Blue schools

Talo Ateneo.

I watch a minimum of ONE Ateneo game per season (I lack a sense of affinity for the school... go figure). And that ONE game, as it happens, is always the one that gets them eliminated. Coincidence perhaps? (It's a conspiracy!!!) Unless...? Maybe the universe has actually bestowed me with incredible curse powers whenever I watch basketball games.

Nah.

I slept through the fourth quarter though, because the game was going downhill anyway. I don't think I like sports that much. I don't even watch Pacquiao's matches, which, come to think of it, must be the most traitorous thing I've done so far. *GASP* I must make amends.

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Well, the next part of this entry is dedicated to that Saturday I went to AC. I wasn't able to write about it due to the workload, but I think it deserves a bit of space here, especially because I realized a lot of things after the experience.

That day started at 5:30 am, which was already pretty late; I had forgotten that my alarm isn't set to go off during Saturdays. I nearly banged my head twice on the bathroom tiles trying to soap my feet less than thirty seconds after I jumped out of bed, but other than that, I got to take a bath fine. Met up with Zarah and Pen in Mcdo. Jen overslept, I think, because of the FOB concert (SAYAAAAANG! You should've come with us!). Shei met up with us in AC.

We got to San Lo and registered and stuff. It was my first time to be there. I guess I felt slightly nervous to be in The Other Side of the World; I was curious to see how their culture differed from ours. (I always thought different campuses bred different types of creatures; I actually regard people from AC as foreign organisms). We were in the college area, so I couldn't judge rightly, but still, it felt... shockingly small. AA has a pretty wide expanse of terrain (which you would come to realize when you're five minutes late for class and running from the multi to the high school building). You can't blame me for feeling a little claustrophobic, since I've been stuck with AA since Kinder. But looking around was very interesting, nonetheless; it felt like a field trip! Of course, everybody loved the sports complex. And the Mother Rose Auditorium was an awfully nice place to be in (in terms of size, it's somewhere between the mini-theater and the Assumpta-- it actually feels like home! :D). I was actually expecting to see my teachers walking around any moment. What a bizarre experience that would be, if that really happened. :))

It's easy to get lost though. I kept getting surprised at the buildings that showed themselves after I pass through a passageway (in some areas, it's more of an alleyway actually). We had to do that to get to the testing site. I didn't prepare for the ACAT, believing it to be something within our powers (I owe it to 13 years of testing, Assumption style), but gah, I nearly didn't finish my test. It was slightly unnerving; I told myself afterwards that that's what happens when I don't pray for guidance. Haha!

Bands were playing outside when we emerged. The loud noise was interrupting our usual whispered discussions of how difficult the test was, so we retreated to the cafeteria for some quiet. We passed the time walking around, sitting around, and basically trying to stay out of the rain. I met Trish there (Hey Trish! I actually passed you by once, but I was too surprised to say hi.) Sandwich came later and played. WOOOHOO! Super fun jumping jumping going on, which took my mind off the results for a while. We were actually afraid that we wouldn't pass; but we did anyway, as it turned out. Passing the test is a nice feeling.

Well. There. So ends the important part of the AC experience. I liked it overall. Ate Francesca was really really nice hehe.

I think it would be great to study in AC-- except that the atmosphere reminds me too much of high school. It isn't a bad thing, but after spending most of my life wanting a change of pace, my mind is set on something different. And besides, I wasn't able to pass my application. So there it goes. :))

I just remembered: our proctors (who were also students), just before we started the test, asked us to stand up for the prayer. After making the sign of the cross, she then prayed, "Lord, thank you for this day..." in the exact. same. tone(!) my fellow Assumptionistas use.

It's Assumption to the last. :))

TINA Is No Acronym

I chanced upon that while googling my name. Apparently Google's Tina Number One isn't a person-- it's a site for electronic/programming blah blah blah I don't understand...

SHEI! You're Sherlamaine Number One! Which means to say you're at the top of the list when you google your name. At eto pa: apat lang yung entries mo. Sa world wide web. And all four are about you. :))

Kay Zarah : :)) Zarah Company- Bringing You Jewelry That is Fun to Wear: Developers of unique enamel on sterling silver jewelry and hair accessories. :)) And then the next entry is about a florida bikini model. :)) Labo.

