Brooke White on Tour

image courtesy of hardkandy of Pinoyexchange

I've mentioned in a blog entry a few weeks ago how I love America Idol 7 finalist Brooke White because of her personality and mesmerizing musicality. Yesterday, the American Idol 7 started their summer tour in the US and I was fortunate to have view some videos of her performance during her set in the concert. She sang three songs, Feist's 1234, Coldplay's Yellow and she reprise Let it Be which she first performed during the Beatles Week of AI. I love her performance of Let It Be, I never thought she could top her AI performance of that song (which actually made me a fan), her performance of Let it Be on the first stop of the tour was so breath taking. I really hope she will have a successful post-AI career. Anyway, here is a video for concert performance of Let it Be , I also uploaded Yellow and 1234 performances at my multiply site. Thevideos courtesy of some Brooke fans who watched the concert live and was kind enough to upload it in YouTube. I'm also thanking my online buddies at the Brooke White Love Thread at pinoyexchange.com who share the love for Brooke because of them I'm always updated with Brooke.

Midyear Highlights

Today is July 1, the start of the latter half of 2008 so to sum up the first half of my 2008 here are some significant events that happened in my life so far this year

Online Life
-This my most active year in the Internet LOL I blogged frequently and joined a lot of forums and even met a lot of online buddies. I also discovered a lot sites that catered to my interest.
The Internet has a special and significant part in my life right now.

Renewed interest in Radio
- i've been a radio geek since I was a child but I lie low for a quite some time due to my hectic college life but this year I rekindled my love for radio especially my interest in chart/countdown monitoring plus met some DJs, joined and won radio contests, learned more about radio.
Sometimes I dream to work in radio, but I know I will just be a listener and its fun anyway.

My sister's pregnancy
-This is a life changing not just for my sister but all of us in our family especially under the circumstance she is in. We support her very much and we are so excited to welcome the latest member of our family. As I type this my sister is in the hospital as she experienced some pains. She is not yet giving birth though but she is under observation. I'm praying that everything will turn out fine.

Heraldo Filipino Challenges
-One roller coaster ride of emotions I felt while dealing with the problems I encountered being the editor in chief of the student publication. I learned so many stuff and had so many realizations that affected me up to now. I survived. But did I survived with flying colors? No. I gave in to some of my weaknesses, disappointed people along the way and made the tough calls though it hurts me. But that was part of the responsibility. I must say this has been opne painful experience for me not just this year but my whole life. Sometimes, some events still haunt me up to now but I need to accept that it already happened and could no longer undo the past. I wished I handled the challenges better but all I can do is charge all what happened to experience and remember it always as I sail through life.

Graduation
- My student life ended this year. It was a bittersweet feeling. I miss school so much. I miss being a student. But I'm ready to face this guy they call Real World but is he ready for me? Haha
Hey but first I need a job. As I type this I'm still jobless but I'm not losing hope because as they say "all good things happen to those who wait". =)

And that's a recap of my life so far this 2008. I hope the latter half will be a good one.

Fifty Tunes

The fifty songs that I adored for the past six months of 2008 :)

1. With You-Chris Brown
2. Whatever it Takes-Lifehouse
3. Evidence-Urbandub
4. No Air-Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
5. Betamax-Sandwich
6. Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis
7. Procrastinator-Sandwich
8. Say it Again-Marie Digby
9. Pasubali-Spongecola
10. Low-Flo Rida feat T-Pain
11. Shadow of the Day-Linkin Park
12. Bye Bye-Mariah Carey
13. Guillotine-Urbandub
14. Migraine-Moonstar 88
15. These Hard Times-Matchbox Twenty
16. Akala Mo Lang-Zelle
17. Maskara-Rivermaya
18. 4 Minutes-Madonna feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
19. Beat It-Fallout Boy feat John Mayer
20. Cat and Mouse-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
21. Forever-Chris Brown
22. Given up-Linkin Park
23. Nine in the Afternoon-Panic at the Disco
24. Damn Regret-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
25. Say-John Mayer
26. Don't Stop the Music-Rihanna
27. One Word-Elliott Yamin
28. Take a Bow-Rihanna
29. Love Like This-Natasha Bedingfield feat Sean Kingston
30. Thunder-Boys Like Girls
31. All Around Me-Flyleaf
32. Under Repair-Imago
33. Pocketful of Sunshine-Natasha Bedingfield
34. Monobloc-Pupil
35. crushcruscrush-Paramore
36. Love Song-Sarah Bareilles
37. Forget About Me-Little Bit
38. Uh Oh-Taken By Cars
39. I'm Yours-Jason Mraz
40. Realize-Colbie Caillat
41. Touch My Body-Mariah Carey
42. Break the Ice-Britney Spears
43. Leavin-Jesse McCartney
44. Pitong Araw-Hale
45. See You Again-Miley Cyrus
46. Always Be My Baby-David Cook
47. Sweet and Low-Augustana
48. Chasing Pavements-Adele
49. Mercy-Duffy
50. I Don't Want You to Go-Kyla

Life's Simple Pains Part 2

My last blog entry was about the temporary Internet disconnection I had, little do I know that the following days the situation will get worst. I had no Internet connection for almost three days! And it was so frustrating. Every once in a while I will get connected but it will only last from one to two minutes! Every time I see the 'limited/no connection" icon I think my blood pressure went up haha. I really felt strange not being online for days. I felt that there's something missing. Hindi ako mapakali haha, I will check out every hour if I already hae a connection. What's even more frustrating is that it was so hard calling Smart Bro's Customer Service hot line and whenever I get connected, my conversation with the call center agent will be cut off midway. I think I called the hot line for a bout a hundred times and talked to about ten agents. There was even a time I lost hope already haha. But I talked calmly to the agents because I don't want them to be the shock absorber of my 'pain' since I know it would not help me. What's even a bit crazy is that before I sleep I included in my prayers to have my Internet connection back again.
I literally jumped when I finally had a stable connection around 6PM tonight. It was the first time in the 13 months we've subscribed with Smart Bro to experience this inconvenience. And I hope it wont happen again.

Life's Simple Pains

Today I was so frustrated because my Internet was busted! I was really in bad mood all day because I could not do my usual Internet routines. I felt like exploding. Then later on I realized how I was so attached with the world wide web especially the past month. It's quite funny when you come to think of it how I was so upset with the the fluctuating Internet connection I had today, as if I was really doing something very vital haha.
And yes when my Internet went back to normal around 9pm I was so deliriously happy haha.
I guess we do really have those little stuffs in life that if they wont work according to what you have been used to, we will get upset as if you experienced the greatest catastrophe in life.

Second Time

Yesterday, I received a text telling me that I passed the first exam I took last week at that company and now I advanced to the next level, online examination which happened earlier today. It was hard haha! I was asked to write a web content article for RF Online, a computer game, I don't know any thing about computer games! We were given two hours to do research online and write a 750 word article. I think I may have flunked that exam. I was able to make it on time but my output was awful. *sigh* Although, I was told that I will be informed if I pass by Monday.This time my chances of getting in is 50-50 or worse 30-70. Oh well.
***
After my exam, I went to Paragon Plaza for the second time to claim the five CDs I won during Campus 99.5's Weekend Top 20 @ 12 last Friday night. I arrived just in time when Triggerman was about to play the #1 song for the day and well I was greeted on air--full name-- haha!. The Triggerman was very nice and he said that he was glad to finally meet me, I felt the same way too as I met one of my favorite DJs since I was a child.
I love my prize! I got five CD samplers from Warner,MCA,Viva,Sony and EMI!
At least my day had a good time after the stressful exam I took.

Aftermath

Students are jumping in joy as there are no classes today but hey I'm not affected anymore. And it kinda felt sad when I realized that fact. Today was a sunny day, what an exact opposite of yesterday's gloomy atmosphere. The weather is just so unpredictable it really makes one scratch their head.
Read news about the survivors of the ferry tragedy yesterday and it was really depressing because there were scenarios that are could be something taken out of a movie. One example is that there were thirty survivors on a rubber boat but only twenty eight made it alive as the two were taken away by the large waves of water that "attacked" them. I read that news in horror and pictured myself in that situation (I'm always like that). It will really traumatize me witnessing people dying and you can't do anything to save them.
I am really praying that the survivors will be survive another "battle" that they will face now: Moving on after that harrowing experience.

