Happy New Year's Resolutions

What the hey, it's new year's anyway and there's no better time to make resolutions so i'm making them here and now. all of you reading out there, try and hold me to these resolutions ok?

1. spend less on clothes. . . well, spend less in general. must learn to save money for sending home and possibly buying a car in the near future (like in the next 2 years?)

2. stop watching too much tv and devote time to more worthwhile and enriching things like reading important (what?) books, learning new languages (owwwws), and cleaning the tub (not very enriching but worthwhile in a sense)

3. stop being so critical of others (i.e. pintasera)

4. will become mature, sophisticated woman (meaning will control giggling, swooning and blushing over every other hot guy)

5. expand color choices (stop buying pink stuff!)

6. walk more quickly

7. not make schedule revolve around doing the laundry

8. learn to cook food other than adobo, teriyaki, bistek, afritada and molo

9. blog other things that are important, other than me. and blog regularly

10. learn to apply makeup

hmmmm. . . ten is a nice round number so i guess i'll stop here, though last item is very anti-climactic. i'll probably think up more soon. and please post your suggestions and comments.

HAPPY 2005!!!!

calmer me

i will attempt to write a proper update now that i am reasonably less panicked. somehow, shopping allows me to find the inner peace i need to blog coherently. . . does not make any sense but is very true.

went to market! market! again today. and then greenhills afterwards. talk about overdoing it. though i didn't make that many purchases due to my woeful shortage in peso. most of my money is still in my bank which i could only use through my debit card which is useless when shopping in the tiangge. but i always have fun when at the mall and i got to buy some stuff for my apartment that will hopefully add a tropical flavor to my otherwise drab apartment. we also had leeron and zeth with us which drove us nuts but they are just so adorable!

it's really strange how the shopping season here in manila doesn't seem to end on christmas day. the malls are still packed 4 days after christmas. it's just insane.

we just confirmed our reservations for montemar next week. so i'll be in the beach come january 3rd while the rest of the folks at osu are starting classes. wooohoooo! . . . my mom was getting a little paranoid about going to the beach what with the tsunami and all. pardon me for this morbid thought, but wouldn't that be a good way to go? i mean, one minute you're having fun, swimming, or snorkeling on the beach and the next you're in heaven? just a thought.

i could barely keep my eyes open now. better go to bed. . . and prek: parang di pa rin sapat na rason yon. i need more!

back home

hey you! i've been here in manila for a couple of weeks now and i haven't blogged yet. well once, but that's not a real blog. anyway, i've been too busy with other more important stuff (like shopping, sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating. . . and oh yeah, sleeping). i'm so happy to be home for christmas. i really couldn't imagine spending christmas in THAT place. . . yeah, since i got here, i found myself really hating THAT place and dreading going back THERE so badly that thinking about it gives me a tummyache. anybody, give me one really good reason why i should hop on that plane for the horrific 18 hour flight to be all alone again in that blizzard-ridden place huh? huh!?. . .

jona, calm down.

i was fully intending to write down a log of what i have been up to since i got here but i was so overwhelmed with the thought of me having to go back THERE. geeez

maybe i'll do the update some other time. . .

Collide

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah
I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find, you and I collide
I'm quiet, you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find, you and I collide
Don't stop here
I've lost my place
I'm close behind
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find, you and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide

***

letse

I'm back. . . .

stream of consciousness blog

ohmygosh. just had 2 cream cheese-lathered, banana cupcakes. i feel a sugar buzz coming on. . . buzz buzzzzz. . .

that's one thing i like about america. . . the sweets. . . cookies, cupcakes, chocolates. . . there's a lot of variety out there. . . not very good for the figure, but very good for the soul. . .

anyway, i have been wandering around campus half-awake for 3 days now. I've been taking allergy medicine, the drowsy kind, since sunday. just because i had a couple of glasses of wine last saturday while watching love,actually and elf. geeez. i've slept through every class i've had since then. and i've been oversleeping every morning. it really doesn't help that it's getting really cold and getting out of bed in the morning is the last thing you'd want to do. it would probably help if i had someone who'll wake me up every morning other than my alarm clock. . . another downside of living alone, i guess. . .

just did my very first rna extraction experiment. was really sleepy while doing it. made the mistake of using 15 ul of water instead of 115 ul. good thing my postdoc caught it just in time. . . well, it's actually her experiment it would have been bad for her if she didn't. . . now i'm just blabbing. . .

so excited to go home. looking forward to all the christmas parties. i just have one party to go to here and i can't even wear my cute christmas outfits then because it's too cold. . . i'm so tired of looking like a bubble all the time. . .

blah blah blah. . . better get home now. it's just 430 and it's starting to get dark! what is wrong with this place?

mga kwento lang

i'm too tired to organize my thoughts into one essay-type composition so i'll just go ahead and write down stuff i want to.

kwento #1
last sunday i went to see an opera (yes, that was very cultured of me wasn't it?). it was mozart's don giovanni. it was kind of interesting but rather long. not too different from your usual musical play (the singers weren't all fat and wearing hats with horns or anything like that). i kind of dozed off towards the end though. anyway, while we were waiting to get out of the parking garage after the show, who else passes by our car but don giovanni himself! just to inform you, he was kind of hot in an almost model-type kind of way with longish, shiny brown hair and a strong jawline. so of course, i did what one would expect me to do. . . i waved at him. he looked kind of surprised and actually looked like he was keeping himself from laughing which is kind of a strange reaction from someone who is almost a celebrity. my friends on the other hand were soooo embarassed for me for what reason i'm not exactly sure of. they kind of gave me a hard time about it but i didn't care. i just told them i always do things like that and there is no shame in that right? so, come monday, when i went to our bible study, we were telling bob, our bible study leader, about going to the opera. and of course alisha (my music major friend) told him about my supposedly embarassing behavior in the parking lot. of course it just so happens that "don giovanni" was bob's churchmate and the vocal coach of his son! he of course went on to inform me that "don giovanni" was already married and with a small child. but if i so wished, he would be glad to introduce me to him and have him sing for me or something. then i was embarassed. seems i would be hearing about this for a long time. . .

kwento #2
finished my rotation presentation yesterday. it went pretty well, i think. people keep telling me i explain stuff very well. if explaining means talking non-stop for ten minutes without pausing for breath then i think i was a success. i'm pretty proud of myself. i actually had cheat sheets prepared but i did not so much as glance at them while i was presenting. so very PI-like of me. i was also wearing pink which always makes me feel pretty. hehe. in fact, i had lunch afterward and the waiter (who was obviously gay, because he immediately commented on my sweater) kept calling me gorgeous and pretty in pink and precious. and guys kept opening doors for me. must remember to buy more pink sweaters. . . i bought the new U2 album pala. sounds good so far. pero wala pang song na nagsa-stand out for me other than vertigo just because i heard it so much before the album came out. but its U2 and U2 can do no wrong in my book, just because bono is bono. . .

have to go now. tuyo na siguro laundry ko. i actually have to make two trips from the laundry place to my apartment this time!

weekend!

yipee!!! i can't believe it's the weekend already. This week seemed sooooo long for some reason. i just finalized my presentation for tuesday. saved it on a zip disc, a cd, a flash drive and 3 computers. that's OCD for you. i'm so glad that's done with. just the actual presentation to get through now.

tomorrow's the big osu-michigan game. i hear it gets really crazy. although how it could get any crazier than what i've witnessed so far is beyond me. that's why i'm planning to stay locked up and safe in my apartment tomorrow.

i still haven't seen bridget jones! i can't find anyone to go with. so sad. ang hirap ng walang friends. . . haaaay. . . nag-drama. . .

guess what i was watching last night?

