SUMMER post #22: Last Weeks of Summer. :)

I've been out of my blog for a while. I just wanted to enjoy the last weeks of summer, that's all. Since it's the last week of summer (for me, at least), I wanted to blog about the things I did in the last weeks under the heat of the sun...

First, there's the seminar that's been going on since April 17 (wow, I still remembered... O_O) which by the way at the last session got me thinking on trying out all the things that we've been talking about. Will start on all that during classes though.

Second, is the enrolment of USC. Even though I'm part of a block section for our course, I still feel sad for those people whose schedules have been ruined by the crappy enrolment system. I wish the new system will be done so that this problem will be effing solved.

Third, the stronger bond within the Maluya family. Since my aunt from CDO bought a condominium for my two cousins who will stay here in Cebu, we've been hanging out a lot lately. From jogging to malling, it was really a nice experience.

Lastly, new friends. :) I met new friends over the last few weeks, and Facebook was never the same without them. ^^ Although I didn't go with them to the house of one of them, I was still glad to have them. :)

Well, gotta go. Hope my parents come home soon. ^_^

PERMISSIONS....

I really hope I could hang out with my friends tomorrow... I really want to especially since Ms. ULTIMATE CUTE will be there. I really want to be with her and her friends. And NO, Ms. ULTIMATE IMBA is different from her. I hope my parents would consider just this once so that I can be with her. ^___^

PLEASE LORD. Help me. :|

2010 ELECTION WATCH

While I still want to post more after Boracay, I wanted to watch ABS-CBN's coverage of the 2010 elections. They're so good that I have relied on them ever since they started. The effort of Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula is so great. I plan to follow them by posting the latest happenings there.

UPDATED depending on my mood. (I watch the TV, you know. So I have to see...)

8:10AM (comp time): So far, so good. I saw Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his son Congressman Mikee Arroyo, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Sen. Mar Roxas and even Kris Aquino vote. They were all successful. There are still some problems with PCOS machines and the delay of the delivery of CompactFlash cards. Let's just hope that it really works out.

9:10AM (comp time): Typed on time! Anyway, I already saw Gibo Teodoro and Former President Fidel V. Ramos vote and are both successful. Vote-buying is still dominant in the country and Boto Patrollers are reporting a lot of news... They really try their best to see their goal through.

10:24AM (comp time): Had to take a bath so this is delayed. A LOT of reports of vote buying came in, COMELEC Commissioner Rene Sarmiento asks questions about current problems on the elections. I saw Noynoy Aquino but his precinct had problems. Only 8% of the 76,000+ precincts are able to vote. Hope this will turn out good.

11:49AM (comp time): ABS-CBN Channel 2 took a break and is airing "Showtime". Will be back this afternoon (if I will be going out).

2:02PM (comp time): The coverage was back 2 hours ago. Sen. Noynoy Aquino just started voting. Problems still arise but COMELEC extended the voting hours to 7pm.

2:53PM (comp time): Many candidates have already voted. Some experienced smooth ones, while others experienced failures of PCOS machines so they resort to manual count.

3:24PM (comp time): Summary of the casualties through the years during election season is being reported.

3:57PM (comp time): Reports on the election-related violence this 2010 elections. A lot has been clamoring in my Twitter about extending further the voting period and the way people vote. Some PCOS machines are still broken and will "ride" on other precincts' PCOS machines.

4:07PM (comp time): Election-related violence and the inability to vote are the top problems that the people are complaining to the Celebrity Patrollers on ABS-CBN. The people are getting wild already.

4:38PM (comp time): LAST POST because I want to rest. Still low turnouts in the Absentee Voting abroad. Election-related violence cases are lower than the last one.

Watch TV or go to http://bmpm.abs-cbnnews.com/ for updated news on the 2010 elections.

Like them on Facebook: Boto Mo Ipatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula (Official Page)

Follow them on Twitter: ABSCBN_Halalan

Multiply: http://botomoipatrolmo.multiply.com/

SUMMER post #21: BORACAY Series (The Departure from Boracay)

/* This would be the last. STARE at the title if you wanna know why. HAHA. :)) */

April 26, 2010.

6AM. I woke up feeling confused. I thought we were already back in Cebu, thinking that being in Boracay was just wishful thinking. Weird, right? But no, it wasn't. Until this day, I thought everything I experienced was just the greatest dream I had in years. It turned out to be the greatest experience I've ever had in years. The last time I felt this way is when I was in America where we spent a month doing a LOT of things, even going to Las Vegas! I really feel grateful for everything I've experienced. ANYWAY, when I woke up, I had to take a bath in order to get ready to leave. I prepared my stuff for departure. Then, we ate breakfast at the hotel. Shortly after, we bought souvenirs to bring back to Cebu for our friends. After that we were on our way...