Frank

I woke up today with no electricity. It was raining cats and dogs. Yesterday, reports say that here in Cavite we are experiencing Signal #2 and to be honest I did not feel that yesterday's rain was that hard to be categorized in that level. But around 12 midnight when I was about to sleep, it rained hard and well I was proven wrong, the wrath of Typhoon Frank started and should not be belittled.
So there, with no electricity means no Internet or TV for me. Good thing though we have a transistor radio and monitored the news and I was shocked with the news, a ferry sank in Romblon. Reports says that MV Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines (they were also the owners of Dona Paz, the worst sea tragedy of all time) experienced engine trouble few hours away from its destination and unfortunately it coincided with the rough seas caused by Frank and there the tragedy happened. There were 626 passengers and 121 crew on board the ferry and as of press time, there were three people rescued and two found dead while the rest are still missing.
On other news, there are about 900 families displaced by flood in Metro Manila while Eastern Visayas incurred an estimated 900 million worth of damages because of the typhoon.
After reading those news, I really felt ashame of myself as I was whining earlier because of the brownout while there are people suffering more from this calamity. Lights went back on around 3 PM, my "little pain" was eased but I felt sad knowing that there are lots of people there experiencing larger-than-life dilemmas who are not sure when and how they could see the solution to their Typhoon Frank-induced problems.
I thank God me and my family are safe.
Let us pray for the safety of the people affected by Typhoon Frank and for the souls of the people who passed away.

Finger Crossing

So this morning I took the examination for the company I was applying to. It was basically an English proficiency test. I think I did fine but I don't want to be confident (after all I still got confused with the use of "in" and "on" plus my hand writing is not that good, arrrgh!). The HR told me (and the other two applicants as well) that we will be informed through text if we pass the exam and will be scheduled for another exam. Waiting is the most difficult part. But I will not hold my breath for that one. I'm still on the hunt for possible jobs. But I really hope I'll pass that one.
***
And to cap off the night, I joined, once again, Campus 99.5's Weekend Top 20 @ 12 guessing game and this time listeners could send in their guesses on what songs will comprise the top 5 for the week through their new text line and yes, for the 3rd time, I won! And I love my prizes so much this time: 5 CDs!!!
I will claim it next week by all means haha.

Hopefully

I woke up with a text message telling that I am scheduled for an examination tomorrow. It came from one of the companies where I e-mailed my resume. This is it, my vacation is almost over. I am now in full gear to battle unemployment haha. I certainly don't want to prolong my stay with the club of 3 million Filipinos who are unemployed right now haha. My exam is scheduled at 10:30 am. I hope things will turn out fine.
***
I was surprised when I found out that the primary suspects of the Sulu Kidnappings are the negotiators Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son Haider . I did not saw that coming. I'm in no authority to judge this latest development but my guts tell me that they are not involved in the kidnapping and this may cause another rift since Isnaji is affiliated with MNLF. I smell something wrong here, it worries me.

Free

I was glued to the radio last night until the wee hours in the morning to listen to the coverage on the journey back home of Ces Drilon and company. I was so happy that they were freed after almost 10 days of being held hostage by an unknown vigilante group. Senator Loren Legarda was instrumental as she also negotiated to the kidnappers. It was an under the radar move which is good since it could have jeopardized the results if Legarda's negotiations with the kidnappers were publicized. In an interview with DZMM, Legarda shared that she was communicating directly with Ces through her cellphone and this was also the way for Legarda to talk the kidnappers. Legarda said how terrified Ces and even told her that please tell her (Ces) if there is really a chance for her to be freed so she could accept her faith already. I could just imagine how scared and frustrated Ces have felt during those times.
Later on the day, she and her crew Jimmy and Angelo along with Senator Legarda had a mini press conference upon their arrival in Manila International Airport. I like how Ces admitted that because of her disobedience on some of her superior's warnings it lead them to this crisis. It was a horrifying experience but I'm glad to see Ces holding up well, as well as Jimmy (who was threatened to be beheaded) but Angelo was silent, maybe he was really traumatized or just shy.
I was also shocked when Ces said that there were young people that were part of the group that kidnapped them. How young? There were 12 year old kids!
Like Ces Drilon, I don't symphatize with the kidnappers but it will really make you think why they did such thing? And to be honest, I really find Mindanao mysterious in a way.
Ces really learned a big lesson and probably this will be her most memorable not just in her career but her life. It also affected me in away since I dreamed to become a journalist. But I dunno if I could be really a true-blooded journalist, I don't have that kind of courage.
But I really look up to these people, they risk their lives to investigate an issue and deliver the story to us hoping that it could somehow open our eyes.

TV Tidbits

• Today the scholars for the second season of Pinoy Dream Academy were announced and I was so disappointed. It looks like they have chosen people who would be interesting for reality TV than actual singing talent.However, I will still watch because I like the first season so much and I remember being bored during the first few weeks of the show but later on got hooked. PDA season 2 could be interesting plus I like the judges headed by Ryan Cayabyab. But PDA 2 already lost points with the lackluster set of finalists.
• On the other hand, the second take of the Idol franchise here in our country through Pinoy Idol of GMA 7 is underwhelming. Well that is a sugarcoating of my actual comment really. I'm really disappointed with the production: the set is not appealing (another sugarcoating). As for the finalists, there are quite a few standouts but they lack the "x-factor" or "charisma".
  And well this I would not sugarcoat, Raymond Gutierrez is such a lousy host!
• I just watched the season 4 finale of Desperate Housewives on Studio 23 last week and I was surprised with *SPOILER ALERT* the twist of flash forward to five years towards the end of the episode was shocking and really left me wanting for more. I believe this was a good setup for an interesting season 5. Because well the show really lost a lot its charms and rebounded a bit this season.
• The most buzzed new US show is handsdown Gossip Girl and I have to admit this show is such a guilty pleasure though I'm not yet finished with season 1 (I watched the first few eps last year online and now following it through ETC on SBN 21, i have no cable by the way). And Blake Lively as Serena is so hot! At first I was more attracted with Blair since she reminded me of my all time TV love (haha) Rory Gilmore of Gilmore Girls but Serena/Blake really oozes with so much sex appeal haha. But seriously, the show's storyline is so over the top haha and well those actors as high school students? haha. But I really applaud Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame aka the voice of Gossip Girl, she really did a good job and she did it so remarkable even though the role is quite small.
• But my favorite new US shows last year are Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money. Pushing Daisies is now aired on 2nd Avenue (on RJTV 29 for people like me who have no cable or Sky Cable subscribers). Eli Stone will also be shown on 2nd Avenue I believe. Chuck is both seen on C/S RPN 9 and AXN while Dirty Sexy Money will be aired by Studio 23 this July. I love Pushing Daisies, the show is describe as a Forensic Fairytale. The way the story is told is so quirky yet charming plus the cinematography and the production design is so breath taking. Chuck is a spy show ala Alias but lighter. The lead guy named Chuck (of course) is a nerdish guy who became an accidental spy. I love his chemistry with his love interest Sarah, a real spy/agent played by the gorgeous Yvonne Strahvoski. Eli Stone meanwhile is well written and directed show. Its dramedy with some musical numbers for some episodes. The story revolves around lawyer Eli Stone who was diagnosed by brain aneurysm but somehow in some mystic way he begun receiving "premonitions" or "signs" that lead him to change his view as a lawyer. Dirty Sexy Money, on the other hand, is a look on the lives of the Darling family, an elite family with so many skeletons in the closet.
  
• I need to catch up on LOST, this show is so engaging and the flash forwards added spice to the show. I'm so glad that the program's producers already announce that this show will end in two years time. Meaning to say fans will no longer be worried of a cancellation or an unnecessary extension that will drag the story out. Setting the end game for the show will make way for a well structured story.
  
• David Cook, American Idol winner is so popular. And I will go out on a limb and proclaimed he could be the most popular AI winner and alumnus in the Philippines. His rendition of Always Be My Baby is being over played to death from the masa to the upscale pop stations. His coronation song "The Time of My Life" is also popular. But could he sustain the popularity and will his just be a 'star of the moment' and a goner tomorrow?
  
• Because of the popularity David Cook I heard many saying that season 7 is the best season of AI. I beg to differ. Season 5 is still the best for me, the final 12 overall was good and it was really exciting as the competition was stiff. There is a variety of talents. Eight out of the twelve finalists had post-AI recording career the most successful of them all is the 4th place Chris Daughtry. Too bad Taylor Hicks did poor but well he really is not a "pop star" his music is niche but he is really good. But my personal favorites of that season were 3rd placer Elliott Yamin and runner up Katharine Mcphee. Elliott had a good career as an indie recording artist while Katharine flopped =( Katharine will be part of a movie though. She is so gorgeous and I have to say she is the prettiest AI alumnus ever.
  

