Learning to give way

Hello. Two months have passed since my last blog. Due to my hectic academic schedule this past few months, I have been inactive in here. Oh well. I am writing this thing right now because I have something I think I like to share here in my space. Well, I think it's my first time to write about my lovelife :-p

Actually, I just got home from school because Lenten season has already started and we have to say goodbye for exams for a while. Travelling has been very hard because LRT and buses are crowded, and roads are full of vacationists out to explore and homecomers who will spending the rest of the week in their hometowns, like me. Even Balintawak Toll Gates of NLEX are busy handling the quantity of travellers.

Continuing, actually, I fell asleep while I was on my way home and I had a dream. Well, I'm in my CS124 class and my prof is Sir S. (Let's just call him this way because I don't want any of my professors to be directly addressed in my blogs.) Let's have a background first of my CS124 class. (I think is going to be a long story.)

My CS124 class happens every Friday this semester. Well, it is a normal class for most of us, but not for me. I am always to teased by Sir S to a certain blockmate (let's call him J), and I'm always irritated by it. Sometimes, even out of nowhere he will suddenly relate a certain concept to love, then love to me and then the teasing will follow next. I really do not know the whole story why Sir S relates me to J but I can only treat him as a friend, nothing more.

Continuing from my dream, like I said, I am in my CS124 class, and the whole class is there, and Sir S is there. He started teasing me again to the same person. Then he suddenly asked me, "E Nicole, ano ba talaga ang status mo? Wala ka bang crush? (Translation: But Nicole, what is your real status right now? Don't you have any crushes?)" Then I suddenly ask myself. Do I really have one? I do not know what to say at all. (Another substory. Sorry)

Well, two weeks ago, I had a crush on blockmate of mine, but not the same blockmate that Sir S is talking about  (let's call him M). I feel guilty for it because I told J that I will never like a blockmate ever. I think I had been unfair to him and he may think that what I just said was just an alibi for me to reject him. I really don't expect myself to fall for M. Actually, it started when we had an overnight for our student council election because we are the ones who will manage the website that will be used. I had bonding with the other members of the team, including him, and it was fun! And since semester is ending, machine problems are needed to be coded again. I was amazed of his skills because he created his own algorithm even there is one available in the internet. Then he and his friends danced to the tune of "Harlem Shake" and uploaded the video to YouTube. :)) I had my bestfriend watch the video and she said that the guy (pertaining to M) is somehow attractive. That's when I started to think about him and found myself having a crush on him the day after. Well, we had a funny chat about random things one night but I will not detail it here because the next part will be a sad one. :(

Let's say there's a close friend of mine in the block (let's call her E). I call E as "Nay" (means Mommy) because we had a family tree when we were first years and she turned out to be my mom. I share to her some of my kilig moments because some of my crushes are from our college and she knows them and then she will tell me some facts about them. She's always close to me and I thought of something about her recently. Maybe she likes M but more than the like that I feel. Well, she's clingy and they are always together but recently, I noticed that they are coming to class together, and going home together, and the like. Now, E addresses M as "Boss". She is also tweeting sweet text messages about Boss. Well, I think that's enough for you to understand my current situation.

So, back to my dream. Sir S asked me and finally I came up with an answer, "Sir, wala po. Dati meron pero napag-isipan kong i-give up nalang kasi nakikita ko naman na yung kaibigan ko at saka siya ay nagpprogress naman. Kung masaya naman sila sa isa't-isa bakit ko pa sila pipigilan. Ako lang yung magmumukhang masama. (Translation: Sir, I do not have any. I used to have one but I decided to give up because I can see progress between my friend and him. If they are happy with each other, why would I stop them? I will just turn out to be the bad one.). Then Sir S smiled like he wanted to say that I made the right choice. After the class my closest friends hugged me (because they know what has been bothering me since) and I was really happy that I finally let go of this unrequited feelings.

Then I woke up to the tune of SHINee's Dazzling Girl playing in my iPod, and it gave me this happy feeling. Well, I think I want to thank M for making me experience butterflies in my stomach :) and to E, well, I valued our friendship more so let's just stay friends forever :))

Til my next post. Happy Easter to everyone :)

What I want to do this 2013

Hello! Happy New Year to you. I remembered myself writing my new year's resolution a year ago and fortunately, I managed to turn some of them to reality. Here's my list last year and what happened to them before the previous year ended.

