Day 29: Your Favorite Song

Normally, my automatic response when someone asks me what my favorite song is would be My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, but to have a little variety, I want to base my answer on my iTunes. I guess my favorite song would have to be the one with the most plays, and that song is none other than Hanging By a Moment by Lifehouse with 106 plays as of today.

I really like this song cause it reminds me so much of the time when I was still a kid. This song is pretty old already, but I still love it. I even played this song, along with an entire album, on loop for an entire day when I heard that Lifehouse had a concert here in the Philippines and I couldn't go. I literally locked myself in my room and started playing songs until the day was done.

Well, here it is. :)

Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse Lyrics

Desperate for changing, starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation, you take all of me now

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world that can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

Desperate for changing, starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Just hanging by a moment
Just hanging by a moment
I'm hanging by a moment
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Day 28: A Picture Of What You Wore Today

Since this is a 30 DAY Challenge, I'm going to use what I wore on August 28.

Well for this week, I decided to wear black EVERY DAY. It's not that I'm emo or whatever. It's just that lately I was in no mood to be wearing bright colors. Since it was really sunny out, and I was wearing black, I decided to leave the jacket behind just for this day. We only had two subjects anyways, so it wasn't that bad. My normal outfit would normally comprise of a loose t-shirt, jeans, and a jacket though. So for this day, I just had a top that had a hood attached (I've gotten used to having hoods since I normally wear jackets every day.) and jeans. Pretty simple actually.

Day 27: A Picture Of You And Your Family

This is my family. Well yeah, it's still not complete, but it's the closest I can get. My Kuya Jack and Ate Jill weren't able to be come with us when we took this though. This picture was taken at a pier in Coronado, overlooking the night view of Downtown San Diego and the bay. In this picture, you can see my dad, mom, my two brothers (Kuya Lee and Andrew), my sister-in-law (Ate Chiqui), and my lola. We took this when we went back to California for Christmas break. Since we live in the Philippines now while the rest of our family is still back in America, it is a rare chance for us to be complete. No matter what happens though, I know that I love each and every one of them, even if they sometimes get a little annoying. ♥

Day 26: Fictional Character You Admire

Anyone who actually knows me can probably guess which fictional character I would pick. She's not from a book, not from a movie, but a game. That's right, I choose Yuna from Final Fantasy X.

I chose Yuna because she has so many characteristics that I only wish I had. The one thing that I saw in her that I liked the most though was her determination to do something for others without even thinking of herself. She would go through all of those challenges without question, as long as she knew that it was for the greater good.

*Spoiler alert*

If you've played the game already, you would know that summoners would go on a pilgrimage on a quest to get the final Aeon in order to defeat Sin. They would travel all over Spira, going from temple to temple, just so that in the end, they would be able to grant others with the Calm. But this comes with a terrible price. The summoner would only be able to call upon the final Aeon with the cost of the life of one of their guardians to become the next Sin, and their own life. Now that's what I would call a selfless sacrifice.

See, I would love to see myself be that... selfless. I don't like how I've been living my life. I see myself as a selfish and spoiled brat that needs to learn her lesson. Hey, at least I know and accept that I'm like this. Unlike some people that THINK they are perfect and all that. (Sorry about the random ranting ^^v)

Day 25: Guilty Food Pleasure

Alrighty. So, it’s already the 30^th of August and I’m still only on day 25 of the challenge. I am giving myself only until tomorrow to finish this all up. I ultimately fail at this challenge. Huhuhu. T.T Oh well.

When I heard ‘guilty food pleasure’, the first thing that popped into my head was chocolate. It’s kind of like a generalization for most of the population. But that’s not my case. My guilty food pleasure has to be instant noodles. Weird huh?

For some reason, I love to eat salty foods. I also like to eat pasta and noodles. So what better way to enjoy those two than to eat instant noodles? Stupid logic, huh? Though I love to eat them, I know that they are bad for me, making them my ‘guilty’ pleasure. I already have a few minor complications because of my poor eating habits. My doctor even recommended me to go on a NO SODIUM diet. Knowing my tastebuds, I knew that was not gonna happen anytime soon, so my mom decided to go for a compromise and have a LOW SODIUM diet for me instead. Guess what? I still don’t follow that. Oops. Another thing about instant noodles is the fact that they are ‘instant’, meaning they have preservatives, preservatives, and more preservatives. Yeah, having instant foods are fine every once in a while, but I have them almost every day. The fact that I don’t eat fruits or vegetables doesn’t help.