11:00AM. We were on our way to the jetty port going back to Caticlan. Took a few pics of the surroundings before the boat left the port. While I was inside, I kept thinking of the memories we had while we were there. Before we knew it, we were in Caticlan. After that, we tried to find our ride that will bring us to Iloilo Airport since the flight from Caticlan to Cebu is very expensive and we were so many. We opted to ride a van going there to lessen our expenses. After minutes of turning around, we found the van and went on our way there. The ride was really shaky (literally), that my dad got hit in the head twice. Oh well, the driver sucks.

2:00PM. We stopped by a restaurant to eat lunch. Yeah, it's late because it was quite far from Aklan. The food was so abundant and delicious. I was so full that time that I may have a sickness

while riding the van. It's a weird feeling, really. I even tried playing Plants Vs. Zombies on my laptop while in the van but it was too shaky so I stopped. I felt queasy while riding the van though, so I slept. While in the van, I was texting with Ms. ULTIMATE CUTE. I really appreciated the time that she texted with me because I thought she wouldn't be like that. I really liked that.

5:30PM. We arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare. When we got in for weighing our luggage though, my aunt didn't have tickets for herself and her son. They had to buy tickets outside. While waiting for our flight, I FINALLY played Plants vs. Zombies in my LT (laptop) and the others drinking coffee and cold drinks. Shortly after, we rode the plane on our way to Cebu.

/* END of BORACAY Series */

I don't wanna make another post about what happened few hours after our arrival. Let's just say we went to SM and ate dinner, then we went home.

emotional breakdown #2...

/* this is T3 Out Loud so this is the 2nd T: trials. I am in a trial I have to face right now. */

I am sorry for what I have done. I know what I've done is wrong. I went too far. If I'm just like that, then we shouldn't be friends at all..

But I know I did wrong and as your close friend, I will never do that again.

I was so carried away that I already hurt you.

I'M SORRY. Hope you would forgive me.

I would not do this if I was a complete prick.

You know who you are.

SUMMER post #20: BORACAY Series (Day 2)

/* 2oth SUMMER Post! WOOHOO! HOORAY boredom!! ^^ */

April 25, 2010.

6AM. Woke up with a smile on my face. Maybe it's because of the mood I felt last night, or the ambience that Boracay gave off. All I know is that I felt happy. It's our second day here and I feel ecstatic to check out new things. I couldn't wait to see what's in store. Sadly, the young ones (me included) were still too lazy to go out. Our parents, grandma, and the oldest of the young ones (Ate Millet) were walking around during the very pretty sunrise at the beachfront. They took A LOT of pictures (because I looked at all of them and WOW) and pretty much they had a lot of fun there.

8:00AM. They arrived after that nice photo shoot and we only ate sandwiches for breakfast. Then, we rushed to the place where we would do our next activity: Island Hopping! :) We couldn't wait since we wanted see more of Boracay. The person who offered my uncle was there to guide us to the pump boat. Then, we set off!

9:00AM. We were in the middle of the sea already as we headed to Paco Beach. We wanted to stop for a while and enjoy the fast current and great waves. We were like crazy because we took daring photos while swimming there. It was REALLY challenging to do but FUN nonetheless. It felt like hanging on to your life due to the waves in the sea. Haven't felt THIS happy since high school. hehe.

10:30AM. We are already in Paco Beach and feels ISOLATED. SERIOUSLY. It's like the only person who was there was the Nestle ice cream man. (SHOCKING!) I was shocked to see him there, it's like he could fly or run like The Flash or something. Anyway, we went down (except my mom and dad) and got ourselves wet there. My aunts had a different plan in mind though. They had a very nice photo shoot and it was EXTREME. It was a like two models who were hired by a modelling agency! WHEW! Well, I don't want to be KJ (kill-joy) so I joined in. I ate fish crackers dipped with the sea... VERY delicious, by the way. Mom even had her own vain sessions. Haha, girls. Well, they're like that. ^^ We saw a lot of things along the way. Shangri-La in Boracay also feels isolated. Maybe that's because only rich people could afford such isolation. Since no one likes that, it's really isolated. It's missing a lot though since the view is nice. Oh well.

12NN. We arrived at another resort (forgot the name) and checked it out for a while. We couldn't head to the shade though, so we just went back to the boat. We headed back as soon as we can so that we could eat lunch already. We also noticed awhile ago that Pia got sick so we would have to bring her to the hotel first.

