synthetic_dreaming

[HP fic rec] love's appalling adverbs

2006-10-03T23:51:00.000+08:00

...
http://www.amanuensis1.com/lovesappalling.html

Admit it: we were all guilty of this in one time or another! Somehow, Hermione as a bad writer sounds just so true, nee!

2006-09-01T15:38:00.000+08:00

Thank God for iTunes! I've finally converted the band's latest album into MP3s! I'm leaving the links here for a week before I pull them down.

I don't think Sugar Hiccup's popular outside the country...they call themselves "the alternative of alternative rock." Speaks for their work! Listen in to understand what I mean.

Sugar Hiccup - D.O.T.S.
Sugar Hiccup - Una Parola
Sugar Hiccup - Bleed
Sugar Hiccup - Echo & Gab
Sugar Hiccup - ...And Breeze
Sugar Hiccup - Cartwheel Joy
Sugar Hiccup - Feel
Sugar Hiccup - Trust
Sugar Hiccup - Barn
Sugar Hiccup - In Fear

[random] LSS, 80's style

2006-08-28T21:52:00.000+08:00

Who has an mp3 of this song, "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler?

Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?
Where's the great white Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what i need

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasies
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

I the mountains neath the heavens above
Out where the lightning strikes the sea
I can swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
and the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night
he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
and gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

2006-07-28T22:21:00.000+08:00

Dedicated not to Ferds, who is a good friend of mine, but certainly not my type of guy.

This is for a certain person who I will call Y-san. No description, except that he never fails to make me smile.

Mamma Mia
by ABBA

I've been cheated by you since I don't know when
So I made up my mind, it must come to an end
Look at me now, will I ever learn?
I don't know how but I suddenly lose control
There's a fire within my soul
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, o-o-o-oh

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know,
My my, I could never let you go.

I've been angry and sad about the things that you do
I can't count all the times that Ive told you were through
And when you go, when you slam the door
I think you know that you won't be away too long
You know that I'm not that strong.
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, o-o-o-oh

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, even if I say
Bye bye, leave me now or never
Mamma mia, it's a game we play
Bye bye doesn't mean forever

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go
Mamma mia, now I really know
My my, I could never let you go

[coloring practice] brunette child with green eyes

2006-07-24T20:00:00.000+08:00

I just like the way she looks out from the screen with wide, knowing eyes and a small smile.

2006-07-22T13:57:00.000+08:00

[sketch practice #01] back view of chemie the white-cat-with-a-black-smudge-on-left-ear-and-tail. Forgive me, I'm still trying out the pen-tablet using Photoshop CS, an ornery cat who wouldn't stay still, and hands which have gone beyond exhaustion.

2006-07-19T23:13:00.000+08:00

Attempting to use Photoshop CS with the pen-tablet Sir Ed gave me:

2006-07-16T18:16:00.000+08:00

[digital art] my bestest oneechan "Zhyndia" made this piece, inspired by my still-ongoing holmesian fanfic "Truthseekers". ok, so i'm now pressured to finish the monstrous fic, in between classes, clients and research projects. ^_^*

[random] news or the lack of it

2006-07-02T19:02:00.000+08:00

There's not much news, except that people close to me have been ending up in hospitals lately. First one's Dr. G., who was confined in a hospital with his baby Erin-chan because of gastroenteritis early last week. His absense resulted in me taking over the Science and Society class, boring/blathering about the practice of science.

Next one was scarier--my mom had high fever for 3 days, without any sign of cough nor cold. Last Friday, my bro brought her to World Citi for a checkup, and the initial finding was dengue (tourniquet test), so she was confined there. I spent two nights sleeping on a narrow but fluffy sofa, watching over her. Today, she was discharged--the dengue-blot test was negative.

Hopefully, I didn't bungle anything with the Science and Society class. As for the housework...leaves much to be desired. >.>

[lyrics] (cynthia alexander) comfort in your strangeness

2006-06-26T21:04:00.000+08:00

Woke up this morning
I was staring at the ceiling cracks
And roadmaps and landscapes and highways
I have seen
I have been
To places far and deep in my mind only to find
Comfort in your strangeness
Or moving shadows when I call the wind by name
Rushing firewater in the dark of a cloud
I have seen I have been
To places far and deep in my mind only to find
Comfort in your strangeness
We are slaves to the crimes we commit
In fits of passion we shame
We are nothing we are nothing we are nothing we are
Nothing
But the dust on your feet
Dying to be born again
Singing ether water fire singing earth singing air
I have seen I have been
To places far and deep in my mind only to find
Comfort in your strangeness
I have seen I have been
To places far and deep in my mind only to find
Comfort in your strangeness

[random] ARGH!

2006-06-08T20:33:00.000+08:00

Attended an ICP Seminar on "the essentials of an analytical chemist: control charts, uncertainties, etc."

I offer 2 words: INFORMATION OVERLOAD. >.<

...
From zhynchan, some lyrics of Sugar Hiccup...

I've been humming this particular song for so lo~ng:

Not much
Sugar Hiccup

I've got so much time to give my heart
And so much of time to heal this part
I don't have much time to hear from you
And not so much time to pull this through

I've got so much time to care for you
And so much of life to be with you
I don't have much time to stay with you
And not so much life to keep us two

And I feel you're unsure of living
And I fear it's too late for loving
But I wish that you'd still love me
On my knees won't you please be mine

I've got so much time to live for you
And so much of heart to love you true
I've got so much dreams to save for you
I've got so much love to share with you

a birthday post-mortem report

2006-06-01T19:44:00.000+08:00

Last Friday was my 23rd natal day on this good ol' Earth. It was fun, fun, FUN!

The first person who called me up that day was my best-guy-friend Kit...but I was unfortunately in the bathroom taking a shower so Chipi answered the phone in his usual gruff way (which I think he uses to all of my friends of the male species).

Anyway, Kit and I met up at Starbucks Katipunan branch later that morning because he promised to be my lackey for the day. It was almost two years since we last saw each other, when we drove to PSHS to attend the wake of our former maths teacher.

ANYWAY, two years is a long time...Kit effin' grew out his hair! O_O Shocking! It didn't help that his naturally wavy hair looked oily and matted (i.e., messy).

Being my lackey for the day, we went out for groceries (ice cream and sugar cones) because I promised my class that I'd treat them to ice cream. But the sweetest thing was that he bought me a cake as his birthday gift for me!

To cut the story short, my class was happy and delighted with the ice cream treat (and they asked me if Kit was my brother...our reaction was so hilarious! But, I'd rather have that question than the other, more-common-but-more-annoying question, which is "Is he your boyfriend?"). He also met up with my co-teachers and senior teachers from the dept, and passed their interrogation (*sigh* the pitfall of being the youngest female "intermediate").

That night, my family went out to dinner at Burgoo. Then, next morning, I had a stomach ache which was actually the 24-hour-bug. From my hyper, genki girl of Friday, I became a grumpy 23-year-old with a bum stomach.

[yay!] finally got one!

2006-05-21T19:49:00.000+08:00

...a laptop, that is.

Now I'm broke for the rest of the year.

[lyrics] some sugar hiccup lyrics

2006-05-19T22:00:00.000+08:00

Sugar Hiccup was a Pinoy rock band in the early '90s. If Eraserheads and Rivermaya were 'alternative rock', SH was an alternative 'alternative' rock--they classified their music as "dream rock/pop." With their smooth (sometimes, brash) flow of electric guitar riffs and metallic electronica (and the fairy-like but haunting soprano of Melody del Mundo), SH classified their music correctly.

The little problem is that this band is quite thrifty in lyric-writing:

Five Years

Mmmmmm....
But He will never be back......

Why Sigh

Hear me sigh,
live a lie
'see me cry'
your reply
hear me lie,
try to fly
hear me lie
why sigh

Love Endowed Intimately

Give me peace in the wind
Call me making no sound
Then keep, kiss, hold, miss,
See me punching holes in the wind
Sing through waves of the wind
dance me making me no sin
Then heal, feel, heart, steal
Come with me inside the whole of the wind
Then touch me, I made no sin
Don't leave me for I love thee
I'll keep you like gold on my kin's
Find you like treasures I need to
live, talk, feel, walk
Follow you
Love me inside the whole of the wind

.......
But I still can't find the rest of the lyrics, especially for the album "Womb".

sudden romance...

2006-05-11T22:29:00.000+08:00

Lifted from a previous LJ post of mine...

It is only now I go home by my lonesome in the evenings.

