Time of the Month
POSTED AT 04:15 AM

Have you ever felt a pain so intense that you want to die just so you won't have to feel it anymore?

I have.

Oh, no, it's not one of those emotional pain crap. It's this thing called dysmenorrhea. It is the excruciating intrauterine pain that women feel everytime their sad, unfertilized egg dies and the lining of the uterus sheds tears of blood. The pain is brought about by the rupturing blood vessels in the said lining (I think).

Put bluntly, it hurts like hell. And it happens every. Damn. Month.

The ritual of bleeding happened to me this morning. I was in PE class, ready to kick ass in basketball. We got through the first quarter, and I have to say, I'm pleased with my defense (so I can't shoot, or dribble, but I can distract people and steal their bball-playing mojo away. yay me). I even managed to stop Gian from shooting an easy lay-up. Pwede na 'kong mag-bouncer! ^o^ 

But near the end of the second quarter, my stomach started to feel funny. I seriously thought that maybe I shouldn't have taken coffee that morning, because it does things to my stomach. Kala ko natatae lang ako, embarrassingly enough, but no. I tried to ignore it, but then the funny feeling in my stomach started to descend and suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore. I was saved by the half-time bell, and got to sit down.

And oh my god, I wanted to die. It was the first time I actually experienced "breaking out into cold sweat". I could hardly move, but I braved the long trek to the ladies room (thanks sa pad, Trish). Taena, I was hyperventilating and shaking inside the cubicle, and I think I very nearly fainted (because everything was starting to get fuzzy). I couldn't even get up from the toilet. I just sat there, bent over and clutching my abdomen for dear life. Nakakatakot kase, I was alone inside the restroom, I don't think anybody knew I was there.

When it subsided a little, I got out and tried to fix myself up. I was a mess, and my jersey was absolutely soaked. Mas marami pa yung pinawis ko dun sa loob ng CR kesa sa game, akalain mo yun. When I got back to the game, Mela and the others told me to sit the third quarter out. They knew where I was coming from. The pain became tolerable in a while, and I was ready to go back for half of the 3rd quarter and even the last quarter.

Yahoo, nanalo kame! Masakit pa puson ko sa lagay na yon! Ehehe.

So, mga boys, kung inaakala niyong madaling maging babae, hah. I'd like to see you try.

More significant updates later, right now, I have to go get my pain-relievers. Ja.

Shutter Freak
POSTED AT 01:58 PM

Significant updates would have to wait... New photos
uploaded!

Cibo Christmas
http://photobucket.com/albums/v231/geniaofelysion/
xmas2005

RLE 3
http://photobucket.com/albums/v231/geniaofelysion/
RLE3

Mela's Surprise Birthday Bash
http://photobucket.com/albums/v231/geniaofelysion/
mela18th

Hell yeah! Cam-whore-ness to the maximum
level! Enjoy!

Physical and Mental Exhaustion
POSTED AT 03:16 PM

(Warning: Extra Long Post) 

What a taxing week this has been.

Paperwork, duty, exams, and a confusing turn of events could make one go crazy, did you know that?

It wasn't only this week..last week as well. It started with the CWTS Evaluation. I was supposed to make a short presentation about our activities in CWTS all year long. We decided to use Movie Maker, and just (duh) make a short movie with the pictures we had gotten from those activities. Since I wasn't able to join them on the last activity, I agreed to be the one to make that movie. Sabi ko, madali lang naman yun, using the Movie Maker is a breeze. I put off doing it until Friday...kasi akala ko hindi pa sa Saturday yung pasahan. When Ethel reminded me about it Friday morning, I wasn't affected much, kasi nga alam ko madali lang. Shempre, papayag ba si Murphy na hindi umeksena sa buhay ko. Of course he had to screw something up. My Movie Maker? It was the ANCIENT version. I knew how to use the latest version, but I had no idea how to use the old one. Our PC was reformatted a some time ago, and I just found out that the version in my PC was reverted to the old one. Needless to say, I spent all night in front of the computer, slaving over that thing. I went to sleep at around 5am, and woke up at 8am again to go to school and pass the damned project.

Next, the Yearbook dilemma. The old editors and staff assigned to do the yearbook are currently missing-in-action, so our Highschool yearbook is still 0% in progress. The yearbook adviser contacted the old Aquinian staff and asked if we could help out with it, and we foolishly agreed. The friggin' files they gave us were incomplete. There are a lot of missing pictures, directories and write-ups. My biggest problem are  the write-ups because there are a LOT of 'em missing. I'm trying to contact everyone I knew in the list, and I asked them to do their write-ups again. So far, I've only gotten a few good responses. A lot of people didn't want to write new profiles anymore, kasi nga naman sobrang tagal na nun, but what could I do? It's not our fault that the friggin' files are gone. Nauubusan na 'ko ng adjectives...Describing people I hardly know is no easy feat.

