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A Look Back to 20@’10!

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I can’t help describe how exactly 2010 fared for me. A lot of stuff happened, both good and bad, interesting twists and life-sized developments I never expect would happen to me. I’ll see if I could run all down the events that made marked my 20th year of life so awesome @’10.

JANUARY
-The then seemingly-unending second term of the previous school year (2009-10) finally concluded. The students of CSB got to move on from a term that was marked by natural disasters, term extensions, wrongful decisions from the higher-ups, and a lot more than we could imagine.
-I discovered someone‘s true colors and I was pretty disappointed to what he/she has become.
-The long-awaited Montessorian reunion 8 years in the making finally materialized in the form of RECONNECTIONS.

FEBRUARY
-I applied to be a part of the RT30 Countdown (99.5RT’s weekly chart show) as an intern which I got in eventually (On the same day I was applying for a similar job at their next door neighbor, Mellow 94.7).
-On the day of hearts, Jeco posted a very awesome pic showing me, MR, Dianne, Chamy, Yoko and him taken exactly a year ago. It was really sweet and awesome which inspired me to write a blog about it the same day.
-Knowing I won’t be in school long, I tried for the third time applying to be a part of the school’s frosh orientation program.

MARCH
-I went to a retreat with a bunch load of my friends and would be friends in Tagaytay. No tear-jerky sessions occurred throughout the whole ordeal but we forged new friendships and reinforced new ones (in memory of Dims). LOL
-It’s not everyday you’re friends with almost the whole batch of the SDA Chef’s station. I owe that to Nikko and for his introduction of their signature dish: COFFEE JELLY. Piaya times baby!

APRIL
-This one’s a shocker: I was let go from my internship in RT30. But my relationship with RT didn’t end there because…
-I applied to be a part of RT’s The Farm, a radio-training program. I got to meet some really awesome people indeed.

MAY
-The seemingly unending school year finally drew to a close and just when we thought we’re only going to get 2 weeks of vacation, we finally had a whole month off!
–Something for a change, I took up the courage to meet my idol. It paid off.
-It’s time for yearbook pictures and when I got to see my pictures, I wasn’t satisfied with the results so I asked for a retake a month later.
-FOP time! I was shuffling between FARM training and orienting froshes for almost 2 weeks straight, it was nerve-wracking hehehe.
-The launch of The CSB Experience 4: The Final Experience.

JUNE
-Jenny from the Block passed away. 🙁
-I attended my last Mediamax orientation.
-The trip to Singapore finally pushed through and it was 5 days of pure awesomeness!
-I had my Frosh Nite experience re-lived when me and the rest of the Sessionistas reunited to welcome the new batch of Benildeans. (Mga di pa nagbabayad, bayaran niyo na ako :D)
-OMG, the pet project of The Farm was a huge success.
-Hours before heading off for OMG, I decided to pay a visit to Max FM, where I got to be DJ for an hour with Johnny Chase/Mondo while waiting for Quich Lorraine/Raine.
-I started The Pursuit.

JULY
-Graphika Manila, FINALLY! After three years of trying, fourth time was certainly a charm.
-Extra-ordinary did I manage myself into hopping for my class’ Malarayat field trip due to extra-ordinary circumstances.
-I got word from an industry insider online about Max FM’s pending format switch and I wasted no time visiting the booth for one last time.
-Kadugo!

AUGUST
-Me and a load of callers kept Raine company on her unexpectedly final day on the air and I got it on tape! YESSH!
-My ears turned red on the biggest mess I made but managed to clean it up.
-I bid my Teenage Dream goodbye as I turned 20 @ ’10. Unfortunately, the planned 20@’10 reunion among my GS friends did not materialize. Too bad 🙁

SEPTEMBER
-September marked the day I officially marked my one term extension in school and at the same time, a critical period for me to pass every single subject I have for the second trimester.
-I was an orientor again for the 2nd term’s FOP. But due to some misunderstandings, me and a few others ended up orienting not so-frosh students, but it was still fun because I really had a good time talking with members of the school’s Deaf community.
-Got my wish into visiting the U92 booth in Silver City and met The Brewrats!
-I started to understand more and more about trade secrets that aren’t secrets to everyone else.

OCTOBER
-I had a strong reaction with Studio 23’s recent scheduling changes as of late when they had their signature US programs pushed to late night in favor of a daily nightime movie block on primetime. I ended up having a “creative argument” with 23’s Program Manager Vince Rodriguez (who we share an unknown connection with Cheenee in more ways than one). Up til now, I still disprove of what they did in favor of airing two daily movie blocks. It’s a betrayal to long-time viewers like me.
-I never thought I get to be heard on the air again but Oct. 28 proved me wrong. A reunion with my fellow Farmers, a concert happening at the Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, and meeting famous faces front and center….What more can I ask for?

