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The name is Elaine or Ien or Pssst or Hoy ...or whatever suits you
...from the city of Davao
...26 with fine lines and wrinkles already
...short-haired, two-eyed na! (thanks to constact lenses), right-handed, flat-footed
...wants to be a Buddhist and a United Nations interpreter someday
...confused about life in general
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Monday, February 28
To Be [Busy] or Not To Be
i don't even have to write it here. people around me know i'm busy (as jollibee... hehehe!). i juggle three jobs, just imagine that. pinipiga na rin ako sa UAP commitments ko. and just two weeks ago, i got "tied up" again with another work and i never realized [until last tuesday] that it'll "drag" me 'til god-knows-when! but the new "work" is something i really look forward to -- Museo Dabaw: An Adaptive Reuse of Davao City's Court of First Instance. Hahaha! Sounds like my thesis, eh 'no?
yes, the city government asked the "professional opinion and participation" of some architects (i think there are four of us) for another whimsical project of the mayor. we haven't really discussed the extent of our "participation" on the project, but i hope hanggang pre-design consultation lang. anyway, this "work" eats up my monday afternoon. what's irritating about the whole drill is that we find ourselves being grilled by non-technical people from NHI (eh hindi naman historical yung structure namen), Sangguniang Panlungsod (nagulat ako ang dami palang councilors ng Davao!), and the Office of whoever! As in, it would take us an hour just to introduce ourselves...."ah, we would like to acknowledge the presence of honorable so and so..." Sheeeesh! Ano'ng petsa na, mga guys??!!" well, it's the system... or the culture.... whatever! i don't think i can even discuss the details of the meetings. basta! madugo, paikot-ikot, at mabagal... yun lang!
three weeks to go and the sem will officially end. the good thing about my work is that it has summer, sem and christmas breaks. happy happy joy joy! i'm thinking of complete rest... beach, scuba diviing, trip abroad... kaso walang pera! magastos pala mag-unwind. hehehe! pero wala pa man eh, i'm already booked. after holy week (which will be spent at home lang), i'll be attending the UAP convention. after that, i plan to enroll in Locsin Dance Studio to take up streetdancing... inspired by Star Dance! hehehe! after that, i plan to enroll in formal Spanish class... hindi ko kase kayang i-self study ang language. after that, swimming naman sa Holiday Fitness... unlimited visits, P500 per month lang. all throughout summer, i'll be reviewing for TOEFL and GRE. i really need to review, pramis! naku, magastos rin pala maging busy.
yoko na. wag na lang kaya. change of plans....
this summer, i'll be inside my bedroom... mukmok, tunganga, hilata, nood TV. ayan, at least no money involve. hehehe!
i don't even have to write it here. people around me know i'm busy (as jollibee... hehehe!). i juggle three jobs, just imagine that. pinipiga na rin ako sa UAP commitments ko. and just two weeks ago, i got "tied up" again with another work and i never realized [until last tuesday] that it'll "drag" me 'til god-knows-when! but the new "work" is something i really look forward to -- Museo Dabaw: An Adaptive Reuse of Davao City's Court of First Instance. Hahaha! Sounds like my thesis, eh 'no?
yes, the city government asked the "professional opinion and participation" of some architects (i think there are four of us) for another whimsical project of the mayor. we haven't really discussed the extent of our "participation" on the project, but i hope hanggang pre-design consultation lang. anyway, this "work" eats up my monday afternoon. what's irritating about the whole drill is that we find ourselves being grilled by non-technical people from NHI (eh hindi naman historical yung structure namen), Sangguniang Panlungsod (nagulat ako ang dami palang councilors ng Davao!), and the Office of whoever! As in, it would take us an hour just to introduce ourselves...."ah, we would like to acknowledge the presence of honorable so and so..." Sheeeesh! Ano'ng petsa na, mga guys??!!" well, it's the system... or the culture.... whatever! i don't think i can even discuss the details of the meetings. basta! madugo, paikot-ikot, at mabagal... yun lang!