1. 1. Have someone who will read and appreciate this blog of mine..(though I think it's impossible, for now) - Yey! I have 57 views (coz I repeated my blog) and 2 followers. Thanks Liezls and Maris :)
2. Good health - Yes yes. Thank you Lord for the healthy body.
3. Plenty of resources - Again. Thank you. 
4. Maintain my DOST scholarship. - So far, I still have it :)
5. Be a College Scholar.. :) - Finally. 1.67
6. Have friendship with everyone.. - I had new friends. Yey! :)
7. Be active in choir activities. - Yes. I finally adjusted my schedule so that I'm free on Friday nights and Monday mornings. :)
8. Gain height. (waaah) - Oh yeah. I gained 5 cms! I'm now 150 cm >:D
9. Lose weight.. :) - Yeah. I just lost 2 kls. :)
10. Have a 500 GB HDD - Hahah. I already have one, yet in less than a year. I almost consumed all of its free space. 10 GB left :(
11. Have a Galaxy Y phone.. - got a better one. Love love Sony Xperia J :)
12. Celebrate my 18th Birthday the way I like it to be.. (it's just once in a lifetime) :) - This one made this set of resolutions ALMOST true. I don't want to talk about it. However, my loving blockmates preferred something that made me cry. Thanks a lot!
13. Of course, stay alive on 12.21.2012 - yeah. I just sang & slept on doomsday :D

12/13! :D 2012 is a good year after all. Now, for my 2013 New Year's resolution,

1. Have more people who will read and appreciate this blog of mine.. 
2. Good health 
3. Plenty of resources. 
4. Maintain my DOST scholarship. 
5. Still be a College Scholar or better 
6. Take my OJT in good computer company. 
7. Have more friends :) 
8. Still be active in choir activities, even I will be doing my SP. 
9. Gain height. 
10. Make my face free from pimples. 
11. Have a new white/pink earphones with good bass quality. 
12. Print a customized shirt. (either Naruto- or SHINee-themed) 
13. Upload songs on my soundCloud account and get some followers :) 
14. Be alive for another good year coming. 

Fortune tellers forecast 2013 as a lucky year for those who were born on the year of the dog. I just hope it will turn like one. Til next time :)

LRT Experiences

     I had been riding the LRT (Light Rail Transit) ever since I entered college. Three years have passed after all. I remembered when I first rode it with my dad. It was from United Nations Avenue Station to Doroteo Jose Station. I didn't know that I had to surrender my card to the destination station and I am really ignorant by that time so I put it inside my wallet as remembrance. Fail though. :))

     First experience that I will share happened during the first Friday of the first semester, S.Y. 2010-2011. I newly bought my Math 17 module that time so I was really OC to not let any folds or stains mark on it (I still carry a small bag that time so I have to handcarry it on my way home). I positioned myself to ride on the second door of the first car which is part of the 'Female Area'. It was the first Friday so it's my first time to experience riding the LRT with big number of people waiting in the station. Also, I didn't know that there was a rope separating the Special Area (area for pregnant women and senior citizens) and the rest of the 'Female Area'. When the train passed by, I was really frustrated by that time because I can see through the windows that the area on the other side of the rope, which is the Special Area, is not crowded while the other side is really jam-packed. I remembered myself saying, "Ate, konting usad naman po oh! Ang luwag-luwag doon sa gilid e." Then I thought, "Diyos ko. Probinsyana nga talaga ako." :D After four trains that I missed, luckily, I was able to ride of the fifth one.

     Another thing that I will not forget happened second sem of the same academic year. I rode a train around 6:30 AM in the morning. I got seated next to a guy. At first, I really don't mind him sticking close to me because many people were riding the train at that time, but when the area went spacious enough, I didn't seem to notice why he still stick close to me. Here's more. He's looking straight at me now, and I felt really uncomfortable. After I dropped by at United Nations station,  he kept on following me so what I thought that I should do is run and escape that guy. I don't know if he just want to bully me or he's interested in me (which is impossible to happen).

     LRT is full of warnings regarding safe travelling, like do not the push the emergency button unless there is an emergency, do not board the train when the warning buzzer sounds, and keep yourself distanced from the red line in the stations. One of my curiosities in the LRT system is about its rails. There's a sign that warns "Do not cross the rails." I don't know why but what encrypted in my mind about the rails is that electricity run through them. I really don't know. So one time, on Pedro Gil station, I INVOLUNTARILY dropped my stored value ticket and it went down to the rails. Funny that on the other side of station, a girl dropped her phone and it went to the rails. So I got a better situation than her *mean laugh*.  Alright, enough. Then I talked to the guard about what happened. He came back with a wooden stick which has a bubble gum on the other end of it. He used that to get my card but it didn't worked. No choice, he went down the rails and picked the card by himself. So I have proven that electricity doesn't run through it! About what happened on the girl who dropped her phone on the other side, I don't know. Maybe the guard ended up picking it up in the rails. 