So what am I trying to say? I am a wreck when it comes to my eating habits, but I can’t get myself to stop. Oh well. :D

Day 24: Your Personal Collection

Now this is gonna be a hard post. I have so many collections, that it would be hard to pick just one. Can I just call it my collection of collections? I guess I'll just describe them all, just to be sure. :D

Keychains
I love to collect keychains, especially those that came from somewhere far away. I love getting keychains that have the names of the places on them, especially those cute little shells with fine handwriting on it. Whenever I go somewhere knew, I try my best to get a hold of a new keychain to add to my collection. Keychains aren't just objects to me. They are reminders of the things that I have done, the places that I have visited, and the memories that I made there.

Coins/Money
Now this is one of the more serious collections I have. I am the third generation in my family to collect coins and monetary units from all over the world. It all started when my grandpa was still alive. He then passed in on to my dad, and now we both are working to add more to this collection. My dad even spent about Php15,000 just on some old coins. But in time, these coins are gonna be worth way more than that.

Shells
This is just one of my minor collections, and it came about from my nature-loving side. I just love to look at the various shapes and sizes of shells, so I even have a guide book about the different types there are. My favorite part of collecting shells is the fact that I can hold them to my ear and 'hear the ocean' in them.

Beanie Babies
From little McDonald's toys to giant bears, I LOVE to collect beanie babies. They come in various styles and sizes, and they each have a name and poem attached to their ear. There are even a few that are limited edition, coming out for a specific occasion. I love stuffed toys, so what better to collect than this?

Pokemon Cards
Now this is a spin-off from my big brother's baseball card collection. Mine is based on the game and anime Pokemon, which I watched back when I was a little kid. Until now, I still play the games using either my DS, Gamecube, or an emulator on my cellphone. I mean, who doesn't like Pokemon? My collection is a mix of both English and Japanese cards, but they are all original. I have completed the entire Kanto region, and a good portion of the Jhoto region, but from Hoenn and onwards, I have but a few cards.

Day 23: Favourite Baby Names

Okay, I'm not so sure what I'm supposed to answer to this. Is it a baby name I want for my future child (if I ever get one)? Or any baby name? Oh whatever.

Ever since I thought about it, I've always imagined having two kids in the future, a boy and a girl. I wanted them to have matching names, like Jack and Jill. But since that was already the names of my older brother and sister, I guess I have to think of something a little more... original.

I thought that maybe characters from Final Fantasy would be unique enough. So I thought of the names Leon and Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII. Yeah, I guess it does kind of seem weird that I want to name my kids after video game characters. Meh, it's probably not gonna happen anyways.

Well for names that aren't by partner, I've always liked the name Radianne Estelle for a girl since I first heard it. It has a nice vibe to it. For a boy, the name I would like would have to be either Nhixxel or Vaughn. Both are really unique, and they came from people that I actually knew.

I guess that you can generalize that I want baby names that are unique and memorable. But I highly doubt I'll be using any of these names in the future. Oh well. This is all just for the sake of this challenge.

Day 22: What Would I Find In My Bag

Well, here's my bag. And my stuff. Okay, done with this post. :)) Nah, I'm just kidding. This is my bag that I bring around almost everywhere now since my doggy bag Masian gets dirty easily. It's a small sling bag though, but it always has a lot of stuff in it. This is also my bag for when I go to school (I'm obviously such a good student. See my invisible notebook?). Let me go into more detail with its contents.

The CROSS In My Pocket

This is just a small reminder for me to always think of God wherever I go. It was given to me by one of my best friends, so it's really sentimental to me.

Keys

Well, this one is an obvious one. It has my keys to my condo, the key to my mailbox at the lobby, another key that I don't remember what it's for, a keychain that has my high school logo on it, and Tidus' sword from FFX that was given to me by the same best friend I was talking about earlier. All of these are attached to a La Salle lanyard that I got for free when I got my acceptance letter thingy.

Pens

Come on, I'm not THAT bad of a student. I keep a few pens in my bag just in case there is a seatwork or test or something. At least I'm a little prepared.

Jack Skeleton Wallet

This is my latest wallet (I change my wallet whenever I get a new one) that I bought when I went back to America for vacation. It contains some dollars, pesos (usually 500s or 1000s), reciepts from when I withdraw from an ATM, my credit cards, and some pictures of my closest friends. This wallet is only in my bag if I need it though. I would normally just leave it in my condo.

Black Coin Purse

This is where I keep my smaller amounts of money. This is what I usually bring around so that I won't spend too much. It also has a little charm from Palawan that one of my close friends gave to me.

Sticky Notes

I don't really know why I keep this in my bag. I don't use it much though. I guess it would be useful if I just have to jot something down or something.

