It's the 50th day of my summer. And I didn't even know it until I opened my blog and wondered what number should be on the title. I would have celebrated this day, the milestone that indicated two-thirds' worth of summer days. But the truth is, I'm going insane with my life. Remember when I wanted to get out of Cagayan de Oro before it stifles me? What I didn't realize was that I was going to have a month of May with nothing but crazy rush rush rush because I was out of Cagayan de Oro most of the time. My wish turned my life upside down, poetically speaking. (And that's all the creativity I've squeezed out of myself today.)

So now, I'm off to Bukidnon again, after just having been there two days ago. This time, it's for a national convention of student publications all over the country. And it's gonna be four days and a half, with many lectures and unfamiliar faces to fill up the time. I'm rather scared. And nervous. I'm never excited when it comes to these things; I'm just either scared or nervous. Sheeesh.

See you when I get back. And then I'll post all the entries I've promised. Because I must honor promises.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam. I will either find a way or make my own. But before summer ends, it should be here.


P.S. Today I bought a book on impulse, just because the novel was set in Paris. And I'm a sucker for anything related to France. Plus, it was only for Php90.00. A steal, for a France-related novel. I wish all my addictions are this cheap (You hear me, Starbucks?). The book is entitled Blame It on Paris by Jennifer Greene. She's pretty good, I tell you.

I won't be able to post an entry for tomorrow (and probably for Sunday as well), since I shall be away from the laptop and Internet connection from 7am tomorrow to 8:30pm on Sunday. I'll be holed up in this awesome, paradisical (yes, that's a Bianca original, and I claim all rights to it) place called Montegelo for a leadership camp. And since I can't drag the laptop around with me because my sister will be using it, I shall have to bid a temporary goodbye to this blog for two days. Sad, I know. Anyhow, yesterday's entry will be posted on Monday. It was a rather long one, seeing as I almost got poisoned that day.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday, truth be told, despite the lack of Internet connection. My life has gone so stir-crazy that an Internet connection would just mean more work, especially since my Facebook has been taken over by work-related posts: tasks, updates, assignments, approvals, etc. I even feel guilty for playing Restaurant City, knowing that people are probably expecting me to be concentrating on the tasks assigned to me when in reality I was just leveling up a smoothie in my virtual restaurant.

This trip to Montegelo will be a chance to restore my scattered sanity and refresh my mind and...rest. Not that we'll be on fluffy pillows, singing campfire songs the whole time. College leadership camps are more painful than anything else, especially when they spring those muscle-straining games upon you under the guise of "team building". But nonetheless, it'll be two days away from the hustle and bustle of the university, and I'd gladly take all the sore muscles in exchange of that.

A la semaine prochaine, mes amis!

Today, I learned how to make brownies that knock you naked (because it's so good, you'll just wanna strip...or something). I learned tips on how to improve my blog (and blogging skillz). I learned the process of writing a children's book (which is pretty much the same with any other type of book, right? Plus-minus a few modifications.). I learned how to photograph food, which is gonna be extremely helpful when I finally make the pastas I've sworn I'll make before the summer's over.

And all these I learned from one website, from one amazing blogger/woman--Ree Drummond. She is awesome, I tell you. Once you're done with reading this summary of events, you'd better head over to her site. Otherwise you're missing one-half of your life--and you'll never, ever get it back. Mwahahahah.

All right, I'm feeling rather elated right now. Coz...I just zapped a mosquito. Like, two seconds ago. While it was buzzing around my arm while I typed. I positioned my right palm over my left arm, and brought it down the split-second it started sucking on my blood. THWACK! Down it went, leaving some blood splatters on my arm (because it was one fat mosquito who probably fed on countless other humans before it tried my puny arms).

Speaking of puny arms, my aunt brought over her dumbbells today, at the request of my sister. There were three--two of them weighing 4lbs., and one 2lbs. My cousin showed me (and showed off) how to lift them to build arm strength (and sculpt my arms, which was my intent with them). He was using the 4lbs. ones, and made it look like...lifting a glass of water. Men. I tried it, one on each hand, and almost fell backwards. Yes, I am puny. Go on, make fun of me. I know you wanna.

Anyhow, I've resolved to, uhm, take it easy and use the two-pounder for starters. I am ambitious, yes, but hopefully not stupid. Definitely not stupid.

I'll start off with twenty counts tomorrow. Twenty each arm. Then I'll add twenty more every three days, until I'm doing a hundred everyday. And I'm not stopping 'til my arms are as awesome as, say, Santana's (in GLEE).

And...I made up that workout routine all by myself, so if it's stupid, tell me so at once before I get any stupider. I've tried looking into dumbbell exercises, but they're more of procedures rather than time tips. I just went with how much I could possibly do in a day, and how much I want to achieve in the end. Simple.

Am I doing that right, or is it wonky in places?


P.S. Someday, I'm gonna figure out why they're called dumbbells. And if they actually have any relation to church bells. I'll let you know when I get to the bottom of this mystery.

P.P.S. Today was Mom's birthday, and I'm stuffed with all the food on the table...and that's probably partly why I was almost bent over backwards by two four-pounder dumbbells: my stomach helped them along. Still, it was an awesome dinner. Happy birthday, Mom!

P.P.P.S. I went to Limketkai earlier (to have myself photographed for my 1x1 solo photos), and bought nail polish on impulse. Oh, and I strutted (shyly) around XU in a sleeveless top with matching silver dangling earrings. I am turning into such a girly-girl this summer. Darn.



Photo credits to The Pioneer Woman (for Ree Drummond's photo) and SodaHead (for Santana's cheerleading pose).

Today, I was supposed to go and get many, many things done. But I woke up late, the 8:45am kind of late, and Mom already went ahead without me. Me being the everything-has-to-start-perfect OC person, I decided to cancel all my plans and stay home all day. Which actually proved to be a blessing, coz I got some things done.

1. I read my ebook of The Little Prince (by Antoine de Saint-Exupery) AT LAST. I've been wanting to read this since high school, and only now was I finally able to understand why it is considered a classic. I learned so much from 64 pages! And I swore to never, ever be a grown-up who couldn't understand a drawing of an elephant inside a boa constrictor.

2. I made some progress with my French 101 in LiveMocha. My French Week, however, is going to be put on hold indefinitely, thanks to unforeseen circumstances. I have trips (workshops, conventions, vacations) coming up, all on this month and all at least two days in length. I mean, how am I going to have a French Week when I won't have access to a laptop for three of my four May weekends? Bummer.

3. I painted my nails a hideous shade of blue. Actually, the original plan was to paint them blue, then do a newspaper print nail art on them, and then finish off with a top coat. It looked pretty simple. Unfortunately, due to either the newspaper cuttings' lack of cooperation or my general ineptitude with nail art, the second part didn't work out so well. I kept pulling the paint along with the newspaper cutting, which meant...well, it looked sorta grungy, but hideous all the same. So I resigned myself to just the first part.

I'll try the newspaper print part again tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go for zebra prints. Let's hope it works out, either way. I can't live on this shade of blue without any adornment. It's gonna make me puke. It's too... blank.

4. I thought out some new story plot, which just came into my head with no warning whatsoever. I think this has better chance of working out than my current story. And by that I meant the summer novel that just won't be happening anytime before summer ends. I barely wrote a chapter, and every time I try resuming it, another story comes to mind. I probably have more word count for my random plots than for the story itself. What on earth is this disease of the mind??

