a day with my DIAMOND FAMILY :)

103011. saturday.

finally, it happened. haha! this sem-ender hangout was originally planned to be held last monday. but due to some schedule clashes, things didn't work out for us. jusz left calamba that afternoon for her internship, julie was still in makati then. see what i mean?  busy people. haha!

october 30, 2011 is the perfect date. today, there were more who made it - ME, FAITH, KRIZIA, JUSZ, MANALO, PORTEZ, OLIVER, HIBEK, JULIE. the call time was 2 p.m. but it's understood that we'd be coming by 3 p.m. onwards. that's how we deal with time. that's our culture, baby. haha! jusz was there earlier 'coz she, together with roc, went to school first then straight to the mall. haha! oliver and mel were the next to arrive, followed by hibek. hehe. when i arrived, mel, ver and hibek were waiting at the stall where josan works. i greeted them, then went straight to starbucks to meet roc and jusz. haha! the three of us were so excited when we saw each other 'coz jusz and roc had a lot of stories to share about their first week as interns at leo burnett. roc said goodbye after a few minutes of talk.

this is me trying to cover myself. as usual. haha!

jusz and ver

joson and jusz

when we were almost complete, that's the time we started thinkin' where to eat. it's also part of our culture, or may be other circle of friends has the same culture. you know that, that culture of  debating for hours before reaching a decision. haha! max's, kenny roger's, classic savory, pizza hut. in the end, we went to MAX'S, the first choice. haha! it's a good thing we ate there 'coz we were already joking that we might end up dining at mcdo, the place where we always, always eat. we have nothing against mcdo. truth is we love mcdo. that's why we always eat there. this time we wanna try something else., something different. haha! when we got there, we occupied the two tables in the middle. again, we were joking 'coz it's as though we're a family eating there, families are the most usual guests who dine at max's. well, we consider each other a family so we still belong. haha! after the debate on where to eat, the argument on what to eat was next. haha! when our orders came, we did something we don't usually do as a group. we prayed. i was honestly surprised someone initiated to do it. it was a good thing though. it made me feel more that i was with my family. haha!

this is us while we pray. oh so holy. hehe.

nard and faith

ME! sippin' some iced tea. haha!

not sure what i am looking at. haha!

i don't know who among them owns the  plate. haha! whoever you are, you a glutton huh?

FAMILY PICTURE. haha!

josan wasn't able to make it. she was supposed to be with us but when we went back to her stall, she wasn't there anymore. too bad. hehe. julie was the last to arrive. some of us were almost done when she came. julie, julie, oh julie. haha! while eating, we were updating each other on what we've been doing lately, exchanging jokes(the funny, good old jokes. haha!), and sharing the problems we have openly. it has become easier for us to discuss and involve our friends with our most personal problems. maybe it's because we have now really matured in a way that we already know how to listen, comfort, and advice each other. just sayin' hehe. we saw rochelle and archelle too. they had a date i guess that's why che didn't go to our get-together. it's pretty understandable. you know, those boyfriend-girlfriend quality time together. haha!

this is us discussing where to go next. haha!

gago si nard e tinakpan ako. haha!

josan and darwin. darwin happened to be there at the mall too. good thing.  haha!

we didn't know where to go next. we really had no plans for this day. haha! joson finally suggested that we go to UPLB, the place where she and nard always bond. haha! most said yes, but there were also those who didn't want to. haha! we all laughed when hibek suddenly suggested that why don't we try to go to PUP in sto. tomas. haha! we laughed because out of nowhere he'd suggest such a place. haha! we ended up riding the jeepney en route to UPLB. haha! the ride was filled with funny stories from our high school days. we always love to reminisce the funniest and most stupid experiences when we were still studying together at st. john. haha! we were the loudest in the jeepney. it's always the case when all of us are together. haha! 

ver, hibek, nard, and me! haha!

ver hibek, joson, faith, me, and nard. haha!