Bowling Shoes Rental Tickets

For some reason, I keep these tickets to remind me that a certain someone owes me a stuffed toy because he lost to me in a game of bowling. I even noted our final score that time, which was 82-79. It was a really close fight too. I guess now I don't wanna get that toy anymore though. But I still won't throw these tickets away.

Medicine

Since I get sick really easy, I always keep a pack of Neozep in my bag just in case I suddenly catch a cold due to the air conditioning in a classroom or something. I always bring a jacket with me anyways, but it's still cold sometimes.

Vitamins

Since I don't eat right (yes, I admit to this), I need vitamins to keep me going. I don't eat fruits or vegetables, so I really need to balance the nutrients I take in. That's what my vitamins are for.

Samsung Galaxy Y

This phone has my Smart sim card (and I don't even know my own number) that I don't use and it also has a couple of emulators. I usually just play games during class instead of listen, so this is what I use. Lately, I've been playing Pokemon Emerald on my Gameboid emulator.

MyPhone
This is my new phone since my old MyPhone kind of broke. It's low-tech and even has a TV in it, but it does the job just fine. It has my Sun and Globe sim cards, and it's my new main phone. Yep, it's dualsim and has a qwerty keyboard, so it fits my need just fine.

Aside from these, there are also a couple of things that are usually in my bag, but they just aren't in the photo.

ID
My ID is in a small lion case attached to a Arashi lanyard. It also has a bunch of remembrances like tickets to Enchanted Kingdom, Star City, and Ozine Fest. There's also a keychain of a shark attached that came from my high school friend.

Camera
For obvious reasons, I couldn't take a picture of this. It's a Samsung that my big brother gave me, and I bring it around everywhere just in case. Who knows when something big suddenly happens, right? Better prepared than not.

Day 21: A Place You See Yourself In 5 Years

Ugh, another future post. Fudge. Oh well, I guess I'll have to at least TRY.

So in 5 years, I would have already graduated by then (hopefully) so I would just have to say that I already have a job by then and that I live apart from my parents. I've always wanted to live away from them, to be independent. Since 5 years is still pretty close, I would guess that I still have my condo and that I would be working somewhere in Manila. I would see myself sleeping on my sofa, since that's where I sleep every night. My condo wouldn't be too messy though, since I probably would have matured enough by then to start cleaning my condo right. I would imagine that it would look a little like the 'after' in this post. I would still have my games and books though, since I highly doubt I would have gotten over them in just 5 years (or anytime for that matter).

You may be wondering why I didn't just say that I saw myself at my job. Well, it's probably because I can't reallyy imagine seeing myself in a place that I've never been to before. I don't even know what kind of job I'm going to get into, or what kind of working environment I'll be staying in. So my safest bet was to say what I know I wanted, which was my independence. Meh, even though I like having company, I still prefer to live alone.

Day 20: You Goals For This Month

Oh. My. Gulay.

I'm SOOOOO sorry. It's been a week since I last posted. This past week has just been so hectic and stressful. I fail at this challenge. T.T So for today, I'm going to get back up and post 7 posts all before midnight. Hooray? Hooray! So let's get this show on the road.

This month, I have so much I want to do. So much I have to finish. So I'm just gonna list everything down. My goals for this month are to

• Finish the 30 Day Challenge ON TIME. (This one's gonna be a toughy.)
• PASS my classes (especially MATH115, INTOSET, and PHYFUN1).
• Finish my ENGLRES research paper (more about it here).
• Not kill myself (which is getting pretty hard to maintain lately).
• Stop crying at night (which is even harder than the last one).
• Get serious in studying (I doubt this will happen though).
• Change my attitude and stuff. (I just know I need to change. I'm not so sure about exactly what I have to change though.)

and last, but not definitely not the least,

• Get closer to God. ♥

Yep, I think that's about it. Pretty simple when you think about it. Now, on to my next post for today. :))

Day 19: A Picture Of You When You're A Baby

I'm not entirely sure if this is considered as a baby picture, but it'll have to do cause it's the best I have. A lot of people say I looked cute back then when they saw this, but I think it's just because almost all kids look cute. Just my opinion though.

The only thing that I like to emphasize in this picture is that I'm already with my doggy bag, Masian, in this picture. It's proof that he's been there for me ever since, and until now, he still watches over me while I sleep.  :)

Day 18: A Place You’ve Never Visited But Want To

Now this is a little hard, since there are so many places that I haven't visited but want to. I guess I'm just gonna have to talk about only one of them. And I'm going to say that I've always wanted to go to Hawaii.

Hawaii, the ideal vacation spot. Now most people visit this place to relax and just get away from their hectic daily lives, and who's to blame them to choose Hawaii out of all the places to go? From the beaches to the cultural activities, there are plenty of sights to see and things to do in these islands. But I'm not going to talk about the main tourist spots in this post. I'm going to go deeper into the less known beauties of this state.