So, anyhow, I have to sleep now so I can at least get up a little earlier than 8:45 tomorrow morning. Over the past two weeks, I've gotten used to waking up at 6:30 with the birds, and I'm confused why I broke the habit earlier. Hope it'll come back tomorrow, otherwise I'm dead.

Au revoir!

P.S. I'm back from the dead, as you can see. Let's hope this continues to tomorrow. One way or another, though, I'll make up for the days when I didn't post. Let's hope I do it soon. :)

Some things I have to include in my chronicling--and they are things that do not belong to the tail-end of a rant, so I'm making a new post for them.

Here's what I accomplished for today (which is making me feel a little more productive):

1. Completed Livemocha French 101's Unit 1 Lesson 4 on plurals. Wheee! Two more lessons, and I can now move on to the more complex shtuff.

2. Started reading The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey. Am now halfway through the book. It's a page-turner that keeps your mind whirling--perfect for my Holy-Week-stagnated brain cells.

3. Found this awesome video at Vimeo, and it inspired me to work harder at my French lessons. Check it out here and let it inspire you too!

4. Planned my French Week and my French tumblog and my French to-do list so I can be out of French 101 when summer ends.

5. Discovered Axelle Red and her Sensualite music video! Loved both the artist and the song, though I couldn't fully comprehend the lyrics yet. I'm gonna listen to her more recent songs (the Sensualite song being a 1993 hit), and find out if at 43, she's still as awesome as she was almost twenty years ago.

UNFORTUNATELY, due to unforeseen circumstances, I'm gonna have to move my mass posting to Wednesday. Hopefully, I'll be done with all my other obligations and can then devote hours upon hours for my summer blog. Hopefully.


Keep your fingers crossed!

To start off TLC's Royal Wedding Week, they showed the footage of the Wedding of the Century--Princess Diana and Prince Charles. They showed the gown, the guests, the bride and groom, the entire ceremony. And I didn't watch a single second of it.

WHY? That was my mom's unphrased question. Why am I not watching something that many would kill to watch, if only they had cable?

Because I'm bitter. Yeah, bitter about royals and their messed-up lives.

I used to think blue bloods were at the top of the heap. They were people who ruled countries and determined the lives of many. They were confined to the rigors of their birthright, but they let loose once in a while and try to become normal, with always the thought of going back to their stiff images and sacrificing their happiness for the good of their people.

Yeah, that was a twelve-year-old's idealism. A twelve-year-old who read too much and did not care much for the TV.

But as I grew older, I saw nothing that resembles my ideal royalty. The kings and queens no longer ruled their countries; instead, they became mere figureheads that cut ribbons and attend galas and don a blue sash that reminded people of their past. They think nothing about "sacrificing their happiness" for the sake of others--because there was no need to. They are just ordinary human beings who, thanks to their great-great-grandfathers, live inside castles paid for by the taxes of the people whom they do nothing for. I expected them to all be a little more than Princess Diana. I expected them to be constantly trying to solve their country's problems, but instead, I learned that their average day consisted of partying hard and racking up scandal after scandal just to show people that they're still alive. They divorce as easily as they marry, and they and their kids end up with dysfunctional lives complete with eating disorders, fourth wives, and an addiction to drugs.

Well, good for them. So, do they have any other use?

Yes, I'm bitter over a broken ideal. But it's more than just the bitterness of a kid who discovered that Santa wasn't real after all. What made me bitter was the way they wasted the opportunity given to them to make a difference. They could've done so much with that influence, that money, that private jet. They could've campaigned for literacy, could've opened up an orphanage and helped manage it, could've started a new school for the underprivileged, could've done a thousand-and-one things better than spending the night with their lovers and making the tabloid headlines the next day.

Being a royal must be frickin hard, sure, having to dodge the paparazzi, having maintain an image, having to watch that the press does not find a bulge in your belly, etc. But couldn't they step up and do something more constructive with their spare time? Sheeesh. This is not to say all royals are wasting their time, but sometimes, the press is so darned concerned about what they wear, where they go, who they date, that royalty becomes nothing more than tabloid fodder. Is it so much to ask that they do something more?

There. That's my unreasonable love-hate story with royalty. So now, I feel apathetic about an approaching royal wedding. So what? What's gonna change in the greater scheme of things?

Bitter.

I'd post them today or tomorrow, but I haven't finished them yet and I made a pact (with myself only, but hey, that still counts) not to blog on Good Friday and Black Saturday. So blogging will resume on Easter Sunday, and all the delayed entries will be posted on Tuesday.

Why did I have to make graphics for the announcement? Because I wanted to. ;)

P.S. Happy Earth Day! Pity we can't celebrate it with much fanfare. Maybe next year.


Background photo is from PSDtoHTML. Edited by moi.

Today, after an argument over something monetary, I realized I'm absolutely no good at diplomacy. Sure, I'm a flexible person. Sure, I'm quite quite quite considerate of other people's feelings. Sure, I have the normal dose of human empathy. But there's one thing I don't have in abundance: patience. Especially when it comes to decision-making and butting heads over certain issues.

Don't get me wrong, I welcome opinions. I'll even defend to the death your right to state them. But the minute you stop listening to my opinions because you think you and you alone are right, then damn, I'm done being a nice person.

And today I almost literally banged my head against the table. (Almost because I'm not that stupid yet, plus my body still aches after yesterday's Airsoft.) I hate it when people can't be told. It just makes my blood rise. And then I go

but it usually looks just like a

Oh well. You can't always win at life. :(

I just can't help but wish I don't have to make people listen. That they'll do it out of their own free will, and not because I was typing in all caps or raising my voice or being hurtfully sarcastic.

Today, Bianca went to war.

Okay, it was only Airsoft. But it was seriously frickin awesome, especially when you've got friends for teammates and teammates who become friends. There were 13 of us, so we divided into groups of six with me--being the skinny midget who had no muscles--being the 7th player, the "princess" as it were. (Someone else was shorter than me, but they thought I was the weaker, girlier one. Great.)

We played five games, each about five to ten minutes in length (fifteen at most) but felt like an hour. The sun was damnably hot at 10:30 in the morning, and you could literally feel the sweat dropping down your face. Our combatant attires didn't help either. We wore a bulletproof vest over our shirt and jacket, tied a plaid scarf around our necks, capped our precious heads with a beanie, and covered our faces with a mask. It felt like being roasted alive. And then we picked up our rifles. As I hefted mine up, I thought of rethinking my feminist views. Women ARE as good as men. But sometimes, there are times when you have to curtsy and let the men do the dirty work. Including marching off to war with heavy rifles.

So we were in this large secluded farm in the middle of nowhere, and there were tall, tall grasses all around us. It was an awesome feeling, crouching down the ground and feeling the crunch crunch crunch of your teammates' feet as they move in closer for the kill. (I was a cautious one, always looking for a bigger aim before shooting. They just...shoot. Wish I could do that.) I got hit on my hand (which reddened like a mosquito bite), my back, my face (thank God for masks!), and my ribs (from a ricocheting pellet). War wounds.