Paths

The fast few days I was able to chat with my classmates through YM and text, updating each other with what is going with our post-graduation lives. On my end, there's really nothing new to update on my life as I am still a bum with my life revolving on household chores, listening to the radio, watching TV and surfing the net, exciting eh? Anyway, back to my classmates, most of them have work already and majority are in the call centers. I know some of our college professors will raise their eyebrows over the decision of my classmates to grab the opportunity as one of my professor said before we did not study for four years to answer phone calls. But what can we do? Those are the jobs that have many openings and they offer just compensation especially in these hard times, that is so important. I understand the decision of my classmates especially some of them really need it, financially speaking. As for me, I'm sure I will not pursue call centers. I don't like the work nature of the job. But don't get me wrong I don't look down on the call center industry, it is a difficult job. Some of the classmates I talked too that they somehow felt disappointed that they fell into the bandwagon 'Don't worry the feeling will go away when you have your first paycheck", I joked. I advice that there is nothing wrong with that, it is a decent job but I told them that they should save money so when the time comes that they felt like leaving that job they would have a fall back and they will feel more confident to pursue other stuff since they are not broke.
On the other have, I have two classmates who are now working in companies related to our degree, one in a PR agency and the other one in Viva Entertainment. I also have classmates who are working in companies not quite related with our course namely a bank, an airline and a pharmaceutical company.
And well there are still a handful who are like me, a bum! And some not yet finish with the binding of their thesis hehehe.
Anyway, I quite it find hard to explain when they ask me why I'm not working yet or even passionately looking for one, they could not believe that I just don't feel like working and I enjoy being a carefree person for now haha. However, I feel pressured since they are telling me that with my "credentials" kuno I could find a job easily. I just said, it does not matter it will still be hard I'm sure. But I felt pressured with that kind of expectation from people.

News = Sad Face

I was really shocked when news broke out that Broadcast Journalist Ces Drilon and her two TV crew were kidnapped allegedly by the Abu Sayyaff. I'm really worried about Ces and company, this is so scary. The pundits are asking for ransom reports say. But ABS CBN declined to give in. I understand their point but I don't know how could the TV crew be saved. There has been limited reports regarding the crisis which I think is good so as to avoid the plans of the powers that on saving Ces and her TV crew to be spoiled. I could imagine the horror their family is feeling right now. Nakakapraning
***
I read in PDI that we are the only country left in the world who follows a 10 year education system with 6 years in elementary and 4 years in High School since the rest of the world is now following the 12 year schooling system with a middle school/junior high. I read that the problem is that our education system is being compressed resulting to "a little bit of this and that" but without any concentration. If you come to think most of the student enter college at the age of 16 and well I noticed that a lot of freshmen are not yet "mature" for college, in the other countries people enter college at the age of 18. But well it is still debatable since age could not really say much about maturity. Of course there are schools here in the country who have a grade 7 but those are the private-elite schools. But are the products of those schools really have an edge?
If you ask me personally, a 12 year education system is really a great idea since it will provide more intensive learning for the students but the problem here in our country is that we don't have finances to back it up. Come on, many statistics already mentioned that the number of students who enrolled in grade 1 will not finish high school, worst elementary even. Plus there are already problems with lack of rooms and facilities in our public schools with the present 10 year system what if we add two more years, where will the students have their classes? On the roof tops?
***
There was this news I watched last night where some elementary kids got food poisoned from the puto they bought from their teachers. I feel bad for the kids but I also feel bad for the teachers and even the lady who provides the puto. Those teachers are so underpaid that they have to eat their pride and sell stuff for more income then this happened. I could feel how guilty the teachers are feeling right now. What a twist of fate isn't it? The puto maker was also interviewed, she is a middle aged lady who have been baking and selling putos for 17 years and she claims that this is the first time this happened. It may have been the fault of the lady since she may have neglected some stuff but for sure it was not intentional but what can she do her reputation has already been tarnished. Could she still putos and what if this is the business that helps them survive each day? Life is so hard.
***
And I also watched another news feature the other day about the clearing operations of sidewalk vendors near schools by the MMDA. I know the purpose of the MMDA but I can't help but feel sad for the vendors. Especially when I saw the vendors crying (some hysterical) when their goods were confiscated. Sometimes I think if there could be a way where the two parties could be both happy?
***
That's why I sometimes shy reading/watching news because this kind of news err reality depresses me.

Work

It's already close to 2 am I type this but hey I am still awake. I am waiting for my father to go home because well someone needs to open the door and prepare food hehe. Anyway, my father is a company driver so he do really have an irregular works schedule. It has been that way ever since I was a child and I really applaud my father's hard work. I hope that I will also be an asset to the company where I will work in the future.
Speaking of work, I already had my first job application in a magazine. I e-mailed my resume and sample works last Friday. Let's wait and see.
But really I'm enjoying this free time I have. Although I've been doing lots of household chores lately it's okay, my mother needs the help anyway. She said to me though that for the first time ever we will get house hold help once my sister gives birth already. I believe its the right decision since she will take care of her grandson since my sister has to work. She really needs a household help since I also have limitations for some housework (plus by that time I could have work already).
Today is the opening of classes in my school, DLSU-Dasmarinas. Feels nostalgic. I miss being a student, I miss DLSU-D, I miss my classmates, I miss HF. But well I have to move on. What's good about being a student is that there is a foreseeable end for everything. Now I'm off to the great unknown. And it's scary.

Changes

I finally changed the song in this blog after a month of featuring Second Chances by Michelle Branch. The song now featured is the rendition of Neil Diamond's "I am...I said" by American Idol 7 finalist Brooke White which also became her swan song because she got eliminated during that week. While a lot went gaga over the Davids of that season, I rooted for Brooke although I know she has no chance of winning. I was hoping she could be the last woman standing but she failed. I like her because I dig her style plus I really love her personality, such a sweet and charming lady. She did had lackluster performances like her rendition of "Hero" of Mariah Carey and she did messed up the lyrics of "You Must Love Me" during the broadway week because she does not have the confidence on stage the other finalists had. But I still supported her. And what's good is that I was not alone on my love and support for Brooke White because in Pinoyexchange.com, I met around 15 people who love Brooke White too. You could see the Brooke White Pinoyexchange thread here.
I hope Brooke White would have a good post-AI career even though she placed fifth only. I hope she would the same career path like my other favorite contestant of all time, AI season 5 third place Elliott Yamin.
***
My favorite radio DJ, Kelly of MAX FM was assigned to a new time slot that started last Friday she is now on weekdays 9am-12noon. Obviously, the show will not be called Kellybites Nights anymore so the new name of her show is The Bite Club. I will miss her night show since listening to KBN has been a habit for me since February. But I will still listen to her on her new timeslot. DJ Kelly is really a charismatic DJ and a person I really look up to. If you will ask me to name someone as my idol in the media I would say in a heartbeat: DJ KELLY.
***
It's a boy! That's the gender of my sister's baby. He will be the first grandchild of my parents. My sister is due on August. Her relationship with the father of her son is complicated. I admit that I got sad that she got pregnant in a complicated circumstance and I know my parents also feel the same way but we all agree that is better that way for now.Yes she is of age already as she is 30 years old but we know it's not yet the right time. We support ate but I know my parents were disappointed but they did not let it show because they don't want my sister to feel bad. I applaud my parents for that, I know its hard for them to do that but their love for their daughter and their grandchild prevailed. I'm so proud of my parents.
Our family is off to expect a lot of changes once my sister give birth. I'm both excited and nervous. But we all know that this baby is a blessing for us.

The Overdue Post

After being tagged by four people (Mam Brenda, Edmund, Lorenzo and Japoy) I finally had the energy to do this '10 Things About Me' post. I will not tag anyone anymore though.
Here it goes:

1. I am asthmatic
-My parents told me that I had my first asthma attack when I was 2 months old. When I was a child, I had so many asthma attacks that eventually became a factor why I did not become physically active.

2. I was a consistent honor student.
- I don't consider myself that smart but just studious and diligent. I was so freaking grade conscious in elementary and high school. In College it changed though, I did not become part of the Dean's List during my first two years in college. I got frustrated at first but eventually I felt a sense of freedom, no more pressure. But I did become part of the Dean's List for three semesters during my last two years in college.

3. I love countdowns/charts
- I'm a CHART GEEK. I love lists and charts of anything and everything but I particularly like music countdowns. I started being one when I was 10 years old, I was first hooked sa countdown sa countdown show ni The Count of the defunct WKC. Then it all lead to me monitoring all radio countdowns that I could listen too, I keep a notebook where I list the countdowns, sadly, I lost some of them This year though, I along with other chart afficionados maintain a thread over PinoyExchange.com's Music and Radio forum where we post the latest charts of different radio stations and some music channels as well.

