There were so many things that happened in the past year. So many moments of joy, sorrow, pain, betrayal, bliss... and these moments came with lessons to learn. There are so many things I learned the in the past year but if there are a few lessons that are worth applying in my entire life that would be the ff:
1. No matter what, you can NEVER have EVERYTHING at once.
2. You have to sacrifice for something you want.
3. Eat before you drink.
4. Don't mix your drinks.
5. Know when to lie.
6. Know when NOT to lie.
7. Cheesecake & beer DO NOT match.
8. Enjoy your single life.
9. NEVER rush things.
10. NEVER get too attached.
11. Enjoy.
12. Don't EVER let stress get you.
13. If the shoe doesn't fit right, don't buy it.
14. Don't disobey your parents.
15. When in doubt, JUST DO IT.
16. PATIENCE.

These are my most memorable moments in 2006:
MC's 1st time ever to win GALs volleyball
MC swept the tourney
I won my 2nd Best Libero award
I was given a bouquet of orange roses
I finally moved in with my mom & dad (stepdad)
I had to give up volleyball for a peaceful & good family life
I learned how to play badminton
I made new friends
I joined the Ateneo Carpool
I made it in the Magnificat
I met my bestfriends in carpool
I met my bestfriends in school
I got a "family" in carpool
I made more friends
High School Carpool!
I turned Sweet 16
I finally get my student's permit
My 1st Boyfriend
Gab practically disowns me as his bestfriend
My 1st (and worst) heartbreak
I lost my bestfriends
Jeian saves me
Caren & Giselle become my REAL bestfriends in school
Gab becomes my bestfriend again
I fall for Jeian
We become each other's prom dates
The Christmas party
My 1st actual kiss
Subic (Carnival-slash-Shit night w/ Geoff, his sisters, Leean & her brother, & Jelly)


I'm sure there are more moments I just can't really remember them lol! Anyway now that this year's about to end, a new year is gonna come & hopefully things will get better. New endings, new beginnings, new things, new lives, new me, new us.

I love the way you brighten up my day,
how you leave a big, happy smile on my face,
how you make me feel so great about myself.

I love how you take such good care of me;
how you take me to the bus stop on time,
how you get me across the road in one piece.

I love how you hold me in your arms;
how you squeeze my hand so tight,
how warm your hugs & kisses are.

I love you, and ONLY you.
There's only one sunshine
that leaves a big, happy smile on my face,
that gives me warmth,
and that makes me feel that I am loved
-and that is YOU.

As I type this blog entry, I am about 2 hours away from the official day of Christmas. In the past, I've always posted the things I'd like to recieve on this special date. This year is different. I want to post the things I wish for those who are close to my heart, and whom I really love the most.

My bestfriend, Gab: I wish you'd find the perfect prom date for the AHS prom: pretty girl, very sweet, and will definately make that night, the best night of your life (at least for now.. ^_-)
Mother (my grandma from my biological father's side): That everyone would stop yelling at her and stop pushing her around. That she'd finally live peacefully. That God will guide her & give her true happiness.
Mum: May the whole world quit being such a bitch to you, give you a break, give you peace of mind, and let you relax for at least an entire year. And may my biological father quit being such an ass to you by blaming everything on you. May he stop getting mad at you.
Dad: May you be the champion in the biggest texas hold'em tourney ever, may the stocks be good to you and may mom's car be good to you as well.
Ellice: May you have the prettiest teeth in the least amount of pain to endure, and may you beat all your times in your next swim meets and be the #1 swimmer in your batch -if not the entire school!
Irene: May the Lord grant you more height, more weight, and a booty-ful butt just like your sisters.
Jeian: May you get the best academic marks in the next term and the next school years, and may all -as in each and every wish of yours come true!
MCVT: May you win all your next games and still be the champions in every tourney.
Sir Edwin Leyva: May you finally find the true happiness & joy of volleyball and may your career sky-rocket. May you finally find the right woman that would make all your dreams come true and give you happiness that Bill Gates cannot even afford.
Coach Tin: May HE be THE ONE.

I just wanna wish you all the best this season. I love you all, and may all of us have a very merry Christmas!