three weeks to go and the sem will officially end. the good thing about my work is that it has summer, sem and christmas breaks. happy happy joy joy! i'm thinking of complete rest... beach, scuba diviing, trip abroad... kaso walang pera! magastos pala mag-unwind. hehehe! pero wala pa man eh, i'm already booked. after holy week (which will be spent at home lang), i'll be attending the UAP convention. after that, i plan to enroll in Locsin Dance Studio to take up streetdancing... inspired by Star Dance! hehehe! after that, i plan to enroll in formal Spanish class... hindi ko kase kayang i-self study ang language. after that, swimming naman sa Holiday Fitness... unlimited visits, P500 per month lang. all throughout summer, i'll be reviewing for TOEFL and GRE. i really need to review, pramis! naku, magastos rin pala maging busy.
yoko na. wag na lang kaya. change of plans....
this summer, i'll be inside my bedroom... mukmok, tunganga, hilata, nood TV. ayan, at least no money involve. hehehe!
Saturday, February 19
New Things
I now know how to cook 3 new recipes -- carrot cake, durian pie and empanada. i joined a cooking lesson/seminar yesterday. ang hirap pala mag-masa at mag-roll ng dough. nakaka-ngawit ng braso. there were only four of us (participants) and we worked in partners, kaya medyo natutukan kame ni Ma'am Duy. since this cooking demo is done in connection with UP food science department, the preparation is quite different. the ingredients were adjusted to have high-fiber, low cholesterol, and high nutritional value content. charing! hehehe seriously, everything on it was pretty healthy. the empanada was meat-less. the dough used margarine instead of butter. and corn oil was used for frying. the good thing about cooking lessons like this are the "take-homes." yumyum! i look forward to joining more cooking lessons this summer.
we had our chapter election of officers last tuesday. i kinda expected the position i got. i was already busy with documentation and newsletter for the past year. so it's no surprise i was elected secretary. i just wish i wont get elected to a higher position in the coming years. nakikita ko yung trabaho nila, and i don't think kakayanin ko. UAP is a career path in itself. if you don't give time or dedicate yourself to it, the whole chapter will crumble and you'll let your peers down. sabi ni ligs, dapat kina-career and UAP. well, the fiscal year looks bright as we inducted 15 new recruits. i just hope they'll all be as active as i was in my first year in UAP.
alan will be having a "victory party" tonight. although he knew it's impossible for me to go there (just to attend his party), he still texted, and even tried to call me up, just to invite me. awwww! what a sweet friend. anyway, i hope he'll have fun and not be grumpy all night. i mean, good for him he's got something to remind himself about the day he became an architect. ako, wala... hindi ko maalala what happened after i got the news. parang dumaan lang. i think i was even depressed at that time. anyway, any change or any new thing is really worth celebrating, kaya iinom nyo na lang ako, guys!
I now know how to cook 3 new recipes -- carrot cake, durian pie and empanada. i joined a cooking lesson/seminar yesterday. ang hirap pala mag-masa at mag-roll ng dough. nakaka-ngawit ng braso. there were only four of us (participants) and we worked in partners, kaya medyo natutukan kame ni Ma'am Duy. since this cooking demo is done in connection with UP food science department, the preparation is quite different. the ingredients were adjusted to have high-fiber, low cholesterol, and high nutritional value content. charing! hehehe seriously, everything on it was pretty healthy. the empanada was meat-less. the dough used margarine instead of butter. and corn oil was used for frying. the good thing about cooking lessons like this are the "take-homes." yumyum! i look forward to joining more cooking lessons this summer.
we had our chapter election of officers last tuesday. i kinda expected the position i got. i was already busy with documentation and newsletter for the past year. so it's no surprise i was elected secretary. i just wish i wont get elected to a higher position in the coming years. nakikita ko yung trabaho nila, and i don't think kakayanin ko. UAP is a career path in itself. if you don't give time or dedicate yourself to it, the whole chapter will crumble and you'll let your peers down. sabi ni ligs, dapat kina-career and UAP. well, the fiscal year looks bright as we inducted 15 new recruits. i just hope they'll all be as active as i was in my first year in UAP.
alan will be having a "victory party" tonight. although he knew it's impossible for me to go there (just to attend his party), he still texted, and even tried to call me up, just to invite me. awwww! what a sweet friend. anyway, i hope he'll have fun and not be grumpy all night. i mean, good for him he's got something to remind himself about the day he became an architect. ako, wala... hindi ko maalala what happened after i got the news. parang dumaan lang. i think i was even depressed at that time. anyway, any change or any new thing is really worth celebrating, kaya iinom nyo na lang ako, guys!