Next, school issues. We have to write a research paper for ENglish and we have to present a meal plan for nutrition. It sounds easy, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Our original topic for English is about commercialized green tea (Ayoko na mag-elaborate, masakit sa ulo) but we were short of resources, and pressed for time, so we decided to switch topics. Si Dennis naman kasi, hindi agad sinabing may idea pala siya, nababaliw baliw na kami sa kalokohang green tea idea ko. Pain management in infants is our new topic, and we have loads of material. The problem now is rearranging, writing and concising all those materials. We've encountered a lot of trouble with this lately, and Dennis is already starting to get fed up with..shall we say...less attentive groupmates.

The meal-planning...ugh. Calorie-counting is something I never enjoyed doing. I like going on diets, but calorie-counting just seems a little too much for me. I settled for doing the script instead, and managed to create a mini-skit na puro kalokohan. I'm going to make sure that I bring my digicam on our presentation day, promise. THis is going to be good. ^o^; The preparations aren't done yet, but at least we already have what we need most.

I have been sleep-deprived for several days now. My earliest arrival at home is 7:30 at least. Pucha, buti na lang de-kotse kasabay kong umuwi ngayon, wala na 'kong problema sa pagcocommute, kundi sobrang yari ako sa parents ko. (Haha, Gab tsong, salamat!)

Duty in TMC...medyo boring, but at least we're back under Ma'am Lerma's wing. She's the best Clinical Instructor I've had so far, and I'm glad we're under her again. Sobrang nice nia, and we learn a lot from her. Sobrang boring sa ward, nakakainis. Tapos, sobrang antok pa naman ako, so parang nakakawalang gana magDuty pag ganon. Wala lang.

Today is my last PE class ever. We played against Flor's team for the first game, and we lost by six points. Grabe, sobrang galing. Flor, short he may be, but his shots rarely miss. 3-pointer pa lagi, bad trip! And Chevrone, man, that boy could run. Ang bilis sobra, at kahit na sobrang higpit na ng bantay nia, pasok pa rin lahat ng tira. And they were guarding Mela with a fierce passion kasi nga they know that she's our main point-getter. Yun, talo kami. Then we finished the last quarter of the game from a week ago. This time, we won. (MWahaha, ano ka ngayon, Gabo. Eto ka!^o^)

2 wins and 2 losses. Not bad, for a team of mostly unathletic girls.:D

After PE, Dennis and I went to the Health Sci Lib to do the paper again while we waited for our other groupmates. Nasa UST ako until 8pm. Inabutan kame ng closing ng lib! That has never happened to me before! Milestone ito grabe. At nakakatawa pa, ang daming may laptop sa kanila. Sosyal ang groupmates ko.

I've been feeling off-color since PE ended. Magkakasakit ata ako, I can sense it. Lack of sleep and food is not doing me any good. Matapos lang tong Linggong to...sobrang masaya na 'ko.

But in a way...Masaya na rin ako that these shit happened to us. Tong projects na to...these are probably the last things I'd ever do with them as a group. Next year, Tinfa, Chie, Gie and I would be moved to the 2nd group, hanggang fourth year na yun. Medyo naaattach na 'ko kasi sa groupmates ko ngayon. Gie and I were talking about this the other day, and she felt the same way. Ayaw na namin lumipat ng RLE. So sinusulit ko yung bonding time ko with Chaz, Dennis, Gab, Becca, Lance and Dette habang gumagawa ng projects namin. Grabe, mamimiss ko sila, sobra. Sure we'd still be classmates and all that junk, pero iba pa rin kasi pag ka-RLE mo eh. You experience all the same things, you do all sorts of new activities together, and you all share the same small triumphs and defeats.

Oh well. Enough drama. I have class at 7 tomorrow, and I still feel like I'm coming down with a bug. Shit. What a time to be sick.

The confusing turn of events....I'm writing about that later..in detail. (Pero baka private lang...baka mabasa ng person/s concerned eh.)

Ja.

Tarlac Adventure
POSTED AT 11:29 PM

Part of our grade for Strategies of Health Education, we were required to go to Sitio Mabilog in Tarlac, and give health teachings to the Aeta community.

I've never been to Tarlac, much less a purely Aeta community, so I was half-excited, half-anxious about the trip. Come 5:30 on a Wednesday morning, my expectations were soon to be justified.

