disconnect

the day i've waited for a year has passed me like a speeding ferrari. i only got a look at christmas for what seemed like a second and now all i can do is look back at it as it fades away.

i've been training for more than a week. enough that it already has taken its toll on me. wake up calls at 6 in the morning, rush hour traffic, a beaten body and nothing to look forward to the next day. i've made myself a robot just to try and keep up with the working world but in the process, i've lost touch with my world.

i keep on asking myself "is christmas really over?" my computer says the 26th so i guess it is over. the new routine haywired my mind that somehow i feel i'm beginning to disconnect with reality. and i'm sorry for all the birthday greetings i forgot to send out for i am losing grip with time.

christmas came and christmas left. christmas is for children. how painful the truth is. gone were the days when all i worry about are the presents i wasn't able to give or the things i would do during the holidays. i don't have to worry no more about what i'll do during the holidays. come the 27th, i'm back to my black shoes, long-sleeves, and tie. there's no such thing as a grown-up christmas, it's nothing but a couple of days off work.

dealing with charlie

after a month-long stint as a project coordinator for Rx Review Center, i found myself with a handful of job offers. difficult decisions led to procrastination. then suddenly i'm on the edge, faced with what could be the one of the most important decisions of my life. i turned down a tempting job offer from Rx Review Center, called-off my pursuit of a previous offer from Novartis, and accepted an offer from L. Meyerf Pharma, a company i had no idea existed.

things happened so fast that i'm still digesting the events. half a year of online applications made an impression that it would take months before you can be scheduled for an interview, and months more before they call again. oftentimes you'll wait for a call that will never actually come. this time was a surprise. 3 days after the click of the mouse, i was called in for an interview.

it was a friday. sporting a long-sleeved black shirt and a baby blue tie, i went to L. Meyerf's office in Makati and looked for a certain Mr. Marquez. after a few minutes of waiting, Mr. Charlie Marquez introduced himself, shook my hand, and the interview commenced.

close call

a december sunday shopping at divisoria was a bad idea. with my dad spreading some early christmas cash, we were off but even an early wake up call couldn't avoid the christmas crowd. i wasn't able to buy anything, not even a single string. so i decided to come back the next day, a monday, and i expect wide-open aisles.

i woke up late and went to SM north edsa for a quick stop to look for leather shoes. never saw a pair i liked. so off to divisoria then. i took a bus to monumento and then a jeepney. i was seated in front and never knew a simple choice between front and back could've been a choice between life and death...

when roni met ronny

the 21st of november marked the day when roni met ronny. after a month of preparation, i was ready to welcome our guest of honor, Ronny Chiu, Pharm.D. of Walgreens California. sending out hundreds of e-mails and text messages was only the first step, handling the event was a totally different story...

accepting the job as project coordinator was a no-brainer. i had no work, the job offer was home-based, and the pay was good. i was scheduled to report in the office 3 times a week but i only reported whenever i felt like it. the job was perfect for me.

so then november 21 came. i was an hour and a half early, doing last minute preparations and setting up the venue. i was waiting for a Ronny Chiu whom i haven't met yet nor have seen even in pictures. one by one, people were starting to fill up the room. everyone was anxious to find out who exactly is this Ronny Chiu. A man then entered the room, and looked for Ron. that's me! it was him, and a firm handshake started things off.

Ronny just went through his business. he had a presentation about the Walgreens Company, and then interviewed qualified applicants to be hired as pharmacy interns in the US. i was in charge of his schedule and i was with him in the most part of the day. and in between interviews we would talk about things from the state of pharmacy in the philippines to the traffic situation in manila.

after a couple of days of presentation and interviews, a huge problem reared its ugly head. apparently, the pharmacists were having issues with the POEA. applicants were no longer allowed to be hired directly by Walgreens since they have exceeded their quota. and unless Walgreens ties up with an agency in the philippines, something the company opposes, all aspiring Walgreens employees will have to look for other opportunities.

fortunately, someone managed to set-up a meeting between Ronny and the POEA deputy administrator. and with Ronny not familiar on how to get to the POEA office, i was there to accompany him.

it was a good thing i was wearing formal wear that week. we went to the POEA office and the deputy administrator welcomed us to his office, all the while thinking i was someone important. i think the necktie did the trick. i was even asking Ronny if i should just be waiting outside and not be part of the meeting. he said it was okay.

so they started talking while i was intently listening. from time to time i would nod my head to make them feel that i was indeed part of that meeting. i think i was able to squeeze a couple of words in. good enough for me. the meeting ended in a stalemate. Ronny gave out his calling card and so did the deputy administrator. he also gave me one but i could only give him a "thank you" and a handshake for i don't have a calling card.

it was really cool hanging out with Ronny. i got to meet all kinds of people and i learned a lot from him. he cares for the filipino pharmacists, even going out of his way just to give them a chance to work at a great company. he is down-to-earth that you won't even think that he's raking in hundreds of thousand of dollars from the way he handles himself in a crowd. hopefully we cross paths again and maybe he could put in a good word for me so i could get rich myself! just kidding. or maybe not.

swipe

enough with the t-shirts, enough with the saggy jeans. enough with the polo shirts and the sneakers. if i'm going to be a professional, i have to look like a professional. i think it's about that time to start filling my closet with long-sleeved shirts and slacks...

i never really owned any formal wear until 3rd year highschool. and i only bought it for junior prom. i never had problems though. if ever i needed a long-sleeved shirt for a presentation or any formal occasions, all i had to do was walk next-door and pick from my uncle's closet. mix and match the shirts with the comic ties and i'm all set.

making money out of practically nothing might not be something to be proud of, i'll use the not-so-hard-earned money to good use: investment in formal wear. my borrowing days will be over soon. a quick trip to SM north edsa is the key.

a scorching hot december afternoon sun and the large crowd at the mall can't stop me now. it's a saturday and my intuitions are proven right, only a fraction of the crowd was actually at the mall to buy things. people were all over the mall except in the stores, i was the only one in the men's section of the department store.

at every turn i saw something i like. both my eyes were busy; one was looking at the clothes, the other one looking at my wallet. two long-sleeved shirts later, my peso-gauge was nearing empty. i guess i'll just have to call it a day and come back for other stuff after a wallet-refill. but my wallet had an ace up its sleeve. a credit card.

for years, my mom has been giving me an extension of her credit card. i never really used it because i never really needed it. today will be the first time to swipe my card. picked a couple of neckties and i'm starting to get the hang of it. if i don't pump the brakes now, i might get addicted to using it. i started to send text messages to my parents with the subject: "i'll pay for it, i swear."

i need someone to hide my credit card and fast!

my name is ron

do good things and good things happen. do bad things and it'll come back to haunt you...

i was a young boy when i learned about the concept of karma. the first time i heard it, i believed it right away because it made sense. it's probably due to my naive concept of the world, but as i grew older i realized that the world is indeed not fair. then jason lee showed up on jack tv...

months before, jason lee was a guest on conan (all hail the king of late night tv). his show "my name is earl" was about to debut on nbc. the show revolves around earl and his discovery of karma. i saw the clip for the pilot episode but that's it. there's no nbc on philippine cable tv.

jacktv to the rescue. i was surprised and grateful that jacktv included "my name is earl" in their line-up. i chanced upon its pilot episode and instantly, i'm hooked. not only was it hilarious, it also gave the spotlight to the good guy. good or bad, everybody gets what they deserve.

karma, you gotta love it. i just hope i did enough good things to balance buying a pirated copy of the series...

judging oblivious abandon

if not for the advantages of the previous page, i wouldn't be thinking about you. if not for the flash and the words therein, i could've ignored my memory of you. it seems you were meant to linger in my head for the rest of the night...

i already forgot about you. i just added "busy" in my vocabulary. i already gave up on you not because i wanted to but because i felt i had to. your words make a few years seem like decades. your subtle way of holding back or worse, a polite rejection. either way, i'm no rock.

but tonight i'm thinking i want to find out more about you and get to know you better. let your guard down for a moment. break the wall down and let me in for a while. you can make this go away in the morning or make this last for longer.

here comes the cold...

Walgreens

Good Day!

Dr. Ronny Chiu, Pharmacy Supervisor of the California Bay North District of The Walgreen Company, in cooperation with Rx Review Center, will be conducting a presentation about the history and benefit overview of Walgreens. Walgreens is the No.1 retail Pharmacy in the United States. The presentation will be held on November 21, 9:00 am at the Rx Review center located at 1919 F. Agoncillo St., Malate, Manila. Limited seats only. If interested, please reply with your contact details to this email address or call/text 09209254119.

Dr. Chiu will also interview qualified applicants for possible employment as pharmacy intern on November 22 and 23. Limited slots only. So if you already possess an FPGEC certificate, passed the FPGEE, or about to take the FPGEE this December, please contact me so I can schedule you an interview with Dr. Chiu.

Thank you for your time and we hope to hear from
you at the soonest time possible.