4. I love watching TV
-Though lately I find US shows more engaging to watch. Though I'm still updated with the current local shows but I don't watch them religiously.

5. I prefer FM radio over MP3 players (iPod)
- I know most people prefer the opposite. Well I love the mix of DJ talk/banters and music.

6. Most of the time, I could not sleep without the radio turned on
-Silence creeps me out.

7. Multiply is my favorite social networking site
- I love the features so much. But I like friendster for the fact that I could hunt long lost friends. I also have facebook (which is cute but confusing) and an inactive myspace account.

8. I don't play any sport
- one word: lampa

9. I love blogging
- I was an accidental blogger. I signed up for this out of curiosity and got hooked. When we finally had broadband Internet success I even became more active. =D

10. I don't feel comfortable being outside the home at night.
- Yeah you could not expect me to be a party goer haha.

A Rally and A Debut

My parents told me as they got home from the palengke that there was a rally in the public high school here in Bulihan,Silang,Cavite. And it was huge that the roads were closes. Parents of the students were calling for the principal to resign due to alleged corruption. And the "event" was reallybig as it made the headlines of TV Patrol (my sister told me, I was not able to watch it). My sister and eldest brother studied in that school and they told me that the accused principal is really strict. DepEd officials said that they will investigate and will release the results after 15 days.
I could smell the tension in the school. It would be an awkward school opening for them.
***
Later that night I attended the 18th birthday of my former HF sports writer and now Managing Director Mica Grimaldo. It was held at Island Cove, Kawit,Cavite. It was my first time there, not just in the resort, but in Kawit as well. Kinda weird I've been living in Cavite for almost 15 years already.
The party was great. And it also became a reunion for the three batches of HF (Teams 21-23). It was nice catching up with my HF friends. I miss them so much. I was part of the 18 memories and I shared how Mica became an asset to HF even though she became part of the publication late in the school year. I admire the attitude of Mica, she seems like a happy go lucky girl but when is committed into something sher pours her heart into it and produces good output plus her social skill is outstanding as well. I said in that she was the hands down choice to be awarded the Outstanding Staff on last year's Midyear Workshop.
I like the last part of the celebration as Mica called her mom on stage and gave her a gift. That was so sweet. She told me before in our conversations that she is pasaway with her mom and they always fight.
That moment really pulled my heart strings. I could see in Mica's mom how happy and delighted she was with the gesture of her daughter.
But I was even more surprised when her mother revealed that Mica is thinking to become a nun.And Mica is seriously considering it. She told me that before but in a joking manner. I guess it was meant.
Hey Mica, if you'll be able to read this, just follow what your heart says. But hey take your time.

Twenty Tunes 6

CURRENT FAVORITE SONGS:

1. Betamax-Sandwich
2. Bye Bye-Mariah Carey
3. Migraine-Moonstar 88
4. Thunder-Boys Like Girls
5. Emily-Paraluman
6. Pocketful of Sunshine-Natasha Bedingfield
7. Say it Again-Marie Digby
8. Evidence-Urbandub
9. Maskara-Rivermaya
10. If I Never See Your Face Again-Maroon Five feat Rihanna
11. 4 Minutes-Madonna feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
12. Take a Bow-Rihanna
13. The Pedestrian-Foxboro Hot Tubs
14. Forever-Chris Brown
15. Damn Regret-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
16. Closer-Ne-.yo
17. As You Believe-Zelle
18. With You-Chris Brown
19. No Air-Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
20. Pitong Araw-Hale
**
Twenty Tunes 5
Twenty Tunes 4
Twenty Tunes 3
Twenty Tunes 2
Twenty Tunes 1

Bookmark

I'm currently reading three books. Yes THREE books, salit salitan haha. First is PEKSMAN (mamatay ka man) Nagsisinungaling Ako [at iba pang kuwentong kasinungalingan na di dapat paniwalaan]
*Breathes*
What a long title right? This is written by UST Creative Writing professor Eros Atalia. The style of the book is like Bob Ong as the author relays his tounge-in-cheek views on Pinoy life. This is really a fun read although he tends to be judgmental at times.
The next is Bagets: an anthology of Filipino Young Adult Fiction published by the UP Press. The book is divided into two parts, the Filipino stories and the English stories. I like the Filipino stories more but it does not mean that the English stories are bad. I like the selection of stories it ranges from family conflicts, self actualization, of course love life haha and growing up. This is a light read but the heart is there.
Lastly I'm also reading Kellybites the Book yes by my favorite radio DJ, Kelly. This is a collection of poems and other words of wisdom lifted from DJ Kelly's blog. The book is a bit expensive but it has a purpose since the proceeds will go to Project Brave Kids, an organization who helps children who have cancer.
You'll love the way DJ Kelly writes, she uses simple words yet the way she constructs the sentences will pull your heartstrings. You will somehow see a piece of yourself in one of her writings. Its like DJ Kelly has put to words some of the emotions you are feeling all along but could not express freely.

This is one of the stuff that I enjoy being a bum haha. You know having a lot of free time to read books. Last school year was so hectic I hardly had time to read books for leisure.

Winners

Graphics courtesy of "Senator" Ed

Congratulations to fellow biter and man nurse Joel "Joogie" Gonzaga for winning the Kellybites' Nights Maxville Idol. He sang a guy version of the song "Don't Cha". His rendition is really good. Last night was the announcement of the winner on the show and DJ Kelly interviewed the top 2 finalists on air, 2nd place went to the very mysterious Caz who sang "Because of You", on the phone interview we found out that he is also working for a radio station as well. Third placer Jan Gironella also called up DJ Kelly tonight. As the official tabulator (naks!) let me share to you some facts, Jan was the most voted in the multiply. I received about 40 private messages on multiply voting for him and they are real people ah hehehe. Caz meanwhile got the most votes on the textline and phoneline. But why did Joogie won? He got high votes for both.

Here is the breakdown:

joogie

151 pts= multiply
159 pts= phone/text

TOTAL: 310 pts

caz

23 pts =multiply
241 pts=phone/text

TOTAL: 264 pts

jan

168 pts =multiply
40 pts=phone/text

TOTAL: 208 pts

CONGRATULATIONS JOOGIE!

BURGER! BURGER!

Tune in to Kellybites Nights
Mondays to Fridays
9pm-12 midnight
103.5 Max FM
Join the live multiply conference every night on http://kellybites.multiply.com/calendar

***

Congratulations to HERALDO FILIPINO! We reaped awards in the College Editors Guild of the Philippines competition held in Davao yesterday. Palad bagged 2nd place for best literary folio and the HF newspaper is also 2nd place in the Broadsheet category. Good job everyone!

Well I'll admit I'm a bit sad since we did not win for both categories and LS magazine not being awarded at all (I believe it was deserving but I'm bias since I'm the EIC hehe). And especially last year we won best broadsheet and for my term we are only 2nd place. I know 2nd place is not bad at all. But it kinda showed that somehow, maybe, the quality of HF may have dipped under my term. Here I go again, just forgive me about this insecure feeling.

But hey at least the broadsheet and the lit folio were still recognized!

Thank You CEGP and hats off to HF Team 22!
Good luck Team 23!
Go for the Gold!
=)

Comelec

graphics courtesy of "senator" Ed

This was the singing contest" last night on Kellybites Nights over at 103.5 Max FM. Well, it started as an accidental suggestion by biter Niko (biters is what we call ourselves, listeners of DJ Kelly's show) that turned into a event. At first it was all for fun then things got serious (well sort of haha) some of the contestants really campaigned for them to win. So how did the contest went? DJ Kelly asked aspirants to send a MP3 of them singing a song (1 minute) over the weekend, 11 submitted and became finalists. DJ Kelly uploaded the 11 entries here and multiply users could already vote, they could vote up to 3 people with corresponding points (top1-3 pts, top2-2pts and top3-1pt). This is where I became part of this event, I was chosen to be the official tabulator of votes, Saturday pa lang I already began receiving votes through PM and votes could also be posted on the official multiply page of Maxville Idol. And there were really a lot of votes, I was amazed by two contestants, they really have so many friends on multiply hahaha.
It was really fun on the actual show, DJ Kelly copy/pasted the text votes to me (we did the transactions through Multiply PM) she also updated me of the phone votes. It was really fun doing that. There were a lot text votes as in. 2968 may have crashed down. You could see the minute-by-minute coverage of the event by fellow biter Niko here and of course the live multiply conference we had where a record breaking 3,049 comments were posted on that multiply page (DJ Kelly should have a share on the income revenues of Multiply with the amazing hits her site is receiving).
So how was my experience as the official tabulator? Yes it was toxic as in hindi ako magkandaugaga jotting down the text/phone and checking out the multiply conference and my PM for votes. But I had so much fun, really. But I failed to cast my vote, I forgot to do so haha. The event was really exciting and I'm so proud I had a "pivotal role" there. Towards the end of the show, I was about to send the top 3 to DJ Kelly but my PC hanged, DJ Kelly have to kill time and extend the show while waiting for my PM. Embarassing!
Anyways, the announcement of the MAXVILLE IDOL will happen tonight as I type this entry.
I will just share how much points the contestants received:

1. 310 pts
2. 264 pts
3. 208 pts
4. 175 pts
5. 153 pts
6. 143 pts
7. 109 pts
8. 50 pts
9. 49 pts
10. 36 pts
11. 20 pts

I counted about 200 text/phone votes and 100 multiply votes. Toxic but so much fun, really.
Thank you to DJ Kelly and the Biters
***
Tune in to Kellybites Nights
Mondays to Fridays
9pm-12 midnight
103.5 Max FM

Join the live multiply conference every night on http://kellybites.multiply.com/calendar

Betamax and 50/50

This is my current favorite song. Bukod sa napaka catchy eh you can't help but feel nostalgic while listening to this. Yeah I'm still young at 20 but somehow I felt old listening to this song PLUS watching the music video intensifies the feeling since it features the popular games noong bata pa ako. Somehow I felt sad kasi in my neighborhood wala ng mga batang naglalaro ng sipa, tumbang preso, luksong baka, nanay tatay, teks, chinese garter atbp. The kids are now inside computer shops or playing with their PSPs. The song reminded me how good the old days were.
And we still have our betamax at home, I don't know if that is still working though.

****

I went to Campus 99.5 yesterday to claim my prize. My father accompanied me since before we went to Paragon Plaza (where the station was located) we took care of some stuff. Well, although I already knew before that the booths of 89.9 Magic, Mellow 94.7 and 99.5 are all located in one location, I was still surprised that those stations are literally dikit-dikit.
Anyway, I got a CD (Hershey's Unforgettable Kisses compilation) but I was not able to get my gift certificate at Triggerman's cafe since when we came he was in a meeting and I could not wait that long. I don't really feel bad about not getting the GC though but instead I was disappointed I was not able to meet the Triggerman personally. Next time, I hope.

I Knew It

You should strongly consider majoring in Education, such as early childhood education, middle childhood education, secondary education, or related majors (e.g., Vocational Education, Special Education, P.E./Physical Education).

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it.

Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Psychology is a great minor for education majors.

Education/Counseling		94%
Psychology/Sociology		75%
HR/BusinessManagement		69%
English/Journalism/Comm		63%
Religion/Theology		56%
Mathematics/Statistics		56%
History/Anthropology/LiberalArts		50%
Accounting/Finance/Marketing		50%
French/Spanish/OtherLanguage		44%
PoliticalScience/Philosophy		38%
Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health		38%
Biology/Chemistry/Geology		31%
Visual&PerformingArts		31%
Physics/Engineering/Computer		25%

***
from:
WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com
***
Naaliw ako sa results at nag ka 25% pa ako sa Physics/Engineering/Computer haha, higher than expected.
I know 4 years late ang survey na ito hehe. Pero malay nyo pwede pa naman ma pursue ito ang #1. We'll never know right.

Crossroad

I did a lot of house chores today. Kudos to me haha. I decided to lessen my lousy time by surfing the Internet all day now that I'm now an official bum. Plus, my mother needed an extra hand this time because the person who do laundry for us resigned today. Yes, that was the reason I was extra busy this day. I admit I don't like house chores haha but hey I gotta do it. And I feel good. I need that feeling.
May is gonna end soon. And this coming June will be the first time in 14 years that I will be not in school on that month. Feels strange since I'm already used to the feeling of looking forward on the upcoming school year once this time of the year comes in. But I graduated already. Time to move on.
But I chose to be a bum for a while and my parents support my decision haha. My mother even encouraged me that I should pursue Masteral studies already but I said no since I need a break from school and I want to work first for like one to two years before I pursue a masteral degree.
I feel blessed that I'm not really pressured to find work immediately, we are financially stable with my three older siblings having stable jobs so as my father. Yes, I will take advantage of this situation. I've been a studious and hardworking student for 14 years (including my three years as campus writer) I need a break, right?
I need to think what I want to do. Because I'm confused on what career to pursue. No.....I know what I want to do, I just don't know how I could enter there. Or just afraid to make the first step. Or I don't know how or where to start. Or afraid to fail again. Or I'm just too lazy. See, my mind is so messed up.
Jaja, my former classmate, texted me earlier telling me she had her first salary. I kinda felt envious. Buti pa siya.
I'm excited to earn on my own. But first I need to find a job.

Second Chance and Last Look

Remember when I won in the contest of Campus 99.5 's Weekend Top 20 @ 12 two weeks ago? My prize was forfeited because I failed to claim it however last Friday I joined again and WON for the 2nd time. Haha. I hope it will not rain on Thursday so I could go to Paragon Plaza and visit the Campus 99.5 booth already.
***
I finally finished reading Harry Potter book 7. I bought the book last November 2007 pa but got so busy with school that I essentially forgot to finish reading the book hahaha. Now that I have free time I was able to finish the book at long last. Here are my thoughts:

[SPOILER ALERT]

I did not like the epilogue that much, I was craving for something more and not just who ended up with who (it was obvious anyway). I like the Battle of Hogwarts, wonderfully written and I'm curious how it will be played out in the movie. I liked the book but ranked third only on my all time favorite HP book (#1 is Prisoner of Azkaban followed by Goblet of Fire). There were so many deaths in the book, but I was affected the most with the death of Dobby, the free Elf *sniff*
I like how my favorite character which is Neville Longbottom played a pivotal role in the final book. Neville rocks! The final showdown between Harry and You-Know-Who was a bit anti climactic and resembles a classic Filipino action movie wherein before the protagonist and antagonist kill each other they will have a long conversation muna, haha.
Snape's story was engaging but basically he is a guy with unrequited yet neverending love. Mushy but it worked. And yeah Dumbledore being gay actually made sense.
Over all, 'Deathly Hallows' was successful in wrapping up the 7 year journey of Harry Potter and friends. I started reading HP as a fresh graduate from grade school and finished reading it as a fresh college graduate. I will not call HP the greatest work of literature of all time but this is definitely one remarkable and unforgettable book series.

EIC

I was supposed to blog about my last day as EIC last Thursday but I had an extended stay until Friday to finish off some responsibilities. I was supposed to write this last weekend but got too lazy too do it haha.
And now I changed my mind, I will no longer write my last day as EIC.
As I've said before, my year as editor-in-chief was one roller coaster ride. I had lots of realizations throughout the year. So many lessons learned. If I will grade myself as year as EIC following DLSU-D's grading system with 4.00 as the highest grade and 0.00 as failing grade, my grade will be 2.25. I am being honest with that. How I wish I could grade myself higher. But I admit I performed below expectations, I cracked under pressure, I was so disorganized and I would like to keep problems to myself. And lastly, I am too "soft" to be an EIC. It worked to my disadvantage.
Somehow, I think I did good in motivating my staff though, out of the 30 apprentices we had at the start of the school year, 23 still remained until the end. That's high because normally, the number of apprentices who survived a year at HF is below half of the original start-of-the-school-year number. And I'm proud to say I was able to discover future HF gems in the future. Aside from the new staffers, I was able to "resurrect" long lost staffers and most of them did fine throughout the school year. I did have a problem handling my co-editors though. My insecurity and the aforementioned "softness" were my flaws. Plus, in the editing/writing department I sucked.
I feel so guilty for being a mediocre leader and most of all a lousy campus journalist. There were so many nights I cried because I could not handle the pressure anymore. Yeah, I'm a weakling. I'm sorry Heraldo Filipino.
Sometimes I wish I should not have pursued being an editor, I was doing well as a regular staff for two years. But this was God's plan and all setbacks happen for a reason. I may not understand now but in the future I'm sure this will come in full circle.
I know this topic has been so repetitive here in my blog. But I need to write this again. I need this.