" why didn't you tell me?"
" i didn't want you to worry. it was nobody's fault but my own. i was looking up. it was the nearest thing to heaven. . . you were there. . ."
"if something had to happen to one of us, why did it have to be you?"
"oh, don't look at me like that. . . it doesn't have to be a miracle. . . if you can paint, i can walk. . . anything can happen don't you think?"

or something to that effect. . . the wonders of cable tv. . .i'll probably be staying home more often now.

i actually stayed up 'til 1 am last night watcing a bette davis film (now, voyager) after watching love affair (this is the really old version, even before cary grant and debra carr. . .or kerr. . . whatever). lesson learned. . . a luxury cruise is the best place to pick up guys. . . just make sure that the guy is not married (as is the case with bette davis) and that you are very careful when crossing the street so as not to be run over on the way to your rendezvous (as with irene dunne) and everything will be just fine.

better go home now to watch more tv.

ang molo (bow)

as per request of shiela:

ingredients:
ground pork
ground beef
chicken
shrimp
molo wrapper (or as they call it here in the US of A, wonton wrapper)
chopped spring onions
minced garlic (lots of it)
chopped onions (lots of it too)
cooking oil (duh)
patis (absolutely necessary)
chicken broth (kung meron pero oks lang kung wala)
(please don't ask me about measurements. di applicable sa akin yun. pag feeling mo masyadong marami, e di bawasan. . . ganoon din pag kaunti. . . )
protocol:
1) boil chicken until cooked (meaning di na madugo). keep broth.
2) mix ground pork, ground beef, a few chopped shrimp, some garlic, onion and a little soy sauce. kamayin ha.
3) spoon about a teaspoonful into a molo wrapper and, er, wrap (make sure to have an interesting show on tv while doing this. highly recommended ang extreme makeover home edition. . . nakakatuwa, nakakaiyak. . . and of course, ty is sooooo dreamy. . . preferable lalo kung 2 hour special )
4) himayin ang chicken. . . siguraduhin pong malamig na para hindi mapaso
5) saute garlic and onion. add shrimp.
6) when shrimp is cooked, add broth. add water na rin.
7) Pag kumulo, idagdag na ang molo, chicken at spring onions.
8) Pakuluin pa. Add patis to taste.
9) Alisin na sa apoy pag gutom na gutom ka na (kasi sa tagal mo nang nagluluto niyan, gutom na gutom ka na talaga at this point).
10) higupin at namnamin ang sarap.

o yan shie, di na tayo giginawin sa winter. yey for molo!

Veteran's Day

today's a holiday. i've been here at the lab since 1030. today would have been a good day to do my laundry or do groceries (which is my favorite thing to do). but i am here in the lab. . . actually, i could go home now, but it's raining and i don't have an umbrella, silly me. so i guess i'll wait this out a bit.

i just had a meeting with my PI Christine. she is just the nicest PI one could ever hope for. she took a look at my results and turns out i'll have to say that my injections didn't work. but she was so nice about it that i don't feel bad about it at all. it's not my fault anyway, they picked the beads. and she asked if i would be interested in doing my research in her lab. i really am. but i still have to see what my next 2 rotations would be like.

i should actually start working on my presentation. . .

long time no blog

ooooohhh.... haven't blogged for quite a while. . . what to write about now. . . i got my MG 701 test results today. i got 193/200 would you believe?!? i didn't get anything close to that score when i was in undergrad. exag talaga! it was all i could do to keep from myself from skipping and hopping and dancing all the way home. didn't know a test could make me this deliriously happy. but the other people here are so tough on themselves. there's this girl in my class who's still stressing out because she lost 3 points. . . i'm like, geez, that's still better than 90% what are you complaining about. . . well, i guess it's because she didn't get 193!!!! wahahahahaha. . . ang sama ba?

anyway, kaya di ako nakaka-blog kasi sobrang busy ko this past 2 weeks. everytime i sit down to write, i'm just too tired to think. ang stressful pala ng grad school. hehe. pero, anyway, i'm back. and i'll try to be a better blogger.

impromptu sightseeing

hehe. i'm actually doing one blog after the other. bumabawi. maaga pa e. . .

anyway, i had quite an interesting day today. i was supposed to go to the federal building today to follow-up on my social security number. so i went there and, just my luck, their computers were down. so, i decided to go sightseeing. i took a few pictures since the day was so pretty but i regret that i can't post them yet since i still don't have a computer to upload them into. anyway, i wasn't planning on walking all that distance up High St. but once i started walking, i couldn't stop. there were so many interesting stores and galleries but they were still closed! at 10 am! most of the stores open at 12nn. the only stores that were open were a greek deli and a smoothie place. so i got a baklava and a mocha smoothie. medyo na-cancel out yung calories na na-burn ko from walking. . .

now i'm in the lab and not having much luck with my constructs. medyo nakaka-frustrate pero ganyan talaga. i did get to do the fish behavioral assay with my postdoc, which was pretty interesting. tsaka nag-microinject ako ulit. so i hope i'll have good results tomorrow. . .

turning 23

I haven't blogged since i turned 23. . . yes, I am now 23. . . 23 doesn't sound young anymore does it? it's sounds so . . . in-between . . . alanganin. . . aside from being michael jordan's jersey number, what other thing could you associate with being 23. . . well, anyway, may poging nagsabi sa akin na 23 is a good year so since masunurin ako sa mga gwapo (pareho kami ni shie e) i'm hoping to have a good year. . .

anyway, for those na hindi ko na-email, my birthday went fine, actually, better than i expected. The Lord has been so good to me since I got here and He really went all out on my birthday. The 2-3 days before my birthday were dreary ( you know, they actually use that word to describe the weather in weather reports here. . . strange), especially saturday when it was miserably cold and rainy. But Sunday was perfect fall weather. The sun was out, the trees were changing colors and it wasn' so cold. I was soooo thankful for that kasi kung gloomy siguro, nagmukmok ako lalo. And I got a lot of messages and phonecalls that day from friends and family. so sobrang touched talaga ko. i went to church and had sushi with my church friends. dyahe nga kasi ibinayad pa ako nung isang friend ko. ganoon kasi ata dito, birthday celebrant ang ibinabayad and not the other way around. and then i did my laundry (kasi sobrang kailangan talaga). pero while waiting for my clothes to dry, i walked around looking for cake. hindi pala madali makahanap ng cake sa street ko pag linggo. but i did find one very good chocolate cake. i've been avoiding that place since then kasi sobrang tempting. . . so that's how my birthday went. salamat sa lahat ng nakaalala. . .

payback

the fishies are getting their payback. i massacred them last week, now they're trying to give me a heart attack. it's another exciting day at the lab for jona. . .

anyway, so i was microinjecting fishies again. my last microinjection, incidentally, was a success. which is weird since the last time i did it, stuff were just spewing out of the needle and the fishies were covered with it. but the beads got to the right place and all that so it's actually good. so back to today, i was microinjecting again (duh) and the air tube of the rig burst. it sounded just like a gunshot and it almost blew out my eardrum. in fact my left ear is still ringing. good thing i didn't scream or anything because that would have been embarassing (and hysterical). since i couldn't hear, i was denying the fact that the sound came from my apparatus (stupid). now i'm still feeling shaky and my heart is still beating fast and i'm jumping at every sign of movement. i almost screamed when someone opened the door. . . must calm down. . .

i don't know, it's a mystery

1 month and 9 days. . . that's how long i've been here in the US. Well it hasn't been a very long time but it sure feels like a lifetime. I'm sure there are a lot of things i've yet to learn about this city and the people here but for now there are a couple of mysteries about americans i would like to explore. solving these mysteries would really help my sanity. so if you people out there have any insight on these things i'll mention, please feel free to comment. . .

mystery #1 : How (and why?) do americans walk so fast?
I swear, I think every single american can outwalk me. short, tall, fat, thin however unathletic, I always end up eating their dust. i don't know why i find it so frustrating to walk on the sidewalk and have every single person overtake me. and i don't consider myself that slow of a walker. i have tried matching their cadence (?) once i feel someone approaching from behind me but it just doesn't work. I couldn't go that fast for too far because i feel like i'll be getting cramps on my leg any time. and collapsing on the sidewalk would be even more embarassing. . .

mystery #2 : "Hi! How are you?"
I think this statement drives more foreigners crazy here than you would think. i think for most normal non-american a "How are you?" would actually mean "How are you?". I mean, you would expect to have a substantial answer to the said question, definitely more substantial than "Fine. And you?". I can't tell you how many times I've replied to this question in what to me was a normal manner only to find polite disinterest in the face of the person who is asking the question. this soooo pisses me off. why can't they just stop at "Hi!" and get on with their life? so when i speak to someone who is actually interested in knowing how i am, i hesitate to tell them anything, and i come out as the snobbish one. so how do you tell the difference between a perfunctory "Hi! How are you?" and a true blue, sincere "Hi! How are you?". . .

mystery#3: "Awesome! Wonderful! Totally!"
At a grocery store, the clerk would ask you "Find everything you need?" and I would answer "Yeah!" "Wonderful". What? What's so wonderful about finding a bag of ice and a liter of coke? These words and others like it have lost all meaning here. I can't help but wonder what americans would say if and when they do encounter something totally awesome and wonderful. They don't have the words anymore.

so there. i know i had another question earlier in my head but i can't seem to remember it. if you can enlighten me on any or all of these mysteries, please comment.

