On coincidences…

Today was such a long day. I didn’t realize how tired I am until I got back to my dorm room, which was a just a few minutes ago, and rest my body for the first time since the morning. You see, Tuedays were supposed to be light for me, since I only have two classes–my film and multimedia classes–both of which are just free electives. To my surprise, it didn’t go like the usual easy-going Tuesday for me.

The APO job fair became so stressful for me–both going back and forth the venue and the Placement office just to accomplish my job fair tasks, and waiting in a long line to print the necessary documents for my job fair applications for the day. It was made worse by the scheduled quiz in my Film class, which caught me somewhat unprepared since I wasn’t able to finish the reading for I have used most of my free time for the day for my APO task.

Anyway, enough of the ranting. The real reason I wanted to blog today is my funny encounter with coincidence earlier. You see, I made friends with a Placement applicant earlier, my partner in tallying the day’s worth of evaluation sheets. The interesting part here is that, throughout the duration of us working together, we realized so many things we have in common.

Upon introductions we realized that we share the same last name–which she didn’t believe at first, thought I was tripping or something. Second, as the usual background checking of people who just realized that they have the same surnames, we became aware that we both have great great grandfathers, in our respective father’s side of the family, who were pure Chinese.

The last coincidence was the funniest thing that happened. We were working on the evaluation forms then, and I placed my phone on top of the pile I’ve already finished. When people rushed to the room where we were working, this new friend suddenly took my phone and put it beside her. I was stunned when she did that since I didn’t really understand why on earth she took it. Apparently, we also have the same phone and she thought that it was hers.

At that point, we started to get freaked out with the coincidences and kid one another about it. Well, it was really fun, and freaky. I was just amazed by everything that I had to write it here (though like in the past, I don’t think I made much sense writing this). Anyway, I just really wanted to so I won’t totally forget about the happenings.

There. Soupy post, once again!

On television and surveys and generalizations…

2:40 AM
At my recently converted workspace, just beside my dorm bed

Earlier today, while my orgmates and I were watching the Philippine version of Family Feud in GMA7–our usual Tuesday routine at our org room, 6PM on Tuesdays, I was somewhat surprised by the top answer to the question about naming important appliances in a household. According to the survey, the top answer is the television or TV, getting exactly 70 out of a hundred points.

You see, I have never considered TV as one of the more important home appliances. This attitude is reinforced by my being in the dorm and not having easy access to the idiot box for the past 3 years and counting. Well, I see its value, especially when it comes to entertainment, news, and many others. However, I really don’t understand why, for the 100 Filipinos surveyed by the show, 70 people answered it– a surprisingly high turnout, considering that the usual top answers score only between 50 and 60 votes.

At least in my point of view, the TV is among those that are dispensable. I mean, hey if you don’t have a television set, you don’t lose that much, right? You could still find entertainment through other appliances, like a simple radio or a laptop; you could still get news from the broadsheets or the Internet; and others. While no other appliance can store your food and chill your drinks like the refrigerator. Or you cannot make use of any other appliance to make your laundrying faster, easier and more efficient than the washing machine. But these two and the other important ones were no where to be found near the 70-point TV.

Does this simple house survey tell how we, Filipinos, put value in the things that affect our lives? TV over ref, washing machine, etc? Not a very good choice, at least in my opinion. Maybe this reflects a somewhat bad attitude that we have. That as most of us pick the TV that gives us entertainment rather than the other more important and useful ones to us, it is easy to see how we put more value into the more trivial and less significant issues rather than the vital ones at hand.

I know all these are hasty generalizations. But I think that somehow there is a little, so very little truth to it.

(Oh well. I hope I made sense. I just decided to write this since I’m having a hard time to sleep. Anyway, off to bed I go)

On text messaging…

3:44 PM
On my parents’ bed

I think I’ve reached my texting threshold. You see, I’ve been texting like crazy this past few days–without a doubt, so much more than I could ever remember. On an estimate, I think I’ve sent more than 600 texts in a matter of two or three days. This is since, I have been hosting and organizing mini get-togethers and impromtu gimmicks of different groups of my old friends back here in Subic. Thanks to my new globe post-paid line, which enables me to just text or call away and not worry about running out of credits; and to this impulse of mine since last semestral break, to take on the responsibility of organizing reunions or mini get-togethers of my grade school and high school classes.

Now my fingers are all sore. Even my arms are starting to hurt because of this too, I think.

Oh well. I guess this is fine. I just wanted to rant actually. Anyway, all those I’ve organized so far have been successes, so, no reason to fret or whatever. Yay for me! Hahaha. )

On cooking and washing dishes…

As it was done every year, my parents went to my Dad’s hometown in Batangas to spend the fiesta there with our relatives. Since this is my last Christmas break as a college student, I decided to stay at home and not go with them so I could rest and organize get-togethers with my Elem and HS friends–something that I’ve taken the responsibility of doing since sembreak last October.

This meant four days of living alone in our house for me. Being the caring mother that my Mom is (and her knowing that I can’t survive since I can barely cook and all that), she planned and prepared everything out for me: cooked some meals that can be stored in the fridge for a day or two and be reheated whenever I decide to, bought easy to cook food, and gave me more than enough money so I can always opt to eat out.

I really didn’t have any problems being home alone, thanks to my Mom. Anyway, though I did have everything done for me, on the third day of living alone, I decided to try doing so without consuming whatever food my mother had prepared for me. So, come lunch time that day, I bought some hotdogs, a pack of easy-to-cook soup, eggs, cooking oil, and what not. I tried cooking a “full meal”, of hotdogs as the main dish, chicken and corn soup on the side, rice and iced tea.

The meal, from the preparation to the consumption itself, went fine. Well, I could’ve done better in frying the hotdogs but the soup and rice were perfect. On hindsight, I can really say that the experiment was a success.

Well, except for one thing: the dishes to wash after. It’s not that I don’t know how to or that I dislike washing dishes. It’s about the amount of dirty dishes I have produced un cooking hotdogs, soup and rice only.

This sure is a lot just for those three.

Yeah, I might’ve been successful in my latest try, after such a long time, at cooking, but the dishes and cleaning part… no where was I near to success. Hahaha. I guess I just have to try harder and better next time–which would probably be just a couple of months from now (I’m graduating from college and am planning to live alone and away from the comforts of Mom’s cooking or of the nearby cafeteria, that’s why).

Oh well. ‘Til my next try at cooking and minimizing dirty dishes!

On Christmas parties…

After a whole week of procrastination and a few days of cramming 3 papers–which are two things I usually do and should stop doing–academics for the year 2008 ended yesterday. Yay! And what better way to officially close it and anticipate the coming Christmas holiday than partying with Block WWW and friends.

Last night’s was great. In fact, I’ve so many reasons to believe that it’s actually best with the block so far. I enjoyed it from start to end–from X-Math, to Simbang gabi, to Pao’s and until the DOTA the next day. There was just so much fun things to do the whole time: Ate so much–Nowen’s lechon and Baliwag’s chicken; played rockband/world tour; magic sing concert with Mic, Kat, Janeen, Pizza and the others; GranMa and Bacardi 151º shots; Rayrand running amok after a couple of shots; sleeping wherever; boy’s Magic sing session again in the morning; and then Webtown.

Super saya talaga! There has got to be an encore soon.