This is a much needed update. *lol* Almost two weeks without posting an entry. Just shows how busy I am in both my academics and extra-curriculars. Actually, the succeeding weeks will be even more tiresome - filled with project deadlines, presentations, and long exams! *eep* Teachers are trying to squeeze in the time before we go on the Christmas break. Speaking of Christmas, I’m still not in the mood. Even though our house is brimming with twinkling lights, verdant wreaths, and all kinds of holiday decorations.

Anyway, we had no classes last Friday (November 19, 2004) due to the Alternative Class Program. So my groupmates and I took the opportunity to meet up with my sister-in-law who is also our prospective client. We needed to find a company to make a computer database on. Hm… There really are perks to having a lot of siblings with their own businesses. Their jewellery still uses a manual system of counting each of their items, very tedious and prone to error. So our group is proposing to create an inventory system to provide them with a more efficient way of record keeping. I really hope we do good on it. Afterwards, I had to wait for my brother’s chauffeur to drive me home. While waiting, I played lego with my niece. I created a little garden with miniature trees and flowers. She had all the lego people sitting on trains and cars. Oh, we also colored print-outs of fishes. And she kept telling me what colors to use. *lol* She’s quite a bossy little girl but in a cute kind of way. It was a lot of fun bonding with her. *hehe* Everyone says that she looks exactly like me when I was younger.

The next day, hunbun and I woke up really early for our “Firing at Crame” class. It was raining so hard, I left my cell phone in the car, I found out our mode of transportation was the jeepney, and we even had to pay an extra Php30.00 for the ride. So generally, it wasn’t a good morning. But I took a little nap in the jeep on the way to Camp Crame. That lifted up my mood a little bit. It’s weird but riding the jeepney always makes me feel really sleepy. There’s a kind of rocking motion riding sidewards. When we got there, a gun expert gave us a short talk on gun safety, handling, parts of the gun, and aiming. It was highly informative and a must for beginners like us. Hunbun was praised by the instructor because of his shooting skill. *lol* I, on the other hand, never held a gun before with real bullets. It was a 9mm Beretta. I was scared and excited at the same time of pulling the trigger. It was an adrenalin rush when I hit the target. But I hated the loud sound and the odor it produced. It’s certainly comforting to know that I have the knowledge to use a gun when the time comes. That night hunbun and I watched Supersize Me on DVD. It’s Morgan Spurlock’s documentary on his month of eating nothing but McDonald’s food. The film really gave us new insight on fast food. We used to eat at McDonald’s thrice a week (for lunch or snacks). Now, we’ll be avoiding any fast food chains for health purposes. And it’ll be less strain on our wallets too.

My brother brought home a new puppy on Sunday. He’s a birthday gift from his girlfriend. He is a two-month old shih tzu from a champion breed. He is so adorable and cuddly, just like a little baby. *awww* We named him Choc Nut, a popular chocolate brand.

On Thursday, I accompanied mom and my aunts to SM North Edsa. I rarely go to ShoeMarts because there’s too many people. *lol* One of my aunts was searching for a gift to give my sister because it’s her birthday. She finally decided on a pink Nafnaf blouse with silver adornments. Then, I bought mushroom shomai from Yoshinoya (my favorite) while my aunt ordered halo-halo from Chowking. That night, we all went to Podium for a family gathering slash birthday celebrations at China Star. Of course, hunbun came along with us. We went for a short stroll around the mall afterwards.

After school on Friday, I went with Cla and JV to the National Museum and Metropolitan Museum to look at some exhibits. It’s a requirement for our Asian History class. The traditional Indian textiles were typical saris and really not much to see. The contemporary Indian textiles were much better. There were some nice designs that caught my eye. I’m really not the museum-going type. *lol* That night I went to National Bookstore to buy materials for projects. I also bought myself a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Classic White with matching pouch. It’s kind of an impulse buy but it’ll be useful for splicing wires in the electronics lab. *hehe*

Yesterday hunbun and I went to a bazaar at the NBC Tent with his mom. He bought some kind of a weapon stick, but it easily broke. *lol* I bought my favorite popped beans, the ones the serve at Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay. They’re so addictive! Then his mom dropped us off at Grassi’s inside Rockwell for the battle of the bands event. We tried to help out a little bit since we’re the heads of the logistics committee. *hehe* I think it turned out well judging by the number of people who turned up. Hunbun and I went to Kids Station inside the mall because I needed little toys for my project. I ended up buying Island Hello Kitty because she looked so cute in her hawaiian outfit. She’ll look so pretty as an accessory to my project. We headed to Kaya for dinner. It’s an okay Korean restaurant but we still prefer Korean Garden to it. And here’s the project I just finished. It’s a part of the presentation my group is making on typhoons. We’re simulating rain on my little island.