You know how Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? That means it's far, far away from the hustle and bustle of those big cities. Which means less light pollution and clearer night skies. That's right. All I want to do in Hawaii is to lay back and stare at the stars. Hawaii is known as one of the world's best stargazing spots, so it's definitely on my list.

This post is pretty short, but it's the best that I can do for now. :)

Day 17: A Hobby Of Yours

Noooooooo! This is my second late post. A lot has happened yesterday so I didn't get a chance to go online or anything. T.T So because of that, I owe you guys 2 posts. So, here it is. :D

Now I'm the type of girl that is half-hearted with almost everything she does. In other words, unlike other people, I don't have that one thing that I'm interested in. My interests range from Final Fantasy to coin and key chain collecting. I've also tried a whole bunch of things, like learning how to play the piano to playing table tennis. So when I read that this post was about a hobby of mine, I was stuck with the question 'Which one?'. Sucks, doesn't it?

Well since it isn't asking for my favorite hobby but just one of them, I guess I shouldn't be stressing myself too much with this post. Out of all the random stuff I end up doing, I'm gonna have to say that playing Dance Dance Revolution would be considered a hobby of mine. If you don't know what that is, you have been missing out on one of the best rhythm games ever. :O

DDR, like most great games, originated from Japan, by a company that sounds Japanese too, Konami. It's basically just stepping on a bunch of arrows along to the beat of a song. Simple as that. You can usually find a DDR machine in most arcades, but it's not just limited to that. I grew up playing DDR on a Playstation. When using a console, you have the choice of using a dance pad (which is a tad expensive, but totally worth it) or just using the controller.

I learned all about this addicting game from my big brother. He's one of the best players I have ever seen in person, even though he's a little rusty now due to lack of practice. When I was little, you could find me in his bedroom just watching him play. You see, I really love my big brother, so I ended up copying A LOT from him, from his interest in games and computers all the way to his randomness. So that includes DDR.

For those that don't have a Playstation (I pity you) or don't wanna embarrass themselves with playing at an arcade, there IS an alternative. It's a PC game called Step Mania, where it has the same concepts as DDR, expect for the fact that you have to download the individual songs and use a keyboard. I highly recommend that you at least try this game out, and you may end up enjoying it like I do. And remember, it's WAY more fun to play this game with a friend that's jumping around on dance pads beside you.

Day 16: Your Best Friend

I've realized something when I saw what this post is supposed to be about. I've had A LOT of best friends, all the way back from elementary until now. Even if it's just from the past, they still count as my best friends, so I'll give a shout out to a couple of them before I go on about the rest.

This is Ashley Holliday. One of the weirdest but also one of the funnest people to be around. We've been close ever since I could remember, and I know that she would always be there for me when I needed her. I even remember getting involved in argument just to take her side. That's how much I love her.

Now this is one of the promises she made with me, back when I was still in America. And I am totally going to hold onto this until this promise comes true. "And one day, we're actually gonna hang out. AND I WANT TO RUN TO YOU IN SLOW MOTION. Okay? Okay. ♥" [Alrighty, confession time. My eyes are getting watery just thinking of this girl and how much I miss her. Okay, now I'm homesick. :/]

Day 15: A Picture Of You And Your Friends

Oh come on. I have a LOT of friends. And I don't have any pictures with ALL of them in it. So I'm gonna post a lot of pictures. Since it was supposed to be just one picture, I'll just make the captions short and simple to make up for it.

N52. LASARE1.

Team Awesome and friends. Enchanted Kingdom.

Water Camp. Day before start of fourth year high school.

JS Prom. Third Year.

SM Bacoor. When Pat came back. :)

KFC. Same as above.

And of course, I could never forget to put in this picture. This is my REAL family, the ones that stayed by me no matter how weird or dramatic my life gets. The ORIGINAL Haha Family. ♥

Day 14: Your Day, In Great Detail

A day starts from midnight, right? Well then let me start off from 12AM. Around that time, I was busy typing a short group reflection for my community service, Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig. I just made guesses and stuff like that since I didn’t remember much from that service other than the cleanup and building of trash bins. After I finished the essay, I started working on the video compilation of the photos I took that day. I got kind of lazy when I couldn’t think of any song to put as background music, so I started reading The Kissing Booth on Wattpad. I stopped when I saw that it was almost 3AM. I’m afraid of the devil’s hour (yes, I believe in stuff like that) so I jumped onto the sofa as soon as the lights were off. I got kind of freaked out when I started seeing things in the dark (I have no idea if I actually saw something or if it was just me being paranoid) so I kept telling myself to keep my eyes closed no matter what until the weird feeling was gone.

