Best Guard Dog “Archie”

Archie when he was 1-year old

Last Saturday (May 4, 2013), we bid goodbye to our most loving and loyal dog Archie. He spent his 13 years of his life protecting us, guarding our home, playing with us and most of all loving and treating us as his own family. I could still remember the first day that we had him, he and his sibling was given by a neighbor and the original plan was them to be sent to Pangasinan. Before he came, I already have hamsters as my pet. However, I was very happy when I saw him. He was a 2-month old puppy (half german sheperd half “askal” ), cute and very playful. Although we already have a dog at home (my Ninang’s shih tzu Biff), it’s still different when you have your own dog right? For a month I was able to feed him, took the fleas off him, gave him a bath and had play time with him. When they were about to be sent to the province, I immediately told my parents if we could  just have Archie as our own pet. Fortunately, they agreed and from then on he became part of our family. I forgot to mention, his name came from the comic book “Archie” (http://www.archiecomics.com/) which is my top comic book of all time.

Back in 2000 during our Ricafort Family Reunion at Sampaloc, Manila

Archie with Ninang (our Auntie) in our apartment at QC

During the time that we’re staying in QC, he also became Biff’s bestfriend (Biff is 2 yrs older than Archie). When we moved to another place (still in QC) he grew bigger and tougher. At that time, we’re renting in an apartment and our place was not quite as big as from our previous home (our Ninang’s house). Since he’s getting bigger we had to tie him up on our laundry area because he began to break some of our stuff. He had daily walks with me, with mama/papa and with my brother (who’s also very caring to Archie). Few years passed when we moved to another place, here in Cavite where we currently live. We had a bigger place unlike the previous apartment. He had his own room in our house (the laundry area but more spacious). We also have pathway surrounded in our house where he always had his morning run.  Before my Papa passed away, him and Archie had they’re daily walks in the morning. But when my Papa became weak and sick, we just let Archie stay inside our gate where he roamed around every morning. He became our guard dog, he protected us from bad guys entering our home. Few years had gone and Archie remained strong and healthy. But end of last year (2012), we noticed that a lump had grown on his anus. We thought that he was just bitten by an insect. We just ignored his situation because there was no sign of weakness or other abnormal condition from him. He ate well and he still did the same routine everyday.

However, 3 months ago he started to feel weak. Mama noticed that he was not eating his food, his stool didn’t look normal and he lost a lot of weight. So immediately, we called the doctor and asked for home service to had a check on Archie. We had to this because he was too big and we don’t have a car to transport him to the clinic. Mama had to take leave from the office so she could look after Archie for his checkup while I was at the office.

Archie before his checkup

That day, I was really anxious to know the result of his checkup. I kept on texting  my mom about what was going on. Then around 4pm, my mom finally texted me and told me about what the doctor said about Archie. He told me the bad news, the lump on Archie’s anus was a tumor. It had grown over time. When I heard the news, it instantly broke my heart. I went to the comfort room and there I cried. I blamed myself for ignoring his condition. The fact the I’ve already seen that lump before, I did nothing. When I arrived home that night, my mom explained to me about what the exact diagnosis of the doctor. According to my mom, the doctor said that they can remove the lump but there’s no assurance that he will be saved from the other cancerous cells that already spread in his body. Another problem was that, he was too old to undergo an operation. His body might not overcome the risk of the operation. What the doctor suggested was for him to take the prescribed medicine.

I went to Archie after my mom told me about it. I saw how weak he was, I never saw him that weak before. I talked to him, and I burst into tears. At that moment, I could never imagine losing Archie in our life. He’s been with us for 13 or 15 years and losing him will definitely break our hearts. He’s not just a pet to us, he was my brother. He’s a family. It saddened us. We did what the doctor said, we gave him the medicines and eventually his appetite became normal. He was strong again. He was able to do his daily routine outside.

My mom and I thought that he’s getting better. But 3 months after his checkup, last Saturday at around 9pm he passed away. That night before he left, my mom was still able to feed him. He was still able to finish his food. Then suddenly, my mom heard him howled. She immediately ran to the laundry to check Archie and she quickly went inside calling me and I saw her already into tears. I ran to Archie and saw him lying on the floor hardly breathing. My mom cried, I called my sister and bro-in-law (they were inside the room that time) because I was worried that my mom might have a heart attack. When I went back to Archie,  I was alone with him since mama could no longer see him that time because of her heart condition. I saw him palpitating until his last breath. I burst into tears, my last words to him were “mahal na mahal ka namin..magpahinga ka na Archie..magkakasama na kayo ni Papa“. Saying goodbye to him was a dying experience. It was the same emotion that I felt 4 years ago when I was in the hospital room when my father passed away. There are no words that could describe the pain when you lose someone you love and knowing that they will never return again.