12:30PM. We got back and planned to eat lunch. At first, we wanted to eat out but we opted to eat at the hotel instead. For some reason, most of us young ones ate breakfast for lunch (now ain't that dandy) since my sis got a proper one. We waited for more than an hour for it. Good thing the food was worth it. Again, we talked about random things. After that, we went back to our rooms and rested for a while. It was a bore, actually. All I did inside was play PVZ and look at my Facebook. REALLY BORED.. :|

4:30PM. Suddenly, Karlo buzzed me in YM that we're going Helmet Diving at 5. We couldn't parasail since we lacked funds. It was sad that Pia couldn't come though since she still felt sick that time. Shortly after the chat, Ate Millet knocked on the door and told us (me and my sis) that we should go now.

5:00PM. We arrived at the beachfront where we would meet the guy. We had to look for him and it took a while. At last, we did and he took us to a speed boat where it will take us to the place where the Helmet diving is. I wondered how it would feel like since I didn't know how it worked. When we got to the floating house (yes, it floats due to weights put below it), a guy there gave the instructions on how to do it. The helmet uses air as pressure for water not to enter inside it. We felt ecstatic when we heard what we were going to do there. It was feeding the fish! I've never fed fish before since my mom doesn't buy pets. Maybe it's because we don't show interest in them. ANYWAY, we went down into the deep with the helmets on. WOW! It looked COOL! It felt amazing since I could breathe underwater (too bad we couldn't talk much) and it's nice looking at all of the fish around you ON-THE-SPOT! Very very nice. Feeding them is REALLY FUN too! They flock to you once you break the bread that the divers give you. It feels like they're gonna bite you but it doesn't actually hurt. They took pictures and videos of us while we were there (it helps in their business A LOT) so we posed like crazy. It was really fun playing along with the toy rocket that the diver brought. We felt that it was kinda late already, so we went up already. We kept talking about it until we got back to the beachfront. Before we went back to the hotel though, we played a little game of Catch. It was fun except for one of us since he kept getting wet. How sad.

6:15PM. We arrived at the hotel and I quickly took a shower since we were about to leave going to D' Mall where our parents went earlier. They were able to scout for good places to shop and eat. Good thing too. I wanted to buy something there. Here we go with the tricycles! :)

7:30PM. In D'Mall, we were walking around like REAL strangers (except the parents) in the street. We found a lot of stuff, even a rock climbing wall. They wanted to do it but couldn't since it was only in the afternoon. Another bad thing is they start at 2pm and we would leave tomorrow morning. We ignored the idea and looked for a place to eat. Again, we ate at the beachfront. I find it comfy though since I don't experience it everyday. We ate really good food this time around (ribs, to be exact) and they were yummy! We kept playing The Impossible Test shortly after we ate. Apparently, my sis had a hard time with ONE part. WOW. I couldn't answer at first though. hehehe. We left the place to buy crepes (that I would pay 'cause I'd treat them) but I ended up buying for myself only because Karlo treated my sis already. Shortly after, the girls left the place early 'cause my grandma didn't come with so we bought her dinner. Us guys had to stay because my uncle bought a shirt. Dad even ended up buying shirts for me, Karlo, and Uncle Titit.

11:00PM. We left D'Mall already and headed to Starbucks. Remember the ad? Yeah, it was true. We checked the place out. At first, we wouldn't go through with it. Since we found a good spot at the 3rd floor (yeah, this Starbucks has 3 floors), we went through. :) I ordered a new one this time, Espresso Java Chip Frappucino. When I drank this, it was like coffee and Java chip combined. It felt heavenly. Oh yes. Weird thing though, I felt sleepy. Good thing I had a textmate around the whole time. HAPPINESS! :)

12:30AM. We went back to the hotel only to find that we had a problem with the beddings. It concerns the henna tattoos (OH CRAP!) and we were screwed BIG time because it was stained and they would make us pay P3500. WTH?!?!?! Seriously, that's too much. We had to remove every stain and stayed up until it would be done.

1:30AM. Mom was nearly done so I wanted to sleep. I texted good night to my beloved textmate. :)

AND THAT WAS DAY 2. :)

SUMMER post #19: BORACAY Series (Day 1)

/* Watch out for my review on Plants Vs. Zombies soon... P.S. : */

April 24, 2010.