Eventually I fell asleep, and I woke up around 7AM to the sound of my cellphone ringing. I got up and opened my laptop for a while so that I could connect to the internet before I took a shower. I took a REALLY hot shower, which is why it took me a while to get out, since I found the hot water very relaxing. Eventually I got myself to leave the shower and I got dressed. As I let my hair dry, I used my laptop and printed out the reservation ticket for the Gervacio Cup (a contest from Math Circle). Then I went to school to meet with one of my friends since she had the pre-acts for that event. Once I got the papers, I went to SJ browns for a bit so that I could photocopy the project proposal and organize the papers. I dropped by the CSO office to have the papers approved, then I went to visit the booth for the Gervacio Cup. Then I decided to stop by the Psychology Lab for a bit for an experiment, and I got some chocolate cream Oreos as a prize. I went back to the booth and waited around until it was around 9:30.

When my friends were dismissed from their class, I was waiting outside. As they walked by, I chased them and followed them to Agno. I took a seat and watched them eat as I munched on my last Oreo cookie. After they ate, we headed to my condo. As the guys went straight for my Wii, I went to my bed and started working on the photo compilation I should have done the night before. When I finished adding music and burning the videos onto a CD, we left to go back to Andrew building for our next class. We took the stairs up to the 9^th floor, and then I went up to sit on the edge of the window. I was all emo and stuff for a few minutes until I got bored and started walking around the room. Kuya Mario had just arrived, so I ran to poke him in the tummy. Our prof suddenly came in, so we all took our seats. He discussed the principle of double effect, which I had already studied when I was in third year high school. After that class, another friend of mine was waiting outside of the classroom for me to sign a paper for the financial audit of my project in Math Circle. Then I went down the stairs and headed back to La Salle.

I stopped by the booth again and ended up staying for a while. I was getting a little lazy, and I didn’t wanna go to class. Eventually my friends convinced me otherwise, and I got inside the room right as the attendance sheet was being passed around. For the first time in a very long time I actually took down notes again. I really needed to pull my grades up, especially after my horrible third quiz. My hand hurt really bad afterwards, but it’s gonna be all worth it in the end, I hope. After class, I went back to my condo to find my friends playing on the Wii again. I watched them play for a while until a few of them had to go home. I went along with them since I still needed to go back to school to pass the CD and paper for the community service thing and also to pick up the pre-acts that I dropped off earlier. When I was heading back to my condo, I realized that it started raining, right when I left my jacket at the condo since I told myself I wouldn’t be long. So I ran in the rain back to my condo. The wind was pretty strong, and my hair got in a mess because of it. When I got back to the condo, I played a bit until Kuya Mario called me and asked me if I wanted to eat. He said that he would treat me so I went downstairs right away. We ate at Adobo Connection and at around 5:30 I left to go back to my condo to wait for another friend of mine so that we could go to Cluster.

A few minutes after 6 we left. My umbrella broke while we were walking, so I just walked with my hood on. Before we started, I talked with one of my friends there about her academics. We talked about profs for a bit, then she asked me about physics. I mentioned that we had an assignment in physics where we had to go to an amusement park and take pictures while on rides. The topic spread and everyone at the table started sharing their experiences with amusement parks and rides. We even talked about having an outing to Star City during our “term break” (which is only 3 days long). After a while, we started the discussion on Fellowship. By the time we finished, the rain was getting pretty hard outside, so someone dropped us of at the condo. I went home and told my high school friend Paolo to come over. After a while, I told my blockmate Paolo (yes, there are two Paolo’s) to come over too so that we could play Minecraft. We played for a bit, and they even decided to ‘play a little game’ with me, like putting me on a platform over a lava pool and setting my game mode to adventure, and putting me in a high place and having me TRY to fall into a 2x2 pool of water.

So that’s pretty much it. Was that detailed enough?

Day 13: A List of All The Places You’ve Lived

This post is gonna be nostalgic for me, but oh well. It's also gonna be my first time listing something. Yey! So here it is. :D

1. Oxnard, California
   As written in my post before, I was born in Oxnard. I only stayed here for a few months after my birth though, so there's not much to talk about.
   
2. Cabuco Street, Cavite City, Philippines
   When we moved to the Philippines, we decided to live in my dad's house, behind their family house. We only stayed their until I was almost four years old though, so I don't really remember much about it. Most of my memories of that house could be found on home videos though. :)
   
3. Apartment on Maya Linda Road, San Diego, California
   When we moved back to America, we stayed in a two-story apartment building. Our stay there wasn't long either, and we moved during my kinder year. I remember celebrating one of my birthdays there though, so the place is still pretty important for me.
   
