...) We had our share of laughs,joys,triumphs,failures,worries,sadness and ofcourse frustrations...Haha!:D

We had many "firsts" All were unforgettable...Haha...And after a sem of CFAD Life, we're kinda getting used to it.Though we clearly know that there's still more to expect...More of the UNEXPECTED.Terror profs probably...and an even TIGHTER sched?!?Oh well... :P

So far our class wasn't that bad at all. We easily get along with each other,we cooperate when it's needed.We find healthy competitions in the room.Judging from how our profs treat us
(1ID-2),we seem to excel than the other 2 blocks in INT1.They expect more from us.And it's clearly seen whenever they give our plates and activities and how they set our deadlines.So being in such a class definitely motivates you to do your work better.

Though admittedly,I'm still not satisfied with the outcome of my grades.Aside from having a few hard-to-deal-with-profs that give you pains,the tight sched was indeed a factor of getting such grades.That's why I plan to work harder and give extra effort in the next sem to come.Knowing that I could do better.Ü

**By God's grace, I've finally graced through the first semester of my college life.There may be more to expect and more trials to come, but with God, I'm sure I'll make it through...Ü

Till the next entry!♫♥Ü

Logging Back to the Realm of Thoughts...

Again...I left my blog dead...Not only for a month...IT"S BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH!
Sheesh...Sorry to keep you guys waiting...

Well, here's the sitch...Obviously,the reason why I wasn't able to update my blog for the past month is ofcourse....COLLEGE LIFE...PLATES...PLATES...and more PLATES!
Tracking back, it seems that I get less sleep as the weeks go by...(as of now I'm having the maximum of 4 hours) and soon enough, am pretty sure that we wouldn't be having sleep anymore.Lessons are getting tougher,professors piling up assignments for us,submission dates are side by side and drawing near....then finally....the FINALS for the first semester...

We have this subject involving free hand drawing...Among all the subjects, this is the one wherein the class gets the lowest grades.I dunno if it has something to do with the prof or just us.It's this subject wherein we have experienced to be working under the sun for hours.Drawing the different landmarks found in the university.It's good that she finally gave us a break and started to let us draw indoors.Drawing still life that is.This has been quite a challenge for most of us.We have to perfect our works in 5 hours max.Shading and textures included.Somehow,we still managed to...By God's grace...Ü

Sometimes it was so hard that I already thought of giving up...Then surprisingly you just find yourself being able to accomplish your work...Giving you a boost of energy to encourage you to go on...In college, life is indeed full of surprises.

It's been quite a breeze for us...(at the same time quite slow) But one thing's for sure, in just a span of a few months, we've learned a lot.We wished for breaks and no classes a lot though...Just so that we could breathe.Haha...Ü

**Till the next entry!(I actually just tried to squeeze this one for you guys...Ü)

After a Month...Ü

Wow...It's been a month since I've posted another entry...Couldn't believe that time flew away so fast. In fact,so many things have been going on that I have neglected posting for quite a period of time.My sincere apologies for that...Ü

But as promised,I'd try my best to make time to update you peepz...So here it goes!Ü

It's been a month since the start of classes, and by now, I could further tell you more about things happening in my life.College life to be exact...

Like I've mentioned in the last entry, I'm now taking up Interior Designing in the University of Santo Tomas.And like most of my blockmates, I mentioned that this has been my "dream" eversince.First few weeks of classes were still cool.Having longs breaks since there's nothing much to do yet.Just the first few introductions to what we're gonna learn and familiarizing ourselves with our new environment.But as the weeks passed by,soon,our schedules transformed from being "maluwang" to being "tight".Sometimes even "too tight". Nevertheless, our first experiences in the university remained unforgettable.Ü Things like, having to take a long walk from our building to the other areas of our school,doing researches in the school library,eating wherever place we could find in case all restaurants were full,experiencing heavy downpours and flooded streets and etc... As for my course, here are some of the things I've learned regarding it.Designing interiors might sound easy and practical to do.Up to a certain point that others even think that it's just about colors,furniture arranging,make-overs,renovation...Some even believe that anybody could do what interior designers are ought to do.As for some of us,we expected the same such.Little did we know,how much you have to go through first before you become one professional "IDR" It's not as easy as it seems to be.Neither, is it what it seems to be...

