Dewy-eyed Scribbles

Welcome to Iloilo!!

2013-04-12T16:46:00.000+08:00

Days before our flight, I actually had second thoughts on going to Iloilo to attend Fr. Nonoy's ordination due to a couple of reasons. First, is that our uncle who was the reason we decided to come in the first place, cannot come home because he has some important matters (work-related) to attend to. Second, I thought that we may be a little out-of-place if we go there, considering na wala kaming ibang kakilala na pupunta din dun. Kung 'di lang talaga dahil sa plane tickets, we wouldn't have even considered of pursuing our trip to Iloilo.

Thankfully, that mindset changed when I befriended some of the priests who're also attending the ordination in Iloilo. They were there during my graduation celebration, and they were at our house for 2 days. I also became their tour guide to the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador. They were a lively bunch and were also very friendly, that I thought that if they're also coming to the ordination then it may not be as bad as I think it would be.

From left to right: Fr. Gerome, Fr. Ernie, Fr. Sonny, Fr. Ham, kuya Noel, Fr. Rommel

So ayun, off we went to Iloilo, together with the fathers, of course! It was approximately a 50-min ride and we arrived in Iloilo just in time.

pictorials just before take-off

At Iloilo International Airport (upon arrival)

The van which will take us to Badiangan is already waiting for us together with our sundo, Ate Maki. On the way, the fathers bought Baye-Baye, a delicacy in Iloilo. We had our share and it tasted good. It was the first time I tried Baye-Baye. Moving on, after around 45 minutes of travel, we reached Badiangan and were kindly guided to the house we'll be staying at. Thinking back, it was a big house! It even had an underground. I heard it could house 40 people!

The Badianganons lead us to our bedroom and helped us settle there, while also getting our snacks ready! Talk about hospitality! I was shocked to see the snacks that they offered us. It was Pata soup, Puto, Fresh Lumpia, Tikoy, paired with softdrinks! I don't usually eat snacks this heavy but the Pata soup smelled so nice and I wanted to taste their version of puto, tikoy, and lumpia. And I wasn't disappointed! All tasted great! I ate so many that I thought I could do without dinner.

From left to right: Yellow Fresh Lumpia, Tikoy, Puto, and Pata Soup.

We had a little chat with the Badianganons who were in the house and found out that they were church parishioners and volunteers. They talked about the history of their place and also some stories about Fr. Nonoy. They spoke in Tagalog but their Ilonggo tone made it hard for us to understand what their saying sometimes. But still, I was very glad that unlike what I originally thought, the people there were very accommodating and friendly. The funny thing is that they tried pairing me up to the son of the owner of the house. Lol. But overall, I was still glad that they welcomed us like we were very important guests.

Then dinner time came.. and it was like just 2 hours after we had the heavy snack! Well, I said I could do without the dinner, but how could I refuse if the Badianganons insist we eat. As I always say, good food will always have a space in my stomach! I'm glad I had dinner, I tasted all kinds of dishes cooked Ilonggo way. That night, I swear I literally was full!! No joke! :))

Approved FYPS

2013-03-08T18:50:00.000+08:00

After more than a year of working on our Final Year Project Study (FYPS), it's officially done! I can't exactly put into words my feelings of happiness upon completing all the requirements for our FYPS. No, actually happiness is an understatement. I'm very proud of what we've finished!

I can still remember the days and nights we've spent reading, writing, calculating, experimenting, editing, and re-editing for this masterpiece to be what it is today. Of course, we got major help from our respected and beloved mentor/adviser. I can't count the times he made us edit our paper! From the quality of the figures used, to the format of the paper, and to the technicalities. He was so into making us edit our paper to almost perfection that I thought we would never be able to finish it. Though I think the lack of time 'till graduation contributed a lot to him approving our paper. I think if we still had ample of time, he still wouldn't approve our paper and would instead let us edit our paper 'till eternity! Haha. Well, whatever the case, I'm still glad that we finished it!

Our approval sheet signed by our mentor, panel of examiners, and college dean

I didn't think that seeing this piece of paper being signed by all the concerned people would bring so much happiness to me!

The disc containing the soft copy of our study

The case cover is cute, isn't it? It was edited by one of my co-proponents, Poloy. He's competitive by nature so I think when he saw the cover of the other group, he made sure ours will be better! It's convenient to have a competitive groupmate, right? I mean it in a good way ha! :D

Dinner with our beloved mentor

2013-03-07T20:15:00.000+08:00

Our Starch-lignin group, being able to win the Best Study 2013 award during the Final Year Project Display Program (FYPDP) and the Algae group, being a Kinaadman Research Centrer (KRC) awardee/ recipient, we were able to get a hold of some cash. Naging mayaman kami for some time XD. We acknowledge the fact that we wouldn't have made it this far without the help of our beloved mentor, Dr. Cascon. After being chosen by the department to represent the ChE department for the FYPDP, our mentor didn't fail to make us feel his support. He acted more than what I expected a responsible mentor should. Let's just skip the sentimental part and move on.. Anyways, he'd given us his attention and dedication beside his busy schedule. Personally, I have really learned a lot from him. Here we go again being sentimental.. pardon me. :)

As our little way of thanking our mentor, we coordinated with the Algae group (which is also his advisee) and decided to treat him to a humble dinner. It was kind of funny how we cared so much about how we looked in front of our mentor. I thought I was the only one who prepped myself up, that's why I wasn't able to hide my amusement when I saw Jennifer, Jecca, Nece, Mikel, and even Russel put something on in their faces. Even Dr. Cascon smiled as Jecca applied powder to her face in front of him!! Hilarious, aye? XD

Continuing, at first I thought it would be a kind of awkward to be dining out with our mentor. I thought of some possible topics for conversation starters that we could probably use during dinner time (but I wasn't really able to use it!). It really was kind of awkward at first, we were literally pushing each other to start a conversation not leaving out our mentor. Fortunately, the atmosphere changed and it didn't feel that awkward na. We were able to talk about lots of things during dinner and we even joked about how Dr. Cascon should not record the results of our final exams. He's our professor for our plant design class and we had a difficult time answering the final exam he gave us (though he constantly repeated how easy the exam he gave us was).

With the Starch-lignin group, Algae group, and our mentor at Hukad, Centrio.

The dinner went out well. Our mentor was able to laugh at our jokes and we were also forced to laugh at his! hahaha. Joke lang po! We also took time to criticize the Halo-halo we ate. We thought it was like an iced Benignit! And then again, joke lamang.. Mga buwaya, 'wag magalit please.. ^_^

We're just very thankful that our mentor took another fraction of his precious time to dine with us. So touching! I just hope we were able to convey our gratitude to him.. Again, thanks for everything, sir! :))

Final defense, successful!

2013-02-27T20:39:00.000+08:00

We actually planned to have our final defense on Wednesday but we had a hard time looking for the panels available on that day. So the best option, schedule the defense earlier, so Tuesday it is! We only had a night to prepare (from the making the powerpoint presentation to reading and to reviewing the concepts and literature), that's why I was a bit hesitant. Because of my nervousness, I woke early (even before my alarm rang) that morning on Tuesday. Then my Tuesday began!

While waiting for our turn for the defense (two groups were scheduled before us), my nervousness didn't leave me. One part of me is very confident. At the back of my mind I thought we can get through this without fail for we have already defended once during the FYPDP, but another part of my mind thinks that this defense is much scarier. First of all, this time the panel are all chemical engineers so they can easily identify if we committed a mistake somewhere (during our experiments or even in the calculations part), and secondly the time is longer (maxium of 2 hours/group).

Taken right before our final defense (Credits to Dennis)

To make the story short, we were able to defend our study. The panel had some additional recommendations, but overall, I think we did just fine! We were also commended (I think) for having a very dynamic way of presenting. We were also told how cute the three of us look! Hahaha. Finally, I can say that we're done with FYPS! We just have to edit the paper according to the format and further BEAUTIFY it, enough to satisfy our mentor. My Tuesday which started with hesitation ended with so much positiveness, brightness, gladness, and -NESS!! Basicall, we nailed it!!

wagas na coffee breaks

2012-09-27T06:07:00.000+08:00

During these past few weeks, if you have visited my facebook or twitter accounts, you may have noticed how I've been uploading pictures of the cups of coffee I have during my coffee breaks at home. Lately, I've been really drinking coffee just to keep myself awake during these busy times and my successive bilar-bilar moments. Whenever I feel like my brain is lagging or worse not functioning at all, I have a dose of coffee. So far, the coffee is serving its purpose; whenever I take one, I feel my energy and "intelligence" coming back to me. LOL. It's during these days also that I've tried various kinds of coffee. I've even started appreciating the coffee we have at home (which my mother is happy about). Please allow me to share the different brands/kinds (however you classify them) of instant coffee I've been having these past weeks. :)

1. Nescafe Classic with Coffee-mate

The ever present duo in our kitchen. Ever since can't remember when, my mother has already been a fan of this Nescafe, and I think her favorite is the Classic since as I mentioned, it's always in the kitchen. XD There was also a time when she successively bought the San Mig coffee but I don't know, didn't noticed when she switched back to Nescafe. Yeah! So anyways, the funny part is that I can't quite get the right proportion of the Nescafe classic, coffee-mate, and sugar that suits me best. I mean, every coffee I make ends up tasting differently. Oh well, at least it helped me be awake, and for that, thank you NESCAFE! :D

2. Moccona Latte

This coffee from New Zealand also showed its wonders and proven itself to be an effective study-mate of mine. Of course, the foam it has will always be a plus for me :) Moccona has variety of flavors by the way. I think I was also able to try their Decaf, Classic Medium Roast, and Cappuccino. I'm not sure though if this amazing coffee is available locally..