Yours Truly,

Ron Gilbert Go, RPh
Project Coordinator
Rx Review Center
http://www.rxreview.com

car crash

i was about to put my foot down, drill it to the floor even. i was about to show everyone that i'm a pushover no more. the lanes are open, pedal to the floor. flying on the highway and then all of a sudden i hit a brick wall in the middle of the road.

this morning, as i was about to go to work, i called our dog tiny but he was busy sleeping. it was a bit strange for he was an energizer bunny. but i was late and didn't bother him. the 8 hours of work did its toll on my body and the traffic jam in the city of potholes only made it worse. but the worst was still to come. i came home and my cousin asked me "did u cry?"

i was perplexed. why would i cry? then they realized i haven't heard the news. tiny passed away and joined his friend spark in dog heaven.

only two nights ago, he was like on a sugar rush. moving around in circles doing anything to catch my attention. he will only stop once i played with him. i think he was a lonely dog. that makes us two. he grew up with spark always by his side but these past few days he had no one during daytime for everyone had their own thing going. i keep on thinking, i could've done something. if only i took a couple of seconds to check on him this morning, i could've saved him from what will eventually end his life. another lesson to be learned.

i'm putting my reinvention on hold. for no matter how much we hate the world or just the people around us, we'll surely miss them once they're gone. and anyone can go in a snap. how many times will we have to be reminded to say "i love you" to the ones we love or even make them feel appreciated?

say hi to spark for me tiny...

reinvented

after almost a year of growing my hair long, i've decided to cut it short again. i figured if i'm going to be a professional, i have to look like a professional. cutting my hair short was just the tip of the iceberg as far as changes from last year are concerned.

this time last year, i was still in college, trying to make ends meet just to get where i am right now. how i wish i could do the opposite. no longer am i staying up late studying for an exam. i now stay up late because i can't sleep, hounded by questions that only time can answer.

this time last year, working abroad or even the thought of it was impossible for me to comprehend. yes, the money is there but it's for a price. you'll be sacrificing being with family and friends. you'll be sacrificing the life, no matter how difficult, you're comfortable with. some might argue that you sacrifice for the future of your family. have they thought of the sacrifice that the whole family will have to endure when a loved one goes away? i've always believed that you don't have to break-up the family to keep it alive. though i still believe so, i've opened my doors. i'm now seriously considering working outside of the country not mainly to make money and have a secured future, but more so to have a fresh start...

this time last year, i was the all around nice guy, even if i know that nice guys finish last. the past year i've learned that being nice will get you nowhere and i've decided to tone it down a bit. in this world, only a handful see and appreciate the good in people, and only to them will i be good, they deserve it.

it's always a balancing act, where God merits your good deeds and the people around you take advantage of it. i now understand. for years i've upset the balance doing all the good that i can. it's now time to get dirty with people who get dirty but still be nice to people who are nice. only God can judge me.

long sleeves and cab talk

i was ready for my job interview but i was running late on schedule. it's a good thing that the heavens were smiling at me, the series of fortunate events kept me on track. first was catching an fx taxi in valenzuela, a rare occurrence since last year. then at monumento station, crowds were spilling from the platform on to the sidewalks. it's a good thing the fx route was up to 5th ave. there were long lines as well but there was an express lane for those who already have tickets. good thing i still have my stored-value ticket from last month. still running a bit late, i decided to take a taxi cab on buendia. the roads were full of taxi cabs but were all taken. but after a long long walk from taft avenue, i found one. i came in 10 minutes early.

a heavy sunday

just when i thought things couldn't get any worse, now comes this. while i'm on a silent feud with my grandfather, a beloved pet died.

for 3 days now, i've been on a constant frown, keeping in the profanity but my face surely was not hiding it. old people can sometimes be such inconsiderate assholes that they care for no one but themselves. maybe they're thinking that they only have a few years left of existence and we should make it great for them. i totally agree. but if having their way makes life a living hell for the people around them, it's a totally different thing. don't get me wrong, i do have some love for my grandpa, but him throwing his weight around is just wrong. on the contrary, i think it would be better if he would do good things for the people around him and make his last few years on earth count. that's what i'd do.

and then some more bad news. spark, our laidback companion, died this morning. he was only 3 1/2 years old. he only knows two tricks, eating and sleeping. it probably got the better of him causing some problems and now he's in dog heaven.

our first dog was puffy, a japanese spitz. a few years ago, he got away and didn't return for a week. my mom was very depressed at the time and bought another dog. she found spark, a 3-month old labrador and since his owner at the time was leaving the country, spark came with his pal tiny, a mixed breed pomeranian. then after a week puffy came back from out of nowhere and then we had ourselves three little critters. spark just slept his way throughout the day, getting up only when it's time to eat or if he wants his belly to be scratched. he grew from a small puppy to a giant dog in only a few months time. for the last few days, he wasn't eating and last night we decided to bring him to the vet. my mom had the chance to see him one last time earlier this morning but got a call later.

if there's anything in this world that i'm scared of, it's death. not only my death but more on a death of a loved one. i'm scared to lose the ones around me but i think this is God's way of preparing me for the inevitable.

rest in peace buddy...

the road to employment

jobstreet.com has become a friendster for the past couple of months; every time i'm online, i just have to log-in and check if anything's up. i applied for any pharmacist position that suits me and there isn't much. and after waiting for what seems like an eternity, i finally got a couple of calls from would-be employers. the dates were set and my journey has begun.

makati city is undoubtedly the business mecca of the philippines and being familiar with every street and every corner of the busy city is invaluable to a job hunter like me. and since makati is 2 hours away from valenzuela, i knew finding the right buildings would be tough. that was until the information superhighway offered some help. after searching for maps, i found the website kabeet.com, an interactive internet mapping system. a few more clicks and there it was. zoom in and zoom out, pan left and right, every building and every street is just a click a way. getting lost was an impossibility.

another board exam scandal?

the nursing board exam leakage scandal is on its death bed. i'll give it a month's time 'til it's finally laid to rest. it will rest but not in peace. i doubt if the issue will be resolved, but i bet it will lose its fire and be forgotten. it's not a surprise considering the history of politics in the country. be it a leakage, corruption, money laundering, election cheating, or even murder, if someone big is behind it, more often than not, he'll get away with it. and while the PRC tries it's best to resolve the nursing issue, i've discovered another issue concerning board examinations. this does not concern the PRC directly, but it's an issue that mirrors the origins of the much talked about leakage...

july 2006. i, together with 1,208 other pharmacy graduates coming from 37 schools took the pharmacist licensure examinations. UST's sharlene lao claimed the top spot, 2 points clear of 2nd placer jeane constantino from UP Manila. my alma mater was disappointed to say the least but as a consolation prize, it was the only school to have a 100% passing rate.

a month ago, after the results have been released and after taking our oaths, my aunt told me that she saw a banner at our lady of fatima university congratulating its students for having a 100% passing rate. i was surprised and just assumed that it was an old banner as fatima had a 100 passing rate a year ago, with 4 out of 4 students passing the board exam.

i was on my way home last week stuck in traffic when a yellow banner caught my eye. i saw the lines "July 2006 Pharmacist Licensure Exams," "100% Passing Rate," and "Our Lady of Fatima" all in one streamer and i thought this isn't right. i tried to give them the benefit of a doubt thinking maybe they got the info wrong or something but i think by now, 2 months after the results have been released, they should've corrected themselves already. the proud banner still hangs to this day.

i have nothing against OLFU, i just want the truth to be heard. if this is OLFU's way to get more students of pharmacy to enroll in their system, then i'm certainly against it. healthy competition is always good but when things get dirty, as with the review center wars that lead to the leakage, it's a different story. besides, 11 out of 14 fatima students passed the boards for an average of 79%, where's the shame in that?

the adventure

A friend asked me to download the song "The Adventure" by Angels and Airwaves. I had no idea at the time of what the song was like, but from the sound of it, i assumed it was a soundtrack song for a disney movie. And so with nothing else to do on an active internet connection, i downloaded the song on limewire. and after completing the download, i was instantly brought back to the penshoppe denimlab rockfest.

it was at the rockfest where i heard the song for the first time. it played as the opening music for the program while the projectors started showing 20 years of penshoppe. i don't know why but somehow, the music matched the moment.

the short presentation highlighted the ad campaigns of penshoppe through the years. remember their slogan "Be True" and "Express Yourself?" though i'm not one of them, i recall half of the gradeschool population twirling baby towels on their fingers with a logo of either a flower for Be True or bold letters of EY! for Express Yourself. i never really figured out how to continuously spin a small towel on a finger but i do have at least 10 penshoppe shirts back then.

in a world where people would rather buy an imitation of a high-end brand than an original mid-class product, penshoppe should reinvent itself. the collections they paraded that night on the runway was definitely notches higher than the penshoppe we know of. they're in the right direction as far as reinvention is concerned but they also must not forget their roots.

it's funny how we associate anything with music. a love song reminds you of a former love, slow music brings you back to slow dances at junior prom, and angel's and airwaves' "the adventure" brought me back to araneta center. this is for sure not the last time a song will give me blasts from the pasts, after all, music is the soundtrack of life...

glued

i can't remember the last time a sunday night offered this much tv action. batista was featured on gma's mel & joey and on abs-cbn's rated k. then later on, he would be on smackdown trying to recapture his gold against king booker. at the same hour was formula one; schumi was battling with alonso for the championship and with kimi for the italian grand prix race lead. the invention of the remote control was a real lifesaver, but still i was wishing i had 2 tv sets on my room.

after watching the animal on a short visit to eat bulaga yesterday, i needed to see more of the former world heavyweight champion. tito sotto had the mic and the pleasure to interview batista but the whole thing was an ugly sight for me. tito was blurting out facts about batista that for a wrestling follower like me was just plain ignorance on the part of the former senator. the questions were just stupid.

tito: so you do original moves like the batista bomb? how do you come up with that?
batista: (baffled) well actually it's not my original move (the batista bomb is an adaptation of the wrestling move power bomb). shane mcmahon was the one who suggested that i use it.
tito: oh, yes, yes. mr. mcmahon! yes. you also originated the running power slam?
batista: (again confused) yeah i do it, but i didn't come up with it.
tito: how about the spine buster?
batista: (wanted to clarify but was seemingly tired of the ignorant questions) yes, yes.
(and what good is an interview with a foreign personality without the following questions...)
tito: so do you like filipino food?
batista: yeah, i love filipino food, adobo, pansit, lumpia, i love it.
tito: how about tagalog words? do you know any tagalog words?
batista: well not a lot, i just know "mahal kita?" is that how you say it?

well, compared to that eat bulaga visit, the joey de leon and korina sanchez interviews were much much better. instead of focusing on the animal's in-ring personality, they tackled much more of his personal life, how he grew up and how he is as a father to his two kids.

switching back and forth from channel 2 to channel 7, i was missing part of the pre-show of the italian grand prix at monza. just in time for the race start, kimi was in the lead on the first few laps but relinquished the lead to michael schumacher after the pit stops. alonso on the other hand started 10th on the grid but managed to gain 3rd place. but with 10 laps to go, his engine blew out, to the delight of the pro-ferrari crowd. schumi finished first for the 90th time, and gained 10 points against alonso's nil. only 2 points separate schumi and alonso on the driver's championship. then an emotional schumi called it quits, announcing that this season would be his last on the formula one circuit. godspeed michael. kick fernando alonso's ass and win that championship!

now switching from espn-starsports to jack tv, batista's championship match with king booker was the main event at smackdown. with a little help from the king's court, king booker pinned the animal and leaving him a bloody mess at the hands of finley. still no gold for batista. but hey, wouldn't it be better if he won the world heavyweight championship here in the philippines when smackdown comes this october?