     

     I only got irritated because of certain passengers in the train, and those were the people who lean their backs on the safety handrails. It is really hard to balance while standing in the moving train so at least make sure you don't occupy the rail by yourself and share the rail to other standing passengers. I just wanted to say, "Ate. Safely HANDrail po. Hindi BACKrail."

     I really want to share these things because I think this one that I will share for last appeared to be the worst of all. I came early for our movie shooting in our school. Call time is 8 AM so it's rush time and squeeze time in LRT. Good thing I rode on Balintawak Station so the train is not that crowded. Anyways, back to the story. A Muslim woman rode on Doroteo Jose Station. The train is so crowded so she's stuck in front of the door. Then when the train stopped on the next station which is Carriedo, more people rode the train. Since some passengers dropped by Carriedo, the Muslim woman had the opportunity to get inside the train. One woman from Carriedo suddenly told her, "Tumabi ka nga! Itutulak kita dyan e. *Translation: Make way or I'll push you over!*" Then there goes the Muslim woman bursting in anger. I don't exactly recall what she said but this what I most remembered because for me, this line is really absurd. Here it goes. "Ano ba ako? Ipis ba ako? Aso ba ako para itutulak-tulak mo? Tao ako. Tao din ako. Ganito sa LRT. We should be wise. *Translation: What am I? Am I a cockcroach? Am I a dog that you can push away just that? I'm a man. I'm also a man. This is LRT. We should be wise.*" Absurd isn't it? The woman from Carriedo dropped by the next station because of her frustration and embarrassment. On the other hand, the Muslim woman kept bragging and bragging about her anger until it dropped on UN Station. I remembered the other passengers saying "ssshhhhh", "tama na yan.. *that's enough*", "Mag-taxi nalang kayo. *Just take the taxi instead*" and a lot more to relieve the tension between those two. It's really absurd that my blockmates felt the same way when they heard my story.

     About love story, well, I never experienced it, unlike in mangas where the two lead characters met each other or got closer because they were riding in the same train. Sad :((

     Oh well, I hope you can relate to these insights of mine. Fortunately, I am riding & dropping by at stations which are not that crowded at all so I have a little bit of ease in me. :) Well, 'til my next post. Thank you for reading! :)

A Day at Mind Museum

              I’ve been staying on my aunt’s house In Taguig ever since I was a first year student, and I was aware of places like Market! Market! And St. Lukes Medical Center in Global City, but recently, I visited another place which makes The Fort stand out from other innovation places in our country – The Mind Museum.

                 I went with my blockmates to enter for the morning shift from nine in the morning to twelve noon. When you see the museum from outside, it doesn’t look like a museum at all. Normally, museums have Greek columns and huge statues outside. Yet it means that this museum is in modern style, manifesting technology and innovation. The doors in the entrance are running through sensors.

Outside the museum

                        The tour starts in the lobby where a robot named Aedi greets all of the visitors, introduce the tour guides and the facilities inside the museum. All of the tour guides ride in a rover scooter. There are five galleries in the museum – the Atom, Earth, Universe, Life and Technology.

Aedi, the welcoming robot

a tour guide riding a rover scooter

                We first visited the Earth gallery and the first thing to feast our eyes is the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex. A spherical screen displays the surface of the Earth according to the timeline that you want and a part where you can experience fossil digging. The process of fossilization and different fossilized beings, like trilobites and leeches in rocks and insects in amber are also featured. A 3D short clip about the natural history of Earth is also for showing for all visitors.

       The T-REX skeleton

   

The spherical screen of Earth's timeline

I am fossil digging, :))

Examples of fossils

The 3D documentary

                The next gallery we visited is the Life gallery. First to catch our attention is the life-sized model of a whale shark or what we call as “butanding”. Another thing to mention is the different models of the human sense organs, parts of a cell, the DNA structure, a magnification of different insects and materials, and models of pre-historic man. It also features the human brain – its parts, its functions, and how it works.

The life-sized "butanding"

pre-historic man models

The human brain

parts of a cell

insects, a closer look

                 Next is the Astronomy gallery. It displays things found and used in space like the complete astronaut suite, the space radio, a remote controlled lunar roving vehicle – the moon buggy,   and different documentaries about how the concepts about gravity were discovered. The ceiling of it portrayed the vast universe made up of millions of stars.  Different planetary models are also featured. A planetarium is also open to its visitors.

