QUICKIE



Heeeey. Isn't it just so surprising, almost shocking even, that I haven't blogged for a week! Haha. Quite a feat.



I must confess though, that I tried to blog last night, and I was about 90% done when for some reason the browser window closed (I use this neat browser called Avant Browser btw, a cross between IE and Netscape), and everything went pffffft.



But I'm not complaining much, really. Today, and for the past few days, I've been feeling strangely fine.



Anyway, I promised this would be a quick one, so maybe I'll just rush through stuff since I still have a Statistics midterm tomorrow! ;)



* Java midterm test this afternoon. Quite okay, I guess. I've been cramming for it, actually, since I learned the never-study-in-bed lesson a little too late. I had a number of errors, I realized later in my discussions with classmates, but right now, I'm just relieved that it's over.

Oh, here's an interesting image:

Cool eh? That's for our Java Lab due on Sunday, 2359hrs. It's a representation of the Mandelbrot Set (I even used it for my MSN display pic). We had to create a program that would ask user inputs about whether the image is in color or grayscale, the image width and height, and the complex number coordinates of the top-left and bottom-right pixel. Here's a detailed description of the rather interesting torture. ;)



I worked overtime for that (I was submitted the program online the other day). Days and nights even. Still, I needed help from Wayne especially (who came to my room), Arthur (who I visited in his room in my old hall KE), and Brice (who patiently put up with my pestering on MSN and YM). Thank you everyone. Appreciate it a lot.



* I'm rediscovering Friendster! I used to search for and add friends mostly, but now that I seem to be just crowding up my friend list, I've decided to make testimonials! Quite fun, actually. Endearing even.



* Remember Alfian? He actually replied to my email. I didn't expect it, really, since he's accomplished and all, but there was this reply of considerable length in my inbox. I'll post it later. I wish I could write smart like him! You just know that he's got something to say. And he's a non-conformist too, so he has all these smart pointed opinions about significant matters in Singapore society. Hmm.. what do I write about, really? Hehe. Structured and sensible blabber, more like it. But heck, humor me. I'm just a kid. All 18 years of me. Hehe.



* NUS Choir practice from 10am-4pm yesterday! My legs hurt from too much standing. But it was nice really, and I'm beginning to really like the choir and the songs (although I think people there, me included, need to be more sociable hehe). We sing a variety of songs in different languages, but what I sincerely appreciated yesterday were the religious Christian hymns like Credo and Sanctus. Sends chills down my spine, especially since it's in Latin. And these brilliant composers, how they capture the emotions of the song.



I was beginning to think that with the intense workload of the NUS choir, what brilliant destressor it was to actually listen and enjoy what we were singing. Bah, in fact, people pay to listen to the NUS Choir (2 scheduled external performances in the next 2 weeks), so I might as well enjoy listening to, um.. US. Hehe. I have a long way to go before reaching the status of the other more experienced choir members, yes, but what I like about the choir is that we blend one another's voices and sing as one, so nobody specific really gets the credit. And as long as I don't sing the wrong notes, I must be doing something right, right? Hehe. Humor me, I'm just plain exhausted. :P



* I'm quite swamped with stuff to do, really, and I'm hurdling one task after another. There's this Stats test tomorrow, a Bio assignment on Thursday, a quiz in my SG studies next week, and loads of readings to do especially in Linear Algebra (since I'm so lost and the lecturer, although with the best intentions, is not helping much). But tomorrow, IMELDA muna! Thanks Ferron for inviting! And for being a constant blog reader shempre. Thanks!



And maybe here's the opportunity to thank all the rest of my blog readers. THANKS THANKS LOADS. While I can't really do an ala superstar-speech saying I blog because of the readership (since this is supposed to be a personal thing above all, right?), but I totally appreciate people stalking and spying on me by reading my blog. Hehe. (Maybe everyone secretly wants to be a superstar haha)



Hmm.. was this quickie not quick enough? Oops. Better get back to reading my statistics notes! God bless everyone!

ARGH



I hate it when a post doesn't get published because of Blogger's occasional server hiccups. I just made a rather lengthy post, and now it's all gone.



Oh well. my point there, anyway, is that I got Alfian Sa'at, this brilliant Singaporean poet and playwright, to sign my One Fierce Hour book. There was this big talk at NUS, see, and Alfian was one of the speakers. It was big in the sense that top officials (including the NUS President and Guest of Honour Senior Minister of departments I forgot), JC representatives, the press (Channel News Asia, The Straits Times) were all in attendance. Alfian was one of the four guest speakers. Oh, they talked about Singapore and its youth, about if the youth were turning out to be the "diminishing torch of idealism".



It was a very entertaining session, I must admit. But more than that, I learned much about Singapore and its issues, which may help me in my Singapore Studies module. (I'm enjoying my SS btw, and won't have it marked as pass/fail instead of the letter grade..maybe I'll even take a Minor in English Studies) I have to admit also, that Alfian was one of the major "pull" factors of the academic symposium.



If you remember, we've been discussing Poetry in my SS class, and Alfian's book was one of those we tackled. It was brilliant to say the least. He provides a very relatable kind of poetry in the Singapore context, yet manages to discuss the greater Singaporean issues incisively and with wit and humor. And oh, he was 21 when he wrote the book in 1998, while he was a medicine student here in NUS, and since then he has made a growing list of books and plays, and has received some Young Artist and Poetry awards.



I was rattled when I spoke to him, and, I spoke in lightning-speed again, as I always do in those tense, awkward situations (See entry the other day about that Choir Comm). But he turned out to be nice and friendly, even approachable.



I guess that makes me a fan of this accomplished young man. I sure hope though, that the next time I go ask for an autograph of some accomplished youth, like Jason Mraz or Usher maybe (!), I wouldn't be all too jittery. Maybe I should start attending those Toastmasters sessions I signed up for?

Recess



Recess week starts tomorrow. Actually on Sunday. Actually not a week, but half a week. Sunday to Thursday. But as far as I'm concerned, recess week started tonight. After another long Friday, I treated myself to a whole evening of surfing and watching TV shows (also in the laptop).



I watched some episode of the OC (yes I haven't finished), enjoyed the premiere of Survivor Vanuatu (even if NUSCast is bahaving like MS Powerpoint again), and did some blog and forum reading.



Actually, I think I've been slacking for the longest time although I seem busy. I must learn how to budget my time and energy MORE as I feel, as Arthur may have correctly pointed out, that this is all self-induced stress. Or maybe just the usual good old laziness.



I was glad to crack some intriguing puzzle too. Haha. I may be more google-savvy than I thought. Hehe. Well I sure hope I could be Java-savvy too, as the midterm test is coming up next Friday! We always do our best.

Thank You



It was a good day, actually, except that I managed to embarrass myself in the first KR Choir meeting and I have tutorials to do. In the meeting, which was right after my 3-hour NUS Choir one, I sang the wrong notes (since the sopranos were too distracting), and I spoke too fast as I was nominated for Choir Comm member. I didn't PASSIONATELY yearn for the post, but since I was nominated, go go. I didn't get elected though. More importantly, I wish to God I could speak a little slower publicly.



Anyway, as I told you, my day was pretty good. The SS group presentation in the morning went rather smoothly, my groupmates were particularly nice and warm, and oh yeah, I got an A- in my Assignment 1, which, if you remember, was the Fistful of Colours paper I was working on last time. That made me feel good about myself.



But that was in the morning. Sometimes I wish for happy endings, and so, tonight, at past midnight already, everything wasn't too well. I suddenly felt bad at being embarrassed in the Choir Comm, and what do I have to keep me company? Three undone tutorials.



But of course, mabait naman sakin si Lord. Ayan, courtesy of Friendster, I suddenly feel fine. Thanks for those you message me surprisingly, and for my 2 (or 3) new testimonials (all in a day too! That I haven't seen in a long time) from my dearly-missed friends. It's not just the "Friendster stuff", really, I'd appreciate any sign of comfort actually from my support system.

Which reminds me, salamat Korinna sa pagtulong sakn na idispose ang Malaysian Night ticket! Means a lot that you offered, since I was rushing for NUS Choir prac na rin earlier tonight. ;)



Salamat din shempre Lord, and please please help me with in my tasks.



All's well that ends well.





P.S.

Happy Birthday kay A.Nicolas! :D

Amazing Race



Happy birthday to my very good friend Michael John a.k.a. le petit prince. And to one of my favorite Chinese fellas, Little Dragon (direct translation) Xiaolong! One’s just turned twenty, and the other twentysomething. Haha Mike!



Today was another busy day: I spaced out once again in my Programming Lecture, but I was able to have a good chat with a new friend Justin, so it wasn’t so bad. I had to rush this Poetry thing for our SS presentation tomorrow (and I have to say my groupmates and I are doing fairly well despite a minor glitch), and it turned out, that the KR ROCKERS band performance cIashed my scheduled chat with them 3 girl groupmates on msn for an online discussion! Argh, I thought. I managed to get a good listen to the first 2 songs of the terrific band (this time with new Year 1 members including my good friends Sens (birthday-mate too!), Sri Lankan guy Surath, and cheerful soccer player Lin). I managed to rush out a few times when I heard a good song, or when those three friends sang, telling my groupmates that I needed to pee. Haha. Good thing the dining hall turned concert hall is just 25 steps from my room.



Also tonight was the Amazing Philippine leg of the Amazing Race. It clashed again with the concert and the msn discussion, but I managed to watch the final 10 minutes, and it was worth it even if the NUS Cast could very well be showing a powerpoint presentation in disguise. Three things to say so this would be short: (1) It initially felt ODD that a world-famous show like AR would be set in the Philippines for two episodes. But after, seeing the stuff. It felt rather good. A tinge of pride, even. (2) Finally! Colin and Christie are last in 4th Place. I always wanted the good guys to win. Good in the good-natured sense. (3) Luli Arroyo, is that you with Phil?



