I'm completely happy about the idea that the semester is about to end, three weeks if my guess is right. The sad thing is that this sem completely outranks the other years of college in terms of stress and hassle. I listed down the things I need to do before I can safely say that the sem has come to a complete and successful end and unfortunately ended at around 40. Here are some of the things that I can draw out of memory:

• CD 126 Training- This endeavor kills all my weekends and is pretty much present during my nightmares
• CD 122 Case Study- Hoping this one pushes through without much duress. 
• Voices in Harmony Elims- Happening this weekend. Wish me the best, please lang!
• Polsci 11 Final presentation- no plans for this one yet.

I seriously forgot about the others but they sure are hell as important than the ones I shared. If you include the things that I already accomplished, then it will just be insane. Sabi ko nga, pag natapos ko 'tong sem na 'to at buhay pa ako, wala na akong kayang gawin.   

Yeah right.

The good thing about the end of the sem is that the 51st Annual Convention will be waiting to provide more stress, my kind of stress.  Well 'til next time friends. 

                 I like the ways things are going for CMLI, I love the drive and commitment that the people have. I know what we are doing is part of a huge transition stage, experimental at the very least. I’m very excited to deal with all the workload that a unified branch of Junior Council will have to face. Things like these only fan the flame that drives each and every active member of this glorious organization.

 

                 I know that all the members of the Junior Council (NEB, REB and AA) are aware of the current struggles that CMLI is facing. Why is it easy for others to just simply fizzle out? This always brought me down, I sometimes ask myself if I am fighting a lost cause, or I just simply can not move on from my era. Having lackluster attendance during general assemblies and meetings always depresses me. Even the non-reply of others makes me mad and at some point I think that they don’t even care.

 

                Having a close working relationship with the remaining people made me realize that I was using a wrong tool in analyzing the situation. Instead of looking at those who are not present, I should be happy and inspired by the people who stick it out through thick and thin. Those who reply to notices, attend meetings and work. To them I am grateful.

 

                My personal issue is not with people not attending, but with people who appear to be indifferent with the tasks at hand. Those who don’t reply and simply acknowledge that they can’t join. For those who do, my thanks. For those who don't we, are taught professionalism. I think this is a time for us to implement it.

 

               Mommy B day was a great refresher for me and hopefully to others, I have never seen such a well represented activity where I saw the Junior Council as it truly is, united.

 

               There are a lot of things in our plate right now, the Youth Summit, the proposed Constitutional Convention and much awaited convening of the Youth Congress in Baguio. Just thinking of these things inspires me and at one point making me feel comfortable that we are realigning our efforts as Mommy B envisioned.

 

                I love CMLI, I just can’t say that enough. 

I have less than a month of freedom from academic requirements. This summer has been so-so. 

Feel like eating Sansrival or those sylvanas that Red Ribbon sells. 

You focus yourself with a lot of things, some useful, some you'd live to see another day without doing. There are moments that make you realize that damn, its been a while! Two recent instances made me realize this and darn it hits hard.

I still recall the time when graduation was in my consciousness either as a graduate myself or dear friends graduating and stepping up to the next level. If everything goes well and down to the last dot, I'd march by next March else its going to be at the most October for me.

I guess the point of this entry is to react to the ever zooming pace of time, warping faster everyday (and shit, making me older another day) making memories of years ago seem to just happen yesterday.  This is me missing the old times but just have to bear the present (which might turn out good also anyway).

If you are my friend/batchmate/enemy/relative/acquaintance or stranger and you are graduating on time/ahead of time/self timed or time has passed you by, I have one thing to say. I love being a student! Congratulations!!! Ilibre niyo naman ako pag may trabaho na kayo!

I find the idea of holding masses spank in the middle of a mall, where people hell-bent at shopping and spending money. I find this hilarious because as I type this entry in my mobile, a mass is being celebrated in front of Krispy Kreme where I enamor myself with six hundred calories.

I just find it odd that people after getting ashed with a cross on their foreheads just simply slip away and return to the haze of buying or imagining having the money to buy something. (I usually do the second one). Those retards just made the whole idea of hearing mass completely irrelevant. And while I'm sitting here while the people sing the Ama Namin a girl just sipped coke and ate fries in between the song. What shizz is that? I know that in the Philippines the state a Church are ass connected twins but I'm sure the church and movies aren't even cousins.

The people who hear mass just to feel holy are just silly for wasting their time.


In other news, I voted electronically today, up yours pre-Melo COMELEC! I didn't die, My fingers were not eaten by the keyboard and as a treat gad the chance to surf a bit. I hope ASTIG wins most if not all seats in the council.

In a couple of hours we will find out.


Before I cut this novel, I'd like to say that I miss my mom right about now and I've been in a frantic siomai eating frenzy lately I crave for the treat I can't explain why I just feel like having siomai a lot.

It is every bit as confusing because both activities fall on the much anticipated last week of October. Nationals is on the 19th-27th while Annual Convention falls on the 25th-29th. First of all, I'm not sure if I'll be selected to join the Convention in Baguio but I'm sure that I'll be in Davao for Nationals either to adjudicate or to debate, my fate will rest on my performance in the try-outs on Saturday.

Resolution

For the meantime the resolution is this:
Have my flight back to Manila changed from 27th of October to the 24th or 25th just in time to make the mad dash to Baguio. I will  adj instead of debate so that if in case I break as an adj and if I leave I won't rob anyone of the chance to make it to octos in case I break as a debater.