When Archie finally left, I went back inside our house to check on mama. We let her stay inside the house for a while so she could  calm down. We gave her the medicine, and took her blood pressure.  She was really shocked. She kept on saying “malakas pa siya…nakakain pa siya kanina…naubos pa niya yung binigay ko sa kanyang pagkain..bakit ganun ang nangyari..paano nangyari yun?”. She kept on repeating the same words. We suspected that Archie had a heart attack (cardiac arrest) because he immediately fell to the ground and he had a difficulty breathing until he lost his last breath. There was also no sign of bleeding, vomit or stool. After an hour when my mom was already relieved, we went to Archie and prayed for his soul. We lit candles that surrounded him.

My brother-in-law called the vet to ask if they have any suggested pet cemetery that could give Archie a proper burial. Then the doctor suggested Pet Valley a pet cemetery in Silang, Cavite that gives proper burial services for dogs, cats and other pets. (https://www.facebook.com/petcremationphillippines) We called the Pet Valley and agreed to take Archie. It was already around 12am when the service driver arrived. We helped the man to carry the stretcher where Archie laid. For the last time, I held Archie and bid goodbye.

It was unexpected, everything happened so fast. I couldn’t sleep that night, I just couldn’t ignore the thought of Archie’s death. I mourned until my sleep. When I woke up the next day, Archie was still in my mind. I went outside to his room and I could still imagined that he was there. I began to cry, I talked to him, lit a candle, and said my prayers. I cried even more when I saw the scratch marks he made at the bottom of the door.

It’s been a week since he left. I will surely miss him. But I know he’s already in a better place. He’s already reunited and maybe now playing with Papa. I love you Archie. Until we meet again.

3 Month Rule: Chapter 4(2010)

CHAPTER 4

Outburst of Emotions

 

“Anyone can catch your eyes, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.“

Fourth year first semester wasn’t so great for me and my groupmates, it was a struggle especially in my part. Unfortunately, at the end of all the sacrifice and hard work that I’ve done for our group, the results weren’t successful.

BLURRY SITUATION

Despite of the undesirable things that happened on my academics and the stressful obligations that I had, I could say that my fourth year – first semester was very memorable. No matter how stressful I was, I became genuinely HAPPY.

After all the revelations that happened between the two of us (I and him), we became more open and comfortable with each other. He became my thesis partner which we already talked about before the semester began.   Every night before we sleep, we always discuss about our thesis then eventually we began to exchanged stories and open new conversations. We never missed a night without having a single conversation even if we meet everyday in school. Most of the time we sleep late at night (between 1-3 am).  Even those busy nights while were doing our school work, we still had conversations about school stuff, projects, about our profs, blockmates..etc..about US.

There was a time when we had our group reporting for one of our subjects and at the end of our report we had an intermission number and had a mini game for our block. Our game was newspaper dance and they asked us to show a demo. So him and I did the demo. Then, when the music stopped I stepped on the newspaper with him then all of a sudden he lift me up! Everyone in our class taunted us, some were laughing, giggling all those “kilig” reactions from them. Then I had a big smile and just tried to hide the “kilig” feeling. I don’t know what came into his mind on why he lifted me, but he did a great job for making me fall for him even more. The following night, I saw our video that was already posted by our block president on facebook and I just can’t remove the smile on my face.

Few days after, everyone started to tease us. People from CS department (professors, 4th year IT and CS students) keeps on asking us if we’re already “in a relationship”. At first it was cool but eventually I became annoyed by the repetition of question. One time when our group had a system checking, our professor began to tease us. Our prof asked him “kayo ba?”, followed by another question “kung ire-rate mo mga ilang percent na (about his feelings for me)?”. Then he said “bestfriend po kami…..cguro mga 99.9 percent po”. Then he mentioned something like “I’m getting there”. We just laughed and tried not to take things seriously but in my mind I thought, what does he meant by “I’m getting there”?

On the midst of everything, he opened the conversation about the issue between us. It was a bit awkward at first but then we were able to talk about it. He said that he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings because every time someone asks him, he just kept on saying “No” (that we’re not in a relationship). I told him that he shouldn’t be worried because in the first place we’re not really a couple. On the other hand, although I clearly heard him when he said we’re just best friends I took the courage to ask him about how he really feels when he’s with me. I don’t want to make an assumption, but considering his actions, gestures, the way he treated me, it was different compared on how he treated his other friends (girls). I really felt that something’s going on between the two of us that I need to clarify, that I need to hear from him.

That same night on our conversation he gave me this question, “Pag gusto na ba kitang maging girlfriend dapat pa ba kitang ligawan?”. I was speechless for few seconds, he was too presumptuous about my feelings and I was like “did he just said that?” . Then I answered back “kung ako magkakabf I want him to be the last.. and gusto ko dumaan sa tamang process of courtship and everything..”. I said that because my last relationship with my 1st boyfriend, I didn’t had any kind of courtship and at the end I was left with a broken heart. I just don’t want to make the same mistake again. Before our conversation ended he gave me his perception about relationships. His last words that night, “being in a relationship was like a trial and error kind of thing. You just have to try, it doesn’t matter whether he/she’s the one for you. There’s no guarantee that you will be together for the rest of your lives, if you’re not meant for each other then there’s pain. However, there’s always a way to move on and after moving on find someone to love again”.