This last bit is probably the most exciting part of my night. I jumped a little, actually. See, we’re supposed to sell mooncakes for the NUS Choir to raise funds. I checked the website to see how the buying-selling scheme would work, and this is what I found:



…So, do approach your friends, relatives etc to get these mooncakes! The more you sell, the greater amount of subsidy you will get! :) Just to assure you, none of the money raised will be deposited into the choir fund for future use but instead, it will be fully used to subsidise your trip to Olomouc, Czech Republic.



Whoa. Why do I suddenly get this Amazing Race feeling?!



Hehe. Sana matuloy. G'nyt blogster!

BUZZ



My head's buzzing again, for some reason.



Maybe it's just the usual unavaoidable load of schoolwork, but then again, today (again, yesterday since it's past midnight) was yet another good day. I was able to accomplish quite much again (although I'm not nearing any overachiever status just yet), and it was genuinely fun. Never mind if the soprano from PRC, who has this Masters in music from some bigtime popular group in Manhattan and who's singing with a bunch of male sopranos in the Esplanade in a month's time, was speaking in broken English and Mandarin all throughout her Masterclass for NUS Choir! She provided great advice anyway, and I'm starting to enjoy the company of the choir more now. Which is a great thing, since we're gonna be stuck with each other for a good 7 hours a week.



I just woke up actually, and, although it's been happening almost every night, I looked forward to jumping out of bed to check my still turned-on laptop, to complement my still turned-on room light. I was rushing to the PC to check if my groupmates for my SS module have finally replied to my email. I'm a little annoyed at our tutor actually, for not actually clarifying what we're to do on Thursday, and for responding VERY LATE when I asked her through email. What I thought was a simple consultation with her before Thursday's tutorial turned out to be a discussion of sorts about a presentation my small group of 4 has to do this Thursday already!



I thought I was gonna meet up with my groupmates online thru MSN, but it turns out they were offline, or maybe they also failed to read my 6:50pm post (argh..because my tutor replied only today! when she should've days ago). Never mind, through the wonders of technology, I hope people will turn up for tomorrow's meeting at LT8. I'm gonna SMS them right now, in fact. (At least they get to read the message in the morning)



Oh, while I'm writing incoherent stuff anyway, lemme complain that my lower lip hurts! It doesn't look like it, but I can feel a tiny spot where there's some peeling of sorts. Mahapdi konti.



I was surfing just now, and I was reminded of a word that I was introduced to in high school, and it starts with H. I'm not really asked for an opinion, but I swear I won't do that since it seems P. (Haha, here's censorship for you!) Really, there's nothing mean or green or bastos with that statement. It's really safe actually, but I have to keep my convictions a little blunt this time. I mean, I should even keep it to myself. But it seems that I can only go too personal with this blog.



Meanwhile, my head's still buzzing and little Joseph is happily going to bed.

Good Days



There are the bad days, the horrible days, those argh-why-does-it always-happen-to me days and of course the good days.



I remember a friend checking out my blog, and telling me, when we met personally, that I seemed "downtrodden" (I remember that word, although I'm not sure if he described me or the blog) in the blog. Maybe it was an accurate description, but I'd like to think that I wasn't. Or the blog isn't. Or something. Maybe it just so happened that I like to blog when I feel more miserable? Dunno.



Anyway, I simply want to make clear that my life isn't fully reflected in this blog, although this would be a fair sneek peak. Sometimes stuff are just so enjoyable I get so tired afterwards, and then lose the urge to blog. Sometimes I get to maximize what little time I have to have fun (since the rest of the time's spent studying or doing idle stuff) that I run out of time to blog. Bottom line is, don't think you know me just yet. Hehe.



Today(Yesterday, since it's past midnight uli argh) was a good day. And so was yesterday (the other day). I had quite some accomplishments, which I'm mighty proud of, since I spent a good chunk of my time, energy, and sanity just to have them finished. And they turned out fine! And now I'm all the happier. SOOOO.. I bid my current woes goodbye! Haha.



In retrospect, the ID-making for the Pinoy party was rather fun, and I'm mighty glad that many of the guests appreciated the combined effort of Korinna, Ivy, and me (although Kor did the most since we used her materials and she wrote the actual names :P). And of course, the Pinoy Party itself was a BLAST. How could it not be? The number of guests overshot, which was a very good thing, never mind if we ran out of name tags. AND, Team Moonstruck won the three-way Family Feud! HAHAHA. Guess where the team got its name! Hehe. Ferron talaga. Thanks Ferron, at natuwa naman ako at pinangalanan pa ng ganun. ;) And the food was great, kahit nangalate dating 'yung mga tao and shempre pati ung pagkaing dala nila.



Today, I posted in the IVLE forum, my thoughts on the poetry topic we're currently discussing for my Singapore Studies module. I still have to get my hands of on the "One Fierce Hour" by Alfian Sa'at, though, but I'm gonna settle that tomorrow.I also JUST submitted my article for the Ridge, the NUS student publication. I hope it gets published! Sigh. What a relief. I took me all day to write those stuff (forum posting and article).



Tomorrow's yet another busy day, but it's all okay. I have a class at 8, a crazy Java Lab at 11 (the two-week lab is a killer), and my SS (S'pore Studies) at 2pm. And then, there are the NUS Choir stuff: voice class at 4:30 (quite helpful i must say), then break for dinner, and a Master Class by some renowned soprano at 7pm. And then there's the meeting for the Block at 10:30pm, and of course I have to study(haha dapat lng)!



Okay, I have to rest now. Take care everyone!







P.S.

My mom pala reads my blog! And her officemates din. Oh no, now I have to be more careful with my words. Sorry about that offensive word in the third sentence of the previous post, Ma! Censorship! Hehe. It's all good actually. Ingat dyan Ma! I miss you and Dad and Kai!

Swamped



I just worked for hours on this second lab for Java. I gave up for the day (or night). It gets f*cking depressing after a while. Maybe I just have to read a bit more. Patulong naman Lord, and Mama Mary for that matter, whose birth we celebrated yesterday (kanina).



I'm so swamped I shouldn't be blogging. But then this might just be some form of release.



Yesterday I had no class, but I did my Biology Assignment and went to A cappella and KR Hall Choir Auditions at 8pm and 10pm. Today was a fiarly busy day of lectures and notes-printing. I tried to work for my Ridge Article, due on Sunday. Also due on Sunday is this blasted Java lab (calm down Joseph, as Dustin mentioned [still on Java as i was asking him for help], hate just brings about more hate). On Saturday is this Pinoy Party, where I'm tasked to head a group in charge of the nametags and directory or something. I don't know when to buy. I have a busy day tomorrow, preparing for Friday's Tutorial Day (lots of them tutorials), and tomorrow night my NUS Choir auditions will clash with the KR Choir's very first meeting. Oh, that means I got in KR Choir (I was happy awhile ago, trust me). On Saturday evening, I would have to pass up an informal dinner of the NUS choir in favor of the Pinoy party. Sayang din konti, since the informal dinner is to be held at Marche, this posh restaurant at The Heeren in Orchard. I doubt if it's free though. Anyway, of course I'll choose the Pinoy party, even if it means having to head the registration/nametag/directory team.



So, in the blabber of the previous paragraph, I hope you worked out my sked. (Sorry I'm rather not myself right now i.e. bangag since it's already past midnight.)



I am so damn tired. My sleeping pattern has gone haywire, my zits have been surfacing waiting to be popped, my eyes are swollen, and I am physically, mentally, emotionally tired. Maybe I slack too much during the day? Kaya yan.



Okay, I better rest. Long day tomorrow, especially since I'm gonna rush through all my tutorials.





P.S.

On a more cheerful note, happy happy birthday to Jacques! He's my distant cousin and ex-schoolmate, and a terrific friend. I hope you're having a grand time. Happy 15th, bro.

Finally!



What time is it?! 4:43am.



At long last, after hours of toil (I started working after I finished the previous entry around 5 hours ago), I FINALLY finished creating that blasted Java Program called Unscrambler.

Salamat po Panginoong Hesukristo! Alleluia! Yehey!



And guess what, PASSED ALL 5 autograders the first submission! Wooohoooo.



It was a three-part lab, see, which must be marked PASSED by all 5 or 6 autograders in a maximum of 10 submissions. The first part I did the other day, the other one yesterday, and the last one just a few moments ago. The first one I got in my 4th or 5th submission, the next I got in my 3rd submission, and this crazy last one in my first! Yippeee.



Never mind, of course, if it took me bloody looooong hours. In fact, when I reviewed the programs after submission, they seemed too short and simple, not reflective enough of the long hours of toil and sweat and eyebags and zits I devoted. Oh well. Maybe because if this were an English essay, I would have written pages and pages of material by now, instead of a bunch of lines. Hehe.



Kakabilib tuloy ang mga programmers. It's cool and all, but not my thing. I might even back out on my plan to apply for Computational Finance next year for this same reason. Oh well. From the looks of it right now, Statistics may be far more appealing.



But then again, I distinctly remember myself saying I didn't like Statistics AT ALL.

TWICE, in fact. Once in high school, and another time last year during our Econometrics class.

Hehe. We'll just see what happens to me after this sem.



OK, I've blogged more than enough for the day already. I'm sooooooo exhausted, kung lamu lang. Time to finally get some sleep. A restful one at that.







P.S.