3. Nescafe Chocolatte

Yes! Another Nescafe product, it is! I kinda liked this variant of Nescafe. Love how the chocolate taste was highlighted in every sip! Not to mention its good aroma! Naks!

4. Jarrah Coffee Sensations (Bavarian Bliss)

Another enticing instant coffee I met - the Bavarian Bliss from Jarrah for you! One sip from its cup and I'm good to go! The sleepy neurons in my brain would instantly recover from just the smell of this coffee. lol. Exaggeration aside, this coffee really works wonders. I mean, I've also tried making iced coffee from this (the recipe is printed on the label) and boom! I was captivated! It tasted like an iced coffee from a famous coffee shop! nyahahaha. It's sad that the one we have at home is near its exhaustion.. and I don't think this is available locally. tsk3x. I wish another Jarrah coffee would find its way to our kitchen soon! <3

5. Kopiko Kopiccino

The new instant coffee I discovered (please understand that this isn't literal) - Kopiccino! Well, this was introduced to me by my cousin. I thought of giving it a try and guess what? Of course I enjoyed my first cup of it. Even during the making, I enjoyed designing (if you can call that a design XD) the coffee with the chocolate granules which also came with the coffee. I was so inspired that I actually took a picture of its first ever cup I made and had (the pic above). I even posted that on my facebook and twitter accounts! Now, my classmates are also trying it and so far, they've also enjoyed it from the making to the last drop of it!

SA MGA BABAE, TAKE TIME TO READ. FOR GUYS HOPE YOU READ THIS TOO. :)

2012-09-23T13:04:00.004+08:00

As I browsed through facebook early this morning, I came across this post. After reading the post, I can't help but share this. It is said to be written by a boy. Whoever that boy is, I salute you!! So here's the post:

"Ang mga babae, madaldal/mabunganga." Oo, wala talagang tigil ang bibig nila sa pag-rachada sa kakasalita. Lalo na sa tuwing pinapaalala nila sayo na oras na para inumin ang iyong gamot, kapag nagtatanung sila kung kumain ka na ba, kapag ginising ka nila sa umaga upang hindi ma-late at sa mga pagkakataon na nag-aalala sila sayo at tinatanung kung nasaan ka na at bakit hindi ka pa umuuwi. Walang duda, madaldal nga. Hayaan mo na, balang araw, siguro magbabago din sila. Tipong maririnig mo lang ee "Oo", "Hinde" at "Pwede". Para kayong naglalaro ng Pinoy Henyo. Romantic siguro ng buhay nyo nun. "Ang mga babae, mashadong sentimental." Sinabi mo pa. Tandang tanda nga nila ang petsa at lugar kung saan kayo unang nag-date, isinulat niya din sa kanyang diary kung ano ang mga ginawa ninyo, nakatago at ingat na ingat siya sa mga larawan nyong dalawa, daig pa niya ang Smithsonian sa pag-aalaga ng mga iniregalo mo at kahit kailan hindi niya nalilimutan ang mga importanteng okasyon tulad ng anniversary, monthsary, weeksary o birthday mo. Nakaka-inis ba? Ok lang yan, malay mo next time, hindi na siya ganun. Tipong i-aasa na lang niya sa Facebook ang iyong kaarawan. Tapos tamang post na lang sa wall mo ng "hapi bday". "Ang mga babae, emosyonal." They cry about movies. They get teary with a romantic novel. They blush and gasp upon seeing a picture of a cute dog or a cuddly baby. Bakit ba ganun sila? Buti na lang tayo hindi. Kinikimkim lang naten lahat ng emosyon sa loob hanggang sa sumabog at atakihin sa puso o di naman kaya ee magpapakalasingtapos magwawala at maghahamon ng wrestling. Di ba mas logical un? Madalas pa mag-imagine na ikakasal kayo sa simbahan. Lagi nag a-iloveyou, imissyou, take care at mwah mwah sa text. Asar ka na ba at nacocornyhan? Ayos lang yan. Darating din siguro ang time na titigil siya at isesend ang mga un sa iba. Women are probably the greatest gift to men, from God, beside beer and sizzling sisig. At para sken, women deserve all advantages, lalo na sa pag-ibig. Sana lahat ng babae ay maging masaya ang lovelife. Sana, walang babaeng heart-broken, kasi, tayong mga lalake, we're meant to pursue them and it's okay if we fail from time to time. It's the way nature intended it. Gaya ng isang leon sa usa o pag-ikot ng earth sa paligid ng araw. Mas okay kung tayo na lang ung masasaktan. Ee sila? Isipin mo, nagkakaroon sila ng "dalaw" at nababaliw kada buwan, nabubuntis at nahihirapan ng 9 months, at pinaka matindi sa lahat, kailangan pa nilang panatilihing makinis at walang buhok ang kanilang mga kili-kili. Ano ba namang pasayahin sila at gawing "scar-free" ang kanilang buhay pag-ibig. And if you are with a great gal, do everything to make her happy. Don't ever break her heart. Wag kang magpa-uto sa mga statistics, na nagsasabing, mas marami ang babae sa lalake, kaya okay lang mang-chiks. Ano pa bang gusto mo? Hindi pa ba sapat na minahal ka niya sa kabila ng iyong pagiging engot at kawalan ng Romantic DNA sa katawan? Malaki man ang papolasyon nila sa mundo, napaka-liit ng tsansang makakilala ka ulet ng katulad niya na magtya-tyaga sayo. Tandaan, pansamantala ka mang maakit ng naglalakihang pulang high-heels o maaarteng makintab na sandals, mas masarap pa ring umuwe sa nag-iisang tsinelas ng buhay mo. :)

my zombie life

2012-09-23T11:25:00.000+08:00

Those who are close to me probably know how bad I am at staying up all night. I don't know, even how important that tomorrow's quiz is, or how far I am to completing the assignment, my eyes would really close on their own at some point; but since this semester started, that changed.. By some driving force, my eyes are staying open whenever they need to be open. I mean, when the first semester of this school year started, we've been bombarded with lots of assignments, requirements, quizzes, and activities in school. Amazingly, I was able to keep myself awake during the night on those "hectic" times. Then the month of August came, and came with it were several holidays. To put it simply, I kinda got used to the holidays and "nothing-to-do" mode again that when September came together with the complete recovery of our favorite instructor, I felt like I was caught off-guard. I mean, one day I was like enjoying all the free time in the world, even having the luxury of watching lots of movies and everything, and then the next thing I know, there's a ton of schoolwork to do to be passed TOMORROW! as in insigida!! And with the finals week approaching, I knew right then, it was time to say goodbye to my early sleeping time and tanga times..

For the last two weeks, I only had an average of 3 hours of sleep daily. I usuallu sleep 12am and wake up as early as 3am. My classmates though aren't sleeping at all! SERIOUSLY! Hoooh! Kahit gaano karami na ang dapat gawin, di pwedeng di ako matulog! Based on experience, parating may masamang nangyayari sa'kin if I don't sleep at all. You don't know how much pressure I'd feel whenever I wake up at 3am and find my classmates still online and showing signs that they're still awake! But this is the way my body system works and I'm already accustomed to this system so I've got nothing to complain.

During the first few days of the sleep-deprived nights, I still had energy the next morning to go through my day in school, but eventually, as my sleepless nights continued, I feel like I'm exerting double the usual effort I apply in doing things. I get tired more easily; even climbing the stairs of the engineering building is making me catch my breath! Not only that, I also noticed that my maldita side is showing itself more often. I get irritated and angry easily. I sometimes raise my voice for no reason at all. Haaay, sakit sa mga kulang ug tulog! At some point, I found myself just spacing out. I also slept in my classes. My 'reaction time', as in the time it'd take me to react upon hearing something, declined! Even after hearing a joke, there's that lag time before I'd laugh.. You can probably imagine, eh? I can't even imagine how I looked like during those times. :D One night also, while I was doing an assignment ('di ko na maalala anung assignment yun, sa dami ba naman ng assignments na ginawa ko this week and last week), I found myself recalculating something over and over again. You know what's worse? I get a different value each time! The I knew I had to get a dose of coffee. XD

Two weeks more to go and this semester will be over. There are lots of requirements to be passed, lots of activities to be done, and lots of lessons to be studied. So I'll give up the hope of being able to enjoy lengthy hours of sleep in the next 2 weeks.. I just hope that my body won't give up before I do. >.<

Who said the life of a 5th year Chemical Engineering is easy? It is not! And it will never be.. I just put to mind that all these hardships we're going through right now are necessary for us to be excellent chemical engineers in the future. As one of our instructors said, "At least anad na mo mabilar." Immune na kung baga.. Lol. Salamat kaayu sir! But in all fairness, he has a point. So right now, we just have to endure and keep moving forward! Tomorrow is another day with another requirements! This is for my bright future so no more complaining.. AJA! XD

Call me Maybe trip

2012-07-17T05:21:00.000+08:00

Honestly! If you go to Youtube now then search for CALL ME MAYBE, a lot of videos would be coming out; all of which are from various people around the globe who uploaded their versions of the parody. One might wonder why anyone would want their faces posted on Youtube for the public to see. I, myself can't stand the idea! So I was hesitant at first when one of our classmates suggested that "we" also make our own mv for the song. They didn't stop encouraging the whole class though! They made me watch some Call me Maybe vids uploaded to youtube (though I only watched those made by some famous personalities ;p).. then boom! The idea of us making a video didn't feel bothersome anymore :D