"the animal" unleashed in manila

the beast has been unleashed... in manila! "the animal" batista comes to manila for the first time to promote the wwe smackdown tour this october. and for a wrestling aficionado like me, it was like i was hit with the batista bomb...

channel surfing while having my lunch in front of the tv, i saw eat bulaga's bulagaan portion and the questions were wrestling related. and then i overheard joey de leon saying that batista will be a special guest on the show come saturday. i was in disbelief. i knew he'll come this october for the smackdown tour but i never knew he'll be a guest at eat bulaga. i normally don't watch the noontime show but saturday was a marked date, i've got to see this for myself.

then confirmation came when i got a text message form a friend. he was at crowne plaza attending a seminar but was more interested with the rumor that batista is already in the philippines and was in fact in the same hotel as he is. he wasn't able to catch a glimpse but i knew the media would be there to tell the whole story for me.

the 2 giant networks both had batista on the "still to come" feature. it was well worth the wait. proudly showing-off a tattoo of the philippine flag, he was talking about adobo, lumpia, pancit, and of course, the pacman. the animal wants to walk manny to the boxing ring, something his fellow wrestler, the undertaker, did when manny pacquiao knocked-out another mexican prior to his 2nd fight with erik morales.

my mind explodes when i think about batista being a proud filipino. i was a witness to his rise to stardom and all that time, the thought of a filipino heritage never crossed my mind. he was, back then, just a back-up act to the greatest wrestler alive today, the game, triple h. then one by one, the great wrestlers started fading away. the rock was into movies, goldberg had feuds with vince mcmahon, stone cold was busy drinking beer, no one was left to level with the game. no one until batista turned his back on his mentor and became the wwe's hottest commodity. to this day, i think that only he can match up to triple h. not john cena, not jbl, not even shawn michaels. "to be the man, you got to beat the man." and he sure did beat the hell out of the king of kings, making the animal "the man" in sports entertainment.

free

before anything else... Heart Evangelista fell down twice on the runway! you read it here first! details later...

an appointment in the morning seemed impossible since for the past weeks, i get up at around 12 noon from a 3 or 4 am sleep. surprisingly, i fell asleep early last night and woke up 5 am. then we were off to san fernando pampanga. after waiting for no one, we then went to hagonoy, bulacan. after delivering a few medical supplies to their hospital, next stop was malolos, bulacan. there i paid for a PTR, professional tax whatever, costing me 330 pesos for i don't know what. after lunch, i was ready to go home and sleep.

with some things to do in qc, they dropped me off at sm north edsa. i took the bus home and with the summer heat boasting on the rainy season, the "no curtain" effect of the bus was terrible. then a simple invitation would change the day drastically; two patron tickets for the penshoppe rockfest.

an RPh's take on the RN leakage scandal

I've read the papers and I've seen the tv reports. Being a graduate of a health science course and being a board passer myself, It's hard not to give notice. I don't know when it all started but since the issue just won't die down, I might as well share my thoughts on it.

There was a leakage in the recent Nursing Board Exam, that's a fact. The SM Manila review, the powerpoint presentation, no one's denying that it happened. It all comes down to 2 things. First, who's to blame? And second, is a retake in order?

So who's to blame? Fingers are pointing everywhere but I think I know who the mastermind is. During the first week of the issue, I saw an ANC talk show with Tina Monsod Palma and her guests were the PNA president and a couple of nursing college deans. While the deans were thoroughly discussing the current problems of the nursing profession, Mr. Cordero was quick to point out that all the board members should resign. He was so negative and I tried to make sense out of his statements but it was so farfetched that I thought He was just a complete waste of time.

A week passed and the truth slowly took off its cover. Proof of the leakage was all over the place and it all pointed to one man. The SM Manila review, the plane tickets for the board members, and the threats to board members retracting their original testimonies, everything comes down to Mr. Cordero. Now I'm no detective and I know I don't know the Nursing profession that well but it's too obvious. With his son's failure to pass the exam as his excuse, he's got some explaining to do. I think we have ourselves a mastermind, former PNA president George Cordero. (Please don't kill me Mr. Cordero, I'm too young to die!)

Is there a need for a retake? I saw the footages of oath-takings and I'm not too pleased with it. Not including the fact that there was a TRO, i think it's just wrong. I don't want my license to have a footnote reading "exam still under investigation." I want my license to be legit, and if I have to take it again just so I can silence all the critics, I would.

I've seen the proud board passers making faces when one proposes a retake. Grow-up. Yes, you did not enroll in review centers, you self-studied. I'm not taking that away from you. But with that, I don't think retaking the exam would be such a big problem. The re-take is free of charge and only includes Test 3 and 5, parts that were said to be fraudulent. C'mon, we all know you're just being lazy. The time, effort and finance spent will all be worth a name extension without the dirt. (To the "No Retake" protesters, please don't kill me either!)

way beyond

the short rain has provided a cold breeze, my body is tired from working out, and i drank a glass of milk. sleep should've been automatic. after more or less an hour of tossing and turning, i decided to get up and write the night away. what seemed to be a conducive environment for sleep, was a conducive environment for contemplation.

last month, i suddenly found myself able to return to philippine standard time and sleep like normal people do. but for the last 2 weeks i'm back in search of the sandman. maybe it's the startling information i found out a couple of weeks back or maybe it's the thought of waking up to a dull day the next day with nothing to look forward to. either way, it ain't fun. i just wish i have michael newman's remote in my hand right now and click on fast-forward.

yes, i've watched adam sandler's new movie and it was a great movie. plus kate beckinsale was so hot in her jammies! who wouldn't wanna wake-up next to her? if i could only find a clone that likes chinito guys who loves to write... forever and ever babe...

it was an awesome movie delivering the haha's and a moral lesson but i got a problem with the "remote" concept though. see michael can fast-forward to a time that he wishes, with his body on auto-pilot during the time warp. but on the other hand, when he wants to go back in time, he goes back as a third person viewing his life. but i guess the writer's concept fits in perfectly to deliver the moral of the movie. my idea of the universal remote that controls my universe would have a rewind button where i could correct the past.

but the movie butterfly effect thought us that changing the past is not necessarily the answer to the problems of today. so i take it back, i don't need michael newman's remote. i might as well follow on his footsteps and throw my universal remote, or even the concept of it, in the trashcan.

spill

troubled state, 8 days straight.
left behind, way ahead.
perfect timing.
burnout.
regret.
neither tuesday nor wednesday.
days are over.
butterfly, bitterfly.
market, ice cream.
wishful thinking.
covered in rain.
quiet, still quiet.
listen.
waiting.
stagnant.
numb.
blank, clarity.
talk.
solitude.
love soon.
justify destiny.

my bad

i was looking for some credit and maybe it was premature of me to say bad things about the school administration. yesterday was the college reception for the passers of the july 2006 pharmacy licensure examinations.

i got a call last week inviting me to the college reception. needless to say, i was surprised. then a few days later i got text messages from friends. they had a sighting of a banner in the college. really? was the administration reading my blog?

i went in the room, saw some guests, and saw some food. one handed me a piece of paper and in it i saw only 4 names including mine. out of 22 passers only 5 came on time. they didn't wait for the others so the more or less 30-minute program started with only 5 honorees. the dean gave a speech, so did a topnotcher. all in all it was well... i dunno...

i heard somewhere that the answer to life's disappointments is lowered expectations. i came with just that. if not for my lowered expectations, that reception would've sucked bigtime. the only thing great about that day was the fact that i was able to catch up with old friends.

in the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, i'll still give credit to the school admin. though i can read the disappointment on their faces for having only 4 UP students in the top 20, not to mention UST got no.1, they still observed tradition. and that's all i ever wanted.

the sub

i never thought i'd feel this way again. all this time i thought i'll never have a taste of it again. tonight i'll be sleeping with a smile.

i looked forward to a promise to be fulfilled. after a long day, even a single bite would be great. my mom and dad left, then i was alone, eagerly waiting for their return. i looked at the clock but looking at it seemed to slow the hands of time. the anticipation was killing me but i had to wait some more.

my parents then came and with them was my joy. subway sandwiches! there were two, each cut in three's. my mom, my dad, and my sister all had a piece. i had a whole subway sandwich all for myself. the foot-long bread jam-packed with all sorts of veggies and bacon strips was well worth the long wait. a couple of oatmeal cookies more and i'll be in heaven.

