My Sheena-inspired name tag. :>

12 Little Things

I haven’t really written anything nice right now (school seemed to be the start of my laziness, though not academically), so let me post my first homework instead. 

I read this book from cover to cover!

 Almost every trite patriotic speech or essay concludes with vague declaration of hope and promise for our nation. I should know. I did a plenty of written works before that contain empty but pleasant-sounding words such as “prosperity”, “betterment”, “unite”, and so on. Now that I think about it, it was not really my intention to mislead anyone by writing any of those five-paragraph, almost-formulaic prose works. It’s just that, for a girl as young and inexperienced as I, the idea of progress could be such an intimidating thing. Influenced (or perhaps brainwashed) by the long-held beliefs of many people around me, I had come to think that it requires a huge amount of energy, will and resources to counter the downward spiral of our country. I had grown cynical — “the selfish outnumber the selfless, the cowardly outnumber the brave”. At best, a new Ninoy Aquino will probably rise up sooner or later to revive the Filipino spirit once again. But that’s about it. End of story.

However, in the past few months, I’ve come to realize that the future may not bleak as I had previously thought. I found myself absorbed in the likes of Kara David, Lea Salonga, Josette Biyo and other people making a difference by doing something in their element. Alex Lacson might just be a part of that long list of people I look up to, as I found his book compelling and fresh. Not in your typical “I-liked-that-chick-lit” kind of way, but in a special “that-book-changed-my-life” sense.

In his book “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help the Country”, he starts with a simple premise that little things can go a long way. It may not be the most comprehensive book, but it empowers by stating simple and specific strategies towards nation-building. Now I know why it became a bestselling book, and now I won’t have to complain about the hopelessness of this country.

The truth is, we really are the change. The Philippines still holds promise. And as trite as it may seem, there is really hope for the nation.

I think this book is too powerful to be left in the bookshelf. For starters, I’d like to take Lacson’s piece of advice by buying a book for a friend and telling him/her to do the same for another friend. I also pledge to do #2 (ask for an official receipt), #3 (refuse to buy smuggled goods) and respect public officials from now on. I know that these may not be much, but as the book says, “The best way to build a dream is by attending to the little things that comprise it.”

Let us begin the journey of a thousand miles by taking that first step. We will carry on.

Nothing, really. I read “Liham ni Rizal sa Kadalagahan ng Malolos, Bulacan” for a school assignment and thought that I should save this somewhere.

 (I read the English version first. Shhh.)

“If she is a maiden, the young man should love her not only because of her beauty and her amiable character, but alson on account of her fortitude of mind and loftiness of purpose, which quicken and elevate the feeble and timid and ward off all vain thoughts.”

Re: Second Day in UPM

Renewed interest in rap songs. Merits of wearing jejecaps. No, really. :))

Friendly banter. Sweat! New friends. First profs. Super hot dorm. :| 

More things to come, I guess. Looking forward to everything!

Short and Sweet

On my way to UP Manila after the Welcome Ceremonies at UP Diliman, I heard a timely announcement on a Christian radio station. It said that when retired people were asked about their biggest regret in life, most of them answered, “not taking enough risks.” So here I am, on the eve of my first day in college, reminding myself to grab all the opportunities and make the most out of my seven years here. It will be tough, considering it’s my first time to live away from home, but I’ll manage for sure. 

Night everyone.

P.S. I got to chat with Nina Corpuz today! Fangirling, hah.

Surprise!

 finally received my freebies from Adarna House this morning. Guess who’s giddy.

This really made my day.

I think the last time I felt this excited was when I found out that I passed UP. Who doesn’t love receiving packages, right? (My last-received mail was a confirmation of account from a bank, so it doesn’t really count.) Add receiving this surprise to the fact that I earned these two books through something I love − writing!

I may be too old for these (or maybe not), but my siblings are definitely not. I gave “Si Ching ay Takot sa Dilim” to Janine and “Xilef” to JD. Reading session later!

Next up: meeting everyone again at UP Diliman. Should I be giddy once more/nervous/excited? I guess all three!

Dreams− Literally and Figuratively

I’ve been having a plenty of dreams lately. This, I can consider a major improvement, because back in my high school days, I’ve been complaining about how seldom I dream or remember any of my dreams.

Only recently, John Lloyd and Liz Uy starred in my dream. The dream was what I’d call a love story-slash-tragedy filled with bursts of Titanic, jeepney rides and action. After two gun shots, I woke up, seemingly on cue. It was only then that I realized the dream was not real at all − nothing but a fabrication of my subconscious. It felt real, but I guess that’s just the way for practically every dream. 

And last night (or maybe the night before this night), I dreamt that my friend Alissandra became a real-life Esther. For those of you who do not know, Esther’s the seemingly sweet yet manipulative main character in the movie The Orphan. I watched it during a recent sleepover at Sarah’s house. Watch it, and you’ll probably enjoy it (I know I did). At the risk of providing spoilers, Alissandra pretended to be Ate Trish Fernandez in my dream by applying loads of makeup and copying Ate Trish’s mannerisms. It was, ultimately, your typical hide-and-seek dream, involving lots of chasing and adrenaline.

Why am I talking about these? Well,  I secretly envy artists and inventors who came up with astounding discoveries and compositions through their dreams. Did you know that the sewing machine and the story Frankenstein were conceived in ordinary people’s dreams (Elise Howe’s and Mary Shelley’s, respectively)? As I researched a bit further, I discovered that famous author, Stephen King, similarly gets many ideas about plot details during sleep.

One day, I hope I can have my very own “eureka” moment after long slumber. Until then, I guess I just have to keep on dreaming − both while awake and asleep.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get."

Now, that’s something to keep in mind. :) Making this my motto for the coming academic year.

Global Stamp Competition Entry

Taking a Piece in the Country’s Feasts

 

A Simpler, Cleaner Version (not the official entry)

I recently submitted these for the Global Stamp Competition hosted by the IUPAC and UN as part of their line of activities this 2011, the International Year of Chemistry. Believe it or not, I spent more than eight hours to get these done (I’m not really pro in Photoshop). So please, if you could kindly leave a comment on the link provided below, it would really mean so much to me. 

Kudos to Dominic Albao, Manuel Victor San Pedro, Kristine Chumacera, Ian Macinas and Jayson Pinza for critiquing my first drafts and helping me brainstorm. Thanks guys!

Entry Link: http://mtn.e2bn.net/rostra/news.php?r=1537&t=2&id=3803

And in case you want to join as well, here are the details.

http://www.chemistryviews.org/details/education/1006883/Global_Stamp_Competition.html

I’m not really in the mood for a long post right now but I don’t want to let this day pass without writing about these awesome girls. (+Kristine C!) They’ve been with me through a lot of times and I’m really glad that they accept− no, in fact, love− me for who I am. Tactless, random and all that. Hahaha. 

I know it’s not gonna be easy to maintain our friendship once school starts but I want to remind myself of one of my favorite quotes: “Them most wonderful thing that friends can learn is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” 

I’m actually looking forward to the day we can call ourselves “the golden girls.” Meanwhile we’ll be jeje and call ourselves Spice Girls.

Also: hi independence! It was my first time to ride a bus alone today. Not really scary, but it was so hard not to fall asleep and look like a newbie. 

The old, good and familiar + the new, exhilarating heights. I’ll be a Manila girl a few days from now! Loving the good vibes. :)