According to our professors,Interior Design doesn't deal on arranging furnitures and designing interiors alone.Before doing so,there are so many things to learn and apply.You couldn't rely on your artistic ability alone as most of us thought so in the first place. You have to learn to deal with measurements and logic,applying geometry,free-hand drawing,using your wildest imaginations,rendering(coloring),sociability and so much more.
So upon conclusion, I believe that Interior Designing is a bit of everything.Art,sociability,math,language,dealing with relationships,psychology,science,history all come with it.Yup...As stated,you have to learn all these things before you could create an effective design.Plus pass a board exam! We have the obligations to change people's lives through our work.Make them feel happy and comfortable,designing rooms or pads that they could call their own.Be it a bedroom,an office,a clinic,a store...NAME IT!.Ü

So in order for us to be able to fulfill our "dreams" of changing people's lives and making the world a better place,we have to go through all these...Dealing with ink pens that blot and are so hard to erase,drawing lines without using rulers,dealing with drawing pencils of different shades and rendering techniques in using them,using scales and metric tapes in measuring...Even if we have to measure a millimeter or two...Hardly seen by the naked eye...All those kinds of things and yet more to expect in the future as the days pass by...Translating to MORE EXPENSES...

So much for that...HEHE...:P But we also find simple joys in accomplishing our plates (works or projects),rewarding ourselves by eating ice cream(almost everyday!), bonding with some of our blockmates be it breaktime or classtime...Trying our very bests to think that what we're doing doing is enjoying and not FRUSTRATING at all...After all, we ended laughing our heads off...Ü Despite the pressure in accomplishing every school task,homework or assignments. and having "raccoon eyes" in just a mere month! Haha!:P

I guess this is COLLEGE LIFE....ENJOYING DESPITE HARDSHIPS...You learn to succeed after failures,you learn to do things right after committing mistakes,you earn everything by giving your best and all are from your every drop of sweat.But whatever happens,never lose hope or let situations hinder you from achieving your goal.Always have your mind set.You just have to try and never cease in doing so.And don't forget to trust in God and draw strength from Him.Standing firm in your faith and always keeping in mind that with Him, anything's possible...Ü

**Till the next entry! ♫ ♥ Ü

Embracing a New Chapter of Life...

**Well...Here I am again...Ü Making a "come back" after a long break from blogging haha!: (That's why I do have "utang" to you guys for not updating you earlier haha!Ü) Well anyways...Here it goes! ;P

After saying goodbyes to highschool days, it's the official start of another new chapter of life, "college life" that is...And it's already been 2 weeks since the start of classes for us "Thomasians".
Yup..."that" gives away the fact that I now study in the University of Santo Tomas. Ü
And I'm pretty sure that most of you thought I love singing so much(and I really do!♫) and so I'll be taking up Music in college.But sad to say----I'm not giving you guys false hopes but I'm currently studying in the College of Fine Arts and Design with the course of Interior Designing.Ü

Well,like I said,most of you didn't expect this.(Though quite a few of you already did see this coming... Ü ) My world didn't revolve around music alone...I also loved ART very much hehe...
It's actually my "first love" haha...♥ I learned to love it long before discovering my talent in singing...Believe it or not...haha!Had long been fascinated by colors and details,lighting,furniture,style and house facades. And so it had been my childhood dream to be an Interior Designer ever since...Ü

But before elaborating things regarding that "dream" of mine (in the next entry...Ü),
Let me narrate first about the changes that I'm currently experiencing...College life is indeed different from old highschool days.In short, you being in a new and bigger environment.
Wherein you tend to get lost at first due to it's vast area,meet with lots of different nationalities,with profs coming late for a class perfectly normal,having a very long and tiring sched---And so much more!

During our first day of classes,(that was a Wednesday) our professor for our first subject didn't show up!And us being freshmen who knew nothing about college scheds and rules,we waited for 3 hours!In a room with a freezing temperature!But that wee three hours of waiting made way for us to get in touch and know our blockmates. It's good that there are a few of them who were daring enough to break the ice by starting to try to get into a conversation with each of us.Doing it from one table to another.Never knew that my blockmates were so jolly and hyper!(and friendly too!) Though there were only a few of us who were Chinese and three of those were Korean and most of them who were Filipino,we all got along pretty well.From a silent room transforming into a noisy chat room... Ü Finally,the older ates and kuyas from the other room dismissed us nrin and let us knew a few things about professors coming late."You are given the right to leave or dismiss yourselves if it's already after 15 mins and the prof doesn't show up.Unless informed so..."So you can now probably tell the looks on our faces!Haha!Ü Never knew that there were such things such as 3 hour lecture subjects and 5 hour major subjects. Didn't know about about getting dismissed earlier or profs coming late or not showing up at all.To be frank,I was more shocked with such things as scheds rather than getting culture-shocked...And also found out later that professors not showing up for sessions is completely normal during the first few days of class...Well atleast now we know a little something!Ü

