The Consultation

I went in that consultation with a residue of that spine-tingling recit. Hence, I was my quirky self and I was in the mood to talk. The consultation was great! It was supposed to be for a Legal Counselling class which diverted into a thesis consult which diverted into a chikahan/asian drama discussion.
It made me think... If my prof was a few decades younger, he would have been a great kuya. I got off with a comment

Prof: That's good. Continue your childlike wonder.

Yipee!
I really enjoy one-on-one's... learn a lot and talk a lot. I'm not much of a party person or a big crowd social butterfly. Probably because my attention span compares to that of a fly. Plus, I tend to shift topics faster than a racer shifting gears. Haha! I like meeting new people, getting to know them and them getting to know me. Yay, today is such a wonderful wonderful [isa pa] wonderful day!

It's a different kind of high

RECITATION.
As a student, I should have gotten used to it by now! I've been studying for 18 years. But I never have. I've always been terrified of public speaking. Always.
I remember standing in front of the whole grade school after being chosen to say the Lord's Prayer.

Joan: [anxiously waiting for the Lupang Hinirang to end] breathe in. breathe out.
[my turn to hold the microphone] Our Father... Our Father... Our Father who art in heaven... hik! [throat closes]

Same thing happened when I joined the Oration contest. I forgot the lines and had to stop for a long while. I repeated the whole thing. Aba, hindi pa talaga nagtanda, nag-join pa ulit. Extemporaneous speaking contest. Kamusta naman ang 3 sentences lang ang sinabi for 5 minutes! I kept paraphrasing the whole 3 sentences. The very recent "most embarassing" recit was the one in Intro to Law class. I got called to recite a case and I ended up repeating the case title thrice. That was as far as i got.

But today, I was so down [due to a bad recit yesterday where i got called to solve the a problem on the board] and I was waiting for a good recit. I love the anxiousness of waiting to be called. I fear it. I hate it. I crave it. The feeling of my stomach dropping to the floor, my heart at my throat, my thoughts free falling to blankness. The suspense of it all...

Joan: [explains in a very malumanay way] Hence, it cannot be done because the law is clear.
Prof: [looking skeptic]... That's a good answer.
Joan: [big audible sigh of relief] [sits down with a big smile and spine-tingling sensation]

After that, it took me 15 mins to stop shaking. It's a different kind of high, really.

I envy you...

... you sleep peacefully without a care in the world. Curled up on a lazy afternoon, enjoying the breeze. You look so cute, all snuggled up. You sleep as if it's the only thing that matters. Deeply asleep. No worries, no pressure, no responsibilities. How i envy you.

The lazy cat lounging in the frontyard

Courage

A friend finally had the courage to ask out a guy she likes! Yipee yay for her. We all gathered to give her moral support and await the guy's reply. We had different reactions to what she wanted to do. I wanted her to get it over and done with, but with a warning to make sure that she'd be okay with whatever the reply might be.

Message sent...

And the wait begins. We couldn't seem to concentrate on studying, checking on her every minute if the guy replied. She jokingly said, "Baka abutin ng 2 weeks bago mag-reply un."

1 Message received...

Okay. Okay!!! They're gonna try the whole dating thing for real. Double yipee yay for her!

I'm proud of her. She laid down her cards, threw her pride away, bared her feelings and was somehow rewarded. She took the first step. Now the journey begins... i can't wait to witness this adventure.

Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru (I just love you)

I love this one... My addiction at present.
Renai Shashin (photographs of love) by Ai Otsuka.
I admire this artist. great composer. lovely voice. beautiful music.
She also sang the main theme for Hana Yori Dango 1 entitled "Planetarium."
This one is the ending theme of the movie Heavenly Forest (Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru) which stars Aoi Miyazaki and Hiroki Tamaki. It's an adaptation of Ichikawa Takuji's novel, Renai Shashin: Mou Hitotsu no Monogatari. Ichikawa Takuji also wrote Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu which was also made into a film entitled "Be With You." Both are touching love stories that ranked top in my favorite movies list.

Happy Birthday...

... to my yaya, Tita Fel. I can never thank you enough. You may not be able to read this post but i still want to do this. My childhood would have been lonely without you. Thank you. You have been a constant companion. my best friend. my secret-keeper. my confidant. my adviser. my mom. my roommate. my scapegoat. my cook. my yaya. You are one of the reasons why I can't stand not being able to go back home during school breaks. I appreciate everything you've done for me.