On a more serious note, I just heard too, about the recent death of hundreds in Russia, most of them KIDS (See http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/04/russia.school/index.html) as a result of these dastardly attacks by rebels. Sigh. Dreadful, dreadful. Depresses the shit out of me when I think about it. These were kids who were held hostage in a school, deprived of food and water, and they were either naked or dressed in underwear because of the heat! And those poor boys, they even had to drink their own urine. And the rebels, they just had to bomb this little school and engage in intense gunfire. Depressing. We should all offer our prayers so this horrible crisis would be resolved soonest.

Distractions



Generally, it's always great to have free internet. But this evening, I think it's been luring me from studying! Oh well.



Maybe I got a little too high after I finally figured out the second of three programs we're supposed to write for Java. The autograder (all 6 of them CPUs) is a bloody perfectionist, and although my programs passed 3 out of the 6 checkers, the other 3 failed me. But of course there's the online forum on IVLE, and it's getting too crowded right about now due to the inevitable losing of minds of the beginner students in programming, but thankfully, the lab professor and some of the seniors are always willing to help. Help give hints, at least.



SOOOO.. after i successfully got that java problem in my 7th submission out of 10 allowable attempts (it seemed perfectly fine when i tested it, so i was stumped to see it failed to pass some checkers), I decided to reeeeeeessssssssst finally.



So I got a good long afternoon nap, watched a singapore idol replay of a show 2 episodes back, went to read on the Amazing Race summaries for the past weeks (Wednesday nights in the hall is always packed with stuff to do), went on to read up on the exciting premiere of Survivor: Vanuatu in a couple of weeks, checked some requirements for my SG studies (SS) module (this time we're doing poetry), and then proceeded on to blog-hop, and finally rechecked my Friendster account.



I realized that I've been spreading myself a little too thin. I haven't contacted friends and people in quite a while (since I've been quite busy), so there I was typing a bunch of testimonials for whoever I saw first. Last night, too, I wrote a couple of emails I intended to send to my yahoogroups, the place where my batchmates (titans, AJSS, classmates) and other friends get to communicate. I've been rather passive lately, the all-read-no-write type, so I felt this was the right time to email again and remind them of my existence. What do you know, the yahoogroup could not receive my emails! I tried writing using Hotmail and Mailcity (I have a bunch of registered accounts), but still the emails bounced back. I tried to correct it in the Yahoo site, but for some reason, there seems to be a glitch. Oh well. I'll try to email later. I also try to contact old friends in MSN and Yahoo, with minimal success.



Anyway, I promise to be more active now.. in Friendster! Hahaha. Maybe I was a little turned off by that hacking incident which happened sometime last month, but it's all okay now (although I still maintain that that unknown hacker should go to hell).



I realized that I've been doing more adding of friends than writing testimonials. And I think testimonials, those good sensible substantial ones of course, are enough to brighten one's day. Works for me, at least. I'm gonna do more blog-hopping of course, especially now that I learned that more friends of mine (and cousins too! Hi Ate Vida and Justin!) are blogging.



SHEESH. This isn't good now. I'm supposed to be studying, and here I am, again off-topic and digressing, telling you about how I plan to use the internet more. Great. Then again, I'm generally a bundle o' contradictions, so bear with me, will ya?



OKAY. I've come back to my senses, and I think it's Java time once again! Good night!





P.S.

Thanks to Korinna for the coooool Pepsi mini-poster that I used as door art! Gaya-gaya talaga ako, since she also used it on her door (thankfully she said it's okay since we're from different blocks). It's really cool actually. Britney, Jericho, Celine, Rico, and AMANDA in those cool Pepsi poses. Quite a happy poster, I must say. I was amazed that Rico Blanco is now a Pepsi model! How cool is that. Along with Britney, Holly (Valance), and F4's Jerry (Yen [that's how they spell his surname here when he came over to visit]). I have a question though.. who's Celine? Enlightenment please. ;)

Seven-Minute Post



I shouldn't be blogging, but I'm so tired and exhausted and still, my list of things to do (blogging not included) is still there, waiting and nagging me.



Today: lecture, tutorial, lecture, meeting with Wee Teck of the Admissions, The Ridge Welcome Tea, Heavy Choir Practice.



Tomorrow: my Singapore Studies paper is due (MAJOR HEADACHE), recitation, 3 tutorials, lecture.



That's not all, actually, for the next few days, but I think I'm going to exceed my 7 minutes.



I'm sleepy already, but I must continue working if I wish to survive Uni life.

Help Lord.

First



The first ones are those we remember most. I vaguely remember some TV ad which asked who was the second man on the moon, who was the second to do some spectacular feat and so on. The bottomline is that nobody much recalls. That's why the complany was proud of their topnotch product, whatever it was.



But that's according to rank. Still, according to sequence, the first ones are those that will be more firmly etched than most of the rest.



I just came back from my first ever public choir performance, together with the NUS choir. It was at Raffles City Convention Centre, which is this posh place at the top of one of those high-rise, high-end, high-price shopping centers/hotels in City Hall. The choir was clad in elegant black and reds and orange. It was the long-sleeved black shirt with a red tie for the guys, and a tight-fitting longish sleeved black shirt and orange sarong for the girls.



We performed 5 songs: Dream a Little Dream (girls only), The Lonesome Road, Ring the Banjo, Fly Me to the Moon, and Goodnight It's Time to Go (guys only). The juniors only practiced for 2 sessions, since this was a sudden invitation, the first time the Singapore Steel Society (or something) invited the NUS Choir for some function.



Sooo.. was it memorable? Well, yes, in the sense that it was the first time I got to perform outside school, and outside the Philippines for that matter! And in a posh event at that. And with the NUS choir! Who would've thought.



But was it memorable = good = exciting = the ultimate = the best? Nah. The rich people were eating when we entered. Apparently, we were supposed to be their "background music" as they ate and drank and laughed and conversed with the rest of the guests. And that's exactly what we turned out to be: background music. They didn't come to the function to hear us; we were just there for the ride. Another choir from ACJC (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) sang before us but we didn't hear them since we were rehearsing in the next room (although from the looks of their faces, I think we shared the same after-show sentiments).



Anyway, the microphones were bad as they didn't seem to be the aerial type which was intended for group singing. The sound system was bad since there was feedback speaker (or whatever it's called) and thus choir couldn't hear each other sing, unlike in rehearsals. We weren't even sure if the audience heard our voices. And more notably, the rich folk clad in formalwear were dining and talking and laughing while we sang. Background music, I tell you. In the small breaks between songs, a few claps would come form the audience, rather hesitant since only a selected scattered bunch of them seemed to want to join in the applause. There was a slightly greater applause after the third song, but even after the last song, when the clapping was loudest (relatively), the applause still seemed.. lukewarm. The audience (if you could call them that) were much too busy eating and talking.



Bad for the morale, I think, but still the choir head, Wey Ling congratulated the group for doing well. I honestly don't know how it went, since we couldn't hear ourselves much. I think the performance had very slight hiccups, and was quite nice, actually. Although I think the reaction of the crowd (or lack of it) might have affected us somewhere in the middle of the presentation.



Anyway, I went home with 3 new Malaysian friends in a taxi. Derence and Shean, who both seem warm and friendly, and this other senior choir singer whose name I didn't catch. I got to interact with the other choir members more, which is a good thing, considering that mostly the specific sections usually clump together.



Overall it was a good night. I still cannot quite believe that my bathroom voice is NUS Choir material. I who have zero choir experience aside from that small stint in Kent Ridge's Star to Burst freshman night. I still maintain that I managed to slip through the cracks bacause of lack of bass manpower, but it feels great to sing with these fellas who sing amazingly well (partly due to their choir experience before in JC and even earlier).



Too bad there weren't any photos, since we were all busy with rehearsing, and in a rush to go home afterwards. So Wayne, thanks for the digicam; I shot myself na lang in the room. Hehe.



NO class tomorrow. I swear I will do a GOOD java crash course. Goodnight.

Priorities



Great. I just managed to screw up all my priorities.



I went to Ginza Plaza awhile ago, and I spent a grand total of 100+ bucks. Today I PLANNED to study all day, so I made sure that I went to the Sunset Mass last night, so I would be free virtually all day. But instead, I went out yesterday afternoon (in the morning were the soccer games where I was content to cheer them on), and again today.



The major culprit is this elusive black long-sleeved shirt, which I need for the Choir performance tomorrow night. It's the formal type, and I asked from Nirorn, but he had the suit/coat instead. I asked Navuth, but it turns out his shirt is too "fitting" for me, and besides, the sleeves lack some good 10cm, so my hands look really huge when I bend my elbows. Nestor was willing to lend me, but it was a Marks & Spencer shirt, and I was hesitant what would happen to it after I washed it in the automatic wash-rinse-spin washer.



So I decided to go to Ginza Plaza for a while, which is a few stops only from the bus stop behind our hall. It turns out that Ginza Plaza is not the place to buy department store stuff, so I was planning to go home to hall instead, and borrow Nestor's shirt. Then the Bus 33 came along. I saw that it went to Boon Lay, and thus to Jurong Point, one of the classier malls around.



The bus ride took sooo long, but it was tolerable. I arrived at Jurong Point finally, and it was SALE galore! So of course, after the loooooong wait, I was finally here in a good mall with a sale. There was a Bossini sale so I got a nice blue shirt. In another store I got the good black long-sleeved shirt for about 50 bucks, and then the splurge. I bought a watch! A Swatch watch. 86 bucks. Latest model daw, and it looked quite stylish. My other watch, although relatively new, is too formal, and besides, I told Dad na rin that I'd buy another watch. I also bought a small black clear book for the musical scores in tomorrow evening's choir performance, and, because this auntie was so persuasive (but of course maybe I'm desperate), I bought another facial thing.