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I don't think we seniors mean to sabotage the PAASCU plans; it's just that everything is being pounded down our throats in ways that make choking seem more preferrable. Of course it gets uncomfortable, that being the ultimate understatement, but we're trying. At least. Nobody likes being scolded everyday and feeling like we're the crappiest citizens alive. Do you think we don't get embarrassed by that? I know I do. I hate feeling so irresponsible, just sitting there dumbly because I didn't come up to par... I can't believe Ms O actually called our class "SHALLOW", in terms of thinking. And while it is true at times, it always offending to have your shit thrust upon your nose. I thought decent people talked those things over politely. But then again, we shouldn't have been blanching all over ourselves in the first place.

Oh well. It will just be two days. Two days of polite smiles and overzealous class recitations. PAASCU calls us to dance, and under the glare of the A-Team and Ms Olalde's You-know-I-can-bulldoze-you threat, AA08 shall, as best as we can, twirl to our master's batons. Or whips. Whichever you prefer.

One excruciating week done. Seven more dodgy days to go before the next weekend.

Patience perforce with willful choler meeting/ Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting./ I shall withdraw, but this intrusion shall,/ Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt'rest gall.

Libro atbp.

[Warning: long post ahead]

Neil Gaiman is coming HERE. Again. In NOVEMBER!!! Ata.

The long-awaited book compilation of the winning entries from the 1st Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards will be launched by end-November at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street, together with the awarding ceremony of the 2nd Philippine Graphic Fiction competition with Neil Gaiman as co-presentor!

Co-presentor. I take it to mean that he'll be here. In the flesh. Di ba? Haha, sabay via webcam lang pala. Ngyeeee.

But I feel so PSYCHED! Who wouldn't be? This is way better than consoling myself that I'd get to see him in six years' time (you know, when I'm not tied to my parents' apron strings anymore... -_-).

Anyway, tapos na pala ung 2nd Philippine Graphic Fiction competition! Parang hindi ko alam na nagsimula un a. Haha. At natapos din nang hindi ko nalalaman. I kept an eye on the first one though; the winners were pretty good reads. I just wasn't able to finish reading any (they were posted online) cause the pc had to be reformatted then, so I lost the adobe acrobat reader plus all the downloaded pdf files.

Ay. Wait.

Due to the success of the first nationwide competition, we are proudly bringing you the sequel in the name of filipino unrealism!

We want you to be the next big name in the science fiction, fantasy or horror genre!

Send in your original work for the two categories: comics and prose fiction. All winning entries will be compiled and published by Fully Booked, with a foreword by Neil Gaiman.

Over P300,000 worth of prizes will be given away!
Including P100,000 grand prize for the first place winners!

Deadline of submission is October 31, 2007.

Coming soon this November!
Catch Neil Gaiman again in Manila when he visits Fully Booked for the Awards Night and book launch of "Expeditions," the 1st Philippine Graphic/Fiction compilation.

Aaah. So hindi pa pala tapos. :)) You can check out the article and the contest guidelines here; I copied the other article from here.

Speaking of links, you might want to check out the following:

http://www.powerbooks.com.ph/ PMJ is having a book signing of Pugad Baboy 19, on September 29. Check the site for more details.

http://www.nationalbookstore.com.ph Well... sale sila ngayon e. I think it has a better variety of books online, compared to what it stocks in its outlets (which are quite pathetic actually...). I'm seeing The Sandman series priced at around p600++, quite a huge difference compared to its price in Powerbooks or Fully Booked. I'm not sure if it's still applicable after tomorrow though; their big sale ends on Sunday.

http://read-or-die.org/ Haven't explored the site much yet. I got a leaflet from their booth during the International Book Fair. Looks interesting. I actually wanted to buy a shirt of theirs, but I wasn't sure how mom would react if she knew I bought a shirt at a book fair.

http://www.booktopia.com.ph A modest site for an independent book store. I like it. I have yet to check out their shop though.

http://www.booksale.com.ph/ HAHA! May site pala yung Book Sale. They should catalog all their books and enable a search function. And I really mean ALL of their books. :)) Leastways, I'd like to see them try. The site has a link to a new section: their "Rare" and "Medium Rare" book sections. They make it sound like steak. Or Grade A beef. Hm.

Books for Less also has a site, but it's not really worth clicking. On second thought, Book Sale's isn't worth clicking either...

http://webservice.mnl.ust.edu.ph/publishinghouse/index.htm UST Publishing House. I spent a good deal of time wandering around the International Book Fair, just looking for a particular book. It was only much much later that I found out that the UST Publishing House actually had a booth. I could've saved myself a lot of grief! But nooooo, I had to walk through ALL the booths on this side before I bothered to look at the other side. The sad part about it is that I didn't buy the book even though I found it. (It was Angelo V. Suarez's The Nymph of MTV, if you're wondering. The only collection of poems by a local author that I truly like.)