4. Belfast Circle, San Diego, California
   This is the place where I spent most of my happy years in. This is where I grew up. I loved almost everything about my house there. That's pretty much why I had a hard time parting with my home compared to the few times I've moved before.
   
5. Bayside Drive, Cavite City, Philippines
   This is my latest home in the Philippines when we moved back. It's situated right next to Manila bay, and you can even see the fireworks display across the waters at MOA every week. It's also just a short walk away from my high school, so it isn't hassling. Until now, I still go home to the house here during the weekends.
   
6. One Archer's Place, Manila, Philippines
   Now this is my first time living away from my family, especially my parents. College life has started, which means that I need to learn to be more independent. My condo unit is complete with my electronic keyboard, a bunk bed, a sofa, two game consoles, and lots of my stuffed toys to keep me company. This is my new home now.

Day 12: A Photo Of Me Taken Recently

This picture is the most recent that I could think of. Since I'm camera shy, I chose a group picture again. This was taken after the very first general assembly for my professional organization, Math Circle. The people I'm with are my committee-mates. I'm part of the documentations committee by the way. From left to right, they are Kim, Clarissa, Me, Ange, and Steve. Clarissa is our Vice President for documentations while the rest of us are Associate Vice Presidents. 

Our job gets really hectic during the start and end of each term, collecting and passing the various papers that are needed for each activity that our organization has, but we still manage to get the job done. See? I'm proud to be part of my committee. :)

Day 11: Name Of Your Elementary School

This is my elementary school back when I was still in America. The full name was Mary Chase Walker Elementary School, but we were better known as just Walker Elementary. I remember back when we had field trips to Old Town in San Diego, we would visit a small schoolhouse and our guides would provide us with a brief history. I recall them mentioning that the namesake of our very own school was the very first teacher to work in that area. So I did a little searching and found that my memory did not fail me. And instead of copying and pasting everything that I searched here, you can just read more about her here.

Ah, how nostalgic. I can't believe that it has been more than a decade since I started studying there. I'm gonna have to take note of that and add my old school to my list of places that I should visit when I grow up. 

Day 10: A Silly Photo Of Me

Ugh, I don't like the challenge today. A silly PHOTO of ME. Have I ever mentioned that I'm extremely camera shy when I'm by myself? I'm only fine with taking pictures if it's a group picture, or at least a picture with someone else with me. So the silly photo I chose was a failed group picture. ^^v

This was taken during our MTAP Regionals back when I was in fourth year high school. Sorry, but I don't really remember where this was taken. We were supposed to take a souvenir picture (we as in the third and fourth years of our school that made it into the regionals) so we decided to set the camera on timer. After a while, we noticed that it still wouldn't flash, so we started moving towards it to check. Suddenly, we saw a flash, and this is the outcome. I'm the one on the extreme right. Yep, the weirdo that's holding papers. >.<

Now you see why I'm camera shy?

Day 9: A Photo I Took

Now I've taken plenty of photos in my day (especially back in high school when I would never leave home without my camera in my pocket), so this post gave me a hard time since I could only choose one. I figured that I would have a chance to post some of my attempts at photography on this blog eventually, so I chose a school assignment instead.

At first look, this photo seems photoshopped, right? If you say yes, then thank you for thinking highly of my non-existent editing skills. I have NO CLUE when it comes to editing pictures and the like, so I wouldn't know how to even make this kind of effect. At all. This photo is completely unaltered. I took the picture with a plain old digital camera, no effects at all. If you think about it really hard, its not that difficult to figure out how I took this. But I'm not gonna spill my secret just yet.

Well in this picture, you can what one of the classrooms in my high school looked like. You can also find a few of my classmates back in third year. This picture was taken for our English class. Our lesson was photojournalism, so we were assigned to take some pictures around campus and write captions to them. This was one of my favorite pictures taken that day, and also the last to be placed in our report. I know my photography skills aren't great, but they're good enough for me. ^^

Day 8: Picture Of The Last Place You Visited

Fudge. This post is gonna be my first late post. Huhuhu. T.T Oh well. I shall not let this happen again!

Hmm. This post seems fairly straightforward except for one small detail that I need clarified. Define "visited". I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a place far away, a vacation, a trip, or anything else. But I'm just gonna have to make a guess. I'd have to say that the last place I visited was Wensha Spa. It was last Friday night until Saturday in the early morning with my mom and my sister-in-law. It was my first time at an actual spa too, so it was pretty memorable. :)

It was kind of weird to see that very few teenagers (especially those near my age) went there at that time, but I was also amazed at the various facilities and services that they offered there. Their locker rooms had automated locks and personnel that assisted each and every customer. The facilities included two saunas (steam and dry) and a whirlpool Jacuzzi. The only awkward thing about it was that everybody was either in just a towel or their birthday suits. After a while though, you wouldn't care either way.