Walking at a sedate pace inside the campus, with the gibbous moon looking down at me with a jaundiced eye, poised just so at the edges of the ragged treetops covering the back slopes. ADMU is really a school on a hill.

It is a short, but pleasant walk from Schmitt Hall to the tricycle terminal. Short -- it takes me around 5 minutes to reach the terminal. Pleasant -- it is only during this time I can completely live in my head, and retreat from the busy, hectic and frantic day which is the given lot for teachers.

Not a wind stirred the caballero blossoms -- stately firetrees lining the main street, boughs arching overhead. Only a few orange-red petals lay on the dusty ground. Silence embraced the whole street, companionable and warm, like a shared smile with a close friend. Like a song without words.

There is indeed an ineffable romance in walking alone in summer evenings.

yay!

2006-05-06T19:56:00.000+08:00

...birthday wish list!

Yes, this sounds very consumeristic (?!) of me, but I find the yearly list-writing fun! It's the endless, one-track hankering which is bad. Some of them are necessities, some are frivolities...

1) Laptop
2) 1GB USB flash disk by PQI in SAKURA PINK! O_O
3) Fountain pen with blue ink (saw a cute plain Parker fountain pen worth ~Php400)
4) A pair of leather lace-up ankle boots
5) "Love Underground: Persephone's Tale" by Alice Fields--saw this at NBS. Read the synopsis---it promises to be an interesting read.
6) Bleach/Naruto plushies! Or pillows!
7) Any book by Alan Lightman (or any book by well-known science writers)

[tech help] which one?

2006-05-01T18:06:00.000+08:00

Since my birthday is coming up, I've been hunting for laptop specs. HP/Compaq is a big plus because I can get a discount.

I'm looking for a "desktop replacement" of sorts, powerful enough for me to do mid-to-high level computational analyses (for chemometrics and NMR data processing), word processing (papers, papers AND PAPERS) and graphics editing (as the resident webmistress of the dept).

So far, here's a shortlist of what I find a-OK. The problem is that I can't seem to decide which one will give me value-for-money (and when I buy one, I'll be shackling myself with debt spread out to 12 months). Techie people, can you help me out here?

Source URL: http://www.laptopking.com.ph

COMPAQ PRESARIO V1022 CENTRINO NOTEBOOK (PhP 56,888.00)

• Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology
• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 1.5GHz
• Intel® Pro/Wireless 2100 (802.11b) wireless networking
• 256Mb Memory
• 15in. XGA TFT Active Matrix Display
• 40Gb Hard Disk Drive
• Intel® Extreme Graphics 2
• Slot for SD/MMC Memory Card
• USB 2.0 ports available
• JBL Pro Speakers and 16-bit Sound Card
• 10/100Mbps LAN Controller
• 56Kbps V.90 Fax Modem
• DVD Writer(DVD+RW) MultiBay Drive (Hot Swappable)
• Li-Ion battery pack
• Samsonite Notebook Case
• Optical Mini Mouse
• Licensed Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

HP COMPAQ NX6120 SONOMA NOTEBOOK (PhP 69,888.00)

Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.6GHz, 533MHz / 2Mb L2 cache)
Mobile Intel® 915GM Express Chipset
15.0 inch XGA (1024 x 768) Display
512Mb 333MHz DDR SDRAM
40Gb 5400rpm Hard Drive
DVD+CDRW Combo Drive
Intel® GMA 900 with up to 128Mb shared video memory
Integrated Intel® 802.11 b/g WLAN
6-in-1 Media Reader
56Kb modem
Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000Mbps) - Triple LAN
Touchpad
6-cell Li-ION Battery
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home (30D Trial)
1 year parts and labor warranty

worth noting: HP NX6120 notebook comes with the NEW scratch resistant Lexan hard coated film and magnesium reinforced frame for increased reliability for mobile environments.

[tech envy] i wish for...

2006-04-23T20:23:00.000+08:00

This:

SPECS:
HP Compaq NX6120 PV136PA #UUF
Intel Celeron M Processor 360
(1.4Ghz, 1MB L2 Cache, 400Mhz FSB)
Intel 915GM Express Chipset
256MB DDR 333 (2 x SODIMM up to 2GB)
40GB Mobile Harddrive
CDRW+DVD-ROM (Combo Drive)
15" XGA TFT LCD, 1024 x 768 max.res
Integrated Wireless LAN Module 802.11
10/100/1000 LAN, High-speed 56k Modem
1 x Serial port, 1 x Parallel port
1 x VGA-Out, 1 x S-Video Out
1 x IEEE1394 port, 2 x PCMCIA slot
1 x IrDA port, 4 x USB2.0
1 x Microphone, headphone/Line out
6-in-1 Card Reader
Dimensions: 3.03(H) x 32.86(W) x 26.70(D) cm
6-Cell Lithium Ion battery, 2.75Kg
PC-DOS
HP Compaq Laptop Bag
1 year Limited Worldwide Warranty

[davao--subplot 5]

2006-04-20T23:35:00.000+08:00

Subplot #5: First day at the Chem Congress, shopping by remote-control at Aldevinco's, the cutest shawl shop and The Banquet. Also, how I foiled the ADMU Chem's not-so-Hidden Agenda

Being a responsible adult/faculty in the young-ladies group--the female fresh grads and Chinggay--I had to set an example. Like getting up on the dot (which I don't usually do here in Manila...snooze alarm for 3 hours!), waking the whole bunch, pulling off their blankets and pushing them to the bathroom for a shower. We were driven to ADDU by Ching's lovely cousin, Joan.

[Since The Banquet was scheduled that night, I brought along my pretty black blouse and matching tube top. Wearing a black baby-tee, black linen skirt with beaded callado detail at mid-calf (hem), stockings and black leather pumps (graduation gift from my bro), I looked like a young maestra with severe, almost-goth taste. The fresh grads looked like...students in summer attire. Sigh. Dressing according to role.]

At ADDU, we were already registered (and fully paid) by none other than...Sir Erwin. He gave us our kits and IDs and bundled us to the über-slow elevator (I guess the only thing Davao is remiss is speed), just in time for the opening ceremonies and speakers.

Snacks and luncheon were sumptious. Looking at the scheduled plenary and parallel sessions, I decided that the topics for that day weren't my liking, and I'd rather go shopping. Drs. Rojas and Soma and Reggie formed the same decision, so we trooped down to Aldevinco's (right across ADDU).

It was there I found the cutest shawl shop (Meracie's), where I bought a batik bag and light blue shawl (as per instructions of my bro, who wanted to give someone female a gift from Davao) at rock-bottom prices. The shop was SO SMALL--the rainbow assortment of shawls, scarves, batiks and robes spilling at the seams--so I took my sweet time browsing after the important purchase, unfurling shawl after shawl. I think I was half-buried in a colorful pile of gossamer when the PhDs found me, who in turn fell in love with the store and bought a LOT of shawls.

[It also helped that the proprietors discovered that I could speak Chavacano, while I was talking to my bro on the phone. Since the dialect has some Bisaya words in it--and I readily adapted the Dabawenyo-Tagalog accent--they helped me in selecting the best fabrics.]

A vibrant pink shawl, with carriage wheels woven near the tasselled ends, caught my eye. Its fabric was soft, delicate and shimmery, interspersed with silver threads, giving the pink a holographic look. I fell in love with that shawl! So I bought it, with the intention of using it at The Banquet.

After the shopping trip, I hung out with all the fresh grads and Ian at the Regency Inn, in Ian, David and Deniz's room.
...
The Banquet was held at The Marco Polo Grand Ballroom. A five-star hotel, it was the poshest place in the metro, so I dressed up appropriately, changing my black tee for the formal blouse, and draping the shawl artfully.

Much to my consternation, The Banquet was nothing but formal!

The organizers announced, rather late, that the dress code was maskipaps. Maski papaano. (Literally, "in/by any way", it means "whatever...come as you are, even though you're dressed in rags.") >.> So I was one of the few who were in formal attire, but I was able to blend in with the air of the hotel.

The party itself was boring. We weren't seated according to school, but randomly. I was seated with a UPLB professor (Dr. Ernie del Rosario) and an Aussie NatProd/NMR chemist (Dr. Mary Garson) and other fresh grads from Mindanao (who only spoke in Bisaya). The PhDs were interesting...Dr. del Rosario commented about cynicism about the whole event ("You're young...and an MS at that!...don't be too negative about tonight and tomorrow. Your paper is definitely something so you're picked to give a talk on that, so cheer up and be positive!"), but they left early, during the inane group-dynamics games. Bored out of my wits, I joined half-heartedly in a photo op at another table, then left the ballroom.