I won't describe the whole thing to you, but I tell you, it was so worth it. We paid Php360 all in all: transportation, the body armor, the rifles and their pellets, and the venue. In exchange, we got war wounds, grass stains, pain, and in my case, broken eyeglasses (which I didn't take off otherwise I wouldn't be able to see what I was shooting at, so when I took off my mask, it went along and broke). But we had the time of our lives. That is something you can't pay enough for.

Hmmm. Shall we try paintball or NERF next time?

I'll post entries for Day 22 up to today by tomorrow afternoon, I think. (Tomorrow evening at the latest.) And then I shall be more prompt in posting.


Whoops! I forgot to include this in the photo: Credits to Mettacard for the abstract.

6. Getting out of Cagayan de Oro
This is my favorite thing on the list. And one that I've done already (when I went to Basamanggas Resort, which is located in the province of Jasaan, miles and miles outside Cagayan de Oro), but won't have a problem doing over and over again. Hopefully (and if I don't jinx it by saying it here), I can escape off to Mangima and Bohol as well. Oh please, please, please!

7. ONE Venti dark mocha frappuccino from Mr. Starbucks
This one's too easy, it doesn't count as a challenge. But I think drinking a whole Venti (that's 20 ounces) is going to choke me to death. But hey, what better way to die than drinking heaven in a cup? I'll go this May, so my sister can tag along thanks to the buy-one-take-one promo on the frappe (courtesy of the Starbucks planner). I love promos!

8. ONE Summer novel
This is where I'm stumped. I was thinking of a plot earlier, somewhere along the lines of studying abroad for a semester (something I've always wanted to do) and exploring a new culture and language, and of course, falling in love along the way. All I needed was a nice plot to go with it, with a few twists and turns so I won't get bored writing it.

BUT as it often happens, another plot popped up. This one about the daughter of the king's mistress. Very modern era, but still about royalty and illegitimacy and intrigue. And it's definitely not very summer-y. But I liked the plot. It's one of those stories where the plot just jumps at you, instead of you thinking hard for one. I want to write it, but in terms of light, summer-y feelings, I want to write my study-abroad story first. But this one just won't leave the building. It kept pushing at me as I was drinking iced coffee at Dunkin earlier.

So now...I don't know. What do you think? I wanna bang my head against the wall. And yes, I can get melodramatic over the plots of two novels. FAIL.

9. Shopping spreeeeeee!
Coming this first week of May, whereupon I shall shop shop shop for new jeans, blouses, skirts and shoes. Preferably about ten of each, except I think my bank account would die of heart attack if I do.

10. P5,000 income
Not happening. I haven't even earned a peso yet! But soon. I shall. Just you wait.

Unfortunately, there are no concrete plans on this one yet. My roulette of meetings and outings is spinning out of control, and there are times when I'm out of the house the whole day. How does one find work that way, I ask you. So I'd probably be better off selling something. BUT WHAT? Now that is the 5,000-peso question. What indeed.

I'm gauging my summer's "success" partly on the accomplishment of the ten things I've set out to do within 75 days. So let's evaluate them bit by bit while I still have some 55 days more to go.

1. THIRTY books
This one's an almost-sure fail, if I let my pessimism have full reign. I'm halfway through only one book so far, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. I've got 29 titles more to go, and the clock is ticking ticking ticking!

2. TEN songs every week
I think I've managed this. But since I had poor recording abilities with this one, I can't be sure. What I am pretty sure, though, is that I've gotten more than 10 songs last week when I went crazy over Les Mis.

3. FIFTEEN movies
I'm making a headway with this one. So far, I've seen three movies, and have am in the process of downloading six of the remaining 12. Life is sweet with uTorrent. Next five I'm watching: Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Three Idiots | TRON Legacy | Black Swan | Legally Blonde.

4. TWO new languages
Greek and Urdu. So far, I've finished Lesson 1 of Greek 101 in Livemocha. I'm still trying to earn enough teacher points to unlock the next lesson. But I haven't started on Urdu yet, because I'm having second thoughts. My summer novel (which I shall elaborate more on in tomorrow's post) is going to be set in Italy, so it might be infinitely better if I take up Italian instead. Right? I'd need it so much more.

5. THREE new pasta dishes
I've done a quick and simple spaghetti carbonara a few nights ago. (I'll post the recipe tomorrow.) Right now, the remaining two are a toss up among the ravioli, the lasagna, and the linguine. My extra challenge: One of them's got to be a vegetarian dish. Veggie lasagna, anyone? I'm pretty sure the other one's going to be either a chicken parmigiana or something that looks equally deeeeeeeelish.

And since I'm darned sleepy right now, I'll say goodbye and hit the sack...with promises of a continuation tomorrow. Bonnuit!

That, right there, is my dream infinity pool. It has a jacuzzi, wide tiled steps, and a large enough space for lapping from one end to the other with no worries. Plus if you look at it closely, you'll see two cabanas hidden behind the shrub. Cute!

And the front part would look like this:

But just because it's all white and clean doesn't mean it's gonna be boring (the usual assumption from clutter-obsessed people). I'm filling it up with all sorts of awesomeness, including a shih tzu puppy to scratch on the tiles. Kidding!

So there. That's my dream home. And this is what I've been doing for the whole day: looking at homes and daydreaming myself inside them. God, I need to get a job. I can't spend my summer looking at houses. That's pretty near the definition of bumming.

Photo credits to Home and House Design and Samulco.

Note: Spoilers ahead. If you're planning on watching and/or reading Avalon High, and don't want me to spoil it for you, read no further than the period after this sentence.


Earlier, I watched Disney's Avalon High movie interpretation of Meg Cabot's book. And frankly, I was disappointed. It was too...cheesy. I was gagging at the lines, and then I got handed the surprise of a lifetime: King Arthur is a GIRL. Seriously??

Will Wagner, played by Gregg Sulkin

Call me narrow-minded, but there was something seriously wrong about that. It's not the whole King Arthur has become a bloody female issue (coz I am all up for girrrrrrl power), but the abrupt way it was done in the movie. I've yet to read the book, but I sincerely hope it was done loads better there. In the movie, Will Wagner (Gregg Sulkin) had all the signs of being King Arthur--the cheating girlfriend, the best friend in love with his girlfriend, the evil stepbrother out to ruin his life, the entire football team of Knights, and the jock-straight-A's-gentleman perfect-guy image. On the other hand, Allie Pennington (Britt Robertson) was a new student with Arthurian fanatics for parents. No cheating boyfriends, no cheating best friends, no stepbrothers or half-brothers (evil or otherwise), no knights around her (obvious or otherwise). And yet she's King Arthur.

If you were gonna make a girl King Arthur, you might as well have all those elements mentioned in Will Wagner's almost-bio transferred to her. You know, so it'll be a tad bit more believable instead of leaving me grumbling about the ludicrosity of it all. Because what it seemed like to me was a Will Wagner who had everything except Excalibur, and an Allie Pennington who had nothing Arthurian except Excalibur (and her best friend who turned out to be Merlin, but Merlin was not solely Arthur's magician anyway). So now someone is more Arthurian than King Arthur. Grrrrreat.

What should have been.

I'm ranting, but seriously, it was frustrating to watch. All the cheesy lines. And then that twist in the end that went too abrupt and too farfetched for my taste. I need to download Meg Cabot's book NOW so I can feel better about this entire thing. Maybe I wouldn't have criticized so much if it weren't for the fact that I was looking forward to finally watching this movie.

