Happy-logue 10-13-12

One of my Aggre friends went to Italy recently. She sort of surprise-visited UP this week and gave me these: a postcard and a figurine. I've read a few articles about The Leaning Tower of Pisa for my geotechnical engineering subject before (just some supplementary reading). The underlying clay on one side of the tower is more compressible than the clay on the other side which made it tilt. And ever since I learned stuff about it, I've had a certain fascination for The Leaning Tower.

Beautiful

Karen, a high school friend who currently resides in Canada, also sent me a postcard, which I received this week. :)

What a pretty bridge :)

Ah, sembreak please come to me! Just a few more hurdles before the end of the semester. 

Happy-logue 10-06-12

hell week noun \'hel wēk\ 1. the week where all deadlines occur 2. worst week of the academic term, usually occurs at the middle and at the end of the academic term and may last more than a week

One of the many things I learned during teaching: it's not just the students; teachers experience hell week too.

Now, being both a Master student and a university instructor, I'm experiencing twice the hell. (I can't even call it hell WEEK because it's been going on for months already!) And don't even get me started with research project deadlines.

In other words, things have been totally crazy. I haven't had time to relax, to get a pedicure, etc.

However, there are still a few things that keep me happy.

1. My students. For some reason, I like it when my students ask me questions. It just shows that they're listening and they're interested in what I'm teaching. Most of the time, I get really really tired but my students make everything bearable. Last Friday was the last day of classes. I'll surely miss my students.

2. AME friend Sty-chan just got back from his one-year stay as an exchange student in Tokyo. Before he left, I asked him to get me some postcards. He got me two...

Tokyo Tower

Buddha statue

...plus this cute and shiny Christimas greeting card with Asakusa printed on it.

3. The postcard I mailed to myself during my last trip to Taiwan just arrived! Why self-mail? Well, why not? I bought postcards, I had some stamps and there was a mailbox at the hotel.

4. New Grendha sandals. Parents' gift for me. 

Ah. Two weeks. Two weeks. Come to me, sembreak.

Happy-logue 07-22-12

It's raining outside and I'm thinking about my life.

I've been pushing myself too hard the past few weeks. But no matter how hard I work, I still have a bunch of things in my to-do list... which is just plain depressing.

Then again, I know that most (but not all) of these were my choices. That's why after this semester, I promise to be more kind to myself. 

***

1. This week, I received a postcard from Slovenia. That makes six weeks in a row of coming home to a new postcard or two. :)

2. Yesterday, I was supposed to be in school the whole day (again) for a 9am meeting and to proctor two exams (1 to 3pm and 4 to 6pm). However, exams were postponed due to the heavy rains. 

In the afternoon, when the sky calmed, I went out to watch The Dark Knight Rises with my friends. I'm not a Batman fan and I didn't watch the movies. I just watched TDKR because I was with my friends. 

A part of me is not happy with the raging rains (who likes floods anyway?) but a part of me was relieved that exams were postponed. If I had to spend the entire Saturday in school, I'd probably be insane right now. :(  I seriously needed some relaxation time to keep me from crying out of stress. My budget for this month is already broken but... meh, I'd rather neglect my savings this month if it's for the sake of my sanity.

3. It's sweatshirt season!

Happy-logue 07-14-12

These days have been extremely busy (For three days this week, I've been staying in school until 9pm... either for Masters class or to work on research.) but that doesn't stop me from being a happy person!

1. I have new postcards! I think I'm starting to get used to this... For the past five weekends, I've been coming home to one or two new postcards from different countries. I totally love Postcrossing!

I received postcards from USA and Japan last week (but I did not see them until Monday this week).

This week, I have postcards from The Netherlands and Germany again.

2. Palawan ube hopia! I totally dig this. I've been craving for it since we went to Coron but unfortunately, Palawan ube hopia can only be found in Puerto Princesa. I'm glad Sir Anjo bought this for me during his recent trip. 

3. I watched The Amazing Spiderman with my family (sans younger brother) yesterday. I'm not a Spiderman fan but I enjoyed the movie. It gets boring sometimes (maybe I was just tired) but I still think Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are awesome... I mean, amazing.

4. I haven't gone shopping for some time now and I've been wearing the same things over and over so I decided to go shopping a little. Happy closet, crying wallet! But oh well, I have two new dresses, a skirt, a satchel, a lace blazer and two pairs of tights.

total wallet damage: PhP3086. Sales are awesome.

5. I have mentioned before that I'm participating in a training this August. I'm currently working with my groupmates and we did a Skype conference last Thursday. There was only three of us: me plus two people from Texas (the other three groupmates didn't make it) but it was great! One of them is so excited to eat balut and the other is going to extend his stay for 1.5 weeks so he's asking me for "adventure advice". I'm glad that they're not the too-serious type and yet they're keen on getting the job done. I'm so excited to meet and work with them. They're coming in three weeks' time!

Happy-logue 06-29-12

1. I have new postcards! Two from Germany and one from The Netherlands. I even got my first 3D/holographic postcard!

a 3D postcard from The Netherlands! <3

from Germany!

from Germany!