NOVEMBER
-I started production for the pilot “episode” of my thesis film, An Almost Affair starring Demy Cruz, Shiena Labay, Sam San Jose and also starring Paw Castillo.

DECEMBER
-The cousins came home after living in the US for 9 long years thus the yearly Christmas celebration of the Sibucao clan was more than the usual this year.
-I got myself a sorta-new Nikon D40x which was owned originally by my sister’s college friend. Only problem is that it doesn’t have a USB cable for me to upload my pictures to a PC.
-I started another creative argument with another guy from ABS…This time with the channel head of MYX, Andre Allan Alvarez. LOL, bigtime na nga!

That’s all folks!

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10 Things to Wish for This 20@10

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The following are the things which I wish I could have when I turn 20@10. Simple well-wishing lang on the first 5 as I don’t want to expect to get this much material stuff. The latter half is a little something that I wish to do when I turn 20, since I they aren’t that impossible to materialize as long as I push myself to it. Mangarap ba? 😀

1. A Nikon dSLR D40

2. A Mac laptop

3. A New cellphone FM-radio and Wi-Fi capabilities

4. A new bag that can Handle my demands

5. A bicycle

6. Go to Enchanted Kingdom

7. Join a Fun Run

8. Go on a hiking trip

9. Achieve a fit and healthy body with a set of six-pack abs :))

10. Graduate from school

As the saying goes: “Dreams really do come true if you believe…”.

10 Days to Go!

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The CSB Experience 3: “Pasta? Coffee Jelly?”

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I’m trying to recall when was Chef’s Station-SDA’s first day of operations. If I didn’t knew any better, the stall’s been up and running since August 14, 2009 which also happened to be the day I got @#@#$#%^*&^%*@ but I see no need to elaborate.

Back to the topic: Fast forward to now, Chef’s Station is finally a go-to place among the sophisticated SDA crowd. Gone however the early days when they had metal tables placd in front to create a “restaurant-esque” which I guess didn’t worked out for the first batch.

Early this term, I found out that Nikko DS is already doing his practicum at the SDA as one of the MWF batch of student chefs who, through sweat and blood, bring world class cuisine on a student-friendly price of Php60. Nikko encouraged me into trying out whatever’s in they’re serving from their menu and I obliged out of our friendship (Arts Club days nga naman ‘no? Hehehe!).

I guess what I like initially was what he described as “Chef’s Station’s bestseller”, the undying  coffee-jelly. At only 20 pesos, I immediately fell in love with this concoction of theirs so thus started my “relationship” with the guys and girls of the said station (Just trying to avoid being redundant).

As the term continue to progress, it seems like I was becoming more of a permanent fixture as a suki to Nikko’s co-interns/co-chefs. Given the obvious connection, the chefs have already memorized my usual choice of food from their menu: Pasta with Ice Tea, and Coffee Jelly. Add to that the greeting I get every time I visit Chef’s Station:

“Hi, Jaime!”/”Jaime!”


Namumukhaan ko na rin ang ilan sa kanila, although I’m a bit weak with memorizing names so I always try to remember their names stitched onto their uniforms. Isa singkit, isa may bigote, isa iyung nakausap ko minsan nung binantay niya iyung cash register, and what I assume to be, their OJT adviser (Smack me if I’m wrong haha).

Some say, “a key to a person’s heart is through his stomach”. But in this case, a key to a person’s stomach, is through the power of coffee jelly”…Haha! Corny I know but that’s what I could help describe the kind of friendship that was built upon my frequent order of pasta and coffee jelly. To show my appreciation, I even brought home from my recent retreat in Tagaytay a pack of piaya. A token for the excellent service they put with the food they serve every hour of every day they’re in SDA.

As tomorrow (Friday March 19, 2010) nears, I am counting down the hours before I could have another fill of pasta and coffee jelly.

Cheers!

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J.I.A.: 8=9/11

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I know that I wrote about this before but still, the thought that it’s been 8 year made me want to make an update on what I wrote more than two years ago about my time in the US when the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11, 2001. Hopefully, this ones more grammtically correct than the first. 😛

I remember my mom waking me up around 7 in the morning. The TV was turned on to Fox 5 Morning News (WTTG-TV) and as usual, I’m the first to take a bath while my little brother is given the privilege of getting a few minutes more to sleep. Ate and Kuya already left for school earlier (attending high school and middle school respectively).

After getting dressed, we ate breakfast and watched some good TV (ABC Family) until the clock strikes 8:20am. That’s the time when my mom would accompany  me and Jorge to the nearest bus stop. There we would meet up with our schoolmates, including two classmates of mine, Andy and Jonathan.

Just turned 11 two weeks before and experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend school in a foreign country, I was at the time already overwhelmed with the things going on around me back then. The one thing I only hated during my stay there is the feeling that things become much of a routine.