But a last opinion: Gregg Sulkin was cute. Yeah. I never thought of him as cute before (in Wizards of Waverly Place), but in Avalon High...whoa! So yeah, that was the highlight of the movie.



Photo credits to Disney Avalon High and Just Jared Jr.

Sorrrrrry!! Sorry sorry sorry!! I know, I'm the worst blogger ever for not posting for three days!

But seriously, those were three days spent in unproductivity and uncreativity and therefore, unnecessary. Such is my Law.

But seriously-ier, I shall post them once I finish writing them. I will not break my daily mutterings just because my day happened to be a pointless 24 hours. That's the point of this whole blog anyway: to make sure I spend my last 75 days of summer well. So I shall...find something about that day that was worth writing about, and promise myself to never write late again.

So this is my short note informing you that (1) I haven't abandoned this blog yet, my few but faithful readers; (2) I shall be posting three posts within the span of ten hours; and (3) I've created a new page just for my graphics (and am nudging you to check it out!). Hope you'll keep dropping by--and post a comment once in a while so I'll be even happier at your visit. Please?

See you in my next three posts!


P.S. The kitties above are my peace offering. (Click the slide to view a bigger version.)

While browsing the Facebook fanpage of Lea Salonga--totally amazing Broadway artist and an inspiring Filipina--I stumbled across something posted by a fan against her haters (who troll her because they did not like her support for the end to child abuse and humiliation in game shows on national TV; and because they're pathetic people with no lives and too many Facebook accounts). That thing her fan posted was a link to a Youtube video of "Do You Hear the People Sing?". And thus started my overplaying of Les Miserables songs.

I've played almost all the Les Mis songs, and have come to the conclusion that I love these three songs best. My criteria? I CAN'T STOP playing them. The replay button is overused as it is.

ON MY OWN, a solo by Lea Salonga. This is the first Les Mis song I've heard, thanks to a CD of assorted Broadway songs my mom bought about seven years ago. This was the song I remember whenever someone mentions Les Mis, which was not often. Lea Salonga's vocals = AWESOMETASTICALLY AMAZING. No one, absolutely no one, sings the way she does.

ONE DAY MORE, sang by the whole cast. I loved it the second I heard it! The arrangement, the blending of their voices, the lyrics, the accompaniment, the everything. It's like a babel of emotions being expressed all at once, sounding harmonious not in spite of, but because of their disunity. I'm waxing philosophical now. Go click on the link before I ramble on.

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?, led by Enjolras, Combeferre, and Feuilly. This video is my favorite, hands down. I felt like punching the air with my fist, my heart singing out to their cause, my blood beating in my veins. How I would have given everything to march on with them, to a new world or to the death! Yeah, that just proves I'm a warfreak female. But seriously, the thought of freedom, courage, honor, etc. is an exciting one, something you'd willingly give your life for. Of course, when it comes to the reality of war, men would shiver in their boots and wonder why they ever left their homes. But the ideal of fighting for the freedom of a people...it makes your heart sing, doesn't it? And this song perfectly captures that feeling.

I have not yet read Victor Hugo's novel. I have not seen any part of the play/show. But I love it already, and all because of its songs. I'm going to head off to the Uni library and borrow their copy of the book. I'm pretty sure it's just rotting there. But where can I download a video of the play, do you know?

Despite my sniffling and sneezing, I had to go to the uni today for a meeting. Felt quite productive because now I have more meetings to add unto my Starbucks planner. (Man, that planner needs a nickname. "My Starbucks planner" is a mouthful.)

Then I caught up with my other affiliations, all of which were asking me what I shall be next academic year (AY, for short). Well, I shall be a wreck of a human being, that's what I'll be. I've nodded to three org positions for next AY, and none of them ever promised to be easy. Plus I have a business to run, freelance work to do, and grades to maintain. Sheesh. I don't want this summer to end. Please please please, wake me up only when it's December 21, 2012. I'm scared/excited/nervous/hyperventilating about what June will bring. Hell week every week, with hell days and extra-hellish days? 

You know what, I've got sixty more days of summer. Let's pretend not to think about it, all right? 

But...still. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHD.

Yes, will shut up now.

Note: This is a delayed post, but I pretended I wrote this at 11:59pm of that very day itself. Hence the present tenses. Achooo!

I had to stay at home today thanks to my dratted colds. I kept sniffling, sneezing, and clearing my throat, I was frankly annoyed with myself. All the water I drank didn't help much, either. It just made me feel like a pool. A sick pool, at that.

The one highlight of my day was watching Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe on TLC. I caught her episodes on Edinburgh and London, and wished I opened the TV earlier because it seemed they were running an entire segment and all I caught were the last two. And I have to say, I LOVE HER JOB!! It's the best job in the world! You get paid a six-digit salary for traveling around Europe. Seriously.

Anyhow, her walk through Edinburgh, and then London, inspired me to create my own travel bucketlist. I was halfway through listing my must-visit-before-I-die destinations before I realized it was gonna take me a million years to finish that list. I just have so many places I want to see, visit, eat in, etc.

So I decided to divide the list by continent, starting with Europe, my travel dream above all travel dreams. Then I thought I might as well divide them by countries, because I've got about fifteen destinations each country, and jumbling them up was just asking for jeopardy. And then I thought about making collages out of them. So I did, via the ever-awesome Picnik. I only got as far as France and Italy, and only four tiles each, but I'll make more soon--and make a slideshow out of them.

This is the intro header/whatever it's called. In order of tiles, that's the Edinburgh Castle | the Musee du Louvre | the Battistero di San Giovanni and Piazza del Duomo | and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Click on the photo to view it on a larger scale.

Here's the one on France, although that's only the first four on my list of places. I've got about twelve more to make a collage on. The names of the places are in French, but sadly in size 13 font and at the bottom because I couldn't have them marring the view. If you can't read them, they're: Chateau Versailles | Notre Dame de Paris | Musee du Louvre | and La Tour Eiffel. Typical, stereotypical France bucketlist, but since they really are must-sees, what could I do?

The one on Italy is also just four tiles out of about ten to fifteen places I've listed. More slides to come this Friday. Anyhow, the names of the places are in Italian (except for the first one, which is in Venetian). In order of tiles: Canalasso | Giardini di Boboli | Piazza Venezia | Battistero di San Giovanni + Piazza del Duomo.

I've yet to make my collage for Spain, Portugal, Monaco, Switzerland, Greece, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (I love saying this in a British accent, with a flourish), Belgium, Germany, and etc. And that's just Europe. See what I mean about taking a million years to finish my list?

But for now, I shall sleep. And hope my sinuses will clear up when I wake up tomorrow morning. 

Ach-ach-achoooo!

_____________

Photo credits according to order of photos in tiles:

Intro tiles: Hiren (1 & 2) | TravelMuse | EuropeanDestinations

France tiles: Ile de France | TravelPod | Hiren | CelebOutfit

Italy tiles: Miriadna | Bugbog | EternallyCool | TravelMuse

Today, I realized I wasn't taking care of this blog. I mean, not the way I took care of my past blogs, when I used to change the header every month or so, make nice new graphics for it, fix the CSS codes like crazy, and update the blogroll constantly. (Or I used to do all these until my projects + work caught up with my spare time.)