Monday, February 14
A Weekend with UAP
last saturday, the uap chapters all over mindanao went to attend the area d assembly on RA 9266 (architecture law) and the new PD 1096 (nat'l bldg. code). i thought it's just a day activity and that we'll be leaving general santos city at the end of the day. hindi ko alam na overnight thingie pala 'yon, so obviously i did not pack any extra clothes, toiletries and whatnot. so i ended up not attending the fellowship night and taking the 6 o'clock bus ride to davao city alone. yayks! creepy yung katabi ko sa bus kase gusto pang ipasa load ko sya. babayaran naman daw nya ako. eeeeks! kahit na 'no! sinabi ko na lang sun cellular ako. hahahaha!
anyway, going back to the assembly... uap-davao registered the most number of delegates. it's funny because we even out-numbered uap-socsargen, who is the host of the activity. actually, marami kaseng new architects, mga kakapasa pa lang sa board last january, ang sumama and registered under our chapter. and guess what! may mga gwapings sa kanila. yahooo!!! this is it! but seriously, i don't like younger guys. i guess it has something to do with maturity level... MY maturity level! hahaha! so there we were. the 3-man BOA was there. Olonan and Florentino were there. Cuntapay was also there for the PD 1096 talk. and my Archt. Anton crush was obviously there (because he's the president of the host chapter). this time, i had the opportunity to look at his ring finger... and yes, he has a band on it. he's married. pero sabi nga ni kuya Red, "Mas madaling mahuli ang manok na nakatali." hehehe!
this weekend, i rediscovered some things about gensan i knew from the past (and have forgotten because i haven't been to that place for almost 9 years now). i still see roadside people selling wooden sungka-an and wooden lechon platter. i still love their boneless bangus. they still have the best tasting pineapple. and to add to my growing reasons for revisiting the place, i love the ube and quesong puti ice cream they served as dessert. yummy!... and of course, there's archt. anton. yummy din!! hahaha...
that assembly was probably the best uap gathering i've attended so far. it made me look forward to attending the convention this summer. i hope some of my architect friends will attend that, too. as they say, the more the crazier!
-------
PS- i watched "Meet the Fockers"... man, it's freaking hilarious!
PPS- it's Balemtayms Day and i'm wearing red. hahaha!
PPPS- my sis and i will be attending the UP Alumni Dinner tonight at Marco Polo Hotel. we'll be serenaded by the UP Madrigal Singers. haaaaay! 'talk about a romantic valentine's dinner! *sigh*
last saturday, the uap chapters all over mindanao went to attend the area d assembly on RA 9266 (architecture law) and the new PD 1096 (nat'l bldg. code). i thought it's just a day activity and that we'll be leaving general santos city at the end of the day. hindi ko alam na overnight thingie pala 'yon, so obviously i did not pack any extra clothes, toiletries and whatnot. so i ended up not attending the fellowship night and taking the 6 o'clock bus ride to davao city alone. yayks! creepy yung katabi ko sa bus kase gusto pang ipasa load ko sya. babayaran naman daw nya ako. eeeeks! kahit na 'no! sinabi ko na lang sun cellular ako. hahahaha!
anyway, going back to the assembly... uap-davao registered the most number of delegates. it's funny because we even out-numbered uap-socsargen, who is the host of the activity. actually, marami kaseng new architects, mga kakapasa pa lang sa board last january, ang sumama and registered under our chapter. and guess what! may mga gwapings sa kanila. yahooo!!! this is it! but seriously, i don't like younger guys. i guess it has something to do with maturity level... MY maturity level! hahaha! so there we were. the 3-man BOA was there. Olonan and Florentino were there. Cuntapay was also there for the PD 1096 talk. and my Archt. Anton crush was obviously there (because he's the president of the host chapter). this time, i had the opportunity to look at his ring finger... and yes, he has a band on it. he's married. pero sabi nga ni kuya Red, "Mas madaling mahuli ang manok na nakatali." hehehe!