Pseudo fiction

Look back, she thought.

Call out my name, he thought.

The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound his footsteps. He took one step. One step towards the door. One step farther from her. Two. Three.

It was a game they played. How far can he go without looking back, without missing a step. How far can she let him go without her asking him to say, without her calling his name.

He was at the door, reaching for the handle.

Dammit, stay, she wanted to say.

He sighed. She held her breath.

“I’m leaving,” he said without turning back. The knob clicked as he opened the door.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Tears started to cloud her vision.

“I know. I am, too.”

With that he left. He left her. The room smelled of sun-kissed flowers.

Damn her pride. Damn his weakness. Damn it all, love is bittersweet.

Balik Aral

Back to school na!!! I'm pretty excited for this sem... New sem, new issues.

I miss my friends. I miss going to class. I miss the panic and cramming moments of recitation. I miss the chills-running-down-my-spine and OMG-i'm-gonna-get-called recits moments. I miss the fun of being in law school.

Now, I'm experiencing it all over again... this time, I'm older [hopefully, wiser]... this time, I'm gonna have fun!

Belated Happy Birthday to Ces! [July 7, 2007] the magical day

Enchanted Kingdom

Clockwise: Me, MZH, Ana, RRR, MMB, PMR [pasaway], MDM, and Kinka

Saturday May 5, 2007

EK day. My first ever trip to EK.
Si Ana ang ganda talaga, ganito ung usapan naming…

Ana: Joan, sumabay ka na sa akin papuntang EK, magdadala ako ng car kasi uwi akong Cavite.

Joan: Okei, cge. Sabay tayong pumunta. [then realizes something] Teka, paano pauwi?

Ana: [naka-smile] Uwi na ako after. Sumabay ka na lang sa van.

Magaling! Cute talaga ni Ana ano.

I rode with Ana going to EK, she fetched me from my dorm. Dahil mga pasaway [late na!], we left before 11am so we can get there by lunch. As it turned out, we were late for the free lunch anyway. But we were reimbursed for our lunch so okei lang.

We wandered around, looking for air-conditioned places to escape the after lunch heat. We met our non-legal staff looking around as well. Everyone seems to be having fun... Finally, we met up with the “singles” group of lawyers – MZH, MDM, RRR, PMR, and Kinka [sana tama ung spelling]. We lined up for rides and tried not to throw up. =) I didn’t dare ride Anchor’s Away, Space Shuttle, and the super slow rides that will more likely draggingly drug me to sleep. In between rides, we ate at different joints and drank shakes, sodas, and water.

The really fun part was riding the Rio Grande TWICE. Once just wasn’t enough. MMB joined us and formed a team of 8, perfect for the Rio Grande ride. I wasn’t entirely wet on the first go and we decided to test the “seat” theory. We switched places and went for the second ride. I gave my bag to MZH so it wouldn’t get wet [just in case I’d be the one under the falls] but, nooooo, MZH and I were both drenched by the waterfalls [kamusta naman ang pagsalo sa lahat ng tubig sa falls?!]

It was an amazingly fun day. It made me want to go back and try the other rides. I wasn’t even car sick!

I ended up going back to Makati with the singles group [thank you to MZH, MDM and RRR for the ride back] and had more fun during the ride talking about pre-law and law school. I’m glad I decided to go.

The first Rio Grande ride... notice, tuyo pa mga damit namin. Walang kamalay-malay

While waiting for our turn... picture picture!

The Intern

Every Friday, we have a luncheon with all the lawyers in the firm. This Friday [May 4], the conference room was jam-packed with partners, associates and we, interns, get to join them. We were eating our food (delicious, by the way!) and the conversation was flowing when out of the blue, I was put on the spot.

One partner said: “Sige nga, let’s test their knowledge. Joan, if the BSP buys silver, what is the tax rate?”

PAKSHET! After overhearing the murmurs of the associates beside me, I blurted out: “Sir, di po ba gold ung binibili ng BSP?”

Partner: “o, yan, alam nga nila eh.” PAKSHET talaga!

The rest of the meal was wonderful, plus, all the cute associates were there! ^_^