The ride to Tarlac was hell. Hello, there were nineteen full-grown people in the backseat of an L300 van, and that's not counting the coolers of food and drinks. Our leg room was zero. The luckier ones were seated comfortably (i.e. our butts were really resting on a seat) while others were just pretending to be seated (i.e. squatting on the van floor with only their coccyx actually "sitting" on the van's bench-like seat). And that's not all. The air-conditioning was busted, so not only was it cramped; it was also sweltering hot. And of course, must not forget the turbulent dirt road up the hills to get to Sitio Mabilog.

But then again, I'd suppose the rough road trip was worth it in the end. It had been a great adventure; something to tell our friends about. Sitio Mabilog was a really nice place. It had a great view, and the people were very hospitable. They listened eagerly and were very curious. They asked a lot of questions, which showed that they were really interested in what we had to say. We gave our lesson without any trouble, interacted with the people and had our lunch there too. I hope the remember something from what we taught them. We dreaded the road trip back, but at least we already knew what to expect, and even had a "battle-plan" mapped out (i.e. improved seating-arrangements so we'd all be comfortable).

Here are some photos from the grand adventure:

Just got off the bus...2 hours of suffering...does it show? :D

The rest of the Tarlac troupe.

Teacher Chen, demonstrating to the Aeta villagers how to change a diaper properly...as if I've really done it before.

Cam-whoring with Tinfa and Paolo


With the village kids.


Who says Aeta children can't pose?

At siyempre...papahuli ba naman ako? :D


And back inside the blasted bus. Sobrang fake ng ngiti, noh? The other 15 didn't fit inside the viewfinder..sorry.

Uhh..What?
POSTED AT 11:59 PM

Macky has this freaky habit of wringing truths out of people. He comes up to you with a grin that means he's up to something, and acts like he knows something about you until you confess...and then you realize that he doesn't know anything about it at all.

That's what he tried to do to me the other day. Here's how it went (as much as I could remember, anyway.)

Macky: (grinning like an idiot)
Me: (starting to get scared) What?
Macky: Meron kang hindi sinasabi.
Me: (Weirded out) Huh? Ano? Kanino?..Huh?
Macky: Basta. Meron kang hindi sinasabi sa kahit kanino dito sa classroom, pero na-figure-out ko dahil sa actions mo.
Me: Weirdo ka. Ano nga yun?
Macky: Basta..it's something you're not ready to tell anyone. Baka nga hindi ka pa rin sure, about sa feelings mo kaya hindi mo pa sinasabi.
Me: Nampucha, Adik ka ba? I swear hindi kita maintindihan. Sabihin mo na kasi, baka naman mamaya akala mo lang yan.
Macky: Ayoko. Gusto ko kasi when the day comes na sabihin mo na yan, say, kila Mela, sabihin ko sa 'yo "yan! Yan yung sinasabi ko!"
Me: Oooohkaaaaaay.

In truth...I have no idea what he was blabbering about. I wasn't hiding anythin...at least I don;t think so. Ang boring nga ng buhay ko ngayon eh. If I had a secret, then wouldn't things be a little more exciting than they are right now?

But it made me think...which of my actions made him think I was hiding something? Was I hiding something unconsciously? Or was he just really bored and tried to mess with my head? (Yeah, well, Mack-man, I gotta hand it to you. It worked.) Taenang Macky yan, napapaisip ako bigla eh.

Do you have any idea about this? Post a comment and tell me, before I drive myself crazy. Thanks.

Examination Week
POSTED AT 01:25 AM

It all comes down to this. 3 days of forced studying, just so we could get the exams over and done with. I for one, haven't started yet. Yeah, well.

And after all of these....Hell yeah! Summer vacation! Already I'm writing down all the plans.

1. Saturday Night Out with Condemned Ones and Ghorjus4
>> it's Xianne's 18th..I wasn't invited but Nic asked if I wanted to go out after..I said I'll ask my parents..sunod nalang ako sa kanila if ever.

2. 3 Days, 2 Nights in Royal Tagaytay with RLE3
>> Yes we are making a big deal out of this. 4 of the original RLE3 members (including me) are going to be moved to RLE2, and we're being very sentimental. We want our last bonding moments to be something big.

3. Clubhopping with Ghorjus and Benchers
>> Watch out Greenbelt and Eastwood.

4. Shopping Sprees
>> mall man o Tutuban, basta kaya ng budget why the hell not. With all the clubbing we're going to do, we'll need the clothes.

5. A week at Saichie's
>> Self-invite. :D Oi Girlie, ayos lng ba?

6. Movie/Koreanovela Marathons
>> 'Takte, it's about time! I've been wanting to do this for so long, wala lang akong time and energy.