faith and ver, ang mag-ex. haha!

i find this photo funny because of what mel tells about the guard. haha! wanna know? ask mel. hahahaha!

we walked and sat and walked and sat from one spot to another when we got to UP. haha! those were not just boring walks but walks filled with chuckles and glee. haha! one of the highlights of that night was when leomel would be talking in english with british english accent and would be posing for a picture as if he was some cool hunk every time he puts on his VIOLET RAY-BANs. haha! he is so freaking funny! haha! he'd say that it's the effect of his violet rechargeable shades. the shades make him look cool, funky, and hot. haha! another highlight was whenever joson and nard would be playing violently like kids. that's how they show love for each other. they'd be hurting each other physically and nobody stops until one of them gets hurt. haha!

si mel habang suot ang kanyang rechargeable shades. haha! pag suot daw niya yan nagiging cool daw sya at maangas!

ito si joson na wala na namang magawang matino. sari-sari ang pose e. haha!

 nakailang shot pa bago nakapicture nang maayos dito dahil si joson e utas na pagpopose nang fierce. haha!

kawawa naman yung poste kay joson e. muntik na maputol sa bigat ni krizia. haha!

tangena. ano to? i miss you like crazy? haha!

this is the reason i love saturdays. i get the chance to be with the people i wanna be with. 

this is why i also love sembreaks. they give me the opportunity to mingle with my high school friends again. 

i always love to eat with them, laugh with them, make noise with them, play with them, walk with them, spend money with them, dream with them, go home with them. haha! and i will never get tired of doing all these things over and over again for as long as i am with them. haha!

let's share more of these moments. haha!

2nd CHANCE by JAMES PATTERSON

102211. saturday. 

o yes. i just finished the second book in the women's murder club series by james patterson. haha! 

it's a great way to start my sembreak. opening another patterson novel is like getting back on track since i had been taking a break from all the brutal and quizzical stories. this semester had been an exhausting one so i felt like i couldn't handle it anymore if i'd be reading such complicated stories that would drain my brain. haha! if you remember, the most recent i've read were memoirs of a geisha and the wedding. both were far different from patterson's genre. haha! 

big thanks to julie and her cousin for lending the book. haha!

anyways, 2nd chance is another book you won't drop the moment you open page one. haha. it left me clueless until i reached the last pages. again, it makes you believe that you figured out everything but then you start realizing that no, he's not it. it's like you know the suspect is not the real killer but you just can't figure out who he really is which is oh so frustrating. haha! patterson is the man. haha! i can say that i really love this women's murder club series. i'm enjoying it. what makes me like it is how patterson puts emotional attachment with the story, may it be romantic or parental attachment, to think that these novels are about killings. he gets to find the balance between two contrasting themes. haha! i believe that's what makes the series more attractive to me. in 1st to die, it is lindsay's attachment to chris. here, it is lindsay's attachment to his father. see what i mean? haha!

2nd chance is about the case of numerous murders of black cops or anybody related to them. at first, they thought it was the cop who was jailed for killing a teenager. hell no. they were wrong. haha! here's where the story of lindsay and his father gets in the picture. haha! i don't wanna be the spoiler so better read if you wanna know. haha! 

huling PAPAMPAM!

101011. monday.

i didn't expect things would turn out like that. haha! i wasn't actually planning of taking part in huling papampam in this tour, but things just didn't go my way. haha! fuck tardiness, fuck oversleeping. haha! 

we had a tour at abs-cbn with a chance to watch showtime. sounds great, right? it really was great! haha. the call time at school was originally 4:30 a.m. those who'd come by 5 a.m. would be left. sounds bad? really bad! haha! 

