Two years out of college and counting...

The first picrure was taken before Anj left for the States. We met up in Rockwell for one of the very few times we all manage to get together.

Front: Jen, Mons, Nico, Mon
2nd row: Mae, Jeland, Iyos, Lenny
3rd row: Titit, Bri, Impe, A.J., ME. Can't make out the other people...

Second and third are from my college grad.

I miss college. Ngangi, Lorraine and I were at the Gesu earlier. I just sat there like a fool reminiscing on how much fun I had in college. Lorraine doesn't share my nostalgia though. SHE wishes she'd gone to La Salle instead. Says most of her friends are there. Yeah, it IS tough not knowing anybody. The only people from MY batch who went to Ateneo were Sands, Jenna and myself, and we were in different blocks. Sands was in LM, Jenna was in SoS, I was in Philo. I didn't know anybody in Eliazo. I knew JR Manguiat from Cervini, but we were only acquainted because of Bulik (school paper) work in high school. But I survived, and I had a grand time. Things just kept getting better, and more interesting. College saw me through some PRETTTTY interesting moments, the most embarrassing of which involved Chicharitos, a 750ml bottle of El Hombre Tequila and my college roommates... Go figure.

I don't remember ever being bored those 4 years I spent in Ateneo and in Eliazo. If anything, I could have begged off from life a bit. And grad, my god. Man, it flooded talaga! I'm not kidding. All my pictures from after the ceremony show a bunch of puffy-eyed twenty-somethings in blue togas forcing smiles after having cried so much our eyes hurt.

Aside from Chi, who of course I still live with, Sands (who happens to be my neighbor), Nico, Jen, Mon and Judy, I rarely see any of those people who made the 16th to 20th years of my life so interesting. I still go to mass in Ateneo though. A lot of them are in Ateneo law. Some are working. Some are travelling around the world. And some went back to their respective provinces to take over family businesses and the like. We try to keep in touch, but it's not the same. And I have law school to contend with even in my dreams. Hay. I miss Ateneo.

Ingenuity pure and simple.

Daisy and I managed to create this DURING class out of staple wire, a ruler, paper clips, and God knows what else. Note the perfect symmetry and balance. Does anybody doubt that class is a big old bore? (I think this was Torts class with Sison...)

On the first day of yet another long weekend

I couldn't believe it either til I read about it, and I still have reservations as to whether or not he really is dead. Aw shucks, there goes another one. Super crush ko pa naman siya when I was younger. =(

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/b/brandis/jonathonbrandis.htm

On a lighter note, check out this article: (particularly for people in law school or those who have already passed the godforsaken bar)

http://www.gretchenrubin.com/books/restatement_full.html

As for me, it's back to work again in a while. I have a grand long weekend plan for Evidence and Succession. My barkada says I'm crazy for NOT cutting the classes that are extremely cuttable and cutting those where attendance matters. Oh well. I don't like attending them eh. Bakit ba. In any case, darn. Jonathan Brandis is dead... Sob.

Taking a break from Harry Potter

I've been reading book 6 all day. Well, that part of the day when I was actually conscious, anyway. I cut Tax today. Wasn't feeling up to facing the rigors of a 4-hour class. I missed a bit, or so I hear. Yet another professor walked out on our block. Haha! Oh well. Sorrrreeee!

Anyway, I think nosiness and divine intervention just saved me from reliving a sordid affair-slash-disaster. Some people just never change. Tsk tsk... I should know better. I guess I'm just a masochist in disguise. Good thing he didn't get to me THIS time. That would have been sheer and simple stupidity.

Hot hot hot.

Talk about random thoughts and ramblings and shit.

Hot hot hot. And it's not a good thing. I mean sweltering heat. It's like an oven in here. Or maybe I'm just getting sick. At the rate I HAVEN'T been taking care of my health, I wouldn't be surprised if I just dropped dead in a few seconds. Maybe it's psychosomatic or whatever. It's getting me a bit worried though. I don't normally develop bruises out of nowhere (and no, none of THAT either), and I'm one of the least sickly people I know. Irritating. Maybe I'm dying. Yay. At least that means I don't have to go to class anymore. No more PIL!!!

In any case, I rescinded my contract with Marie. Legal title over -ahem- now re-vests in her. And I sing... -Ahem, ahem- "I quit, I give up..." (Don't know the lyrics after that na.) It SO does not pay to be good or to be idealistic in this day and age. Well, according to Mario, he's the poster boy for being idealistic yet having fun. As for me, it's back to square one. My frustration has reached new heights, ladies and gents.