I think the scenes on this video was shot for 2 whole weeks or something. As you'll see later, I've been really participative in this video.. it's as if I didn't hesitate at first at all!! LOL. Craziness is really contagious you know, being with these crazy people (my classmates) made me crazy also! hahaha. I bet they won't agree to that statement though. After all the efforts (really?!) we exerted to come up with this video, I can't help but share this to the world. We may be called crazy, childish and attention-seeker by the rest of the world but I think the most imprtant thing is that we made this as one batch and that we were all enjoying and were happy while we were making this (all's good when everyone's happy, right?). This will be the last year of our stay in school and the last year of our lives as chemical engineering students so we better enjoy the remaining months!! Oh! I know I'm sooo right!! Let's be crazy and freeeeee!! Nyahahaha XD

So without further ado, here it is... our Call me Maybe trip:

Night out with Kao pipz

2012-06-02T21:00:00.000+08:00

It was already 3 in the morning when I went home this morning from our night out. It was my first time going home that late from a night out with my friends so I already expected some scolding from my mother. I actually had an ample lot of scolding before she or was it me that first fell asleep! Either way thank goodness one of us slept first, if not the scolding could have continued 'till sunrise! I unfortunately woke up 3 hours after I slept so as you probably imagined, I was a little bit bugnutin that entire day. BUT! Whatever the consequences of that night out I spent with the "Kao people" I swear I didn't regret it one bit! SWEAR!

While waiting for the other "Kao pipz" who are still in Jasaan, we decided to start KTV-ing. The temptation was really hard to resist. At first we just thought of staying at the waiting area of Willsbar and wait for the others but hearing those out-of-the-tune singing the people at the other rooms were doing, we figured we can do better! LOL. To make the long story short, we ended up getting a KTV room of our own and started singing! unsa paman diay?!

After about 45 minutes, two of the "others" came as we prepared to end our 1 hour KTV-ing and proceed to Thai Me Up! Manlibre daw si sir (dapat daw i-omit ang sir) Benborj nah! As Michael suggested we walked from Willsbar to Thai me up (ambot unsay nisulod sa amung mind nganong nisugot mig baklay). I don't usually walk that far of a distance but this time I did because what's at stake is the hot chika we were sharing while walking. Considering the long distance we've traveled (and we actually took our time pa talaga), you probably can't imagine what in hell did we talk about... don't ask me, i'll never tell bwahahaha XD. Let's just say it was very interesting that it really made me enjoy that walk bigtime!

When we arrived in the meeting place for dinner (around 8 pm), Benborj who's supposedly the one we should wait for arrived earlier than us! Huh! That's what we got from taking our time walking while chika-ing. Shortly after we started digging in. .

Sir Aljohn then arrived moments later. After some picture taking and short moment of chika-chika the group decided tap Galam KTV Bar in Carmen as our next stop. Then off we went to Galam! It was very full that I thought we'd just be going home without being able to sing but we patiently waited in their waiting room and just entertained ourselves with the music videos they were playing. It came to a point that we very much enjoyed the music in the waiting room that we danced our asses off. We were carried away that we thought we were the only ones in the room. We'll it was kinda true, we were the only ones in the waiting area but we didn't took into consideration that room behind those wall of glass. We were all shocked when the glass (which is actually a sliding door) opened and someone went out from it. Ahuh! What you're thinking is right, behind those dark glass wall was a bunch of people who probably (I say definitely) saw what kabaliwan we just did! I can't imagine how foolish we might have looked to them. Laughter - it was the only thing we could afford to do upon the discovery of the said room! Haaaaiiixt.

After all the waiting, picture taking, attempts in singing and dancing, and a little bit of "strong-ing" in the waiting area, we were finally led to our room! I think it was about 11 p.m. when we entered the room. We sang our hearts out, danced with all our might (does that even make sense?), shouted at the top of our lungs, and jumped with like a rockstar. So we basically just let our energies flow out! XD

Then it was time to go home. Fortunately, our beloved sirs took us home (see how lucky we are to have them as our bosses???). Actually, if not for the fact that sir would be sending us home, I wouldn't have stayed 'till 3 a.m. !! We'll what happens next is as stated in my introductory paragraph above.

It may have been short but this moment is really worth keeping in memory together with all the memories we had in Kao. tsk3x. I sure am missing my OJT-ing there. >.< If by chance this night out should happen again in the future (ezei), I'm sure we would again be going all-out with our singing and everything! XD

Ang huling araw sa KAO

2012-05-30T23:30:00.000+08:00

We've now come to the last day of our 300-hour OJT in Kao. I still remember on the first few days of our stay in Kao, it felt like a lifetime waiting for that 300 hours to be over, but now that we only have 8 hours more to stay in this plant, I actually felt sad. I know that I will be missing this whole bunch of people we've met here. To convey our message of thanks to them, we (me, Steph, Bob, Nece, Michael, and with the special participation of Russel) brought in some foods to share for which we stayed up all night to make. . .

It was around 10:30 a.m. that day when sir Aljohn asked us to present our material balance for the Kimeta and Glycerine concentration plant. Sir Aljohn and sir Toto were the only ones present meaning they're the only ones to critique the presentations we made. ^^, Even though they were able to see some loopholes in our presentation, I think it was still a success. The very fact that we've learned a lot is enough for me. (it may sound "miss universe"-like but i'm dead serious!)

Then guess what follows after our presentation? (Since this is not Dora the Explorer I will not wait for you to answer that question..) Tama! Kainan is what followed our presentation. The first batch to have their share is our beloved supervisors and manager. Di man pud tantong mura mig nagpasipsip bah? We also invited the people who made our stay in Kao a roller coaster ride (if you know what I mean). The cute thing about that tsibugan time was that there were no more saucer left so the others (including me) had no choice but to use the cups plus stirrer as a substitute of the saucer and fork!! Wonderful isn't it? You can really see how people would get very resourceful when it comes to foods!! Well, I'm one of those resourceful people I was talking about.. ^^

This blog post wouldn't be complete if I won't present to you guys the foods we prepared. The first one I'm about to show is the mango float beautifully prepared by Bob (I'm not sure though if Michael would agree to this... if you know what I mean...)

We also made spaghetti and chocoballs (which sir aljohn called chipmunks). After around two hours this is what remained of them...

I know that what we've prepared wasn't that grand at all but I really hope we were able to made them feel how thankful we are for all the things they've done to us. This last picture of the foods we prepared summarizes the message we hoped we conveyed successfully...

THANK YOU KAO... till we meet again!

my ending up in Kao

2012-05-25T08:30:00.000+08:00

Me having my on-the-job training at Kao was all but a coincidence. It all started when our ojt coordinator posted in facebook that there are 5 ojt slots available in Kao and it's preferable that upcoming 5th year students would take it. Our coordinator then asked to see a list of students interested and only then would he draw lots for the said slots. Being the only 5th years online, me, Russel, and Jennifer commented on the said post to count the three of us in. A lot more from our batch commented minutes later. I was contacted by our coordinator the next day that I am one of the 5 chosen to have our ojt in Kao. Only then did the happenings sank onto me. I thought of three things that made me hesitate: 1. Kao which is in Jasaan is more than an hour of travel from our place; 2. I was told that the training in Kao isn't good; 3. According to our calculation it would cost me P85 for my back-and-forth fare everyday. Well, to make this loooong introduction short, I decided to just take the slot; Together with Michael, Stephanie, Nece, and Bob, we went to Kao and started our 300-hour OJT.

As my previous blog post would entail, we had a rough start in our OJT, we've met people who'd say not-so-good things about us, people who'd look to us with their "stronger" faces, and people who'd watch our every move. Thankfully, after a month's time we've been very used to this things already that we started not caring what the others would say and how others would see us. We've also met wonderful people during our stay there, and as shocking as it may seem, those supposingly "evil" people proved to have their good sides also. So, we continued our journey in Kao and just went with the flow but still with care of course.

The words about Kao's not-so-good training I've heard before have been proven to be untrue. We actually and sincerely learned a lot of things. We may have had a lot of idle or tanga moments but whenever it was time for the serious talks and discussions, it's there that we work our brains to exhaustion. During our stay there, we were taught to use our critical thinking ability, to answer questions using our previous knowledge plus our creative imagination. Due to our lack in actual experience (palusot) we aren't able to give the right answers to some of the questions though. We heard laughs, we saw different facial expressions, and we've been put to not-so-high level of humiliation whenever we give them our wrong answers. At first it made me feel uncomfortable but later on I kinda got used to it already and just laughed together with them and just eagerly listen to the explanation of the correct answer. Presenting and talking in the presence of smart people and people who very much know the field makes me nervous and hesitate to talk at all but hey! if I can learn and be corrected of my not-so-right ideas if I talk and listen to this people then go! By now, I've kinda learned not to take to heart their laughing and everything. Maybe we were just being over-sensitive but these really happen in the real world, right? So I figured we should better have a good feel of this for us to get used to this scene.