LET IT RAIN

One night along our way to our groupmate’s place( for school work-related sleepover) while we were walking on the streets of Intramuros going to Cityhall, droplets of rain began to fall. Usually when it rains, he walks along with me because I always bring my umbrella. However that night, I forgot to bring it so I walked along with my friend who brought one while he walked with our groupmate (same girl that I got jealous with on Chapter 1) and they both shared the same umbrella. While we’re walking, I started to feel jealous. Yes I easily get jealous, and when I get jealous it really pisses me off and ruins my day. And yes as expected it happened. After the walk, we ride in the jeepney going to Valenzuela and guess who’s beside him? The same person he shared the umbrella with, while I sat at the end part of the jeep 9-persons away from him. While on our way, I saw them giggling maybe he’s joking or whatever. It got into my nerves but I tried to suppressed it.

When we arrived we had our dinner. He was joking around my groupmates were all laughing except me. I was in silence. Later that night, I tried to sleep (first time that I ever sleep on a group overnight). I was not in the mood and since it’s not my turn to work yet I went to the room and sleep. I woke up around 5am, all of them were already asleep while I began to my finish my task.  The following night, when we’re having our conversation he opened to me about how I acted the other night. And again he was just sensitive enough to know my actions. He asked me if I’m jealous and he explained to me that I  should’t be acting that way. We had a bit of arguing because he told me that I was the only one who slept early, that I should have helped him analyzing the work etc etc (since he is our leader). Then I just told him that I’m not feeling well and I finished all my work when they were all asleep. Yeah he was right I was just over reacting besides he’s not my boyfriend but sometimes I just can’t control my emotions especially when I’m in an extremely jealous mood.

3 Month Rule: Chapter 3(2010)

CHAPTER 3

Stressful Obligations

“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold.  But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.”

Few days passed after the reshuffling of students from block 1 and 2 of the CS department. I was bothered at first because of the sudden changes that might affect on the groupings, and the fact that I will be left out by my existing groupmates and friends. Fortunately, the re-blocking has been granted and we were back to our original block and returned to our original group.

Our first semester as fourth year student wasn’t as surprising as our third year second sem. I already expected how hard it would be like when the semester starts. After few weeks of class discussions, our group began to work on our projects. Most of our subjects’ requirement was to develop software applications (such as games, CAI, library system etc..) and to submit proposals for Research Writing I and System Analysis and Design (*major subjects*). As part of the group, my task was to assign the work load to my groupmates base on their skills and capability and to check their work for the corrections. I was also assigned to create one of the software application which is Computer Aided Instruction. HE who was also the leader of our group was assigned for the programming of the other remaining application software. The rest of our members which are not capable of programming were assigned to interviews and documentation.

We had overnights at Valenzuela and at our house for us to work together. These overnights gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better and to have bonding time as friends.  Eventually, I and HIM became closer to each other and he got to see and appreciate the other side of me, the simpler me. However, those overnights  didn’t seemed to gave us good results on our subjects. The worst part of it, we always fail to arrive on time causing failed submission of documents and no defense. Months have already gone by, money and time were already wasted but still no sign of improvement in our group. We already had conflicts, more late submission and failed defense. I’m worried that we might really fail our subject for these reasons. I’m also concerned with the task assignment because most of my members weren’t able to correctly accomplish their work. I still need to recheck their work and correct their mistakes which consumed my time that I should have rendered on my task.

When our group had the opportunity to discuss our problems, I spoke to them and told them about my insights on how disappointed I was about the work assignment, the lack of communication in our group, lack of initiative, and most especially about the tardiness which caused  late submission of documents and not meeting the deadlines. I was very concerned at that moment because I knew that we’re running out of time and sooner or later we will be graded according to our work and presentation.  I was not the leader of our group however, our leader (him) also felt the same way and he allowed me to initiate the open forum. It felt like we’re both the only members of the group who worked tremendously without getting enough sleep and food. After the open forum, we continued struggling to finish our subjects’ requirements to be able for us to pass. Unfortunately, after all the hard work and sleepless nights that we had during the whole semester, we still failed two of our subjects.

After what we’ve gone through it made me realize few things, there will come a time that we have to choose between friendship and career. Sometimes, we have to give up the friendship when our future is at stake. When friends hinder you to accomplish your dreams, you just have to make a wise decision and choose what’s best for you even if it may affect them.

Lessons Learned: Finish your work ahead of time, communicate with your group, prevent yourself from any distractions and always put God first in every action and decisions you make.