So there. I spent the whole afternoon in Jurong Point, and on the road. Antagal. I reasoned that I was in a big mall already, and had traveled far enough too, so why not maximize the experience right? I was window-shopping too, which is rather fun too (go ask those mall rats).



SOOO.. now I really really have to study. No more excuses. In fairness, though, I'm already more than halfway into my essays for Singapore Studies. The paper about Fistful of Colours, if you recall. The task is to insert a 250-300 word passage into the story, such that if the novel were reprinted, the changes would be unnoticeable to a new reader. And another 750-1000 word essay on the difficulties and considerations in making that new passage.



I haven't done any readings yet, too, for the rest of my modules. And by now, I've learned that reading the slides of lecture notes is never enough.



It's a busy week ahead, what with the Choir performance tomorrow night, a juniors' supper we'll set-up on Wednesday night, the Ridge Welcome tea and Choir practice on Thursday, and my SS assignment due on Friday.



We keep moving on anyway. ;)

If I Ain't Got You



If you've been observant, you'll see that I've run out of good titles for my blog entries. :) In any case, the title's not too bad, right? It may not be significant, but if you've heard the remix of the Alicia Keys song, with ultra-cool Usher singing with Alicia in an amazingly soulful R&B duet, you'll be totally blown away. Thanks to Ares, and to whoever in the Web helped me get the file. (I do my share too, kaya nga 1000+ shinishare ko na files eh.. hehe)



Anyway, it's still me and my Fistful of Colours book. I've been reading nothing but it for the weeeeeeek! Which is not a good thing anymore, methinks. But I'm down to the final 25+ pages, so it must be a good sign. I had to stop, see, and flip through several pages back to make something that hopefully was thought-provoking enough for the online class forum in the IVLE (Integrated Virtual Learning Environment).



Oh, the choir session last Monday was quite fun. There were so few of us basses (which again reinforced my speculation that Choir got me because there were few bass voices in the auditions), and so many tenors and altos. We had good voice classes from 4:30-5:30pm, went back to hall for dinner, then went back at 7:00 for the sectional practices. Later at 8:30, we moved to Lecture Theatre 13, where the entire choir rehearsed. The shock of the evening was that we were to perform on MONDAY, August 30!! That being our first rehearsal, we have the second and last rehearsal tomorrow for us to learn some good 5 songs. Pressure! But it's okay lah, it's gonna be my first ever choir performance with the NUS choir.



This afternoon, after my Java class, I went back to hall to work again on my readings, praying and WILLING the weather to RAIN so the soccer practices for the IBG will be cancelled. And it rained! Right smack at the perfect time, 4:30pm. HAH! I thought.



I read my book at the lobby so I could ask the Soccer IC, a thin cheerful guy named Lin, whether the soccer prac would push through or not *raining outside ;P*. He came to the lobby at 4:45pm, and for some reason, the rain STOPPED. Great, I thought.



But Lin was such an encouraging guy for a beginner like me. My reason for being hesitant to play was because I played lousy sepak tekraw the last time, and I assumed that since Soccer is this BIG in Singapore, I would have to, during the game, shrink again and wish the earth would open and swallow me up.



The cool thing was, I actually enjoyed playing soccer. Sure it was only the second time I played soccer in my whole life (the other time during the hall orientation), but it turned out to be rather OKAY. The guys from my block were encouraging and let me play, never mind if I did more than a few blunders. I actually made a few good kicks, so that was cool (although they weren't amazing yet of course).



I thanked Lin afterwards, and the funny thing was he thanked me instead for coming down to play.



Later, we played some volleyball stuff, then my OG-mate Felicia, my next-door neighbor Yishu and I left for the hall to take-away the dinners of the players.



After packing the players' dinners, and settling down at the dinnertable ourselves to eat, we had a good dinner conversation together with Cheryl and Tat Xien. It was good dinner talk, with all 5 of us talking about hall stuff (food and all), as well as our more colorful personal lives. Heck, we even reached the topics of love and marriage!



Now, I'm back in the room, with my book seemingly daring me to finish it. I should too, since it's been WAY too long. There's a Master Supper, though at 10pm, so um, at least I get energized enough to read? Too bad the supper will clash with Amazing Race! I never get to watch it anymore, because there ALWAYS is some block activity on Wednesday night. Oh well. I'm not complaining much. ;)





p.s.

HAPPY HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY to my great buddy JAY!

I called you na last night! Hehe. I remembered your birthday..buti pa ako. ;)

Hope it was fun.

Fistful of Colours



That's the title of the Singapore novel I'm currently reading. No it's not leisure reading (although it's most interesting I must say), but a required reading for my SSA1206 (Representing Singapore) module. It's quite fun, the module, since it's literature-based and non-examinable, unlike the other Singapore Studies modules which deal with history, politics, etc.. I have this thing for reading good stories, and this module I'm taking involves reading a novel, a play, even studying Singapore TV and film (I think). Quite fun and fits me well, as I like those kind of stuff. What I'm pressed to do right now, though, is to FINISH THE BOOK! I've read the compulsory reading which is half the book for this week, but it seems that everyone in the online forum has read the whole thing! And they're discussing the story and its repercussions and all.. I didn't want to finish reading all the forum threads since as many people know, I HATE spoilers (halfway done pa lang ako eh).



Brice pala is so diligent it's amazing. He's read the entire book, even finished the two-part writing assignment due in September 3 still! GOD I am so left behind na. And to think I've been reading this book only for the past week, when I have readings to do for other subjects too.



ANYWAY



I went to IKEA yesterday by my lonesome (since everyone was either somewhere else, has been to IKEA recently, or both) and it was fun. They have this once-a-year sale, so I maximized it. It was the first time I went to IKEA alone, and I was clutching the bus guide tightly, staring at it and the bus stops I passed, and it turned out to be quite a smooth ride.



I bought a plant and a pot (a discounted jar with lid) to go with it, since I realized there must be some other LIVING THING in my room besides me (and okay, the occasional ants), a colorful placemat, a doormat which was virtually a steal for $2.90, and a big foldable turquoise chair (since I have visitors in my room and I can't always let them sit on my bed when I use my lone chair). Quite a bargain, my purchases, and even if I didn't buy anything, I enjoyed looking at the coolest displays of IKEA home furnishings.



Today I went to Church with the Pinoy group, now with the addition of the new bridging kids. This afternoon naman, after coming from church and having a good nap, Ivy and I went to SRC (we only walked since the bus had JUST left us when we reached the bus stop) for a basketball game of my block at 6pm. I arrived too late, as I was informed that it was suddenly moved to 5:15pm. Fine. I watched at the other blocks play awhile, and headed to the bus stop again. After waiting for 15 minutes, the A2 bus arrived (I planned to walk from PGP), and it was so full it seemed to be bursting. I went to the opposite busstop for the A1 bus, waited abother 15 minutes, only to see the bus similarly bursting with sweaty people from the block games. Of course a good bunch of those waiting managed to squeeze in, including several guys, while this small lady in front of me had to wait for the next bus. Makonsensya naman sana kayo. My fellow Kentridgeans managed to get into the bus, except the less-aggressive me, and so I retraced my steps and enjoyed the long walk home through the shortcut that Ivy had just taught me earlier.



I'm not complaining. I like to have some "me" time too. And the music on the radio was good. Thank God someone attached radio in cellphones.



Time to study! :D

IN



I recently just made some cool door art over the weekend, made from small snippets (minimalist na ngayon) of the collective magazines, flyers and loads of freebies that NUS gives in one way or another. (It's not exactly door art since it's posted on my pinboard next to the door, but what the heck.) Part of this must-see door art is a sign that indicates whether I'm "IN" or "OUT" of the room.



Robinson, my junior in high school, who's now doing the bridging course here, lives in the room across mine, and he has commented that my sign has misled him a couple of times. Hehe. It is true, actually, that I forget to flip the sign before I go "OUT", so it says "IN" all along. I come back after a day of lectures to find it misleading indeed, but then that's about the time when I finally go back "IN" so then I don't need to change the sign anymore. Haha. I'll try to remember tomorrow.



***



What I'm formally "IN" now, actually, is the NUS choir. Yes, after long hours of self-brainstorming, a call home, some consultation with friends, discouragement from James, a senior member of KR's own choir, I've finally decided to make the biggest risk of my freshman life.



Choir practices are roughly 9 hours/week. Mondays, 4:30-930pm, and Thursdays, 5:30-9:30. That's also because there will be a couple of hours of voice lessons by professional vocal coaches. (We were told to maximize on it, as outside NUS, it would be some S$60-80/hour if you're lucky, and normally about S$100-120.) There'll be a bunch of performances spread throughout the year, a concert in February, and perhaps some international contests (if all goes well). A big thing too, is this caroling during Christmas, and we're requested to stay UP TO DECEMBER 24th (wag naman sana). Also, we'll be asked to spend a month from our 3-month summer break for Choir stuff.



There. Thing is, I have to balance my time for studies most especially, and also for hall activities, as there is a points quota for hall stayback. I sure hope I get to stay in both Choir, and KR Hall.



I just attended the welcome for newbies at the Centre for the Arts this evening at 7, and it turned out to be quite fun. It was more of a getting-to-know-you session where we basically just introduced ourselves, and played several fun icebreakers.



One notable icebreaker was this guessing game where a senior helped me out by gesturing me what my partner Anusha guessed to be my favorite music artist. Anusha and I never talked about it in our Speed Dating Game, and she was merely guessing I liked "Maroon 5". A funky senior, Yen Ting I think was her name, remembered me from the auditions, and gestured and mouthed the words. Nobody seemed to notice, and so Anusha and I were spared from doing the eat-one-choco-stick-together forfeit. ;)



I bowed a silent thank you to Yen Ting, but I realize just now that I should thank her for yet another reason. I think she saved my ass during the audition. She was the one who seemed to

be enjoying my singing in the audition (the song at least, since my pitching was all off), while the other senior seemed too serious and sour-faced most of that time.