We'll be leaving Kao soon (our 300 hours is almost up) but with us is a lot of things we've learned inside. This may sound mushy but I think we'll never forget the Kao people we've encountered there during our stay. ^^

OJT-ing

2012-05-15T22:59:00.000+08:00

nece, me, and steph busy-ing ourselves with something I can't remember now =)

If you happened to read my previous post regarding my first impression of the people where I have my on-the-job-training, you'd probably think that the people who work there are very monstrous! Mind you, I thought the same way, but after being there for almost one and a half months now, my views kinda changed now. The "people" I mentioned in my previous post didn't change to being angel-like or whatever - let's just say that I found some other qualities in them that is actually likeable! I'd give it to them, they have their cute side also >.< though only seldom do we see that side of them LOL.

using the white board to make our ideas clearer

Continuing... we've grown fond and accustomed of the workplace we've been assigned but we're still not letting our guard down. Nerve-wracking questions are sometimes thrown to us randomly and if no "acceptable" answers from us will be heard, we're done for! More often do we not know than know the answers though, and when the right answers are explained to us we'll be just stand/sit in awe (with rainbows coming out of our mouth) of how amazing and bright the question thrower is. We've been kinda used to this situation already but it still makes us uncomfortable sometimes. I've made it to a point though that I should just use this time to learn new things, which is actually the main point of an OJT, right?

solving problems or practicing pen spin? ikaw nece ha!

Whenever there's time, we "scan" and run through the Perry's Handbook for Chemical Engineers and find something that seems interesting and of course something we can understand. I'm surprised though that almost everything in the handbook "seems" interesting that I thought that it was really a waste that i don't read the handbook I have at home.

During our stay in Kao, we've been constantly reminded by different chemical engineers that it familiarizing the handbook's content as early as now will help us a lot during the board exam.

We've been going to the field these days but since it is prohibited to take pictures of the plant, I can't post any pictures here. The only pictures I can show you guys are the ones taken inside the control room. This one was taken in the utility control room:

The supervisor of the utility control room kinda explained to us how this "switch board panel" works but since I can't quite understand the electrical aspect of what he's explained I didn't bother remembering it. I actually tried asking Steph, Nece, ad Michael but coincidentally we did the same! >.< We just studied the different processes under the utility department.

studying the educational documents of the utility department

See? We've been busy learning and studying during our OJT! We're not just sitting on one corner of the central control room doing chismisan, we're also making the most out of what is given to us! We're so good, right? No need to answer because I know we are! Bwahahaha XD

White Island revisited!

2012-04-24T23:30:00.000+08:00

After our Ardent Hot Spring adventure plus the "extra" activity my cousins did last night while I was sleeping [click here for the whole story], you would expect that they'd have no more energy for the activity of the day, surprisingly, they still got up early and got ready for out White Island adventure! We had our breakfast first since there are children with us. We then took turns for the pump boat ride to White island which was also taken care of the Paguia's Cottages.

I was on the second batch to go to the island. Of course, we didn't forget the snorkeling gears! It was supposed to be for rental but since we're just family (whew!) we "borrowed" 4 sets of it. Haha!

When I saw the boat coming back after the first batch was delivered to the island, I hurried and excitedly hopped on the boat and had the privilege to be taken this photo:

me on the pump boat that would bring us to the island

with my cousins getting off the boat (white island)

How I've missed this island! It's still as pretty as before! It can still keep you in awe! I still find this island cute - you know, seldom can you see a small white island seemingly floating on the sea! Witness its beauty:

Those umbrellas are the only shade you can find in this island. Those umbrellas are for rental though. I forgot how much they paid for it though. Here are some more pictures of the island.

Who wouldn't want to dip to the sea in a paradise like this? I was so eager to swim that I even forgot to put on some sun-block lotion!! It didn't matter much though, so long as I had fun! >.<

A vendor went closer and advertised these seafoods he had. I don't know what that's called but I think I've tasted those spherical shaped something before and if my memory's right, it tasted really good especially with suka.

looks yummy, right?

The snorkeling gears we had were also put to good use. We saw fishes under water but the most amazing fish I saw was that white flat fish which seemed like a normal white sand at first but when it suddenly moved (actually it actually kinda "crawled") we found that there were a lot of them at a certain area!

The fish we saw kinda looked like the one below. It really camouflaged in the whiteness of the sand! [Photo from seafriends org]

It was almost noon when we decided to go back (we were feeling hungry already); a big family picture was first taken before going back. Here are some of the fun shots!

That short trip of ours to Camiguin was really an enjoyable one, but it's not the beauty of the place that made that trip worthwhile, it was the fun we shared between us that made the mini trip perfect. The place won't matter, as long as you're with the people close to you, it'll be perfect! The camera isn't enough to capture the enjoyment and fulfillment we felt during that trip because we were together as a family. I really am proud and at the same time thankful to God to have such a big and very happy family. I'll be looking forward for our next get together, and I hope it'll be soon. =)

Camiguin! all over again..

2012-04-23T23:30:00.000+08:00

April 23 - the day that was especially in our calendar! After hearing the mass that Sunday in our beloved hometown, Dampil, WE joyfully went to the Balingoan port where we'd ride a barge to Camiguin. It was not our first time to be in Camiguin but we were all excited because it's been a long time since the WHOLE bunch of us went travelling and laag together.

on our way to the barge (at Balingoan port)

On the barge

I don't know if one should amused or annoyed but as usual, these children who climb on the barge and entice the passengers to throw coins to the ocean are still there. I'd give it to them, they're really good swimmers and divers! Throw off coins to the ocean and they would immediately jump and get it. Even though I know that they're already used to this, it still is unsafe for them to climb and jump like that so I personally think that this action should not be tolerated.

one of those children I described just now

Just as the barge went, I settled in my seat and enjoyed the sea breeze while listening to my playlist. The others were busy talking and taking pictures and EATING! =D

Baby Jedrick obviously enjoying the ride

In the middle of the vast ocean,we were given an extra treat by our dolphin friends (as in a lot of them). I've heard that there really are dolphins in that part of the ocean but every time we go to Camiguin we're not able to see one. We were very lucky this time that we've witnessed it. All of the passengers enjoyed the what would seem to be a show prepared by the dolphins. There were a lot of them - they were swimming together with the barge and even displayed their amazing synchronized swimming talents! The dolphins made their performance even more exciting upon hearing the passengers cheer for them! It was really a very overwhelming scene! Very much overwhelming to the point that we were not able to take pictures/video of it! LOL.

Oh! But if you look closely at this picture you'll see a silhouette of a dolphin submerged in the sea

It was around 4:30pm when we arrived in the Benoni port of Camiguin island and took us 30 minutes of travel to Paguia's Cottages (owned by my cousin's husband's family =D). Oh I could give you their contact number if you want! This time around they prepared a big room for us (13 beds). After we settled, we had our dinner and decided to go visit Ardent Hot Spring as we always had whenever we're in Camiguin.

Dinner

enjoying the hot spring, aye?

When we returned to the cottage and prepared to sleep I felt exhaustion all over me ;p and I accidentally fall asleep! Falling asleep early was the greatest thing I regretted in our stay in Camiguin. All my cousins spent the night outside talking nonsense-but-oh-so-enjoyable stuffs and of course with the eat and drink all you can portion! It's not everyday that we'd be gathered together and talk and have fun! If only I was still awake...

Just before I "accidentally" fell asleep!

Our adventures for the next day will be featured in my next post! >.<

The following link will bring you to the facebook page of Paguia's Cottages: Paguia's Cottages [click here]

The Oleochemical Industry

2012-04-21T22:31:00.000+08:00

Being assigned in KAO for our 300-hour OJT this summer also enabled me to learn new stuffs. Two weeks ago when our manager gave us an assignment to read about the oleochemical indutry. I decided to post what I've read here to share to to some of you who's interested. XD

Basically, oleochemicals are chemicals derived from plant oils and animal fats. Some of the most basic source of animal fats are tallow, lard, and poultry. Palm kernel, coconut, palm, soya, sunflower, and rapeseed on the other hand are some of the major sources of plant oils used in oleochemical industries.

The oleochemical industry has various applications. It can be used in the production of personal care products like shampoos, soaps, lotions, and make-up. Products of the oleochemical industries ca serve as emulsifiers and humectants for the food industry. Its products can also lead to the production of biodiesel and additives for the fuel and lubricant industries, additives and surfactants for the paint and coating industry, surfactant and adjuvant for the agriculture industry, and plasticizer and additives for the plastic industry. Other applications include wire insulation in electronics, tabletting aids in healthcare, in leather production, in paper recycling, in printing inks, and even in waxes and candles.

There are a number of oleochemical industries worldwide having different sources of their products depending on what is most accessible to the area or country. The Philippine oleochemical industries for instance have palm kernel oil and coconut oil as the major raw material used because the Philippines has an ample amount of these oil owing to its being a tropical country. The European oleochemical industry on the other hand is facing a threat at the present. The European oleochemical industry mainly has animal fat as their source for their production but after they stopped importing animal fat from USA they’ve been in crisis. Adding to their problem is also the country’s renewable energy policy which calls for the production of biodiesel. The production of biodiesel however increases and even doubles the production of glycerine as the by-product of the process. The increase of the production of glycerine causes its price to decrease which obviously leads to the decrease of the income of the industries.

It has been reported that the oleochemical industry in the Philippines is greatly improving and even having potentials of greater development. Our country, the Philippines has been blessed with the resources needed for the production of oleochemicals; together with the skillful Filipinos the oleochemical industry of the Philippines can still reach greater heights. As the industry further develops may we be mindful of its effect to our resources. May we not just wait for what is currently happening to the European oleochemical industry to happen to us also.

OJT rocks! (ambot)

2012-04-20T09:00:00.000+08:00

HELL!