Chinggay and her dad were lounging at the Lobby Lounge, the hotel's bar...drinking beer. After exchanging pleasantries with her and her dad, I finally did the unthinkable--I ordered a beer (San Miguel Light). I joined them, sipping the alcohol slowly while talking.

It was this way the ADMU group found me after the Banquet. It was this way that I foiled their Hidden Agenda. I don't drink Red Horse, but I can take SML...and I drink when situation calls for it! They can't make me go drunk! XD After Sir Ed hooted, "Alright, Oui! Congratulations! *high-fives me*", they junked the agenda.

We (Chinggay and the girl-fresh-grads and moi) took a non-aircon taxi back "home." The night air in Davao was bracingly fresh and clean!

And I had a good night's sleep. Grudgingly, I admit that that's the only good effect of SML beer on me.

[oui's davao trip] subplot #4

2006-04-16T01:07:00.000+08:00

Subplot #4: Cocktails at ADDU, Matina Town Square and the ADMU Chem Hidden Agenda. Also, a minor problem of the Double-Sided Tape
After dropping off the rest of the ADMU/PAL group, I tagged along with Chinggay to fetch Dr. Rojas from DVIA. Her plane was late--quite unusual for a Cebu Pacific flight ("The new Filipino time is on time" vs. PAL's joke "Plane Always Late"), hehe. So, when we arrived at the Regency Inn, everyone had left for the registration and cocktails.

"Oh, no! We're late for registration!"

"Nothing to worry about, Oui," Dr. Rojas replied. "Our group can't register until tomorrow."

"Why?"

"The payment is with me!"

Me = O_o

"And, Oui, might you have a roll of double-sided tape with you?"

"Er, no."

Despite being horribly late, the three of us went to ADDU. The university's college campus was one tall commercial building--7 storeys of blue plate-glassy facade--with a PAL ticket office and a beauty salon (Fanny Serrano) at its ground floor facing the street. Its inner sanctum was a small well-manicured lawn with low whitewashed buildings and a tiny chapel (pretty stained glass).

[Actually, the neighborhood where ADDU stands reminds me of oldtime Makati down Gil Puyat Ave. The plate-glassy building is across a Greenhills-type shopping bazaar (Aldevinco's) and a five-star hotel (The Marco Polo). Almost all public transportation (jeeps, aircon and non-aircon taxis) ply the street fronting the school.]

I was reluctant to join everyone at the cocktails, being sweaty and vaguely smelling of dried sunblock and sun (and relatively underdressed in grey flannel hoodie, jeans and sequinned flipflops).

But a chemists' cocktails aren't real cocktails--spiked punch, yes, but everybody else was underdressed (sneakers and tee-shirts rule!). But real food was absent in the event, not to mention the (almost complete) ADMU Chem group's problem of the moment:

"Who brought double-sided tape?"

That was the question of the night, which wasn't resolved until the following day, thanks to (the fresh grads) David and Deniz and the hurried march to National Bookstore at Gaisano.

Since real food wasn't to be had at the cocktail party, the ADMU Chem decided to eat dinner someplace else. I forgot who suggested what, but we ended up going to Matina Town Square (MTS)--Davao's answer to Eastwood, Libis. Not for dinner, but for something else.

And that something else had me in mind.

Seeing a largish banner proclaiming San Miguel Beer hung in front of an establishment at MTS and the smoky haze of cigarette and liquor vapor ticked off my panic alarm in my head. Uh-oh, this means dinner is beer and pica-pica, not REAL FOOD!!

Well, real food was available (but the cooking time was 1 hour...what's this, Davao time? I was suffering from the local opposite of jetlag), in the form of well-seasoned adobo flakes on rice at Taboan. Others opted for the local version of halo-halo (with durian). Still others (the "grown-ups": Dr. D, [Sir] Ed and company) ordered beer and pica-pica, while watching an ethnic theater group sing and dance onstage at Taboan MTS. Even our Chinese PhD student, Zhonglin (Carlo to us), danced with them.

It was only later that the last part of ADMU Chem (Erwin [Dr. EPE] and his fresh grads--the young ones) arrived, famished and tired.

Despite the aural exhaustion (there's a limit when I can appreciate ethnic music in Bisaya, with matching ululations and when I consider the whole thing as hearing-abuse) and hunger, I felt relieved. The group was complete, I had a full dinner and I had a roof to sleep under, in the company of my close friend.

But the night wasn't over yet.

The "Grown-ups" had a hidden agenda, which finally took form in the guise of Sir Ed and a glass of Red Horse beer with lots of ice.

He plunked it in front of me. "Here's something for you. The beer's on me!"

"HU-WHAAAAAAAT????!?!"

"The Department's Davao agenda is to get you drunk. Right, guys?" OMGWTF, everyone, including my boss/adviser Dr. D, nodded. Dr. D added something to Sir Ed's statement.

"You have to drink. Beer's good for you."

"Di ako umiinom nyan!" I exclaim in horror. (I don't drink that!)

"I'm your adviser, remember. You have to run a chemometrics analysis on that, as well."

"NO." (I crossed my arms and pouted.)

The "grown-ups" were laughing at my expense! God, Red Horse beer! I don't drink that. But I had an idea.

Turning to Dr. EPE, I said, "Sir Erwin, can you help me? Could you drink half of the beer?"

"But, Oui, just like you, I don't drink at all!"

"PLEASE?"

"Oh, okay, if you insist..."

I poured half of the liquid in his empty glass. The "grown-ups" were DELIGHTED! ("Yeah, two birds with one stone!" I overheard someone say.) They watched us two eagerly as we did the "bottoms-up" routine.

The beer tasted horrible, and our identical grimaces told that to everyone ("Ugh, I want to barf..." "Me, too, Oui..."). They hooted and toasted!

Before Sir Ed ordered another glass, Chinggay fetched me and the female fresh grads (Wena, Tin), much to my relief. Before leaving MTS, I mouthed a "thank you" at Dr. EPE. :)

Such was my first night in Davao!

(TBC--Subplot #5: First day at the Chem Congress, shopping by remote-control at Aldevinco's, the cutest shawl shop and The Banquet. Also, how I foiled the ADMU Chem's not-so-Hidden Agenda)

[Part 2] Oui's Davao Trip...

2006-04-13T16:12:00.000+08:00

Subplot #3: Sun-worship at Chema's, and seeing faculty in a different, sun-drenched light
It was the cutest, coziest resort I've ever seen in my travels around the country (OK, so I used to travel when I was a child, but when PSHS beckoned in the horizon, the family finally stayed put). Chema's was just one of the tiny, privately-owned resorts dotting the shores of Samal Island facing mainland Davao/Mindanao. Not as large and über-posh as Pearl Farm (makes mental note to whack bro's head for going to PF), but quieter and more secluded. Shaded by large, gnarled sea-grape trees were the short strand of beach (white sand...move over Boracay!), an infinity pool (facing the Davao Strait), and 3-4 extra-large parasols woven from anahaw leaves in intricate, repeating patterns. Jutting from the side of the infinity pool was a sun deck with 3 reclining chairs for sunbathing.

The ADMU/PAL group (Sir Ed, Dr. D, Dr. Soma, Gilbert, Reggie, Ian, Zhonglin and moi) rented 2 of the parasols, but since it was a weekday, we had the whole resort to ourselves! XD All of them changed into their swimming gear (and I, as a landlubber, don't have one, so I changed into shorts and my cat tee) then hightailed it to the water.

[Randomness: I suffered an immediate paradigm shift (read: trauma) after seeing them change into swimwear. All I can say is that I prefer to see them in their normal suit of clothes. So call me prudish.]

While they frolicked under the sun and sea, I slathered on some sunblock on my bare arms and legs (and special sunblock cream for the face...I'm a vain girl) and melted on one of the sun-chairs on the deck, with matching oversized sunglasses and floppy hat. What was missing was a tall glass of strawberry daiquiri, but a glass of buko-lychee sherbet did the trick. After baking myself for an hour, I beachcombed a bit, even waded into the water, hunting for shells. Too bad I only found hermit crabs and drab bits of coral. Then I went back to sun-worship. Everyone else, by this time, were snoozing in the shade (c'mon, from the plane to the beach? Who wouldn't be exhausted?) or wallowing in the infinity pool.

I would have continued to bake myself into crisp if it weren't for 3 things: Dr. D and Ed's threat to drag me into the water with them, Ian's and Reggie's comments about comparing me to grilling fish (what I lacked, according to them, were grill marks from the sun-chair) and hunger. Hunger roused almost everyone up (except for Ian, who was fast asleep on a bench) so we ordered some overpriced food and waited.