But on that very day, the 11th of September, things changed not for the better but on the other way around.

Every 9am, we start the day by listening to the daily morning announcements followed by the pledge of allegiance then is concluded by a moment of silence before we could proceed to life in the 5th grade. Everything seems a-okay for a lot of us.

Nothing significant or anything occured except one parent who called in to pick up one of my classmates early. I  thought his/her family must have some personal problems thus the reason he was sent home early. After that, class went on as we normally would.

As the day progressed I started to notice that one by one, my classmates are being pick up from school early. Me and a friend both agreed that something’s really odd but I just can’t put my finger on whatever is going on, completely unaware of what would be known to history as the event that changed the world forever.

By the end of the day there were only 12 or less of us left in class out of about 25 students. And looks like we weren’t the only one: even those from the other classroom, a lot of kids were sent home early that day.

I later learned the shocking truth when Jorge and I came home that day. Kuya and Ate were watching TV, with their eyes glued to horrific images of two tall buildings burning before an airplane crashed onto one of them, leading to their collapse. I thought it was a movie but when the TV started to show images of the Pentagon with one of its wings destroyed on a large scale I was completely speechless.

Thank goodness my mom was okay, having been sent home earluyby the World Bank with the rest of her colleagues after the attacks were committed. Later, the news reported another plane crash in Pennsylvania and reported that no one survived.

Devastating news indeed but I didn’t know how I would react with these shocking events. My mind kept thinking about this field trip we were supposed to go to the next day (which is at the same time, Jorge’s 9th birthday). Kinda cold-hearted but then again, I’m  only 11, how I react?

The next day, the school formally announced the suspension of classes (not through TV but through Mr. McClain’s voice message on the school’s hotline) and while news about the attacks continue to fill our TV screens nonstop (especially WTTG).

I’ve no idea if Bush declared a state of emergency in the DC area or even in the nieghbouring suburbs but I remember that I went with my mom and Jorge to celebrate his birthday anyway by going to Tyson’s Corner, a popular mall a bus ride away from our apartment. That day became like any other day for most people as I noticed there were noticeably many people when we went to the mall.

Eventually, the feeling of fear and loss starts to sink in and I thought there’s going to be a world war (Which it did become months later).

I started to read newspaper articles related to 9/11: about near-death experiences, loved ones making tearful farewells through phone class and text. There was one article about a group of DC-based students and their teachesr who were among those who perished in the Pentagon crash. I also learned of inspiring stories about sacrifice and hope, about teamwork and love for country. It’s these small wonders that made the pain left by the attacks more bearable.

Eight years after the attacks happened, the world became completely different. We don’t know for sure of who’s reallywinning on this endless “war on terror”. But let us see this in another light: why must there be blood, violence and wasted lives for this “war” to win over. Why can’t pople just get alonga nd respect on whatever people are free to believe in. Why must we judge people based on who or what they are? Why can’t there be peace and diplomacy instead of mere tactics and badmouthing?

There are questions that needed to be answered while there are answered gthat needed to be questioned.

In order for us to attain true peace is to remember that to achieve it is to avoid an event like 9/11 to ever happen again.

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One Nine @ Oh Nine!

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In less than a 60 minutes, I’ll be hitting 19. For the past 12 months after turning legally 18 I must say that I experienced quite the thrill ride since the day I celebrate my 18th birthday earlier one Sunday at Powerplant Mall exactly a year ago.

I gained some, I lost some, regained some footing then losing quite the booty. I was finally allowed to drink alcoholic beverages legally although I still don’t drink. Despite the relative freedom I gained, I also had to lose something valuable in order to stay grounded, like the events of August 14, 2009 wherein I lost expensive pieces of material wealth worth thousands because of my ignorance.

As I turn a year older doesn’t necessarily equate that I’m getting a year wiser. There is still a lot of things for me to learn and there are a lot of things that I want to achieve in life.I still want to explore the vast horizons of my surroundings, realize the childhood dreams I never thought was possible until now, and prove to myself the things that I can do, to help ease my cravings for satisfaction.

I never desire perfection but I know when enough is enough. There is a lot of room for me to improve not in terms of skills and talents but also my personality. I know that I could do better than being gullible and all that. I know that I cannot give in to my apprehensions or else I won’t be able to grow in wisdom and maturity. I don’t want to think ill of myself nor do I want to be sensitive of how people think of me.

Becoming a 19-year old is a turning point in my life, although I think every year is a turning point for me anyway. It makes me look back and see how much I discover more of myself, how much of me is changed and how much of me didn’t.

I still have frustrations, being unable to put into reality of sharing this very special moment to others besides my family in a way that I want it to be. But the future doesn’t seem too dim for I know that sooner or later, it will happen (if only THEY will let it happen)!