What a day! What a beautiful way to start the day! My gosh! Well, well, well, gotta hope for the best na lamang. May thunder strike on nonsense people who have nothing more significant to do but talk about the new people around them. Well, talk about hospitality! I mean, it’s also my doing to talk about people about any issue regarding them (whether or not it’s authentic) but I thought only childish minds does that. I know it’s not a perfect excuse but hell, they’re like in their mid 20’s (or older) but they still talk about people younger than them? Backbiting us for not doing anything but sit on the carpet or sleep! Huh! They’re to talk pa talaga huh! Having a serious and “oh, I’m so busy”-look on their faces but guess what? They were very busy watching all our actions lang pala. Bitches!

Maybe I’m just having exaggerated emotions or response to what I’ve heard but hell, think whatever you want! I just want to pour out this negative feelings lingering within me right now. Maybe a little later I’ll find another reason to change my views on these people but it’s their loss naman eh. I don’t care! Uhm, not really. I do care in what they say about us but I’ll try not to mind and not take it to heart nalang. I’ll just have to continue acting the way I really am and the way I really feel, not like all those pretentious beasts and monsters surrounding me. May another thunder and lightning strike them again. Bwahahaha XD

Travelling via multicab like a boss (or not)!

2012-04-18T09:38:00.000+08:00

Easter Sunday when I arrived in Dampil; I’ll be staying here for the whole duration of our OJT. Dampil is still far from KAO but it’ll be much easier for me to commute to KAO from here than from our place in CDO. From our place to Divisoria would cost me P10, taking a motorela to Agora would cost P6 (SP), then finally it’s P25 for the Agora-KAO (Jasaan) ride. Doubling the amount, it’ll cost me a total of P82 for the fare only. Aside from the bongacious triple ride that I’d be taking, I would need to wake up and take a bath at aroung 4:30am – meaning I’ll be starting my day as early as 4:30am! Only to arrive in KAO at exactly 8am, if not passed 8.

The multicab fare from Dampil to KAO is P15 (SP). Compared to P82, P30 is much lighter, divaah? And I get to have my vacation na rin in Dampil at the same time. Without further ado, here it is, my first days travelling via multicab…

First of all you have to understand that in our place in CDO the route written at the side of the jeepneys are really followed and taken by the jeepneys. Uhm, I mean, if what’s written is Xavier Heights - Cogon, the jeepney will really travel through Cogon up to Xavier Heights and even beyond; but sad to say, the multicabs in this part of Misamis Oriental doesn’t work that way. Besides the route written on both sides of the multicabs, there’s a sign board pala in front sayingupto what point the multicab will be travelling. Ignorant me didn’t bother noticing the sign boards; so when I once went on the multicab confidently thinking I rode on the right multicab, I was put to embarrassment when I foolishly asked the kondoktor, “dili ni mulahos ug Dampil diay?” I sensed some of the passengers smirked while saying that it’s only ‘till Jasaan. Woah! If not for Michael’s signal to come down I would have confidently settled in that multicab without knowing that sa unahan ra diay tu taman, atot! I thought it’ll be the end of my disturbing multicab experience but hell no! that very same moment, after coming down from the wrong multicab, I was able to ride the right one thanks to Michael, but after running for almost 4 kilometers, the multicab stopped! And for what reason? Nahutdan daw ug gas! It was actually out of gas!! Whaaaat a lame reason! Goodness! And there I was in the middle of somewhere together with people I’m not familiar with, and I don’t even know where I was! And for heaven’s sake, it was getting darker already because the sun was about to say goodbye nah! Thank goodness the driver was kind enough to help us getting into another multicab! HAHA! So much for my first day of riding multicabs!

Besides having seated at the front seat besides someone I don’t know when it’s supposed to be a single seater seat only, and having seated on the back with all kinds of passengers (men, women, children, vegetables, and fishes) I had not encountered any more problems in my multicab experience. But another thing I’ve noticed is, the sweater I used to wear while travelling smelled like I was being bathe with smoke! At first I really wondered why but on my multicab trip going back to Dampil, I was able to find the answer. Almost all of the houses we passed through were setting things on fire. Lol. That was a terrible way to translate LAPOG in English. In vernacular, tanan balay among nalabyan kay ga-lapog! Especially in a certain barrio in Balingasag, there was a portion there that the air was really filled with smokey air. Lol. Aso bah, ASO!

So far, I’m really enjoying my multicab ride but I just find it funny whenever I stretch my neck as far as I could and open my eyes as big as I can when I’m near my destination already (KAO or our house in Dampil). Looking for familiar places and the houses/trees/rocks/signboards I’ve marked in my head that would tell me I’m near my destination already. I really find it hard to look for the right spot to call the multicab for a halt whenever there’s power interruption in Dampil (which happens every other day), but I’m getting used to it nah. I just have to practice not caring for people’s slight laughs or smiles whenever they see me stretching my head and enlarging my eyes. XD

Our La Carmela de Boracay experience

2012-03-28T11:16:00.000+08:00

During our 4 day/3 nights stay in Boracay, we stayed at La Carmela de Boracay. I actually first took notice of that hotel because it was constantly featured in various ABS-CBN shows! I heard Boy Abunda mentioning the name of the hotel a few times in The Buzz, it was also featured in Nasaan Ka Elisa and Growing Up! After checking out their website [click here] we found out that their rates weren't that bad. We called them and everything then bang! ROOM RESERVED!

We chose La Carmela de Boracay among all the other resort hotels in Boracay mainly because of the following reasons:

1. It was a beachfront hotel
2. The rates were reasonable (considering it's a beachfront hotel)
3. It had a FAMILY ROOM that best suited our need. Naghanap kasi kami ng family room na may another separate room and everything.
4. It's quite famous I think ;p
5. It's located in Station 2 which is considered as the entertainment heart of Boracay. (And true enough for the whole duration of our stay at station 2, everything seemed so alive kahit sa kalaliman ng gabi)
6. The hotel reviews I've read were good enough :)
7. I need to give it to them, they really have a very informative website[click here]. All the things you'd like to know are there. If you have other inquiries you can just call them (they have mobile numbers posted on their site) and they'll gladly answer you. Di ko naman sila masyadong ini-endorse noh? Lol

Moving on... Ah! Here's a youtube video of their family suite in the executive wing. So even before we went to Boracay we already knew what our room looked like. Haha (Note: I have no idea if those annotations in the video are true though.)

We had no problem with our transportation from the airport to hotel and vice versa also because we also availed the land and boat transfers offered by the hotel. We paid P650 each, so we payed P3900 in all since there were 6 of us. But we didn't regret availing their service. We really had a smooth and effort-free travel. When we landed to Caticlan airport, the La Carmela de Boracay van was already waiting for us outside...

La Carmela de Boracay van waiting for us outside Caticlan airport arrival area

And to our delight, we were the only ones that the van was waiting for! We felt really special. Naks naman! After around a 5-10 minute ride, we were brought to Caticlan port or something if I remember the name right. Without delay, we were told to follow our guide to the La Carmela de Boracay boat..

At Caticlan port going to the La Carmela de Boracay boat

The boat could actually fit in around 20-25 persons but guess what, again we were the only passengers the boat was waiting for! How touching! >.<

Inside the La Carmela de Boracay boat

Notice how spacious the boat is!

We owned the boat during the whole trip. Pictures here, pictures there, pictures everywhere!! Bongga! After around 10-15 minutes of being swayed by the sea we have now arrived the Station 3 port of Boracay island. Another La Carmela de Boracay van was waiting for us, and it brought us straight to LA CARMELA DE BORACAY resort hotel!

For a little while I forgot that we were at a hotel by the beach so I was like expecting for an airconditioned lobby. It was a very hot day and it made me bagulbol if you know what I mean. Matatamaan ka talaga sa utak 'pag mainit ang panahon eh. Diba?

After around 20 minutes of staying at the lobby we were now brought to our room and really! It looked the same with the video above. Haha. They were really similar that I almost can't believe it. It was like going inside the video (exaggerating)! XD

And that's it! We stayed at La Carmela de Boracay for 4days/3nights. We had our daily eat-all-you-can breakfast there. Okay the right term is "daily buffet breakfast" but you agree that it's just quiet the same with "eat-all-you-can" right? ;p

Just like any other restaurants, we were allowed to choose where to dine so one time, we tried dining at the poolside! It was my first time having breakfast beside a pool! lol

Having breakfast at the poolside!

No pressure! There were no left overs sir!

Here are some of our pictures of the place kasama kami ^^,

Below us is the pool and as you can see at the back is the front view (facing the beach) of the hotel

Included in the transport service we availed is our transportation from hotel to airport also so todo pa rin ang service pauwi. We met a little problem though. Before the departure date, we were given a notice saying that we should be in the lobby 15 minutes before 9 am since our flight is at 11am. It was almost 9 but we were still made to wait in the lobby. Little did we know that someONE was coming with us pala this time. My uncle was alreasy complaining because we can't afford to wait for the other ONE because we have a plane to catch. We had a point naman diba? For fairness sake, I'm sure naman that someONE was also given the same notice that everyone should be in the lobby at before 9 am!! Kalabisan na if hihintayin pa talaga siyang bumaba. The staffs will check pa kaya the room for any loss of damage before you can successfully check out and have your P2000 deposit back! So if we will wait until that someONE comes down, we will surely be delayed!

Moving on, we rode the van which brought us back to the port of Boracay. I heard the driver and the guide say that the hotel will let that someONE who was left pay additional fees. Tsk. Wawa naman but it's his fault naman talaga eh. Problema yan ng mga taong walang pakialam sa ibang naghihintay!! Arrrgh!