And just now, I accepted an invitation to join the yahoogroup for The Ridge's Outspoken Desk. So that makes me "IN" the Ridge circuit finally.



Now I must begin my mugging, start digging through readings, and stop blogging. Goodnight! ;)

Ummm.. OK



I have class at 10am, but this is another of those times when something's so notable I can't dare pass it up. I had a horrible night's sleep yet again (shit this is becoming a habit), and I have at least 3 new zits when I woke up.



But this email is what made me write here again:



Subject: NUS Choir - Congratulations

Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2004, 1:50am

From:"Tan Keng Khoon" <u0303348@nus.edu.sg>

To : "Sorongon Joseph Capirig" <u0401897@nus.edu.sg>



Dear Joseph Sorongan,



Congratulations! You have passed the NUS Choir Auditions. We would like to extend to you a warm welcome to our family.



You have been allocated to the section Bass



The details of your first choir event are as follows:



Date: 19 August 2004 (this Thursday)

Time: 7.00 pm

Venue: Centre for the Arts, Dance Theatre

Attire: Casual, but please do not wear skirts, just for this day.

Equipment: Please bring along your basic stationery set (pencil and eraser)



Please reply to me at u0303348@nus.edu.sg by 12 noon, 18 August 2004 (Wednesday) to indicate your wish to accept this offer.



Thank you.



Regards,

Keng Khoon

Secretary

NUS Choir

It's funny. My heart leapt when I first read it, but it was mostly drowned by that "ummmm... OK" feeling. If you've read a previous post, you'll know that the choir audition was one of the most demoralizing stuff I ever went for. But heck, THIS is the NUS Choir! Should I pass it up even if it means training for some 10 hours a week?

Now I'm not too sure what to do. Baka nga kinulang lang sila ng Bass voices. Either way, I must decide quick. Oh, and I'm Joseph SorongOn nga pala, not SorongAn.

Good Morning!



I slept pretty badly last night. I fell asleep yet again, when I had planned to read a chapter in Biology. I also woke up at crazy hours during the night, only to find my laptop still up, the lights still on, but was still too lazy to drag myself out of the bed. Finally, I woke up at around 7:50am, forced myself to wash up, then headed for breakfast.



I had breakfast with two groups of people, my D block fellas Keith, Victor, Dominic, and later, my Malaysian friends Song, Loy Yong, and Jayston. It was a teeny bit awkward with my blockmates, especially when my good neighbor Keith went off, and Dominic wasn't in the mood to talk, but I managed to keep small talk anyway. Breakfast with the next batch of friends was more relaxed, as Song (from my OG Nixes) has this running game of "Coffee and Tea" (another of those no-brainer guessing games which has, until now, left me stumped), and Loy Yong (also from Nixes) and Jayston and I were together in the freshmen choir. Song was really nice and witty as usual, Loy Yong and I haven't seen each other for a while so it was good to say hi, and Jayston was complaining about the Nasi Lemak (but that's just the way he is).



What should greet me as I entered my room was this message received by my email client, POP Peeper:





From : Nurul HUda

Sent : Monday, August 16, 2004 8:28:31 AM

To : moonstruck_josh@hotmail.com

Subject : OUTSPOKEN



Hey there Joseph,



I have read your article. I must say that it is pretty exciting. I am intrigued by the perspective that you have chosen. But you do realise that you have exceeded the word limit. I am very particular about word limits for I cannot allow writers to start writing mini novels due to our lack of space and my lack of patience. Furthermore, I would like to inform you that you have been chosen as a writer for the OUTSPOKEN DESK!



I was kidding about the word limit part ok! Hehe! Wanted to create suspense. ;)



Congratulations! I would love to have you writing for THE RIDGE and would like to inform you about the Welcome tea that will be held on the 2nd of sept. I will pass you the details at a later date and will send you an invitation to our OUTSPOKEN YAHOOGROUP! Hope to see you soon. Meanwhile, take care and start brainstorming on ideas!



Smiles, NuruL



Haha! Now I don't care if the NUS choir emails the results to me on Wednesday or not. In fact, I may just delete the message without reading it. (Okay, maybe I'll take a quick peek to see HOW they'll tell me I totally blew it :D )



I assume the next most logical thing to do (and maybe answer your unspoken question) is to post the article that I submitted for the Ridge. If you remember, that was the 304-word article I submitted at 2247 hrs when it was due 2300. I'll post it sometime soon. I have loads of reading to do and shouldn't really blog, but this was such a good morning to pass up.



Good morning everyone!

Better



Jason Mraz has this really cool song entitled Better. The repeating line sings, "It only gets betteeeeeeer." Which is always true, by the way. Jason Mraz is the coolest. He sings the "upper" songs. And he skats so well! And he keeps an online journal too. I swear I'm buying a ticket if he comes over to Singapore. (Hoobastank pala, tonight at Sentosa, a staggering 50bucks.)



Anyway, today was a good day. I had an 8am class which was dismissed way too early because the aircon was turned off, and the heat, according to the lecturer, was unbearable. Hehe. I wasn't complaining.



I bought this Asking About Life book, which has the coolest cover. Large pawikans (deep sea turtles) near the shore of a mountain lake, that all sunbathe in a curious formation. It was only yesterday when the lecturer pointed it out that the turtles formed a big question mark (?) that the class realised. Pretty cool actually.



My serious daunting task was to write for The Ridge. I applied for the Outspoken desk, which apparently is a pretty hot desk, since there are already about 40 applicants according to my senior Gelo, the sports editor. The deadline was at 2300hrs tonight, and I basically brainstormed all day. As a matter of fact, I've been doing some intense brainwork since the other day, right after the interview. Writer's bloc. Gelo says at most there'll be 12 slots open, so it's gonna be rather tough, especially when the other applicants come from the Arts faculty.



Anyway, I worked all day, slept a while, ate a tapau lunch, called my Lola Doding, worked on a really good door art (come and see!), chatted with Robinson and did our laundry together, cleaned up my room a little, watched Rob chat with much gusto and amazement in Yahoo! messenger, and had dinner with Korinna and Rob at McDo. Korinna was in for a treat, as her date WoenPing ate next to our table. Lucky day nga, since Rob and I each won this really cool McDonald's fries mousepad. Rob gave his to Kor kasi wala pa naman syang computer, while Kor's Mac is arriving next week.



I particularly enjoyed joking around today, especially with Rob and Kor. Actually, our victim is Rob, who is the quirky sort too, always laughing and sometimes rather um, dense. Hehe. Perfect target. Buti na lng laging game si Rob.



We walked back to KR hall from McDo because the bus, which comes in 30 minute intervals at this time, arrived when Rob took a quick leak in the fourth floor of the Old Admin Building. No complaints though, as it was a good walk home.



I had finished a draft of my article before dinner, and I just had to kill some twenty words, add the title and teaser after dinner. I didn't trim it to the proper length of 300 words though. 304 lang. Haha. I emailed it to the Outspoken editor Nurul at 2247hrs, 13 minutes shy of the deadline. I was surprised to receive a reply from her, cheerfully saying the results will be out in a few days.



Nothing more to say I think. Except that I just learned that my mom now reads my blog! Hehe. Um, don't worry ma, di nako umiinom. Occasional lng naman un last time anyway. Hehe.



Night.

Bad NoteS



Today was yet another um, eventful day. I sincerely wish I could tell you otherwise, but that's that.



I dragged myself out of bed, wanting to sleep more to forget Sepak Takraw last night, but I had to get breakfast and attend this Linear Algebra class, MA1101R, at 10. It turned out to be a booooring lecture. Why is it worse than any other boring lecture? Because the lecturer thought what he was saying was interesting, and thus continued to drone on with much gusto. About his brother at a university in Manchester, about the magic cube that drove the Math department nuts, about, of all things, ants! (That's according to Brice, since I probably had shut myself momentarily that time) He rushed through the actual solving of matrices though.



My afternoon was packed. At 4pm I had a CS1101 lecture (which is now turning more challenging by the minute), and then the loads of stuff. I was supposed to accompany Diana (and audition as well) for the Voices audition (pop singing) and the NUS choir tryouts. Clashing with the sked was my scheduled track and field tryouts for IBG, and the Jam and Hop dance/disco in the evening.



I accompanied Diana to her interview with some group at the Science Fac, and then the mad rush began. The queue for the Voices audition was too long to be inviting, so I just signed up, went to change into my shorts in the washroom, and ran all the way to the oval track field for the track tryouts. The running drained the life out of me, and it turns out, unsurprisingly, that I am not one of the best runners. One of the suckier runners, if you please. I did my best though, and I didn't entirely SUCK. Just not tops.



I called Diana back at 7pm to check if the Voices audition was over, and she said she was about to enter the club room. I decided to skip this session and wait another day. At 7:30, when the track thing was finally over, I called her again and found out she was at the Choir auditions already. It was the last day, and although I knew that the choir work was heavy, I decided to give it a shot since I'm a loser in sports. Some kind of redemption, if I may say so.



Turns out, after the looooooooong wait, at around 8:30 pm, and the second to the last to audition, I screwed up once more. I don't want to talk about it actually. I was nervous, and I sang badly. The bad notes, as a matter of fact.



Diana and I met Steph, Karen, and Zada, and were almost headed to the Jam and Hop, but we were so hungry we decided to go to McDo instead.



It sucks to be me right now, and for some reason, nothing anyone says makes me feel good. Maybe a few of them words make me feel better, but unfortunately, the quotable ones are those that make me feel worse.