My journey in life continues and for sure there will be bumps along the way. I trust that God will help me along the way.

To conclude the final hour of my 18th year in life, I want to greet myself a very happy birthday! 😀

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Victimized

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Yesterday, the worst thing happened to me: I got victimized by a scam as part of some modus operandi by the “Budol-Budol Gang”. I was tricked into believing who they were pretending and felt right into their trap.

I’m too embarrassed to tell many of the details but all I could say is that I wasn’t the only one who was victimized that day. I saw an old schoolmate of mine from high school who was swayed in by the sweet and hypnotizing voice of those two youth-looking and 20-something gangsters. One good news though when an almost victim barely and unknowingly escaped the entrapment of the Budol-budol Gang.

I already had a bad feeling the moment the deed was about to be done but I didn’t trust myself over this feeling until it was all too late.

I paid the price and now I’m facing the consequences. I may have to work double time for the remiaing weeks into the term because all my files were in my Ipod that I left inside my bag at the time.

So far, I’m most worried on the following subjects brought by this unfortunate event:
1. Webdev1 (Elizabeth Garten Bridal website using CSS; finals website with health-theme)
2. Cnctpho (Last pre-finals plate; Finals plate)
3. Cadvis1 (Finals Autocad project)

All three are very heavy classes so I have to work my butt on them even if it means consuming every free time I have in school to do these as well as my other classes:

1. 2DAnim1 (Concept Art and Storyboard plates~I’m halfway done trhough these)
2. 3Danim1 (Lol…Adding more model figures in my midterms plate but with texture and stuff)

Working double time indeed. I just need to focus my attention for now on finals week and hope that I could overcome this phase in my life.

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Reestablishing Connections

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It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen several old schoolmates from high school who goes to CSB. Nothing biggie really but I haven’t heard anything from them since all of my class are now based in SDA. And the only Jamers I’ve seen on an almost daily basis are Justin and Gelli P.

So it feels such a relief to see at least one of them every once in a while right? Last Wednesday was just that:

I bumped into Nikko P in Main recently. I only had one class on a Wednesday so shortly after I went to Main to get some grub. Afterwards I saw Nikko and again who, like me, was on his way home.

Considering we take the same route, we decided to commute as a group. As we rode the train up north, we talked about things ranging from reminiscing good times in high school to catching up with each other’s lives. And I realized how much I missed seeing old friends and acquiantances that I’m used to see before stuf like college and reality broke us apart like scattered chess pieces.

But chess pieces do get themselves together you know? Hahahaha..

Things definitely changed (as I’ve said so before) and people changed but one thing’s never change, that kind of relationship you’ve established like a friendship being a foundation of a life-long connection that will never cut.

Even if connections slow down, you could always have them “refreshed” every once in a while for them to “amp up”. The fact that you knew a person for a long time proves that this will never wear out nor it will go away.

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Unknown Connections

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Other than Louie and my wide network of distant relatives, I absolutely don’t know anybody form SJA when I transferred there back in July 1, 2002. Before becoming a Jamer, I used to see that seemingly “creepy”-looking building of cement when I accompanied my dad on bringing my two older siblings to SJA (me and Jorge went to another school in Valenzuela). I didn’t have the slightest clue of what “hidden” and “unknown” connection I have with some of the people I came to know during my 5 year-stay in SJA.

One was during my Grade Six graduation ceremony. My dad met a familiar fellow he knew back in college. That fellow turns out to be Russel I’s dad (That’s a surprise!). He and my dad were classmates back in FEU and both were pursuing degrees in electrical engineering.

A very awkward fact with my dad recounting that they were the closest of buds. Ironically, me and Russel were classmates (twice) but we were not exactly very close friends.

Another connection was revealed on the eve of my high school graduation. My mom discovered that one of the parents used to carpool with her back in the day. It turns out that she was referring to Payat’s mom. Coincidence?

Here’s one going all the way back. My family have long been clients of Nanay’s Pancit Malabon going way before I was born. Back in Grade 6, one of the owners told my mom that her daughter goes to SJA as well and she’s on the same batch as me. Didn’t have an idea who she was referring to until a year later when I found out that Ria’s the granddaughter of Nanay’s.

Weird having to know these fun facts and it’s kinda nice that I actually knew such. Not sure how that would affect me in a larger-than-life kind of way but it’s better that I know about them than not knowing about them at all.

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J Pics D40 Pics: “It’s My Party”

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I can’t think of any word to describe my godchild’s 2nd birthday party so I found this song that perfectly fits the album’s theme. Enjoy! And bear with the labels hehehe 😀 It’s just for fun 😀

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**Later pics were created using a different picture format. When I had them converted to Jpeg, the quality was not maintained as expect so I’ll try to put them up again in good quality.

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