I just have no idea why I'm stuck in this godawful rut I'm in. Can't think, can't focus, can't concentrate... If I weren't a hundred percent sure I wasn't, I'd be inclined to think I'm in love. Haha! Yeah. Sure. With my dog! =p

Inter-A thing was Saturday night, some compound in Cubao, along Aurora. It was ok, first time in a couple of months that I had a beer. Or two. Or three. Or a lot. But I was uber sober when I got home. 'Nuff time to get myself into trouble again. Double whammy early Sunday morning.One through text, one in person. Problem with me is when it comes to SOME people, I think too little and end up being too honest for my own good. I'm telling you, it SO does not pay to be honest. It'll just get you into trouble. Arggh. Just my luck to be trapped in between a rock and a hard place.

Well, welcome to my life.

And if that weren't enough for me, I'm consciously willingly getting myself into something which has, in the past, at least twice over, proven to be the fastest way into hell. Stupid idea, but I can't help myself. Well, actually, I can. But I'm bored. I need some excitement. (Yes, I know, I basically countered my entire tirade on how bad things are right now. Poor excuse.)

And all this incoherence is getting me nowhere. But hey, it can only be uphill from here.

Just about .

I cut both Nego and PIL today. Somehow, I couldn't convince myself to get out of bed until late in the afternoon. Haven't been all that inspired to go to school or to study lately. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the little tiff I had with my dad a few days ago. Or maybe I'm just not meant for law. Well, too late to back out NOW. I'm already on my third f-ing year. Might as well get it over and done with. Too much at stake if I quit. It's just my sanity and peace of mind that will suffer if I don't. Twisted logic. I know.

Anyway, on to better and brighter things... I went to the Ateneo Alumni Mass at the Gesu last Sunday with Joven. I was actually up really early (for me, anyway) on a bright and sunny Sunday morning. Took a shower, got dressed, and waited for Joven to call or text that he was downstairs already. As usual, he was right on time. After he picked me up at the condo, we went over to the Gesu. As all the parking slots at the dorm were filled, we ended up in front of the J.R. Better, actually. It's a bit farther to the Gesu from there than from the dorm, but Ateneo's just breathtaking on Sundays, especially now that everything's just sparkling green, and it's not scorching hot anymore. Mass was ok. Fr. Mac's homily was comme ci comme ca. I usually prefer the Filipino Jesuits. There were more people last Sunday than at the previous alumni masses I've been to. Didn't see anybody familiar there though. The one thing I distinctly remember was the teeny feeling of relief-slash-comfort that I felt when I was walking back to the back of the Gesu after communion and Joven was there.

After mass, we went around Ateneo looking for fire tree seed pods / seedlings. I'm NOT kidding. Joven wanted to get one for their front yard. And he didn't want to buy daw when he could just get one for free. Well, after scouring the J.R. yard, under the tree near the gym, the one beside the SEC, and the one in between Gonzaga and Berchmans, we ended up empty-handed and famished. Funny kid. So then it was off to lunch. I couldn't think of anywhere in particular I wanted to binge, and Joven didn't want to decide, so we ended up NOT in Eastwood or Libis where he originally wanted to go. Instead, we found ourselves in good old World Topps. Katipunan. =p Blame it on my indecisiveness. Lunch was still fun though. I saw a few familiar faces from the dorm there. It's always interesting talking to Joven anyway. (Plus the fact that we had tons to talk about, as we hadn't seen each other or had a decent conversation since after Christmas.) Conversation-wise, I'd rate him around the same level as Franco and Nico. And that's pretty damn high.

An hour and a half and a bowlful of salpicao later, it was time to go home. I had to get started on Nego, and Joven had to go to a meeting in Makati. And so went my rendezvous with one of my oldest, closest and most treasured friends. Not sure when we'll see each other again, but I hope it will be very soon. I really do miss him. He's the older brother I never had and more. Well, that's life. You can't always get what you want. Tell me about it.

Another result of a tax free cut

I've recently come to terms with the fact that some things, and some people, really are quite transient in nature. No matter how hard one tries to sustain some relationships, sometimes, what it seemed to be is so not what it really is, or was. Could I be more vague about it? Rhetorical question, but yes, I could try. =p

Moving on to better and brighter things... I'm going to 1st Sunday Ateneo Alumni Mass tomorrow at the Gesu with Joven. Last time I saw him was for like half a minute 2 months ago when I ran into him in Cantina. Since then, we've been out of touch. We're both busy, I guess, and our schedules don't quite match. Pardon the nostalgia, but I do miss the days when he dropped by the house every weekend. But then again, that was WAY back when we were both a lot younger. Come to think of it, I've known him since I was 9. Talk about intervening circumstances. Thirteen years' worth. Last time we seriously talked was a few days after Christmas, I think. He dropped by the house one night and we had a long conversation about family and life and all. Few days after that, silly me hitched a ride with him back to Manila and pestered him about, well, everything. Prior to that, I think the last time I talked to him was the night L.A. and I broke up. Fact. He's always been there when I needed him most. Happy happy happy. Hope everything pushes through tomorrow.

