reunited

 spending the holidays with my brothers and sister in zamboanga city after two years of spending it in manila..

FELICES PASCUA Y PROSPERO ANO NUEVO! 

To Mommy and Daddy in Florida: hope you had a happy Christmas! see you soon! 

celebration

hayee! it has been a really really long time since my last post, and a lot has happened. i just never really had the time to write it down…so, here goes the latest happening in elbi. SJ's anniversary celebration will not be complete without a homecoming…and, of course, h\this calls for a time to get dressed.. here's a picture of the sisses "cocktail" dresses. we had such a blast that night, even though i slept after the program thanks to my migraine..

getting ready

finally, i get to post again. i've been busy lately what with the arrival of my baby(?) brother and coming to and from elbi…exhausting!  here's a short recap of the week that was:

may 21. went to elbi, thus, i missed fetching my brother from the airport.

may 22. went home to makati for a get-together with my ChemSoc batchmates. it was a really fun night. too bad there were only 7 of us (out of 22). guys, sana next time mas madami tayo. 

may 23. went back to elbi. met alumni brods and a baguio sis. then went back to makati.

may 24. my brother left for zamboanga. went "shopping" for our climb to kalinga tomorrow…and right now, i'm trying to pack my clothes and other stuff we need for the climb.

i'll have more news when come back on sunday. 'til then, see yah! 

5 more days

may 21. the day of my lil bro's flight back to the Philippines. i'm super excited! excited to see him. and listen to his stories of life in Florida. and especially excited for his pasalubong for me. hihi. i can't wait for that day.

may 25. kalinga apayao, here we come! this day marks my first ever mountain climb. i'm super excited! and, at the same time, nervous. i hope all will be well during and after the climb/trek. i'm especially nervous for our group presentation. i haven't thought of anything to present yet and it's less than ten days away. huhu…what should i do?

jun 3. vinci's 1st birthday. just like cerise's bday celeb, it will be a pool party. yahoo! cerise will finally be able to wear her two-piece swimsuit. hihi. kikay! also, it will be my first time to see bart jr., that is, if he comes. *fingers crossed*

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

looking forward to the first semester in UP. *fingers crossed tightly*

moms are the best

to all moms out there, especially to my mommy:

Happy Mothers' Day!!!

i just wanted to share a quote i received from a good friend of mine. here it goes…

It would take a thousand workers to build a castle. A million soldiers to protect a country. But it only takes ONE WOMAN to build a happy home.

as i read these lines, it made think back to the time when i was a little girl and how my mom sacrificed a lot of things to be always there for me and my sibs. she gave up her work as a nurse and became a full-time housewife to my dad and a hands-on mom to her four children. growing up, i used to think why she chose to stay home instead of working, and i said to myself that i'll never be like her. now that i'm also a mom, how i wish i was like her. i wish i had her patience, her OC attitude when it comes to cleaning, her time-management skills, and everything else. i look up to my mom and for me, she's the best mom i could ever have…eventhough she's kuripot and mataray (like me) sometimes, i would never trade her for any other mom. love you mom! and i miss you and daddy!

what is a sorority?

What is a Sorority?
If it is really anything at all,
A sorority is not entirely
A flower,
National conventions
Monogrammed rings
Worn-out rush songs
By-laws
Membership standards
Or a pearl-encrusted pin.

And it is not entirely
An institution
A creed
A legacy
An obligation
Or a way of life.

If you are really going to insist that it is something, a sorority is:

Moving into the house for the first time and slowly learning that all beautiful people have fat legs, use mouthwash and wear last year's shoes.

Sitting next to an alumna you don't particularly like and being nice because you have a common goal and she has been where you are now.

Long, tired hours of black coffee and study hall when you still can't remember the Renaissance architects or the anatomy of a paramecium.

Borrowing a skirt from Betsy and a blouse from Jennifer and shoes from Stephanie and a coat from Cathi and passing it all off as your own.

Sitting on the back steps listening to your pledge sister with helplessness because she's lost and she's lonely and it seems like the whole world just fell into a bunch of ugly little pieces.

Coming home very late one night and closing the door to tell your sister who's seen you through the hardest years of your life that you're happy now and you're getting married.