However the issue of being shortlisted into the selection of Alumni in CMLI still leaves me guessing, pero naisip ko na pag di ako kasama sa list, aakyat pa rin ako at my own expense. Yes, ganun ko kagusto pumunta sa 50th Convention ng 50th batch ng NEB.

Sayang kasi yung ticket na nabili ko nung July pa, gusto ko rin naman mag-Nationals kaso sure naman ako na hindi ko aabutan ang next 50 years ng CMLI.

Could it be excitement? Perhaps diligence or better yet stupidity that I barely slept through the evening and I must admit this is a long night. A night crammed with "work" and study.

7pm- Dinner
8pm- Voices in Harmony Meeting call time
830-ish meeting starts
840-ish meeting adjourns
9pm- change venue, Fazoli's Eastwood
11pm- back home
1130pm- Art Stud One (ASO)
1230am faux nap
2am- Resume academic slavery
420am suspend academic slavery (will resume 6am)

Packed evening. If you are little bit interested I'm studying Egyptian art, arguably it is the best topic ASO has so far  I find the pyramids astounding to say at the very least. I can like vomit Egpyt terms like Hierakonpolis, Nefertiti, Hapshetsut, Tutankhamen, Ka-Aper, Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, Menkure, Aten, Akhenaton, Answar Dam, mummification Rosetta Stone, Pikachu and Son Goku.

What thrills me is the effectiveness of the Kopi Roti Bun in keeping me awake, the thing is a bun but tastes like Kopi Roti coffee. I was supposed to leave give it as pasalubong but starving at 3am makes you forget about certain things.

While waiting for the sun to rise i hopped into this funny clip featuring geek idol Leo Laporte the clip is about the Ultimate Gaming Machine which means that back in 1998 (when we had to pay around 2000 per month for dial-up internet and eudoralight was the best e-mail machine)  this was the gaming god.



Funny. By the time I had this kind of set-up it was I think year 2000 or 2001 so that makes me a millennium late.

Based on my calculation it is already midsem and I assume that I should only churn out two and a half months worth of effort to get good grades in my GE subjects (aka subjectsthatprolongone'scollegelife). Community Development subjects remain interesting especially development theories, can't wait for us to discuss Marx's theory.

I still find it weird that my Art Studies class is more demanding as a subject than any of my majors combined. Art Stud really is a nice subject but the pace our professor is going kind of leaves me gasping for air and brain cells.

Voices in Harmony Orsem was a blast, 23 schools participated in the first ever Workshop Seminar featuring Jonathan Velasco (just google his name). Generally it was nice to see the AA group again. Elims here we go!



Dahil buwan ngayon ng wika French ang next entry ko.

Nakakatawang isipin na inabot na ng isang taon at isang araw ang huling Voices in Harmony 9 Orientation Seminar. Isang taon at isang araw na nang makita ang 26 na interesadong mga paaralan (18 lang ang tumuloy sa elims, 8 ang pinalad makapasok sa finals at isa lang ang nag-uwi kay Aria) na makipagtagisan ng galing at lakas sa isa sa mga premyadong kompetisyong pangkoral para sa hayskul sa Kalakhang Maynila. Sa Bulwagang Pampulong ng Claret naganap ang nasabing okasyon, naghain ng mamon ng Goldilocks at nagpainom ng Refresh.

Ngayong taon, gaya ng nakasanayan na, patuloy ang pag-angat ng kalidad in Voices in Harmony sa pag-apak nito sa una nitong dekada. Inilunsad na bagmat hindi pa tapos ang website (upakan na yung nagmementena ng website). Magkakaroon ng unang Conductor's Workshop na pamumunuan ng pangulo ng PCDA na si G. Jonathan Velasco kasabayan ng OrSem na magaganap sa ikalawa ng Agosto sa Bulwagang Faura, Pamantasan ng Ateneo de Manila sa Katipunan. Marami pang ilalabas ang Voices in Harmony sa taong ito kaya magabang-abang lang.

In other news:

• First sem is stress sem. What the hell should I expect from the second sem?
• CD 121 (Development Theories)  is  interesting and challenging because at the end of the semester we must formulate our own theory for development. Honestly, I'm still stuck at the idea of brain washing all human beings and letting manatees run the world like how Southpark portrays the creators of Family Guy.
• I need want an iPhone or camera
  
• I want need a laptop badly (mobility, aobility cobility)
• I am once again trying to shed the pounds
• I am reconsidering taking econ in favor of political science or a media related course for my elective
• I am such a spender (mostly on food) I must to cut expenses (yeah, but how?)

That is it for now.

Its the big 20. Nothing has changed except for the fact that my brother teases me for being to old.

I'll keep it simple. Thanks to those whose attended and extra thanks to those who surprised me by simply being there. Dana and James were the surprise of the evening, not because they arrived but the fact that they arrived and left at the same time. The previous statement was a joke and must be disregarded.

On to a different plane, being 20 is a sign that things should change in the long run, I know 20 is still young and that life is still ahead of me but I have come to fully realize a certain reality that genetically, I am in the track of my older relatives huge predisposition for diabetes, cirrhosis (seerosees) and kidney failure. The resolution now is clean living. Now, this did not come as a general result of being wasted half my wit last night (and yes I got wasted and puked for the first time. Suko ako kina Haron Jojo and Justin the demigods of swigging) but a result of a long pondering. Enough said, I stand by this, and yes this is doable!

Either jogging, football or hitting the gym will now be a part of my schedule. I have already kicked out pork and beef already and the rest is just coming to place.

Let me conclude this entry by saying thanks to all and hopefully I get another 5 sets of 20 years!