This was the place that I first experienced getting a full body wash from someone that I didn't know. Yeah, it was pretty awkward, but the lady their was really professional about it. But the part that I liked the most was the full body massage. I had requested lavender oil, and they mentioned that its side effects included putting the user to sleep. At first I was doubtful about that, but after a while, I actually did fall asleep through the massage. I woke up when it was almost done, and I felt completely refreshed.

Another perk was that they had an all-you-can-eat buffet. Although the food choices were limited, I was fine with a few plates of pasta to fill my belly. They allow all of their customers a maximum of 8 hours to stay in the vicinity, which was more than enough to satisfy us. After that visit, my mom told me that we would be coming back there another time soon if we had the chance, which is something that I am really looking forward to.

Day 7: Your Favorite Food and Recipe

Ever since I was a little kid, I've had many favorite foods. But only one of these dishes lasted all these years: Spaghetti. Growing up in America, I found the taste buds of Pinoys different from what was available there. Whenever I had pasta at a restaurant, it would be Italian style, rich in herbs and other stuff that tickled my taste buds. But I, on the other hand, prefer the sweetness found in Filipino style Spaghetti. My mom taught me when I was little that if I want something, I have to learn how to get it myself. For food, I have to learn how to cook it. Since my mom just taught me how to make spaghetti (her own recipe) the ingredients are just estimates, so it's all up to you how much of what you want to put. :D

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti 
• Ground pork 
• Tomato sauce 
• Banana ketchup 
• Onions 
• Garlic 
• Salt & Pepper 
• Hotdogs 

To make the sauce, start off by heating some oil and cooking the onions and garlic until the onions become semi-clear and the garlic becomes golden brown. Add in the ground pork and season with salt and pepper. Add in some sliced hotdogs for the Pinoy feel. Once the pork is cooked, add in A LOT of tomato sauce and banana ketchup. Stir well and let the sauce simmer.

For the pasta itself, just cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. You can also add some cheese to top off the meal. And there you have it, Pinoy-style spaghetti. :)

Day 6: Your Favorite Quote

"Love is blind."

Nah, just kidding, that's not my favorite quote. My only problem is, I don't know what my favorite quote is. Should it be something that's important to me? A line from a game? A famous saying? Or maybe even a bible verse? Ugh, I make everything more difficult. -_-"

Since I really can't choose, I'm gonna write about all of them. And I shall also change the name of this post to "Your Favorite Quotes". Teehee. :>

I'll be here... I'll be 'waiting' here... I'll be waiting for you, so... If you come here... You'll find me... I promise...

- Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII)

This line is from a game on the Playstation that has an amazing story line, including a romance between two people from different backgrounds. I just love this quote. It feels so sweet and innocent. How I wish that someone would tell me these words (and mean them). But of course, that's not gonna happen anytime soon. I need to get my head out of the clouds.

Expect the worst; hope for the best.

Now this is my motto in life. I've always viewed everything through a pessimist's eyes, but I always have to remind myself that there's still a chance for things to be better. This quote also has a more practical sense in it, which says that it's better to be prepared and ready for the bad. And there's still that big keyword in there: Hope. It's something that everybody needs, and this saying gives me a friendly reminder of that. :)

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

My final quote is my favorite verse from the Bible. It just says that as long as we love and follow God, we'll receive a surprise from Him that no one can even imagine. Plain and simple.

Day 5: Ideal Future Career

Sooo. Another post. That I don't know how to answer. Oh joy. I mean, come on! Another post about my future? I don't like thinking about the future. The future scares me. :/ Well, for the purpose of fulfilling this 30 Day Challenge, I'll try to answer this.

Since I'm already in college, wouldn't it be automatic that what I would choose the career related to my course? But for some reason, I can't get myself to be into it completely. I just chose statistics for the money. Yep, it's all about the money money money, I really need some money money money ♫. But my interests don't really lie down the path of analyzing and crunching data. I dunno. I guess a stable lifestyle is more of a priority for me than my actual interests.

So for an ideal future career, I'm gonna have to say computer programming. Honestly, I have no clue when it comes to many of the computer languages used in programming, but I do know that I can handle programs WAY better than mathematics. I can pick up the logic of the programs quickly, and it's actually something that deeply interests me. And think about this. Computer programmers are the reason we have electronic gadgets, games, devices, games, and did I mention games yet?