3 Month Rule: Chapter 2 (2010)

CHAPTER 2

Ravelled Feelings

Have you ever encountered a situation wherein you tell everything to your friend about your feelings for someone you like/secretly love and then suddenly you found out that your friend also has feelings for you?

How about a situation wherein you’ve been asked by your crush or that special someone that you secretly love if you have feelings for him/her? These kind of situations will make your life more meaningful. Trust me, because life is full of surprises.

On-The-Job Training 

After all the misunderstandings and revelations that happened last time, I realized how blessed I am to meet someone who inspires me each and every time. I’m thankful for having those friends including him as part of my life.

Our last semester for school year 2009-2010 had ended, now it’s the beginning of a new chapter. In preparation for our fourth year in IT, we are required to undergo On-the-Job Training. Driven by my interest and dream, I applied to different companies in Makati and fortunately I ended up on a firm at Ortigas, Pasig with my college “guy” friend with the initials EM. Everything started out well, it’s a bit boring at first but as time passed by we began to encounter workloads and errands at the office.

MORE REVELATIONS

Spending everyday at the office with EM was an opportunity for us to get to know more about stuffs with each others’ life and the chance to share the ideas and secrets that we have. It’s like I have met a new BFF that I could comfortably share my feelings and secrets about “the man who inspires me”. Every time that I have conversations with “my inspiration”, I share every kilig stuffs to EM. Then one day as I was doing the usual sharing stuff with him, he started to open up something to me. At that time all I know was he has a crush with one of our friends. But after he opened up to me, I was so surprised to find out that he lied about the whole crush thing and that he actually have a crush on me and not on her. I really find it weird and funny but at the same time flattered. Can you imagine how he felt when I tell him about my feelings and kilig stuff with the man I truly like? I wasn’t expecting it because he was just like a brother or a BFF to me. I’m not really into him and I told directly to him that we could still continue the good friendship that we have. For me it doesn’t matter whether he has feelings for me or not or the other way around. I truly enjoy his company and I’m glad and thankful that someone like him appreciates the person that I am.

It was our enrollment that day and I arrived in school a bit late. Like the typical enrollment, the school is crowded with enrollees wanting to finish the whole enrollment process. We followed the usual step by step procedure despite of the very hot weather. As we go on the process, we bump into not-so-good news. We heard that the SIS reshuffled the students from different block and levels. We didn’t believe at first until we received our registration forms and had proven that it was true. Sad but true. That day, I already have an idea on who will be my block mates. From block 2, I was moved to block 1 with our friend Krizzia. In our circle of friends, the two remaining girls haven’t enrolled that day same to the other two boys. Mr. Nice guy (my inspiration) on the other hand was already enrolled but haven’t informing us. That same night I tried to ask him about his section but he keeps on avoiding the question and never really answered it.

The following day back at the office with EM, through YM I tried to ask him again with the same question, “Ano ba kasi talagang section mo?”. He again tried to avoid it. Few minutes after, EM told me that he already knew his section but he’s not allowed to tell it to anyone. Then in the middle of our conversation I told him, “cge pag2lungan nyo ko ni ….gnyan nman kyo eh”. Then he replied, “Gusto mo na talaga malaman? BLOCK 2 ako…ayan masaya ka na? It’s over.”. I was speechless and shocked after hearing that from him. I was stunned for a moment and told him that I’m okay with it. I told him that it doesn’t matter because we can’t do anything about it. I can do nothing about it. I was sad but I tried to hold on my emotions. It was not the right place and not the right time. Everything happens for a reason, and that point I realized that maybe God has a better plan for me. I should embrace change, nothing’s permanent in this world and we will always need to adjust ourselves to where and what fate brings us.

We’re both resilient for a moment then continued our conversation. We both felt the explosion of emotions in the sense that it affected us both especially when he arrived to this question “Aminin mo nga, nag ka gusto ka ba saken kahit minsan?“. For 10 seconds I was in a state of shock, confusion and total outburst of emotions. 10…9…7…5…3…2…1…With all the guts and confidence I said to him, “wanna know the truth..well the answer is YES”. It really felt good after revealing my deepest darkest secret to him. I also found out other revelations from him that brought superb happiness to me that day. It felt like I was in heaven. It was really a mix of emotions. That night, I sent him PMs through YM and started a conversation again with him. We talked about so much stuff, I was so talkative, I couldn’t control myself from asking questions or sharing stuff to him. We exchange thoughts and humor, we discuss about things like there’s no tomorrow. I took that as an opportunity to spend my time with him. I have nothing to hide, he already knew anyway. All I thought that time was for us to enjoy each others’ company while there’s still time to enjoy things. To enjoy life. Because we both know that once the school year starts, things will get more serious for us.

