yeah, apart from the fact that i wanted to see minority leader francis ‘chiz’ escudero and sen. aquilino pimentel jr. in person, prof. añonuevo required the whole n119 class to attend that forum on the ‘gloriagate scandal.’  the forum, which was held at the upcn auditorium this afternoon, was entitled: ‘hello, garci?  goodbye, gloria!  -  people power ka na ba?’ and was spearheaded by a few labor unions that i’ve only heard about just now, two polsci-related orgs, and a few other organizations which i can no longer recall.

obviously, i’m not gon’be reviewing or commenting on the topic and the social implications of gloria’s public apology for her ‘lapse of judgement.’  ['coz if i am to review on it, i could have taken extra effort to remember the details]  i’ve already given out my thoughts on those things earlier in the day and i’ve practically whined about it the whole time i was in school. so enough about that.

i’m just going to dwell on the circumstances that led me to attend the forum.

first off, i saw the makeshift poster pertaining to the forum that was put up on the bulletin board by the stairway. but it was only when a classmate of mine pointed out the names of chiz escudero and nene pimentel to me that i realized it was a big deal.  i mean, we’ve obviously never had these guys over at cn before [well, for as long as i can remember]. and it was a new thing for me, so to speak.

secondly, my sister, glen, is a fan of chiz escudero. so was steph. and i couldn’t help but agree with her that he’s an intriguing public figure. steph planned to take a photo of him and i thought: what a great idea!  glen’ll love it if i took a picture, too!

third, i feel strongly about the issue at hand and i felt compelled to know more about it.  what better way to learn than to hear different views/standpoints regarding the matter from the public officials themselves?

lastly, and as i’ve already written earlier, we were required to attend and to write a reaction paper on it… which is probably the only compulsory reason among all.

turns out: neither chiz escudero nor nene pimentel was there.  that sucked. but just a bit. i wasn’t a die-hard fan anyway. but the mere fact that i consented to attend that forum because of chiz escudero’s presence kind of made the whole thing… well… unexciting.  but no matter.

the only guest speakers who turned up were representative teodoro casiño, a couple of attorneys who are not at all familiar to me, and two of my ‘least liked’ professors from the department of social sciences (dss).

drat.

i would have liked it better if those dss professors weren’t there but who the hell really cares?  and anyway, it was their turf i ventured into.  even if they were in MY college at the time.

[i don't hate them, per se. their ideology just scares the living daylights out of me... which is why i don't believe in every single thing that they say.]

anyhow…

it was a major letdown if you think solely about meeting famous people.  but i guess, that’s not an important thing.  the forum actually led me to perceive the limitations of the constitution and the slight need for ‘unconstitutional’ endeavors once in a while. 

overall: it was a good experience.  not life-changing, but good nonetheless.

i’ve searched for a job online.  i took the liberty of searching here in friendster [classifieds] and saw a few interesting job descriptions. 

i looked them over and i thought that if i was going to have a job, i’d need something that’s hassle-free, in terms of time and resources.  and i figured: what could be better than starting from the basics…

i needed a job that i liked.

so yeah, i skimmed through those web pages and saw a few things: customer care/technical support [call center], writer, editor, etc. most of these, if not all, required that i had skills in communication and stuff, and/or i had a my own pc and had easy access to internet, and/or could meet deadlines and all that.

so i inquired regarding the details. i left my e-mail add.  two or three classifieds.  that’s quite enough, i guess.