One Day Left

Tomorrow, May 15, is my last day, officially, as the Editor-in-chief of Heraldo Filipino, the official student publication of DLSU-Dasmarinas. It will also mark the end of HF Team 22 and on May 16 HF Team 23 will take over. My HF life will end tomorrow. I'm almost finish with my remaining duties for the publication. It's the end. I'll prepare my digital camera. Yeah, I'm a sentimental dude haha.

Anyway, my HF journey is one long rollecoaster ride. I experience both the extreme highs and lows of life through HF. And I will be always be grateful to HF for the lessons I've learned. I will never forget my three-year stay with Heraldo Filipino. Wait....I'll save all these stuff for tomorrow haha.
***
Well, let me share this, I tracked another former DJ of WKC/KC FM again through multiply this time. He is sir John (The "Seahorse" during the "We Are Family" era) . He is so nice and he even shared to me some stories and pictures!
Being able communicate with those djs feels like meeting up with long lost friends.
***
I think I could not claim the prize I won in the Campus 99.5's Weekend Top 20 @ 12 last week.
I'm sort of busy this week =( This is the second time I won on a radio contest, the first one was with DJ Kelly's show on 103.5 Max FM but I failed to get my prize. Sad.

I Love KC Extra

Sir VinZG posted this at YouTube today. It has been six years since I last heard the KC FM theme. Well, I'm on another nostalgia fit again, haha.

I Love KC

I was so nostalgic today. An integral part of my childhood was listening to the radio. Yes, as a child I stay indoors most of the time because I always get sick. And well I spent my childhood with home-based past times, there's television and reading local komiks. But one of the special things I enjoyed doing was listening to the radio and my all time favorite station is 93.9 WKC "We are Family". The station was catered to the so-called masa audience but they are not the kind of masa station that we have now. 93.9 WKC was wholesome and cute and very child- friendly to say the least. Some of the DJs have 'sidekicks' which are very 'cartoonish' with some derived from the "Sesame Street Characters" which includes my personal favorite, The Count, who hosted the music countdown of the station of course. The Count, I guess is the one to blame why I became a chart geek :D
I really adored this station. I always listen to it whenever I can.And dreamed that someday I could work for the station.
In early 2000, the station reformatted to become 939 KC FM and recruited popular DJs Chico and Delamar of RX 93.1 that is when the station became an upscale station. This happened during my early teens and the reformatted KC still won my heart and became my favorite station once more even though they are now in a new format. I love the programming of the station, very listener friendly and not pretentious. KC still retained their charm. This was the logo of the 93.9 KCFM:

But on May 15, 2002, 93.9 KC FM had its final airing. And you know what, even though this is embarassing to admit, I cried during their last day. It was really a sad day, I remember I was tuned in the all day from Chico and Delamar's farewell to the last show which ended around 6 pm. The last song played was "Goodbye" by the Spice Girls. After that, it was an end of an era for me. I was really attached with KC, since I really grew up with this station. A few months after, 93.9 became the home of iFM, a masa station in the mold of the top-rater 90.7 Love Radio.
I admit I hated that station to death but as years pass by I accepted it. KC FM will not comeback. I'm not a fan of iFM, I guess will never be, but I don't hate it. That's life as they say and they provide employment and some people enjoy their station. But not me. Maybe I'm bias haha.
I still became a radio geek especially countdowns but no station ever replaced 93.9 WKC/KC FM in my heart.

***

Every time May 15 comes near I will always remember the last days of KC FM. Like today, we are three days shy to the 6th "death anniversary" of KC FM. And well this morning I was browsing the friendster accounts of some of today's DJs and I thought of searching for the accounts of former KC FM jocks and I did it by using the search by company function of Friendster and well I found the account of Vincent Garucho/VinzG, a former DJ of DWKC's two eras. I send him a private message expressing how I missed the station and gave him the link of the "Anyone Still Remembers KC FM?" thread I made at PinoyExchange.com.
And guess what after a few minutes HE REPLIED! And what's even great is that he registered at PinoyExchange and posted in the thread and we sort of chatted with him for about two hours in the thread, we were reminiscing about the good ol days of WKC/KC FM and what they are doing right now. He even shared some pictures! And I like this one that he posted in the forum:

I guess it's safe for me to say in behalf of the WKC air crew THANK YOU! You've made our jobs... those late late nights, holiday-less days, long work-filled weekends and taxing mall tours all worth while. hehehe. It was more fun and play than actual work with people like
you!

I feel so happy that I was sort of instrumental for him to realized how KC FM and the people behind it left a significant impact to a lot of people. DWKC may be gone but it will never be forgotten.

***
P.S
Check this out: http://web.archive.org/web/20001018205719/http://www.939kcfm.8k.com/
That was the old website of 939 KC FM.
Big thanks to whoever preserved the website.

The Ultimate Chart Geek Moment

Campus 99.5 Weekend Top 20 @ 12/ May 9,2008

20. The Way I Am-Ingrid Michaelson
19. 4 Minutes-Madonna feat Justin Timberlake
18. Realize-Colbie Caillat
17. Love Song-Sarah Bareilles
16. Empty-The Click Five
15. Rule #1 Wag Mo Aaminin-Overtone
14. Almost Lover-A Fine Frenzy
13. Teardrops on my Guitar-Taylor Swift
12. Forget About Me-Little Bit
11. Evidence-Urbandub
10. With You-Chris Brown
09. Low-Flo Rida feat T-Pain
08. No Air-Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
07. Chasing Pavements-Adele
06. When You Look me in the Eyes-Jonas Brothers
05. All Around Me-Flyleaf
04. Take a Bow-Rihanna
03. Damn Regret-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
02. Leavin-Jesse McCartney
01. Always Be My Baby-David Cook
***

So why did I post that? Well, last night [which is just a few hours ago] I won in the contest of Campus 99.5's Weekend Top 20 @ 12. There were two ways to win, one on the phone and the other on the YM. I joined the latter since I don't have the means to call their station [no landline at home]. The contest is name all the songs played in the countdown in order and guess the remaining songs, I submitted my answer when the song reached no.5. I almost did not win since my first guess was Damn Regret is no.2 and Leavin at no.3 but I changed my mind the last minute. And well my last minute change was the right decision after all. I was so friggin happy when The Triggerman congratulated me on air! Of course he had difficulty on how to pronounce my name hahaha.
So what's my prize? I actually forgot what were those, I think I got gift certificatea to some spa and Triggerman's restaurant. Believe it or not, I did not care about the prize when I joined the contest I just want to win. Kinda lame, eh? Winning this contest is a big achievement for a chart geek like me, hahaha.
Well, you see I've been this chart geek since I was 10 and of course Top 20 @ 12 is already legendary and I remember back in the day how I wish I could join the "guessing game" of the show since most of the time my guesses were correct and I get frustrated to the callers who don't get the correct answers. But I don't have the means to call the show plus I'm terrified to call hahahaha.
And well,times have changed. Campus Radio shut down last year but was resurrected this year on the 99.5 frequency. I remember anticipating the return of the top 20 @ 12 but during the first few weeks of Campus 99.5, top 20 @ 12 was still off air. And I found out through Pinoyexchange.com that upon the return of the countdown, Triggerman will not host it anymore (However he is still connected with Campus 99.5, as it turns out, he is the current station manager of the station). But we, "die hard fans" petitioned to convince the Triggerman to go back and it was a success as two weeks ago The Top 20 @ 12 returned in the airwaves with the Triggerman at helm. I was able to chat with him on his return through Campus 99.5's YM. I was even part of those who did a live coverage on his return at Pinoyexchange.com.
Last week, the guessing game on the top 20 @ 12 returned but I still could not join coz we don't have a landline anymore and I don't have enough load to call through my cellphone. But I shared my top 5 prediction with Triggerman through YM and got 3/5.
And when I found out that there will be also a contest through YM also, I was so ecstatic since I could now have a shot on winning. And I did!
I'm excited to get my prizes next week at the Campus 99.5 booth. Although I admit I'm more excited to see the station rather than the prizes itself. I'm hoping to see the Triggerman, Jimmy jam or John Hendrix when I go there.
I'm just so happy. I still could not sleep hahaha.