FOOLED BY FATE
                                             
“…the radio plays my favorite song and it’s what keeps me holding on…baby do you miss me now that I’m gone?”
Few days after what happened, everything sunk in to my mind. I discovered that four of our remaining friends were all in block 2 and only Krizzia and I were moved to block 1. I thought about the situations that I might encounter particularly in group activities, defense and thesis. Now that I’m away with my groupmates/friends whom I used to be with and away from my thesis partner (him), I was worried that I might have conflict with the new groupings and the adjustments that I have to deal with. I’m not complaining about it, but it just concerned me a lot. It’s like I’m going on a battle with a weapon that I’m not used of using. A new weapon that could either help me to win or could kill me.

One day, I received a text from my mom saying that I could still request for a re-block so I could return to block 2 just by internal negotiation with our IT Chairperson. I felt relieved and at that point there’s only one thing I really wanted to happen, that was to reunite with my friends from block 2. Others may think it as a selfish decision because Krizzia will be left behind if I return to block 2, but considering the benefits in making that decision are vast for a long run. I have to decide what was best for me and not for others, not even for a friend. I have many regrets in the past and I don’t want to make the same mistakes again.

3 Month Rule : Chapter 1 (2010)

CHAPTER 1

 Friendship for Love

Is it love or just a typical infatuation?

What is love? …A word with a million definition, indescribable feeling, incomparable and source of genuine happiness.

What is infatuation? …A feeling of confusion between love and admiration.

What is friendship? …A relationship that can be formed when combined with love, respect and countless amount of fun. Came from the root word “friend” –the most abused word in the universe.

A friendship that may lead to infatuation that can grow into much deeper which is L-O-V-E.

Now let’s move on to much lighter side of this…”I” as the subject for this matter will be sharing my (pause) dilemma to everyone.

LOVE or INFATUATION?  

It all began when I approached a group of geek guys to help me out for my defense in one of my not-so-interested subject back on my 2nd year in college. Honestly, I never imagined myself being part of their group, or being part of their “Circle of Friends”. People always give them wrong impressions like weird guys, geeks or the outer group. When I had the opportunity to hangout and open conversations with them, I realized, yes they’re different but they are not as bad as what other people said or what I thought before. They brought back the old MAI..They brought back the fun and happy me, something that was  gone for some time.

They became my friends, REAL friends, and became part of my so called “Circle of Friends”. And from here, it was the beginning of a much deeper friendship and relationship.

So this person who was part of their group suddenly had a good connection with me. We became close because of school / group activities. At first it was just for formality, meaning we talk about things that is only related to school matter like reports, projects, assignments and stuff…Because of the defenses and overnights that our group had, we became closer and closer until such time that he opened up to me about his life. We exchanged stories, we had great conversations not about school stuff but about our experiences, shared our own opinions and perceptions in life.

From the kind of person that I thought he was, I never expected that he would open up to me like that and for him to listen to my stories as well. Everything is just going so well, it’s like taking things one step at a time.

 

JEALOUS

One night, something happened that had affected me..big time! I felt mad, jealous, and confused. That was the time when I realized that it was not normal for me, that the admiration that I had with him was not just a simple admiration or crush.. That was the time when I asked myself “Am I falling in love?”

That same night, I posted a status message on my facebook wall that says, “there’s no way I’m gonna fall for this… I need to back off before I end up hurting myself”. Many of my friends posted their reactions/comments  including HIM. He asked me the reason why and just told him that it was just a dramatic thing but at the back of my mind I thought “actually, you are my problem”…Then he posted a comment on my status “I self destruct every relationship so that I don’t get hurt… but in truth I just hurt myself worse in the long run.” it was very intriguing but I didn’t asked for his reasons on why he said that. What does he mean by that? Is he avoiding love? or to be in love?Why?*sigh*.

After what happened that night, I tried to be distant from him. I avoided the chance of falling in love again. I learned my lessons from the past “Do not expect anything”, and I told myself that it will not happen again..not this time…I’m not yet prepared to get hurt.

 

REVELATION BEGINS

….Few weeks after….

One busy night in school while we’re waiting for the submission of documents, him and our circle of friends had a little game, the famous TRUTH or DARE spin the bottle game. At first we’re all having fun, the dare part was hilarious, everyone was laughing, it was really fun. On the last spin, the tip of the bottle was pointed to him. Our friend who knew about my secrets asked him the question “Kung may liligawan ka sa aming apat, sino yun at bakit?”. He tried to avoid the question, then he took a moment to answer then finally answered “si MAI”. Everyone started to giggle, I was speechless. I expected him to mention my friend “Sol”, but when he mentioned my name I was surprised, stunned and flattered. I tried to control my feelings (even if I’m super kilig), I just smiled, tried to act normal and listened to him about his reasons why.

I tried to listen but I was distracted with all the giggling and reactions from our friends. I just remembered him mentioning the words ‘supportive’, ‘kind’, ‘always there’ etc etc..the rest is just history. Our friends tried to render a follow up question but he refused and went outside the room to avoid it. Our friends were like “uiiiii kinikilig!….ang haba ng hair….ang saya-saya naman..” and they were all laughing. I just said to them ” wala yun, tumigil na nga kayo jan”. There was a bit “ilangan” but we both still manage to act normal like nothing happened.