When we arrived at the port we were surprised to see a very long line. People were lining up buying tickets for a boat and then after buying a ticket they again fall in line waiting for a boat to arrive. I thought we would also fall in line and everything but we just sat there and for a matter of seconds we were called by our guide and brought to the La Carmela de Boracay boat, leaving behind the long line and the people whose faces when they saw us leaving through another gate cannot be drawn. Then we realized how this travel service rocks!! Imagine if we didn't avail of this service, we would still be there standing and lining up!! Wooh!

At the Boracay port

On our way to the boat

Introducing the La Carmela de Boracay boat

Since we were the only ones in the boat again, we felt like we own the boat again and then the picture taking begun!

Arriving at the Caticlan port

At the Caticlan port

A L300 aircon shuttle was waiting for us outside the port. It brought us straight to the airport! That's the end of our La Carmela de Boracay experience!! Amen.

Island hopping in Boracay

2012-03-19T11:00:00.000+08:00

After having the mass we were now ready to take on an adventure!! wahaaa! Island hopping!! We went back to our hotel and changed! We walked through the white sand followed Bonnie, our guide, towards station 3 where our boat for the island hopping is resting. Before going on-board we were told to buy at least 2 breads which we'll be using later to attract fishes!! Yeabah!

While they were busy renting the gears and everything, we, the righteous people, were also busy with our pictorials!

Then on-board we went. I secured myself by putting on the life vests they lent us. On the way to the snorkeling area, we passed by beautiful places. Being vain people, we just can't help but take pictures here, there, and everywhere. . .

While we were travelling it started raining already! The excitement doubled when what came across us were big waves! I remembered the time when I had my first white river rafting in CDO! With the rain hitting my face, the waves making our boat dance, and the cold wind embracing us, I started feeling cold! The only thing that kept me going is the beautiful sceneries and the chitchat we had in the boat. Grr!

Well according to them, they saw many fishes under the sea (Pepet and Fr. Macky even saw a clowfish). The bread we bought was partly eaten by somebody! Poor fishes! The bread was supposedly for them but hungry people wasn't able to control themselves from eating the bread! Tsk. Maraming isda ang nagutom dahil sa tinapay na kinain nila. Sino ang salarin??

A kuya selling buko went near the boats anchored. He sold buko for 3 pieces for P100. Since uncle father didn't bother leaving the boat, he had no choice but to buy buko (he actually bought 6 pieces). I just drank the buko juice from one of the buko but after I finished I then realized that I am now hungry! Tsk! With the wind was still blowing very hard that I felt like it went inside my empty stomach. Poor me! I knew the wind in my stomach is there to stay until I'm able to eat something.

Our guide brought us to another place tosnorkel. We didn't go to Crystal Cove though because the guide himself told us that it's not as beautiful as we expect anymore. I think I heard him say that a part of it was damaged or something. He brought us to a more secluded place. After tasting the water for a couple of minutes, I went back on-board. I can't help it, I'm very hungry already. I almost have no strength left. I was very happy when I heard that we're going to take our lunch already.

On our way to the place where we're suppose to take our lunch, we passed by many high end resorts owned by known figures in the Philippines including the controversial West Cove.

The West Cove

When I first took a glance of the West Cove I thought it was really lovely but as our boat moved closer to it until we were right in front of it, I felt like it was so out of place. I don't know it's just that I think the people including myself are going to Boracay because they'd like to enjoy nature, they'd like to witness how great the gift of mother nature to the island is. But there in front of me is something that modified nature so that something may be put or established on it. Hahayyy.

We were supposed to have lunch somewhere where we'll be needing to pass through the open sea part of the sea I mean of the island nalito ako dun ah but because the waves were to much that the guide decided that it won't be safe anymore if we go further, we just went back and decided to have lunch at a restaurant near the Shangri-La Boracay.

While waiting for our lunch to be served, we decided to take pictures of the beautiful white sand and beach. Yeah! Really, the sand and beach at this part of Boracay is much cleaner compared to at Station 2.

Maybe because everybody was really hungry, nobody bothered taking pictures while eating. Seriously! Well I really enjoyed my lunch that time, I forgot about the diet and everything! Maybe it was also because of the freshness of the seafoods they cooked. Eat or the yummy food will be taken by your monstrous companions. Lol. After the lunch all my energy went back to me! Yey! That's the way it should be! We took more pictures then went back on board now going back to Station 3.

We now went back on board while silently burning into our eyes the beautiful sceneries we again passed by. Looking at how beautiful the sceneries are, I really praise and thank God that I'm still alive!

The next thing I knew, we were now back on Station 3. Our island hopping may have been short and may not be as perfect as I would have wanted but I still have God to thank for the beautiful things He'd let me see that day. Thank you sponsors! but most of all Thank you God!!

Praying in a paradise island

2012-03-19T10:00:00.000+08:00

Who says going to Boracay is just FUN FUN and FUN? Even when you're on an island where everybody else is busy riding the waves and walking along the white sand, you can still take some time to be with your God.

Before going to Boracay, I had a feeling that we would somehow visit a parish church there or something, considering that we will be going together with my uncle father (my uncle who's a priest ^^). And true enough, morning of the 19th of March when we went to the Holy Rosary Parish in Balabag, Boracay.

The exterior part of the church would already suggest creativity. You will see seemingly painted stones that formed the image of God and his beautiful creations (coconut trees and waves of the ocean).

At the back is the Holy Rosary Parish of Boracay

Upon hearing that the daily mass is at 6am (which we missed)we just went inside the church and just said our prayers. . .

And I knew it! My uncle father together with his friend priest (Fr. Jonathan) offered a mass. The next thing I knew two of his friend priests sat behind us (Fr. Carlo and Fr. Macky).

My uncle father and Fr. Jonathan

Fr. Jonathan, Fr. Macky, my uncle, and Fr. Carlo

It was a meaningful mass especially for my cousin (Ate Ezra), it was her birthday! How nice! She got to start her birthday with a mass in the paradise island, Boracay. ^^

XU Engineering days

2012-03-09T05:21:00.000+08:00

I've been very busy these past weeks that I wasn't able to compose anything for my blog. :( Well, as for the reasons of my "busyness", Hmmm I'd rather keep it a secret! Lol. Just kidding! We've had left and right quizzes and presentations lang naman in school. It's really inevitable especially now that the final exams week is approaching. This is the last chance of our teachers and instructors to torture us. I'm sure they are making the most of it! Haha.

The following is actually the write up ma'am Ruena asked me to pass in lieu of the written report regarding the plant tour (which I wasn't able to attend) the class is supposed to submit. Since I don't have an entry for March yet, I decided to just post this! Brilliant idea huh! This is actually about our celebration of the annual Xavier University Engineering Days. This isn't exactly the same with the one I submitted to her. I added some side comments and everything to lighten the mood! =)

Xavier University engineering days is being celebrated annually. The XU engineering days this year was celebrated last February 24-29 with the theme XU warriors beyond Sendong: igniting the fires, reengineering resilient community. Series of lectures and activities were scheduled in the hope of educating the engineering students regarding the various concerns of the present time, the and of course to also promote a deeper sense of camaraderie between students.

Mass

On the first day of the engineering days (February 24), a mass was offered in thanksgiving to all the blessings the students and the faculty of the college have received for the entire school year. Some engineering students and faculties attended the mass and also prayed for the success of this year’s celebration of the engineering days.

Kahibalo quiz bowl

Kahibalo is a famous college-wide quiz bowl. Groups representing the different engineering departments competed in the quiz bowl. The Kahibalo quiz bowl was held 2:30 pm still on the first day of the engineering days. All the groups showed their intelligence in this quiz bowl, but group from our very own chemical engineering department went and grabbed the first place.

Amazing Race and Larong Pinoy

The second day of the engineering days (February 25) was quite an adventurous one. Amazing race is a race whose winner is worthy of being called a warrior. Facing various obstacles before coming to declare a winner, the amazing race is indeed a very challenging game. All the representatives of all the departments played and enjoyed the race with all their heart, just like how a warrior should. Different strategies were used by each teams but the strategy used by the team of the civil engineering department proved to be the best for they were the ones who were able to grab the gold medal.

Larong Pinoy, as the name implies, consisted of games which are originally played here in the Philippines by the Filipinos. Teams were also formed that would represent each of the engineering departments. Larong Pinoy consisted of the games Maria went to town where the players dressed like Maria (basically a Filipina), the famous Patintero which is a famous game especially for the younger ones, Tug-o-war and egg transfer. For both the Amazing race and Larong Pinoy, our representatives from the chemical engineering department got the second prize. It was not that bad though, considering the sizes of the opponent’s players and also the effort they applied to their brilliant strategies.

Sportsfest

The sportsfest last February 26 was also quite a scene (but I actually didn't witness it first hand ;p). This year’s sportsfest consisted of two sports namely, volleyball and basketball. All the players showed their mastery of the sports mentioned and also exercised the value of sportsmanship. The players from the chemical engineering department got the fourth place in volleyball after they lost to a group consisted of varsity players lang naman.

Lecture series

A series of lectures were also conducted for the engineering students. The topics for the first day were Renewable Sources of Energy and Analog Devices (to be updated). I actually lined up for the lecture on the renewable sources but unfortunately their list was already full. For the second day, the topics were Basic Geographical Information System (GIS) and Septage Treatment and Maintenance Technologies. Since the topics were quite interesting, a lot wanted to attend. Too bad they only allowed 50 students per lecture. Why were they limiting the number of students who can attend the lecture series in the first place? I don't know the answer to that question, We weren't given any explanation regarding that matter.