Good night. Magbabagong buhay na ako. Don't pity me.

Bad Note



Today was, for lack of better words, a long day. And you know how it is with long days, they tend to play around with your moods.



I could tell you about my previous days actually, about how I went into my first classes as an undergrad (bridging kasi last year), about my boring MA1101R teacher who promised to give high marks, about my funny teaching excellence awardee ST1131 teacher, my CS1101 teacher whose Java lectures I hope to figure out, and about my surprise meeting with Priya at the Science canteen one afternoon and our unplanned late lunch, but right now, I simply feel sucky.



We just played Sepak Takraw see, for Inter-Block Games (IBG) training, the and I so happen to be the absolute worst player Singapore has ever seen. For those who don't already know, Sepak Takraw is this game that's almost like volleyball but with 3-player teams, a hollow rattan ball, which is kicked (or hit with the head, knees, anything except arms and hands) across to the other side. It's almost like soccer, too, and it's just plain unlucky that Singaporeans are great soccer fans, while I the Pinoy, am not.



I felt like the single glitch in the system, the big dark cloud looming over their otherwise smooth playing. Half the time I wanted to disappear, the other half I was cursing my shoes.



Tomorrow I'll try out for track and field, which is basically just running. I hope my long legs won't disappoint, even if I don't jog regularly, as I would hate to have my ego bruised again.



And oh, I went to apply for The Ridge with Wayne this afternoon. I signed up for the "Outspoken" Desk, and I have to submit this article tomorrow. I also attended a Toastmasters talk this evening, which was quite fun, actually.



But right now, I feel sucky still. And it doesn't help that two girls hogged the payphone in the lobby, and I couldn't call home. I guess this day is simply meant to end on a bad note. And it sucks that it has to stay there overnight.

THOSE DAYS AGAIN



This has got to be an achievement -- Not blogging for 6 days, and I have 24/7 internet now in my room! Thanks.



It has been an eventful week, and now I am damn proud to be a Kentridgean. Mighty proud too, to belong to Nixes. We were best OG, we think, although it was named "Most On (something like "active" in Chinese)" OG, and never mind if all the OG's were given goody bags labeled Most happening, etc. just so everyone could have a pack. Hehe.



So much has happened the past few days that I don't know how to blog them all in. Anyway, my Mauritian date Priya and I clicked, and we had a good time at the formal hall dinner. There were a few bloopers, like when she gave me a gift that had a card addressed to another guy written by her bestfriend Sock Nee (I figure them buddies must've bought the same gifts), and when I wanted to chase her into her room to ask her something but couldn't do so because I misplaced my room card for entrance to the blocks, only to find her peering into my room to give me a gift as I came walking from the washroom. I must admit though, that we talk better outside the formal hall dinner. Must be the stiff atmosphere there.



I sang with the bass group of the choir during the annual "Star to Burst", the KR freshmen show. This guy Jayston was a trash-talking type of guy, and my buddy Loy Yong had to shut ourselves whenever did his talk. It seemed I was doing a much better job, since Loy Yong was complaining to me privately when Jayston wasn't around. Anyway, Loy Yong was a terrific bass singer who could do both tenor and bass, while Jayston at the tenor group was struggling. We did a last minute switch, and Jayston, fellow Malaysian guy Jamie and I formed the bass group. I think we did a pretty good job, compared to our especially sucky performance during the dry run. Priya, also a choir member, thought the bass group was a teeny bit off, as I gave her the rose I was given after the performance. Well I appreciate the honesty. :) I still hope Choir accepts me in the actual audition next week (especially since A cappella rejected me hehe).



Oh, I must also say that I am most sunburnt as of this writing. On NUS Flag day, August 3, we went to different locations in Singapore to basically beg. Each of us had 3 coin cans, and we were to fill them up. My group from D block went to Parkway Parade, a nice mall. I spent early morning till afternoon walking in the sun, along the mall entrance and exits, near bus stops and in the flea market. I didn't fill all three tins, but I sure got a dark tan. Rag Day, a day where all halls and faculties display large extravagant displays of moving floats (made of recycled materials too) and dance presentations, was yesterday, and again it was SCORCHING. Actually, I was up at 2:30 AM, as part of the Wet Weather Group, who was to make sure our gigantic float didn't get soaked should rain come. It didn't rain though, but it was burning hot towards noon. Our float didn't win the best float or best presentation, but it won least cost float. One thing it sure did though, was heighten hall spirit. It was great to cheer for them all, even in the midday sun.



Afterwards, the freshmen were given a graduation of sorts. It was a ceremonial thing, too, as we one by one shook hands with mostly all of the seniors as we trudged up to the multi-purpose hall from the dining hall. We have this cool certificate, with a big photo of the whole orientation team and the 100+ bunch of KR newbies. We sang the hall anthem (a tune i can't get out of my head), and sang the slightly mushy goodnight song. KR is such a family hall, and I am more than thankful to be part of it.



Now I rest. Tomorrow is National Day, but I don't have tickets to the parade! Argh. I asked my pinoy seniors what's a good thing to do on National Day, but apparently, those who don't have tickets just watch the big show on TV. That's a good thing too, since I'm still annoyed with Michael right now.



Stuff happened today though. I'm feeling a bit funny, but it's nothing I can't handle.

The Kent Ridge Experience



The previous couple of days of orientation at Kent Ridge Hall was quite an interesting experience, as I was beginning to realize how hall-istic (borrowed from Diana) the hall actually is.



The other day we played mini-Olympics (soccer, frisbee soccer, netball), followed by pool games at the Sports and Recreation Centre (comedy synchronized swimming [yeah!], wrestling on a raft [which my OG-mate Sundeep dominated], and the capsize-the-floater game [where skinny me was pounced on by two big guys from Titus (friendly naman)].



Yesterday we played a number of confidence games, in which I TOTALLY SUCKED in the called "Bridging the Gap" game. I was blindfolded, and a partner would lead me to a path in the dining hall, then up a chair, on to a table where there would be a gap in the middle, and i would jump over it. EVERYONE got it right. Being the sigurista & tanga that I am, I asked my partner, Song Yao, when i reached the jumping point, whether I would land on a next table, or on the floor when I follow her "jump-as-far-as-you-can" instruction. She was told not to say anything, so dumb Joseph thought he was to land on the floor, making a rather diagonally downward jump. And then he got a good painful bruise on the left leg, and a clobbered ego.



That afternoon, was the announcement for audition results for choir performance of the freshman show on Wednesday, aptly titles "Start to Burst". Having been rejected by a cappella the previous night, and seeing that the same guy gave the same audition to both groups, I was already readying myself for Plan C, which was to be part of the Stage Crew. Surprisingly, I got in choir, and were singing this Japanese song "Yuki ga Tokeru" (Snow is Melting). Loy Yong from my OG, and fellow just-accepted choir member were a teeny bit glad to see this cocky new recruit from the tenors eat his own words as he and his partner were out of tune half the time. Buti pa kami sa bass.



Today was a great big day (or actually yesterday, since it's morning na). We had an "OG Outing." Or at least, that's what the KR team want it to appear to be. SSShhhhhhhhhh.. if you read this one ok? Anyway, we had a total blast at Sentosa, even if I have a terrible sunburn and heavy eyebags from too much activity from morning till um, next morning (right now). I'm so damn mighty proud of my OG, Nixes, for we swept most of the beach games today! And the war games with the seniors were a total SPLASH (what with our water packs as ammos). Of course not to mention some other curious games (;P), that were ultimately crazy.



Swee Yong, Serene, and the B block seniors were incredible. They helped our OG, Nixes, to score our terrific wins, and even participate in our games. The attendance of Nixes is amazing too, as we were consistent as a small group of about 20 active members, which remained strong. This is in contrast to the dwindling numbers of the other groups. Serene, small but incredible, was even touched to tears by our participation.





Right now, the word on everyone's lips is, "Have you got a dinner date for the dating game?" That's the reason I'm blogging right now actually. Because even if I just lost my room card (it has to be somewhere upstairs), and the voluntary work with Rag Comm took until the wee hours of the morning, Priya, my Mauritian date (accepted me just now) , totally made my day. Friendly date lang, but she is exceedingly nice. Tell you more next entry.



5:01am now, and I daresay it's finally time to go to bed.

Matriculation Day

My knees feel like jelly. I am so damn tired after today's activities. Orientation was scheduled for the whole day (and night), but I finally matriculated in the afternoon, which took about 3 hours.

My knees feel like jelly. I am so damn tired after today's activities. Orientation was scheduled for the whole day (and night), but I finally matriculated in the afternoon, which took about 3 hours. I made Yen Chui, a mild-mannered friendly girl from my OG a personalized Newater bottle with her name on it, using pens and markers, as part of my Nixes (god of water) OG. I didn't think it was outstanding, but I think it was kinda nice. Dunno if she's seen it yet.

In the afternoon, I missed the internal games, which doubled as an "Amazing Race" kind of thing around the hall. I think. I don't really know. Instead I matriculated at the Multi-purpose Sports Hall.

The first part, the actual thing, was fast, since the Office of Admissions took charge of most of the requirements. I had to wait though, as the lady redid my matric card, from SORONGON JOSEPH CAPIRIG, to the correct JOSEPH CAPIRIG SORONGON.

I checked out the laptops, and I'm eyeing this Fujitsu Tablet PC which only costs S$2898 (+ tax). I think it's still P33 = S$1. And, I'm rather interested too, in the Mac. I like it different, see. I can't help it, I like those computers with a cool, stylish design. (That's why IBM doesn't appeal to me much. Hehe.)