Building friendships is easy. You meet someone, either you were introduced by a common friend or you just simply started talking. Then you start learning more things about each other: you learn about your similarities & you differences. You learn about each other's lives: when you were younger, & when you become older. You share your food, your pencils, your thoughts, your laughs, tears, stories, dreams, moments, heartaches, heartbreaks & your heartthrobs. From acquaintances you become friends, and from friends you become the BEST of friends. Then you begin to build an even deeper relationship between the two of you. You share hugs & kisses, your hearts beat as one. You become the half that makes the other whole. You feel secure, you feel complete. From acquaintances, you become friends; from friends you become the best of friends; and from the best of friends you become LOVERS.

Weeks, months, maybe even years would pass. Many things may have happened. Some would be magical, and some unforgivable. You fight, make-up, hurt each other, heal each other, make &/or break each other. You both take a painful step of ending what used to be a fairytale come to life. You become two individuals walking separate paths, with wounds that left ugly scars on your hearts. From acquaintances, you become friends; from friends, you become the best of friends; from the best of friends, you become lovers; and from lovers, you become mere individuals walking different roads in life.

It's easy to build relationships but once it has ended, it's hard to gain your friendship back.

This is an essay I wrote for our English class on Chief Seattle & how his speech can relate to human freedom.

The definition of freedom is quite vague. When you say "freedom" that means you can & may do anything that you wish. You are "free" to do anything & everything you wish to do. If we are all free: free to do as we wish, as we please, as we want, then where would things go? We would have the freedom to imprison but the imprisoned one may free themselves since "everyone is free". That is why we have limits. We implement rules that respect each & every individual's rights & privileges. We do not put anyone higher than the law. Freedom is protected when we know our limits, we respect each individual's limits, & we do not exceed the limits.

Humans have the right to possess their own land & with that, they are given the privilege to prosper from it as long as they do their responsibility which is, to take care of their land. Chief Seattle had that freedom. He & his tribe had that freedom but that was taken from them when the Europeans came. He had to give up his land for the sake of his tribe. All he asks is for these Europeans to take good care of the land they were about to give up to them, to use it wisely, to handle it with respect, to keep this freedom they had precious.

Like those who live in provinces for example, I am sure that city people & such drive the locals away for them to build factories or something as modern. These poor, local men prospered & lived on that land they tended so much of & these men of power took it from the locals for them to "prosper" from it.

Indeed it is a sad fact that men take other men's freedom away & what makes it worse is when they abuse it.

"Fluent mag-Taglish... parang sinapian ni Kris Aquino." -Bob Ong

It's sad to think that the citizens of our country these days force themselves into speaking a language that is not their own, what's worse is that not only are they not fluent with it, but they use it wrongly as well. Here, if you can speak English, you're already someone who's high in profile. If you speak English, and/or you use English words upon speaking (regardless of the grammar & fluency of speech), you are already seen as someone "at the top". It's funny how some people try to speak English & be so bad at it -their grammar: wrong, their pronunciation: wrong, their spelling: incorrect, definition of words: inaccurate. Most of the time they even mix in Tagalog words when they speak. "Let's make kain our baon na k?" or "Kain na us!" -Silly isn't it?

Another sad thought is the fact that some people, once they learn the English language & master it, they forget about the language that they were born with. They refuse to speak in Tagalog & pretend they know not of such language but English & yet when their veins pop, they speak Tagalog so well you wouldn't even believe your ears. It's sad because these people think that Tagalog makes them look "cheap" while English would make them look "sosyal" as they say. They are ashamed of their own language thus they speak in a different tongue.

I must admit that I am indeed guilty of such crimes. I tend to speak Taglish at times, but my worst crime is the fact that I pretend I know not of my native tongue. Two of my good friends once told me: "Nakakainis. Ang plastik. Kunwari pang hindi marunong mag-Tagalog eh magaling naman pala." When I was told of such, a big wave of guilt crashed into me & knocked me down. Thing is, I am just like the person they are describing: plastic, annoying, a poser perhaps. Since then, I changed my ways: I started speaking either language when necessary, I quit pretending I don’t know Tagalog, & I stayed true to myself –to who I really am, & to where I’m really from. We should be proud of our own language. No matter how messed-up it is, nor how complicated it is, we must never be ashamed of it. It is the tongue your fellow countrymen speak: don’t say that you’re not one of them & that you can’t deliver the common speech because no matter what you do, whether you bleach your hair & skin, wear colored contacts, & have plastic surgery, you are still who you are: a child of the country from which you are born.