Breaks...Having classes from 7am-5pm or 6pm almost everyday,we usually have a one or two-hour lunchbreak.Usually scheduled around 10-12 or 11-12. And that's already for the whole day!And since our building( the Beato Angelico Building) is located in the corner between P.Noval and Espana,it's quite a distance from the university's food chain.(located near the UST Main Building) ----So we have to walk that distance everyday just to eat and satisfy ourselves.
Here's another prob...Most of the students in UST have their lunchbreaks scheduled from 10-12.Translating to bombarded restos and no places to eat.(Dining in a first-come first-served basis) So incase we don't find any luck,we just have our lunch take-outed and seek the aid of the university's Benavides Garden(or more popularly known as the "Lover's Lane") But it's not only designated for lovers ofcourse.Haha!Ü

Requirements...CFAD and Architecture course requirements only translate to one word...EXPENSIVE or in Tagalog MAGASTOS...(No need to elaborate...)

And since we're still in the first few days of classes and we still don't have much to do,we're usually dismissed earlier pa...So we get to roam around the campus.So I also just happen to find out that there are a lot of Stephenians in UST!It's as if it became our second home!Ü Seeing familiar faces everyday(atleast more than 10 from SSHS) People from our UECM Church family and also from my other former schools( St.Jude and PPCHA respectively)So that made it a whole lot easier for me to adapt to the new environment.Ü

Religion...Like most of the universities here in the Philippines,UST is also a university practicing a Catholic faith...But the thing is,it's not only a Catholic college,it's even officially given the title as the "Catholic University of the Philippines" So it's gonna be quite a challenge for me.(Since I'm a Protestant Christian) But thanks to my past experiences in St.Jude,it won't be much of a shock for me...Ü And with God by my side, I'm sure to be guided all my life through...Ü

I've still got a long way to go...And also a few more years in this university.
Still have more things to learn and discover about this new part of life.Ready to embrace it's every aspect.Walking hand in hand with God and keeping my faith strong as I now face new challenges and strive to step-up on each of these stones that'd eventually lead me to achieving my dream and a bright,successful future...Ü

**Till then...I'll keep you guys posted!Ü

Ten Years Older In Just a Few Days?!?

**Just came from our church's annual junior summer camp last May 24.Just decided to drop an entry here.Hehe...Ü

Older by ten years in just a span of few days?!?(I know some of you are already thinking that I'm mad or what...But surely am not....Ü) Is it possible?!?Yep...It is...(not literally though!Haha!)

(Like indicated above) So I was saying that I just came from camp 2 weeks ago...A junior/children's camp that is...Well it's true that I'm supposed to be used to these kinds of stuff since I've been to so many and have grown up with the event itself.From a tiny-winy camper,to a junior officer,and now a senior officer...Time really flew so fast that I didn't even notice it passed by so quickly!Before I was one of those who were taken cared of.Calling all the junior and senior officers "Achie" and "Ahia" Now I'm the one being called such!Sometimes I still can't accept the fact that times has changed situations so much.But,indeed,it has cause 8 years have already gone...

This year,our camp was held at Kuhala Bay Resort, Cardona,Rizal.Among all the camps that I've been through all these years, I'm sure that this one would be memorable for me.(Not that the other weren't!Ü) It's just that this one is a bit different.

This year,I went there as a senior officer for the second time around.(I had my first time last year 2007) But it was a whole new and different experience for me this year.Kids' age range is from 8-14 as it is every year.Only that this time around,we had younger campers.Their ages ranged from 7-10(Well,most of them...) And the number of counselors and senior officers this year were quite few...So it was indeed quite a challenge for most of us.Everything had to be done "hands-on"

From day one, it was already challenging.From the travel to the activities. In fact , so many things have happened.Something with the Arts and Craft part that we couldn't push through with it that day.So we ended up doing the Games that afternoon instead.It was the first time that I got to experience making water balloons and it's not that easy!Especially if you're doing it for the first time!So I really GOT WET...LOADS OF TIMES...But eventually,I got the hang of it..Haha! It was really fun also! And since we had younger kids,they were much more active and noisy.Much harder to control or hyper---to be exact...Yes,they really were...And who can forget the ever-so-notorious building 3 Rm.7?!? Most of us were stressed but in a good way atleast...Ü
And as officers,we had to abide all the rules of the camp.Since were supposed to be the ones to set as an example to all those kids.So our every move has to be watched.Cause if anything happens to them, we would be held responsible and we wouldn't like that.Would we?Ü