My auntie from Hong Kong came home. Not for vacation purposes, but because her doctor advised her to. She just found a 2-centimeter lump on her breasts. Her breasts were removed and throught biopsy, the doctor found out that she has stage 2 cancer. She’ll be staying with us for a while because she needs chemotherapy. Each chemotherapy costs Php70,000 and she needs six of them. Yikes! What a shocking amount of expenses. I sincerely hope that she gets well soon. She’s my godmother at baptism and she’s one of my favorite aunties. My cousins are all really worried for her welfare. At these times, you really realize how valuable your health is. I’m glad that my mom is responsible enough to have mamograms every year.

Oh yeah, I just installed Matt Mullenweg’s Spam Stopgap to prevent anymore spammage. This combines a number of basic methods to stop unsolicited commercial comments on WordPress blogs. Kitten’s Spaminator caused errors in my comments page. I hope this time I won’t be spending precious time deleting hundreds and hundreds of unwanted “online poker”, “cheapest phentermine”, and “internet casino” comments. *sigh*

Yay for no classes today! Malacanang has issued Proclamation No. 721 declaring November 15, 2004 a non-working special holiday to allow the citizenry to celebrate the feast of Eid-ul-Fitre, or the end of the holy month of Ramadan. (Source: Second Thoughts) Anyway, school has been all right. The PE class I chose for this semester is modern jazz. I thought it would be similar to the step aerobics class I had previously. The steps were easy and suitable for beginners. I had so much fun then too. But I’m now regretting my choice a bit. We had our first session last Thursday. It was hard work and too many dance variations in just one day! Even though I love dancing, I didn’t feel inspired to. It was partly because of the teacher. She doesn’t exude a positive vibe at all and her face remains emotionless all of the time. At least PE is not included in the QPI. That’s one great consolation! *lol* In our physics lab class. We spent the last three meetings in an air-conditioned lounge area. We were brainstorming for possible projects we could accomplish for this semester. My group will be creating a little furry panda toy activated by sound. The gadget would walk towards the loudest sound it hears. Other features it would feasibly include are mp3 playing capabilities, light show, movable jaws, etc etc. I just have no idea how to do all the electronic stuff yet.

Last Saturday, hunbun and I attended “The Big Day”. It’s Kaingin’s one-day general assembly. It was surprisingly fun. The group dynamics were hilarious and really accomplished their objectives. The weirdest one was the lunch activity. We were each given five pesos to buy our lunches. Our goal was to feed each member of the group a full meal. Some groups resorted to singing and dancing their way to beg money from strangers. Our group found a little loophole and borrowed money from a friend. It’s kind of embarrassing but I’ll get over it. Our group members each had a burger and an orange drink. Not bad! But of course the organization had a little “catch” to the activity. They couldn’t let us starve right? So they actually provided the food in addition to our five pesos each. *lol* That activity was directed to helping us learn the value of money and to be in the shoes of less fortunate kids we tutored. Towards to closing, the core group had a commitment ritual. I was in a dilemma because I knew I wouldn’t be able to devote that much of my time to the organization. I had too many responsibilities as it is. As I lit the commitment candle, I just said I was willing to commit myself and I would try my best. At least I could accomplish that.

Yesterday, hunbun and I accompanied my mom and her best friend, Auntie Heidi. We first went to Baclaran - a really cheap shopping center. I bought 2 blouses, a denim skirt, and a faux but really pretty Juicy Couture beige jacket. Hunbun also had 2 new shirts. We then headed to Mega Mall. I bought a pair of Dickies white ankle socks and soft white sneakers for modern jazz class. While mom and my aunt had their hairs done, hunbun and I went to Yoshinoya. Yum! We then strolled around the mall until my feet hurt so much. *lol* Afterwards, we all ate dinner at AA Restaurant. It’s a Filipino restaurant located in Greenhills. The food was okay but I won’t be going back there again. Of course since we were already in Greenhills, we went shopping again. I bought a new jogging pants and a plain white shirt. Wow! I bought a lot of stuff. Well, mom paid for them all. Guess I won’t be going shopping in the next few weeks. Yeah right… *haha*

The first week of the second semester wasn’t bad actually. Although I miss not doing anything. Well, don’t we all. *hehe* My schedule is great and I have my blockmates as companions every break time. I’m so glad there’s no more ugly dress codes to follow. I can finally wear my non-sleeved shirts. Most of my teachers seem nice especially my Physics laboratory professor. *lol* He said that our primary objective in his class was to have fun, learning is only secondary. Wow! I’ve never encountered a teacher like that before. My Physics lecture teacher is another story however. On our first meeting he already discussed about ICs (integrated circuits) and other electronic stuff. I really can’t follow his method of teaching. *sigh* All of us were looking at him with blanked faces. But aside from school, I’ve been going to National Bookstore everyday! The required books are really hard to find and expensive too! Good thing I finally completed all my books. I also finished wrapping them in plastic covers.