So, today I made some baby steps:

1. I finally integrated my (second) Twitter account to my blog. Chekittawt on the right-most sidebar. :) It's not my original account, but I wanted one especially for this blog, so there.

2. New slides, new slides! So you won't have to keep lookin' at the same beach every time you drop by and make meh happeh. <3 More to come!

(I've yet to upload them to Photobucket, so expect to see them sometime later or tomorrow.)

3. Two blog buttons! I just have to figure out how to place a codebox below them. Got any tips?

4. I joined the FTLOB (short for For The Love of Blogs) bloglist. FTLOB is blog that features other blogs. I've listed this there, and will now have fun dropping by all the other blogs on the list. :)

That's all for now (don't you hate that line?), but there'll be times when I get the itch to tweak this thing and satisfy my craving for something new. Stay tuned! *cue thrilling music*

Bianca is shamelessly using the finger-biting doggy to lure y'all into giving her all your large Philly cheesesteak samwiches with oodles of melted cheese and mushrooms and nachos. 

<----- Like zat.

Except I'd like to demand for more gooey melted cheese and some more mushroom heads. Hold the catsup, and keep the onion rings to a minimum. And make sure the bun's a soft, chewable kind.

Sorry. I know, really I do, that you're just dying to hear me talk about my grades. But really, I've got a really bad craving right now for a BIG philly cheesesteak sandwich with an excess of melted cheese and mushrooms. I want it so BADLY, I'd trade my Starbucks planner (that j'adore to bits) for a big bite of that cheeeeesy, mushroom-y, meaty goodness in a bun. (Offer's only good 'til I get back my senses.) I crave, I crave!

And I can't do anything about it. It's 1:26AM, and the stores nearby are closed, the kitchen is near my grandparents' bedroom, and I don't have any of the ingredients (save for the mushrooms). I must content myself with staring at Google photos until I nauseate.

What's with this melodrama over a philly? Am I...you know... (insert eyebrow waggle here)? And the answer is... NO. No, I'm not pregnant. No, it's not my time of the month either. No, I'm not depressed. (Well, at least not clinically.) I'm just really hormonal about food. I have food friends (like pizza, pasta, bacon, and chicken) and food enemies (like all sorts of grossly oily things, meatballs, and green, non-leafy vegetables). They are the very-nearly-almost permanent mainstays of their respective categories. I also have food fre-nemies--like fish, chocolate, and milk--whose favor or disgrace rests on which way my mood's pendulum swings.

When I crave for my food friends, it takes me about two hours to get rid of the need to order/bake/cook that particular dish. Sometimes the hormones win, especially when it kicks in in the afternoon. Sometimes, the hormones strike out. Like right now, when I couldn't do anything to assuage it. The verdict? Hormones suck.

ANYHOW. I got my grades this morning after swimming through a sea of people for it. Good thing a friend helped out and braved the mob all by himself, carrying our precious IDs with him. It was unfair, I admit, but sometimes you have to sacrifice one for the many, right?

Any-anyhow, my grades were complete, thank God. Highest were two A-'s. Lowest were B-'s. Pretty all right. I was sorta kinda hoping for an A or two, but apparently we can't always get what we want. What's a girl to do?

Well, I drowned my disappointment in lechon (suckled pig). Tonight was a cousin's grad party, and the pig was huge. So I hacked away at its crispy skin, and gnawed on the well-cooked flesh. 'Twas pretty uneffective, but still satisfying.

Which further mystifies the fact that I'm craving for a sandwich in the dead of the night. Oh greedy, greedy Bianca.

Are you now craving for a philly cheesesteak sandwich with extra melted cheese and mushrooms? Good.



Photo credits to What's Cooking, America? for the mouthwatering philly cheesesteak sandwich. As for the finger-biting pup, I found him/her on Tumblr, and he/she's been reblogged too many times for me to know who actually posted it first. Just know that it ain't mine (though I wish it were).

Pssst! Are you a big, beeeeg fan of Restaurant City? Nope? Well, good for you. At least you're not subject to the insanity that grips all fans of this particular Facebook app: the HUNT. What hunt, you ask? Why, the hunt for ingredients, of course!

Restaurant City (otherwise known as Resto City or RC) has a different theme every week, and each theme has a set of items you can buy and use in your resto. There are functional items, however, that you cannot buy, but instead earn (or unlock) through "mastering" a dish. That means getting to Level 10 on a certain dish. Then getting to Level 10 on a few more dishes so you can unlock the other features (besides the basic). To level up a dish, you have to have all the ingredients in its recipe. To master it, you have to have 10 of each ingredient. Thus commences The Hunt, because finding an ingredient isn't that easy. Sometimes, especially if the ingredient is rare, you have to request for some from your friends.

And since I have only a handful of friends who play RC, and my browser doesn't agree much with games and graphics, it is no wonder I'm still trying to unlock features from items that were so last year. But that's part of the challenge and the fun. So, in honor of my obsessive love for RC, I decided to slideshow the SIX items I'm still trying to unlock up to now. Yes, I'm crazy obsessive like that.

   

In random order (because it's a mosaic):

pizzeria | karaoke bar | coffee bar | bowling alley | lounge bar | sushi bar

And so, my Sunday came and went. The end.


Photo credits to the Restaurant City blog (for the Sushi Bar and the Coffee Bar) and Wikia.Com (for the Pizzeria, Karaoke Bar, Bowling Alley, and Lounge Bar).

I couldn't stand the restlessness I feel every time I stay at home for 24 hours, so I hied myself off to Limketkai  Mall (the shopping capital of Cagayan de Oro--no offense, SM) and told myself I had things to buy anyway. Yeah, right. I had to think of one.

Anyhow, I eventually decided to drop by Big R, where they had the usual 10%, 20%, and 50% sale on selected items. But what's the point of shopping with only P350.00 in my wallet? Barely enough to buy a single shirt, even with the halved price. I got away from temptation and went to National Bookstore instead, intending to buy art supplies now that I'm taking art seriously (for the summer, at least). Much to my chagrin, I found out that a Reeves set of 18 acrylic paints costs P404.75. Same goes for a set of 18 oil paints. A set of 12 costs P289.00. RAWR.

So I settled for a box of 12 tubes of watercolor that costs a mere P41.25 (because it's Best Buy, and therefore the cheapest one there), a set of four paintbrushes (two sable, two synthetic), and three Faber-Castell No.1 pencils. The total? P95.00. This is going down as one of my cheaper National Bookstore sprees. The moral lesson: Reeves is EXPENSIVE. *bow*

On another sad note, Starbucks has increased their prices by P10.00. Not sure whether that was something new or just old news. I had to pay ten pesos more for a Tall frappe. The java chip frappe was worth it, though. I finally tasted their java chip frappuccino! I've been longing to since December, but I had to prioritize the holiday drinks, otherwise I wouldn't have enough stickers to get me to the ultimate goal: my Starbucks planner. So now, with everything out of the way, finally grabbed a java chip frappe and understood why my mom raves about it. IT IS AWESOME. Creamy and sweet. But a little too mild. I think I'll change my summer dare from a Venti java chip frappe to a Venti dark mocha frappe. Coz the dark mocha...looks real dark. (Real profound.)