And a sorority is, I suppose, a kind of evaluation. You grow up inside these elegant halls and perhaps you do learn more of this circus we call life than if you lived somewhere else.

You learn that a football player is sometimes just shoulder pads and that skinny arms sometimes hide a great man.

You learn that some lecture halls are just watery echoes and that there are silent rooms for your deep rivers.

You learn that no matter where you came from, or who brought you here, you still have to find that one small acre that belongs to you on your own.

You learn that the world is made up of people you're not going to like, and you learn to live with them anyway.

You learn to wait because change is slow and change isn't always right.

You learn that there is still a lot left to believe in and a whole lot more to hope for.

You learn that love has never been easy and that it's a long time coming.

And if you're very smart or very lucky, you learn that no matter how big or how messy the world becomes, what is precious and what is enduring will always be the same.

And in the end, a sorority can only be a better way to stumble down the back steps and out the front door.

–Anonymous

**i copy pasted this entry from our yahoo group courtesy of angel.

happy birthday

today, my hubby turns 24… just wanted to say… 

Happy Birthday, Tristan!

greetings from me and cerise. we love you! 

weekend party

first of all, i just want to say…

Happy Birthday, Danielito! 

spent the weekend in elbi (again!). the main purpose of my visit was to attend a 2-day meeting, which eventually led to two nights of nonstop partying! yahoo! i was able to bond once again with my sisses, at the same time, i was able to finally voice out some sentiments to one person, which i kept hidden for quite a while. to sum it all up, i had a blast! it was really fun listening to the same old stories…hihi.

one unforgettable incident that i witnessed while i was there was seeing this drunk guy sprawled out on the street with his bicycle. at first, we thought he was hit by the tricycle that stopped near him. it turns out the tricycle driver was just having a closer look at the guy and see what really happened to him. we saw puke all over, that's when we concluded that he was just drunk and wasn't seriously hurt. what we did was we woke him up and tried to move him to the side of the road. we offered to get him a ride home but he refused. he said he was okay (but we knew he wasn't) and insisted that he could go home on his own via his bicycle. we couldn't stop him from mounting his bike and falling again. he already had several bruises and scratches from his falls but still he wouldn't stop from trying. eventually, we gave up. we left him on the side of the road and gave him time to sleep, then we hid his bicycle among the bushes…now, i wonder what happened to him…did he ever get home?

lessons learned: 

1. do not drink and drive (even if its just a bicycle)
2. drink moderately
3. if you plan to get wasted, make sure you have a companion who's sober

Firsts

The first time Cerise walked (as in walk, without holding on to anything) was last feb6, which, incidentally, is our 2nd year anniversary (me and my hubby as bf-gf). The uttering of real words soon followed (when I say real words, I mean real words. not mere mumblings like dada…) on feb14, which, as we all know, is valentine's day and the anniversary of my beloved sorority.

She has learned numerous things already. She knows how to kiss, give flying kisses, (the occasional) hug, salute, wipe her mouth. It's really amazing to look at her when she's learning new things. Sometimes it's funny and oftentimes it's adorable.

Just this afternoon, we bought her her first ever swimsuit. We thought it was about time since lola bought her a plastic swimming pool (miniature version). We can see that she really loves the water and she can spend a pretty long time in that pool. She would cry out loud when we try to get her out of it. Also, last weekend, we bought her a coloring book and crayons, which she ended up chewing and throwing at us. What should we buy her next??

I Call You Sister

     We have gone through the same rites of passage that serve as our common bond. We share a common history with those who came before us and those who will follow. We are one in a noble task, a struggle for the propagation of our ideals.

     I call you sister because I think of you as an equal. In times of trials you have stood by me, and you can expect the same of me. I will not invoke sisterhood if it will prejudice your position. I will not do anything that will break faith. We have entered into a covenant.

      I call you sister because I am responsible for you as you are responsible for me. As we go through life, we seek not only to get established along the same principles. We go on to weigh occurring events, as each collective experience tempers our idealism.

     I call you sister because it gives me a sense of pride to call you so. On my part, I will strive to be worthy to be called your sister.