7. Swimming
>> Malamang. Summer eh.

8. Catch up with the snoozing
>> a pleasure I've been deprived of all year

9. Finish my SoR fic
>> I swear I will. I won't abandon it, promise! Kailangan matapos kong isulat yun before summer ends!

10. Lose weight.
>> oh yeah right. Lagi ko namang goal yan, hindi nga lang natutupad:D

11. Learn how to cook.
>> Medyo marunong na 'ko pero gusto ko matutunan pa yung ibang family recipes and favorites namin. :D

12. Learn how to drive.
>> para bilhan na 'ko ng car, then I won't keep pestering Gab to take me home. :D

13. Tali
>> last on the list, dahil medyo malabo akong payagan dito. It's a beach..my folks have a phobia on beaches. Iono why, but they never allow me to go out on swimming trips if there's a natural body of water included. Word.

So far, yan pa lang....But I guess the list will get longer with time.

Sige na nga, mag-aaral na nga. Ja.

Out of Town
POSTED AT 06:06 PM

(WARNING: VERY Long Post)

Tick off one item from the summertime to-do list! Four days and three nights in Tagaytay Royale managed.

The original plan was that RLE 3 would be going to Tagaytay as a sort-of farewell, but certain circumstances prevented half the members from going, so from ten RLE members, we were down to five. That’s me, Tinfa, Gab, Dennis and Lance. Then Dennis told us that he promised his other friends (namely, the El Hombres) a Tagaytay trip as well, so he merged the trip into one. That was OK with us; I liked the Hombres. The more the merrier, as they say. So that’s half of RLE 3 plus DJ, Arvin, Gotz, Mon, Carlos and Tim.

DAY 1 (Sunday)
Got to Tagaytay late Sunday afternoon (except for Tim and Mon, who were due the following day). We got settled in, fixed our stuff and put everything we needed in their proper places. Since we were the only girls, Tinfa and I were to share a room downstairs (the only room with it’s own bathroom) while all the others slept upstairs, on the floor right in front of the TV. (*sighs* boys, indeed.) Tinfa and I took pictures (hah, I found a fellow cam-whore in her), while the others took out other forms of entertainment.

In the backseat of Gab's car, on our way to Tagaytay

La Mujers Tinfa and Chen, a few minutes after arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lance and DJ brought out the guitars to start the jamming session, and Carlos took out the badminton rackets and the Playstation 2. We stayed outside, just breathing in the fresh..err..provincial air, and basically enjoying each other’s company. When it got dark, we went back inside the house for dinner just before we settled upstairs for a movie marathon. The dinner’s highlights include Lance’s killer pinipig-rice (which was poorly cooked, and was still hilaw when he served it to us. He never lived it down.) and DJ’s late reaction (he literally choked in laughter around five minutes after a joke was told). Watched Memoirs of a Geisha, Shutter and Not Another Teen Movie before finally succumbing to sleepiness. Turned in around four in the morning.

DAY 2 (Monday)
Woke up late, as expected. After freshening up, I went down to the kitchen to help out in preparing brunch. Had a good time making scrambled eggs in a Teflon pan (I was amazed that I didn’t need oil to fry the eggs…yay! Harhar.) Also made hot chocolate and coffee for the others. Tim and Mon arrived a little after lunch. We then decided to head to the subdivision’s clubhouse to do stuff.

Tinfa, Gab, Tim, Arvin, DJ and I first headed to the badminton courts, while the other boys went to play basketball. First game was played by Tim and DJ against Gab and Arvin. Tinfa and I wandered around, and (guess what) snapped photos again. By the time we got back, Tim had already decided to rest so I took his place. A little later, Arvin sat down, and was replaced by Tinfa. After the badminton game, we went to the bowling alley and played one game. Table tennis went next (I sat that one out, since I knew squat about it), and then followed by swimming.

A shot of me while wallowing in the pool courtesy of Den.

After that very sporty day, we went home to freshen up and have dinner, and then decided to go out for coffee at Starbucks.

Hanging out in the girls' room while waiting for the others to get ready
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All smiles at Starbucks

We got back and had a light drinking session (peach and apple flavored vodka with Sprite) while jamming.

Carlos in lead vocal, Lance on guitar and Gab..the number one fan

Artic FLavored VOdka bottle signed by the housemates

Tinfa and Gab (the pair I worked hard to get together) took a raincheck and spent the night talking the night away.

Making memories,,, 

The guys took turns playing the guitar and we all sang along to the songs we knew. Talked about a lot of things, school, family, lovelives (or lack thereof), friends, movies, music, stupid shit…anything we could think of. I got a bit drowsy at some part of the conversation, and wanted to go to bed, but Tinfa was still talking to Gab. I didn’t want to go to bed alone because, embarrassingly, I was scared. Eventually, my sleepiness dissolved and even when Tinfa and I retired to our room, we still couldn’t stop talking about the day’s events. We went to sleep (very reluctantly) five in the morning.