The ceiling of the Astronomy gallery

an astronaut's suit

                The Atom gallery is our next destination. Here we found different things related to Chemistry and Physics. There were big models of cyclohexanes and test tubes. A dome is decorated with different molecular structures of different compounds like Paracetamol, Acetone, Ethyl Alcohol, Glucose and Caffeine. A globe can transfer static electricity to the person who will hold it and will make that person’s hair stand out. Some models depict the concepts of sound waves and kinetic energy.

Chemical structures for paracetamol and acetone

The static electricity sphere

                Last gallery, which is situated on the second floor of the museum, is the Technology gallery. This gallery features the applications of science and technology to the improvement and development in human life. Models of different vehicles from carts, junks and galleons from modern versions of cars and cruise are displayed.

                The tour continued to the Science-in-the-Park, a park outside the museum where you can still enjoy the concepts of science. Sound domes, bubble tubes, and visual views of different animals like shark, eagle and cobra are some features in the park that I most enjoyed. The slides and seesaws brought us back to our childhood and made us enjoy the park even more.

You can see how these animals see its surroundings. :)

Seesaw & slides. :) 

                This is the best museum that I had visited, so far. Compared to other museums, this place portrayed the modern technology the best. Hopefully, more museums like this will rise so that it can be open to anyone so that all can experience how exciting science and technology can be.

My Histo I Fieldtrip Around Batangas

Last September 8, 2012, our History I class together with the other classes of the same subject, went to different cities and towns of Batangas to discover different sites related to Philippine History.

First stop was the Malvar Shrine in Sto. Tomas. This was the shrine made for General Miguel Malvar, one of the elite generals during the American period. A monument of him stood in front of the Sto. Tomas municipal hall and a museum about him stood one block away from the monument. The museum is filled with different paintings, busts, documents, newspaper articles, artifacts like guns and coins, books, clothes, etc.

Some memorabilia in the museum

            Next is the Mabini Shrine in Tanauan. Here lies the remnant of our great hero, Apolinario Mabini. His museum displays some of his paintings, the Katipunan flags and also memorabilia like his glasses, parts of his clothes, his chair, his handkerchief, and even his first coffin. The museum also features his awards as an outstanding Batangueno.

Some memorabilia in Mabini Shrine

            The Cathedral of Lipa was the next site we visited. The church featured many small and life-sized images of different saints. According to its history, it was reconstructed after the eruption of Mount Taal in 1754.

Inside and outside of the Lipa Cathedral

            Next, we visited different places around Taal, Batangas. First is the San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel followed by Barrio Caysasay, where a miraculous fountain lies. We also visited a factory of “panutsa”, a dessert made of sweetened peanuts.

San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel

Barrio Caysasay's Miraculous Spring

Panutsa

            The place that overwhelmed me the most is the Taal Basilica. Outside, it looks enormous and old, yet it is a breath-taking scenery. The view of inside was more breath-taking as I expected it to be. Maybe it’s because I have never experienced to enter such a huge church. Its ceiling is really high and is painted with various patterns. Its altar is white with silver decorations. Its patron saint is Saint Martin of Tours. According to our tour guide, he helped Jesus who disguised himself as a beggar by lending him his cape. The church is also famous for its "pulpito" where the priest stood when he is giving his homily for the people, in such a wide basilica, to hear him.

                                               

Taal Basilica

            Next place is Leon Apacible’s house. He was a lawyer and was appointed by General Emilio Aguinaldo as the finance officer of Batangas, and then as a delegate to the Malolos Congress. The house featured some of Spanish-timed materials like tablewares, fans, clothes, hairpins, etc. Some blade makers demonstrated how to make a balisong.

 

                        Leon Apacible's house

Last stop is Marcela Agoncillo’s home. Marcela Agoncillo is the wife of Teodoro Agoncillo and the maker of the Philippine flag. The house brought out how rich the Agoncillo family is. Some of the family member’s things are displayed in the house like their bags, outfits, and religious possessions. Embroidery is also shown inside the house.

The tour was great. Even though Batangas is my father’s hometown, I never thought that it will also be the birthplace of some of our famous heroes. Being one of the eight provinces who fought back to the Spaniards, Batangas proved that its citizens are brave to claim their independence over the colonizers. I learned many things, whether it is something that goes inside my mind, but also inside my heart.