This year, I was a part of the music committee, as a back-up singer.We had so many songs and some of those had actions!I'm not really good with actions so I usually resist to do them and have someone else do them for me.But this was the first time around that I was actually forced to do them!And I enjoyed it too!Haha...Miraculously perhaps...Haha...Ü (I hate dancing kc...)
And the kids were also quite demanding when it comes to entertaining them.(counselors and senior officers acting,singing or making actions is a form of entertainment for them)

Each and every task turned out to be very big and important to us.Well,for the music committee, the "Praise Night" was the biggest to accomplish.It's mainly about singing,doing actions,having fun while glorifying the Lord through songs of praise.This year's theme was "animal" or "jungle" so we had prepared animal praise songs for them and even have them do their own costume!We had them make their own masks and paint their own animal shirts!Those were what they made during the arts and crafts portion...Ü

Though it was very tiresome,all of us had a great time.This whole experience taught us so many things in life and had also made us realize how hard it was for our parents to handle and take care of us from the day we were born.Taking care of kids isn't as easy as it seems to be.PATIENCE,in particular is one of the most valuable lessons that we have learned.(I'm pretty sure all the officers agree...Ü) Even more so should we really be thankful to our parents for having taken care of us.During the camp,we eventually grew up,learn to do our duties and tasks carefully and mature.And ofcourse, in the Godly way...Finally leaving Neverland...Ü

A Glance Ain't Enough...Why Don't You Take Another?!?

Waking up every morning,doing the usual daily routines,getting yourself busy and all that stuff...Probably,this is the daily lifestyle for most of us.But let's just pause for a while and start it with this part...:P

One of the first things that you probably do every morning right after you wake up is look in the mirror.What do you see???A person with eyes still half-open,a disastrous hair,with still a hint of sleepiness in his/her whole facial expression...(Yep,whether smiling or just plain bored and annoyed...) It would even look scarier if you hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before...(Yup,plus the eye bags and eyesores!) But after you've taken your shower,brushed your teeth,and done the first comb-through on your hair,the view looks a lot better.Further,after the final touches you do with your hair and apply a little touch of make-up,(I don't do this one... :P) the view even, more so, improves...

At first glance,you seem to find yourself unhappy about the way you look.Either your nose is too long or short,your eyes are of the wrong color,having a zit or two,or something's just wrong with your smile,or worse...you see everything about your face wrongly proportioned!Just as if looking at yourself in the mirror would give you a day-long eyesore! Okay...Just before you feel that you're the ugliest being who ever lived on earth...Try to look again...You might be seeing someone who has all the imperfections one could ever have and all that,but look even closer.----------Now what do you see???

You know you're a person who has unique skills.(and might even have one you could call your own!) You have the ability to make a difference.Not only in your life's situations,but also in other's lives as well.You are the right person for the job at hand.Though you might need to make a few adjustments regarding some of the situations,you see that you really do have the potential.Probably even the one who would lead the whole group to the success of that something you ought to do!

You know God is your Creator,and you clearly know that He created you perfectly.Even patterned upon His own image.And if you happen to think that you weren't given any special talents or gifts to develop and nurture,think again!You don't really have to know how to play an instrument,be good in academics,know how to sing or dance or even compose a poem or so to consider yourself gifted by God's grace!

Don't you know that knowing how to care or reach out to others is a God-given gift as well???Yes,it is...Though it might only seem to be a simple and an "anybody-can-do-that-thing" kind of situation,trust me,it isn't!Actually,if you just take another look,it ain't that simple.Not all can care like you do...Not all can also make feel one better when he or she is down like you do...(Others might even let them feel worse just by trying to attempt to!) It is a gift....And it's stated in His word.There are no such beings who are totally useless created by God!Each and every one of us is sure to have been entrusted with something by God.

There's no such person in the world without any talent or God-given gift.Even those who are mentally retarded or those who were born with disabilities do have their own specialties... Infact, animals and plants do too!You are a valuable person in God's eyes.For He created you with His own hands,and also treats you as a child of His own.The world was created perfect.But because of sin,it wasn't the same as before,and so are all it's inhabitants,including us.Yet still,God doesn't see our imperfections.But sees whatever He created in us beautiful.And even values our good more than anything else.Instead of just mumbling and getting yourself heated up there,maximize whatever He has given you.Use it to it's full potential in helping others or even by glorifying Him.So before we criticize ourselves on how ugly,unpleasant or how imperfect we look outwardly,put your "God-glasses" on and take another and even closer look...Ü