Sunday, February 26, 2006
How Gloria paid EDSA a big insult.
I was expecting there would be no classes on Friday because President Arroyo decided to save the day to commemorate that life-changing event 20 years ago -- the People Power Revolution, which ended political repression brought about by Martial Law.
But no. There was an event in EDSA, alright, but there was no peaceful revolution. Protest ralliers were violently dispersed. Some of them were arrested, including one of UP's greatest professors, Prof. Randy David. Even minors got beaten up by the police. Media outlets were even threatened to be taken over.
But it didn't have to take a declaration of a "state of national emergency" for this to happen. According to news I've received through e-mail, 33 activists have been killed by suspected military agents or paramilitary groups even before. And let us not forget about Rep. Crispin Beltran's illegal arrest.
The Arroyo administration is a silent killer. We used to not hear much about these killings and all its other cases of harrassment and violation of human rights. What's even worse is that our country didn't have to be declared under Martial Law to experience it.
There's nothing much we can do about it by ourselves, yes. But we can bring back freedom and bring down political repression if we all try. We don't really have to attend rallies for our voices to be heard, we could all be activists in our own right. The easiest way to do this is to unite, firmly stand for our common cause.
****
Militant youth vow to defy 1017
Urge students to wear black on Monday
The militant youth group Anakbayan and other organizations under Youth DARE (Youth Demanding Arroyo's Removal) today urged all peace-loving and pro-democracy students to wear black to school on Monday as a sign of defiance against PD 1017.
This morning, students from UP Diliman covered the entirety of the academic oval and the UP oblation with black cloth as a symbol of mourning for the death of democracy and birth of renewed tyranny.
"We know our history, we know that what is happening right now is no different from what transpired at the beginning of the dark Martial Law years. It is precisely for this reason that we vow to defy PD 1017 and do everything within our means to prevent our schools from being transformed into garrisons," said Eleanor de Guzman, Anakbayan national chairperson.
She said that since yesterday their headquarters has been bombarded with reports and complaints against the presence of SWAT and armed military teams scattered around UP Diliman and PUP in Sta. Mesa. They were allegedly on the lookout for youth and student leaders from the respective universities.
"The youth are not afraid but they are fast losing patience with this administration. Instead of quelling dissent, expect more protests from the youth. We refuse to be cowed by this act of desperation. Mrs. Arroyo has just given the youth more reason to hasten her ouster. She has just sealed her sorry fate by declaring war against the our academic and campus freedom," she said.
She also expressed strong condemnation against the warrantless arrest of Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran and the raid of the Daily Tribune printing press.
"Will youth and student leaders and campus publications be next? Not if we have our way," warned de Guzman.
****
Yesterday, I wondered why everything that happened the entire Friday bothered me. And then I thought maybe Tito Bobong, my activist uncle who died 15 days before the EDSA Revolution, made a way to talk and reach out to me even if we never met. Maybe he wanted to make me realize how every Sumilang is obliged to love our country.
****
Ating tandaan:
"Ang Pilipino ay hindi Pilipino kapag siya'y nag-iisa."
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The day in a few sniffs.
LAB PRACTICALS TOMORROW.
Sana wala na lang pasok bukas. Sana talaga.
:(
****
SM North with Clauds and Joy earlier. I wasn't supposed to tag along because I wasn't really feeling well, but due to insistent public demand, Clauds was able to kaladkad me all the way inside the SM jeep.
And so I got my cowboy hat! :D
Can't wait to take pics, pics, and lots of pics wearing it. :P
****
Saturday will be super hectic for me. I'll be modeling for Ate Keng's portfolio for makeup and I'll be doing avant garde and glamour. Val's also modeling for her! Weeee, I'm so excited! :D I probably won't be able to watch Val's shoot because I'd have to rush to PETA Theater to watch a play at 2:30p. Kumusta naman yun?
****
The whole concept of love just keeps getting clearer. :)
****
My cologne spilled in my bag. Now a couple of notes in my Starbucks planner have been smudged. Magaling!
****
AYOKONG MAGPRACTICALS BUKAS, WAAAA!!!
****
Si Joy o si Meg ang may kasalanan kung bakit ako singhot nang singhot ngayon. Tsk tsk.
****
I have horrendous kilay right now. Someone help me fix 'em ASAP!
Monday, February 20, 2006
At your service.
First it was that stampede in Ultra. Now, the St. Bernard landslide. Two mass tragedies in a month.
Sad, since I feel for the victims' families. Sadder, since I just couldn't do anything about it. I wish there could be some other way than simply donating money I can help. I even think I do not have enough to give.
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."