The orders took an hour to be cooked. Being a Manileña, their service speed was close to unforgiveable! And overpriced to boot! Anyway, everyone ate well, except for Ian who woke up when lunch was finished and we were preparing to sail back to the mainland.

When we reached the Davao jetty, it was just in time to fetch Dr. Rojas/Nina from DVIA.

(TBC--Subplot #4: Cocktails at ADDU, Matina Town Square and the ADMU Chem Hidden Agenda. Also, a minor problem of the Double-Sided Tape)

2006-04-12T17:55:00.000+08:00

[Davao City] At Jack's Ridge, feeling pretty in mauve and pink...

2006-04-12T17:54:00.000+08:00

[Davao-Samal Island] On our way back to the boat...

2006-04-12T17:48:00.000+08:00

[Davao City] Shopping at an über-cute shawl shop at Aldevinco, across Ateneo de Davao...

2006-04-12T17:45:00.000+08:00

[21st PCC Fellowship Night] How to look classy-bored in a five-star establishment such as The Marco Polo in Davao City...

2006-04-11T18:45:00.000+08:00

Yay! There are a lot of things I really want to blather in here, but I can't keep my thoughts in a coherent form.

One way is to make this into a big story, "Oui's Davao Trip", and divide it into sub-plots. Another way is to listen to me ramble pointlessly, ~~with a lot of Y-san included in the narration~~.

Here it goes:

"Oui's Davao Trip--Or How I Found Out That Pink Is My Color"

(more on that color later)

Subplot #1: Waiting at NAIA Terminal 2 for the ADMU/PAL Group
Woke up at 200AM and took a hurried cold shower. Slurped some coffee after dressing up. Double-checked my bags before riding the taxi with my mom and bro in tow. Gawked at the facade of NAIA 2 because it looked so high-tech! Felt my first separation anxiety when I went beyond the gates and into the terminal--with one last look at my family behind me.

Checked-in at 245AM (15mins before the proper check-in time--the flight's 500AM), then realized that I was the first one to arrive in the ADMU/PAL group. Waited until 330AM for the next person (Ian) to arrive, then waited until 400AM for the rest to arrive. "Waited" means screaming in SMS to everyone in the ADMU/PAL group with the following message, "Where in the WORLD are you guys??? Check-in's supposed to be 300AM!!!" Boarded the plane at 430AM. The plane (PR809) took off at 500AM, as scheduled. We--I--were on our way to the City that Durian Built.

Subplot #2: Maayong buntag sa kanamun tanan! (Madayaw sa pang-abot sa Davao!)
That translates to "Good morning to us all!" in Bisaya, but in contrast to the harsh glottal accent of the Cebuano Bisaya, the Dabawenyo Bisaya sounds softer and more rounded. Knowing Chavacano, with its mix of Spanish and Bisaya, did help me in adjusting to the linguistic idiosyncracies of the place.

The plane ride was quite uneventful, except for a slight turbulence in the middle of the flight. Sitting at the window, just right smack at the wing, did NOT help for me, since I saw the wingtip wobble a lot. I must have turned white as paper, when my tummy did some calisthenics in time with the wing-wobble.

Landed at Davao International Airport at around 645AM--the place was so big! And as high-tech as in NAIA 2! But DVIA is relatively smaller than NAIA...but the former has a really cute stylized, modern Maranao roof than the latter (yeah, Manila blandness). I had to pinch myself as I saw the landscape while walking alongside the plate-glass windows of the terminal towards the baggage claim carousel. I was NOT in Manila anymore!

Waited for my baggage together with the ADMU/PAL Chem group...how could ALL travellers choose the color GREEN for their luggages?! My bag was bottle-green, slashed with maroon...and looked almost like all the bags on the conveyor belt (even those which had red ribbons tied around the handles)! It was a good thing that the name tag I put there was colored lemon-yellow and that I attached the PINK Sumomo keychain to one of the bag's main zippers. So I found my bag with relative ease as compared to my companions, including my boss/adviser/adoptive dad.

My imouto Chinggay fetched us at the airport, with her friend Vida, whose family happened to own Eden Park (more on this in future posts). After dropping off our luggages at the Regency Inn, the ADMU/PAL people played truant (yeah, so we "signed up" at Ateneo de Davao [ADDU] the next day) and went to Samal Island, to a cozy, secluded resort named "Chema's". Note, Chema's. It was meant to be.

Before setting out to the island, we had a big breakfast buffet at a native-style restaurant called "Probinysa." Ha, eating at Probinsya in the province (probinsya = province)! Then we dropped by a convenience store to buy some food...and I almost got left behind by the group due to my height and spaced-out personality (still adjusting from the flight).

Chinggay dropped us off at a small resort-cum-pantalan (dock) for Chema's, facing Samal. The strong, fresh sea breeze greeted us, with the liquid slush of the waves. I can hear the sea, I can see the sea...after almost 10 years! I yelled, waving my arms like a madman.

But crossing the dock, the rotted wooden planks while fighting against the strong breeze, was another matter. As with riding a boat and crossing the Davao Strait.

(Next: Subplot #3: Sun-worship at Chema's, and seeing faculty in a different, sun-drenched light)

[meme] birthday wikipedia!

2006-04-11T18:43:00.000+08:00

I did a search in Wikipedia for my birth day (May 26) and here's what I found.

(List 3 Events, 2 Births and 1 Death)

3 Events
1805 - Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Duomo di Milano gothic cathedral in Milan.

1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.

1897 - Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" goes on sale in London.

2 Births
1878 - Isadora Duncan, American dancer (d. 1927)

1907 - Rachel Carson, American environmental writer (d. 1964)

1 Death
1976 - Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (b. 1889)

a long hiatus (again)

2006-03-30T23:07:00.000+08:00

...
Just came out of a long hiatus to announce some things:

ONE: Expect that this blog be alive after Holy Week because...
TWO: I'll embark on another hiatus (not so long as the previous one), since...
THREE: I'll be in Davao next week for 4~5 days for the 21st PCC.

[for kookie] yawn

2006-02-27T00:13:00.000+08:00

lalalalalalalaaaaaah!

2006-02-24T21:08:00.000+08:00

...
I PASSED!!!!!!

So, I'm an MS now. XD

[news] D-day!

2006-02-17T22:00:00.000+08:00

...
February 24 is D-Day! As in Defense day...

The 24th is the day I die. ;_;

2006-02-04T22:35:00.000+08:00

... I am such a loser...after more than 10 years, it's only tonight (while taking a breather from the nth thesis draft) that I've figured it out. Analyzing spectra and stat may have helped. *facepalm*

[meme] 20 quirky things about me

2006-01-28T13:45:00.000+08:00

...Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts.

Won't tag, but help yourself to the meme.

1 - I tend to swipe my face with my right hand when I'm (a) thinking, (b) agitated.
2 - I chew my left thumbnail, down to the nailbed. The rest of my very-short nails are left untouched.
3 - My only reading material in the bathroom is "Watership Down."
4 - Before leaving the house, my hair is slicked back and tied in a tight ponytail. But I don't maintain the sleek look--by 1pm, my head would be haloed with wisps of brown curls.
5 - When I was a kid, my hair was very light brown, and straight, to boot!
6 - I used to think that one needs another token to get out of the old LRT station!
7 - I write horribly in Filipino, but I got a 1.25 in Fil 3 for Creative Writing in high school.
8 - When I started college, I used to switch crushes every year (it stopped when I was in 3rd year *wink*).
9 - When I was a college sophomore, I went out on a blind date AND received a love poem. *wink*
10 - My nose is crooked, my left side (eye, ear, hand, etc.) is bigger than my right (and I'm right handed!)
11 - I have a weak grip, but I can carry a full-grown man and other stuff which are heavier than me.
12 - I wished that I could take piano lessons when I was a child. It didn't materialize.
13 - I used to idolize/fangirl Patrick O'Brien from "Crystal Maze."
14 - I've traveled around Luzon and have been to Zamboanga, but I haven't visited ANY island in the Visayas!
15 - I used to hoard fluffy items, esp. cotton balls, when I was a child.
16 - My ears aren't pierced.
17 - I play bamboo flutes...including a nose flute.
18 - I'm already in my early 20's, but I can't stay long after dark without family permission.
19 - I still keep my old Yahoo! email addy (yumeko_shinshiroi), since high school.
20 - My hair was so long when I was in college--it reached mid-thigh. When I cut my hair, I kept my coil of hair--I still have it.