damn i love subway!

from pharma to graphic design?

i'm still on the hunt for the big J, waiting for a ring from a number of potential employers. and even if they call, i don't think it's the job i want. ok, i understand that i have to start from the bottom up, that i need to gain experience first before i can demand the job i want, but can u blame me for looking for a shortcut? i mean, i've heard it's possible, so why can't it happen to me?

i'm feeling the pressure, so much that i psyched myself up to average to below-average jobs. after all, they say it's not the hiring season, the opportunities are scarce, and time is of the essence...

a ray of light. i received a text message from a schoolmate that offers a job for 3 months at wyeth. cool. but here's the catch, i'll be hired not as a registered pharmacist but as a graphic designer. say what? graphic designer... graphic designer... nope, i remember well that i graduated BS Industrial Pharmacy. did i drink too much again? wait, let me ask my imaginary friends...

i guess i was known in the college as a techie guy, doing great things bound only by the capabilities of my desktop. did that impress people? it was just a hobby, perfection was not a requirement. my skills, on a scale of 1 to 10 is at 6 and that's a generous assumption. i never thought the products of my fun-time can give such a thing as big as a... (excuse the pun) as big as a J.

and the pressure keeps on mounting. i got a message this morning regarding the job. the graphic designer will create artworks using adobe photoshop or corel draw, programs i'm familiar with but not good at. to top it all off, the artworks will be on the carton boxes and tin cans of wyeth products. so you're telling me that if i get the job, my work will be displayed on cans of infant formulas all over the philippines? thats huge! no, check that, that's HUGE!

last i heard, the candidates are down to two, me and some other dude. i hope i get i, God willing!

HS III

a few raindrops and some mellow music, the nostalgia is once again in session...

i think it was march when gp asked me to go to tiendesitas to watch the band tribe of levi. or was it the band he watched? wink. moving on... a couple of our friends didn't make it due to prior commitments, and so after the band played their last song, it became a roni-gp drink, talk and reminisce affair. out of nowhere i asked him what year in his life was his glory year. a year, if given the chance to go back in time, you'd go back to in a snap. i was thinking third year highschool was my year. he was thinking third year high too.

april in cavite, i asked a similar question to my housemates. and like a scripted afternoon tv show they one by one responded with "third year highschool!"

third year highschool, a time when our name patches had the "III" indicating 3 years in Notre Dame. i remember back in first year, a classmate told me that the best year in highschool was the third. he could never be more right.

so what was so special about 3rd year high? here's my list (the ones i can recall right now):

1. i won the award for mathematician of the year. i think the final score was 3 to 5, out of a possible 15. pretty low score for a so-called "mathematician." good thing i was up against a dumber opponent.
2. i sang in front of the whole highschool batch and our band got a 3rd place finish.
3. junior prom. need i say more?
4. the first time i fell in love
5. i was introduced to alcohol and all its perks
6. breaking out on the dancefloor at HRC or anywhere there's a dancefloor
7. recalling everything that happened that year was like watching my own version of "can't hardly wait" or any other highschool movie...

credit

the question is still unanswered but it led to another question. what happened to tradition?

in my years in the college of pharmacy, i noticed a pattern of some sort. after every board exam, i'll receive a text message "UP did it again!" forwarded to me by a number of friends indicating another 100% passing percentage for UP Manila College of Pharmacy. i never really give a crap about it then; i was still 2-3 years away from my board exam.

after the text messages, a banner will be put up at the building entrance congratulating the successful examinees with all their names on it. again it was nothing to me. i passed over it almost everyday like it was just a shade from the sun.

next up was the celebration. the college will have a thanksgiving party, inviting the board passers for some food. i remember going downstairs after finishing a class, a friend would hand me a plate of spaghetti, pancit, or any excess food from the party. free snacks for today, then tomorrow will be just like any other day.

now it's our turn, i have the checklist on my left hand and a pen on the other.

BANNER: "x"
i went to the college more than a week after the results but saw no banners. instead i saw a piece of white paper with our names begging to be noticed on the bulletin board.
TEXT MESSAGE: "x"
i was eagerly awaiting the text message from the school wondering if we passed or not. but the "UP did it again" message was nowhere in sight and i found out the results by myself.
THANKSGIVING: "x"
it has been almost a month since i took the exam and i'm still waiting for that cheap pancit and ketchup spaghetti.

okay, so UP Manila did not have the top 1 in the recent board exams and only 2 are on the top 10, get over it! i just want my fair share of college pride. they didn't even bother to know if other students made it in the top 20. hey, i could be one of them. i don't think they're even planning on spending less than a thousand pesos to feed the successful examinees. UP Manila College of Pharmacy, proud to be no.1 but can't be seen or felt otherwise. go UP! crap.

the ?

behind the smiles and hiding in the celebrations was the anticipation for something bigger other than the big J.

i was registering for my professional id card when the PRC handed me a paper that incited my curiosity. i was supposed to just sign the paper and give it right back but i saw a handwritten "86.20" on it. i assumed it was my board rating and i started to contemplate on what it means. could it be that the glory i achieved by having an "RPh" extension has something more to offer? seeing the scores of the top 10, i knew i had a shot at the top 20. the 10th placer only had an 87.45 rating, just more than a point away from mine. this'll be interesting...

for weeks after the results were published, i tried to look for the list of the top 20. i checked every online publication, i asked friends working in the academe, anything to find answers, but to no avail. for a while, i gave up, knowing that my grade was just speculation. i also knew that the board rating and ranking would be given at the oathtaking ceremonies together with the id's and certificates. i waited for august 1 but it only answered half of the question. yes, i did have a score of 86.20, but did i make it to the top 20?

the answer, we might never know...

one

with so many things going on, to blog is indispensable. the first of august has only 20 minutes left. my legs are sore, my body is exhausted, my eyes sleepy but my spirit is wide-awake.

i've given myself this day as my deadline for living the bum life. right after i was made aware that i aced the licensure exams, i looked forward to the oathtaking ceremonies as a second graduation. the following day will be the start of a new chapter in my life. this day will be my last day to live without worries and i only have 15 minutes left.

unlike my college graduation, i took a different approach to the oathtaking ceremonies. i must admit that i really looked forward to this day, the day i'll be officially Ron Gilbert G. Go, RPh but i knew i'll only be disappointed if i expect too much out of this experience. my college graduation was not even half of what i expected it to be, mainly because i thought it'd be the best day of my life. it was definitely not. but with lowered expectations and warnings of pancit worth the P800 peso ticket, i would say this was better than my previous graduation.

it was a short program lasting for less than 3 hours. a board member started his closing remarks while we were still finishing our food. we got out of fiesta pavilion and were in line to get our certificates, id cards, and some manila hotel souvenirs. i never really felt the oathtaking ceremonies but i feel great about it. my prc id and almost 30 minutes of posing for pictures was well worth the wait.

after manila hotel, my next stop was chino roces ave. to pick up a friend at roche and then meet with a couple more at the shang. i thought the day wouldn't be complete without college friends, my real friends (stop crying gp, you guys are my real friends too! f4!). stuck in traffic, i thought i wouldn't make it. taft was a real pain in the ass and it started to get dark. personal detours leading to mixed up directions coupled with a disconnected phone line, the odds are against me. but God wasn't. a couple of phone calls cleared things out in the nick of time, just before i was about to get lost in makati. whew, what a relief.

the shangri-la was again the place to catch up with friends. after some conversation and laughter over less than mediocre food, we were set to be dessert critics again. after deciding on where our "spoons" or "yums" would be of worth, closing time would have its way and postponed our taste-test to another time. we settled for some coffee instead. things would've been better if we were complete but the 4 of us was fun nonetheless. all in all, the night, though short, was sweet.

at 10pm, the mrt closes its doors. with one of us utilizing the train service, the night had to be cut short. the other two, i gave a ride home. from the shang to fairview, one got off at commonwealth. and then there was only one left. from fairview to munoz, irony was defined. who would have thought i'll be talking to the first strike about love and the craziness it bestows upon us? my butterfly was mentioned, so was her present, my past, her past, even our past if there was one.

i'm officially a registered pharmacist and it's officially a new day. a new season for misadventures...

crash

just before kaemi, locally known as glenda, totally lost its strength, i was able to squeeze in a few dvd hours. 1 movie stood out. prior to winning the oscars, conan considered crash as one of the best of the year. and what conan says, i believe.

talk about racial issues, this film says it all but it's not the theme that stands out. i was awed at how their lives are somewhat interconnected and at how complex people are. a seemingly bad guy turns out to have a heart of gold, a good guy kills a man, a man doing the right thing is actually doing what is wrong, it was crazy! and i love it!

brokeback mountain vs. crash, my heart is torn... NOT! i don't plan on seeing two cowboys get it on. i'd prefer watching freddie prinze jr. and his chick flicks if i'm looking for a love story.

weathering the storm

there used to be a time when a "no classes" bulletin makes my day. it's been raining non-stop since last week and classes have been suspended for a couple of days. it all means nothing to me now. just another day for the unemployed to miss the sun.

with nothing to do at home, i sleep until the sound of the storm wakes me up. a throbbing headache was my reward for sleeping all day. i'll take it rather than feeling worthless thinking about what's next and what's missing.

next up: the big J. less than a week 'til the oathtaking ceremonies, i'm running out of time. and it's not like there's nothing out there. i've been offered job opportunities but i just don't feel like it's the right job for me. maybe not yet. as much as i (and mostly my mom) want to have a job ASAP, i'm taking my time waiting for the right job to show its face.
i should fight the pressure and do what i think is right.

missing: a love to share. a few days ago a friend asked me how to get over a person. a few hours later another friend asked me the same question. being covered in rain was apparently inevitable in july. i was suddenly joe d' mango, or better yet ron d' mango, RPh! i shared my expertise in standing up from a fall and moving on. and there's nothing to it really, all we need is time. and keeping yourself busy with work is a good way of passing time.

i'll take my own advice, keep myself busy with work. yeah, i definitely need a job.