I remember giving up on my dream of becoming a doctor. Somewhere along the way I felt too pressured because I thought I had to be a doctor just like my parents and I didn't want to disappoint them. I felt obligated to do good in school so I could get into a good med school to follow my parents' footsteps. I thought the paths to other careers were closed. Shifting out would be a no-no. Plus Chem was pressuring me too much ever since I failed my first long exam. I felt forced.
And then these things happened.
And the drive to pursue Med overwhelmed me.
I found myself studying for Chem not because my parents told me to, but because I wanted to get more than a mediocre 3.0. I found myself staying extra late at night hoping the extra effort I put in my papers would pay off. I also found myself giving more than what I usually offer in Sunday mass. I started doing my own postlabs, making prelabs ahead of time, and the like. It's a struggle, yes, but it gives me a lot of hope.
Someday, I'm going to be a doctor.
*This entry is dedicated to my mom who has taught me a lot about serving others. Despite her busy sked, she finds time to treat patients at the Caritas clinic in Dagupan City. And there's a lot more good deeds she does. She is an epitome of a beautiful person, inside-out.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Skirted magic.
I woke up this morning really late because I spent the whole night making props for the Psychsoc Pasiklaban presentation. I was running late for Lec so I decided not to come to class (although they literally did nothing, just evaluated our prof). I really don't know what I was thinking when I decided to wear a mini to school today. And as soon as JE and Rhea walked inside the PS tambayan, they noticed I was wearing a skirt.
I got a Wow! from Mico and the rest of Khwekhkhwekh too. May Visible Reaction daw sabi ni Mia. (Wala na ba talaga sa personality ko ang magskirt?!)
Some guy approached me in Fully Booked in Gateway earlier and asked if I was interested in casting after I wandered away from Clauds and Meg to check on Filipino children's books. When I went back to the two, who were still immersing themselves in the Humor section...
Chesca: May lumapit sa akin, gave me his card and he said he was a filmmaker.
Clauds: (looks at the card) Para saan daw?
Chesca: For casting, if ever I'm interested.
Clauds: (returns the card) Wag yun, mukhang producer siya ng porn.
I love you, Clauds!
****
The cab driver who drove Meg, Clauds, and me to Gateway was rather weird. He kept calling me Anak because I looked like his daughter daw. Ako naman naki-ride on. Sige po, 'Tay! :P
Aynako.
****
Can't wait to see Pride and Prejudice with Val. :)
GOAL! was okay, predictable nga lang yung ending. Soccer players are hot!
****
I FRICKIN' MISS THE BEACH.
And I can't wait to go boxing with Kuya Wally! :D
Oh, and have I mentioned I was playing around with oil pastel and a sketchpad last night? (Frustrated artist?! :P)
****
Maybe I should wear skirts more often! ;)
Monday, February 13, 2006
Valentine's is sooo commercial!
Don't mind me. I'm just bitter about not having a date tomorrow.
****
I loved my Art Stud class earlier. Funny how I managed to be active in the discussion even if I went to class 30 minutes late. :P
Something new I learned today: A guy isn't a real guy if he does not have feminine traits. Why? Simple. These traits define his masculinity. Boys don't cry, sure--men do.
Enlightening, I thought. But here's another one: Maria Clara is not to be considered the ideal Filipina. Maria Clara is weak. Maria Clara grieves the loss of her man. We girls don't want to be like that, do we? We're a whole lot better than that. Salome is the ideal Filipina--strong and tender, independent and caring, all at the same time.
****
Exactly a year and two days ago, I was sitting with all my dateless friends in one table as I watched pairs slowdancing in the dim-lit dance floor. It was my last prom, and yes, I was dateless. The guy I had a big crush on had two dates while my ex-boyfriend then took my best friend (not for romantic reasons, though) to our senior prom. A couple of songs have already played and the seats beside me have one by one become vacant. I sighed of relief when Koko approached me and led me to the dance floor. Unfortunately, they decided to change the song and I was forced to dance along to hip-hop. And yes, that was my first dance.
The Prom Queen title, and even the Best Dancing Couple award with the crush, still didn't make up for that sad night. Sure, I was proud to have been the only girl in that sea of gowns who didn't have to wear a wristsage. But deep inside, I just wished I had the guy I wanted as a date or I had accepted his offer to be my last dance. So much for the last prom of my life.
Exactly a year minus one day ago, I went to school with a box of brownies, Toblerones, and a giant Kiss for some of my friends. I was quite cheery that day thinking I got over my prom frustration. And besides, I wanted to treat my friends to something sweet for cheering me up everytime I would whine about those could've beens. I got the surprise of my life, though, when after Computer class as I was about to leave for lunch, that guy from the prom handed me a bouquet and treated me to nachos and coffee.
