Remembering 2004

The last few months of 2004 have been depressing for my family. Due to uncontrollable events, we've been struggling financially. My lola was confined in the hospital twice. Right now, she's undergoing two different therapies. She's also taking a lot of medications amounting to a thousand pesos. Weekly? No siree. It's daily. That, plus the different household bills, daily expenses, my tuition fee (which is still unsettled), my brothers' tuition fees, and other payables? Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. Being the *ehem* responsible first born, my concerns suddenly started to be about the moolah. When will papa pay for the tuition? When can we go to the grocery coz I'm sick of corned beef? Are we gonna have our cable disconnected? What about our phone line?

It ain't that bad, though. I mean, we still have a house that we own and don't need to pay for, we have a car, we still enjoy our cable connection, and they all have their mobile phones. Well, all except for me. But I'm fine with that. What the devil has taken, God will replace in His own time. Oh well. It's not like we're destitute and I really hope we never be. However, I can't help but worry.

Nweiz, a few hours to go and it's a new year for all of us. I hope it will be better than the last one.

Maybe So, Maybe Not

A lot of psychics have begun offering their predictions for the year 2005. They say that "there will be three coup attempts," "our economy wouldn't be any better", "the year of the rooster would mean isang-kahig-isang-tuka" and other such ominous sayings. I find this whole business of prediction weird. I believe that the future is what we make of it, regardless of cosmic invisible hands, which may or may not change our fate. I think it's about time for people to become less fatalistic and to assume more responsibility for their actions.

Rest In Peace

My Aunt just died of breast cancer. After 5 years of fighting it, her body finally gave in. It's a painful death for all of us. How cruel of Him to take Tita away in this time of the year. But I know she's happy now. She's now in a place free from pain and sufferings - a better place... with Him.

Tita, thank you for taking good care of us. Thank you for calling just to check if we're ok. Thank you for the memories, which will be forever etched in my mind. We'll never forget you. May you find peace.

Goodbye.

You've Got Mail

I miss receiving mails. And I don't mean mail as in email coz I receive an awful lot of email everyday. Often those which have been forwarded so many times that the forwarded-to lists are longer than the messages themselves. Heck, I don't even read them. They should all just expect an instant trip to my garbage bin.

Nweiz, I'm talking about mail as in snail mail. Yep. I miss receiving those. The last time I received one was way back in 2nd year highschool. 'Twas from a friend who migrated to US. Now, it seems like the only snail mail I get is my magazine subscription. Oh well. I would love to receive mail. And send mail too. The kind where I have to lick a stamp and stick it on an envelope and write an address other than cuteako@yahoo.com. La lang. I guess this is just one of the simple things that make me happy.

Wanna make me happy? Snail mail me.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Went out to visit some of our relatives today. 'Twas fun. But I'm no longer a kid so I'm exempted from receiving aguinaldo. Or should I say, aquino.

Tito Beng's condo was, as usual, a major jawdropper. He even hired an interior designer to do the decorations. He spent like 50k just to have that Christmas feel in his condo. A spendthrift, indeed. Tito Bert and Tita Epi celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. Ate Shirley brought the video coverage of their wedding. Funny how their video looked like an episode from Misadventures of Maverick and Ariel. No shit!

Dino headed to Eastwood for his kada's christmas party. I think it's his 3rd christmas party already. Just a thought. I'm not that religious, but I find it kinda disturbing that most of us seem to forget that we are celebrating a birthday party today. And it's not just anyone's birthday, it's Jesus Christ's. We seem to be forgetting that in these materialistic times. I bet He ain't happy having His birthday being used as some excuse for partying excess. Here's a little question: Isn't He invited to His own party?!

Oh well. Merry christmas everyone! Happy birthday Jesus!

Whattametalmouth

Today is the day that I chose to live.

Yep! My third attempt to present the project went just fine. Thank you Lord. With my CPU and my good ol' keyboard with me, nothing could possibly go wrong. Hehe! :)

I arrived at around 9:45am. Went to the faculty room to look for Ma'am Moja but she wasn't around. Checked out the laboratories but she wasn't there either. I waited 'til 10. Then, I waited some more. 'Twas already 10:30. I told my dad that I doubt if my professor will arrive. Being late is not in her vocabulary. My dad told me that she'll ask Fel (dean's secretary) for the contact number of my professor. Good thing he knows her personally. Let the connections work! :) I thought to myself, "Ma'am, you are messing with the wrong student." *evil grin* My dad told me that Fel texted Ma'am Moja. According to her reply, she'll arrive at around 12pm. Balak ata talaga akong injanin non e.

Nweiz, she did arrive before 12. She was smiling and all. What's up with that? "Hell, whattametalmouth!", I thought. She told me to bring my CPU at the faculty room. After I've proven that the program is indeed working...