this weekend, i rediscovered some things about gensan i knew from the past (and have forgotten because i haven't been to that place for almost 9 years now). i still see roadside people selling wooden sungka-an and wooden lechon platter. i still love their boneless bangus. they still have the best tasting pineapple. and to add to my growing reasons for revisiting the place, i love the ube and quesong puti ice cream they served as dessert. yummy!... and of course, there's archt. anton. yummy din!! hahaha...
that assembly was probably the best uap gathering i've attended so far. it made me look forward to attending the convention this summer. i hope some of my architect friends will attend that, too. as they say, the more the crazier!
-------
PS- i watched "Meet the Fockers"... man, it's freaking hilarious!
PPS- it's Balemtayms Day and i'm wearing red. hahaha!
PPPS- my sis and i will be attending the UP Alumni Dinner tonight at Marco Polo Hotel. we'll be serenaded by the UP Madrigal Singers. haaaaay! 'talk about a romantic valentine's dinner! *sigh*
Thursday, February 10
People People
I went to visit my other boss a few hours ago. grabe, touched ako. he greeted me as if hindi ako nag-disappear for months. hehehe! he even offered his notes on land taxation, which he lectured about last monday (na obviously, hindi ko rin sinipot). anyway, i missed going to my office there at SOM. i spent every morning of last sem there. before going to work, i would drop by Merco (a local diner) to eat breakfast. libre kase coffee or tea from 7-9am. i would have unlimited YM hours there, especially if walang mga utos si sir robby. i also like talking to the guy. he's got a lot of things to share when it comes to urban planning and "the secret lives of OC's". hehehe the age difference is there. the gender difference is there. the lifestyle difference is there. but it's weird that we never argue. well, i don't want to argue with him 'coz it's pointless. hehehe...
My mom just told us that both IP and Gigi are Dean's Listers in Marymount and CSUN (respectively). well, I had no doubts they'd make it there since they have been excelling in acads here in the Philippines. it just surprised me because IP has 2 jobs in between school and home. Gigi is also a working student herself. I remember back in college when my mom wouldn't let us work while studying. sabi nya, hindi na raw namen mapapahalagahan ang pag-aaral once nakahawak na kame ng pera. well, my sisters proved her wrong. but still i'm grateful she didn't pressure us to earn our keep while in college. ang hirap kaya nun! kaya nga super bow ako sa mga sisterets ko. *clap*clap*
Yesterday, my BP zoomed to infinity after i sat as juror for a thesis presentation. i will not elaborate on what happened baka kase mag-high blood na naman ako while blogging. anyway, in gist, the arki department of ateneo is the new department of social work (or social welfare) of the university. nakakainis when you're trying to uphold something, tapos nawawalan ng integrity ang profession just because some teachers want to "teach students about compassion." duh! we are not teachers of CLE or GMRC or values education, so fuck the compassion thing. i gotta stop this ranting. i can see smoke coming out of my ears. syet! 24 pa lang ako, pinapatay na ako ng mga iyon sa altapresyon!
I need good stuff to write about....
Ah 'alm ko na! i would like to say congrats congrats to all my friends who are now registered and licensed architects! been there, and i must say savor it. feel cloud nine for 2 months, then look for a life-changing lifetime job. this is it... this is really it!
I would like also to greet my grade school bestfriend a happy happy birthday. nyee! ginawa daw bang bati-an portion ang blog! hehehe well, i hope she visits this blog and reads my greeting before her big day. Happy Birthday, Tess!
I went to visit my other boss a few hours ago. grabe, touched ako. he greeted me as if hindi ako nag-disappear for months. hehehe! he even offered his notes on land taxation, which he lectured about last monday (na obviously, hindi ko rin sinipot). anyway, i missed going to my office there at SOM. i spent every morning of last sem there. before going to work, i would drop by Merco (a local diner) to eat breakfast. libre kase coffee or tea from 7-9am. i would have unlimited YM hours there, especially if walang mga utos si sir robby. i also like talking to the guy. he's got a lot of things to share when it comes to urban planning and "the secret lives of OC's". hehehe the age difference is there. the gender difference is there. the lifestyle difference is there. but it's weird that we never argue. well, i don't want to argue with him 'coz it's pointless. hehehe...