The Big J

no, this is not about the living legend of philippine basketball Robert Jaworski, i'm talking about the other big j, or more appropriately the quest for a big j, a job.

now that my academic life is over and the licensure exam is in the bag, i'm now pressured to look for work. don't get me wrong, it's not that i don't want to work and help out, it's just that i don't want to rush this, this could make or break my life. but i guess i don't have that luxury anymore, the effects of my 2 year college extension are taking its toll on me.

like my career choice in college, i'm going in blind. i was accepted in ateneo de manila in their BS math program, and though math was my thing, the location and the tuition fee scared my parents. next stop was mechanical engineering at UST. i was all set until my grandpa persuaded me to take a different path. apparently UP manila reconsiders UPCAT examinees who didn't make the quota but still had high scores. with UP's less-than-a-cellphone's worth tuition fee together with promises from my parents (which by the way were never fulfilled), i took the chance and put my future in the hands of the UP manila registrar. industrial pharmacy was where i'm headed but in time i have grown to love this course that i used to despise. and now here i am, a registered pharmacist.

after sending out my distress signal, helping hands were aplenty. job openings here and there, tips from experienced colleagues, the support was overwhelming. and though the most common advice was to decide on where i want to be, whether hospital, manufacturing or whatever, bottom line is, i don't have to think about it carefully. another ear-popping "look for a job" speech would make me ship out of this joint and take whatever job there is just to say "you happy?" when the real question should be "am i happy?"

SOS

everytime i think of the good news, i can't help but look up to the heavens and offer a prayer of thanks. 4 days after receiving my "RPh" name-extension, i still have some circulating adrenalin in my body. but the decline of it is anything but slow. i'm settling back to my old routine, still looking for the fast-forward button.

i may have planned to go back to this but back then i thought it would be fun. it's the Same Old Sh*t, waking up past noon, looking for anything to eat, surf the net, watch cable tv, stay up late... the life of a bum. it was fun and all but now it's just dragging. i think this chapter of my life should have a dot and the only way to do it is to put a gun on its head and pull the trigger myself.

so what's next? being a grown-up. as much as i hate to be one, i have to be one. though i still have a couple of pending victory parties, i'll take this time to jumpstart the turning of a new leaf. the distress signal has been sent. SOS. i need a job. somebody throw me a lifejacket.

solitude check

in the midst of the celebrations, i felt a sudden emptiness, like my heart stopped its beating to catch my attention. maybe it's the sad songs randomly playing on my desktop or maybe its just the fact that my heart has been screaming for something to quench its thirst. i'm now free from the clutches of the licensure exams. i'm now free to mend a lonely heart...

for the second day in a row, my mornings are upbeat, still celebrating my first days as a professional, but the nights tell a different story. i guess being in a cave where the walls are all numbers and generic names took its toll on me. a snowball full of thoughts of finding the one has started rolling...

let me check my "love for dummies: hopeless romantic edition" book. hmmm... oh yeah, the classic "don't look for love, let love look for you" cliche. yeah right, that'll work. i think the author of the book, if there is such a book, was probably looking at me as his guinea pig. another quote goes: "If you want to catch a butterfly don't run after it. instead sit down and open your hand. it will just land on your palm when it needs to rest. That's the way to find love." i've been sitting down for quite sometime now, still no butterflies. i think my butterfly prefers someone running after her and cathing her with a net. lucky me.

the solitude drama has begun. i can't wait for my quarter life crisis.

bliss

the 2nd day of exams created mixed reactions. i for one thought it was relatively easier than the 1st day while the others had a different opinion. either way, what's important is that it's all over and done. time to brace ourselves for the waiting game.

what they said was true, it's harder waiting for the exam results than studying for the exam itself. i would gladly trade-in the 2 days of waiting for the 2 months i spent studying. if only it was possible. i can only think of 1 remedy and that's not to think about it at all. i got to get my mind as far from thoughts of the exam as possible.

the day after the last day of exams, i drowned myself in dvd's. fun with dick and jane, scary movie 4, anything to cheer me up. i even finished the koreanovela "my girl," which by the way was awesome! aja! even before the exam, Joo yoo rin (or jasmine in the ABS-CBN version) would make me laugh and help me in coping with exam stress. i would always whisper to myself a shout of "aja!" of "fighting!" and that would keep me going.

july the 8th. i knew this would be the day of reckoning. the PRC website was down for almost a month now. thank you philippine government, that didn't help at all! the day's delivery of manila bulletin was still 6 hours away, the bulletin website still showed the headlines of the 7th. i took a chance by clicking on breaking news and saw "669 hurdle pharmacist licensure exam." my heart started pounding. i clicked on the link: The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 669 out of 1,209 passed the Pharmacist Licensure Examination given by the Board of Pharmacy... blah blah, where's my name?! the report only presented the numbers and the exam's top 10. the list of successful examinees was missing. just great.

the tension was building up, now i know that the results are in but just can't seem to find it. i went to different newspaper websites but they only offered previous results and not ours. luckily i stumbled on a link in philstar.com. bingo!

GENER, ANNE PAULINE TAPIA
GEPILANO, MICHELLE HERALDO
GIVERA, KATHLYN JOY RONOLO
GO, RON GILBERT GARCIA <--- YEAH BABY!
GOMEZ, MA GISELLA CHARISMA SAN PEDRO
GONZALES, NOLA PAREJA

i knew i was the first to know so i sent messages to every direction. first, to the other examinees anxiously waiting for my text. even in a small screen of letters i can feel their joy, i was feeling the same bliss. then i announced it to the world, my name is now an "RPh" longer. text messages and calls of congratulations were piling up even at 2 in the morning. i was overwhelmed. i thought twice if i should wake up my parents but what the heck! i was just holding back a scream and a jump for joy. and the way my mom said "talaga?!" was reward enough. she was so happy that she jumped out of bed, woke up my dad and insisted on seeing my name on the computer screen firsthand. happy is definitely an understatement to what i felt last night; i think i slept with a grin tattooed on my face.

now comes the biggest step. work. to be part of the workforce. but until the oathtaking ceremony at the manila hotel on august 1, i ain't gonna think about work or anything. i'm gonna savor this moment of my life 'til its last drop! party up biatches!!!

the underdog

and then came july 4. months of studying and limited partying, everything boils down to this. the mind was set, the prayers were already offered, nothing left to do but finish.

i've been writing about how i want to be at a top spot at the end of this. last night while i was trying to sleep, i asked myself: why do i want to be at a top spot? for vindication? for bragging rights? i guess i really want this because of it's improbability.everyone wants a cinderella story. we all cheer for the underdog.

i think i fell asleep last night. i wasn't sure. i went to bed as early as 9pm but the combination of poor sleeping habits and an uneasy mind was not a good recipe for sleep. i think i was asleep 12-12:30am. by 3am i gave up on sleeping and got-up to start the day.

6:30am at MLQU, the ball started rolling. pharmaceutical chemistry at 8am was average, almost 70% of the questions were familiar. phamacognosy at 11am was a bit easier with more than 80% of the questions routine. but the practice of pharmacy at 1:30pm was a struggle. the lack of sleep was taking its toll on me and the questions only made it worse. almost all of the questions were the "what the f??!" type. by this time i knew the top spot had already slipped away from my hands...

it would definitely be a miracle, no make that a HUGE miracle if my name will have a number right next to it when the results are published. but you'll never know. God might be rooting for the underdog. never underestimate the power of a prayer.

gratitude

25 hours left before i get up from bed, and face the biggest test of my 23-year existence. i'm now at the starting grid, anxiously waiting for the bang of the gun and hoping for no false-starts and a podium finish. my fingers are crossed.

last night i started to send out petitions for prayers. almost everyone responded positively to my request, one even called me up to say her encouragements (thanks kim!). after the flurry of well-wishers, i called up an old friend to try to subdue my concerns and push my confidence level up a notch. the conversation was more of a casual talk rather than a plead for advices and encouraging words. it worked like a charm because after hanging up the phone, i had one of the soundest sleep i had in months (thanks gene!). and to all who prayed for me and are continuously praying for my board exam success, i thank you from the bottom of my heart.