I thought I was over, but it turns out the exit was blocked, and we had to go to the fair of CCAs (Co-Curricular Activities). There I was shoved application forms and sign-up sheets, all by eager and friendly fellas. Rather difficult to refuse them, so I signed up for LOTSA things. How can you exactly refuse someone who says, "We're from the Welfare Comm. We take care of the mentally ill, the out-of-school youth, the patients in some hospitals. Are you interested to join?" I signed up for the Choir (tryout muna), Mathematics Society, Toastmasters, The Ridge (publication) and heck, even gave my contacts to the welfare comms, the fencing team (which I'll miss in KE hall), some archery and judo and karate and Catholic groups, and even golf! I don't know which I'll keep, but most of them gave me handouts as to when's their Welcome Tea, so I'm not committed to anything just yet.

P.S.My matriculation photo is finally a recent one! In my bridging matric card, my photo was a stretched copy of a pic when I was in 2nd year high school. This time, my photo is barely a month old.

Rotana and Ivy commented that my previous photo is better. Oh well. I have some growing younger to do, if I wish to satisfy the viewing public. ;)

Strip



Jackson's the name. My new neighbor. He's a Singaporean student with a taste for loud music. I don't mind much, since he's playing good popular songs. Although it seems a teeny bit loud, and it's rather odd that I seem to be nakiki-kinig. Hehe. There's a guy already in the room to my right, but I have yet to ask his name. ;)



The freshmen orientation finally kicked off this afternoon. Quite fun, actually, especially that my orientation group (OG), seems pretty excited and cheerful. The Orientation thing of the hall is named Effresione (what?), and it has 5 OGs which represent the elements: Mokos (earth), Reccas (fire), Nixes (water), Titus (metal), and Zephyros (air). Cool eh? I'm with Nixes, which is just as well since I'm an aquarian.



One of the games we played involved me being "It". Okay, so not exactly "it", but the poor guy who has to do the punishment. The fellows were yelling "Forfeit" or something, but basically that meant a task for the poor victim. So, after the previous victims did pole dances and other stuff by pair, my turn finally came.



We played this annoyingly fun game (aside from the incredibly crazy ET game) which involved tapping our hands on the floor. I was sandwiched, or cornered, or something, and thus I was set to be the next victim. We played again to find a partner, and it was Cheong Chye, a seemingly good guy. Finally our task: to remove each other's shirts without using our hands.



Cheong Chye was good at the task, and, apparently, so was I. Hehe. He used his mouth to bite my shirt from behind, and I bent and twisted until he successfully pulled my shirt with his teeth. I did the same to him, all in one bite. I was suddenly reminded to do some ab workout of sorts. Everyone was looking and cheering! Too bad there can only be one shirtless public debut. (Swimming not included.) Hah.

The waving neighbor



It's 12:19pm and I'm in the room waiting for lunch. It's gonna be different this time, as it will be the first lunch with the rest of the orientation team of the hall, as well as with my fellow freshmen.



I've gotten quite used to being the only one in my floor, with empty rooms across and beside my room at D103. Just this morning, the local Singaporean students checked in, and it seems that I have neighbors now. hah. Actually, it's a rather awkward thing, with the guy from D104. See, I was in Nirorn's room, as my fellow ex-bridging stude had also just checked in just minutes earlier. His block, C block, is beside my block, and I have a good view of my room from his. Now I was peering through his window to show him how close my room was to his, when I first noticed signs of activity in my neighboring room.



It seems like I have neighbors now! I excitedly told the small bunch of scholars which gathered in Nirorn's room. Apparently, my voice seemed a little too loud, as Korinna, who turned to look, told me that my neighbor actually noticed, and WAVED BACK at us. I looked again, and he was gone.



Now I'm back in my room, and it seems that I have neighbors on either side of my room. I wanted to knock and finally meet the waving neighbor, but I chickened out. He's got company, I hear, based on the music and some cheery laughter from the room.



I'll catch him later, I guess, during lunch at 1pm. Talk about awkward. But I'm rather thick-skinned anyway, so this is just a minor glitch. ;)



Two weeks of orientation coming up. After loong discussions with my Pinoy fellows, and my two new Malaysian friends Wilson and E-Wei, who both came over to my room last night, I've finally decided to join the camp, although it just cost me S$70. Should be worth it. =P

ANYWAY



I've read something somewhere about a poem or a life strategy (ala Dr Phil and Stephen Covey) that talks about doing things ANYWAY.



you know what I mean. When shit happens, do your stuff anyway. When the world blacks out, your house burns down, you slip off a building, you cut your finger off by accident, you get locked in the elevator for days, you swallow the entire wishbone (you get the drift), what the heck -- do the good stuff anyway.



i think it's brilliant. soemthing we all should do. it's hard, but do it ANYWAY. we just keep walking, or running, whichever way you pace your life.



ANYWAY, pardon my random ramblings. that's what you get from me at 3:51 in the morning actually. hehe.



yesterday was a good day. the day before it, stressful but ultimately manageable.



the other day was packed. i had to do a medical checkup early in the morning, and was more than surprised to be requested to have a repeat urine test because of some trace of blood. freaked me a little actually. but grace under pressure allowed me to fumble a cheery "no problem!" to the nurse.



right after the checkup, i rushed to the orientation for international freshmen (Even if we took a similar one last year, Ms Tan of the Ofc of Admissions insisted we attend). it was to start at 9:30am, the time when my checkup ended. i took the bus, rushed into the big hall, and took a seat. i looked around for my fellow ex-bridging scholars, and SMSed Kor and Ivy for their whereabouts in the hall. turned out i was alone! the cambodian scholars finally arrived, but still, i was the only pinoy in the whole group of about 700(?) or more.  



the roll call of the countries began. lots of them from mainland china, as well as the usual big groups of malaysians and indians. the humorous emcee and head of the Ofc of Student Affairs then rattled off the countries in SEAsia, the usual scholars. Afterwards, he asked the big group if their were any other countries represented. Hands shot up gamely, as everyone was in a light mood. "Which country are you from?" the emcee would ask. "Nepal!" a person shouted from his seat in the upper rings of the large amphitheater-like hall. Round of Applause. There were some small groups who got up to be recognized, but to some who were alone, the emcee even asked the name. "Korea!" a guy shouted from the middle column. I forgot his name though.



"Any more countries?" the emcee asked after everyone seemed to be recognized. Mustering all courage, I was about to raise my hand when he remembered. "Anyone from the Philippines?" It was my cue to raise my hand, as the other students looked behind them to see me in the upper rows. I looked around, still hoping my friends were just hiding somewhere, but nah. "What's your name?" "Joseph" I said, as loud as my persistent cough would allow. "Pardon?" The other students, who had just turned to look at the emcee, gave me a second look. "JOSEPH. JOSEPH." i shouted again. "I'm sorry?" came the puzzled reply. This time some international students were saying my name aloud so the emcee could hear. "Kindly use the mic please." I was flustered, but of course, had to be calm under pressure. I walked a few feet towards the mic, and said my name. Then the game applause.



Later, the head of the International Relations Comittee (IRC) of the Students Union addressed the crowd. I recognized him as Neeraj, an Indian who I had the chance to meet in last year's food fair. He proceeded to invite the studes to join the IRC. "Come join, there are several of us international students there. Some Filipinos -- many Filipinos in fact --" That was true, I thought, as a bunch of my Pinoy seniors participated actively in that comm. "So Joseph --" I was completely thrown aback, at this second recognition by the speaker, the turning of heads making me melt like cheese "--you should come and join too." I managed a small nod and a feeble smile.



Yesterday afternoon, the freshmen orientation team of Kent Ridge Hall, gave the foreign students a small tour of Singapore, and sponsored a sumptous dinner with some 8 or more dishes at a restaurant in Ginza Plaza. As I was introducing myself to my Nisha, an Indian girl, "Oh! I know you. You're the Filipino yesterday at the orientation." Some 5 of them recognized me from the other day, and although I felt a bit scandalized and embarrassed, it was a good way to start the conversation going with my new hallmates. The KR people are extremely friendly too, and i can tell that it's the genuine type of "friendly".  I'm looking forward to orientation next week.

FINE



i'm okay now. that bit i told you about me being depressed? umm.. it's not really showing, so that's a good sign right? (hypocrite) i'm working on it, don't worry. besides, i'm the fast coping, versatile type.  



i'm okay, too, after some worthless sicko hacked into my friendster account and maliciously edited my profile. whoever you are, you, GO TO HELL.

but as i also happen to be calm under pressure, i'm not panicky or anything. i'm fine.



now i don't usually write hate stuff like this, so let's allow for a moment of shutting up.

won't take long. ;)



 

i wanted to blog about how i arrived in singapore last night, about how i overpacked yet again, how my dad bumped the parked van in front of 



*knock on door. i answer. orientation seniors. amazing how they think i'm perfectly fine.*



our car at the airport, and stunning an old lady who was almost hit, about how my kilos of excess baggage AND excess hand baggage were thankfully ignored, how i coughed and coughed and coughed so much i thought i'd spit out my pancreas all the way to singapore, in the airport where i momentarily got lost and in the taxi driven by an uptight uncle,  about how i waved at someone who looked like ivy when i saw her in kent ridge hall but it turned out to be some stranger who also cheerfully waved back, about how AMAZINGLY wonderful kent ridge hall is with its luxurious facilities, and about how incredibly stressful my day was today [solo meeting with a kind lady from the admissions, Qualifying English Test, and THREE unsuccessful and ultimately stupid attempts to have my medical checkup].



i wanted to blog about all those, but right now, i feel so fucked up and bloody depressed.



don't ask. i hope amazing race tonight at 10 will keep me back afloat.



 

HEADACHE

 

let's see how a blog turns out when the blogger has a horrible headache, dripping colds, and is burning with fever.