After Starbucks I dropped by Missy Bon Bon to buy bread. Really expensive bread. Though real tasty too. Still, it was a major major relief to get home and away from all those expensive price tags. Sheesh.

Anyhow, my sister downloaded Ramona and Beezus. GREAT movie, though the ending looked rather hurried and cliched. I can't get over how Joey King (Ramona) totally looks like she could pass for Selena Gomez's (Beezus) real sister, especially when she scrunches her nose. 'Tis amazing!

And that's two down, 13 more to go for my summer movie marathon.




Photo credits to Just Jared.

It was my sister's high school recognition day earlier this morning. For those who don't have them, a recognition day is an event where they dish out honors and awards to give recognition to the students who were "exemplary". My sister got a silver medal and seven other awards on visual arts, creative writing, leadership, sports, etc.

Mom brought us to Pizza Hut to celebrate. They have those Php99.00 meals that include one appetizer, one main dish, and a beverage. All for Php 99.00 only. Sweet!

Anyhow, when we go for this, I never ever fail to order caesar salad for the appetizer. It's a very simple one, actually. Something you can make in three minutes, tops. (Provided that you're not a bad lettuce shredder like I am, of course.) It's got fresh, cruuuunchy romaine lettuce, chunks of croutons, shreds of bacon, a generous amount of salad dressing, and sprinkles of cheese. Simple, innit?

Of course, that really ain't the caesar salad serve elsewhere, but for something in a 99-peso package deal, it was awesome. It started my love for caesar salad. So now I could live on caesar salad for the rest of my life, provided it has enough bacon on it and no bitter lettuce taste. It gives my summer a healthy kick.

So I decided to try making one at home (because I can't keep going to Pizza Hut whenever I have the craving for something leafy). I browsed around for recipes, and found one that seems pretty easy and simple, but still involves lots of cruuuunchy lettuce and bigger amounts of bacon. It has to be bacon. Chicken is too...ordinary. And since I just watched Angels and Demons earlier, let's go by something Italian. Because the Italian accent is just...luuurve!

Anyhow, here it is, taken from Giada de Laurentiis (because you can't get more Italian than the queen of Italian cooking). It's called the Italian Caesar Salad with Polenta Croutons. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem so simple.

INGREDIENTS
Dressing:
3 garlic cloves
4 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Polenta Croutons:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups Basic Polenta, recipe follows
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Salad:
3 small heads (or 2 large heads) romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 1/2 ounces shaved Parmesan

DIRECTIONS
To make the dressing: Finely chop the garlic and anchovies in a food processor. Blend in the lemon juice and mustard. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the dressing, to taste, with salt and pepper.

To make the croutons: Spread the olive oil over a small baking sheet. Transfer the hot polenta to the baking sheet, spreading evenly to form an 8 by 5 by 3/4-inch-thick rectangle. Cover and refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours.

Cut the polenta into 3/4-inch cubes. Pat the polenta cubes dry with paper towels. Add enough vegetable oil to a heavy large frying pan to come 1-inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over high heat. Working in batches of 10, carefully add the polenta cubes to the oil 1 at a time and fry until golden brown, stirring to keep the cubes separate, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the polenta croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.

(The dressing and polenta croutons can be prepared 1 day ahead up to this point. Cover the dressing and polenta croutons separately and refrigerate. Rewarm the polenta croutons on a baking sheet in a 350 degrees F oven before serving.)

To make the salad: Prepare the barbecue for high heat. Grill the lettuce until lightly charred, about 2 minutes per side. Cut the lettuce into bite-size pieces.

On a serving platter, mound the grilled chopped lettuce. Decoratively scatter the sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Drizzle with enough dressing to evenly coat. Sprinkle Parmesan and scatter the warm polenta croutons over and serve immediately.

Basic Polenta:
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted.

Lightly oil a half sheet pan. Transfer the hot polenta to the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly to 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours.

Yield: 2 cups polenta

CookTime: 15 minutes


So yeah, I wanted something simple. But I should've know if I turned to gourmet chefs, they have a different definition for simple. Yeah. But you could just buy salad dressing from the supermarket. Quick and simple. But still, this is summer--the time for challenges. Let's get rid of the quick and simple now that we've got more time on our hands!

But seriously, if you wanted something easier, try Tyler Florence's.

INGREDIENTS
Dressing:
1 clove garlic, smashed with a pinch of salt and a little olive oil
4 anchovy fillets
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 lemons, juiced
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper
2 heads romaine lettuce

DIRECTIONS
Make the dressing: Smear the garlic paste over the inside of the salad bowl. Put the anchovies, egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, and water into a blender and process for 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. With the blender running, pour the olive oil in slowly for the dressing to emulsify. Stir in the Parmesan, a pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper; set aside. (Refrigerate the dressing if you will not be using it right away.)

Assemble the salad: Tear the lettuce into a large bowl. Add enough dressing to coat the salad to your liking. Add some extra Parmesan and toss the salad well. Serve immediately.

(Photo courtesy of The Food Network.)

Or better yet, check out the Food Network's website for a host of other awesome recipes, caesar salad or otherwise.

Bon appetit!

Today was the day the jeepney and motorela drivers of Cagayan de Oro threw down the towel and said enough was enough. The gasoline prices have constantly been rising, peso by peso twice a week, while the jeepney and motorela fares have risen only a single peso since Libya started its unrest. (I heard the Philippines gets its oil from Libya, which is why the gasoline prices are going up like crazy.) Anyhow, while I'm not a big fan of jeepney drivers and motorela drivers, I do believe they have a good cause for this protest/transport strike. So what's a good commuter to do but stay at home at a time like this?

So I watched, finally, Disney's Tangled. And loved it. And couldn't stop loving it. The plot was amazingly not the usual Disney sap present in their princess-y movies. This and Mulan stand out because of the plot. The characters were unexpected, at the very least. They feel so human. Her, a naive girl trying to conquer her fears and go with her need to see the world. Him with his cocky attitude and immaturity. She changed, he changed. And you could see it, though you couldn't pinpoint the exact time it happened. (On a sidenote, I love how Flynn (Eugene) didsn't have that romantic, Prince Charming look. He smolders just by being the rogue. Oh be still, my beating heart.)

They didn't make a mistake casting Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi for the roles. They brought something endearing...and real to the characters. Plus their voices blend very, very nicely during the song "I See the Light", which made me giddy no matter how many times I play it back. Tangled's soundtrack reminded me again why I actually love Disney movies--because of the songs, the lyrics and the melody blending into something that you won't forget easily. So now I downloaded the entire Tangled soundtrack and played them on the laptop over and over.

But despite listening to the other songs, I'll always love most "I See the Light". Because I remember floating lanterns and a gondola whenever I hear it. Because I believe in dreams and miracles whenever I hear it. Because it makes me go giddy every single time, darnnit.

So here's the lyrics, with many thanks to Sweetslyrics.com. Because this has to be here. Because it's one of the soundtracks of my summer.


I SEE THE LIGHT 
sung by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi

Rapunzel:
All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here, suddenly I see
Standing here, it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be

And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see you

Eugene (Flynn):
All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur
All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were
Now she's here shining in the starlight
Now she's here, suddenly I know
If she's here it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go

Rapunzel & Eugene:
And at last I see the light

Eugene:
And it's like the fog is lifted

Rapunzel & Eugene:
And at last I see the light

Rapunzel:
And it's like the sky is new

Rapunzel & Eugene:
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once, everything is different
Now that I see you, now that I see you.