well, my plan was to wake up by 3 a.m. so that at least i'd have enough time to prepare. sadly and horribly, i wasn't able to wake up on time according plan. i woke up by 5 a.m.!!! what the fuck was that?! haha! when my mom woke me up and told me what time it was, i didn't know what to do and how to start fixing myself. oh god! i checked the time and saw that it indeed was 5 a.m. already! i was panicking. i was soo mad of course. who wouldn't get mad for such a thing? haha. without second thoughts, i rushed to the bathroom and got myself cleaned. o heck. there were so many text messages asking where the hell i was and telling that they were about to leave in ten minutes. ten minutes?! fuck. i haven't left our home yet then and it usually takes 25 minutes for me to get to school, so how was i gonna be able to get there in just 10 freaking minutes?!! HOW?! haha! there were calls from liezette asking me if i could still make it. she was asking where i was already. haha! i was soo in a hurry. i didn't even manage to put powder or anything. i was only able put my earrings and perfume when i was already in the jeepney on my way to crossing. couldn't waste a jiffy. haha!

i met them at turbina. when i got in the bus, madam phlor and madam gerby were seated in front! haha! of course, they were mad and i understand very much why. haha! i apologized to everyone.  it's the least i could do. haha. my classmates told me that they were all so worried about me. they said they were bothered that i might not make it. haha! well, i was so worried of myself too! haha! thank god i still made it! haha!

some of my classmates were asking what i would do if i wasn't able to make it. truth is i don't know. haha!  we were all joking that i will just go to sleep again and not watch today's episode of showtime because i am bitter. haha! but no, i seriously don't know what i will do if ever it happens. maybe i will only know if it'll happen. i hope it won't. i wish it will never happen. haha!

during the whole day, we would always use the statement "wag maging kampante." haha! it's especially for me and for those who still have "atrasos." haha! whenever someone becomes happy, he/she will be told that statement which will eventually remind him/her of his/her "atrasos." poor kids. haha!

camille, hanawoods, and ate dakka.

ri-ri na naka-aura na naman with camille! haha!

yvonne and roc.

the tour was not that exciting anymore since it was our second time already. we went from one studio to another. there was this sir who guided us and shared things about abs-cbn and its studios and sets. hehe. then, it's SHOWTIME!!! haha.

this is us before the tour begins. haha.

abs-cbn's sets of equipment hanging on their ceiling. haha!

dervs and okiy with madam ana manalastas. haha!

paul and alaga. haha!

mga kita sa tv o. haha!

we were seated at the fifth or sixth row in front which meant that we were kinda near the stage. hehe. before the show started, there were entertainers who set the mood and taught us dance steps for the opening of the program. i am not a dancer! good thing the steps were cute and easy to follow except that they were too many. haha! found it hard to remember all of them. hahaha! 

the entertainers before showtime starts. haha!

yvonne habang naka-split together with the others na nagpasikat din sa sayawan. haha!

when the show began, we were all energetic as we clapped, cheered, sang and danced along with the artists and other audiences. haha! more than anything, i was caught on cam. exposure, baby. hehe. i am such a camera shy but was not able to stop and cover myself before they could catch me on cam. o heck. those things made me conscious all the while. haha! everyone in the set was soo nice. and as usual, the studio is way, way smaller than you expected. their cameras are so updated that they have features that can magnify a thing for up to maybe 10 times. very tricky! hehe!

showtime was a blast from the beginning 'til its end. hehe. it's just that we were all so tired after because we clapped and cheered all throughout the show, plus those cameras that make us oh so conscious. our only chance to relax were during commercial breaks. very few of my classmates were able to take pictures with the artists.

the hosts: teddy, billy, kuya kim, anne, vhong, and karylle.

the hurados. haha!

after having our late lunch, we headed straight to the national printing office. they were holding their sports fest that's why some of their operations were temporarily stopped. but still, they were kind enough to let us tour around the printing office. hehe. the tour inside NPO was exhausting 'coz there were so many offices and floors. part of the exhaustion might also be because of the hangover at showtime. haha! they are the ones responsible for printing the ballots, birth and death certificates, and other receipts and papers that the government provides. on a personal note, i can say that the building is a true picture of a government-owned facility. lack of budget led to the current state of the building. maybe you'll only understand me once you get inside it too. you'll surely see what i mean. hehe. anyways, their people were accommodating and approachable. i thank them for that. hehe!