Too bad hunbun and I don’t see much of each other anymore. Our schedules are really different and I miss him very much. But I’m really happy he takes time to visit me at home after school. Last Saturday we went to La Salle Greenhills to check out the gym where we’ll be having the concert party on December. It’s huge and we really need a big budget to transform the place to a real concert atmosphere. The thing is that we’re low on budget. *hehe* Afterwards, we went to Theater Mall to watch The Incredibles. It’s another amazing animation from Pixar! The movie is so engrossing and we really loved it! I wish I was super too. Oh, I bought a new bag for school. It’s just the right size and it has really pretty shades of blue and pink.

Guess what? Sanrio Wave Software is making a Hello Kitty Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game! It’s absolutely adorable and I desperately want to be one of the beta players. But I’ll be playing it one way or another - even if I pay for it. *lol* Here’s the press release.

Wow! This is my 100th journal entry. And its been more than a week since I last posted. That’s because hunbun and I have been very busy playing Maple Story. *lol* It’s uber time consuming, not to mention very addicting. I can’t believe tomorrow is already the first day of the second semester. Our two-week semestral break is way too short. *sigh* I want more time for rest and relaxation. I’m sure that I’ll be sleep deprived again next semester.

On Monday, October 25, I got my grade report. It was incomplete. Two missing grades out of 5. *lol* I wonder why my professors didn’t submit their final grade tallies. At least I already know what the missing grades are. I got a QPI of 3.5 good enough to get into the Dean’s List. Hunbun and I also settled our accounts at DSWS because we forgot to de-padlock our lockers. *eep* That’s Php300 down the drain for being negligent. I also got my registration form that day and noticed there’s a schedule conflict. The administration people didn’t do their job thoroughly enough. How could you make such an error in a block section. Good thing everything was fixed by the Computer Science Department on Tuesday. I had an easy registration at first because I got all the classes I wanted. Yay for a low random number: 73. But something went wrong with the mode of payment. My mom asked me to pay via credit card. But apparently the university only honored BPI. I had an Equitable-PCI one. Either the registration committee aren’t aware of this or it was their incompetence. So I had to go back to the registration area to get it fixed. I had to get assessed three times because they kept getting cash and check mode of payment confused. *sigh* Good thing I brought along a back up blank check. Afterwards hunbun and I went to Quezon City Sports Club for a yummy lunch/dinner.

I accompanied mom to do her errands on Friday. I did a little shopping on the way. *hehe* I bought a new blouse with pearls around the neck and a new pair of really cute pants with silver embroidery. I also bought miniature cupcakes and miniature rolls. We then headed over to a furniture store to buy a stand for our aquarium. We bought a black wooden one exactly the right size. Oh yeah, mom has decided to only put mineral water insteal of tap water in the aquarium. *lol* She said that the tap water looks blurry.

Hunbun and I went on a date this Saturday. We haven’t gone out on a “date” for some time. Of course we went to our favorite mall, Rockwell. We watched Shark Tale. It’s a really funny movie. It’s amazing how adept the makers are at computer graphics to make the sea creatures look like their human voice counterparts. I loved how Lenny made himself look like a dolphin. So cute! And hunbun especially liked how the story was centered around the mafia and the godfather. *lol* It’s definitely a must see movie. Then we window shopped a little and hunbun bought himself a new pair of leather shoes at People Are People. The shoes make him look even more handsome and dignified. We ate at Burgoo for dinner. Since we’re trying to cut back, we ordered fish. The spinach cream sauce it came with really intensified the flavor. It’s one of our favorite restaurants. *hehe*

On Sunday, I went to another children’s party. It’s my cousin’s daughter’s first birthday. She had it at Skyline Restaurant where I had my debut. Little girl’s parties are always really cute, especially since my cousin chose a Disney Princess theme. Even the host was in a Cinderella costume. She even hired Children’s Salon and Glitter Tattoo booths. The party was nice but its a little overcrowded. Too little space for the play area. *hehe*

Yesterday was All Saint’s Day. We visited my dad at the temple where his ashes are stored. We offered him some flowers, fruits, vegetarian food from Bodhi, some gold paper, and other Chinese traditional offerings. We prayed using some incense and lit a couple a red candles with golden dragons. After folding all the gold paper and setting them aside to burn, we went to Hap Chan for lunch. There were so many people there, obviously because they serve really great food. Afterwards, we went to the Fort. My brother wanted to check out the sample condominiums at Bonifacio Ridges. It’s wonderfully designed and just the right size. Its very nice as a starter home. I hope hunbun and I live in luxury like that when we get married. Then we headed to the new mall “Market Market”. Two of my brothers have shops there so we visited those and went window shopping a little. I don’t like it the ambience much because there’s too many people. But it is a nice place to shop.

And about the spam comments, I keep getting more and more. It’s uber frustrating. Anybody know how to block them or do something?