*a July 2 2006 post would not be complete without mad props to pacman. thanks to manny pacquiao for winning the fight because a lost would have been a devastating blow to my own campaign. my utmost respect goes out to oscar larios for being a class act, a grateful sportsman even in enemy territory. i also commend the filipino fans for not booing the mexican, supporting their hero with cheers but not disrespecting the adversary. (earl strickland should learn from this, respect will gain you respect.)

tied up in knots

wide-awake at quarter to 6, i turn to the only thing that relaxes me other than a big bar of chocolate. i only realized recently that writing gives me a sense of peace, the answer to my sleepless nights. in a few minutes the sun will light up the sky, i can hear the birds chirping, i'm still restless.

i don't think it's because of my afternoon nap. neither do i think it's because of the cup of coffee i had last night. it's all in my head, most probably due to the impending conclusion of this board exam saga.

a few people have a feeling that i'll make it to the top. i don't blame them but i don't want to believe them. maybe they feel that way because of the confidence that i display, or even because of the high scores i get in mock exams. don't be fooled. i'm terrified even at the thought of being only the 2nd UP student to fail the pharmacy boards, i just don't show it. i've learned that showing fear won't be of much help. and my scores? i looked around and almost everybody had almost the same score if not higher. though i'm still holding on to my "miracles still happen" slogan.

the verdict comes next week. hopefully the end of number 2 in the list (number 1 was college graduation). everytime i cross something in the list, the next item seems more difficult. it's a jungle out there and i'm still a cub. perhaps i'm getting ahead of myself here.

multiple choice

another day ends, another number to cross out the calendar. the highlighted numbers 4 and 5 draws nearer and nearer. i'm nervously excited.

only a week left. one week left. i've read the pool of questions over and over but have not yet perfected it. previous board exams have made it clear, mastering the questions provided by the Philippine Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, more popularly known as PACOP, ensures you of a license. i'm at about 90% but still not satisfied with where i'm at.

comprehensive and mock exams gave me an idea of how prepared i am. my scores would define me as ready. but somehow, i wish that i'd fail the mock exams. having good scores gave me confidence, maybe a bit too much. i'm not bothered if i'm not yet ready for the boards, rather i'm terrified that i'm subconsciously complacent. i'd rather have my back against the wall and work my way to victory than have a sense of security and take it easy.

it'll all be over soon and only time will tell the answer to this question:

Ron will:
a. pass the exam and will have a place in the top 20
b. pass the exam but will not have a place in the top 20
c. not pass the exam
d. not take the exam and would rather be blogging

join me as i pray for letter A. letter B isn't bad either but please eliminate letter C right away!

moving forward at a standstill

i remember hearing the alarm, cheryl lynn's got to be real. the funk woke me up but i just snoozed it off. i still have a couple of minutes to sleep. the alarm sounded again, but i still chose the snooze button. for the nth time, it sounded again. i took a peek at the time. 7:29am. what the?! the pre-boards was scheduled at 8am! think. think. think. i need a way out of this.

should i text my classmates and just ask them to grab me a copy of the exam? should i forget about it and just take the day off? maybe i should make a run for it and take the exam in less than an hour? like a multiple choice question, i chose letter C.

by 9:15 i arrived at the review center with a few of the students already finished with the 200-item exam. scheduled at 8am-10am, i only had less than an hour to finish it. constantly checking the clock, i was already at number 150 by 10am. with 50 more questions to go, i just used the 30 minute break to finish the exam. i finished it with a couple of minutes of break time to spare.

12:10, the scores were in. and thank God i passed.

the countdown has started: 10 days left. but we chose not to attend tomorrow's pre-board exam. most of us felt that studying at home will be a more productive way to spend the day rather than a slow day at the review center. productive you say? im still playing time, playing with words, blogging about anything or nothing at all. i got to get my act together now or else i'll be nothing at the end of this.

bring it on!

with barely 2 hours of sleep last night, i braved the pre-board exam this day. another case of body clock gone haywire, i was again struggling to find my sweet spot. knowing that a good sleep would be beneficial, i closed my eyes as early as 11pm. tossing and turning got me nowhere so i turned to conan for an hour of humor instead. but conan's not in, the cable's out. damn you skycable! next up in the list of time eaters was the information superhighway, i chatted the hours away 'til it was 4am. just great, you'll definitely be at the top if this continues. but as it turned out, the headache brought about by inadequate sleep would be the only source of displeasure for this day.

unfamiliar questions, 200 of them, gave me quite a scare. number after number i started to doubt if i was really ready. only a few numbers were taken from the pool of questions that i was so comfortable with, now i had to rely on what i've learned.

it took me less than an hour to finish the mock exam. i finished fast because i'm not one who will search deep in my cobweb-filled brain to find the answer that's probably not there anyway. if i know it i know it, and if i don't, i can always rely on my testmanship. the answer's right infront of me, i just had to choose wisely. and i did.

200 questions and i got me a score of 154, or 77%. not bad, considering the questions were virtually alien to me. confidence level: back to normal. July 2006 Pharmacy Licensure Examinations... BRING IT ON!

3 minutes 53 seconds

between pages of drugs, pharmaceutical care, pharmacognosy, and pharmacology, i took a quick break. lying in my bed trying to take a nap for a few minutes while the tv was on, i heard a familiar tune. in an instant i was brought to a couple of months back, back in cavite.

my board exam-suffocated dormant heart was again brought back to life. three minutes and fifty-three seconds of music was a slideshow of my experience in that uncomfortable room that she made into pure bliss. her smile, her voice singing the song, and the funny faces she makes when i make fun of her. everything about her, i miss.

i'll just smile this off. nothing's changed. i'm still tied to my priorities and even if i'm not, she's still tied to someone else. tomorrow you'll come...

music video moment over. back to my study desk...

never say never

last week as i was flipping through the channels, i chanced upon a duo of mice singing "somewhere out there" on disney channel. and then nostalgia kicked in once again. it was a scene from the 1986 disney animated movie "an american tail." it reminded me that it was my favorite animated movie of all time. but the scene was just a music video commercial break. too bad because i was hoping to relive part my childhood by watching the movie.

just a while ago, i saw the scene again. and knowing that it was just a commercial break, i was again frustrated and somehow wondered where i can get a dvd, vcd, or whatever of the movie. turns out i didn't need to. after the song, i was surprised to see some more animated mice and not raven, zack, cody or anyone on the disney channel. i just finished watching the movie.

fievel finally found his family after being separated for a long time, even giving up on the search at one point. "never say never..." fievel said to his dad. never say never.

i'm losing sight of the top spot but not losing hope. i looked at myself and saw someone who is not yet ready for the boards but will be in a day or two. i'm doing well in the comprehensive exams but i'm still not satisfied. i'm confident that in the remaining two weeks i'll be able to polish up my skills and pass the board exam (with the help of the Almighty, of course), but only to pass the board exam and not to top it. i just wished that i had a lot more time to prepare. but there's no way to turn back the hands of time so the two weeks should do. it would be a miracle if i'm at a top spot when this is over. but hey, God is in the miracle business, isn't he?

by the way, i know what you're thinking. how would i make it big if i consume my time blogging instead of studying, right? gimme a break, literally. i just finished cramming 600 questions in my head and try 600 more after i log-out. so just help me by praying, a'ight?

momentary lapse

4am and still wide awake. i just finished cleaning up our mess. sunday night was supposed to be a night of basketball but due to the downpour, the game was cancelled. and while waiting for the rain to stop, the guys decided to "lighten" up. a few rounds of san mig light later, here i am, assessing the situation...

for the first time in almost 2 months, i wasn't able to open my notes or study some sample questions. for this i apologize to the people to whom i dedicate this race. it was a momentary lapse.

but then again this maybe a good thing for a couple of reasons. first, it was my first day to break away from the board exam rush since starting my review. every single day for the past month or so, my world revolved around 8-hour lectures or on a free day, at least 600 study questions. and second, i may use this paranoia of missing a whole day for studying as a wake-up call. time to shift to 5th gear and get my prize!

sms anonymous

for the last couple of weeks i was hounded by anonymous texts. it's funny how a text bearing no known sender could be interesting but at the same time, a nuisance.

once in a while you'll recieve something like "ei, dis is my new number." and that's cool and all but when you receive something like "can u b my txtm8?" that's a different story. now i must admit that during the first few months of owning a sms-capable phone, a "can u b my txtm8" message won't be much of a bother. a message like that might even be of interest. but that's like 6-7 years ago, now it's just a waste of time and money.

during the last 2 weeks, i've received 2 "new number" texts, then a couple more texts from friends whom i thought were sucked into a black hole, and lastly a message from a txtm8 wannabe. now the first 2 messages were ok, part of the routine. the next 2, were nice, catching up with old friends. but the last one, it was surprising to say the least.

point of no return

this morning i was able to finish my application for july's pharmacy licensure examinations. im already beyond the point of no return. but am i ready to face the music?

last week was a 6-day non-stop 6am-8am pharmacology lecture marathon, i was able to attend 4 classes, and in 4 of those classes, i was a half-day late. am i not taking this seriously? of course i am, it's just that an hour of public transportation is too much of a drag. i'll come home too exhausted and would rather watch tv than study. and after a few hours of watching must-see tv, i'll find myself in pursuit of study time. it's already 12am and i should be up by 6am for another day of physical wear.

it's now the 4th quarter, crunchtime, the homestretch, where the men are separated from the boys. a time when weaknesses are exposed and poise under pressure is a necessity. something i should be used to by now 'coz i've crossed the finish-line before, this race should be no different. once again, i'll see you at the finish-line...

in mark we trust

during a pre-season special of the PBA, Baranggay Ginebra's Mark Caguioa made a bold statement, and i mean bold. he said that the Baranggay Ginebra Kings will be the first back-to-back All-Filipino Champion in a decade or so, and if they fail to do so, he'll run through manila's baywalk with only his undies on. now that's confidence.

but as the season went on, the team was struglling and was down in the dumps. plagued by injuries, the team was on the brink of elimination. with less than 3 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and still 12 points behind, things aren't looking too good for "the spark". the commentators recalled his bold promise and started to worry if he'll do it or not. during that span of tackling the naked run, the cameras were circling the Araneta coliseum and found one banner which was very interesting. it said:

"In Mark We Trust"
manalo, matalo, makikitakbo kami sa'yo!

how about that, the Baranggay spirit was still there. "never say die" was still the anthem and guess who won the ballgame? Baranggay Ginebra 118 - Air21 114 in OT, with Mark "The spark" having a career-high 45 points. Next up is Red Bull, now let's see if the Baranggay's cheers will be enough for the team to feed on. The only thing missing is Sonny Jaworski's judo chop and it'll all be fiesta time again for the Baranggay. Gi-neb-ra, Gi-neb-ra, Gi-neb-ra!