DAY 3 (Tuesday)
My whole body was hurting like hell when I woke up. I’m not a sporty person, and all that exercise must’ve strained my poor, inactive muscles. My right arm (the one I used for badminton) hurt worst of all. It was actually shaking while I sliced up meatloaf for brunch.

We were supposed to go to Taal Vista at around four in the afternoon to watch the sunset, but after brunch, the boys went to watch Jarhead on DVD. I found the movie very boring, and went to take a nap on the couch (Gab sequestered my bed, the little weasel). When I woke up, it was already 4 pm and no one was ready to leave. By the time everyone had finished bathing and dressing up, it was already 5 pm. The sunset had passed when we got to Taal Vista and the thick fog already concealed the mountain view. But that didn’t stop us from taking pictures.

Tinfa and Chen: partners-in-crime

Modern day Power Rangers, the mountain view obscured by thick gray fog

We had dinner at McDonald’s, and then headed back to the house. Arvin and Tim fried the shanghai rolls (for pulutan) I brought, while we all did our own things. Mon, Lance, DJ and I watched a movie, Gab and Tinfa were again lost in their own world, while the others played FIFA on Playstation.  When the shanghai rolls were ready, we brought out the salt, lemons and tequila (Cuervo Gold) for our second drinking session. My arm was still aching like crazy, but what the heck. I’m up for a little alcohol. 

Oi Benchers and Ghorjus, congratulate me, I survived Cuervo! (I have a low tolerance for alcohol, so I’m a bit surprised that it took a long time before I got woozy from the tequila).

Oi Benchers and Ghorjus, congratulate me, I survived Cuervo! (I have a low tolerance for alcohol, so I’m a bit surprised that it took a long time before I got woozy from the tequila).

Meeting Jose Cuervo 
 

When the pain in my arm became unbearable (I had to use my left arm to text, it was that bad), I went inside to lie down. When they consumed the last bottle, we went upstairs to watch Brokeback Mountain. I guess it was the movie’s slow pace, and lack of dialogue, plus the fact that we were all a bit drunk, that we all fell asleep one by one. I would’ve stayed asleep right smack in the middle of the boy’s den if not for Arvin. I woke up abruptly when he stood up to switch off the movie. I went downstairs, and took Tinfa along with me to go to bed. This time, we both fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. 

DAY 4 (Wednesday)
Last day of the Tagaytay visit. I woke up at around 7 am to get my things in order, since we were supposed to leave by nine. I took a shower and got dressed as quickly as I could, and then helped out in the kitchen. The others had already started packing up too, and it made me kind of sad that we were already leaving. This would probably be the last time I’d see them for the summer. The few days I spent there had been a lot of fun, even though we didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. It was just a group of friends living together for a few days, and it gave me a certain sense of maturity and independence. We took care of ourselves and each other for three days, and that is saying something. 

We took a few more pictures before bidding Dennis goodbye. His dad was picking him up there, while we were going to head back to Manila together. Tinfa, Mon, Lance and I in Gab’s car, and the others rode with Carlos.

We took a few more pictures before bidding Dennis goodbye. His dad was picking him up there, while we were going to head back to Manila together. Tinfa, Mon, Lance and I in Gab’s car, and the others rode with Carlos.

Say goodbye to the man of the house

Pose with the Stresstabs poster boy

Am lovin' this flower.

Leaving with naught but smiles and happy memories 

 

Had lunch (surprisingly on time) in KFC on the way back. We arrived back in UST (our point of origin) and bid our goodbyes there. I hugged them all, and told them to enjoy their vacation, and to keep in touch. Gab dropped Tinfa off in her dorm, before driving me home. (Last na hated nia sa ‘kin for the summer since he was going to leave for the US soon, and won’t be back until May). I promised him I’d give him Salatuna (this canned tuna dish I brought to Tagaytay, that he had gotten addicted to), so I did. A sort-of bon voyage and thank you gift. 

It had been a hell of an experience. I hope I get to do it again. (Although, I went home with a…shall we say.. a ”bug”… which has left me all confused. Damn it all to fuggin’ hell.) You would think that an out of town trip of two girls and ten boys, and several bottles of liquor would result in…a tragedy. We proved ‘em all wrong. Hay nako. Parents needed to trust us more.

Up next is Jasmin’s eighteenth, which is coming up next Saturday. Hah. I feel another adventure brewing.

Ja.