Because I'm clingy and such.

Sasabihin mo na naman, "Para namang ang tagal kong mawawala."

Half a year is long for someone who spent so much time and did a lot of stuff with you, especially recently. I'll definitely miss our kwentuhan - whether kalandian lang or on serious matters. The things we did and talked about during the long waiting time of our experiments.  Our shopping escapades. Yung mga kasamaan at kalokohan natin. Yung pamimilit namin sa'yo na i-invite kami sa Bataan, lalo na nung nabanggit mo yung zipline sa inyo. Haha. The many merienda we had whenever our experiments permitted, and the random dinners (tapos sisisihin mo kami kung bakit 'di ka pumapayat). I'll surely miss mocking your adsorption experiment's pH stabilization which takes a very, very, very long time to stop changing (well, not knowing that you'll make me finish it. T_T). And, of course, all your funny stories and jokes that seemed endless. 

On your new adventure, I could wish nothing but the very best for you. You deserve every opportunity that life has given and will soon give you. I know you would do great - you always do. Kahit na lagi ka naming niloloko na sabay tayo ga-graduate, naniniwala pa din ako na mauuna ka sa'min matapos (pwera usog. Hahaha.).

Good luck on this journey and may God bless you always! Enjoy every bit of this great adventure! Keep in touch and see you in 6 months! :)

PS: Sabi mo sa'kin okay lang nung sinabi kong mag-b-blog ako tungkol sa pag-alis mo. 'Wag ka mag-violent reaction. Hahahaha. :)

My 2011 Adventure

Last year didn't start so well for me, especially since my 2010 ended great. But, eventually, luck caught up and things began to change for the better.

2011 let me experience the ups and downs of life. I experienced being nothing and being something. I gained new people in my life and, sadly, lost some, too. There were times I felt like I had no one, but, most of the time, I know that I'm surrounded by the people who makes the world seem better. I've been my worst and best self this year. Yes, 2011 was indeed one crazy adventure. And, I really thank God that everything happened EXACTLY the way they did. 

My 2011 in pictures:

JANUARY

▫ New Year at Baguio City ▫ Took interest in taking photos of flowers ▫ Read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ▫ 

FEBRUARY

▫ PIChE National Convention in Bacolod ▫ Myth of the Human Body Exhibition (twice!) ▫ Fiesta in Sta. Rita, Pampanga ▫ Found my new favorite subject -- Ely! :) ▫ Took more random photos ▫

MARCH

▫ Watched Sugarfree's Farewell Concert with John at Eastwood ▫ Watched the Philippine International Pyro Musical Competition at the Mall of Asia ▫ Lolo passed away :( ▫ Dada and Apo's golden wedding anniversary celebration ▫ Kuya graduated from UST Law ▫

APRIL

▫ 9th anniversary celebration with Leys, Mhi, Mjhae and John at Tagaytay (Photos grabbed from Leys) ▫ Kuya's birthday and graduation celebration ▫ Tina's birthday celebration ▫

MAY

▫ Finished AIM's three-week Business Management Program ▫ Learned a lot ▫ Made new friends :) ▫

▫ Rockband first-timers at Bluskies, Katipunan ▫ I was able to set up a little studio inside my room (which lasted for just one night) ▫ Enchanted Kingdom with family (my first EKstreme experience!) ▫ Got the ERDT Scholarship! :D ▫ Watched Maroon 5 concert with Issa at SMX Convention ▫

JUNE

▫ Enchanted Kingdom with ChE '05 friends (made my first "music video" :P) ▫ Started my MS EnE degree (back-to-school!) ▫ Enchanted Kingdom with family and Caps ▫ Bought my first not-so-cheap gift to myself -- a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor Lens :) ▫

JULY

▫ Party-party at O-Week's Culminating Party held at Area 05 Superclub (Photo grabbed from Geronimo Photographico's FB Album: http://on.fb.me/zKh3KX) ▫

▫ Random bonding with Junelle and Ip at Robinson's Galleria (Junelle, I will forever see fish eggs in that photo because of you. Haha.) ▫ Bought new PC -- this marked the start of the haggard days of my MS EnE program ▫ Caps' birthday surprise -- will never forget this! :D (Bitter critter photo grabbed from Quiddity Online's FB Album: http://on.fb.me/wjgERe) ▫

AUGUST

▫ ChE Reps 0910 get-together dinner with Pampy at Trinoma (Thanks Rachell for the coffee treat! Let's do this again soon! :D) ▫ Went to Bohol with the whole family during the long weekend -- BEST. TRIP. EVER. :) ▫

SEPTEMBER

▫ My birthday! Therefore, new hair! :) ▫ First field trip of my MS program (EnE 201) at Morong, Rizal Landfill  -- Thanks Papa for the help! ▫ Attended my first ERDT Conference at Manila Hotel ▫ Videoke at Music 21 after the conference (I don't want to remember where we went after this. Haha scary experience. XD) ▫ Unexpected bonding with Selda and Tins at Trinoma -- masama kayo dito! Dora, amp! >_< (Photos grabbed from Selda) ▫ 

OCTOBER

▫ Went to Yuchengco Museum with Junelle at Makati ▫ Ate at the hard-to-find, but worth it, Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe after -- grabe yung wrong way tayo sa one-way street, buti nalang linggo yun. Haha. XD ▫ This day is nothing but happiness. Let's shoot and bond again soon! :) ▫

▫ Unplanned bonding with Leys and Mhi at Trinoma (Mhi, thanks again for the booking assistance. Leys, thanks again for the birthday gift! :D) ▫ Made my first DIY camera accessory -- customized bokeh ▫

▫ My first plane ride without Papa and Mama ▫ Went to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan with Caps. :) ▫