++There are things that shouldn’t be talked about, just let it happen and everything will just follow++

The night after that, I had a conversation with one of our friends. We talked about what happened, about what HE said. Then she told me that she had a conversation with him. She asked him “nararamdaman mo ba na may gusto sayo si Mai?”. He said, “OO, hindi naman ako manhid eh..”   This time I was shocked and felt a bit embarrassed. Am I too obvious? Back in highschool, I remembered that I had a crush and was in love with my close friend and I was too obvious on my feelings but he actually had no idea and never felt a single thing. He was too insensitive, same as may ex-boyfriend. But this time, it hit me big time! He knew! He was sensitive enough to notice my gestures. It was epic fail, but I was grateful. Although he knew that I like him, he didn’t avoid me or what-so-ever. But instead we became even closer..

After all the revelations that I discovered, I realized that I’m blessed to find someone who gave me inspiration after those years of being alone and uninspired. I just want to take this opportunity to enjoy life, to be happy and to have fun without expecting anything in return.

 

FIRST CONFLICT

It was our last week in school, last week of hell for each and everyone of the CS and IT students. Our last week to finish and to accomplish all the requirements for our subjects. Our friend Mich and I were assigned for the revision of the documents for our major subject. The night before the submission of the documents we had encountered a problem, we weren’t able to finish everything. At that moment our mind weren’t responding and our body wanted to rest. I guess it was an after shocked from not sleeping because of the defenses that we had.

On the day of the submission, I woke up late. I alarmed my cellphone but because I was so dead-tired I wasn’t able to hear the alarm. That morning, I finished everything and went to school. I admit that I was very late and the time required for the submission had already passed by. I knew that if there’s someone to be blamed, that would be me.

On the way to school, my cellphone was dead-bat and I had no idea what time it was. I ran fast to the building and saw my group mates. Mich had told me, “magpaprint ka na, sina Jass nagpaprint na…bilis sundan mo sila”. I was in  hurry and went to computer shop to print a part of our document. When I came back to school holding the printed documents, I saw and asked him “saan sila?” and he pointed his finger to the corridor.

I hand it off to Mich when she said to me, “Galit si boss..late narin ako dumating…” then she showed me his texts. I was so stunned and so worried. He was really mad to the both of us and that was the first time I saw him in a very bad mood and disappointed. We finished all the documents that day, but he was still not in the mood to talk even if we already apologized on what happened. When I opened my phone, I received 3 unread texts from him with the same message that was saved on Mich’s phone.

That afternoon, the professors distributed our class cards. We’re all in the same room but I felt that he was distancing his self to us. Everyone in the room were laughing, everyone seemed so happy after receiving their class-cards, everyone except me. I was satisfied on the results of my grades, good grades, I passed. However, on that moment, I just can’t avoid the emotions that I held. I felt the opposite feeling. I was like torn into pieces, nothing left but sadness. I looked at him, he never looked back. Even if his anger had surpassed, I felt that a barrier had took place between me and him.

When we left the room, he stopped by for a moment and spoke to his CS friends. Usually, we all left the campus together with our COF, we wait for each other. This time, we left him with our 2 friends. I felt miserable that day, I cried on Mich’s shoulder. Do you know the feeling when a special person in your life is avoiding or ignoring you? *sigh*. That’s how I felt. When I got home, Mich texted me, she told me that HE wanted me to log in on YM and he was waiting for me. When I signed in, he was online but not sending any PMs. Then all of a sudden, he signed out. I was offended, I thought that he was expecting me and then he signed out. So that night, I slept with a feeling of resentment.

 

RECONCILIATION

The next day after that night, I checked my phone and saw 2 6-page text messages from him. He apologized for the harsh words that he said. From then on, the misery, the resentment that I felt swiftly vanished and those texts brought back my happiness.

On the day of the enrollment for our on-the-job training, everything was back to normal. I hadn’t spoke to him much that day but I was happy to see him. That night he sent me a PM still apologizing from what happened. He mentioned that he was worried because he thought that our friendship might change for what happened. I was grateful to know that he values our friendship and he was sincere enough to show good intentions. I told him not to worry because I understood that he did that for a valid reason. And that I value the friendship that we had and it won’t change a thing.

Battling the College Life (2010)

(Professors + Schoolwork) * Whole Month of March = HELL + WEIGHT LOSS + FRIENDS + INSPIRATION
HELL in religious tradition is defined as a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife often in the underworld.

