first things first, click the stuff on the box:

Self-promotional feature: Now, would you be a dear and tell me wtf I am! =)

mmm. with that being said, let's cut to the chase/s:

have a blisterrific summer y'all!
i'd bitch myself into oblivion, but let me tell you that i absolutely hate the weather! (top reason why i don't like summer.) my sweat glands work overtime at this time of the year, with every movement calculating to a couple of sweat drops (yesss.) i keep on changing my shirts, wiping on towels, even while i'm indoors. more so while commuting under the cancer-causing sun... have gone a shade darker since my first stint in college! i'm too lazy to slather SPF (by the way, where's the sunblock? i haven't used any since the last swimming trip, which was back in the days of yore) and too lazy to get the brolly unless i walk a long distance. 36C/97F weather... i wonder how the people living in colder climates would react to this... this ain't no tropical paradise baby! sun + humidity + pollution in the metro = awful. what's worse for me (there seem to be no end for the worse) is that i CAN'T take anything cold yet... no ice cream or even ice water, because i'm still having the 2-month-long cough (i hate it... is this really a cough or something else!) and i don't know whether i'll even recover from it. for now, if only a daydream, i'd love to hop on a plane and go on a round trip to europe! and stay there forever! well, till june perhaps... *wee*

pc bonkers again
fug the damn computer... it certainly hasn't stopped giving signs of "omg-i'm-old-and-i'm-about-to breakdown". THE CD DRIVE IS POPPING BY ITSELF -- AGAIN. i've had this same situation last october though that muffled down, and now the fug's back and it's gotten worse! it opens/closes from startup to logout and i don't know what to do. i hate it!!!! thinking it's been "fixed" just last month and due to that my antivirus program was *unexplicably* wiped out... i wonder if this popping is caused by a virus (trojan? from the forums i googled with regard to this prob) or if it's just worn out. funny though, i rarely use the cd drive... one thing's for sure: i need to get another antivirus quick. (it's still popping as we speak)

name-dropping time -- suggest a book please!
vacation's always a season of idleness for me, so it's often the time i douse myself with words. it's always a habit -- what else is there to do? i remember spending last year's summer reading "wild swans" by jung chang for almost a month. it was a rich, thick memoir, mind you. so i think of doing the same this time... just to keep my fuzzy brain preoccupied. for this season, i have finished a part of "down there on a visit" by christopher isherwood (i didn't realize he was actually a homosexual till this... hmm), and currently reading "no longer at ease" by chinua achebe (the sequel to our 2nd year hs required reading "things fall apart", haha). i am interested in reading "the historian" by elizabeth kostova (dracula stuff? is it a good read? it's available in paperback already -- and it's thick!) and i planned to buy it for next month's reading, as a sort of vacation gift to moiself. (narcissistic biatch!) but when i dropped by the friendly neighborhood bookstore, i didn't find a copy! brokenhearted, i settled for a bargain buy -- a courtroom thriller, "juror number eleven", which i hope is as good as grisham's (as the blurb said). but still, i'd wanna get reading suggestions for a tolerable summer... bestsellers, classics, whatever. thanks!

late late AR9 buzz... and the rest of la la land
i believe i haven't mentioned about Amazing Race 9 since it started... not that i wasn't watching (i do religiously, baby) but *maybe* because i got a little bored with the new season. it's back to being 'teams of 2', and now, nine legs after, only 4 teams remain... who will be eliminated next? (i sound like phil! *squee*) ... rooting for the hippies bj and tyler to win (they're the most fun... entertainment value... and they're smart goofing aside), i don't have multiple favorites. i can't remember hating an 'old couple' team until now (but fran & barry's gone!) and i don't find eric and/or jeremy cute (team brokeback! ;p). next stop japan!

and guess what... i've lately been sneaking to watch american idol! staying up late wondering what all the fizz was all about... the only other time i watched AI was the whole season 3 (with fantasia) ... skipped season 4 altogether... i started watching the episode where mandisa got booted out (country week?). i actually don't have any clear favorites, since to me their performances aren't that consistent, and i'm still new to this season. (kellie's an exception... too cutesy with the audience/judges it makes me puke!) paris' singing voice is good (and like simon, i prefer that to the talking ;p) ... taylor's hmm... hyperactive? don't have much to say about kat and chris, this season's prepped-ups, since they're good at some / bad at some. all i can say for last night's ep was that i have got a newfound liking for "song for you" (sung by elliott... best of his since my weekly devotion started) ... it's a really nice song that i didn't quite notice at first when i was listening to michael buble's version many months ago, but when i heard it on AI, i 'dug' up the track and played it on the stereo and it was gooood! the lyrics are wonderful... very jazzy tune.