Salo-salo

An eat-together was organized by the college of engineering. The faculty and students who worked under the working committee HAPPILY (and violently) shared the foods served. It was not surprising that after a few moments the 2 lechons were already consumed, since the ones present in the salo-salo were all warriors. Aside from the delicious foods that were served, the thing that made the salo-salo more enjoyable was the company of the people who worked together for the success of the different events and activities. Charing! Anyways, after the salo-salo, I was really conscious of my stomach. It felt like it was about to burst!! Di ako masyadong busog noh? Pero pramis, minus the lechon pa yun! I didn't eat lechon eh.

Photo Exhibit

The opening of the photo exhibit was held last February 28 which was attended only by the people above. The opening happened after all the other students and faculty went home so we were the only ones left. The photos were judged according to its quality and its connection to this year’s XU engineering days’ theme. The photo exhibit showed the artistic side of the engineering students and faculty. The photo exhibit manifested that besides having brilliant minds, the engineering students also have talents in other fields like photography.

FYPS display and presentation

Monday when the preliminary presentation of the six Final Year Project Study by six representatives, one from each of the six engineering departments. The group from the chemical engineering department, along with the groups from the civil and electrical engineering departments got the top three places. In the last day of the engineering days, the presentation of the FYPS of the 5^th years was held at the roof deck of the Magis building. Several studies were received various awards granted by some sponsors. With or without awards, all of them were successful in their study and presentation that day. All of them were able to show their mastery on their fields and confidence on their studies.

Overall, the celebration of the engineering days was indeed a great success! The students were able to learn new things through attending the different lecture series. The creativity and sportsmanship of the engineering students also surfaced during the different events and activities that were lined up. Even after the heartbreaking experiences we had when typhoon Sendong came, the warriors still live their lives positively. Even if all the typhoons come together, it can never stop a warrior from picking up himself and standing up again. Warrior on the go! Awoo! Awoo!

Unlocking Sun Broadband MF190

2012-02-22T20:38:00.001+08:00

I was able to buy a Sun Cellular prepaid broadband kit more than a week ago. I was able to enjoy free unlimited internet access for 5 days. Here's their promotional poster...

Anyways, moving on with our topic.. Since the Sun Cellular signal isn't that stable at home, I decided to find ways to unlock my broadband kit. Then tadaa! I found a site that taught how to unlock a broadband kit with the MF190 model.

Disclaimer: I am not the creator/developer of this trick. I just found this somewhere and I thought of sharing it to you guys. It helped me unlock my sunbro, hope it can help you too.

Here's how to unlock MF190 of ZTE Corporation:

1. Download DC Unlocker. Click here.
2. Remove memory card (if any) and sim card from usb stick (modem).
3. Insert a different sim card to your modem. (e.g. I inserted Smart Buddy sim into my Sunbro)
4. Your dashboard should display "sim card invalid" or the like.
5. Extract and run DC Unlocker.
6. Under "Select Manufaturer" select "ZTE datacards".
7. Under "Select Model" leave it at "auto detect".
8. Click the "search" button (magnifying glass).
9. After a while when it'd seem that the program already found and recognize the device, click "Unlocking".
10. It should display "Unlocking Successful" or something like that.
11. Disconnect your modem then connect again.

Then dan! Your modem is now unlocked! ^^

Credits to the original owner and creator of the software! Feel free to comment. I'm not an expert but I'll try to help you guys if I can. haha XD

Source: http://www.bloggertrix.com/2011/02/how-to-unlock-huawei-and-zte-hsdpa.html

Muni-muni of the day

2012-02-22T15:49:00.000+08:00

Instead of writing this now, I should have been there together with my classmates, roaming around the STEAG plant. All of them are probably in STEAG right now. Poor me can only imagine how much fun it could have been.

Here I am again, left behind by everything else. But I can't do anything about it, since it was my decision in the first place. Our teacher asked me to decide what I think would be best for my condition. Before deciding, I weighed every thing that came to mind. If I go, I'll be having an amazing day; I'll be able to see first hand the amazing facilities of the plants we're supposed to visit (Pilipinas KAO and STEAG); I'll be learning new things; Best of all, I'll be experiencing all these things with my friends. But on another thought, If I go, this day would be a very tiring day for sure; There'll be a lot of walking (considering it's a PLANT TOUR), so I'll be putting my feet on the line. I was torn between having a fruitful day and having my feet relax and rest. I decided to go to the safer side. I decided not to go thinking that there'll be many more opportunities in the future where I can tour the mentioned plants, if not better.

I'm actually sad right now, but I know that this is for my own sake. I'm not sure what could have happened to me if I went with them. Nobody can guarantee the good condition of my feet. Nobody else is there whom I can share this pain with. Literally ha. Di naman rin pwedeng idivide yung intensity ng pain sa lahat ng gustong maki-share, diba? It'll just be me at the end of the day so better think of myself in the first place na lang talaga.

I sure hope that this will be the very last activity that I'll sacrifice. I hope that this abnormality, as it seems to me, will stop nah so I can be normal again. . .

>.< hoping!!

===================

When we went to see a doctor last Monday, I was diagnosed to have Bursitis. As I surfed through the net I found out that the Bursitis I had was specifically known as Retrocalcaneal Bursitis.

Click here for more information: Retrocalcaneal bursitis

outlet please

2012-02-18T09:40:00.001+08:00

Warning: This post is very negative. Don't read this if you don't want to be bored and if you don't want to be caught up with very negative feelings. Furthermore, I'll be using a lot of cebuano words here to express my feelings jud so sa mga dili makasabot goodluck!

Final warning: If you're not interested in my life, then please don't read this! Ayaw pagreklamo after na wala kay nakuha after reading this post.

Outlet lang please. Outlet lang. I can't find any other place na pwede butangan sa akong thoughts. I might delete this post once ok na ko.

Grabe jud na kabug-at sa shoulders ang word na "expectations". Lisud kaau magminaldita if tanan tao gaexpect na dapat magbinuotan ka. Lisud kaau mutubag if ang expected sa imu kay maghilum lang while gakasab-an ka. Lisud kaau magka-sakit if ginaexpect sa imu na dapat able and well ka. Lisud kaau muhilak if ang pagtan-aw sa uban kay OA na daun kaau ka.

It doesn't matter if sa age gap man, sa rank, sa status, or sa unsa man ka napildi, basta kay if mas naay power ang isa ka tao over you, mag-gara na daun sila. Magsige cla ug latag sa ilang expectations. Dili man lang magcare if hoy! naunsa na ba ka? Ok ra? or wat. Then they will claim na sakto sila and if mutubag ka, lainon na daun ug sabot. Ikaw na ang mali, ana nalang. Kay wala nman ka mahimu kay somehow gadepend man ka sa ila.

Sa issue anang maldita2x, actually dha ko purmi gkabikil. It's like ang tanaw sa imuha ky since manghud man ka or like diha rman ka den ako kay naa dri sa taas na level, expected na dili ka masuko sa ako. In short, wla koy right masuko! But dili man, tanan man siguro jud tao masuko if murag feeling nimu sa imung self kay nabikil ka. Unahon bya jud nimu imung imung self kysa uban. That's one of our human tendencies man jud dba? HUMAN as in TAO! Tao lang ka, bisag expected na magpaka-santa ka dha sa daplin, muabot jd cguro ang time na mabikil ka. Bisag unsaon nimu pgpa-calm sa imu self, and bisan unsaon pa nimu pagbalik2x sa imu mind na dapat mgpakamature ka so dili dapat magminaldita, if naa ka ana na situation, instinct nman cguro jud ang mugana na dapat idefend nmu imung self. Educated bya, dili pud ka musugot na naay isa ka tao na magyaw2 dha sa kilid about sa imu den sa kilid lng lugar ka and magsige ug yango2x? But if dili na nimu makaya after grabe na pugong2x and makatubag jud ka, ikaw pay mahayan kay ngtubag2x ka and gacontradict ka sa iyahang giingun. Unsa lugar ko, decoration? Dapat lang muisturya if tsada ang aq iingun?

Actually, makaingun man jud ko na buotan kaau ko, wla ko gpadako na mangaway. Respect jud dapat, RESPECT. As long as kaya nimu, ikeep lng sa imu self. Pro naa man jud few exemptions ana. Kung ikaw ganahan kaau ka mangasaba to the point na gusto na na nimu himuon nga hobby, dapat unta kabalo pud ka maminaw sa uban. Ang imung gakakita sa imung duha ka mata, lahi sa gakakita sa akong duha ka mata, and lahi pud sa gakakita sa mga mata sa uban!! Dili tanan imung gakakita sakto! So don't you dare say na ikaw ra ang sakto. Tanan man ta naay disappointments, tanan ta malain at some point, tanan ta masuko jud. Pro it's a matter of control, if unsaon nimu pagcontrol sa imung feelings. If imu ba xa ipagawas and let the others see how you feel. Krun if you chose na ipagawas pud nimu, wla ko mahimu ana, but wla pud kay mahimu and dili nimu macontrol unsa man ang reactions nko about sa imung gpili na way of outlet.

Dili pud excuse na pwde ka mag-inana because dghan ka bug-at na problems gna-face. Kanang ienumerate btaw tnan imu gbuhat, na ikaw tnan ngshoulder sa mga things. Remember na tnan ta naay problems na ginaface. Lain2x man na intensity but surely tnan naa.