 

what happened na ba? okay.

final na, Kent Ridge Hall now, no longer King Edward VII.

apparently, that also means no more fencing, no more Pacey roommate, no more double rooms at all in fact.

mas maganda nga naman ung hall in terms of physical structure. bago pa.

buti na rin cguro un. andaming bago.

engin to sci fac, now KE to KR -- what next? dapat tumaas na grades ko. hehe. although di naman mababa tlga as of now. at least i get to start all over again with a year's worth of acquired wisdom.

 

i've been doing some shopping of stuff lately, as i'm leaving on TUESDAY.

God, on Tuesday na nga pala. that's three nights away.

nah, no more melodramatics for me. it's not the first time i'm gonna be leaving anyway.

but shempre mamimiss ko home and family and friends. hehe.

 

so i've bought some soaps and haircare stuff and some clothes and toothbrush and wallet and instant foods, pero somehow di matapos tapos. i'm sure i'm gonna overpack again, although i will try my best not to.

 

on my trip today to surf the net at a net cafe (um, right now!), i failed to meet a friend of my mom so i could give her a letter for my lola, just as i failed to find a GE flat iron my mom wants (i've been to 5 stores?), BUT, mam lope, our school registrar found me as i was checking out watches at gaisano south. ayun, nalibre tuloy ako ng lunch. hehe. she was with kuya robert, a pisay alumnus of batch '97. friendly guy too.

 

anyway, may sales sa mga malls dito pero i can't seem to find a good shirt that satisfies my criteria of style, price, comfort. makahanap na nga sa SM. i've been searching like crazy for a watch, but apparently, THE watch is waiting for me in some shopping store in singapore.

 

sige na, tama na siguro. ang sakit sakit na po ng ulo ko. i misght as well go home and pack.

 

i guess my next entry will be blogged in singapore na. wish me a safe trip.

AN UPDATE FINALLY



hello once again. since it's been, as usual, a long time since my last entry, i have decided to finally break the long peaceful silence and update, um, myself. (or update you, or update the blog, or whatever it is.)



+ IN SINGAPORE ON THE 20th, NO MORE MANILA STOPOVER

okay. so after a looong time planning of my luzon adventures, it all gets scrapped as i'm taking the direct flight to singapore on july 20. it's kinda sucky that i don't get to see my friends in ateneo and UP in QC, and even jay in LB, and have to skip a treat from birthday girl dea, and be deprived of the happy noise and sticky pollution of metro manila. sorry guys, i really wanted to go. turns out that passing manila would cost me AT LEAST 5000 bucks more than if i took the direct flight to singapore, valid for 6 months. ayun, my folks decided na un na. next time na lang.



+ STATISTICS NA PO COURSE KO

it's farewell to Industrial and Systems Eng'g, the course that i never yet encountered. i've decided to take up Statistics instead, on the road to HOPEFULLY enter Computational Finance in my 2nd Year. ComFi, they say, is an ultra tough course (which brice is also bent on taking) which has limited slots. the application begins only after completion of a year's worth of qualifying modules, so it's Statistics for now. iff i don't qualify for ComFi, then Statistics is more than fine. In fact, dahil sa econometrics/statistics last sem nakatungtong na rin ako finally sa line "A". ;) A- nga lang. hehe.



+ DOG DUTIES

oh yeah. my neverending dog duties. the dogs are okay. piggy's fine, although we had to separate her from her pups to avoid furhter "infestation". and so all three pups stay in the kennel, around which i built and rebuilt and rebuilt and rebuilt (ang galing makatakas nung 2 dogs) a makeshift fence made out of pots and gallons of paint cans and whatever i could find.



+ NEW SINGA SCHOLARS, PISAY F-DAY

on July 9 was the awarding of the newest batch of singapore scholars in marco polo. there was an awarding in manila some days ago, but it was on this day for the mindanao bunch. 3 of the 5 lucky kids were from pisay davao, and i sincerely am proud of them. pinapunta pa kami old scholars dun to assist, and i acted as usher. fun naman. the parents seem so worried that they ask me lots and lots of stuff. hehe. only too glad to help.



pisay foundation day variety show that same evening din. so after the afternoon affair at the maroc polo, we all went to pisay. MY SISTER WON SA MODELING! yiheeee! i'd show u the photos sometime. it was some neo-ethnic something something modeling show. the dances were terrific, the song numbers were good, and the MTV's were okay. anyway, this time i was a stage brother who took photos and broke his camera in the process. hmph.



+ BLEEP BLEEPS

ignore nga pala mike's supposed scandalous tags. you see, mike, karen and i went to this bar slash disco last saturday, called Liquid. i thought it was a disco place like the venue, but was rather more like a bar which turned disco at around midnight. for the record, i was sober enough to wash up, brush my teeth, dress into my pantulog when i arrived home. i didn't throw up like karen (haha), whose memory lapses about that night i will have to fill in sometime. haha.





that's about it, for now. trust that i'll be back blogging more often when i reach singapore. that is if i settle this squabble regarding our residence hall. till the next one!

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS



let's get the good news over with, because i'm not feeling too well.



GOOD NEWS

1. i got to visit my lola in kidapawan over the weekend. i basically ate quite some durian, helped with some chores when i felt like it, and basically just relaxed from my "dog duties".



2. karen finally paid me the ransom money this afternoon, AND with 20 bucks interest. 20 sing dollars not bad right? that same 20 bucks, incidentally, was used for ..



3. a late lunch at Picobello. it was sumptuous late lunch with karen and mike (who is in the next cubicle of this net cafe right now)





BAD NEWS.

1. black pup died while i was in kidapawan (part of me wondered what would've happened if i stayed in davao nlng)



2. [HORRIBLE NEWS] my fellow singapore scholars xaypanya and noe noe aren't gonna be joining the rest of us scholars this coming term. i just chatted with xay and he was informed only this morning by the director about the news. so sad. i could tell the poor guy was depressed. i heard that the MFA is readying his and noe noe's flights home. i'm sure gonna miss my favorite loatian and burmese, respectively. i'm gonna miss xay especially, especially since i so happen to be his unofficial english tutor. hehe. best of luck you guys. you'll be missed.

WOW ang haba ko magsulat. sensya na po.

DOG TALK



Helloooooooooo. Kumusta naaaaa.



That's me drawling my words.



Gikapuy na gyud ko ba. Bat naman kasi, nagpapakabayani pa raw ako. You see, my main aim for the past week has been to SAVE THE MUTTS.



I told you before right, that i had 8 dogs to feed? Here, count them uli.









Ayun, there are five of them na lang, and only four out of the seven puppies. I'm not worried much about Piggy (yes, that's the mother dog's name), but the puppies, who have, sadly been dying one by one.



I remember it was some time last week when one of the three brownish black dogs died, then on Sunday, it was the littlest light brown dog who passed away. Then, only last Tuesday, the other brown dog, who seemed rather limp, decided to stop breathing as well. So sad.



What's miserable is that I see them getting weak by the hour, then they gradually lose their appetite to eat food or suck milk, even if I try to feed them powdered milk using a dropper. What do I do nga naman kung ayaw kumain kahit anong pilit ko? I end up utterly helpless.



This time, it's the little jet black dog (see photo) who seems to have it coming. The rest of the pups are giddy, rushing to their mom to suck milk, while the little one just stays behind to what, sleep or something.



Oh yeah, did I tell you what's killing them all?

Yep, another F word. Those blasted fleas ought to fuck off and DIE.

Pucha, they only seem to fuck around and multiply.



I haven't left the house much this week, for fear that another dog would die. Today I was planning to go to Kidapawan, but it seems that the black dog won't allow me.



Yesterday was the horriblest of my dog chores. You see, I am left totally alone at home during the day, and it is assumed that I take care of the house. That means I clean up dog shit and pee, and feed them and make sure they're basically fine.



The flea attack was intense, so I bathed a couple of dogs, and rubbed them all flea powder. I was on the lookout for these crawling fleas near their kennel, when I realized, the fleas and ticks were all over the front wall of our house! Our cement wall has an "anay" finish, as architects say --the type where there are little crevices of sorts here and there as design -- and it turned out to be the perfect home for the fleas.



I rushed to the gasoline station in the heat of the midday sun, bought some kerosene, placed it in a small bottle, and then i started what I like to call my BUG COLLECTION.



Ayun, I watered down a lot of the fleas, especially the big fat bloody (no that's not British) ones, and took em for a fatal soak in the bottle. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon de-flea-ing the dogs, armed with my fingers and the good old walis ting-ting, until my bug collection was happily floating in my bottle for all the world to see. (The "tiris" method which I used for a few days was getting too messy and unhygienic.)



The fleas keep rolling in, even today, and the little black dog is still weak. I wonder if I can still go to Kidapawan, given the situation, but my mom is rather more fatalistic than I am, and suggests I don't mind the dogs too much.



Ewan ko. We're gonna give away all of the puppies except one, but it just would TOTALLY suck, if the black one dies, and out of the original seven, only three survive, in just a week of flea attack.





P.S.

On a happier note, happy birthday to my mom!

She turned 52 last Wednesday, which turned out to be a holiday pa.

Born in 1952, and now she's 52. Hah.

Trust my mom to think of those clever stuff.



P.P.S.

Tama, i've fixed the blog up. sana okay na tingnan sa mga screens nyo. I also did some stuff, removed some photos etc.. Just click around nalang. Ewan kung okay na, since iba tong screen sa tinrabuhan ko. Hope it's okay na.



P.P.S.

I'm going back to Singapore sometime before July 21. Then I can blog often again. I hope to still go around Manila, pero up to now, di ko pa nafinalize. Haaay. Bilis ng panahon.