~~

i opened my mail this morning and found a reply from the classifieds…

which freaked me out, big time! i didn’t know whether i was ready to hear/read about my ‘future’ job or not.  i was a bit afraid that i might not like what i’d see or that i’d be disappointed regarding the deeper details or the salary, things like that.  or maybe i was afraid that i’d get accepted…

i don’t know why i looked into the classifieds in the first place.  i mean, i would like to have a job and to earn a bit while i’m still studying but, i don’t really think i’m ready for work.

it’s probably why god hasn’t really allowed me to graduate just yet: he doesn’t think i’m ready to work my ass off just yet.

well, when am i ever going to be ready if not now?  two years of nursing school isn’t that long.  before i know it, those two years have already passed and i’m already looking for a way to kill time.

what difference does it make if i get a job now or two years later?

anyway, as it turns out, that reply wasn’t much after all. the one who posted the classifieds just wanted me to give out my e-mail address so that he/she can give me more details… which means, i’m gonna have to wait for another reply.

i need to get a life. i need a job.

here’s an update on current events within my small world:

1) i’ve already passed math 101. or so i’m told.  i still have to double-check. but thank you anyway, dear god!  that’s one thorn taken off my sore foot.

2) i’m officially enrolled in only one subject this semester and that’s n123.  i’m currently completing n105 and n119. so basically, i’m always in my beloved julita v sotejo hall (otherwise known as the college of nursing).

3) the board exam results are finally out. and the college’s passing rate is as good as ever: 100%. further more, rumors are circulating that a upcn student topped it.  that’s still speculative, but who knows?  it’s not that far from being true…

4) the dialysis unit of pgh has improved. A LOT! the place used to look like hell when i first visited it last semester.  it was all cramped and gloomy and all the dialysis machines were either obsolete [but still usable in terms of philippine standards] or damaged.  now, the whole place looks like a different unit all together.  the aircon’s working well, the equipment are new and surprisingly high-tech.  the whole place was renovated.  there was even a new television set, for goodness’ sake!  that was an absolute shocker…

5) the spurs have won the 2005 nba finals 4 games to 3 against the pistons who were the former champions.  i think that the spurs deserved it – the win only shows that they’re one of the best teams in the league and that they’re the one to beat. but i am a little sorry for the pistons because they’ve gotten that far and they sure hoped to win the finals a second time in a row.  overall, the series was okay.  it wasn’t great because the kings didn’t even make it to the playoffs, but the series itself wasn’t so bad.  well, the kings better be in the next nba playoffs or i’m moving to another team…

6) one of our cn faculty already passed away.  it was a sad thing to witness because she’s had a lot of impact on me as my mentor.  plus, she had given me a great deal of help back in my n12 days.  what that ‘help’ was, will stay between the two of us.  i’d never forget her.

7) the memorabilia’s on the move.  i suppose. i haven’t had feedback about the layout but i guess they’re working on it.  i’m quite thankful to those who offered to help out.  personally, i’m a little out of whack and i don’t think i’d be able to contribute much.  all i can do right now is to wait for articles to edit and to encode my share of descriptions…

8) yeah… i think that’s just about it.  there’s not much to tell anyway.  i just wanted to post something.

yum.

i’m currently slumped in front of my pc with that ‘other’ jar of chocolate-covered raisins on my lap. one hand’s in the jar, and the other’s on the mouse.  i’m also checking my mail and reading fan fiction reviews while listening to pop classics. [well, whadu ya know? i'm multitasking! i never thought i was capable of it.] 

one more of these chocolate-covered raisins and i’m done for.  that’s practically all i’ve eaten the whole day.  about 75 percent of my caloric intake for the day came from these adorable morsels. 

talk about healthy lifestyle.

i’ve just updated my profile and added that i’m an advocate of health promotion.  and now, i’m confessing to eating virtually nothing but chocolate-covered raisins.  quite contradictory, don’t you think?

yeah, well.  that’s me.

sometimes i just think i ought to slack off a bit.  i can be quite uptight about these things and i think, i think too much.  sometimes it’s still healthy to break a rule or two once in a while.  especially if the rules were actually set by me.

gives me a sense of freedom. a twisted kind, but freedom nonetheless.  makes me feel that i don’t always have to be confined within what’s normal or what’s healthy… stuff like that.

there.

i’ve put one last piece into my piehole.

and i’m still alright.

lesson of the day: if you feel like stuffing yourself with that ‘comfort food’ of your craving, don’t hesitate.  indulge!