No more prom this year. No more stressing over the gown and the look, no more May date ka na ba sa prom?s, no more slowdancing... Maybe I would want to redo that whole senior prom thing. Then again, maybe not. Surviving the prom dateless and fresh from a heartbreak is something to indeed be proud of. :)
But there's still one more challenge I am determined to survive: TOMORROW.
Maybe I'll just go home and play Sleeping Beauty with the AC turned on for hours. Or maybe I'll just spend hours in front of this computer just like I do every day.
Or maybe I'll treat myself to some nachos or a mocha.
****
If there's one thing that has gotten me into trouble for the past few years that I still don't regret doing, it's loving someone and growing with him in the process.
I know that I'm just too young to take those things too seriously too soon, but I assure everyone that I have not been blinded. And maybe that's love.
You know how you can just hate something, or lots of things even, about a person yet nothing has changed about the way you feel for him? You know how despite all the trials or people keeping you away from each other, you know that even if you're far, far away from him, he will always fill your thoughts? You know how even if you're not really together, you can still see yourself with him in the next five, ten years?
I may be too young for everyone else to actually mean it when I say I'm in love, but not too immature to feel these feelings. If you only knew about everything I've gone through, you would be proud of your little girl. :)
****
Sunday, February 12, 2006
You. don't. see. me.
Chesca Sumilang -- [noun]: A person who has the ability to be invisible 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com |
Monday, February 06, 2006
Maximum pressure at maximum volumes.
Forgive me, Sir Robert Boyle, for seeming blasphemous of your beloved law. It's just Chem 16 has totally worn me out. I have had enough of my scientific calculator, the Masterton textbook I just have to carry every Tuesday and Friday, those freaking problem sets and postlabs due at the same time, and all the effort I have to exert just to pass (I failed my first long exam anyway).
Since the sem started, I had my mind set toward a single goal: To not let Chem 16 ruin my chances of being a College/University Scholar. I promised my self that this sem would be better since I thought I knew better. I promised myself that my final grade in Chem 16 would make up for that shameful 3.0 I got in Math 17.
And I failed my first Chem exam with a score even lower than the first exam I failed in Math. What a way to start, huh.
And so as I prepare to face my second exam, I try hard to resist the pressure and anxiety that haunt me ever since I started preparing. I have to pass. No, I have to do better than to just pass. I could not afford any more failures and any other forms of mediocrity.
I face this battle alone on Saturday. Pass or fail, I will only have myself to blame. Win or lose, I swear to not give up on every problem. I will give my all no matter what.
Pray for me, please? :)
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Oh, what'd I do if I didn't have you?
I survived yesterday's qualitative analysis experiment. From now on, sinusumpa ko na ang lahat ng solution na yellow na naglalaman ng Fe(III) at Ca(II) ions.
There were only six of us who haven't identified the unknown ions yet and it was already 2:30. We were all under time pressure since we've been attempting to identify those ions since 1:00p. Only an hour and 30 minues left and still no certainty. We were actually allowed to ask our lab prof two questions, and I had used up those two precious credits. Ma'am Cardona said I should give my final answers on the third time I'll be going to her, otherwise one point each time would be deducted from my score.
So there I was, close to tears (actually, a few had managed to fall), simply hopeless. Meg and I were the only ones still doing the experiment among Khwekhkhwekh. The confirmatory test gave me Ca(II) but with NaOH, it was only Fe(III) I got. Daryl said if it was Ca(II), the precipitate would have settled. But it didn't. The precipitate actually dissolved. And no, it couldn't be thiocyanate or zinc or copper or ammonia. But Ma'am said I only had two cations in my solution. And bromine was an anion, although it seemed like bromine during the initial testing. But Ma'am Cardona said it was wrong.
But then came Clauds who started helping me test my solution for other anions. And then Shobe volunteered helping me with cations. And then came Lee-Ann to pat my back when I started crying. And then Joy came to help Shobe and Clauds for the tests. Mindy, Mico, and Karen were also there to help Meg. And there we were, almost all of the Khwekhkhwekh, crowding that side of the laboratory where all the reagents were kept.
"Pag kunwari kulang, sabihin mo na lang nakalimutan mong ilagay yung bromine," said Clauds.
"Oo nga, konting drama lang yan," added Lee-Ann, trying to encourage me.
And so I mustered the guts to go for my final try. Please let it be calcium, I thought. And as my prof looked at my data sheet, she checked both and said, "Tama yan."
They say the strongest of friendships are formed through the weirdest of ways.
And so I thank God for putting Chem 16 in the BS Psych curriculum.
*******
*Chemist at work? Last week's flame test. (Thanks for the pic, Clauds!)