In my case, hell is defined as professors who torment their students by providing loads of schoolwork: seminars, exams, projects and DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE all at the same time!!! It’s a serious case of torture really.
For the whole month of March I endure the greatest trial of my college life. Enduring all the sacrifices, lack of sleep, loss of appetite, criticisms and consequences. It seemed impossible to surpass everything but with God’s grace and my strong dedication I still succeeded and if I could only wish that it would never happen again (as if I have a choice). Obstacles are part of a student’s life most especially for college students who encounter these kinds of circumstances. Glad that despite of all the mess and chaos that took place, there’s always a good outcome. Never lose hope, that’s what they always say. I almost lose hope when things aren’t going right worst when bad luck got it in our way.  I felt responsible from everything but still pleased after analyzing the situation that this is just a journey in comparison to those people who stumble upon enormous bundle of problems day by day, people which I admire the most. This is just a learning experience and a reminder not to commit the same mistakes again. These mistakes like improper time management, distribution of labor, laziness, lack of focus etc.

On the other side of it, three good things that I gained in this experience are true friendship, strength and wisdom. Knowledge can be gained from teaching but wisdom is a blessing from God. Physical strength can be gained by working out but strength in spirit is set apart. And finding true meaning of friendship is a gift that cannot be taken away.  I’m still blessed and I’m graciously thankful for everything. God has a plan that will be revealed in the end.

Now my expectations for the next semester are set high. I’m on my 4thyr and I’m already aware of the things that shouldn’t be done.  This time my standards are set high whatever it takes to reach for the top not just to pass but rather to achieve and gain satisfaction. I know torture wouldn’t end there and I know it would be 10x difficult as from what we had surpassed. Motivation is the key, focus and hopefully resources are already presented.

Life is a never ending battle; I’m the warrior of my own fight.

You can’t hurry love

“I need love, love to ease my mind
I need to find, find someone to call mine
But mama said, you can’t hurry love
No, you’ll just have to wait

She said, love don’t come easy
It’s a game of give and take
I can’t hurry love, no, you’ll just have to wait
Just trust, give it time, no matter how long it takes

How many heartaches must I stand?
Before I find the love to let me live again
Right now the only thing that keeps me hanging on
When I feel my strength, yeah, it’s almost gone”

A song from the 1960’s sang by the group “The Supremes” talks about finding love and patiently waiting for the right man to come.

A perfect song that would describe my current stand in relationship and love.

It’s been 2 years since my last failed relationship and until now I’m still living my single happy life. I had two relationships in the past, the first one was when I was only 17 followed by the second one when I turned 20. I admit that my past relationships didn’t last that long, it started with a rush and ended with a blink of an eye. That just proved what the song has to say, I wish I’ve listened to it before I jumped into my past relationships. But anyway,  I have no regrets, falling in love is always a learning experience. And I definitely learned so much about it.

After my previous break up, I told myself to never be in a hurry when it comes to love. I should patiently wait for someone to court me, to ask me out on several dates, or to spend time with me and with my family. Up to this point, I still keep those things in my mind. However, there are times that I’m asking myself how long should I wait? I keep on telling my friends that I wanted to get married at the age of 25 or 26 but how will that happen if until now I’m still single and I’ll be turning 23 next year? It somehow frustrates me a bit, because I don’t have a choice but to just patiently wait. But what if nothing happens?

Last Christmas we had our yearly family reunion, and 5 of my cousins (having an age between 27-40) are still single. The rest of our cousins taunted me that I might be the next in line. I know it was a joke but it bothered me a lot. I’m really having a great time being single but this can’t be forever. I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life. I want to get married, be with someone and to have children period. That will be the best thing that could happen to me.

I just hope that God already prepared the perfect time for the right person to arrive. And hopefully I would clearly feel and see that it is already the right time and the right person to fall in love with.

Losing someone you love

It was year 2009 when my father passed away due to a serious illness. I took care of him for 3 months and spent the most of my time with him for another 3 more months before he left. I can never forget the last night that we had with him.

It was almost 11:00 pm when my sister and I left the hospital. The bus was about to leave when our helper called and rendered the bad news. We rushed back to the hospital feeling anxious and still hoping that we will still be able to see our Papa breathing.

Running down the cold, dark halls of the hospital came across our fears. By the time we arrived at the room, all the nurses and doctor around him were trying their best to save his life. He was revived twice, but on the third our family decided to let him go. It was completely hard to say goodbye to someone that you will never see and be with again. His brothers and sister were also there on his side just before he left. We were all there with him until his body was transferred to the funeral.

Upon his wake and burial, his friends, our friends, and our entire clan all came to show their sympathy. It was a grieving moment for all of us. We lost a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle and a friend. We lost someone with a warm-loving heart. We surely missed him. I surely missed him.

Three years have passed and a lot o great things had happened in our lives. I guess Papa is always with us guiding us in our lives. It took us a long time to finally move on to the grief of losing him. Although whenever I remember those times, I still can’t help but shed tears because the pain will always be there. I can’t imagine what will I do the next time someone in my life will have to say goodbye once more. I fear the pain of losing someone, I fear the sadness of being alone. I just hope that God will give them a long life to live so that I could spend more time with those people that I love.