My mom just told us that both IP and Gigi are Dean's Listers in Marymount and CSUN (respectively). well, I had no doubts they'd make it there since they have been excelling in acads here in the Philippines. it just surprised me because IP has 2 jobs in between school and home. Gigi is also a working student herself. I remember back in college when my mom wouldn't let us work while studying. sabi nya, hindi na raw namen mapapahalagahan ang pag-aaral once nakahawak na kame ng pera. well, my sisters proved her wrong. but still i'm grateful she didn't pressure us to earn our keep while in college. ang hirap kaya nun! kaya nga super bow ako sa mga sisterets ko. *clap*clap*
Yesterday, my BP zoomed to infinity after i sat as juror for a thesis presentation. i will not elaborate on what happened baka kase mag-high blood na naman ako while blogging. anyway, in gist, the arki department of ateneo is the new department of social work (or social welfare) of the university. nakakainis when you're trying to uphold something, tapos nawawalan ng integrity ang profession just because some teachers want to "teach students about compassion." duh! we are not teachers of CLE or GMRC or values education, so fuck the compassion thing. i gotta stop this ranting. i can see smoke coming out of my ears. syet! 24 pa lang ako, pinapatay na ako ng mga iyon sa altapresyon!
I need good stuff to write about....
Ah 'alm ko na! i would like to say congrats congrats to all my friends who are now registered and licensed architects! been there, and i must say savor it. feel cloud nine for 2 months, then look for a life-changing lifetime job. this is it... this is really it!
I would like also to greet my grade school bestfriend a happy happy birthday. nyee! ginawa daw bang bati-an portion ang blog! hehehe well, i hope she visits this blog and reads my greeting before her big day. Happy Birthday, Tess!
Monday, February 7
At the Moment
Happy happy wave... the result of the january arki board exams is out. ateneo got 65% passing rate -- 13 out of 20. not bad for an arki school that is only 8 years old. if i remember it right, during my time, SLU in Baguio got 60% passing and was the second top arki school. so we're hoping we'll get in the top 3 performing schools 'coz this time our board takers reached 20.
another happy wave... i attended mass yesterday. my 2nd for this year. i haven't been religious for a while. so i heard it's gonna be ash wednesday this week. ahh, the lenten season! another reason for not eating meat.. hehehe.
i bought new shoes. after the burglar took all of my shoes last december, i had a hard time spending for shoes. nakaka-trauma. bibili ka ng mahal na shoes, tapos nanakawin lang pala. well, i'm not really a shoes person. i can live with only 2 pairs of office shoes.
Movies watched recently...
1. Secret Window... i love Johnny Depp. can't wait for Finding Neverland and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
2. Little Black Book... a happy sad ending. the stalking instincts, i can truly relate!
Music been listening to lately...
1. Side A Anthology... sigh! love songs in february, swak na swak!
2. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home Album... her voice reminds me of our family roadtrips to Agusan. btw, she's so pretty!
Happy happy wave... the result of the january arki board exams is out. ateneo got 65% passing rate -- 13 out of 20. not bad for an arki school that is only 8 years old. if i remember it right, during my time, SLU in Baguio got 60% passing and was the second top arki school. so we're hoping we'll get in the top 3 performing schools 'coz this time our board takers reached 20.
another happy wave... i attended mass yesterday. my 2nd for this year. i haven't been religious for a while. so i heard it's gonna be ash wednesday this week. ahh, the lenten season! another reason for not eating meat.. hehehe.
i bought new shoes. after the burglar took all of my shoes last december, i had a hard time spending for shoes. nakaka-trauma. bibili ka ng mahal na shoes, tapos nanakawin lang pala. well, i'm not really a shoes person. i can live with only 2 pairs of office shoes.
Movies watched recently...
1. Secret Window... i love Johnny Depp. can't wait for Finding Neverland and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
2. Little Black Book... a happy sad ending. the stalking instincts, i can truly relate!
Music been listening to lately...