**********

on another note, nanay, ate me, kuya bobby and kuya jessie left this afternoon. they were here in columbus over the weekend. they arrived here saturday afternoon, which was a game day. good thing the bucks lost because things didn't look as crazy as it did when they won (don't tell anyone from osu i said this because i would be in so much trouble). We did a lot of shopping (well, i did anyway) and it was fun to have other people in my apartment. i was so bummed when they left that i didn't go to the lab this afternoon. hehe. it's awfully quiet again in my apartment. but i do have a week's supply of pan de sal, kaldereta and more than a couple of month's supply of spanish sardines. That will have to do for now. . .

6 days to go . . .

blah, blah...

they're dead. all of them. . . my fishies i mean. i injected close to 80 of them yesterday. 21/2 worth of work in the microscope. . . i went home last night with an aching back and teary eyes. . . all for nothing. . . well, i have to start again i guess. . . o well. . . i actually like the microinjecting part because it is pretty cool. that's why i did 80 of them when 20 or so would have been enough. ka-o.a.n ko lang actually. still i was hoping that at least a couple of them would be successful since ang dami ko namang ginawa, but no. . . and my transformation was a flop. got the wrong size band. i guess i can't have 2 good weeks in a row. may be next week would be better. . .

it's getting really cold now. it got to freezing this morning, would you believe. it's supposed to be fall right? mild weather, a bit of clouds, leaves falling. i didn't know it would be so hard to breathe in cold air. my nose is always cold for some reason. . . but they said this will pass within the week and we'll have more "normal" weather by the weekend. i'm not sure what they mean by normal though. these americans have antifreeze for blood. i'm all wrapped in a sweater and a coat and they're running around in short shorts and t-shirts. geez.

i can't' seem to be able to write anything substantial in this blog. i get a lot of ideas that i could write about when i'm on the bus but once i sit in front of the computer, blank. nothing. all i could do is blabber on about this and that.

must have original idea for a blog soon. . .

20 mins starts now....

i have 20 minutes to write this. . . here goes.

just opened the blogger page when my PI walked in. gahleng. i couldn't minimize it kasi lalong magiging obvious na guilty so flash na lang ako ng big smile. hehe.

I''m transforming cells now and i have 19 minutes left in my incubation. i've been doing this type of thing all week. i'll be doing it again next week. . . and so on and so forth. . .

at least it's the weekend. i'm not sure what i'll be doing this weekend, probably my laundry. but definitely not shopping. i just paid my rent so that set me back roughly 500 bucks (ouch). utility bills should be coming in soon. i never had to do this kind of thing before so i'm getting a bit nervous. and we get our pay end of october. i'll probably be a pauper by then. . . and my birthday's coming up too (hint hint). hehe.

it's getting really cold now, especially in the mornings. it will reach the low 30s by sunday, so the weatherman said. brrrrr. . . but it still gets pretty hot by noon to early afternoon. so it's really hard to decide what to wear. grabe jona, laki ng problema mo. hehe. but i tell you, it's not easy being cute and staying warm at the same time. . .

speaking of cute, i just figured out who my cutie classmate looks like. . . he looks a lot like nick stokes from csi. o diba. and i had coffee with him this morning. . . well, ok i was with two other classmates and he went and sat with us. . . but i did do most of the talking since both of us had difficulty understanding our chinese classmates. . . he though the assigned paper for our DNA transactions class was interesting. . . so dreamy. . . hahaha. . .

but i couldn't make myself call him "pogi" like prek challenged me to. hindi ako kasing tapang ni shiela. hehe.

ooooohhh. . . have 8 minutes left but nothing left to write. guess i'll go stare at the incubator then. . .

kwento lang

this is probably the longest i've gone without blogging for the past 2 weeks or so. i'm kind of busy in the lab now and when i am in front of the computer i can't think of anything interesting to write about. . . well, i'll give it a try. . .

this weekend was pretty good. friday night , i got to have my first night out here at columbus courtesy of the christian graduate students alliance (or association? im not sure). i attended their fellowship which was pretty fun as far as christian fellowships go. the people there are a bit older than me and they were quite weird actually, so i felt right at home. we all went to dinner in downtown columbus after the thing. the downtown is actually very pretty at night. downtown columbus is relatively small (mas maliit pa sa makati or ortigas) and the buildings are a bit older so it was kind of quaint and not very metropolitan at all. tsaka parang ang tahimik.

saturday, i was ate lea's the whole day. they picked me up to do my laundry. naawa sila kasi ang layo ng labahan ko. so while doing laundry i was supposed to be reading an article but i of course ended up watching cable tv all day. puro specials at reality tv ang pinanood ko. sobrang weird na ng mga palabas dito. i saw a bit of "surreal life". jordan knight of new kids on the block was there. he got fat since he released an album a few years back. mukha na siyang tatay. tapos nandoon din si brigitte nielsen, yung ex ni stallone. sobrang weird niya. parati siyang nakahubad. basta ang weird. i also saw a vh1 special "i love the 90's: 1990". feeling matanda na tuloy ako kasi parang lumalabas na ang tagal na ng 1990 e alalang-alala ko pa yun. do you remember the slap-on bracelets na nauso nung grade school? wala lang, na-feature kasi dun. aliw. then they had this whole segment on sinead o'conner's video of "nothing compares 2 u" and people like michael buble and john mayer and this other comedian was singing it and crying. ang funny. then they now have a 90's trivial pursuit. i should probably get that.

sunday, i finally found a church i think i'd go to maybe for the next couple of weeks or so. someone from cgsa invited me to go there because there was a banquet last sunday. siyempre punta ako, free food e. tapos the pastor picks people up at a dorm close to my place so convenient. ok naman yung church, karamihan international students. tapos very lively and informal ang service so tama lang sa akin. at masarap din naman ang food. hehe.

now i'm starting to see how busy i'll be for the next few months. talagang lahat ng time na wala ako sa class, nasa lab ako. serious na ito. oh no. kaya ko ba?

i'll be injecting the little fishies later. medyo excited ako. ang weird nga e. tuwing nagkakamustahan nga kami ng mga ka-program ko parang feeling ko ako lang yung sobrang naaaliw sa mga bagay-bagay. siguro kasi mababaw ang kaligayahan ko. i think i need to seem more serious. baka akala nila retarded ako or something. abah. magandang impression iyon.

competence and transformation (of cells)

dito uli ako sa lab. looks like dito na ako madalas. the truth is i like the work. halos pareho lang sa ginagawa ko dati. but i don't like this building. i feel claustrophobic here. it's so unlike msi or ah that's airy and open. parang walang hangin mula sa labas na pumapasok dito. walang bukas na bintana. parang 3 layers ng pinto ang papasukin mo to get into the building. tapos di pa ako makalabas ngayon basta-basta kasi di pa activated id ko so if lumabas ako, di ako makakapasok.

i started poking at the little fishies today. i haven't injected them with anything yet, i just practiced looking at them under the microscope and harassing them with the electrodes (pointy cappilary tubes) i made yesterday. the fishes (well, they're still actually embryos so mukha silang tiny fish na buntis kasi may embryo sac pa) were in a little plate with water (of course) so they were still swimming around. then when i poke them they dart off and fold over. aliw. pero nung mga unang beses napapatalon ako. tapos nakaka-guilty din. kasi nga naman nanahimik sila tapos bigla ko silang tutusukin.

got a free lunch today. went to a seminar solely for the free food. had no idea what the topic was before i got there but i didn't really care. good thing plant seminar siya so slightly interesting. well, actually di lang pala for free food. i bummed a ride with my cutie classmate. hehe. pero ang strange kasi umalis rin siya before the seminar started so di siya nakakain. na-guilty tuloy ako.

think i better shake those transforming cells. . .