Me: "Ayan po, nagw-work naman talaga diba?"
Ma'am Moja: "Oo na. Pano ba yan?"
Me: "2-Player game sha. Tig-isa kayo ng shift key. Tapos pabilisin lang makapunta don sa finish line, yung color blue. Yung pindot sa shift, paulit-ulit dapat."
Ma'am Moja: "Palaro nga. Haha! Pampasira ata 'to ng keyboard e!"
Me: "Napaka-challenging nga e! Ayun, ok naman. Ano ma'am ok na po ba ako?"
Ma'am Moja: "Hocge, congratulations! Pasado ka na!"

Yipee!!! I passed! Excuse me, I neglected to use my all-powerful caps lock key. I meant to say, I PASSED! I've been praying really hard for this since Wednesday. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers. I remember just last night, when I was starting to lose hope, I prayed the most difficult prayer - "Thy will be done". I kept on repeating it until I fell asleep. I dunno. It's just that I no longer wanna do things my way. I wanna just let go and leave everything in His hands. If failing one of my subjects is part of His plan, if He wanted to teach me a lesson, if this will make me a better person, then so be it. Thy will be done. But I guess, it ain't part of His plan afterall. GOD, THANK YOU.

Now, I'm starting to feel the spirit of Christmas. I can now feel the nip of cold air bite through my skin. ^_^

One Last Chance

Today is the day that I chose to die.

Argh!!! Sure, I brought my CPU with me and I did arrive at the school on time. The problem was, the keyboards in school were not compatible with my CPU. And no, I did not bring my good ol' keyboard with me. HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT. Can you say stupid?! There was one keyboard found at the library though. But no matter what I say or do, rules are rules and they had no plans of breaking any. No CPU, monitor, keyboard or mouse can be brought out of the library. RUCK FULES.

Going home to get mine will also be pointless. According to Rupa, the MRT broke down. There's no way I'm going to be back at school by 12 if I travel by land. I asked my dad to go to the condo of Tito Beng to borrow his keyboard. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Tough luck.

When the clock striked 12, Ma'am Moja headed out. Fast. I begged for a last chance but she simply ignored me. Biatch! My time is up, and I blew it. My dad approached Ma'am Moja and explained to her the problem I encountered, blahblahblah. He did kiss her ass too! Funny how he told her how young she looks and how he thought that she was just one of my classmates. I dunno if that was a good thing or not. But hell, it worked! Ma'am Moja allowed me to present it again tomorrow, same time. Abusado ako noh? Sobra!

Yes. I'm desperate. I am so not failing my laboratory class. And I want my Christmas to be happy. Now I'm hoping against hope that she didn't just do that to shut me up. I'm crossing my fingers for that.

Second Chance

*Sigh* The program I'm supposed to defend didn't run properly at the laboratory. At first, Ma'am Moja told me that I'll pass the course despite my failure to present the project. But earlier this evening, she told me the words that will haunt me for the rest of my college days: "Ay, mali pala yung computation ko sayo kanina. Bagsak ka pala sa lab." ...I was taken aback. I couldn't even muster a reply. To say "heaven came crashing down on me" is an understatement. It was worse than that.

When I finally regained my strength...

Me: "Ma'am, gumagana naman 'to sa bahay e. Dito lang talaga mei error kahit dalhin ko na lang yung PC ko tomorrow."
Ma'am Moja: "Hindi pwede. Ngayon ang deadline niyan. E ba't yung sa iba ok naman?"
Me: "Di ko din po alam. Ma'am, cge na po. Hindi ko talaga 'to pwede ibagsak. Ginagawa ko naman lahat e. Cge na po, payag na po kayo bukas. Promise, gumagana talaga 'to."

Our conversation went on and on like a broken record. I continuously pleaded for another chance, while she remained firm with her decision. After an hour of "pangungulit" and a lot of ass-kissing, she finally gave in. She gave me until 10:00am tomorrow to present the project. Thank God. Now I have to make sure that the program really does work on my CPU. The clock is ticking and I'm feeling the pressure.

Jawdropper

Today's the first day of my finals. I only need to get through my SOCSCI513 exam and my CSWALP011L defense tomorrow then I'll be footlose and stress-free for the rest of the month. Freedom, I can almost smell thee. :)

Nweiz, my uncle bought a new desktop PC. A 3 Ghz, with 512 MB DDRAM, 160 GB disk space, 128 MB Video Memory, complete with a DVD/CD writer, a 9-in-1 digital media drive, and a TV-port, HP Pavilion T698d.

Excuse me while I pick my jaw off the floor.

I'm really happy that my lola and my uncle are now living here with us. Not just because of the gadgets and the PC, of course. :)