1. Side A Anthology... sigh! love songs in february, swak na swak!
2. Norah Jones - Feels Like Home Album... her voice reminds me of our family roadtrips to Agusan. btw, she's so pretty!
Tuesday, February 1
Building Dreams
Last week, I texted some friends and told them that I'll be quitting my teaching job and be a professional writer. Writer for the movies ha. Mainstream, hard-core showbiz writer! I got mixed feedbacks like:
"Go for it!"
and
"At maging ano? Maging palamunin ulit ng nanay mo?!"
and even as funny as
"Lahat ng sikat na writers ay namatay muna sa gutom bago naging sikat. Kakayanin mong magsulat, pero hindi ang magutom. Hehehe! "
Well, thanks for being brutally honest, guys. It was just a dream scenario. It actually tops my "what if" list. I started reading Creative Writing handbooks just to know how it feels to be serious about it. Di ko kinaya. I think I am more dedicated writing architecture stuff than thinking of scenes for my characters. Ang sakit pala sa ulo. I ended up writing plots na lang, no dialogues yet. I hope I'll make progress by summer. I won't have any teaching load by then, therefore I can really focus on this.
Speaking of building dreams, I've been teaching for 1 1/2 semesters now and I'm starting to feel the pressure of taking my MArch. And I've been making plans of taking the needed exams (TOEFL, GREs, etc.) by summer. I only have one problem -- it's too damn expensive!!! I have this particular university in mind. It's somewhere in NYC. Not too flashy and known for Architecture, but I can say getting in it is far more realistic than dreaming of getting in Yale or Columbia. By the way, I totally dig Yale. Eisenman and Louis Kahn are some of its lecturers... astig, di ba?! Anyway, application fee alone costs P4,000. TOEFL is around P9,000. GRE is recommended but not required. I'll probably take GRE because my college GPA is not that outstanding. Ayan kase, nagpa-banjing-banjing pa noong college! Plus 2 original TOR copies, portfolio production, document delivery... I would probably spend P50,000 just for applying in one university. Sheesh!!!! Nararamdaman ko na pagka-dukha ko!
So if you're asking kung may iba pa ba akong dreams... siguro to get P50,000 before the application deadline is over. I-post ko kaya Paypal account ko dito. Baka sakaling may maawa... hehehe.
Last week, I texted some friends and told them that I'll be quitting my teaching job and be a professional writer. Writer for the movies ha. Mainstream, hard-core showbiz writer! I got mixed feedbacks like:
"Go for it!"
and
"At maging ano? Maging palamunin ulit ng nanay mo?!"
and even as funny as
"Lahat ng sikat na writers ay namatay muna sa gutom bago naging sikat. Kakayanin mong magsulat, pero hindi ang magutom. Hehehe! "
Well, thanks for being brutally honest, guys. It was just a dream scenario. It actually tops my "what if" list. I started reading Creative Writing handbooks just to know how it feels to be serious about it. Di ko kinaya. I think I am more dedicated writing architecture stuff than thinking of scenes for my characters. Ang sakit pala sa ulo. I ended up writing plots na lang, no dialogues yet. I hope I'll make progress by summer. I won't have any teaching load by then, therefore I can really focus on this.
Speaking of building dreams, I've been teaching for 1 1/2 semesters now and I'm starting to feel the pressure of taking my MArch. And I've been making plans of taking the needed exams (TOEFL, GREs, etc.) by summer. I only have one problem -- it's too damn expensive!!! I have this particular university in mind. It's somewhere in NYC. Not too flashy and known for Architecture, but I can say getting in it is far more realistic than dreaming of getting in Yale or Columbia. By the way, I totally dig Yale. Eisenman and Louis Kahn are some of its lecturers... astig, di ba?! Anyway, application fee alone costs P4,000. TOEFL is around P9,000. GRE is recommended but not required. I'll probably take GRE because my college GPA is not that outstanding. Ayan kase, nagpa-banjing-banjing pa noong college! Plus 2 original TOR copies, portfolio production, document delivery... I would probably spend P50,000 just for applying in one university. Sheesh!!!! Nararamdaman ko na pagka-dukha ko!
So if you're asking kung may iba pa ba akong dreams... siguro to get P50,000 before the application deadline is over. I-post ko kaya Paypal account ko dito. Baka sakaling may maawa... hehehe.