pers lab

sorry to disappoint you but lab here pertains to the real lab i.e. laboratory, not the other lab (awwwww...). i'm actually here at my lab's office. i still don't have a desk so i'm squatting at somebody's desk and using the lab computer. i've been here since 9am. 9am here does'nt feel like 9am here. it feels more like 6am. the sun rises at around 800am or something (i'm not sure actually but it feels like it). so at 9am it feels like the sun just rose (which it actually did). o gosh, i'm not making any sense.

the weather here is not very good now. the weather people keep saying that the weather is great but i disagree. a day when the low is at 55deg and the high is at 85deg is not good weather. i always feel like i'm coming down with something because of the drastic changes in temperature. you leave the house wrapped in a sweater and by noon, your sweating buckets. . .

there's a kid here (obviously somebody's son) who reminds me so much of leeron. chinese kasi tapos kalbo at mapula pisngi. haaay. . .

na-sidetrack ako. anyway, i performed my first experiment today, a miniprep. well, i actually used a kit so it was pretty easy. but i had low dna yield:). but it's not my fault. the shaker didn't shake the cultures very well so i only had a few cells. yeah yeah. i also learned to pull electrodes. electrodes here are basically glass capillary with super fine tips that you use to poke embryos. the machine that makes it has a laser and you place the capillary in it and the laser heats it up and then pulls it apart. it makes this loud popping sound. i almost ducked under a table when i first heard it. but it was a fun thing to do.

i'm still running the gel for my miniprep. i better check on it.

first day jitters

just finished my first day of classes here at osu. ok lang. ang init! kaninang umaga sobrang lamig tapos ngayong hapon mga nasa 90deg na raw.

i was pretty nervous and excited last night. di nga ako makatulog. mga ala-una na ako natulog. i got the same feeling i get in college pag dumadaan ako sa math building. yung para kang nasusuka na nahihilo na ewan. ang sama. anyway, woke up this morning at 630 for my 830 class. left the apt at around 745. thought that was early enough. turned out i had to walk to school. again. the buses never arrive on time. then i had to wait for the other bus for like 20 minutes or so. got to class at exactly 830. geez. my first class was biochem. i don't know what i'm doing in a proteins class but there i was. the prof reminded me a lot like father christmas. and he spoke really slowly. i sat near the front which i think now was a bad idea because for sure i'll be dozing off a lot on this class. good thing (or bad thing, whichever way you look at it) classes only last for an hour. and our academic year is divided in quarters. there is sooooo little time for actual learning. we'll have our midterms 2nd week of october i think. what would i have learned by then?

i don't know if it's just me, but in a lecture, most of the time, i feel like i'm just watching a really boring american film. parang hindi reality. di kasi sanay na may teacher na may accent. wala lang. ang weird.

sobrang sabog ko kanina i almost went to a whole different class instead of the one i was supposed to be at. i waited at a library at the other side of campus where my class tomorrow will be, nowhere near my class this afternoon. and i had no idea where the building of my class was. i just got on the first bus to come and somehow, i got there. their buses here are so confusing. there's the south loop and the north loop. but they don't go south or north all the time. i still don't get it.

i also started with my rotation. though i just picked colonies which took all of 30 seconds. but i'll be doing a miniprep and ligation all day tomorrow. nask. parang totoong molecular biologist. good thing the people in the lab are so nice. i asked really dumb questions. like, she was cutting embryos that were mounted on agar and my question was "are they dead?". duh. i just had to make sure.

nga pala. i got to see the amazing race finale last night. i was soooooo happy! el nido was beautiful. and it's a good thing that colin and christie didn't win. but brandon and nicole looks like they could use the money more than chip and kim. and brandon is such a cutie! and nice too! and a christian! i have to get me one of those. . .

certified GTA. . . take that!!!!

ha! i got a 290 out of a possible 300 in my speak test (test of spoken english type exam. it's required for me to be a teaching assistant). the required score is only 230. yay for me! those people at the written english program should know about this.

i haven't mentioned it here but i flunked out on the english composition test. i was so bummed. and to think the director of the program was a filipina. anyway, this one makes up for that. . . i actually have to take 2 composition classes but i chose not to take any this quarter. just didn't feel like it. too many things going on already. . .

just had to share that. i'm so happy!

free stuff

ahhhh. here i am again. i should be doing my radiation safety online course but i'm not. i can't seem to grasp the difference between alpha, beta and gamma radiation however much i re-read the darn thing. best to leave this to tomorrow. . .

just finished my registration. i've even paid for my fees over the internet. they're so wired here. but the e-mail server is down right now. feels so much like u.p. hehe.

went to the "buckeye bash" with charm and her friend ivan. it was at the osu stadium. there were long tables of free food from chips, to chicken wings to fruits and all the coke you can drink (apparently, coke pays osu millions of dollars so they could sell coke exclusively here on campus, then osu gets all the free coke it wants. . . tamang-tama sa mga addict na tulad ko). we did have to line up for a long time and under the burning sun at that. i was the only one in line hiding behind a newspaper. it was soooo hot! but it's free food so i don't complain. i even got to take home a sandwich and several bags of pretzels. hehe.

then inside the stadium there are booths for student organizations and they give you more free stuff like ref magnets and pens and candies. i even got a switchfoot poster! student organizations also include sororities and fraternities. and these people are exactly like the ones you see on american movies. it was sooo funny. the girls all dress alike in their little sorority shirts and even tinier skirts. and the frat guys are big and burly and noisy. . .

i got to go. this library closes at 5p,. . . what library does that?

on a sunny saturday afternoon

gosh. ang layo ng nilakad ko to make this blog entry so this better be good. i got sick of paying 1$/15min at the cybercafe next to my place so here i am at the 24hr/7 days a week student center where i could use the internet to my heart's content for FREE! ayos.

actually, nandito ako kasi wala akong maisip gawin this afternoon. i'm done with my laundry. took me 3 hours, would you imagine. had to walk three blocks with 1 week's worth of clothes which for me is quite a lot (you'll be happy to know na i still bathe as much here as i do at home kaya ang dami ko talagang clothes na nagagamit). three blocks here is no joke. sadly, walang nag-offer tumulong sa akin. mukha kasi ata akong amazona. pero lech talaga. ang layo ng laundry place na yun. kung may sampayan lang ako . . .

since last i wrote here, i've had significant progress in terms of my academic pursuit (opo, pumunta ako dito para mag-aral at hindi lang para mag-fafa). i have a rotation lab for this quarter! i'll be working on zebrafish as a model for spinal muscular atrophy. may publications naman yung lab sa Cell so mukhang ok. and the other RAs seem to really love the work. But my main reason for picking the lab is that i thought the PI seemed nice, almost motherly. and to those who asked, no, i didn't go for the lab with the hot PI. they all say he's too demanding and i don't want to be traumatized on my first rotation. aside from having a lab now, i have 3 other PIs who said they'd take me in the next quarters. so that's settled. mukhang kelangan talaga nila dito ng researchers so sa mga future applicants (jenner, eloi, cris, cathy, kat) apply kayo dito sa osu. daming fafa. promise.

that long walk addled my brain. i had so much stuff i was thinking of writing down before i got here and now i can't think of anything else to write about. darn it. there are now a lot of people here. di lang ako ang walang friends dito. ha.

police brutality

siyempre ang oa ng title ko. i was thinking of not writing this story on my blog kasi baka mas lalo pa kayo mag-alala (nask, feeling) pero i couldn't help it. it's too exciting not to share.

anyway, yesterday i was at urban outfitter's following shiela's advice on combatting loneliness, which was, well, shopping. so i came there for a pair of sneakers and as i was getting ready to pay, the sales person told everyone to go to the back of the store. there were several policemen with their guns draw just outside the door, and they locked up the store. apparently, may parang bum doon sa labas na may dalang knife and i heard him saying he also had a gun. pinaakyat kami dun sa 2nd floor nung store tapos siyempre puro babae yung mga tao, diretso silip naman sa bintana (dami din palang usi dito sa america). siyempre ako din naki-usi. pinagalitan tuloy kami nung mga sales people ulit. "we don't want you getting hit by a stray bullet or anything" ika niya. abah, talagang naka-alleviate ng panic namin. pero ok lang naman kasi ang daming sofa dun sa store kaya ang sarap ng upo ko. may videogame pa nga (ms. pacman joystick) kaya nakapaglaro pa ako for a few minutes. after a while na-sedate din yung guy, they got him with a stun gun sabi nung iba pang usi. pinalabas din naman kami eventually. by then may paramedics, firemen at camera crew na. dapat nga magpapa-interview ako e. hehe.

exciting din pala dito. . .

ate sasa, if you're reading this, wag mo nalang pabasa kina mama ok?