Remembering Funny Komiks (A Revisit)

I posted "Remembering Funny Komiks" blog entry two years ago. So why I am reposting this again? Well, I was a bit surprised that long after I posted this entry, I still received comments every now and then. And it was good to see that I was not alone, marami din pala kaming mga laking Funny Komiks. And today this blog entry received another comment and guess from whom---- from someone who used to work with Funny Komiks! Wow! I was so suprised, too bad s/he commented anonymously :(
Anyway, I'll once again share to you my brief but heartfelt nod to the legendary Filipino Funny Komiks For Children

The topic of reminiscing my favorite comics FUNNY KOMIKS [FK] came up when I read a friend's blog. I really love funny komiks,I have collected it for a decade. I started when I was 4, the age when I don't even know how to read yet, my brother just read that to me. Actually, my family is a huge fan of komiks, my siblings were the initial people who collected funny komiks, namana ko lang. Too bad their collection was burned when we had a fire in the place we use to live in (Sta. Ana Manila). When we moved here in Cavite the first thing I looked for is their is someone selling funny komiks, luckily I found not just one but two magazine stalls selling FK. My real motivation to learn how to read is FUNNY KOMIKS, I dont want to depend on my siblings anymore. I want to experience it. I continued my funny komiks for a long time. I even send my drawings (na binakat ko lang naman) and my works were published. That's my first experience in seeing my name on print. It happened twice, the first one though my name was misspelled [Jecusp Asombruelo] I guess that happened because of my awful penmanship that why I made it sure the next time that my handwriting is legible already. I witness how the price of the comics became higher as years goes by.It started at 3.50 then 5 then 7 then 9 until it reached 17.50! I stopped buying FK when I was in 3rd year highschool because I just find not entertaining anymore,it lost it charm,its becoming anime-ish. But my 7 years worth of collection is still with me (too bad I had lots of issues that got lost), and I will never throw it away nor sell it to the junkshop. It's a part of my life already. I dont know if FK is still in circulation but the stall I used to buy it does not sell anymore. Sad.

***
now I will post the comments I received for this entry:

from Miyon Emorej

hello! I'm a Funny Komiks reader. FK was the medium for me to have new friends. Uso noon yung mga penpal penpal hehe.. Too bad they stopped publishing... =(

from river

Must say I can relate to that... the motivation to read... though its tagalog, I think it made me able to read at age 4. Plus the creative touch, its (FK)where my first influence in art came from. Now I work as a graphic artist in an advertising and promotions company. If i am not mistaken FK started around 1978-1979. my dad used to buy ir till the late 90's. That influenced me to collect comics by marvel, dc, and image in my highschool years.Just wonderin' if someone out there would shell out upto what extent for FK's # 1 issue. (",)

from pyrolactus

hello, I'm a funny komiks reader too,
some of my copies was already damaged by termites, I've read that your collection was still with you, I'm looking for some 33 issues of funny komiks... I have those but those are the copies that are already damage.. a scan copy will do, not the whole komiks but
rather a small part of it... If you have a spare time for the poor guy. which is me, drop me an email: pyrolactus@gmail.com , I'll tell you there the issue numbers of the funny komiks I'm looking for... T.I.A

from GZO

hello!my dad used to buy ir till the late 90's. That influenced me to collect comics by marvel, dc, and image in my highschool years.Just wonderin' if someone out there would shell out upto what extent for FK's # 1 issue. (",)

from an anonymous person

yo, there! it's gud 2 know dat der's still sum of us hu misses funny komiks, 2. well, i was a collector since 1983. i can remember obliging my uncles 2 buy me a copy of the komiks everyweek... without giving them money 2 buy it... only, i lost d copies i intented 2 collect sana... more dan 2 decades thereafter, i can still recall my fave strips like planet op di eyps, superdog, niknok, bing bam bung, gong di egol, mr & mrs, noon.. ngayon... not to mention deyr weekly feature abt Filipino heroes... i wish i could still see old copies of my favorite komiks...

from "traxor"

kewl...i'm also using traxor as my alias which is the character of the comic serial (AX ryt?) where i think you got your alias. I stil have a few copies left in my house...it's darn good to reminisce your childhood once in a while

and the most special comment I received

enjoy na enjoy ako reading those comments about funny komiks. brings back lots of memories. dati kasi akong member ng funny komiks family, kami nina larry alcala of bim bam bum, ls martinez of superkat, vic crisostomo niknok, tenny henson little angel, atbp.

Whoever you are sir/mam, THANK YOU! Be proud you became part of FK. You were a part of something that brought joy to thousands of Filipino kids for decades. I'm proud that I'm part of that special group.
Funny Komiks was legendary and I'm glad I experienced the joy of waiting every week to find out what will happen next to my story. It was one of those simple pleasures in life.
I sometimes hope today's kids was able to experience this.

Cry

That's all I do when I feel so bad. Although I do cry in private. Like now when everyone here at home are asleep. I just feel so bad today. I hate being weak. Weak physically. Weak emotionally.
I'm so frustrated at things in my life right now.
When will this end?
I'm so tired.

Coincidence?

Today, after a month, I finally finished my school clearance. It took a while because I was lazy and procrastinating hahahaha. Anyway, because I was already cleared I could finally get my diploma, the real one. The one given to us last March 25 at PICC was a "greeting of congratulations" masked as diploma haha.

Here is the "fruit" of my four years of hard work:

I also requested for my Transcript of Records (TOR) which was so expensive! 255 Pesos! However, I was not able to get it today and will be available on May 15, 2008!
What a coincidence since that date, as I've mentioned before , is my last day as EIC of HF.
Hmmmmmm........

Twenty Tunes 5

Current Favorite Songs

1. Maskara-Rivermaya
2. Say it Again-Marie Digby
3. With You-Chris Brown
4. Damn Regret-Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
5. Evidence-Urbandub
6. Beat It-Fallout Boy feat John Mayer
7. Given Up-Linkin Park
8. Leavin-Jesse McCartney
9. Uh Oh-Taken By Cars
10. Whatever It Takes-Lifehouse
11. These Hard Times-Matchbox Twenty
12. No Air-Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
13. 4 Minutes-Madonna feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
14. Always Be My Baby-David Cook
15. Pitong Araw-Hale
16. Low-Flo Rida feat T-Pain
17. Monobloc-Pupil
18. All Around Me-Flyleaf
19. Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis
20. Akala mo lang-Zelle
***
Twenty Tunes 4
Twenty Tunes 3
Twenty Tunes 2
Twenty Tunes 1

15 days to go...

The past three days I've been at school for clearance,(umusad na rin sa wakas, haha!) and HF stuff. Wel,l I need to finish all my pending task before May 16. May 15 will mark the end of my HF life. But no worries, since I will be leaving HF in good hands. The transition has already started actually. I don't go to the office as often as before and when I'm there I don't stay that long anymore.
After my term as EIC ends, it will now be the official end of my college life.
Time to leave DLSU-D.
Time to move on.
***
Lately, I've been catching up with my (former) classmates through text and YM. Some are getting frustrated that they could not find a job, the others are making the most out of the summer season, there are also a few who are bored to death, there are some lucky ones who have jobs already while some will start soon.
When they ask me about my plans, I will always say that I'm finishing some stuff for HF and wait until my term ends officially.
After that ?????
Yes, I don't know yet. I don't know where will I go.
That's why I decided that I will rest first. I need time to think and reflect.
May 16 will be the start of my "vacation".
***
I may be undecided or confused at present but I know for sure what I want to do 6 to 10 years from now:
I will teach.

Facing the Tooth Fairy

I will have some of my teeth extracted in May. I promised to myself that I will take care of my teeth already and get over my fear of having my teeth extracted by a dentist. All of my life, I have been in the dentist's office just TWICE not counting the dental check up I had when I applied for college. And I never had a proper tooth extraction before. I just wait for it "fall off naturally".
But I'm not a kid anymore. I know for a fact that I have two "dying" teeth and I should let it go already, the proper and medical way.
It sucks that only now that I have decided to face this fear. Stupid fear now that I realize it.
***
Since Wednesday, I have not gone out of the house. Got sick and rested. I'm such a bum and I both love it and hate it. Yeah, it's fun doing nothing but just surf the net away but I'm afraid that I may get used to it so much. But I feel restless also. And believe it or not, stressed.
***
It has been a week since the HF Yearend Workshop. It has been a month since I graduated.
I am at this point of my life that I do not exactly know what I want to do.
A phase? Maybe. Hope to get over this soon.

Leap

It has been said that when God closes a door he opens a window. Or vice versa. Basta, something similar to that haha.
I feel that one aspect in my life have fallen apart. I thought it was meant for me. Then that happened. And I realize I could not fit in there. Maybe I was never suppose to be there in the first place.
But I guess it was all in God's plan for me to experience that. He helped me re evaluate my life.
Now, I'm putting that on hold. I'm not putting a period just a comma.
I will jump to something I do not know if I will succeed. But I will try.