8AM. Shortly after we arrived at the hotel, me, my sis my cousins went out and walked on the beachfront. It was SUPER beautiful! The sand was SOOOO white, the sea was clean and people flocked in almost every place. It was really nice to look at the view and feel the heat. (although it was really really HOT) We all decided to have Henna Tattoo because we were in the right place to do it. Mine was put on the upper part of my left arm. It gave me a burning feeling initially. The sun makes it REALLY worse but the style is SO worth it. Ate Millet and Pia got theirs on their backs, my sis got hers on her ankle, and me and Karlo got ours on the arm. His was on his right arm. The tattoo cost me P500 but again, it WAS SO WORTH IT. While we were there, our parents were looking for us but it took them almost 2 hours to look for us so we did it instead. We found them after a short walk back. We had a little photo shoot there. It was nice laying down on the sand once in a while, especially on smooth white sand. We saw that the Nestea Fit Camp Hot closing party is around there. After that, we went back to the hotel. While there, most of them were watching TV, my parents and sis were sleeping and Karlo and I were using our laptops. (I noticed 'cause he was online on YM, but maybe it was his iPod.) AS USUAL, I was Facebooking and playing Plants Vs. Zombies.

2:00PM. After more than an hour of staring at the laptop, my mom started to feel her stomach (which woke her up) and decided that we buy food for lunch-snacks. (don't know what to call it though) We tried Shakey's at first but they wouldn't respond. Dad and mom told me to keep calling but they really wouldn't. Few minutes passed and I tried again, they finally responded! We ordered a Monster Meal because we were many (12 in fact) and all were HUNGRY.

3:15PM. After waiting for more than an hour, the delivery man arrived. HOORAY! FOOD! My stomach was grumbling already. There was A LOT, actually. Even for the 12 of us, we couldn't finish it all. VERY FULL! Weee.. Now ready for some fun in the sun!

5:00PM. Now to let all that food go away! Earlier, we were approached by a guy who offered us with beach activities like Parasailing and Flyfish. We first got Parasailing but when we arrived, we realized that the payment was per person. Now that sucked. So we decided to get the Flyfish instead. We just stayed in the positive and hope this would be fun. APPARENTLY, we were right! The Flyfish was SUPER FUN!!! Good thing no one fell because it would have been a problem. We had a BLAST! Then we ate ice cream... I ate the Cornetto Choco Hazelnut one. (someone's gonna get jealous if they read this) SOOO sweet. After that, our parents went to the beach as we headed home. It's gonna be a nice night.

6:15PM. We arrived at the hotel and since we planned to watch Pilipinas Got Talent to see if my cousin's sister's group would make it through the Judges' Cull and into the Semi-Finals. (we already knew they would since Ate Den told Ate Millet that) Before we settled down though, we bought some noodles at the quick mart since we were kinda hungry. Shortly after we prepared the noodles, we ate 'em and then PGT began.

7:45PM. Shortly while we were watching, they arrived and watched with us as well. As we watched, we were filled with happiness and sadness since there were people who would and wouldn't make it. You have to give props for everyone though for they made it that far. It was really sad to see 184 other acts get rejected by the judges as only 36 would make it. VERY SAD indeed.

8:30PM. After that emotional PGT episode, we went out for dinner (except my mom 'cause she ate already) in the beachfront. Unfortunately, we had a bad experience with the food and the singer. Seriously! My ULTIMATE IMBA friend would sing WAAAAAY better than the guy who sang. To ease the pain, the young people walked to the closing party of Nestea Fit Camp Hot. As we headed there, we noticed a lot of Fire Dancers around. Don't know how to call them though.

When we arrived though, we were disappointed because it got boring already. So, we went back and we noticed that the singer got replaced so we smiled a bit. We were full with the food though. :) After some time talking, we left the place and went back to the hotel.

11:30PM. At the hotel now, still Facebooking as I try to make myself sleepy. It reminded me of Ms. ULTIMATE CUTE. (I only named her that after the trip, using it for secrecy.) We've been texting the whole night, primarily because I was bored. hehe. Well, at least I had a friend around that night. Then, I slept with happiness marked on my face.

Whew! Then it was day 2. :)

SUMMER post #18: BORACAY Series (The Arrival)

April 24, 2010.

6:15 AM. After a short while on the plane, we have finally arrived in Caticlan. Yey! (still in excited mode) We eventually saw Karlo, my cousin who came from Manila. Then, we headed to the jetty port where the boats will take the tourists to Boracay Island. Honestly, I REALLY wanted to take pictures during the boat ride but I was worried that the camera might get wet so I only took a few. Then, we arrived at the island! The first thing we saw in the island though, is the Starbucks ad on the pier. The tagline was funny! "It's so close you can almost taste it." Not sure with the words though, but it really sounds funny. We went to Station 1, where Crown Regency Prince Resort is. We stayed there for our stay in this wonderful island. :)

And, the FUN begins. ^___^