$4/hour

yes, i'm back at this coffee place next to my apartment that charges $4/hour for internet use. taga taga. i'm too wimpy to stay on campus 'til dark. and the library closes early anyhow.

last night was a bad one. i was fine when i got home. i cooked another terrible meal (bistek dapat pero weird lasa ng soy sauce. . . totally not my fault. . . hehe). I was doing what i'm almost always doing when i'm at home. . . watching the intersection right outside my apartment. what else could i do without a tv or a computer? hehe. i was reading the book prayer of jabez and it was actually very uplifting and encouraging. but when i got to the part where the author tells a story about playing with his son, i just started crying. . . i sooooo miss my parents. and of course i start thinking about everyone else and i start crying even harder. . . well, nobody said this would be easy and it's not. . . but i've been reading this wonderful book by elisabeth elliot entitled secure in his everlasting arms. there's a chapter there that says god will give what you need at exactly the right time you need it. and lo and behold, after a few minutes my phone rings and it's precious shrieking into the phone "nasa pilipinas na sila!!!haaa!" in her usual hysterical way. at first i had no idea what she was talking about, as it turns out she was talking about the amazing race. anyway, she just sort of reminded me that a) someone is thinking about me and b) someone else is going through what i'm going through (wala din siyang makausap. hehe.). i slept pretty well after that. . .

anyway, i went shopping this afternoon just to make sure that i don't start weeping again. hehe. good thing i'm not good at multiplying because if i was i'd start weeping again. . . hehe.

eto na nga. . .

medyo bitin pala yung last post ko. . . kakapagod pala mag move-in e.

well, as all of you may know by now, i'm here in columbus. i'm currently in the cybercafe next to my apartment. nask. my apartment na. hehe. anyway, my place is pretty cute. it's actually better than i thought it would be (mababa expectations ko). i think justine posted some pics in her blog so go check that out if you're really interested.

i've done a lot of dumb things these 2 days i've stayed here but i just have to post the dumbest thing i did. morning of sunday, i went off to find my laundry place. it was pretty far off, about 5 streets away.off course i didn't find it right off but i did end up at my apartment manager's office (without intending to. . . himala ba). anyway, someone had to accompany me there and i decided i'd come back to wash my comforter. so i went back to my place and cooked and ate lunch (adobo, which i just realized now, taste more like estofado. . . too much sugar i think) then off i went with my big, bulky comforter and a few towels. so i get to the place and go down the stairs and smell the laundry smell and suddenly remember. . . i forgot my detergent. bleagh. ang saya saya.

but i figured that must be the dumbest thing i could do for the day so everything must go uphill from there. and it did. i met 5 new filipino friends (isa pala indonesian) who insist on giving me furniture and appliances.

so this week we'll be having our thesis colloquium and i have to pick a lab to rotate in by the end of the wee. too much pressure. i realized i know virtually nothing that can be applied in most of these labs. garsh. must start asking if they accept hapless, inexperienced, hopelessly lost molecular biologists.

this place has good music. they're playing dmb! kewl.

nga pala, may 3 cuties sa class of 20. ganda ng odds. sabi pa nung isa kanina magaling daw ako mag-english. nask. at least may reason akong pumasok for the next few days.

i'm paying $1/15 mins for this computer. better go now.

ang susunod na kabanata. . .

i'm back in cleveland here at justine's place. i'm currently doing my laundry (yey!) after a couple of hours agonizing over how to open justine's laundry room. garsh. how retarded can i get? finally got to open it. it's just that i never got used to using keys believe it or not because we never used keys for doors at our house. . .

anyway, i spent the last three days in columbus. the weather was miserable the entire time. on wednesday, which was my first day there, it rained the entire day. good thing i brought my umbrella. . . and people said it NEVER rains here. . . geez. . .

anyway, when we arrived at columbus tuesday afternoon (poor george drove for 2 1/2 hrs . . . laki na talaga utang ko doon) i signed in first at the office for international education. they're really nice there and they tell me what to do for the next 2 days. i also got my buckID (nask) which apparently gets me bus rides for free and discounts at other stores and whatnot. then i checked in to my hotel which was conveniently located next to a mcdo, a discount shop and a grocery. i got to buy notebooks and plastic expandable envelopes for $1 to $1.60 a piece which was pretty cheap. so next morning i rode the bus to school which was ok enough. but of course, i just had to disembark at the wrong stop. i shouldn't have doubted that the dozen or so chinese students holding maps were going to the same place i was. the orientation was for international students (duh). about 50 percent were chinese (or taiwanese or japanese. . . i can't tell the difference) 20% indian (or pakistani or sri lankan) and everyone else. i met a girl from ecuador and another from jamaica who both hated america and americans. it was fun talking to them. they also shared my love for rice. hehe. i also met a bunch of other people from different countries which was really cool. there was this kid from the UK who had the cutest accent. i also met a couple of people from taiwan and all i could think of bringing up was F4. grabe ang jolog pa rin talaga. then it was quite embarassing when i met a fellow filipina. i totally flipped out in glee, clapping and grinning. she must've been more embarassed. turns out she has been in columbus for a year because her husband also studies there.

it was a really long orientation which started from 9am to 5pm. there were a few interesting and important things that were tackled like counseling, immigration issues, transportation etc., but there were also a bunch of really boring stuff which i of course slept through. it was cold i couldn't help it!

i got on the correct bus home (yey!) and got off on the correct stop (yey! yey!). i bought dinner at mcdo. they served healthy (kuno) stuff there. i ordered a ceasar salad which turned out to be huge but quite good and a really yummy deli sandwich. this is not the mcdo i was used to. . .

i'm getting really bored with this entry. i'll continue later.

rak en rol!

hmmmm. . . where did my narrative stop? . . . well, this is my 4th day here in cleveland. i just cooked dinner for justine and george, poor them. that's why i'm pretty tired. . . believe it or not, it's pretty hot here right now kaya napagod talaga ako nung nagluto ako. thankfully, naubos naman ni justine and george yung carbonara and nobody got hurt. . . well, not yet, we'll wait and see tomorrow morning. hehe.

so far, most of what i've done these past two days were shopping (which would not come as much of a surprise for most of you). i've spent more money than i care to count. but i did get some cool stuff on sale since it's the labor day weekend. i now have a couple of winter coats and a pair of winter boots. handa na akong ginawin! bring it on! hehe.

yesterday, we also went to the rock and roll hall of fame. it was pretty cool. i have a picture in there at justine's blog with the kikay giant guitar in front. sadly, you can't bring the camera inside the museum so i don't have pictures with elvis' report card or madonna's corset. the main exhibit was dedicated to the supremes and there were a lot of sequined, glittering gowns. . . it was funny to see all these kids complete with tattoos and piercings looking at diana ross' gowns. . . there was also an area dedicated to the beatles with john lennon's scribblings of song lyrics. . . oh, and there's the grunge area with chris cornell's baby picture. they also had listening booths everywhere but there were a lot of people so you had to wait for a while to get to one. justine and i stayed the longest at jimi hendrix's listening booth. . . i was tempted to buy an album but for $14.00? geez. . .

after the rock and roll museum. we went to the coat factory. we met ian there and he witnessed firsthand how the words "sale" and "clearance" can drive two perfectly reasonable girls insane. after that, we went to the taste of cleveland food festival where we sampled pulled pork sandwiches (aka. lechon paksiw sa monay. . . sorry ian) and other cleveland delicacies. there was also a free concert featuring blues travellers which was really cool. kinahihiya na nila ako kasi sigaw ako ng sigaw ng "rak en rol!" at "lab u pare!". hehe. we also got to see how totally spastic americans are when they dance. it was pretty sad to watch actually. hehe.

today, we went to see case (justine and george's school) and the museum of natural history. justine and i inadvertently trespassed when we got tour the place first before paying. good thing we didn't get caught. justine learned why her place is called shaker's heights. i learned how good rootbeer sticks are. . . hehe. ang sabog.