and speaking of singing, i want to sing! seeing these talent shows makes you want to grab a mike and belt out! i haven't stretched my vocal cords a la whitney for almost a year, making me think i lost my 'powers'! waah! ;D problem is, i believe i sing the wrong way... i don't vocalize with the diaphragm... it's either from my nose (ewoks!) or throat. i just don't know how! maybe i should take david foster's advice and lie down while singing... la la laaaaa!!

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dimanche, avril 23, 2006 Y 7:30 PM

sloppiness.

... thought i'd make a sloppy weekend post. (i post rarer than usual!)

hmmm, like the tweakings i did with the background and scrollbar? i really want to change the skin already, but as you know me i'm too lazy to create a layout.. i actually want my next template to be magnificently CSS-fied... but... :|

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Far Away
Dishwalla

Just the other day, I was looking for myself again
Trying to put back all the pieces, back to the way they were
Sometimes it's not so easy
When you have so many voices tell you what to do
I think I've got it now, but I can't be too sure

Far away as you shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind
Sooner or later, it will slowly come back to me

If I could build a spaceship
Would you fly away with me, or would you stay?
A million miles an hour flying circles as we orbit round the Earth
If I stuck my head out the window,
Do you think it'd clear my head, or would it burst?
I guess it's all the same, but at least it wouldn't hurt

Far away as you shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind
And the voices in my head, I think they've finally gone away

Far away, far away
Sooner or later, it will slowly come back to me

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mardi, avril 18, 2006 Y 6:18 PM

crazy little thing called "lost"

the geek shall inherit the earth -- can't get enough of you, Sawyer!

there's nothing as constant in my boob-tube viewing habits as "Lost".

the splish-sploshing, brain-bending, butt-kicking drama/suspense show captured millions of couch potatoes around the world, and unwittingly, me. it started airing here in the shores november of last year... at first i was hesitant to watch and immerse myself into another potential 'tv addiction' -- i gotta study, you know -- and went to read "harry potter & the half blood prince" as the first episode played in the background. i even skipped the second ep. i thought, what's good about a show about people stuck in an island? must it be a scripted "survivor" (of which i barely like)? but i was curious.

soon enough i "tried" watching... and there goes the love affair!

it's a wonderful show. it gives you a bit of everything without divulging much -- kinda like icicles atop an iceberg. it even gets you involved in a way! "lost" tells you about these random people who happened to ride in the same plane that crashed somewhere in the isolated Pacific, and twists the premise that they're not at all random and the crash might have been for a strange reason. even the island is one hell of a place. makes you think, right?

every character's an interesting piece in the puzzle, the relationships are fly, the revelations all too intriguing. if you think you know much about a certain character, nothing's too much -- unless he's dead. there's still a lot they have to encounter for them (and us) to see what's beneath the surface.

for the moment (as i am still in season one), my favorite characters would be Locke because of his practical sense, and lately Sawyer. hmm.. i don't know why, he's pretty much a bad boy but he's alluring when he exhibits that rare nice guy demeanor! *mad grin* i'm also interested about Kate's past, and Hurley, and Sun. actually i like everybody. Jack hasn't rubbed off on me yet (mom thinks he's cute. me? ermm...), but i bet he soon will.

as for the mysterious detour called The Island, i reckon it's a government research facility, observing these choice crop of men, testing their wits and endurance for what -- cloning? psychiatric breakthrough? space mission? alien invasion?

everyone loves a conspiracy...