miracles still happen...

a month away 'til judgment day, i'm starting to have recurring reality checks. after taking the challenge, doubts resurfaced. now i'm just praying to pass the board exam nothing more and nothing less. by now, a top placer should have at least finished his or her review and would only use the time remaining to tune up and polish the brain. as for me, i'm only halfway done, struggling to move forward. i'm even keeping my blog active instead of burning pages.

i went to my room and the review materials were just waiting to be utilized. i chose to caress the remote instead and focused on the tube. after watching the controversial monaco grand prix, i shifted my attention to PBB teen edition. mr. pure energy was a special guest at the house and entertained the big four. gary v., an all around performer and an inspiration himself; a diagnosed diabetic at 14, living the good life at 41. and as he shared his life story and imparted wisdom to the PBB teens, a simple thought rejuvenated my spirit: "miracles still happen..."

a month away 'til judgment day, i can only do so much. but with God's grace, "so much" might just be enough to catch people off-guard and make a name. then i myself will be an inspiration, God willing.

cramming

cram (kram) v. cramming. Informal. To study hastily for an impending examination.

a very familiar concept, i've been cramming since i started taking exams. an exam announced weeks before, a study time of 1 night, an average result. i admire people who can study days or even weeks before an exam. studying's just not my thing.

roughly 6 weeks 'til the big one, i'm back to my old ways. months before, i was thinking that i'd start studying early, isolate myself as much as possible, and focus on the task at hand. yeah right, that could happen. i'm now short on time wondering if i could still make it.

and a "there's not enough time" speech by a lecturer did not help at all. shifting from jokes to a serious tone, he advised students reviewing as the last batch not to take the board exams this july because there isn't much time left to prepare. though i already made up my mind to take the upcoming exam, i'd be lying if i said the speech didn't bug me. but i already took the challenge and i 'm no quitter. there's not enough time? i say there's not enough time to think about backing out. i'm a master crammer and the present situation is just the perfect stage to prove that.

4K

i know you've been through a lot
your life story is with a twisted plot
the inner person, you somehow forgot
caught up in a moment, rejecting a dot

though bounded by distance, i can feel the pain
more downs than ups, it's driving you insane
fate of the unlucky, a lot to complain
cry yourself to sleep, i'll soak-up the rain

believe me when i say "it's gonna be okay"
listen to my words, don't push me away
never lose faith, i know i'll see the day
when you'll be happy, when you'll be kaye...

shifting gears

with still a week 'til my scheduled review class, i started to attend reviews as early as last week. i was afraid that may 15 was too late a start for a july 4 board exam. knowing myself, i know that any opportunity to stay home and soak in leisure, i would grab in a snap. and though i've attended a few lessons, i can't say i'm ready to study for the boards. but i'll get there.

i've been telling people that i'll top the boards, obviously a joke. i know no one would believe in someone who stretched a 5-year course to 7 years, to make it big. seven years of hanging-out, one hour study time for exams, and failed subjects, i don't blame them not believing in such. but as they say, we're in a level field now and anyone can be at the top. ladies and gentlemen, i accept the challenge.

while i'll be shifting to a higher gear when it comes to my pursuit of a license, i'm trying to pump the brakes and slow down my heart. i've been really enjoying textual conversations from ms. quiet but i know i shouldn't keep my hopes up. i think there's something there but it'll turn to nothing with a wrong step or a rushed decision. i know, i've been there. i'm gonna have to check my map first if i'm in the right direction...

5th of may

my mind has been battling with my heart recently and it's a close call. very close. but just as the clash was taking place, someone discretely found her way to my heart. nights of refreshing exchange of text messages made me forget for a while that i was obsessed with a butterfly. ms. observant glances, you have no idea how much those simple words you pressed made my sleep more sound...

counted down the minutes 'til the 5th of may, i hope i was the first to wish you a happy birthday. coincidentally, the day you were born was the same day a butterfly was born. how about that? i wished her a happy birthday too. she still hangs around in my head even if my heart is on a shift.

but birthdays aren't the only cause for celebration this day. dinner with 3 of my closest friends was nice, reminded me that i'm very lucky to have people like them in my life. for once, i can be myself again, no pretensions and no restrains, just Ron. it would've been nice if the night never had to end but duty calls, work for them and review for me. this fun-filled night will be enough to keep me in a good mood all day long tomorrow.

peterpan to tinkerbell II

it's a bit hazy. i didn't think this day would come. i'm a bit confused though. what happened to your man? how did you tell him about us? well, i really don't care. you're with me now. so this is what it feels like to be with you. feels much like heaven. but what's this? morning sunshine? oh yeah, i knew this was too good to be true! can someone knock me out please, i need to get back to my dream...

another "i don't ever wanna wake up" dream that felt so real. so real that even in dreamland, i was afraid i'm not strong enough for you. in a world where everything can go my way, i was happy yet troubled. but we can work it out, i'll do my best to meet your needs, all you have to do is exist. i ask for nothing more.

too bad, you're tinkerbell and i'm peterpan. and the place between asleep and awake is the only place for this nonsense. it's the only place where i'll be waiting because for the record, i won't be waiting for you here.

the next best thing

my fingers are a bit sore as i try to gather my thoughts. for the first time in i don't know how long, i got my hand on a guitar. i saw it on my way up to my room and the strings just called me. it was out of tune. after twisting knobs, changing keys, and listening to the sounds, i was again my own rockstar.

i used to lock up in my room, listening to cassette tapes, singing my lungs out and pounding my guitar. saturday morning jams with the band, renting studios, and living the dream. yeah, i thought we'd make it big. in a way, maybe we did. performing in front of the whole highschool population, it was a ride seeing people bob their heads as i sing lines from a catchy tune. a third place finish, not bad.

but that was then. though i still want to pursue the dream, things are different now. a couple of times i'd compose a song but midway through i'd stop. no one will hear it anyway, what's the use? i think i'm too old to start realizing the quest to become a singer/songwriter. i guess drugs should do for now.

2 months 'til he pharmacy board exam, i'm still playing time. i should get my act together and follow another dream, vindication. a top finish would definitely turn heads. too much pressure to put on my own shoulder, maybe. but i like to look at myself as someone who won't crumble under pressure but instead rise to the occasion and take charge.

i can't do this on my own though. friends, i need your prayers. a push from God would be instrumental to my quest for glory, and your prayers would give me just that. i'll owe you big time!

just friends

i've always wondered if by any chance she happens to read the words that i write. it's quite possible the annoying "Ron has updated his Friendster Blog" emails sparked some curiosity. either way, it's all been done. whether she reads this or not, the fact of the matter is, all my thoughts, pro-heart or pro-mind, are already published for everyone to see.

for the past few weeks i've been forcing myself to believe that this is nothing. i keep telling myself that even if this is something, it'll all amount to nothing. she's in love for pete's sake! but sadly, so am i...

a case of wrong timing? or simply a case of falling for the wrong person for all the right reasons? i'll leave it all up to God. i feel like i've been shoved in the friend zone anyway. for a while there i thought i had a chance. a night of drunk love-talk with friends somehow convinced me that i'm not against a brick wall. a few exchanges of text quotes only made it worse, i'm starting to become what i hate.

but the latest sms recieved was a "friendship" quote. that'll keep my thoughts straight. forgive me if i can't stop thinking about you, i just can't help it. i'll do the best i can to be your friend and nothing more. so help me God.

the euro-med cavite experience: the final chapter

wednesday, 19th of april, time to go home. i walked outside waiting for a bus to manila. i looked up and saw a beautiful morning sky. the sun was shining brightly, the clouds were moving slowly, a great mental picture to remember cavite by. it was the last time i saw cavite, until this day.

we were to pick up today some things, not suitable for bus travel. tv, dvd, electric fans and some excess baggage. now it's time to say our last goodbye to the house. i must admit that although it was not the most comfortable of places, i missed it. the experience, living with women, discovering people, befriending an inspration, is definitely an experience that i'll never forget.

after picking up all our belongings, my 2 companions suggested a quick visit to tagaytay. sure. the 2 were the housemates that i had some words for. but it's all in the past now, im not one to let some bad feelings get out of hand and blow out of proportion. in the end, it was a great trip to people's park in the sky, pictures are proof. i just wish that the butterfly was there. she was making her presence felt, from butterfly-shaped cakes to butterfly keychains. i see her everywhere. how can i clip her wings if everything i see reminds me of her? i need a change of heart...

post-graduation quandary

the graduates were requested to assemble and i saw a butterfly flying around. beautiful. she was with her parents and sadly her man was there too. i would be lying if i said i felt nothing, because i felt something. after the college graduation, i saw her with her boyfriend walking our way. i immediately got into the van avoiding a possible awkward moment. but she still saw me and congratulated me. i can only smile. even my sister, who saw her earlier, liked her.

university graduation, PICC. after screaming my lungs out, howling 7 years of struggle, it's time for some kodak moments. clicks and flashes, then it was over. it's time to say our goodbyes. i wanted to hug my friends, but they graduated 2 years earlier, they were nowhere in sight. she on the other hand was hugging everybody. and when our eyes locked, we said our congratulations, shook hands, and had a semi-hug. i couldn't hug her, but i wanted to squeeze her. i could've given more, i could've gotten more. i wanted more. and that was it.

it's been a week since we finished our internship in cavite. i miss the house, i miss the housemates, i miss her. it's also been a week since i felt like i should stop thinking about her and move on. i've been blurting out words to people, saying i don't like her no more, that i've decided to suppress my feelings. yeah ron, keep telling yourself that. maybe it's time i put my "holding-back" position to full throttle.