[jottings] a USB flash drive

2006-01-27T10:13:00.000+08:00

...
Can't deny it...I really need it. A USB flash drive.

Went out, blew 700 pesos of hard-earned (and saved, tight-fisted) cash just to get myself a 128MB USB drive yesterday. Yes, I'm a sucker. But it's useful for transporting my data from one CD-writerless office PC to another. I know, it's cheaper to email myself the files I need, but I've been caught a number of times trying to get through ethernet traffic just to access the Net, wasting precious time (and getting into meetings late).

I've dubbed my USB drive "Sumomo"...but the mem-size isn't what I really want. I'm waiting for the 256MB or 512MB prices to go down. But I really won't mind if someone gave me one for my birthday (especially if it's the 1GB one, hehehehe).

But this purchase has its sacrifice. I've got to be tight-fisted again to recoup the expenses--and this translates to no new books and clothes and shoes (especially shoes! *cries*). The paltry salary I get goes directly to the bank, for a bit of the house expenses and my "nest-egg" for graduation.

2006-01-13T18:38:00.000+08:00

Try making me do an "image of Christ for a chemist"...this is the result. *ducks from tomatoes* OK, so the text's corny!

2006-01-12T09:28:00.000+08:00

Current mug shot...er, I couldn't help but do "something" on my eyebags. God bless Adobe Photoshop!

2006-01-12T09:22:00.000+08:00

A light moment for the junior faculty in C-116, with Sir Toby. Notice his necktie...

[pix] the 1st chem grand alumni homecoming 2005

2006-01-12T09:09:00.000+08:00

Last December 17, the ADMU chem alumni and chem dept held the first grand alumni homecoming in Loyola Schools. It was a grand occasion, being able to meet and greet alumni who are successful in their fields--industry and academic.

This shot was taken just before dinner at CTC, with my batchmates (from left) Tinsua, Iris, Renil, Helen, (me) and Cathy. Faye and Diane arrived later, in the middle of the program. Hm, Ely was the only male who attended--he was one of the emcees.

With the exception of me and Helen, the girls are gainfully employed in industry--Iris as a chemist, the rest as programmers/tech people in Canon.

a post, a post!

2006-01-02T09:41:00.000+08:00

...
Hmmmph, if everything goes well today, I might be able to finish writing my darned mystic/horror story for the Fully Booked contest. And friggin' edit the thing: I hate the pacing already, even though I'm not done yet.

THEN I can go back to normal, be the nerdy, genki and slightly eccentric/neurotic chemist-cum-teacher-cum-daughter.

Strangely, my dream last night (or this morning...I slept at around past 2AM, insomniac me) was that Max dropped by the Urahara Shouten when I was there, talking to a number of unknown people. He was to drive me to my thesis adviser's place, where Aizen was staying...in a large airship.

Seriously, I've got to lay off the BLEACH fangirlism...it's getting into me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2006-01-01T17:27:00.000+08:00

...
*waves*

So far, I still have all my 10 fingers (no firecrackers!), and watusi is now outlawed here in Manila.

*hums* No New Year resolutions for 2006, just one simple wish: happiness...for everyone! ^_^*

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2005-12-24T18:38:00.000+08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL~!

Fully Booked - Contest Guidelines

2005-12-07T18:50:00.000+08:00

http://www.fullybookedonline.com/home3.htm

Get yer sharpened Mongol #2's and yellow pads ready...we're in for a ride!!!!!!

[for kookie] the new faculty room (c-116)

2005-12-05T15:03:00.000+08:00

Eliot, T. S. 1922. The Waste Land

2005-11-11T16:16:00.000+08:00

Eliot, T. S. 1922. The Waste Land

I've been fangirling "The Dark Tower" series of Stephen King, so I was intrigued that he used TS Eliot's "The Waste Land" for his 3rd volume.

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust..." --> favorite quote

[game rec] vampires!

2005-11-03T09:32:00.000+08:00

...
http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?biter=mierin_lanfear

I know this game is lame, but, when DLing some big files, it's worth it. :D Boredom buster!

[cool URL] GIANTmicrobes!

2005-10-30T21:47:00.000+08:00

http://www.giantmicrobes.com/

I am totally agreeable if some kind soul with a sense of humor would send me one of those adorable bugs as a Christmas present...

photo posting spree!

2005-10-27T22:51:00.000+08:00

...
So far, I've been posting photos rather than texts. Posting pix is easier than typing entries down...I'm using most of my writing juices in editing my opus called MS thesis.

Next time, I'll be posting pix of the new faculty center (C-116), as seen from the 4 corners of the room.

What else? Well, it seems that the personnel office lost my BIR application somewhere, so I can't claim the rest of my salary for the past sem. I'm also supposed to prepare for 2 classes of Quanti lab this coming November, but I'm stalling over the syllabus and class rules. And multivariate analysis is a pain (when one's pre-processing around 1200 x 4 data, give or take a hundred or so).

My stipend from DOST's bigger than my salary, too. Man, I'd better find an extra gig--I can't feed myself with slim pickings from part-time teaching. Preferrably something which can augment my pay to my iskolar-ng-bayan levels.

But that may be an empty wish, given the unstable political and economic situation here in Manila...*sigh*

I miss fanfic writing, too. But right now, trying to conjure the right continuing story thread for TS is futile, with so many things cropping up: academics, work, family, etc. And it's just too bad NaNoWriMo's starting next week.

2005-10-27T22:50:00.000+08:00

[new kitty on the block] Meet Kimi (Chemie), the youngest kitty here at home. She's white, except for a smudge of black at a corner of her ear and 2/3 of her tail.

2005-10-18T10:17:00.000+08:00

[oath-taking 2005] Same group, with the ICP President/Dean of ADMU-SoSE/my thesis adviser (O_o *sweatdrop*)

2005-10-18T10:14:00.000+08:00

[oath-taking 2005] the BRAINS-ADMU review group...(*and 2 others*). (front row, from left) Cathy, Junie, Faye, Renil*, Delson, me, Ferds. (back row, from left) Don and Benj*.

2005-10-11T21:02:00.000+08:00

[Nasaan ka na, Dom?!] Support the "Nasaan Ang Blog Ni Dom" Movement! Photo courtesy of Maybs. ^_______^

2005-10-10T18:44:00.000+08:00

[a rose by any other name...] At the heart of a white rose, a mystery unfolds. From Rene's bouquet.

2005-10-10T18:43:00.000+08:00

[a rose by any other name...] Playing with focus, a new perspective is discovered. From Badeth's bouquet.

2005-10-10T18:42:00.000+08:00

[a rose by any other name...] I love the shadows at the heart of the petals. From Badeth's bouquet.

2005-10-10T18:39:00.000+08:00

[a rose by any other name...] From Badeth's rose bouquet...

2005-10-10T18:36:00.000+08:00

[a rose by any other name...] A white rose from Rene's bouquet.

2005-09-30T22:18:00.000+08:00

an old photo of mine in the biochem lab...

2005-09-26T19:33:00.000+08:00

Er, for AEGIS still (?): Try to make a bunch of chemists do a "wacky" pose, and this is what you get. Damn, I should've worn a necktie with that jacket...

2005-09-26T19:29:00.000+08:00

For AEGIS (methinks): the latest faculty photo for the yearbook. Ha, I think the vintage corduroy jacket looks good.

[silence]

2005-09-19T19:22:00.000+08:00

...
I will keep my blog silent starting tomorrow until sembreak. My reasons for going under the radar are quite personal--I have to prepare for an imminent war of brains and stubbornness, since I have picked up the gauntlet and drawn the battle lines.

And, who am I going to contend with?

If I reveal the identity here, it would be unethical and petty on my part, not to mention that the people who know me (since we glide in the same circles) might be aghest--or possibly angry-- at me because of my decision.

It was an unprecedented move on my part, and the person involved is willing but quite displeased with what I had stated.

For important news and messages, contact me thru the Tag-Board or at oui.buenafe AT gmail.com. But questions regarding my blog silence will not be answered.

2005-09-15T22:41:00.000+08:00

...after a few drinks, yes, this is what I call an "EH?" photo...don't ask.

2005-09-15T22:36:00.000+08:00

Another shot of the new Ateneo chemists...and we're not drunk yet. :D

2005-09-15T22:35:00.000+08:00

The Ateneo Chem board passers! (front row, from left) Joanna, Kathy, Junie, Mitzi, Faye, Renil, moi, Benj. (back row, from left) Ely, Jim, Delson, Ferds.

an important announcement

2005-09-09T05:37:00.000+08:00

...
IT'S OFFICIAL: I PASSED THE CHEMISTRY BOARDS!!!!! WOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I'M A CHEMIST!!!!!