Lovin' it yet? ♥

P.S. One down from my movie list. Fourteen more to go!


Photo credits to Cinema Review (for Flynn and the smexy smolder) and The Hollywood Reporter (for the gondola scene).

Another late post. Gaaah, it's becoming a habit. I'll prepare Day 9's post now, just to be prompt. Okay, maybe Day 10's.

So I've got a confession to make. I love pencil-painting on tissue rolls. Some people call them "toilet paper rolls", but I hate the word "toilet" when not connected to the bathroom itself, so let's go by "tissue rolls", a'right? You know, the brown roll of paper left behind after all the tissues are consumed? I keep them. (Not all the time, otherwise my room'd be a stack of brown rolls by now, but when the mood strikes me.) And I draw on them using watercolor pencils (because I cheat at watercolors since they're so damned hard), then use a wet paintbrush to spread the pigment so they look like they were painted, not drawn.

So today I painted three. One in red spirals. One in green stripes. And the last, trees in a forest. I don't have the embarrassing photos, sadly, since I still still still don't have a camera.

Anyhow, I threw the first two away because I was frustrated. The last one, I kept. And that was the first time I realized how badly I paint when I don't have a vision as to how it was gonna look. I mean, I'm no painter. Seriously. What I do is dabble in the arts whenever I get the urge, but I've created no masterpiece worth hanging in the Louvre. Still, the first two was BAD. And I realized it was because they were done in frustration, and nothing more. They were an outlet where I could express my restlessness being cooped inside a house all day long. Leonardo da Vinci might have done something with just that, but not me. And I can't pass it off as abstract, either, because Picasso would've taken one look at it and considered it junk. (As I consider most of his work junk, no offense, Picasso fans.)

The third turned out much better coz I had everything in place: my imagination, my thoughts of a woodland glade, my need for some peace and serenity, and most of all, my clear vision as to how it would look like in the end. So it turned out fine. For a tissue roll, at least.

My dare for you: The next time your tissue roll reaches its end, draw something on the roll before you throw it out. Who knows, you might end up keeping it. ;)


P.S. I'm still working on those graphics I promised last post. Working on it at Aviary.com and Picnik.com.

P.P.S. I've chosen Urdu for my second language class at Livemocha. Will start as soon as I finish French 101 Lesson 3 of Unit 1. Which will be this Monday, if I don't procrastinate.

A newswriter's work is never done. Neither is a news editor's, who covers events when she forgets to ask her writers to do it. Gah. So yes, I had to wake up at 8am just so I can hurry to the Uni and cover the groundbreaking of the new Xavier University-Pryce Center for Entrepreneurship.

On any ordinary day, I wouldn't have grumbled about it. I mean, I loooooove covering Uni events. This particular aspect of journalism NEVER gets old or unexciting. You get to witness history unfold, interview key people who hold the answers in their hands, and write write write to let the whole world know what had just occurred. Okay, so it's not as glorified as it sounds, but the excitement always makes me feel like I could do this forever. EXCEPT on that day, when I felt sick and tired and sick all over.

But what could I do? I forgot to text my newspipz to cover. Darn. Besides, since becoming editor, I've rarely done any fieldwork, and I was getting lethargic. It was time I rattle my old bones along and show myself I've still got what it takes to be a journalist.

I'm glad I went, even though I was late. I got to interview three people, among them the chairman for Pryce Gases (interviewing VIPs is one of the perks of this job, yeah?), who partnered with the University to make this building possible. I also got to grab some sweetcorn on a stick, which was one of the refreshments being offered. 'Twas yum!

So I'm glad I went. As a Business Administration student, I've got a stake on this building, so I felt glad I was present to witness its first steps. (Sentimental, much?) Here's to hoping we can make use of it for the implementation of our feasibility study next academic year.

***
In the afternoon, I availed of a free trial account at Luminosity. It's a site filled to the brim with brain games to help improve your flexibility, memory, attention span, speed, and problem solving. Brain games, you ask? Yes. Apparently my latent geekiness is not so latent this summer.

Sadly, only three out of 40 sessions are free in Luminosity. So I'll be there only three days tops. But if you've got the cash to spare, you can avail of the membership fee and 'unlock full access', a.k.a complete all 40 sessions to make your brain sharper.

***
Anyhow (because this is my fave word to write), if you've noticed the current lack of photos in this blog, fear not! I have noticed it too. I'll put my considerable lack of mad graphic skills to work and come up with something to brighten up this page. Hopefully.

I know, I know. I'm two days late with this post. Your mind's probably wondering if I drowned right after jumping down the beach. Well, since there was NO beach, that was most unlikely.

So, yes, there was no beach. When we got to Basamanggas Resort, I found out that (1) we rented an open-air function-room type of thinggummy with a videoke and three long tables, and (2) the beach was far, far away from the open-air function-room type of thinggummy. What we had, however, were three swimming pools just eleven steps away (or more, if your steps are tinny). Hurrah! While the beach would have been real fantastic, I never could swim properly on a beach. And after ten months of pool-deprivation, there was nothing I wanted more than just to lap back and forth for, oh, ninety times or so.

Anyhow, I didn't get my ninety laps, but I did get to laze around the pool 'til my fingers wrinkled. Best. Cure. For. Stress. EVER.

So, that wasn't exactly the only highlight of the whole trip, but the rest are either embarrassing or best left secret. Except for the abundance of food. THAT wasn't a secret. And the fact that I didn't sleep a wink, which made me glassy-eyed and awake for 26 hours straight (yes, I'm proud of it. Pitiful.). And the fact that our EiC wore a cocktail dress and an orange nightgown, making him look like the world's gaudiest grandmother. Now that was one disturbing image.

Anyhow, we headed for home at 8:30am, and nodded off during the entire jeepney trip (which was a loooooong on, going over at least 5 municipalities before we reached our destination).

When I got home, I had this glorious vision of staying up for 30 hours straight. I got as far as opening the laptop, logging on to Facebook, commenting on a few statuses, and...SPLAK. Goodnight, Bianca and her ambitious mind.

I woke up to a dark, dark house because there was no friggin electricity. And it was churlishly hot. But that wasn't enough to deter me. I promptly fell back to sleep.

Around 7pm, I woke up to a noisy room. My sister was dashing around with her swimwear and all. It took me a hazy five minutes to remember we were gonna go swimming tonight with the cousins to celebrate two birthdays and two graduations. At the Sagatech Resort, which was pretty much like Basamanggas--a little far from the beach, but with awesome pools. Overnight #2. Except when I asked my mom what I should bring for breakfast, she gave me The Look and said, "You're not going on overnight." BUMMER.

Still, 'twas fun. Food was, as always, in abundance. It made me cringe, seeing all the food crammed into two tables, when I remembered my World Food Programme (WFP) newsletter on a child who was "so hungry, I could hardly think." So I drowned my guilt with a large slice of pizza, and the promise of a larger donation soon.

We played pool volleyball, then pool futsal, then pool dodgeball, then we played a combination of all three depending on what you want to do with the ball you're holding.