though the song still lingers in my head:

i fell in love with a dream that I built of you, playing the part of the queen. taking my own advice, i'm giving up tonight. Good luck to you and the king.

could you pencil me in when you can? though we both know that the worst part about it is i would be free when you wanted me, if you wanted me...

i am the man on the side. hoping you'll make up your mind. i am the one who will swallow his pride. life as the man on the side...

batch 2006

i graduated late and i'm late for graduation, 2 years and an hour respectively. halfway through the college graduation, a drop of sadness fell on me. i miss my batchmates, my friends. i look around and i see familiar faces, but they just don't feel like home. batch of 2006, we were. but at heart i'm still batch of 2004.

this is my day and i have to enjoy it. but a presentation from the graduating batch ruined it for me. 10 minutes of technical difficulties, then a slideshow was presented. pictures of the past and pictures of the present. i never saw my face. and they even dared to ask me why i was not there. i felt that i did not belong there. i just imagined gene, chai, carlo, karina, jeboy, kirk, boni, and me graduating together and those were our pictures.

on to the university graduation, a larger stage and a bigger audience. 920+ UP Manila students earning their degrees from different colleges. it was a borefest. until, we were called up the stage to get our dummy diplomas. i'm starting to feel like a graduate. and after the closing remarks, after the final words, i screamed my lungs out. 7 years. 7 long years. it's finally over.

congratulations to the graduates!

the euromed-cavite experience: part 10

for the first time in our internship, we decided to take the fastlane and opt for the graveyard shift. the company stopped production on holy wednesday and resumed 2pm monday the following week. with 29 hours to go, we were to report from 2pm-6am, to slash a significant amount off of the remaining hours.

so there we were, folding boxes, handing-out package inserts, doing nothing spectacular. by 2am, my eyes were getting heavy and my head was starting to hurt. where's the insomniac when i need him? 4am, i called it quits, i need to sleep. sleep.

7am the next day, movements woke me up. my 3 roommates had already finished their 160 hours of internship and were packing, eager to go home early. i, on the other hand, only had 3 hours of sleep and still had 15 hours of internship to complete.

the plan was a 2pm-5am internship marathon to have time left to prepare for friday's graduation. the good Lord once again smiled at us and presented us another angel. ma'am jansen sent us home 5pm while the timecard reads 6am of the next day.

it was our last day at euro-med, it was my last day with the butterfly. she logged-in a few hours earlier than us and was doing intern stuff alone. she must be lonesome, she might need some company. there were a couple of instances wherein i could've helped her with her job or open up a conversation, but i forced myself not to. only once did i give in to my heart and talked to her, just to tell her the good news that we will be going home early.

the day was finally over, the 160 hours have been completed, nothing left to do but pack up and go home, my real home. but we decided to make the most out of our stay and chose to go home the next day. the butterfly on the other hand already have other plans and was due to go home that night, her brother was on his way to pick her up. i was trying to sleep in the other room but the howls and vehicle sounds kept me awake. i got up and went to the next room and she was gone. i did not notice, i was not notified. where was the goodbye?

The euro-med cavite experience: part 9

tuesday, april the 11th, one of the housemate's birthday and we're off to tagaytay. i woke up early, very early. my cooking skills were called again for a second tour of duty. 6am, the food was ready to go.

just a jeepney ride away from dasmarinas, tagaytay was some kind of escape from internship stuff. thanks to euro-med's angel, we arranged our picnic but still had 17 hours written on the timecard. 7:30am, we were ready to go.

tagaytay picnic grove was not in the jeepney's route but the driver was nice enough to drive us all the way there. he even offered to fetch us after we're done. the grove was a huge place with easily more than a hundred tables and cottages. and after a few minutes of walking, we finally settled for a table under a tree. 9am, we were ready to eat.

my early wake-up call was a blessing in disguise. only a couple of housemates were awake and i had the kitchen all to myself. no one's gonna mess with my dish this time. paper plates, plastic forks and my pasta. i'm ready for the verdict.

the deliciousness has landed. every mouthful generated some mmmmm's. the magic is back. and what perfect timing, the butterfly had her first taste of my cooking and loved it. my smile said it all. now i'm ready for her...

The euro-med cavite experience: part 8

back on my uncomfortable bed, i'm almost alone in the room. the door is open, one fixes up her things and the others are watching tv in the next room. i thought this day would be good but it slowly showed its ugly face as the day went on.

yesterday, i was home. and how sweet it is to be home. cable tv, internet, and everything i lost for a week, i had to savor in less than a day. i had to get up early this morning and go to cavite. i packed up everything i can in two sports bags. clothes, a dvd player, a water heater, some canned goods, a digicam, and anything i can take from my room. i was ready for my 2nd week in cavite.

the other day i was furious at one of the housemates. some of us decided to travel together this day and she was with us. on our way, i still have some words for her but i decided to forget about it and keep my thoughts to myself. little did i know that the truce will only last for a couple of hours.

doing intern stuff, the group was having fun. but my laughter abruptly turned into silence and an irate stare. strike 2. the same girl thought she was funny verbalizing words that hit a nerve. again, i decided to let it go and after roughly an hour of silence, the clown was back.

maybe one week together is not enough to know each other's limits. i'm an open book, and freely shared the tragedies of my love life. but one other housemate keeps rubbing it in my face thinking it was funny. she keeps on telling people how women turned me down. i think it's because i was over it good that she thought it's ok to blurt it out whenever she feels like it. i was ok with it at first, but it's a different thing when she broadcasts it in a public place 100 times in a day.

i want to go home now. this is not the place and the people that i thought they were. i think i'm even losing my connection with my butterfly. what a difference a day makes...

The euro-med cavite experience: part 7

i wonder why she's not here yet. it's been 2 nights and i'm missing her cute laugh. she had to go 2 her nephew's birthday party and left yesterday afternoon.

work today wasn't that heavy but it's not that easy either. we folded drug inserts for hours until the angel dismissed us at 5:30pm and logged us 17 hours on the timecard. home early, we decided to cook dinner rather than spend more on fastfood. i was the chef for the day and today's menu: pasta ala roni.

for years i've been cooking up this homemade dish and the feedback was great. everytime i celebrate my birthday or anytime i feel like it, i serve the dish that people seem to enjoy. i would've wish she could have a taste of my specialty but today's pasta ala roni didn't have its magic.

too many chefs spoil the broth. how fitting. it was my dish, my method, and my rules. but while cooking the dish, some wanted to put their fingers in. add a little salt, add some onions, do this, do that. who told you have a say on this? there's another stove, cook your own dish! if only i have the war-freak nature from my mom's side of the family, there would be a shouting match for sure.

if by any chance, you are the one i'm referring to and know it, be thankful that i respect women and that i'm no asshole. you would've been covered with mouth-watering white sauce right now. care to push me to the limit?

The euro-med cavite experience: part 6

i want to call-in sick today. this day would only bring soreness to my already worn-out body. but i had to go, there was no turning back; i already paid rent.

a plan was set to escape from the day's dose of body pain. we reported to the previous pharmacist (the one who dismisses interns early) thinking we could get away with it. but the pharmacist asked us what we were doing there, telling us he already assigned us to another department. and all this time i thought you were kind and considerate. damn you sir.

time to face the music. fold the carton box and feel the heat. no one was having fun. we came up with a new plan and took our chances on the pharmacist of the next shift. we logged-out at 2pm and looked for ma'am marnie.

ma'am marnie is an angel. sexy, pretty and cool. we saw her on our way out and she immediately thought of how she could fix our time card. no doubt, she was heaven sent.

i was home with the sun still lighting up the sky. i'm a bit tired but just thinking of euro-med's angel makes me feel like a million bucks...

The euro-med cavite experience: part 5

thursday started with a lot of promise. nothing more to worry about because the pharmacist in charge dismisses interns early. but this day would turn our smiles upside down in a flash.

9am, a packaging error of a euro-med trainee infuriated a supervisor. to our surprise, blaming fingers were pointed at us. the pharmacist had no choice but to transfer some of us to other departments. i was one of those transferred to 302, the department known as hell.

302's pharmacist welcomed us to her realm. she was wearing a smile and looked like a nice person, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. she was indeed nice, she taught us everything interns had to know, but she was strict when it comes to time. say you'll stay for 6am to 10pm; you have to wait for 9:59pm before you can go home. and the place was literally hell. 2 air-con units but people were soaking wet in perspiration and were gasping for air.

i went home with every body part aching after 12 hours of folding carton boxes and lifting them after packing 12 bottles of dextrose in. can somebody please, have the decency to get me out of hell...

The euro-med cavite experience: part 4

6am of the fourth day, the housemates were getting ready for another day at euro-med. lucky them. their noise woke me up but i decided to go back to sleep; my approval was still pending. school concerns made one of the unfortunates go back to manila. and then there was two...

10am, still no news. things were starting to look dim. one house, two rooms, two people, a wall in between. so close yet so far...

quarter to noon, hunger woke me up. time to ask her to have lunch. to the next room... empty. she just woke up and was in the bathroom taking a shower. i waited for a few minutes on queue for a bath as well. right after my shower, i received a text message. finally! our prayers have been answered. we can now start our internship.

the dark clouds have cleared. favors from above came in bundles as a 12:30-2pm stay at the plant was 7am-10pm on the timecard. the earlier batch of housemates already had their lunch so they went home. and us? another date of sorts...

the past few days somewhat drew us together. i enjoyed her company. she laughed at my jokes as i did when she cracked some. it was definitely a hard job trying not to stare at her while she was eating. if she didn't have her significant other, it would've been perfect. oh well, i'll just file this with case number 0031 series of 2006 on my frustration cabinet...