Now I can go back in living and writing...

[boards] over and done with

2005-09-06T18:46:00.000+08:00

...and here comes the nail-biting portion--WAITING.

My mind is incoherent at the moment because I might have done stupidly over Phychem. With only 21 mistakes allowed (out of 70), there's little room for mistakes. Let us just say while reviewing, I stopped counting at 14 (read: unsure/educated guesswork). I pray that the Fortunes will smile on me over all 4 subjects.

[/random::01]: AND WHO THE *bleep* STILL USES ERGS INSTEAD OF JOULES?????[/random::02]: The inks they used for the questions are SMUDGY!!!!!! I hope I won't get a
technical F (and suspension from PRC) just because of undetected smudges from the questionnaire to the answer sheets. *cries*

Half of my mind is worried to death over the boards. The other half is bewailing the dearth of new smexy men in my manga harem (Gahd, only 2!). Thus, incoherence.

official designations

2005-09-01T19:51:00.000+08:00

...I got my contract a week late, so it's only now that I know my official designation:

Lecturer (part-time)

Not bad. ^_^ I just have to bust my MS ass to finally get the degree.

a song, a song!

2005-08-30T22:43:00.000+08:00

...
From CLAMP's short animé piece, "Clover" (yes, the song IS in English):

I want happiness
I seek happiness to cause your happiness
to be your happiness
so take me
someplace far away
to a true Elsewhere
please take me there
magic that lasts
never-ending kiss
reverie without break
unperishable bliss
take me
I want happiness
birds sing
songs of unknown tongue
though winged, they
still fail to reach the sky
a place not to be treaded alone
so take me
to a true Elsewhere
wet feathers
locked fingers
melting flesh
fusing minds take me
I want happiness
Not your past
but your present is what I seek,
carefully winding back its fragile
thread
please take me there
I want happiness

[Imago] Akap - English translation

2005-08-22T19:21:00.000+08:00

...During a lull period in self-review, I translated my song-of-the-moment, "Akap" by Imago, into English. ^_^; It doesn't read bad, nee.

Akap [Embrace]
by Imago

Nagtatanong
bakit mahirap
sumabay sa agos
ng iyong mundo
---
Just asking--
why is it hard
to go with the flow
of your world.

Nagtataka
Simple lang naman sana
Ang buhay
Kung ika'y matino
---
Just wondering--
Life
would have been simple
if you were right (?) [T/N: "fine" or "OK" can stand in for "matino"].

Sabihin sa akin lahat ng lihim mo
Iingatan ko
Ibaling sa akin ang problema mo
kakayanin ko
---
Tell me all of your secrets,
I'll keep them;
Turn to me all your problems,
I can take them.

Pikit mata
kong iaalay
ang buwan at araw
pati pa sapatos kong suot
---
Eyes closed--
I offer
the moon and sun
even the shoes I wear.

Nagtatanong
simple lang naman sana
ang buhay
kung ika'y lumayo
---
Just asking--
Life
would have been simple
if you leave.

[Sasamahan ka] sa tamis
[Sasamahan ka] sa dilim
[Sasamahan ka] hanggang langit
[Sasamahan ka] sa tamis
[Sasamahan ka] sa pait
[Sasamahan ka] sa dilim
[Sasamahan ka] hanggang langit
[Sasamahan ka]
---
[Joining you] in sweetness,
in darkness,
in heaven,
in sweetness,
in bitterness,
in darkness,
in heaven. [T/N: not sure with the tense of "sasamahan"; can be "will join" instead of "joining"]

This song was easy to translate since there were little or no native nuances that are hard to render in English.

busy busy

2005-08-16T20:03:00.000+08:00

...
Some quickie news:

1. Yes, I'm teaching right now. I ACTUALLY have a real job! Just wait until I get the CARD (chemist license) , the Faculty ID (yeah! lunch discounts at the Blue and Gold!) and an Ateneo email addy...

2. I'm a jazz newbie, thanks to eclair. Currently hooked on Mishka Adams' jazz covers. Here's one of my personal favorites:

Autumn Leaves

Et les vents du nord, les emportant
Dans la nuit blanche de n'oubli
Que moi, je n'ai pas oubli
La chanson que tu me chantais

The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands i used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long
And soon i'll hear old winter song
But i miss you most of all, my darling
When the autumn leaves start to fall...

3. I am officially cramming for dear life over the licensure exam.

lists, lists...

2005-08-09T19:23:00.000+08:00

...
FOR EMPLOYMENT:
=================
1. ~~Transcript of records~~ - done! (Pick up Friday!)
2. ~~2x2 pics~~ - done! (Pick up tomorrow!)
3. ~~Personnel data sheet~~ - done!
4. ~~BIR TIN application~~ - done! (Photocopy birth cert., too)
5. SSS No. application - Er, I forgot to bring my BC just to get the form... Y_Y

FOR CLASS:
=================
1. ~~Pre-lab on manila paper~~
2. Post-lab discussion on the activity done last week.
3. Advisory marks?? (Not sure if I'll be the one handling 'em).

Mmmmrrrmph. Not to mention that I still have to cram for the mock exams.

[EDIT]: Passed by Odyssey Gateway this afternoon and heard them playing Hikki's "First Love." Funny how a few notes can elicit emotions and a memory or two--I touched my cheek and found a tear. What-a-SAP!

...and they call me "Ma'am Oui"

2005-08-06T18:37:00.000+08:00

...
Yes, it's official: I'm a college (assistant?) instructor! [Status is that of Mike Slackenerny in PhDComics.com]

Although, I have to admit that I still have to get used to be called "Ma'am Oui" by the students (who are VERY lively during lab).

ANYway...for starters, I gave those who submitted their results/analysis sheets before Monday (the "deadline" stipulated in the lab class policy) +5. Kids will be kids, since I got a whole bunch of answer sheets immediately upon dismissal. Hehe, a +5 is a rarity, not to be overused.

My life reads like

2005-08-03T18:36:00.000+08:00

...a strange shoujo manga.

Scenario: A single, not-bad-looking (but not-good-looking) twenty-something girl--harrassed science researcher, panic-stricken over her looming licensure exams--finds that her strange, kooky family has one too many skeletons in the clan's closet, which may or may not affect her future romantic prospects, despite the all-out support from her rara avis grrrl-friends.

Take note: this scenario is oddly lacking a gay best friend. But this is replaced by babaeng baklang/super-kikay femme officemates, who try to pair her off with most (if not all) single, eligible beta-males in the vicinity, who happen to be her equally-kooky homme friends with hopeless lovelives.

Geh.

the advantage of MRT rides

2005-07-25T21:40:00.000+08:00

...is that strange plot bunnies choose to hop around between stations. Like the following:

He observed her with a disaffected air of a philosopher, objectively taking in the almost-illusory image of her supine body. Her naked back, pale skin flushed with the afterglow of sex, was a study of light and shadow, suitably framed by rumpled sheets and cascades of dark hair.

She looked up at him with her serious grey eyes. He tried to divine what was behind those grey orbs, shot with blue, right there and then, but was unsuccessful. Her air of nonchalance and self-possession disturbed him.

He broke the silence. "Do you have any regrets?"

She blinked. "We live in a four-dimensional world."

"I beg your pardon...?" He hid his feeling of consternation behind the philosopher's mask of his. "That was a non-sequituur."

"Length, width and depth...the fourth dimension is time, which moves so fast. Everything passes by in a blur that I don't have enough time to regret."

A clever answer, he thought, Natsume refuses to reveal anything at all, not even to me.

"If you had rephrased your question, I might give you a more definite answer," she said, batting her eyelashes.

"Well, then, do you regret last night?" His question was direct, as was his decision last night, when, uninvited, he slid open the paper screen dividing their rooms.

Her reply surprised him.

"I don't know. But I'm glad that it's you, not just anyone."

See? I know it has something to do with re-reading Atwood, Allende, Mishima and Lady Murasaki Shikibu (on the sly) in FB-Gateway...when I should be burning the midday oil for phychem. Feh.

worried about

2005-07-24T22:27:00.000+08:00

...not worrying about the boards at all. Is THIS normal???

It's not overconfidence (I know my weak points in chemistry), nor panic (there are very FEW moments I freak out). It's something akin to equilibrium...I'm hanging in the middle of everything and I DON'T FEEL A THING!