Then, after almost four hours on that awesome pool, we had to go back home.

And then I went SPLAK for the second time that day. God, I love my pillow.

__________________
Anyhow, the WFP has this new, nifty way of donating. It's called WeFeedback. I won't tell you more, just click on this link--WeFeedback--and find out for yourself. I hope you'll donate. :)

It's that time again, when we have to look back on our past misdeeds and triumphs and all. Only, we (the official student publication of Xavier University, which I shan't name) do it in style. Or in style as cheaply as possible, since we're under a tight budget. Tonight, we're heading off to a beach resort to ruminate on our sins. And take a swim. And sing some sad, sad songs to while away our sorrows. Okay, maybe not that part. We'll sing "Friday" instead.

And so, this is my au revoir. Goodbye, Facebook. Goodbye, unfinished Greek lessons. Goodbye, internet connection.

Instead,
HELLO, BEACH!!

I've started my basic Greek lessons over at Livemocha. I'm still in Lesson 1 out of six, and so far I've muddled up my mind with Greek greetings and basic questions. "Kalimera" - Good morning; "Kalo apoyevma" - Good afternoon; "Kalispera" - Good evening; and a hoard of other stuff on Unit 1 Lesson 1. So far, it's awesome, especially since I'm still in the Learn part. Wait 'til I get to the Speak part of the exercises, where I shall then attempt to speak in Greek, which is probably enough to send Aristotle's bones clattering in his grave.

On another cheerful thought, I find I like graduation parties when it's not my graduation. My cousin graduated from high school today and held a grad party at his house for the whole extended family. Lechon (stuffed pig to those not from the Philippines) and lasagna, I found out, are awesome together. That, plus an ultra-cute, black-brown-and-white shih tzu puppy put me on hyperactive mode. Then I got to play Starcraft II, which had epic graphics, and my day was made.

The only thing that sucked about today was my non-Earth Hour. I wasn't at home to enjoy the total darkness of the house coz the grad party lasted 'til 9pm. We got home with only five minutes to spare before Earth Hour officially ended. Darn.

Oh well, there's always next year's.

See that white hammock hanging between two coconut trees? That's where I am right now--in my dreams. I want to be there so badly right now, with the breeze billowing around me while my pen stands poised above my notebook, ready to transfer my thoughts into scribbles.

Since the NaNoWriMo 2010 ended, I have not sat down to write a single word to add to my novel. Instead, on January, I thought up another one. Such is life. I've never finished writing a novel. Never. Instead, I have written chapters and snippets on so many unfinished ones, only to abandon them for another, and return to them only when I browse through my files. So it should come as no surprise that I've just had another plot for another novel even though I haven't completed the one I was working on two months ago. Sigh. Is this a writer-related disease or am I just showing an admirable lack of willpower?

Anyhow, for The Novel (that shall probably go the way all my previous novels did),I'm thinking of something summer-y. In Boracay? Barbados? California? How will it end? Of course, I'm partial to happy endings like majority of the world, but it wouldn't hurt to end with a hint of regret. Something new, something realistic, something that would challenge my brain cells. How will it begin? (Yeah, I think of the ending first before the intro. I'm weird like that.) In a quaint cafe? In a minimalistic bedroom within a condominium? Where where where?

As for the most important part--yes, silly, The Plot--I'll dredge that up tomorrow. Because sometimes, it just pops up from nowhere. And that's what makes it interesting.


Photo credits: Summer Beach (free-extras.com)

I woke up at 11:38am. Yes, I was awesome, now, wasn't I? I then proceeded to have a headache of epic proportions, the kind that makes you want to split your head just so it'll stop the pounding. On a gross afterthought, splitting my head will probably make it hurt like crazy, not to mention kill me...so it's a no-go. So much for hyperbolism.

At any rate, I just recently dropped by Livemocha, this social networking site for people who want to learn foreign languages and connect with foreign people while learning foreign languages, to enroll in more language courses. So far, they've got 8.6 million users and 38 languages offered. Frankly, I don't have much use for the social networking aspect of the site, but the language lessons are great. I learned French sentence constructions from them, despite trying to learn it from different websites. What makes Livemacha unique is the different approaches they use to teach the language.

• First, they show you a slideshow (with audio) for each lesson. They start with words, then phrases, then sentences. There are pictures that help you visualize the word's meaning, and an audio of the correct pronunciation of the word. There are also tips from other learners, which is one of the only reasons I like the social-media aspect of LM. They give you some cheats on how to pronounce it by syllables, thank God.
• Second, they make you pronounce certain words, phrases, and sentences into your headphone's mic. They record it, and you can now play it back to hear how awful you sounded. People can comment on it, pointing out which words you pronounced right and which words failed to roll right off your tongue.
• For third, LM gives you writing exercises to practice your vocabulary, grammar, and sentence construction. Like the audio recording, Livemocha members can see it and read your words. Which scared me at first, except most comments were kind and constructive--if sometimes condescending.

Anyhow, I decided to learn two more languages this summer. On top of my French classes which go off and on and hibernate for months. Yeah, I'm crazy. But I just really want to finish two more languages in seventy days. It's like a sort of challenge to see how far I can discipline myself to stop procrastinating and start learning. SO I'm doing this. First language will be basic Greek, because I'll be writing something Greece-related for a novel sometime in the near future. Second will be something useless to my daily life but fun to add to my list of nonsensical knowledge. Right now, it's a toss up between Urdu, Esperanto, or Catalan. I'd probably pick Urdu, but I'll sleep first and make my decision tomorrow.

So after all that rambling and blatant advertising, have I convinced you to learn a new language? Yeah? Cool. Drop by Livemocha.com and enroll now!

Au revoir!

I spent the day at a seaside retreat house, facilitating ASUL's graduation camp for this year's batch of Asulites. I can't find the right words to piece together the right sentences to describe what I felt, seeing these 15 (more or less) leaders-in-training grow from individualistic individuals into one strong team that has learned to work together to achieve their goals. There are just really times when my mind is lost for words, and all I can do is feel, corny as that may sound.

Hence, since that's how the world turns at the moment, think I'd rather contemplate about the seaside retreat house than force myself to dredge up words that won't come out right. So...the seaside retreat house was like a slice of paradise. It was my first there, and I felt like I could have stayed forever. The breeze blowing in from the sea. The sand that got inside my Crocs. The dogs that followed us around. The laughter of the Asulites. The wooden open-air cottage that was great for sitting down. The place...the entire amazing place that made me feel like all my problems have slipped away. These are the things I'll remember when I look back on this day. This and the indescribable feeling inside me that I could not express.

There was this swing that we (that's me and my fellow ASUL Core) sat it, facing the beach, and it was there that I breathed a prayer of thanks  that He brought me here for my first day of summer.

Classes are over; summer's begun. (Or it has if you're in the Philippines.) To celebrate the last summer break of my life--if I get to graduate next March, that is--I'm going to immortalize every single day of it in this blog. That'll be from March 23 to June 5. What with feasibility study implementation, publication work, freelance work, and everything else, it's looking to be a tough summer to get through, but hopefully it will be, in Rebecca Black's profound words, FUN FUN FUN FUN!

And since I'm highly bad at first posts, I'd end it here before I make an absolute fool of myself.

See ya around!