Another friend I've been out of touch with is Kiel. Since he switched jobs, I haven't really heard from him all that much. I wonder how that weirdo is doing...

Man, come to think of it, I haven't been in touch with a lot of my non-law school friends lately... But I've been trying to make up for lost time with those who happen to be in the country. Monica, last I heard, graduated from UC San Diego and is probably back in Silverton. Tildz naman is now a proud mom na. She's all the way in New Jersey though. And Dobz has gained weight since she moved to Canada. Arghh, that reminds me, Monica's birthday was last Monday...

Hmm... Mass email is the answer...

The result of a tax free cut

1.Song playing at the moment?
Some obscure song.

2.One reason for living?
The fact that I exist.

3.Ever donated blood?
Nope. Not particularly fond of needles...

5.Fav color(s)?
Blue, white (though last I heard, it's not considered a color), red, pink, beige/tan/camel, black

6.Accessories you usually wear?
Pearl earrings / necklace, watch, bracelets,anklet, brooch, belt... Though not all at the same time. (Sana lang.)

7.One song to describe a heartbreak in the past?
"And one day soon it's gonna happen to you, and when it does, it won't be pretty." - from that song by Moonpools and Caterpillars

8.Last place you went?
The Landbank ATM machine beside Mocha Blends. I ran out of cash.

9.Last person you went out with?
My barkada (Oggs, Nico, Lianne, Mia, Chi. Daisy was in Tarlac, Jen went to the gym.). We had a late lunch / early dinner lamon festival sa A Veneto after Avila gave us a free cut for Transpo last Friday.

10.The most boring sport?
Haven't tried anything that turned out to be boring.

11.Ever had a baby?
Thank God I've never had one!

12.Last movie uve seen?
War of the Worlds, with NIco, Jen and Oggs. Comme ci comme ca.

13.Any piercings or tattoo?
Piercing, yes, but sa ears lang. My dad is going to kill me if I get anything else pierced. Tattoos, no. Too much of a scaredy cat.

15.Act on stage before?
Nope. I always volunteered to write the script instead. Too tamad to go to rehearsals.

16.Struck by lightning before?
Uh, no...

17.Danced with your loved one before?
Yes. So sweet...

18.Ever wished you could turn back time?
Crosses my mind sometimes, but then I remember if I did turn back time, I'd have to retake a couple of midterm and final exams again. Wag na.

19.What would you do if you woke up one day to find yourself to be with someone from the opposite sex?
Kung guwapo, ok lang. Kung pangit, I'd run like hell and take a long shower. Hehe!

20.One song that's meaningful to you?
Not just one eh. Moonlight, As time goes by,That's all, What a wonderful world, Somewhere over the rainbow, Someone to watch over me. Don't bother to ask why.

21.Last person you met for the first time?
Some guy. Can't remember his name. JJ ata.

22.What will you be doing tomorrow?
Going to the Ateneo alumni mass at the Gesu and probably lunch with Joven. No plans for after that. Sana movie.

23.Who's your favorite F4 member?
Dati si Vic, now si Ken.

24.One thing you totally regret?
Spending too little time thinking before acting.

25.Do people like you?
Well, my friends do.

26.What was the last game you played on the computer?
Can't remember. Probably Text Twist or Bounced Out or something.

27.Someone who means a lot to you at the moment?
My family, my friends. As for someone special, wala eh.

28.The color of your mobile phone?
Navy blue.

29. Do you hate someone at the moment?
No naman.

30. What do you wish to happen now?
To be able to really relax kasi tapos na chores and responsibilities ko. It's been a long month.

Weekend thoughts

Paraphrasing Nico, the master of euphemisms and word-twisting and word-manipulation, although I may indulge myself in stilettos, I eventually end up dreaming of the comfortable sneaker on the shelf. It may not be centerfold material, and it may not be all that exciting, but it's comfortable, and at the end of the day, I'm happy.

On recent events... As much as girls are so doomed, having to deal with guys as members of the opposite sex, a lot of guys are also so malas, having to deal with psychotic episodes of some girls, like a couple of people I happen to be friends with. Oh gawd, the horror. As for me, I'm even more doomed, as I have to deal with both warring parties. Sometimes it sucks to be me.