Thesis Epilogue

Today, finally, napa bookbind na namin ang thesis! It took awhile since me and Jas enjoyed the vacation too much ha!ha!. We already submitted it to our department but our adviser is not there and she will be back on Friday pa. We need her signature for the certification and approval sheet. We printed four copies, one each for me, Jas, our department, and adviser. For the library, what they need is the soft copy in CD form. The printing took awhile since printing in the DLSU-D thesis paper is a bit tricky haha plus our thesis have about 140 pages and multiply by four and you get the idea. When we held our the final copy of our thesis it was a great feeling. We felt a sense of accomplishment. All the hard`work paid off.
I do hope that someday some students could find our study useful and use it as RRL.

Purple

I was about to go to school today but my mother requested not to for some reason. I give in. Thanks to the Internet I was still able to do some work for HF. And well I'm excited for our literary folio, Palad, I love the lay out! And we have this cutting edge concept. I hope we win in the CEGP. *crosses fingers*
***
I read the latest issue of Newsbreak magazine which I bought a week ago but only read now. Ate Purple, a Broadcast Journalism alumnus (one year ahead of me) and former editor of HF, is a researcher/writer for this publication. I am so proud of her, I read all her articles and well this is really what Ate Purple wants in her life. This is so her, an investigative journalist.
I remember the times where we talked inside the HF office, she is really an insightful person. And she is not really stiff, she is so "kalog". I admit I don't usually get almost all her HF columns back in the day and I sometimes ask her what the point of her column is and she will enthusiastically explain it to me. I admire her courage and the way she thinks. I know she will be a great journalist in the years to come and I'm so excited for her.
***
Here are some of the articles Purple Romero wrote for Newsbreak:

• UN to RP: What happened to Alston’s recommendations?

• Second Chance: Colon Cancer is not a death sentence

• Twist to Neri case: Lawyer wanted dissenting justices to inhibit

• UN: Lack of political will behind poor access to sanitation

Unproductive

I feel so useless. I feel so lazy. All I do is watch TV or surf the net. And eating of course. And I'm getting fatter each day. I need to get my old groove back. I admit, I enjoy my bumming around time but I need to control this, I don't want to get used to this.
I hate to admit this but I feel trapped. I want to move on. But I know I could not. I hate to feel this way. I'm just tired I guess. Drained. Lost the spirit. Burned out. I should not feel this but I can't control myself to not feel this way. But I will not escape. I'll fight even though I feel like a loser already.

Grammar Check

Yesterday I was checking the proofs for LS Special magazine which were edited by the technical consultant and I discovered something embarrassing. My column for the magazine was heavy with corrections. It just shows that among the editors , I am probably the weakest writer. Heck, a lot of my staff are better writers than me perhaps. It is a shame considering that I am the Editor-in-Chief. This year, I did not grow as a writer because I focused more on the management aspect of the job. Or maybe I just don't have it. This makes me feel scared, if I apply for a job and upon knowing that I was an EIC of the student publication, the employer will expect a lot from me: polished grammar, solid writing style and coherent sentence constructions. And I'm not confident that I could meet the expectations.

Wow

That's what I said when I found out that the Philippines will have its own version of the reality series [and one of my all time faves] SURVIVOR. Not a copy cat/rip off but a franchise! GMA 7 bought the rights and plugs are now being played on channel 7. I'm so excited! I don't know how will the Filipino audience respond to this kind of show where backstabbing and manipulation are rampant. I have high hopes for this show since GMA 7's foray to reality TV through EXTRA CHALLENGE was quite good [quite because there were off episodes/weeks]. Reportedly, the current affairs team of GMA will produce the show, so a plus point for me!
And well since we know how the two stations compete, I wonder how will ABS CBN respond to this? Amazing Race Philippines perhaps? Exciting!

Normal Day?

I guess so.

I tried.

Did well I guess.

I did have my anxiety attack every now and then. But I managed to have a "normal" day today.
Hope it continues.

***
I was busy today doing HF work. I have lots of backlogs due to my absence last week because I got sick. I'm quite happy since Just Play is now on the proofreading stage, LS special is almost finish so as Palad. Alipato is 40% done. The problem na lang is the special issue of HF broadsheet. Long way to go pa. I am aiming for all jobs done by this month so I could leave HF already hahaha. Kidding, I mean I want those burdens off my chest for me to enjoy my final moments in DLSU-D.
By the way, today is the start of the summer term. I miss summer classes. For three years I had summer classes because my course's curriculum really has the summer term. I did not complain though since I love summer classes, it is fast faced actually and I was not bored.
Also, there was a shooting in school today, ABS CBN as always. I saw Maja Salvador and Jon of PBB. DLSU-D is a favorite location of ABS CBN shows. Over the years I saw Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz, Zanjoe Marudo, Jason of PBB, Iya Villania, Kim Chui, Gerald Anderson among others. And of course when I was a freshman, Marian "Marimar" Rivera was a Psychology senior and she was sort of famous na rin back then since she starred in the Skin White commercial during that time. Who have thought a few afters she will be a star. I remember seeing her in the JFH hallway and she is really beautiful but she really have a "manly" voice hehe.
***
I saw some friends who claimed their diploma [the real one since the one given to us in the graduation rites was fake haha]. I kinda felt envious. A clearance is needed to claim the diploma . Well, I haven't started my clearance yet since I will still be in school pa naman until May. Plus, we haven't passed the thesis yet hahahaha. Procrastinating until the end haha. But me and Jas will work on it this week. The past weeks we decided to lie low . Not just us but the whole JOU41 block haha. I guess we were delaying it so we could have a reason to go back to school. Awwww *senti mode on*
****
Guilty pleasure: PBB Teen Edition Plus! Aliw! So far the show is entertaining but knowing PBB it will have its draggy moments like contrived twists and lousy tasks. But for now I'm enjoying the show.
Also because of waiting for PBB to start I sort of got hooked with Lobo as well. The show is not the typical Pinoy fantaserye, the story has depth and I must say Angel Locsin improved on the acting department, she is not a ham actress anymore.
And before you label me as "kapamilya", I will tell you I'm not. I'm not a "kapuso" either. I am "kabarkada" haha just jokin. Seriously, I actually hate the network war since because their competition is not healthy. Long time ago I posted a blog entry about that titled Boobtube Battle Boo Boos.
***
I'm excited to find work. Although I'm expecting it will be hard. But hey I'm ready.

Breathe

It has been almost a week since I became "like this". I decided that I could not sulk and whine all day. I'm not saying I'll fight this because I can't, I already tried and I'm tired. I will just face reality. Be as brave as I could. I could not let my life to be on hold because of this. I'll just hope and pray that in the end things will turn out fine.
But I have to stop acting like this. My whining will not help me at all. I have to be strong.

Let the song speak for me

These Hard Times-Matchbox Twenty

Morning falls like rain into the city life
There goes another night
Losing my breath in waves
Knowing that ever crash is bleading the hourglass
And taking the strife from all our lives

Everyone keeps talking
They promise you everything
But they don't mean anything

We may loose our focus
There's just too many words
We're never meant to learn
And we don't feel so alive

So goodbye, these days are gone
And we can't keep holding on
When all we need is some relief
Through these hard times
Through these hard times

Move your hands in circles
Keeping me hypnotized
The power behind your eyes
Move around your bedroom cursing the naked sky
You should be here tonight
But you stay alone and cry

Say goodbye, these days are gone
And we can't keep holding on
When all we need is some relief
Through these hard times
(whoa) There's something missing
(Oh whoa) You'll never feel it but you
(Oh whoa) You're gonna feel it when it's gone
When it's gone

Say goodbye, these days are gone
And we can't keep holding on
When all we need is some relief
Through these hard times
(hey) these Hard times
(oh no now) Hard times
Hard times

Say goodbye, these days are gone
Say goodbye, these days are gone
These days are gone

Twenty Tunes 4

CURRENT FAVORITE SONGS:

1. These Hard Times-Matchbox Twenty
2. Beat It-Fallout Boy feat John Mayer
3. Whatever It Takes-Lifehouse
4. Evidence-Urbandub
5. Akala mo lang-Zelle
6. Under Repair-Imago
7. Monobloc-Pupil
8. Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis
9. Procrastinator-Sandwich
10. Uh Oh-Taken by Cars
11. 4 minutes-Madonna feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
12. With You-Chris Brown
13. Touch My Body-Mariah Carey
14. Nine in the Afternoon-Panic at the Disco
15. Aaminin-Six Cycle Mind
16. No Air-Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
17. Low-Flo Rida feat T-pain
18. Susundan-Callalily
19. Empty-The Click Five
20. Something Right-Westlife

***
Twenty Tunes 3
Twenty Tunes 2
Twenty Tunes 1