tomorrow, we're planning to go to the zoo to see the giraffes (i love giraffes!). then on tuesday we're going to columbus. . . the vacation's almost over. . .

cleveland rocks!

well actually, that is still an unproven fact for me since i've spent most of my time here sleeping. . . anyway, i'm here, safe and sound, so you can all just stop worrying about me. . . hehe.

my flight was uneventful, as i prayed it would be. good thing we arrived at the airport early (around 4am) so i didn't have to wait for ages at the concourse (?!?). i also got my request for all side-aisle seats throughout my trip. also, the check-in procedure at naia is a lot more hmmmm. . . meticulous now. a lot of body checks and baggage checks and all that. you even have to take off your shoes and one poor man puts his hands into every single shoe. bleagh. the plane left on time at 7am for nagoya. i sat beside a couple who were going on a tour of canada. we started speaking just as the plane was landing in nagoya (since i slept and/or cried most of the way there) with my ears popping and everything so i couldn't hear most of what they were saying and my replies were limited to "ano ho?"s and a lot of nodding and smiling. next thing i knew, the wife was giving me her son's e-mail address. apparently, binebenta na pala ako sa anak nila. . . hehe. pero they were very nice about it.

in nagoya, i also got to meet a couple who live in cleveland. they told me a few things about ohio and i learned that osu is the largest university campus in the WORLD. . . i don't know if this is true (or sobrang exag lang talaga siya) but this probably means that the school is pretty big. . . hmmm. . . more places for me to get lost in. . . scary. . . the plane was delayed for 10 or s0 minutes in nagoya because there were 4 people who had sore eyes. i was totally unaware of this since as soon as i sat in the plane i was out like a light (gravol, highly recommended if you ever travel). i sat next to a girl from naga. she's going to columbus as an exchange student and she's only 17! she travelled alone and she's staying in ohio for 9 months with a foster family. syempre lalo lumakas loob ko kasi if she can do this, siguro naman kaya ko. inggit lang ako kasi she was travelling as an unaccompanied minor so the flight attendants were nice to her and they let her stay in front of the plane just so she won't miss her connection. were as i had to run through detroit airport like everyone else. i really thought i won't make it to my 120 flight since we were able to disembark at 1220 and we still had to go through immigration and customs. the people in immigration were hostile to say the least. the guy asked me "who's paying for your studies?" and i said " the school" and the INS guy says "why would they do that?" like it's my fault! i was tempted to say "and why wouldn't they?" or "because i'm smarter than most americans that's why!". condescending ugly american! humph! good thing the people at customs were a lot nicer. they didn't open my luggage! by then it was like 110 and my connecting was at 120. so i started running. my gate was gate 59 and the i started running from gate 21! sobrang hindi na ako physically fit. buti na lang delayed yung plane by 30 mins. useless din pala pagtakbo ko. in the plane, i sat beside a guy who looks exactly like that guy in jurassic park who sold the embryo at the black market? the fat guy? and he took off his shoes and i swear, his toenails were like claws! gross! as in! buti na lang nakatulog ako ulit. and i was seated directly behind business class so i had more legroom than usual ( and he had more room for his toenails... eeeuww!)

so i got to cleveland airport by 4pm. the first thing you look for when you get off the plane is your baggage right? cleveland airport is very strange in that the baggage claim is a long way off were you land. so i was walking down very long corridors and as i rounded a corner, expecting to see my luggage there standing was justine and george! i musn't have looked very happy to see them because i was very confused what with my luggage still not in my possession. hehe. so we got my luggage and i got to ride in george's and justine's new red rav4! george used one of those talking gps things and it was pretty funny because we kept answering her like "yeah, yeah liliko na". then the first thing i did when i got to justine's was take a bath. kaya bye-bye straight hair kaagad. then we went to dinner at applebee's which is similar to tgif's. i thought i was ok after i bathed pero in the middle of the meal medyo nagsi-spin na utak ko and medyo walang sense na sinasabi ko. weird din pala kasi while we were eating the tv in the restaurant was showing a match between django bustamante and efren bata reyes. . . ano kaya ibig-sabihin noon? then we went to walmart and i bought a few stuff na looking back now, does not make any sense for me to buy the first day i get here (like, nail polish remover and nail buffer). ganoon na ako ka-lutang noon. then when we got home, i fell asleep immediately in the middle of justine's living room while we were watching will and grace. pag-gising ko madilim na buong apartment. hehe.

right now, mag-isa lang ako dito sa apartment ni justine kasi pumasok sila ni george. medyo nalulungkot ako lalo na pag naaalala ko sina leeron and zeth. not that i don't miss the rest of the people back home pero sabi kasi nila mama sabi daw ni leeron gusto niyang patigilin yung airplane ko sa may bahay para makasakay ka. at si zeth naman pupunta na raw dito sa isteyts para makita si barney. i guess synonymous na si tita jona kay barney. hehe.

haba na ng post na ito. pag nakaabot ka dito siguro wala kang magawa 'no?

so long and thanks for the fish. . .

i'll be leaving here in a little over 3 hours. . . the day has finally come. . . di pa ako nakakatulog.

di siya madali. i'm gonna need all the prayers i can get. i'm terribly sad right now. . .

next blog ko sa US na. . . wow.

postscript: title is ripped off from douglas adams. . . again. . . feeling dolphin. . . ang labo

my new disguise

just got home. . . kailangang talagang maka-experience ako ng masamang traffic bago ako makaalis ano?. . . at least it wasn't as bad as the epic traffic jam before shiela left. . . pero 1 1/2 hours from katipunan to antipolo is no joke. . .

about my day. . . i now have a new disguise. firstly, i got my glasses. . .50/50 pala grado ng matako. . . mej mukha akong teacher. . . then nagpa-hot oil ako sa profiles. . . tapos yung nag-treat ng hair ko sobrang na-obssess sa pag-uunat ng buhok ko. as in magsasara na yung salon at paalis na yung mga kasama niya ay bino-blowdry pa niya hair. apparently, hindi pa enough yun kaya plinantsa pa niya. kaya sobrang straight ng hair ko ngayon. nagmakaawa siyang wag kong basain para tumagal hanggang umalis ako. . . we'll see. . . worried lang ako baka di ako makilala nina justine and george. hehe.

i'll try to blog tomorrow. hopefully nagme-make sense pa rin ako by then. . .

i should be packing. . .

aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh! panic mode is on. . . why did i delay a lot of things until the last minute?. . . now, i can't get my gall bladder checked because my doctor is out of the country. . . and i'm still not packed!. . .

went to the dentist this morning. i remembered why i haven't been to the dentist in two years. . . as if the torture of tooth-drilling, polishing, cleaning and filling wasn't enough, side a/south border/ freestyle was playing in the background for the whole one hour and a half procedure. . . i must have been atoning for a sin or something. . .

i also bought toiletries. . . didn't expect shampoo, conditioner, facial wash, etc., costs could run that high. . .

had another 'surprise' despidida from church folks c/o my church kids. . . siyempre tears na naman. . . wala ng katapusan. . . pero in fairness, di na ako umiyak nung kumanta kami ng 'leaving on a jetplane'. . . hehe.

better start moving my things around the luggage again. . . might accidentally end up getting packed up that way. . .

last chance. . .

as my last week here in the philippines winds down, i'm finding myself thinking of everything i'm doing as my last chance to, for instance, go to makati, eat bulalo, go to church, videoke at red box, go to tagaytay. . . no wonder i'm so tired. . . it's fun but very emotionally draining. . . and to add to this, i'm getting very little sleep at night. . . i'll probably look like a zombie when i get to ohio. . .

anyway, i had dinner with my college friends last friday night at greenbelt. and we established once and for all that however much we look the part, we will never be anything approximating your typical yuppie. we're too. . . something. . . i don't know. . . rough?. . . and we get sleepy very easily so late nights are not for us. hehe. and according to lei, she has never had geekier friends than us, even at med school! and here i thought i was pretty normal. . .

yesterday, i found myself back at greenbelt again (sosyal) for my last red box session with my best videoke buddies: my sister, mel, bea, patrick and grace. no disrespect to my other videoke-ing friends, but when i sing with people as good as they are, i feel like a superstar myself. probably had my most admirable videoke feat when i sang 'muli' with patrick (nask, regine). and singing avril and alanis is super fun. i'll soooo miss red box. going back there will probably be the first thing i'll do when i get back in december. . . iba pa rin siya sa magic mic e. . .