It seems that Aeon bookstore in Katipunan doesn't have a website. The bookstore still exists, right? RIGHT??? I passed by a while ago but I couldn't find it. I dunno... maybe it's my natural ineptitude for locations but I don't think I was looking at the wrong building...

Whew. What a long post. I didn't mean to go on and on about book shops all of a sudden, but I haven't had a really good book in a long time. And I seem to be craving for a decent book. At nakakarindi din kasi yung book fair sa school. I mean, Scholastics lang?! And all of it was for keeeeeeeeeds. *tears hair* All of them were for "bringing kids into the wonderful world of reaaaading", but BAH. It's another disgusting commercial ploy. They were even giving out flyers to the kids which said, "Dear mommy and daddy, I'd like to buy these books at our book fair..." And then the grade schoolers would list everything they wanted while the evil Scholastics overseer would flash greedy smiles at them. If they want to bring kids into reading, they should give them substantial literature, not the flimsy frappery they have the balls to call books.

It's been a hard day's night(!!!) and I've been working like a freakin dog

AAAAAAAARGH! I can't believe I asked for this headache a few days before the school year started! I can't believe I was actually excited for it. I hate it. I've been trying to hold everything together but there will always be one more damnable THING I'd have to misfortune to forget.

I need a gig. Which reminds me, I just watched one a week ago! I didn't know if it was going to push through, since it kept being put off for weeks, but my sister wanted to watch real badly, so there. (Kaya hindi ko nasabi sayo Jenina.) Medyo ayoko nga pumunta kasi inaantok ako e. It was fun, in a distracted, I-wish-I-was-sleeping-right-now kind of way, with mixed thoughts of essays and papers and reports to do. My friends, if you have any compassion for yourselves, never EVER go out on a school day. Do not stay out late. Because, as the story goes, you will predictably function at a sluggish 50% the next morning. I mean, last Thursday was awful. Everything just blew up in my face. I had no food to bring for the salo-salo, I didn't do my Econ essay, I forgot to bring a white shirt for the Ifugao costume, I also forgot my slippers (thanks Bianca for lending me yours) and my day was spent worrying worrying worrying. As it turned out, the worrying wasn't really necessary: food was pretty much abundant on our table, I somehow worked out the problem of the shirt and we didn't have Econ because the presentations extended after lunch and ate up the time. Medyo nagsisisi tuloy ako na I went through the trouble of typing it out in the CAI room during lunch, only to find out that it wasn't going to be passed that day. Nor the next day for that matter; Ms. Lanzona wanted it TODAY, six freakin days after she gave the assignment.

Sometimes, the anxiety of trying to be responsible isn't just worth it.

This is a picture from last week. Yup, it's The Bloomfields. If you look closely, Sir George is also in the frame. Walking. Haha. May karma ata ako e. Lagi na lang may extra sa picture tuwing kukuha na ko ng shot. They come in exactly as I press the shutter, kaya naman sira ung Kodak moments. Nge. Oh well.

anak ng patatas!

I was looking for UST and AC's admissions site on Google. And since I was running through a lot of tabs a while ago, I clicked on the first links google came up with. Aaaaaaaand...!

http://www.stthomas.edu/admissions/

http://www.assumption.edu/admiss/udefault.html

By golly, kung hindi ko lang tiningnan nang matino, baka kung ano na napindot ko sa sites na yan. I was wondering why the pictures featured caucasians. Turns out, may Saint Thomas University pala sa Minessotta, tapos may Assumption College sa Massachussetts (or is it the other way around?). Wala lang, I just found it strange. Medyo tumutugma pa yung test dates and stuff, kaya akala ko talaga. Well anyway, I didn't get the info I wanted even after getting the right sites. Kelan yung deadline ng applications ng AC and UST? Much thanks to anyone who can answer.

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And speaking of... Parang kelan lang nabasa ko yung listahan ni Zarah tungkol dito a.

It now comes in actual book form! Tada! I saw a review on it on the Philippine Daily Inquirer today. There was a picture with the article but I wasn't paying much attention to it. I thought it reminded me of Elbert Or's style, only to find out that the drawings were by him. Sabi na nga ba e haha!

Ok. Tama na ang liwaliw. Back to my pending essays.