O_o Not good...

2005-07-20T15:34:00.000+08:00

*sings "All I Want for Christmas.."* I really love/adore/desire (D): chibi Kisuke-san, with very droll eyes.

aftermath: preparing for another round of exams

2005-07-18T22:13:00.000+08:00

*looks at pile of unfinished problem sets*

Well, I have something to plow through today. ^_^ But at least I've finished watching the latest eps. of Bleach and Naruto last night, so I can tackle these babies.

...and I know I should wrap up the first draft of my thesis, but I just don't have the nerve to show it to Mentor-sensei. Nerves are lacking whenever something academically important is involved--damn you, magis!

.........

I STILL can't bring myself to be excited that HP Book 6 is out. I haven't read Book 5 yet. Between Carl Sagan's "Broca's Mind: The Romance of Science" and the 2 HP books, I'd choose Sagan--science writing/journalism is a genre of prose which is conspicuously absent in Phil. Lit.

.........

Random: I want to be in the old 12th Division!!!! [/fangirl]

from the Fully Booked - Gateway signing

2005-07-12T18:46:00.000+08:00

NEIL GAIMAN GAVE ME A HUG!!!!!!

silly, silly musical chemistry

2005-07-09T08:04:00.000+08:00

...
I can't remember the exact URL, but just Google "musical chemistry lyrics"... OMG, this takes the geeky cake.

Sample:

EDTA
Based on "YMCA" by The Village People

I
Ligands, there’s no need to feel down,
I said ligands, when you’re floating around,
You don’t have to stay there, free and unbound –
There’s no need to be uncomplexed!

Ligands, you’ve got electron pairs,
They’re not bonded - and they’re just sitting there;
A cation - if you’re willing to share –
Could accept your spare electrons!

Chorus I
You’ve got to complex like EDTA,
You’ve got to complex like EDTA;
It’s got everything to be hexadentate!
It’s got six lone pairs to donate!
You’ve got to complex like EDTA,
You’ve got to complex like EDTA!
It’s ethylene-dia-mine-tetra-acet-ate!
It’s a ligand that can chelate!

II
Ligands you might bond to class b
Metals - if you’re polarised easily
(As are sulphur, phosphorus, iodine)
And form more covalent compounds;

Ligands, if you’re hard (like fluorine)
You’re electronegative, so you’ll be
Bound to harder metals like Al (III)
With elec-tro-stat-ic bonding!

Chorus II
You’ve got to complex like EDTA,
You’ve got to complex like EDTA;
It replaces all six H₂Os separately,
So the entropy must increase!
You’ve got to complex like EDTA,
You’ve got to complex like EDTA;
It’s the chelate effect! It’s a favoured process!
It’s a positive delta S!

III
Ligands can you act as a pi
Donor? They can even stabilise high
Oxidation states – they’re weak field and high
Spin – the delta value’s smaller;

But if the pi* are empty
They’re acceptors lowering t2g
And increasing the gap in energy:
The ligand field splitting’s larger!

(Repeat Choruses I and II until bored)

This is one GOOD way to remember chem concepts, as long as they won't chop my head off during the board exams. :D

cough a TS update

2005-07-07T18:48:00.000+08:00

...
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2061575/20/

IMHO, this one reads horribly...try leaving almost half of a story unfinished, then continue after X months. Consistency isn't my strength, it seems.

Anyway, I have a new obsession (well, not so new...): Bleach. Objet d'couer for the moment is Urahara Kisuke, an analytical, smart and pragmatic guy. And a Capricorn. And so like Holmes. ^_~* One has to watch the series so s/he could understand what I'm saying. [/rant]

HINDSIGHT: I...lost the TS outline! Horror of horrors...!!!!!

count down the days

2005-07-05T21:29:00.000+08:00

...before I get to meet Neil Gaiman in person!!!! Yay! Six more days to go!!!!!

strange weather, strange dreams

2005-07-04T18:14:00.000+08:00

...it's rainy season, alright, but the temperature's fluctuating rapidly like a firefly on pheromones. The end result: strange dreams.

It's a rare occurrence for me to dream of something clearly. Or at least remember a dream.

Anyway, to piece together the scenario:

The dream began with me running away from a bunch of muggers down a wet, narrow alley somewhere in a city at night. I made a wrong turn and found myself facing a dead end. Backing against the wall, I braced myself for the worst beating of my life--thinking about them robbing me of my purse and dignity--when 2 people jumped down on them and gave them the beating of their lives. In the uncertain half-light of the alley, I recognized them as the "brother and sister" who owned a secondhand bookstore at the corner of the street where I lived by my lonesome (...then I asked myself: "How in the world did I know them? And, there's no bookstore on the street where I actually live...and I live with my family, silly!"). Before I could thank them properly, they just vanished.

As soon as they vanished, I found myself walking along a busy commercial area at daytime, dressed in office clothes and carrying a briefcase in one hand. I knew that I took a half-day off from the lab (?? again, a strange idea), but I was bringing some work home in a form of numerous NMR/IR spectra to be interpreted. When I passed by a bakery, the baker in there gave me a large plate of blueberry cheesecake that he made especially for me. Then I said, "I forgot to thank them for what they did last night!", and took the cheesecake with me. Reaching the corner of the street, I entered the bookstore and found no one there...until the "sister" came down a spiral staircase with messy hair and haphazardly draped robe over her nightie. She looked quite irritated, which embarrassed me, coz I knew right there and then that they weren't siblings after all! ^.^;; I stammered something about thanking them and the cheesecake then left the place.

The last scene was in the Ateneo grounds, with the firetrees abloom with their fiery-red flowers. I was sitting under a firetree, reading a monograph on Watson and the gene when the "brother" came up behind me and gave me a slice of cheesecake. He said something about it's not a bother for them to help me and that I shouldn't be embarrassed. He asked, "What are you doing under the firetree?" and I told him, "I'm waiting for a sign." Then he laughed and kissed me on the forehead, saying, "Isn't this a sign enough?" Flustered, I looked down at the blueberry cheesecake slice, then looked up. The guy disappeared...

Then I woke up.

...

What else? Oh, I just recently found out that everyone in the dept goes gaga over avocadoes. Good thing: I've got lots here at home. ^_^

random scribbling...(oh no, a plot bunny!)

2005-06-29T19:36:00.000+08:00

...Couldn't take this following scene snippet from my mind:

She curled herself up in a fetal position on the camp bed, her black, curly hair matted, covering her face. Hugging her knees--or trying to hug her knees, as her swollen belly restricted her movements--she whimpered and sobbed into the still air.

I am a maid of constant sorrow. I’ve seen trials all of my days...

She had lost track of time. She had reckoned that she had been confined for 3 weeks, but she didn't trust her mind anymore. Everything felt unreal.

Three weeks ago--was it really three weeks ago? she asked herself--they had caught her, imprisoned her in this eternally bright, windowless room, and subjected her to various tests, probing her, examining every inch of her body and soul-fabric. She struggled against them, trying to protect the unborn child inside her. But they had stripped her of her ki, with the walls of her cell made from charmed stone.

All through this world I’m bound to ramble, through sun and wind and drivin’ rain...

I didn't ask for this. But she asked me for protection... her mind rambled, her arms wrapped around her belly. I couldn't refuse...but I didn't know that it would be like this... She choked back a sob. I can't protect her! I've ran so long, so hard...

No one will find me. This final thought chilled her to the bone. She caressed her abdomen. "Was it really three weeks ago?" she asked loudly. She felt her child stir inside her.

"Yes," the child-spirit replied. She could see the vague outline of the child-spirit's face floating before her. "It has been two moons or more since I sought refuge within your womb..."

"But why...do I feel that it's longer than three weeks? I can scarcely move, and you've grown so fast..."

"They had accelerated your pregnancy; they want me out of your body in the quickest time, for their own purpose. Please..believe me. We spirits can see time."

"Do...do you know when you will come out?"

The fetus shifted again. "Possibly tomorrow, or tomorrow's tomorrow..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry, too. They will kill you, for sure. They want me for the Experiment..."

I am a maid of constant sorrow. I’ve seen trials all of my days...

The child-spirit sighed, "...and no one will find us."

This particular scene just came to my mind while riding the MRT. Geh. Strange.

day 4 of living..."alone"

2005-06-29T07:19:00.000+08:00

...
I must apologize for my previous entries: most, if not all, of them are quiz/meme posts. If not, then plain Bleach fangirl posts. Both types are quite...senseless. ^^; But I can justify them, really.