attended my first n123 (community mental health) class today. it’s the elective i failed to enrol in last year.

at first, i thought it’d suck because community nursing isn’t my cup of tea. and because prof. villarta’s a real terror teacher.

but then it wasn’t so bad after all. it was a fun class [at least, for today]. i don’t know exactly why but i figured it was because the class size was quite small; we’d be working in groups unlike n12 wherein you have to work alone during your community duties; i relate to most of the topics because i’m dysfunctional and i get to pretend to diagnose myself; and because prof. villarta seems to be enjoying teaching the course to us.

i think i’m just about to enjoy it, too… [i cross my fingers.]

i got this from the testimonial of a senior brod for the up vanguard fraternity. it just caught my eye… and aroused my interest.

this is…

murphy’s law of combat

*the enemy will find a way
*the easy way is mined
*incoming fire has the right of way
*if the enemy is in range, so are you
*look unimportant, the enemy may be low on ammo
*professionals are predictable, it’s the amateurs that are dangerous
*if the attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush
*if you can’t remember, the claymore is pointed at you
*never draw enemy fire, it irritates your team mates
*when you secure an area, make sure you tell the enemy
*when you’re short of everything but enemy, you’re in the combat zone
*if it’s tough for the enemy to enter, it may be tougher for you to leave
*the enemy diversion you ignored will be the main attack
*remember… your weapon was made by the lowest bidder

for lack of a better thing to do, i went and visited my lola luming this afternoon and played the piano. her housemate and an ‘adopted lola’ of mine, lola sion, has been badgering me these past few months to come by the house and play the piano for her. nobody in the household knew how to play the piano and eversince she found out that i was taking piano lessons, she’d been doing just that. i’d tell her time and again that i would, but i wasn’t able to come through because i’ve been ‘busy.’

i have also been planning to do that for these past few weeks because i kind of miss leafing through my pieces and tinkling the ivories. somehow, i just couldn’t bring myself to walk over to their house - which is only about 30 paces away from my own.

finally, by some cosmological or universal conspiracy, i was able to gather enough strength(?) or drive/motivation(?) to leave the house this afternoon for the sole purpose of seeing whether i still have IT.

i guess i still do. i could still move my fingers anyway. but i think i need more practice in reading notes. yeah, i need to practice…

which is exactly why i promised [again] to come around once a week and play the piano for lola sion.

quotes for the day:

‘learning is like rowing upstream… not to advance means to drop back.’

‘practice does not make perfect. practice makes permanent.’

chapter two: nincompoop!

right about now, i’m in the mood for bashing someone’s brains in [as i usually am].

though i can be very tolerant about these kinds of things, and though i never really whack anyone for being an asshole, i think i’m just about ready to make an exception.

arrrgghh, if only i could name names! but i can’t! i still respect that nincompoop for all that he is. and no matter how much i’d like to slap that cute face of his, i’m virtually powerless. anyway, my hand would just recoil ‘coz that’s how RUBBERY his face is!

what a waste of thought and energy! what a waste of time! what a waste!

chapter one: the nerve!

what’s up with him? who does he think he is?

does he think i’d shrivel and die without him? that i’d be nothing if he takes me for granted? that i’d sink into obscurity and sulk because he thinks less of me?

what does he take me for? i’m nobody’s fool! i’m definitely not his!

sick s.o.b!

i hope he gets what he deserves.

sabi ko kasi, ‘wag kayong magsasalita nang [pa]tapos! ayan tuloy, binawi n’yo rin ang mga binitawan n’yong salita!

sabi ko na nga ba, it’s too good to be true, eh! tsk. tsk.

i’m so disappointed… tsk. tsk.

akala ko pa naman… tsk. tsk.

sa susunod, mag-iingat na kayo, ha! don’t say things that you don’t mean and you have no intention of fulfilling, okay? it’s only going to backfire, i tell you.

kayo rin, sige…

i hate to say ‘i told you so!’