Yay for the first week of semestral break! I’ve accomplished a lot of must-do errands. Except for revamping my domain though. For six days in a row, I’ve helped out at our store - family business. That’s why I haven’t been online much. In addition, hunbun and I have been playing Maple Story a lot. *lol* Oh, this is going to be a long journal entry.

I visited my old alma matter, Saint Jude Catholic School, with mom last Monday. I hadn’t been there since I graduated, about two years already. It had undergone a lot of changes since then, and it has really improved! Too bad I didn’t get to explore it more. *heh* We met Ms. Lopez in the administration office while I was claiming my yearbook. She’s the head teacher of the high school department. I can’t believe she still remembers me. She and mom had a little chat about my academic life in college. When my mom mentioned I was in the Dean’s List, she beamed and proudly said that it was because of the good education I received in St. Jude. Well, that is true for the most part but I think I’m way behind in my math skills. They should have developed a more sophisticated mathematics program to prepare us for our collegiate degree. Still, the training I received for 13 years of my life in Saint Jude gives me some advantage now. I don’t regret that mom enrolled me there.

Our yearbook is entitled “Chimes”. Hm… Probably something related with the passage of time. My yearbook picture actually looks better than I remembered it, especially compared to my other batchmates. *lol* Seeing all the photos of my friends brings back so many wonderful memories. And here’s the extraordinarily cute writeup hunbun made me during my senior year. It’s the caption right under my picture. A sprinkle of sweetness, a dash of daintiness, a cup of cuteness, add a pair of angel wings and you have Gretch! Best known for her beauty and brains, this young girl is blessed with an enchanting personality. Because of her tenderness and warmth, she easily captures the hearts of many. She also captivates countless people with her charming little voice and her sheer adorableness. Always cheerful and cherubic, Gretch never fails to make you smile!

On Wednesday, mom, hunbun, and I went to my debut photographer and videographer. It is such a long overdue visit. My debut was way back in January. *hehe* I had no time to schedule an appointment with them until now. I picked up my video and dropped off the pictures for my album. Afterwards, we went to Quick Snack at Ongpin for lunch. We then shopped for my new computer chair. The old one was really unstable and easily topples over. It gave way when mom and hunbun sat on it. But we found the perfect chair at the perfect price. I love the back support and its sturdiness. Also, I love how comfortable it feels. I would have preferred to have it covered in a more girly color but the plain gray fabric is fine too.

Hunbun came over very late last Thursday night. We watched my debut video with mom from start to finish. It’s really nice reminiscing that magical day. My favorite part was the ballroom dance number of hunbun and me. We executed it flawlessly, at least for in my opinion. It’s really one of the most memorable days of my life. The next would probably be our wedding. *lol*

On Friday, hunbun came with us to our store. Mostly he went there to buy pirated DVDs. There’s a “barter” right beside our store selling the cheapest priced DVDs. Well, I still can’t understand why he collects them. Oh well, to each his own right? That night we watched A Cinderella Story at home. It’s a typical feel good romantic comedy, not that different from all others in that genre. Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray do look cute together. They have on screen chemistry. And I love her princess gown. It’s gorgeous and I’d love to go on a masquerade ball. I’ve never been to one yet. *hehe*

Hunbun was such a sweetie yesterday and surprised me with a bouquet of my favorite red roses in lilac tulle. He just wanted to be a darling and make me extra happy for no occasion at all. I’m so lucky to have a wonderful boyfriend. We spent Saturday night with my brother, his girlfriend, and my mom. We ate at Korean Garden along Jupiter Street. They serve really yummy Korean food! Especially beef stew and spareribs. Yum! The touch of spice in every dish really boosts your appetite. Afterwards, we quickly headed to Rockwell to catch the last full show of Ladder 49. Good thing we managed to find seats because it was almost sold out! It was a good movie. But its not the ending I wanted. *sigh* It is a great tribute to the firefighters who risked their lives in the 9/11 tragedy. They’ve got an extraordinary kind of courage. But I wouldn’t want my husband to be a firefighter, it’s just too much worry.

Today, my entire family had a get together because of my nephew Marvin celebrated his first birthday! The party was held at Gloria Maris Greenhills. My sister prepared the programme well. They had a ventriloquist act, magic show, games, bubble show, and much more. I wish I had those birthday parties back when I was little. *hehe* Achie Joan, my brother’s girlfriend, invited us to go to Manila F.A.M.E. International held at the World Trade Center along Roxas Boulevard. Mom and I also loved going to shows like that so my brother and hunbun had no choice but to tag along. The displays were beautiful as to be expected. We only bought a few pieces of accessories and some decors for our aquarium. Yes, we now have a full-pledged aquarium! *lol* We have two baby flowerhorns in it. Even though they’re still really young, the bigger one already keeps taunting the little one. The little one has scars all over his fish body and his fins are in bad condition. So we decided to put the little one in a little bowl instead. Because if he keeps being bullied, he is going to die soon. *tsk tsk* I hope he lives to become a beautiful flowerhorn.

Wow! Just having no school work gives me more time to enjoy life. That was a long entry.

[EDIT on October 26, 2004: I just deleted 500+ spam! They’re all nonsense comments coming from one email address but different ip addresses. I banned them all. *sigh*]

Last week was finals week, the hell week before semestral break. I was really sleep deprived, going to bed at about 4am or 5am, then waking up again at 8am. My head was aching and groggy all week. But I felt lucky that I only had two final exams and two projects for that week, unlike my friends who had 4 or 5 exams. The Math21 and Cs110 finals were not that difficult, I think I managed to get a good grade. I did study especially hard. Foregoing sleep, just to study everything down to the last detail. Regarding the projects, I have the same partner for both - the same partner I had since the beginning of college. *hehe* I think we work effectively together and it doesn’t hurt that he is such a genius when it comes to programming. The optional Ps21 project defense went well. He coded a revolving building that modeled the light effect. I just helped him with the documentation. The Cs110 final project was incredibly time consuming and frustrating to work on. But the algorithms we did worked like a charm and passed all the test cases our teacher had. I’m uber ecstatic because the algorithms I made on my own were fullproof. That really made my day. And we got 115/100. Yay!