*points at Subject* Yes, I've been living "alone"...my abuela back in Zamboanga is sick (and possibly dying), so my mom had to fly back to their hometown. That was very early Sunday morning (er, 200AM?). So, technically, my bro and I are taong-bahay, except that I only get to see my bro at night. When I come home during the day, it's just me and the cat (and a pile of dirty laundry to be demolished everyday, using my bare hands). Y_Y It's hard becoming a substitute mom! I sleep early, but it's HELL to wake up before the sun rises just to boil water and prepare everything for the day...not to mention my ADDITIONAL labwork...

Which is why I can only post meme/quizzes...my brain goes haywire trying to think of something worthwhile to post. Exhausted, yes (God, I wish we just bought that damned washing machine!), but somehow, work eases out the gnawing feeling of missing someone important.

...and it's tough to think of what to cook for dinner. For just one person. I cook by bulk and I find it hard to scale it down.

haven't slept yet...but this one's cool!

2005-06-26T21:52:00.000+08:00

...

connecting with college friends

2005-06-24T21:23:00.000+08:00

...*is feeling mixed up in a food processor*

Just met up with an old college friend of mine early this afternoon. ^_^ He's still the smart, gentle and introverted guy I met three years ago (not to mention that he's a dead-ringer for Toby Maguire as Peter Parker, hehe). Urgh, I just had to resist from glomping him...he might get shocked!

And he bought me coffee. Whoever buys me coffee is my sworn friend for life. :P (...and those who had bought/brewed me coffee are guys with glasses...like *ahem* and *uhm* and my mentor, of course...sorry, no names!)

It's so good to reconnect with old friends!

***
As for the comment in "**"s, it's just because that I've noticed lately that all my old kawaii male friends (who may or may not be my objet d'coeur in meinen Herz eons ago) have resurfaced. What makes it confusing is that I've been following the footsteps of Artemis, Athena and Hestia for so long...or, to borrow a quote from Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series (i.e., the group of Aiel women called "The Maidens of the Spear"): "I belong to no man...my spear is my husband, my child and my life."

Oh well... It's hard enough to find a guy who resembles my flava-of-the-month, Kisuke-san. ^_^

icon making frenzy!

2005-06-22T22:47:00.000+08:00

...only a few people know that I first started out in online journalling at LiveJournal. I still maintain my LJ coz most of my GURLz post news (and nicey tidbits of fangirl-stuff) in LJ.

So, to ease out the stress building up within me, I went on a BLEACH-themed LJ icon design spree (1-2: Urahara Kisuke; 3-4: Ichimaru Gin):

(1) and (2) are my icons (so, no touch...he's MINE!), while (3) and (4) are my gifts for Jenny.

*goes back to work*

is luff

2005-06-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

...
This is silly. I thought I outgrew this....

I'm in fangirl-mode!!!!!!

Horror of horrors...

another set of random scribblings

2005-06-16T20:26:00.000+08:00

...
[Current reading] "Book of the Dead" (English translation)

Went to Bicutan for the nth time--as usual, to pay the DOST Main Office a visit. I can't do away with the required "visits"...my scholarship (i.e., stipends) depend on it. And I have an anemic bank account. Then again, anemic is the usual state of my finances.

Updates? *points at [/fangirl]* Added another fanlist button. :D And it's been a long time since I went bonkers over a character... The trend so far is that the dorky/megane men are out, über-intelligent and morally suspect guys (with hats) are in.

random rainy-day jottings

2005-06-08T19:13:00.000+08:00

...
After all these times, having PCASTRD reimburse my MS t&f, I finally got their "authority to enrol" letter...so I won't hand out a single red cent for this sem's registration!!!! Wohoo!!!

But, still, Bicutan in a rainy day is horrid!

...
I never liked maths. But I'll be brushing up my calculus this Sunday for physical chem. Damn, wish me luck!

...
ARGH!!!! I miss writing for TS. My poor Vera and Holmes... ;_; Will they, or won't they?

ever watched BLEACH?

2005-06-03T14:53:00.000+08:00

...
OK, I confess: I am currently addicted to BLEACH (and Naruto and GetBackers and...), so I took this quizzie--

Take The quiz yourself

For those who are quick to dismiss animé as kids' stuff, STOP! BLEACH is definitely funky and stylish in its art direction. And the story's one hell of an Asian urban horror fantasy gone comedy. You get an orange-haired guy with a kick-ass sword, a cute, smart ditzy girl, a lovable dorky-cool guy, lots of spirits and demons, etc. etc. in this series.

AND I LOVE ITS ART DIRECTION!!!!

*coughs* Well, Team CLAMP does lush, painterly work with delicate details (think X/1999 and RG Veda)--which is why I am a giddy fangirl when it comes to their art--while Kubo Tite goes pop-art and in-your-face with his set of zany characters. Different styles, but I love them both! [/rant]

2005-06-01T10:51:00.000+08:00

Lab manual cover design: if the ORP doesn't do justice to what I've designed for the manual...grrr, I will have their hides!

End-of-the-month features: TFI pix and a friend's greeting

2005-05-30T18:43:00.000+08:00

...Updates!!!!!

One: The TFI pix (courtesy of Eddie from the School of Management) are posted here. With captions. :D

Two: Vany, my biologist-femme-rock friend of mine from UP-Los Baños, posted her funky natal-day greeting for me in her LiveJournal. And a brand-new LJ icon for me!!!!

2005-05-30T18:34:00.000+08:00

TFI picture 01: the School of Sci&Eng'g table, with the University president, Fr. Ben Nebres, S.J., presiding. O, I can actually say/have bragging rights that Fr. Nebres greeted me a happy birthday!

2005-05-30T18:32:00.000+08:00

TFI picture 02: the youngblood of the Chemistry Department--(from left) Dr. Regina, Joanna, Tash, and moi.

2005-05-30T18:28:00.000+08:00

TFI picture 03: TFI Batch 2005--new faculty members eager to teach and form young minds...the Ateneo way!

late-night musings from a budding nerd goddess

2005-05-29T22:50:00.000+08:00

...
There are a number of things which got me thinking:

Not-good news: I literally had a splitting headache early this evening. Had to hide under the cover of darkness (of the bedroom) just to avoid the bright lights.
I can never be a polymer chemist. MatSci is simply beyond me.

*sigh* Back to my usual, über-gruelling sked tomorrow. There's E. coli to be cultured, garlic to be processed and analyzed, and a hundred-and-one things to worry about tomorrow. I miss my fiction...including my own unfinished fanfic. :-(

2005-05-29T22:38:00.000+08:00

From http://www.phdcomics.com: er, this is something I am not guilty of doing... ^_^

2005-05-29T22:37:00.000+08:00

From http://www.phdcomics.com: this is SO true! :D

[TFI Day 5] Graduation

2005-05-28T08:33:00.000+08:00

...I am now officially "brainwashed"/trained to teach in the Ateneo. I even got a certificate to prove it! ^_^

As I've mentioned before, Dr. Gus really had to insist that every lunch/snack break was my birthday celebration. Haha, let me say that I wore a large, shiny sweatdrop for the whole day. Well, at least the food's good (I may have gained 10 pounds from the week-long feasting during the TFI sessions).

Hm, some graduation highlights:

1) The University president, Fr. Ben Nebres, greeted me a happy birthday during the grad ceremonies! Ha! Imagine that...the Ateneo president greeted me! ^_^; He is also an interesting, intellectually-stimulating dinner companion (Fermat's Last Theorem, anyone?).

2) Dr. Gus and Dr. EPE have the same birthday and birthyear! Yeah, go metaphysics and physical chem!

3) Dr. EPE gave me cake! A yummy, chocolate-y and caramel-y slice! My quote-of-the-day: "Coffee is LOVE, cake is LOVE!"

4) I dropped by Fully Booked in Gateway after TFI...and saw the Neil Gaiman tour announcement and SCHEDULE!!!! YEAH!!!!!! He'll visit FB at Gateway on July 11, A MONDAY!!!!!!! I will drop everything, schedule things before and after (not during) July 11 and raid!!!!!

2005-05-26T19:26:00.000+08:00

...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOI!!!!!!!

And yes, Dr. EPE and I concelebrated our natal days during lunch. Haha, we had cake! Someone asked how old is Dr. EPE; he replied, "If you take the average of my age and Oui's, the answer's 26."

I couldn't help but retort, "Is the average the mean?"

Without batting an eyelash, he said, "Nope, it doesn't even follow the Gaussian curve for normality."

^__^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

That's geek-speak for you!