Sa issue pud aning sakit nako, which is still undetermined until now, mkamahay lang jud sometimes na murag abi sa uban na ga-iOA lang ko. Dili man tnan tao jud cguro pareho ug state sa health when born. Naay uba na healthy naay uban pud na healthy2x lang ang level but dili diai. Ay ambot, dugay rako gamahay aning tiil nako. Daghan na kau activities ang naTHANKYOU tungod ani. But guess what, kasaba pay maako tungod ani. Lisud jud kaau mgpasakit2x if ang mga tao sa imung palibot expected na dpat healthy ka ana na age. Naa may uban na super kinaon kaau ang mga junk foods, soft drinks and etc but dili jud tawon gkadutlan ug sakit, and me? Imbes gaiwas2x sa pgkadaghan na mga bawal, gasakit2 nuon. Unsa lgar dapat buhaton? Maghigdaay forever? Dextrose nlng ipatake in pirmi pra super safe ah! Dili ni ok sa ako na inani ko krun. Dli kamu ang gaatubang aning unknown na cause sa sakit, dili kamu ang mkafeel ani, dli kmu ang gkahadlok na unsa na kha ni so please gmay lng jud, please spare me. Ayaw ko ingna na wla koy care unsa mahitabo sa ako self, kung kabalo lng mu unsa ko kahadlok mkabalo unsa ni.

Dili ba pwede na magpakita mug concern without enumerating on my face the things I should have and shouldn't have done? Dili ba pwede mgpakita ug genuine concern without sounding like gakasuko mu na nainani ko? I am even more disappointed of myself than you guys are! Daghan ko dili gkabuhat tungod ani. Daghan na kaau ang akong disappointments because of this. Ayaw na dungagi ang akong negative vibes beh. Bcn dli na nako mahandle..

See? Super negative jud na tnan. Wla nay halong joke. I know some would think na I wrote this pra pa-char2x, sabay sa panahon, but NO! This is what I'm feeling jud krun. Mao ni ang murag highlight sa akong week. This post is not about one person only, lain2x ni sila na mga tao, pg-iadd tnan, dako kaau ang effect sa ako. But I still believe na All will be well. Gahope pa jpun ko na ma-heal ni tnan akong ksakit krun, in God's time.

Surviving Manila: Ang mga kainan

2012-02-15T22:25:00.002+08:00

[February 2, 2012] As we landed in Manila, we already felt the necessity to eat somewhere. Yeah, I was already hungry back then. As I shared in my previous post [click here], we took our lunch at Kenny Rogers. But that was just the start of our "eating life" in Manila. I'll now be sharing our eating experiences in Manila! Yehey! Hopefully, I'll be able to compose a katakamtakam post. One that will make YOUR mouth watery. Ew!

Our lunch at Kenny Rogers (NAIA)

In the afternoon, we were already at the UP Diliman Campus. We attended the welcome dinner for the provincial participants of the 5th Chemical Engineering Students Summit. We arrived at the venue at aroung 6:30pm. We just walked from The Oblation to their Engineering something Center (I'm not actually sure what the place is called), so as expected we were already starving when we arrived. And guess what, the dinner was actually served at around 8:00pm! Wualllaaaa! Pasmo much?! lol. Sa makasabot lang. Maygiiid.

Early the next morning, we decided to call the famous 8700 Jollibee delivery hotline and just have our breakfast be delivered. Luckily, the place where we stayed at (Dangay Suites) let us use their phone to call the said hotline. An operator answered our call and said she would just forward our orders to the Jollibee fastfood nearest to us. We ordered a total of 14 jolly breakfast with matching hot choco! Yeah! A few seconds after, we were informed by the tenant that Jollibee is on the phone waiting for us to reconfirm our orders. Oh diba, bongga!! They promised to deliver our orders in 45 minutes. Hahuh! We actually started timing them.

Around 50 minutes after, our orders were delivered door-to-door. The Jollibee delivery boy was kind enough to take our orders to the second floor, where we are staying. He asked to be excused if there was a little delay in the delivery. The nearest Jollibee merchandise to us (I think it's in SM North Edsa) was still close and only Jollibee Araneta was open so it took him more time to deliver, he explained.

Without further ado, we started digging into our breakfast. Oh! And I actually enjoyed my hot choco! Oh yeah!!

We actually skipped one summit-related activity that day (Feb 3), but it wasn't deliberate (please believe me). We were able to read their facebook announcement about the said activity that morning nah, and we we're all ready to go to divisoria!! Yes it's Divisoria!! We took the LRT from the Roosevelt station to the Doroteo Jose station. We took a jeepney and walked our way to the 999 mall. We arrived at the mall around 10:30am. Sadly, because we were running out of time (there's a scheduled activity at 1pm), we were just allowed by our bantay to shop for 1 hour. Well, within that one hour, I was able to buy skirts (take note, plural), blouses (plural also), mga pasalubong, and a swimwear (bwahahaha, I bought a pair but now that I look at it, I actually don't like it nah). I decided to buy a new bag because i realized the stuffs I bought won't fit in the bag I brought from CDO.

I think I'm getting away from my title already... Haha. I should be writing about foods only! Wait.. Wait.. Wait..

So it's like this, to make the long story short, we went back via LRT again (Ooh! But this time all the girls went in the all-girls cab of the LRT and it was quite spacey!) and decided to take our lunch at the LRT Roosevelt station only because we are about to be late already. There were siomai stalls, korean stalls, burger stalls, and etc. I went for the chicken burger and got a buko pandan drinks from the other stall..

This is unfortunately the only picture of me during the said lunch at the LRT station
(me and Poloy)

Jecca eating her pugo kwek-kwek or itlog na pogi as she calls it

We were lucky enough to be just on time. After the activity, Sir Marco introduced us to the world class taho (as he claimed it to be). I bought a cup for P10.00. It tasted fine but not good enough to be called "world-class". Si sir talaga, oveeer kung maka-describe!

The group decided to go to the UP shop where all UP collectibles and memorabilias can be bought. Sir Marco again brought us to a Tapsilog shop where according to him, the "world's best Tapsilog" can be found. Hmmm. I wouldn't call it "world's best" but I admit it was really delicious! I was able to taste it thanks to Dean! Haha. I ate it for free XD. One of the staffs of that Tapsilog house was also a Bisaya! I was shocked when he talked to us in Bisaya! Haha. The world is indeed small.

We were then brought to the Isawan sa UP. Courtesy of Sir Marco, I was able to taste UP's version of Isaw. Honestly, I found the Isaw here in CDO more delicious. It made me miss Proben and Kwek-kwek.

Isawan sa UP. Sir Marco holding sweet isaw sauce

Guess what, few minutes after this Isaw experience, I had feet cramps! My gosh! Of all things, of all places, and of all times!!! Singit lang po.

Now back to the topic (food). In the evening, the group decided to go to Trinoma. I went with Rickey and ate at Burger King. It was also my first time eating at Burger King! My gosh! A lot of First times already!! Happy happy! Since I still can't trust my feet, I just stayed there the whole time, while the others are happily roaming around Trinoma. I felt sad then. I felt that I was really missing something really big. I felt very left out! But the sad thing is, I can't blame anyone else but myself! Arrrgh! Why me? Of all people, why should these weak feet belong to me? Hahaii. [I wrote quite a long one there, but I deleted them anyway. I think I might just compose another post regarding my disappointments during the trip, but for now positive thoughts muna]. I apologize for the negative thought I inserted. Now, for my pictures from Burger King,

I wasn't able to finish that burger though. Consumed 3/4 of it only

For the breakfast the next morning, we ordered hot choco again from Jollibee but this time around we just ate the things we brought from CDO. We went straight to UP for the whole day activity. The activity in the morning ended around 1pm. The marshals distributed our packed lunch and let us follow them to the Eng'g building where we will consume our food. As in we had to walk pa talaga para makapaglunch! I wasn't able to take a picture of us taking lunch so we will now be skipping to our dinner experience!

Me, Mannah, and Sugar decided to go with Diana and meet her sister at SM North Edsa and just take our dinner there. We were dropped at the foot bridge to SM North while the others went straight back to UP to attend the Culminating night. Before we were dropped, there was a little tension (well at least from my point of view), bakit daw di kami sumama sa UP, sayang daw. I didn't like how those lines were delivered. It's like I'm about to commit a grave mistake. Anyhow, as we entered SM North, we found the Kangaroo Jack restaurant right away (left side of the entrance). It was a good thing that after ordering, we were able to see the sign: exclusive of 10% service charge.

I loved everything I ordered, from the fries, to the carbonara, and the steak! The dressing for the Mango Kani salad was not to my liking though. I think a wine was mixed in it. Didn't like the taste at all. XD But overall, our Kangaroo Jack was great. I enjoyed the food, and also my company. I knew I was with people who at least thought of my condition and really chose a restaurant near the entrance gate (for me not to walk a long way). I was able to meet Diana's sister also. She was not as snob as I thought she would be. I actually enjoyed our conversations. ^^

The next morning, since we still had plenty of foods left, we just had those as our breakfast. I had Nesvita and a couple of sandwiches. Then we went straight to MOA via MRT (from North Avenue - Taft Station).

We decided to take our lunch at the food court at MOA. After peeking at all the displays in the different talls, I decided to buy the Inihaw something. Courtesy of Russel, I was able to taste shark's fin. Although I pitied the shark the fin was from, it actually tasted good. Aw, now I feel bad again.. I won't eat shark's fin again!

This was our last eat out in Manila since at 2pm we already went to the airport for our 4pm flight. ^^