one of the highlights of the whole trip was when we were already at turbina where the two professors were already out of the bus. we all started singing the showtime theme song, then all of a sudden there was a commotion! we started pulling off paul's clothes, they all began to just hurt anyone near them and that's basically ME! i was tortured! haha! they pulled my hair, they all jumped and bumped me! haha! before i knew it, i was dead. there was also a cat fight between vyna and jamie. haha! we were already at lyceum when all the chaos ended. at least it ended without anyone rushed to a hospital. hahahaha! 

the day was such a memorable one. haha!!!

my perceptions on PERCEPTIONS

it was just recently when i found out that i was accepted at Perceptions Inc. it is a pr/advertising/events company. as for me, it's a good company and i can tell by the first time i got there that perceptions really is something in the industry. haha!

one of the things that started bothering me the moment i found out i was in is the fact that i am alone. yes, i am alone. o god. who says it's gonna be easy? haha! i mean i don't know how i will start building a relationship with a group of people who already have an established connection. they've been together for i don't know how long, then i'll suddenly get into the picture. the point is i am a newcomer. haha! well, what else can i do? i'm just gonna give it my all. i'll try to be nice, at least in the beginning. haha. then later on, i'll show them the evil me. haha! just kidding! seriously, i'll first try to feel the environment, see how things work there, and try to blend in in a way that i won't look as though i am pretending or something. haha! 

i think the people there are nice. most are approachable i guess. haha! i wish they won't give me a hard time. haha! as one employee there told me, they really want to train their interns. they provide them hands on training and they are treated as though they are already part of the company. it's a good and bad thing for me. well not really bad but scary. good in a way that i know i will get the training that i should get and scary in a sense that i don't know if i can handle whatever task they'll give me. haha! the least i can do is accomplish whatever is assigned to me with the best of my ability. haha! 

good luck to me. i hope i won't be the cause of any problem there, i hope not. haha!

THE WEDDING by NICHOLAS SPARKS

100711. friday.

i just finished reading the book today while i'm in the bus on my way home from the interview. haha!


it's another good way of refreshing myself. i have been too consumed by the murder killings of james patterson and the conspiracy cases of john grisham.

basically, THE WEDDING is about LOVE. isn't it obvious from the title? haha! it's about regaining a love that was taken for granted for many, many years. 


the plot is a simple one. doesn't have much twists, doesn't have much revelations until you get near the end of the novel. the ending was the bomb. haha! it's soo sweet! as in! haha!

i think the more in love the reader is, the more he/she'll be able to connect and relate to the story. as i see it, this novel is more on touching the emotions of the readers. he wants the readers to be in love or to at least let them feel what real love is.


this novel is actually the continuation of "The Notebook." THE WEDDING's lead character, jane, is the daughter of allie and noah. the story started when wilson, jane's husband, suddenly realizes what is now happening to their marriage and what has become of their relationship after almost three decades. then, he thinks of ways to bring back the spark and magic of their love story. this has something to do with the upcoming wedding of their daughter, anna. as the preparation for anna's wedding progresses so is wilson's plan of winning the heart of jane once more. i don't wanna reveal everything about it. don't wanna be a spoiler. if you wanna know, go read it. haha!

moreover, i am somehow taken by the eternal and true love that noah and allie shared. haha! especially on the part of noah when he believed that the swan was really allie. he's already satisfied with what he believes and he did not have to push it to his family if they don't wanna believe him. 


all in all, THE WEDDING is a good read especially when you just wanna do something during your free time. hehe. it doesn't make you think too much. everything is laid out in front of you (which is why i like it. haha!).