NOVEMBER

▫ Papa and Mama's 27th wedding anniversary celebration at Red Palace Restaurant (where I first tasted the BEST halabos na suahe ever!) ▫ Kuya and Ate Ejay's bar exam this month (Good luck! :D) -- masaya makisali sa pagrerelax sa Manila Hotel. :) ▫ Food trip and bonding with ChE 05 friends (Edgie, thank you for the treat! :9) ▫ Reunion and bonding with relatives in Pampanga during the holiday ▫

DECEMBER

▫ Reunion with my 2-A family at Zel's House in North Olympus, QC ▫ Played Pinoy Genius and Charades ▫ We'll forever remember Scooby Doo and how it must be acted. Hahaha. ▫ A truly fun and memorable night! :) ▫

▫ Pampy's all-day-til-night birthday celebration at the ChE Laboratory, Mister Kabab and Pizza Hut ▫ Chill at the Rance Residence in Bataan -- thanks for the warm and generous accommodation, Pamps! Namimiss ko na yung luto ni Mama Perlit. :) ▫ Pawikan Conservation Center - bawal mag-swimming dahil sa malalakas na alon, kaya picture nalang. Haha. ▫ Christmas celebration with Leys, Mhi and John in Eastwood (Photos grabbed from Leys) ▫ Christmas preparation and celebration at home - made truffles and tiramisu! ▫ Reunion with the Genuino clan ▫

Looking forward to a more awesome, crazy and blessed 2012!

Happy year of the Dragon! <--our year! ^_^

Star-Box-Heart

Thanks to boredom, an addition to my camera accessories was created. I got the idea from this site: http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_create_your_own_bokeh

I changed the design a bit because I want to use different shapes without doing several cardboard hoods. So, I made a slot in front where I can slide a card with the shape cut-out. Thus, mine looked like this:

I am not really good with crafts like this so it didn't turn out to be a neat work. Anyway, as long as it functions properly, I'm happy with it. I made rectangular-, star- and heart-shaped cut-outs for my customized bokeh, and I tried it by using a flashlight as my light source.

(The photo in the first column is taken without the cardboard hood.)

Come nighttime, I tried my cardboard hood outside and took pictures of the surrounding lights. I'm looking forward to trying it out again tomorrow.

(It was a starry night, then I turned it into a hearty one. Haha.)

Reaching goals: One journal at a time

The final major test of pursuing my MS EnE degree is my thesis. With all its meticulous conceptualization, laborious experiments, brain-racking paper writing and terrifying defense, who would say that they are tremendously excited for it? Definitely not me. Yet, I have no choice but to go through these steps if I want to graduate (well, I do!).

First and foremost, I need to find a topic for my thesis. I find this the most difficult part. It's like writing an essay where the appropriate first words always seem to elude us. However, after we've started writing, the next words just flow from us with less effort.

I plan to have nanotechnology as my research topic. What about it, I'm still not sure. I have yet to read loads of journal articles on related researches to better define mine. Just thinking about it already tires me. But, as they say, "No pain, no gain." And, if I want to achieve great things, I need to put extra effort on it. Gotta start now!

A random day

Sembreak is finally here!

My typical day would consist of food, computer, TV, computer, food, more food and sleep. After this break, I'm definite that I would gain something I don't want. 

Today, I bought some stuff at the supermarket and, afterwards, treated myself for some choco-banana shake. When I was about to drive home, I noticed this and I couldn't help but take a picture using my phone (which explains the low-res photo):

I read 7777 km from my odometer. Then, I made a wish. :) Yes, I am that type of person who says a wish whenever I see the clock turning 12:00 midnight or whenever I see 11:11 from a digital clock. Random weird stuff I did since I was child, and reminds me every now and then that I am still a child at heart. 

When I got home, I drank my choco-banana shake until I could no longer sip any. But, I knew something's still there, so I opened the lid, and look what I found:

A chunk of banana! No wonder I couldn't sip it. Well, so much for blended drinks. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Anyway, I'm conditioning myself now to start studying for my thesis. I hope I'll be able to start soon.

On love and parking spaces

One Thursday afternoon, it was so difficult to find a parking space near the College of Engineering that I was only able to park beside the Computer Center - which is quite a distance from the college (relative to where I usually park). While walking, my friend and I saw a free parking space in front of the ChE lab and, wanting to park there, we hurriedly went to the car. As we drove towards that spot, we saw another car already parking on that same space. Sadly, we had to find another and, while we're at it, the love conversation began and went something like this...

"Parang opportunity lang yan eh, dapat grab agad." (on losing our parking space)
"Parang love, minsan walang nakalaan sa'yo." (on no free parking space)
"Emo lang? Hindi, parang love lang yan, 'pag may nakalaan sa'yo, sa'yo talaga."
"Hahaha, tama. 'Pag for you, for you."

Then, as expected, the only free slot was the one where we were parked earlier.

"'Pag sa'yo talaga, dun pa din babalik."
"Kasi naman, meron na ngang nakalaan sa'yo, naghahanap pa ng iba."
"Pag for you nga, for you talaga."

And, we just laughed at the weirdness of our conversation. We parked the car, and did not look for any other free parking space.

A Candle in the Dark

Thank you for being my source of light when everything else is dark and blurry. Thank you for lighting my way when I don't know where to go. Thank you for giving me courage when I'm so scared of what I couldn't see. Thank you for being there when no one else is. And, after all you've given me, I'm really sorry for being so selfish.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a side note, I took this photo last night when the electricity was cut due to the typhoon. I was so bored that I took my camera and started taking pictures in the dark. I didn't use the camera flash because I was scared that I may photograph something scary. Haha.