You may be wondering 'Why didn't you just take programming as your course?', well I have an answer for that. My big brother is working for the US Navy under IT. Which means that his job is related to computers and programs and stuff like that. I just don't want to be compared to my brother when it comes to jobs, especially since he kind of has a HUGE lead when it comes to time and experience. So to avoid that, I just put computers as my second choice and ended up with Statistics.

But I regret nothing. :) (Okay fine, maybe I do regret my choice, but there's no more turning back! I can do this! ^^)

Day 4: A Song You Want Played At Your Wedding

Even though it's only day 4, I'm already having a hard time with this post. I don't like thinking about the future much, so planning for an event that won't happen for a long time is definitely a challenge. Another problem is that the kind of music that I like wouldn't really fit in with a wedding atmosphere. I'm pretty sure punk rock or techno songs aren't the norm for formal events such as this. And what about the other songs I like? Yeah, they're mellow and soft, but the lyrics are usually about heartbreak, which is the opposite of the message I would like to convey on that particular day.

I've thought of songs like My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion and Everytime We Touch by Cascada, but the problem is that they are some of my favorite songs. I wouldn't want to associate something that was special for me with the thought of 'us'. So I also have to cross out those choices from my list. Fudge.

Eventually, I had to resort to trusty old Google. I found plenty of lists of love songs and I had to skim through them all to get a good idea. I checked out a few, but the lyrics just wouldn't match what I had in mind. Finally, I thought of a song that would sound nice, even though it wasn't really on any list that I saw.

You and Me - Lifehouse Lyrics

What day is it
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up, and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

'Cause it's you and me
And all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me
And all the other people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

Why are the things that I want to say
Just aren't coming out right?
I'm tripping on words
You got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

'Cause it's you and me
And all of the people people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me
And all other people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

Something about you now
That I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

'Cause it's you and me
And all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you and me
And all the other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all the other people
And I don't know why
I can't keep my eyes off of you

What day is it
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive

Day 3: A YouTube Video

So normally someone would probably post a YouTube video that's inspirational or means a lot to them. I, on the other hand, would post a video of a poptart cat flying through space. Yes, I am that weird. Deal with it.

I was supposed to post Rebecca Black's music video for Friday, but I figured I would lose the few readers I have left. I have no idea why I'm posting a video as random as this instead of something inspirational. I'm guessing it's just to balance out the randomness of this blog. Oh well.

When I first watched this video, I got addicted. I started searching for Nyan Cat covers, variations, and other random stuff on YouTube. I even went to http://nyan.cat and stayed on the site until I had to turn the PC off. I was THAT addicted. And you should be addicted too. ^^ So just sit back and watch the greatness that is Nyan Cat. :3

Day 2: A Picture Of Your Favorite Animal

It's now the second day of August, which means I have been blogging for a month today. Yippee! And to commemorate this special occasion, here's my second post for my 30 Day Challenge. :D

Well, if you ask me what my favorite animal is, I honestly wouldn't know what to answer. So I'm gonna answer this a little differently. Instead of my favorite species or breed or whatever, I decided to post about my favorite animal that I know personally.

This is my pet, Ginger. She's a mixed poodle and she's been my best friend since I was little. When I got her more than a decade ago, she was just a small puppy. She's been with me all those days that I felt alone, whenever I had no one to play with. When I got home from a long day of school, she would be ready by the door to greet me. And at night, when I'm already in bed, she would lie at the foot of my bed, protecting me. Even my parents couldn't get near me once she was positioned there. She would bark at anyone who tried going into my room while I was asleep, so I knew I was safe.

When I had to move to the Philippines for high school, she was one of the reasons that I wanted to stay. I was so hesitant to leave her behind. But I had to. I had no choice. :(

So here's to man's (and my) best friend, and I'll never forget her. :)

Day 1: A Picture Of The City You Were Born In

Sunset at San Buenaventura State Beach, Oxnard, California 

So here's my first post for the month of August. Wooo. ^.^ So for Day 1, I'm supposed to show you a picture of the city I was born in. Well, here it is. But of course I'm just kidding about that. I couldn't find any other picture that I liked when I searched on Google, so this will have to do. As you can see, I'm more into natural pictures than those of tall buildings and busy streets. That's just my taste though. 

I was born in the city of Oxnard, California back in 1995. The city is located near the south of California, and I only spent a few months of my life living there because we moved to the Philippines not long after my birth. When I moved back to America though, we would sometimes visit some of my mom's friends there.

Honestly, Oxnard really isn't a place close to my heart, unlike San Diego, but it's still a part of who I am. I mean, without it, where would I have been born?