I’ve been catching up on my sleep since Thursday. *lol* I’m in a much better mood now. And I’m becoming really addicted to Maple Story. It’s one of those MMORPG but way cuter. The graphics are adorable, even the “monsters” look cuddly. It’s the first time I actually played one of these games. It’s helping me with hand-eye coordination. Hunbun really is way better than me at these stuff.

I’m switching from Globe Telecom to Sun Cellular next week. *sigh* I don’t like the unexpected change of cell number but I have no choice. My brother pays for my cellphone prepaid bills so what he says goes. He thinks the unlimited call and text from Sun to Sun will help up minimize costs. I think otherwise. You need to load Php250 to avail of the 24/7 promotion for 30 days. But you still need to load another regular prepaid card just to text non-Sun subscribers. And most of the friends are not Sun subscribers because they say Sun’s cellphone signal fluctuates. And what I find really unfair is that my mom and my brother now have two cellphones, one for Sun and another for Globe. Why do I have to change but not them. *sigh* Again, I don’t have the money to pay for my cellphone bills myself so I have no choice.

Anyway, hunbun, Dianne, and I went out yesterday. Its been a long time since I last went shopping. We ate at Dencio’s Greenhills. Very yummy food. Then, we headed to Theater Mall. I only bought two things, a pair of silver dangling earrings and a pair of white sandals. Hunbun and I were surprised that I finally bought a pair of shoes. *lol* I’m so picky when it comes to footwear.

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Last Sunday, my family had a little get together. My mom organized a dice game for all of us especially for my neices and nephews. All I won were chocolate bars and some stickers. *lol* I wasn’t especially lucky that day, probably because I didn’t wear red. Yup, next time I should definitely wear red to attract the good forces of nature. I really enjoyed spending time with my family because we rarely see each other anymore. My siblings all have their own families and lives. And of course, hunbun played with us. He definitely added to my happiness factor. *hehe*

Yesterday I got my first alumni newsletter from my high school. Its entitled Full Circle. When I opened it, I instantly felt a tide of memories rushing back to me. I miss high school a lot. Most especially, I miss the people there. It was certainly one of the best times in my life. “Full circle” is an idiom meaning to arrive back at the starting-point of a chain of events. I don’t fit its definition as of now, but I’m getting there. I still haven’t come full circle, still haven’t fulfilled the purpose of my life.

College is stressing me out. I’ve been sleeping at 2am this week. I really lack sleep and it’s slowly getting to me. But all that hard work has its rewards. I got a B+ exemption in Physics21 final examinations! One of the two people who got exempted in class. Yay! Also, my CS110 teacher announced that I had the highest grade standing in his class. Hm… Next week is already finals week. Just two more projects and two examinations and the semester is over! Well, I’m expecting to get an A exemption on Theology121. *hehe* I’ve got to work exceptionally hard again for the next few days. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to the dean’s list, but I really hope so. I’m uber looking forward to some rest and relaxation afterwards. Oh yeah, my random number for 2nd semester registration is 73! Yay, I get to chose good classes.

And Sinta calculated my soul card and shadow card using my birthday. As she explained it, the soul card is also known as the personality card. This is who you are and what you know of yourself fully. The Shadow card is the essence card. It is something deep within you that you had to discover or still need to. My soul card is the Wheel of Fortune while my shadow card is the Sun. I can really identify with the cards. I am a romantic and truly believe that there one special person for me in this world - and I have found him.

• Wheel of Fortune: You believe in destiny. That things are meant to be and that you have a soulmate out in the world. You’re one to witness miracles and have good luck. You seek your role and purpose in this world.
• Sun: You find sense behind chaos. You’re an outstanding example for people around you. You have a high level understanding for things and can see the threads that weave this world.

[EDIT on October 9, 2004: Yay! I just got a text message from my Th121 professor. I got the exemption! And I made a new layout for my Tabulas blog. Go see!]

I finally finished all the long tests for this week. It’s been a long week. Hoping against hope that I get exemption on both Theology and Physics final examinations. Obviously, I’ll be stressed out again next week. I’ve got 3 major projects due! *eep!* Please just let me get through these last two weeks of school.

But good news! I think I’m on the road to recovery from my illness. My nose is less runny now, and the coughing spells are not that bad anymore. Thank you to my mom for buying alll those boxes of tissues. And she constantly gives me Chinese throat drops, white fungus soup, and liquid cough concoctions. My hunbun is really sweet too for always going out of his way to make me feel comfortable. Also for eating congee with me. *hehe*

It’s that time again for the ACP (Alternative Class Program). Hunbun and I picked the class “Firing at Crame”. Yes, we get shooting lessons. *lol* It’s a guy thing, but even a girly-girl needs to learn self-defense right? And there’s something exciting and alluring about handling guns. Here’s the official description: This will be facilitated by professional PNP trainers. The flow of the class will be: first a lecture from the instructors about the misconception regarding guns and the great responsibility involving gun handling, then the rest of the class will be brought to the firing range where they will have a first hand experience handling guns. There will be a PNP trainer assigned to each student.

The star members of the Lockload Forums have a postcard exchange. And I just finished making mine. *heh* It’s supposed to arrive by the end of September, but I’ve been so busy. Click more for pictures. I had a lot of fun making it.

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