Happy Day
Mood:  amorous
Now Playing: Say It Right by Nelly Furtado
Topic: Friends
Spent my morning with Cathy, Ynah, Briggs and Leah doing university coursework. Ang init ng araw ngayon. Basang basa na ang kilikili ko.

Then Paul came. Had some banana latte at Latasia Fusion. Then siempre sa tambayan na tahimik, ang Bo's coffee shop sa Katipunan. Eating cakes will never be the same again. May bago akong favorite.

Cool.

Then I went to Embassy to support some of my friends and to do some participant observations. It was a nice place, although I noticed that people there is not as "dancy" compared to Malate Clubs. Pero I still had A LOT of fun *wink*.

That was also the time when I realized I am becoming fond of this person.

Rumors will always be there. That is what believing is for.

Pinoy Hospitality
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: Batibot by Alamid
Topic: Friends
Went to Bed with Phillip. Got to do more participant observations and got to
meet new people. I was able to get free drinks even way after the open bar.

That is what I call Pinoy hospitality.

Welcome to our soiree!!!
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: Friends

I am looking forward to seeing you again. You never fail to make me smile.  Sana magets mo kung sino ka, friend.

Thesis work is driving me insane. Pero I am beginning to see the light. Globalization, urban culture, gender politics, clubbing, human communication and interaction---ginagawang goop ang utak ko.  

 After thesis, kakalimutan ko muna ang paperwork pansamantala to do the following:

• picture picture kasama ka
• tambay sa sunken kasama ka
• pinipig ulit kasama ka
• sumayaw kasama ka
• lumabas kasama ang baby ko (got tickets for you for the first day ng UP fair, di ako pwede sa valentines e.)
• kwentuhan with ching, aya, tonton, enzo, cathy, bong, ysa, agape and rica
• supporta sa mga karera ng manila dragons
• makipagkita kay kapitana at sa iba pang teammates
• backpacking sa Manila with a foreign friend ni Jojo
• sumayaw ulit buong gabi
• JMA AdHoc

Another chat with Ms. Moluccan Fool
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Friends

She thinks I am strange. I think she was intimidating. Yet every time we chat we seem to ride the same wavelength. I love this lady. 

Our chat reminded me of a poem I posted before, so I searched my blog for it. While browsing, I learned that I have been blogging for several years now. I saw entries about my best bud, my family and my classmates. I also saw how thin I was before. 

Here is the poem I got from Peej, a good friend (posted last January 5, 2005):

"Hello Stranger" by Ginger Foutley
Mood:  hug me
Topic: poems/songs
Hello stranger
You came just in time
I look for your face in a crowd or in line
Hello stranger
Not a moment too soon
See- that old picture is fading in the drawer of my room
Now toys have gone lost
Baby teeth have come loose
There were accidents involving stitches
spilled juice
Report cards were shown
And one time I got sick
But it's nothing I couldn't catch you up on real quick
Hello stranger
I saved you a place
And it hardly seems strange
Now that I've seen your face

 

Ms. Moluccan Fool, natutuwa ako sa mga usapan natin. It is always refreshing to hear from you. You never cease to amaze me kahit sa chat lang tayo madalas magkausap. More dancing, more liquor and more partying pag nagkita tayo. 

YM chat with Ms. Moluccan Fool
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Friends

my YM status: "til now, I always get by on my own"

friend: and haha
friend: wala lang
friend: sometimes it sucks to get by on your own
Stan: hahaha.
Stan: i know.
friend: even if your so damn good at it
Stan: how true.

pinipig sa madaling-araw
Mood:  hug me
Topic: Friends

A friend paid me a visit around past 2am yesterday (madaling araw nga, di ito typo). Bonding over pinipig. Happy.

I hate being sick. I have been missing two valuable weeks to do participant observations and follow-up interviews for my thesis.

Despite getting several tempting invitations from friends last night, I still chose to stay home for my thesis. Sadly, my condition got worse so I had to sleep early. Happy pa rin. Sana lang wala na yung ubo ko pati lagnat. 

Woke up at exactly 10:00 am this morning. Bad trip. Still got lots of work to do and my condition is not helping. 

Now, I am typing and blogging. Too many distractions. 

Choices
Mood:  blue
Topic: Friends

A friend's YM status: "Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times."

But does that include getting me out of your lives?

Something must be really wrong with me. I make people unhappy. Mababaw lang ang luha ko. Wag ganyan.

One thing I learned the hard way is that people choose what is true to them. Truth is a matter of choice. You decide what makes you happy and what does not, then you decide to embrace the former and avoid the latter. People, places, events and things do not make you unhappy. You just choose them to.

But at the same time, it is with our choices that people get to see who we are. Sometimes, you just do not look at things in terms of whether they make you happy or unhappy. It is what you choose that matters. The fact that you have chosen one over the other suggests that, at least for a given instance, one has more value or weight over the other. Some people would choose family over love which does not necessarily equate to happiness. Some would choose to mend broken things than buy new ones. Choice is more than just a matter of happiness, of what makes you contented or what does not. It can speak of the importance you give to your family, to an old toy or even to your old friends.

Each and everbody likes the feeling of being happy. But some people choose to put more value over other things than their happiness. The issue is not about what makes one miserable or not, it is about how one chooses to treat an object, person or event as more important than other things.

But the world is not created equal and each one of us is entitled to our own truth--one governed by our own choices. But sometimes, our choices and our truths just do not meet. Whether we meet or not, it is always a matter of choice.

We can always choose.

Happy Birthday Dad with Pinipig Crunch
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Friends

Today marks my dad's nth birthday.  I was just surprised that we didn't have a celebration this year.

Happy birthday to my very interesting father! May you have many more birthdays to come. 

Today is the deadline for application for graduation. Although I know I won't be graduating until May, I just thought I would give it a try. But then I realized, it is not worth one hundred pesos when I can get it for free this summer. 

Was supposed to meet Tonton and Aya for some quality time. Pero puro salisi! 

Then I met a good friend who came all the way from Cavite to UP. We got Basher (yung laptop namin ng kapatid ko) from my sister. Then we had a late merienda of vegan food at Latasia Fusion (siempre, di mawawala ang bananna latte!). Tapos kwentuhan at Sunken Garden. Thanks for the chocolates!

Just when I thought my day is about to commence, another friend texted me while I was in Makati.  Bait. Sinabay nya ako pauwi. Then we stopped over Magallanes to have Pinipig ice cream (the ones on sticks). Kwentuhan ulit. A chat over pinipig is an experience that is very hard to get over with. Haha! Saya! Thanks.

 

Happy
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Friends

I had a great time with you last Saturday. Ikaw pa rin yan, di nagiiba. Parang walang nagbago since we parted ways seven years ago. I still think yung pagiging suplada mo adds to your charm. Pero immune na ako sa  pagiging terror mo.

... and you danced with me. Wag ka munang pakasal kasi marami pa tayong magiging masasayang moments ulit.

 

A Friend's Prayer
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Friends
Lord, im praying for stan, that he would have enough courage to face the future, with such boldness and confidence that You have matured him and given him wisdom and understanding, that he need not look down on him, nor will he feel any inferiority oh God... Lord, may your will always be done in his life... I know that your purposes for Him will be unimaginable that's why I pray that you would keep Him in your loving arms, never leaving him, never forsaking him... Lord, guide him in the new-found life in You and may Your Spirit be totally unto him and may he grow more and more in his relationship with you oh God.. Amen