this morning, i went to church for the last time before i leave. siyempre pa, i bawled my eyes out in front of everyone, pero sanay na na naman sila doon. . . and i got all of them to promise to pray for me. yey!

after church, i went to tagaytay with my family. the trip was not so much for me as it is for leeron and zeth. they've wanted to ride horses since they saw the movie "spirit". anyway, they got to do that, along with my dad, who has never ridden a horse in his entire life! we also ate at rose and grace (my last bulalo) and window-shopped at the outlet store near there (nothing much there, mamplasan outlet store is better). we also had dinner at one of those garden restaurants. the place was called jardineros and you have dine there when you go to tagaytay. the food is superb, really. and they also sell fresh veggies and herbs you can pick yourself.

so that's how my weekend went. i expect this next week to be insanely emotional. bring out the tissues. . .

thanks superfriends!

had dinner last night with my superfriends. . . well, dinner might be too mild a word. . .hehe. ultimate buffet to be exact. in celebration of joan becoming an oblation scholar. . . 6 years ago. . . hanep.

anyway, they presented me with their present, which regrettably wasn't cash (hehe kidding!). it was actually so much better. they made me a scrapbook with stuff that go way back junior year in high school. my friend sarah keeps everything. . . as in everything. she's not a good friend to have if your want your past erased because i assure you sooner or later your past is going to come back to hunt you as long as she's still around. pictures, letters, class projects, doodles, receipts, tickets, gate passes, everything (some they actually "borrowed" from my own box-o'-memories)! some things i don't remember at all, some triggered entire memories of people, places and events , and other things i would rather forget. hehe. it's actually kinda bulky but they said our friendship's through if i dare leave it. . . there goes my house clothes. . . hehe. but i am so thankful to them for that. . . i now have something to sift through when i'm cold and lonely in ohio. i could say "i did have friends, good ones in fact, once in my life..." hehe. nag-drama ba. but really, i was so touched. . . thanks friends!

certified geek

punta akong greenhills today to get my glasses! garsh! after bragging to everyone that i always read in semi-darkness and in moving vehicles and still manage to have a 20/20 vision. . . joan told me to get contacts pero masyado pa ata mababa grado. concerned siya na ma-lessen ang ability kong mang-boys. . . i told her, i won't be able to see faraway boys clearly if i didn't have glasses. . .and since malayo pa sila, may time pa naman akong alisin glasses. . . hehe.

one week to go. . .

isa pa. . . 

ang po-pogi 'no? 

photon phorevah! 

supahstahs 

post-despidida musings

i've been too wiped out to post the past two days. i feel like i have to cram a lot of things into these last few days and i'm sooo tired. . . and anxious. . . and nervous. . . and excited. . . and obviously confused. . . hehe.

for those who weren't there ( shie, arlene and jenb. . . miss ko na kayo!) my despidida went pretty well. i didn't bawl my eyes out! what a feat! i'm so proud of me. . . i learned that the technique to not crying is to start fake crying when you feel the urge to cry. . . it worked all the time. . .

there was a lot of food. pero di ako masyado nakakain. . . everytime sasarap na kain ko either may dadating na tao or may aalis. . . but i'm making up for it by eating leftover party food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days now. . .

these days, i'm starting to equate food with videoke. . . singing probably helps people's digestion or something. . . pero ang saya. . .siyempre star sina mel and patrick. . . and the surprise star of the night was eloise with her rendition of estudyante blues (mabuhay ang mga RAs)! and i'm so proud of the church kids kasi almost all of them sang. i just wasn't there for all the "performances" because i was running around the place all the time. . . siyempre di rin patatalo photon friends although medyo wala ng tao when they started singing. di pa nga enough sa kanila ang magic mic, buti na lang nandon si oliver. . . they stayed until 2:30 am. pinaalis ko na sila kasi di na ako makamulat :) we talked about our lovelives. . . correction: their lovelives pala. . . ahhhh, to see the day when i could talk about my lovelife until 2 in the morning. . . maybe in 5 yrs or so. . . i'm hoping this blog will read more like the other blog jae and jem are religiously following by then (wink wink). hehe. . . o baka lab life na lang talaga by then. . . like how i've knocked out a useless gene and ended up with healthy and thriving mice/worms/arabidopsis. . . well, it's anybody's guess . . . basta i'll take the next few days one day at a time. . . or by the hour na siguro para sulit. . .

postscript: did i not say the US vs lithuania game was something to look forward to or what?!? galing talaga nung guy with frosted tips na naka 3 3-pointers in a minute or so. . . have you guys heard of micropets? bumili kami kahapon sa glorietta. dati siyang P500 ngayon P99 na lang. para silang tiny robots na cats, dogs, bears, etc na sumusunod sa voice commands. they're sooooo cute. then if you have more than one, they interact with each other. nakakaaliw. magdadala nga ako sa states para may makausap naman ako. kaso nga lang conversation namin limited to "Snow, let'walk/run/turn/bye-bye". . . well, that's better than nothing. hehe.

it's my party (and i'll cry if i want to. . .)

it's exactly one hour and a half to go before my party. i should be doing something like peeling a potato or taking a bath but, well, i'm here. i'm feeling rather melancholic, which is probably not the best state to be before a party being held in your honor. . . it's not helping that i've put "all i want is you" (u2) on repeat while i'm typing this. . . no special meaning really. . .it's just that the song is so intense. . . remember the video? with the midget (or is little person more apt?) in the circus who's in love with the beautiful trapeze artist who's with the ringmaster? the song is quite long and it ends with the midget trying out the trapeze and falling to his death because there was no net (silly midget!). . . what the heck am i talking about?

anyway, i so hope that there'll be no crying in this party. . . ayaw ko pumangit. . . but i make no promises (about crying, not pagpangit. . .ang labo)

what to do with leftover eggwhites?

pavlova!

no, this is not the name of another russian olympian (although i do remember a rather cute hockey player named pavlov)i am obssessing over. this is actually my new dessert opus in the kitchen. . . new zealand pavlova.

"jona is baking?" you might ask in disbelief. "surely that would be a disaster!". . . i thought so too myself. . . but thankfully this is probably one of the easiest cakes to make, that's if somebody has already separated the eggyolks from the whites for you. . . which somebody actually did for me since they were making leche flan which only requires egg yolks. . . anyway, as long as you have one of those electric mixers, you're set to go. . . the recipe calls for:

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp vinegar (white cane preferably but whatever's available is ok)
1 tbsp boiling water
as much whipped cream as you want
whatever fruit is in season (or fruit cocktail if you want to make your life easier)

1. preheat oven to around 475 deg. fahrenheit (i didn't really follow this since our oven doesn't indicate temperature , it just says 1, 2, 3 ,4... til 10... i just use 4...really nothing to it, just an arbitrary number...). grease baking pan
2. beat egg whites until stiff, add sugar and vanilla gradually while continuously beating.
3. add vinegar and water once the batter(?) is glossy, continue beating until glossiness(?) is gone and batter is very stiff
4. pour batter into pan. make slight "indentation" in the center so that sides are slightly higher.
5. place in oven and turn off heat. leave inside oven for about an hour
6. when knife comes out clean when you stick it into the center, the cake is done. let it cool and then add as much whipped cream and fruit as you want.

o diba, akala mo kung sinong expert. gahleng.

for those who are going to my party tomorrow, you might be able to sample my baking, that's if di pa siya nagshi-shrink. . . mukhang lumiliit siya e. . .

cold feet, big feet

woke up this morning panicking again. had thoughts of calling the whole thing off, silly me. haven't paid for tickets yet anyway. hehe. must be cold feet, whatever that is. the excitement wore off once i finished shopping for stuff. . . could it be that i was excited about leaving BECAUSE i knew there was a lot of shopping to be done?. . . hehehehe. . . i think this is because arlene's leaving on friday. i also panicked a lot around the time of shiela's departure. . .