If there is one thing I learned from this experience is that, spend most of your time to those people you love. Show them how much you care for them, how much you love them. Death is unpredictable, and we have to accept that life on earth is not eternal. God will have to take our lives to be with him in his kingdom where we can finally live forever.

Hithit Buga (2009)

Two weeks ago napaka stressful, hectic, nakakadepress at nakakapagod ang mga pinagdaanan ko. Ang daming school work gaya ng seminar, reporting, tests, projects sumunod pa ang final examinations at ang personal na problema at problema sa pamilya. GRABE! Para bang halo-halong ingredients sa isang kumukulong tubig sa kawali. Akala ko di na ako makaka-move on sa lahat ng yon buti na lang nagtiwala ako kay BRO. Laking pasasalamat ko dahil hindi niya ako pinabayaan sa mga problema ko.

Bago magfinals nangangamba nakong makatanggap ng tumatagingting at mamula-mulang 5 sa TATLONG subjects ko. Yung tipong ang pakiramdam ko ay isa akong convicted na malapit ng bitayin. Pero pwera biro, akala ko talaga makakatanggap ako ng singko mabuti na lang talaga laging may pag-asa. Sa awa at sa tulong ni bro isama pa ang pagsisikap na mag-aral at matapos lahat, napasa ko ang tatlong subjects ko ng walang bahid na pulang tinta.

Naipasa ko rin ang iba ko pang natitirang subjects maliban sa isang pa-importanteng prof na hindi pa nagpapa-exam kahit nagbigayan na ng class cards. Ewan ko ba naman kasi sa kasipag-sipagang IT director at professor namin kung bakit ayaw pa niyang magpa-exam. Nagsisi-uwian na ang lahat ng bakasyonistas sa probinsya habang kami’y nananitili pa.

Pero maliban din, sa wakas tapos na ang dalawang linggong gerahan, puyatan at patayan (na ngayon ay buhay pa naman) at masaya kong ipinagdiriwang ang aking katatagan sa hamon ng pagiging isang iskolar ng bayan.

Hating Wednesday

There’s a day in a week that I hate the most. Some people hate Monday since it’s the first day of the week, some call it “The Monday Sickness”. I do hate Monday ever since just like the others, however for some reasons, I hate Wednesday the most.

Reading from my old blog posts, I realized that Wednesday had always been hard on me. It was not really noticeable because of the busy schedule that I had in school but eventually when I started working it really became my weekly dilemma. Either I always wake up late, come across a heavy traffic, MRT having a technical problem, consistently late from work (during Wednesday) or deal with loads of task /urgent tasks. *sigh*. It was annoying and I’m just trying to get used to it… but this has to stop! This can’t be a weekly routine alright?

I just wonder if there might be an astrological or astronomical explanation into why I keep on dealing with my Wednesday dilemma.  Out of my curiosity  I took a research to find out where it all began. According to my research,

Wednesdays adv.

“Days and years are natural divisions of time based on the astronomical relation of the earth and the sun, but weeks and the names for the days of the week have their source in astrology. The practice of dividing the year into seven-day units is based on the ancient astrological notion that the seven celestial bodies (the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) influence what happens on earth and that each controls the first hour of the day named for it. This system was brought into Hellenistic Egypt from Mesopotamia, where astrology had been practiced for millennia and where seven had always been a propitious number. The ancient Romans did not divide their calendar into weeks; they named all the days of the month in relation to the ides, calends, and nones. In a.d. 321 Constantine the Great grafted the Hellenistic astrological system onto the Roman calendar, making the first day of the week a day of rest and worship and imposing the following sequence of names on the days: Dis Slis,”Sun’s Day”; Dis Lnae, “Moon’s Day”; Dis Martis, “Mars’s Day”; Dis Mercuri, “Mercury’s Day”; Dis Jovis, “Jove’s Day” or “Jupiter’s Day”; Dis Veneris, “Venus’s Day”; and Dis Saturn,”Saturn’s Day.” This new Roman system was adopted with modifications throughout most of western Europe. In the Germanic languages, such as Old English, the names of four of the Roman gods were converted into those of the corresponding Germanic gods. Therefore in Old English we have the following names (with their Modern English developments): Sunnandaeg,Sunday; Mnandaeg, Monday; Twesdaeg, Tuesday (Tiu, like Mars, was a god of war); Wdnesdaeg, Wednesday (Woden, like Mercury, was quick and eloquent); Thunresdaeg, Thursday (Thunor in Old English or Thor in Old Norse, like Jupiter, was lord of the sky; Old Norse Thrsdagrinfluenced the English form); Frgedaeg, Friday (Frigg, like Venus, was the goddess of love); andSaeternesdaeg, Saturday.”

 

Reading from the definition, I’m now pretty sure who’s to blame, Woden has something to do with it! (just kidding). Well this doesn’t solve it. Anyhoo at least I got to know where the word “Wednesday” came from.

(I may hate Monday and Wednesday, but Friday is love)