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mercredi, avril 12, 2006 Y 6:07 PM

happiness is a nine letter word

what's the first thing that happened to me since my official vacation begun?
... i got sick. bummer, baby.

it's freaking hot, everybody's eating/drinking something cold, and i'm stuck with the flu! started around saturday, feeling the chills. the culprit would be a mixture of humid air, fridge breeze, sweat, ice cream (!), and remnants of my last coughing fit. my sunday outing was postponed when i had to be in bed for most of the day because i got a slight fever and i felt my head was dragging me. soon after i had the colds. the annoying cough replaced the fever. and until now, i'm drugged with meds. holy week's going to be woozy! ;p

another ranting session: i am starting to get maddeningly frustrated about summer. back when i was studying i told myself vacation will be great 'unwind time'... but truth is, the only thing good about summer breaks is that you get no homework. it stops right there. everything else is sooo ugh -- the heat is unbearable, the pace of life is amazingly slow, and i'm getting lethargic staying at the house (no, my g'parent's house - i've spent summers, sembreaks, whatever there for almost a decade. not that i hate it -- it's just unproductive). how i wish i could take back my words back and hit the books again... summer classes -- but the college doesn't allow that unless i failed (baaad). i want summer activities! bolt into a huge cool swimming pool, or get a new hobby, or even work! i want a nice get-together with friends... bring me to my senses, rediscover my insane self through them! pleeeease! i'm frickin BORED!

on one end though, i've been meaning to write The Great Award-Winning Essay/Prose for days now, but no idea kicks in... or i am just plain lazy. i feel i have lost my powers (whatever) already, due to not writing essays since last summer. (term papers, and this blog, don't count.) i want good material, a more mature approach -- no more parenthesis-laden quips that i usually do, maybe just a minimum. goodness gracious, I NEED INSPIRATION. max foster doesn't even elate my senses anymore. boohoo.

(goes channel surfing...)

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samedi, avril 08, 2006 Y 7:32 PM

exaltations 04.05.06

I PASSED THE QUALIFYING EXAM!!! ^{(...and HEADED FOR THE BIG TIME!)}
my mind's still dazed from the revelation. i'm just so relieved *sigh* that at least, my nightmares for the moment are over and done. yessss! :D

note: this is strictly a self-fawning post. beware! =p

Fateful Wednesday started with an awful stomachache that kept me awake just around sunrise... must be the freakin' jitters... so i decided to just stay up at 6am and start the day. believe me, before that there were plenty of sleepless nights (the night after the exam, then the 2 nights after that... i was able to doze off fairly better in the new week), crazy exam-related dreams (counted 3 -- my classmate had them too, and she said it was freud's "wish-fulfillment"... hmm), and tremendous anxiety. back to the Day, i wasn't so eager to go to school yet -- and face the music -- that morning, and i thought "i bet there's gonna be a lot of early birds!" with the results starting 9am, so the usual Lazy Bum took her time and again got a little worried. came to school at 10am instead.

upon reaching the building territory, strutting my geeky walk, two of my classmates called me and said "_____! Congrats!" ... at first i thought they were teasing me (since those 2 usually do) and so i just smiled. i then walked over to the almighty Qualified Applicants for Accountancy (incoming sophomores) bulletin, seeing the truth for myself... a spasm of joy and relief! my efforts finally paid off... i even blinked and wondered if this was actually "the" real thing. words could not express what i felt that exact moment i saw my name. it was as if everything in my life fell into order for once!

i guess the right word would be "blessed". =)

our section's pretty much a survivor... a majority of my classmates passed (30 out of 40... whoa), and a couple of my friends from our little 'group' made it. i'm happy for them... we just might be in the same class again! it's altogether a bittersweet feeling, that some people i know didn't make the cut... *sigh*

after the hasty confirmation, my friends and i went over to the main building to view our grades for the 2nd semester... man is there a crowd for it! the line was very long, yet we decided to 'patiently' wait for it... geeks. it took us almost 2 hours for our turn to come. i was quite worried my grades would be real low... like my english (total drag -- like a 3?). to my surprise, it looked pretty fine! english turned out to be 2.25, as was PE! overall, i never thought i'd have nicer grades than the 1st sem. i'd look like a saint now, since my theology grade have been consecutive "1"s... and perhaps unofficially, i'm dean's list-eligible for the schoolyear! *does a creepy happy dance* ... that really happens once in a lifetime ... allow me the pleasure of short-lived rejoice! =p

i'm terrifically looking forward to my second year... new building, new wardrobe, new lease in life. i hope to strive hard and enjoy at the same time, holding my guts alongside the 500-or-so studes (out of the roughly 1500 freshmen that we were) aspiring to be CPA's... fate beckons.

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