speaking of arlene, she had her 2nd despidida yesterday. siyempre ang daming food. tapos nag-videoke kami. eloise got a score of 100 for her rendition of freddie aguilar's "estudyante blues". woohooo! sobrang with feelings kasi pagkanta niya e. . . "ako ang nakikita, ako ang nasisisi, ako ang laging may kasalanan..." hehe. na-shock ata si ma'am saloma lalo na nung pinakanta namin si ate maan ng like a virgin. buti na lang she didn't ask us to stop for the sake of her child. hehe. pero ang saya nga.

it's a good thing there's the olympics to keep me distracted these days. nakakabano lang talaga coverage ng nbn. there's no rhyme and reason to it! they show the 200m individual medley finals and then show the heats for that event after. whaaat? so you never have any idea what the next event would be. such as an annoyance for people like me who have nothing better to do. . . too bad ian thorpe (the love of my life who i hope is not gay) lost in the 100m freestyle. . . oh and puerto rico lost to lithuania in basketball. . . usa vs. lithuania would be something to look forward to though . . .

just remembered, i could go shopping again with justine once i get to the states. . . hmmmmmm. . . am excited again. . .

uh-oh

my blog went awry for a while there. stupid me for messing up with the template code. . . that's why i have a new template. . . a very subtle change since its still unbelievably pink. . .

i didn't really do much today. just watched the olympics. . . rather, ogled at olympians. . .hehe. i'm so in love with that little guy from puerto rico who single-handedly humiliated the so-called dream team. . . oh and of course ian thorpe. . . although my sister thinks he might be gay. . .gosh i hope not. . .

jetskiing 

life's a beach (you wish)

i've been staring blankly at this page for a few minutes now coz i just don't feel like writing. . . i'm still pining for the beach!

ohmygosh! i had such a great weekend thanks to cathy, mel, arlene and of course, ate jackie. God was so good to us, He granted us two days of sun. . . now i'm lightly-tanned! yey! at least i won't be pale when i go. . .

di naman sa nang-iinggit ako pero let me regale you with the details of my wonderful weekend. . .

we arrived at ate jackie's house in anilao at around 12 nn saturday. we spent the entire afternoon chair-surfing. . . meaning we just floated around the water in our lifevests. . . while other people were either jet-skiing or windsurfing. . . unfortunately there were no beach dudes worth ogling at. . . but we had fun nonetheless. . . most of the evening was spent hooking up the dvd player to the amplifier and lcd projector. . . apparently, we had the wrong lim with us (hehe, peace arlene!). . . then we had a west wing marathon. . . and right before the bed, we reminisced about our pisay days. . . which convinced ate jackie that it's a good thing that therese did not get in pisay. . . we also competed for the worst prom experience award. . . but i won't tell you who the winner is. . . hehe.

we were supposed to go to dive and trek on sunday morning but the bangkeros said the waves were too big. . . so we settled for a morning of jetskiing and windsurfing. . . the entire balayan bay echoed with our squeals of terror. . . hehe. . . but it was really fun. . . i was a bit disappointed in myself for giving up so easily on windsurfing (the farthest i "surfed" was 2 meters at most). i really don't like the sensation of falling. . . jetskiing was more amenable to me. . . although other windsurfers were going faster than me in my jetski, which was kinda pathetic. . . but i screamed louder than they did (because they weren't screaming at all, silly)

i'll post pictures once i get them. . . that's when i figure out how to do that. . .

malling, cruising, panicking, etc

blogging is very addictive. when i wake up in the morning i think "hmmmm. . .what do i write about in my blog today?". bad sign. . . first thought in the morning is "hmmmm. . ." must get a life. . .

why are my thoughts so disjointed?

anyway, went to sidewalk sale at metroeast today. if you know me well enough, dapat alam mo na wala akong sale na pinapatawad. so it is a wonder of wonders that i went home empty-handed. wow! jona? ikaw ba yan? could this be a sign of maturity? . . is my EQ increasing? . . . am i on my way to becoming a responsible adult? . . . let's hope not. . .

oh, i was also at metroeast last night (mallrat!). i went with my sister to her "orientation" at fitness first ( a new gym). obviously i was not planning on signing up but the invite did say free cocktails. and since it's a gym, what other thing would be present that would make the visit worthwhile? yes, lots and lots of. . . physical trainers. hehe. we were late so free merienda and cocktails have run out by then pero at least busog mata ko. . .

am currently listening to polyphonic spree's album. the only word that comes to mind is. . . trippy. . .tipong "lucy in the sky with diamonds". . . parang sinulat ng taong high. . . but it's very pleasant. . . like the voices you hear in your head but with grandiose orchestra music in the background. . . cool. . . pwede siyang maging soundtrack ng emotional breakdown ko. . .

Panic attack!

Just received orientation information over the email. waaaah! it's just sinking in that i would have to do all these things alone. . . get ssn. . .open bank account. . . pay bills. . . live. . .

they're making me take english exams. . . as if my english isn't good enough for them. . . isn't it?. . . isn't it!?!

and there's a list of classes i have to take. . . Mol Gen 701 DNA transactions . . . what the heck? and i even have to take a radiation safety short course. . . that'd be cool though. . . hehe.

and i don't get paid until october 29?!?!?

waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! again.

thanks. i feel much better.

will vent again soon. . .

btw, saw the village last night. . . just go see it for yourself because any reaction i may have may give something away. . . if anyone of you, after seeing the movie, would want to join in a class suit i wish to file against m.night shyamalan, just tell me ok?

hehe.

Eternal sunshine

new day. new post.

saw "eternal sunshine of a spotless mind" last night. brilliant movie. totally unlike any i've seen for a long time. . .definitely not catwoman (the horror!). it's soooo good. if you've never heard of it, it stars jim carrey and kate winslet. they play lovers who have split up and who decide to erase their memories of each other. this erasure is made possible by a procedure that the character played by tom wilkinson has developed. this movie would be really interesting for you neuroscientists out there. i was literally at the edge of my seat for much of the movie, which is a strange way to be considering that the movie is a romantic drama. the movie was that captivating for me. the way the film visualized the process of erasing the memory is totally brilliant. and i've never seen jim carrey in this light before (well, i didn't see that other amnesia movie of his. . .) and it was quite disconcerting at first. he was so. . . controlled, he hardly spoke above a whisper in the first scenes of the movie. you keep expecting him to explode any minute. kate winslet on the other hand played the exact opposite of jim carrey's character and she was at turns charming and somewhat annoying but you can clearly see how these two people could be drawn to each other. no one would ever think a jim carrey and kate winslet pairing would work, but it did and very well too.

what i really loved about the movie is that it made me think, which not very many movies do. like, what is memory? is it really just synapses in our brains which connect one neuron to another? and if i do get the option of erasing a memory or an event or a person, would i do it? and what would i erase? . . . hmmm. . . heavy stuff. . .

speaking of memory erasing. . . turns out i've been driving all over the place for who knows how long now without a license. . . really, i seem to have lost my license. i have no recollection of ever taking the darn thing out of my wallet and therefore have no idea where to start looking. let's just hope that lto doesn't throw away unclaimed one-year old license duplicates. . .

more soon. . .

welcome!

aha! I finally mustered up enough self-esteem to start my own blog. Yey for me! Here's hoping this blog lasts longer than any of my ill-fated journals. . .

why did i have to start this on such an uneventful day?. . . even the weather's totally dull. . . so i can't start talking about that. . . i guess i'll just write down the things you can expect from this blog. . .

for starters, i decided on doing this to save on the amount and length of e-mails i need to send out once i go to the US. most of my e-mails from now on would be along the lines of " just go check my blog". . .nask. . . that's if this goes well. . . but i'm feeling pretty positive and upbeat today so i'm saying that this WILL go well.

the past sentence demonstrates my tendency to digress and contradict myself and you can expect to see a lot of that. . .

i also plan to post some pics once i get a digicam which will be . . . oh sorry, i'm still dreaming of that day so you'll have to settle for old pictures that i've gotten around to scanning. . .which i very rarely do since scanning is such a tedious task. . .

bakit ba ako nag-e-english? yan din, magbo-blog ako ng tagalog pag gusto ko. . . marami kasing emotions na walang translation sa english. . . parang. . . kebs. . . o. . . chuva. . . o . . . grabeh. . . pero kung iisipin mo hindi nga pala tagalog yan. . . o well

how long should blogs go?. . . basta, i'll end this here and post another one tomorrow. yihee!