2. Moonleaf Peach Yakult (one of my favorites) is back!

Happy-logue 06-10-12

1. I watched Snow White and the Hunstman last Monday with my colleagues on a whim. The movie was disappointing (I'll make a post about it next time) but it was worth seeing Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin anyway.

photo from here

Can't wait to see how his career fares. From Pirates to Snow White! (photo from here)

2. I finally got wire on my braces and the dentist finally removed the porcelain fang-like things on my teeth. My smiles are less awkward now!

haha can't even notice the braces there

3. I had fast food dinner with my college batchmates last Wednesday. It was just fast food but I really miss times like those. We were talking until 9:30pm.

4. I hanged out with Ali (my orgmate/friend who moved to Australia, is currently working in Japan but is now home for her parents' anniversary) and Ate Nice (Ali's close friend and also my orgmate) last Thursday. We were supposed to meet at Moonleaf but I met them at Spa 101 instead. They were getting their nails done and so I had mine too.

Pedicure at Spa 101 was pretty expensive. I don't get my nails done at salons (I can do it myself) but I did it this time because I managed to save on tuition that day... which brings us to the next item...

5. I am officially enrolled and I paid PhP 146.50 instead of PhP10,000+ for my tuition this semester! For the following semesters, I'll only be paying PhP46.50. My tuition is cheaper than my pedicure! Well, perks of working in the university. 

Although that is not totally a happy thing. I was helping out during enrollment and saw how expensive tuition in my university has become. Back in college, I used to pay PhP6,000 to PhP7,000 per semester. These days, students pay more than PhP20,000 on the average. Our university is supposed to be a public university. Tsk, whatever happened to the university of the people. :(

6. Yesterday, I went to UP with my parents to bring some stuff there. I treated them to Rodic's and to that Korean fish-shaped ice cream sandwich.

Happy-logue 05-22-12

Things that make me happy recently:

1. Eating at Bellini's and then watching The Cabin in the Woods with my high school classmates

Last time I went to Bellini's was around 3 years ago, during an orgmate's birthday party. I was totally amused with their interiors: murals, violins, wine. The place is very Italian (well, afterall, it's owned by an Italian man) and the food is great too! However, after eating there last weekend, I think I'll give my wallet some rest. The prices are a little too steep so I spent more than what I thought I would considering the small amount of food I consumed. But then, I'd give it a slack because I rarely see my high school classmates. Also, I forgot my camera so I don't have photos.

And then from Cubao X, my classmate drove to Megamall so we could watch The Cabin in the Woods. It took us two hours to get to Megamall!! Can you imagine that traffic? I thought we weren't going to make it. We were a little late for the screening (because we still bought popcorn) but at least we made it. 

The name "Josh Whedon" should ring a bell. The Avengers!

I honestly do not like horror movies. I've only watched two horror movies my entire life. However, my motivation to watch The Cabin in the Woods was (1) Chris Hemsworth a.k.a. Thor (lame, I know, but at least I'm telling the truth) and (2) one of my orgmates said it's the best horror movie ever.

And it did not disappoint! It was definitely worth the money. I think that the movie targets horror fans but I enjoyed it, nevertheless. About halfway through, I wanted to chicken out (as I said, I don't really like horror stuff) but it I'm glad I didn't! I think it's a different kind of horror movie and although it made me scream a number of times, I don't think it's the scariest movie of all. This one is fast-paced and I felt like it has more depth to its story. And I guess those are the reasons why I like the movie

However, don't be fooled by the marketing. Chris Hemsworth may be one of the protagonists but I wouldn't say that he's the main protagonist. But in any case, it's still a great movie!

2. Spontaneous dinner at Friuli with my college friends

Friuli is a small restaurant in Maginhawa Street. They serve pizza, pasta and desserts. I've been there a few times but never got around to blogging about it. (Yes, they have good food.) Yesterday, I was drenched in the rain because I walked around a kilometer in raging rains just to get to Friuli. But I'm still glad that I was able to meet my friends. We used to dine a lot in Maginhawa Street before everyone got busy with their jobs (and one with law school). We were far from complete yesterday but that spontaneous dinner was definitely nostalgic. I still wish we could do that more often. :(

3. Not getting pimples these days.

Most probably because (1) I don't get as much stress and (2) I don't wear makeup this summer because of the heat. Meh, but I guess when school starts, my face's happy days will be over. :( Oh well.

Happy-logue 05-03-12

I like making lists of things that make me happy. It makes me feel blessed despite stress. It gives me a more positive attitude toward life. As they say, "good vibes!"

I used to do this kind of list a lot (I wrote almost everyday in a small notebook) back in 2009. Until one day, I stopped (probably because of a broken heart?) and never got back to it again...

...until today! Yay~

A list of things that make me happy recently:

1. I'm baking again!! I unintentionally went on a baking hiatus. I was so busy last semester. And I think I kind of lost heart. Fortunately, I watched Bridesmaids and Life As We Know It (two romantic comedies where the lead females both bake). I think the movies reminded me of my love for baking. Today, I made cinnamon roll cake. Cinnamon = one of the best things in the world.

2. School supplies from Saizen. I bought a rotary cutter and a sakura puncher. I honestly don't know where to use these things but I'll find a way.

3. I'm jogging around the academic oval again. I can't run as much as before but that's expected after months of not jogging. I might not be able to keep this up though because when June comes, I'll be teaching again and I will start my Masters studies too.

4. The more forgiving weather.

5. Landmark Trinoma now carries Human Nature products! I'm glad I unintentionally passed by the beauty section. I no longer need to go to their branch in Teacher's Village everytime I run out of shampoo or conditioner or facial toner!