Pokemon Cards

I miss II-Euler. I miss the noise, the faces, the laughter, the rehearsals, the prayers [before a competition] and all the things we used to do together last school year. The thought came to me when I saw these Pokemon cards in my wallet.


(From L-R: Poochyena from Dela, Spoink from Miguel and Whooper from Harvey)

I really don't know how to use these things. I don't even have a valid reason for bickering with the other girls [on who's getting this and who's getting that] and for begging Dela to give me a card. Other than playing with the cards [and using them as garbage for their "recycled projects" in TLE], they trade their cards and even sell them [to the freshmen]! But the "pious" guys gave those cards for free. They're so kind and unselfish.

I like Poochyena so much because it's so cute. That's why I begged Dela for it. I also wanted Mightyena, the um, creature Poochyena evolved into. It's stronger so Dela refused to give it to me. Joyce looked for her "dream card" after. Then came the other girls who want to get a card.

Miguel was surprisingly feeling generous that day so he showed me his collection. He allowed me to take anything I wish. I fancied no card but Spoink (so that's why he's giving those for free). Haha. Kidding. Then the other girls ran to see Miguel's collection.

Lastly, Harvey's card. Our adviser loves throwing our things away when we leave it under our armchairs. Fortunately for Harvey, I'm a very caring seatmate. I took his things and dumped them in his locker. I wanted him to feel touched (haha) so I told him how I rescued his TLE project and Math notebooks. As a reward, he showed me his deck and allowed me to get anything I want. He did the offer during a class discussion so nobody would hear. Haha. Like Miguel's, I didn't find anything that could beat Poochyena's cuteness. So I took Whooper and stuffed it in my wallet where the rest of my cards are kept. He took Whooper and placed it on top of the other cards (because Poochyena was on top and I wanted Poochyena to be on top because it's the cutest).

Then I remembered I never changed its position. It's still on top.

Fun with Google Analytics

I just installed my Google Analytics tracking code to track the visitors who view my blog. It's so cool! It has a line graph that shows [and compares] the total visits and pageviews everyday. It also shows a graph of the number of new visitors and returning visitors. And another graph that shows the "visits by sources" and the sources (sites) that refer to your blog. It also displays the keywords a person used to search [for something] which accidentally led him to drop by your blog. And the coolest feature [for me] is the Geo Map Overlay! It shows a map marked with yellow circles. A yellow circle on a country means that a person from that country has read/dropped by your blog. Because of this, I learned that one person from Jackson, Atlanta, Vicenza and Manila dropped by my blog. And 12 people from Makati.

Why did I do all the talking? If you want to learn more about Google Analytics, click here.

Learning Cooking

My mom went to her doctor today. We were expecting the doctor to tell my mom that she can live "normally" again. It means that she can cook, prepare her own food and stay beside us. For the past few days we buy cooked food, prepare our mom's meals (she uses disposable plates, cups, spoons and forks), and maintain an arm's length distance from he. She even uses a bathroom different from ours!

Anyway, the doctor just checked on my mom and told her to keep following the rules. We were so disappointed.

When she got home, she asked me if I could cook. Of course I said no. But remembering that I miss our "own" food, I said yes. She said that she'd be there in the kitchen, giving instructions as I cook. I haven't tried cooking yet, my first class [with my mom] will be tonight.

When I was younger, I used to watch my mom cook. Now my mom will watch me. Let's just see how our food will turn out tonight.

School's Coming

School's coming. It's only a few more days from now. I think I'm not yet ready to attend late-night practices, sleep late, cram projects, do homeworks and other things a typical high-school student must do.

Anyway, here's a list of things I must say farewell to:
>>surfing the net the whole day
>>curling on bed until noon
>>watching tv after surfing
>>staring at the ceiling when bored
>>CSI
>>boredom
>>summer
>>and a lot, lot more.

And then again, closing doors means a new entrance where there are new [and old] classmates, teachers, subjects and challenges.
Don't forget the new, more complicated, numbery and harder-to-learn Math. Guess I'd just stick to the quote I read last week. I can't remember who made it but it looks something like this, "You don't have to learn Math. You just have to get used to it".

Busy Week

I used to whine about boredom for the past few weeks but my whining stopped when last week had just started.

Our maid left and we can't find someone to replace her. So everybody has to do their part on the chores (except for Ate Tek who comes home in the morning, sleeps the whole day, wakes at night, eats then leaves for work). But she tries to help once in a while.

My mom was sent to the hospital to have her take radioactive iodine to treat her goiter. She stayed there for four days.

Since she's away, I have to take responsibilities, a lot of them. And those were not that easy to accomplish. Last Monday I paid for my sister's P.E. uniform. There were a lot of parents there who paid and took their children's uniforms. So there was a long line and I went on the end. Some people were pushing and cutting the line. Those people disgusted me very much so I decided to just get Inna's uniform the next day.

I was about to give up my responsibility on the first day but I know I can't. Who would take Inna to her school? Then I decided to start again and forget all the things I messed up.

I was so responsible! I take Inna to the school in the morning and get there just in time to pick her up. At home, I prepare our lunch, feed the dogs, clean the house and sometimes even do the laundry. Yay! But I won't be able to do all that without the help of my little sister. At night I'd do the same thing. I prepare our dinner and feed the dogs. Then Ate Angge would come from work and wash the dishes.

About the food, I can't cook. My mom cooked food for us before she left. Then we would have to heat the food in the microwave. You might be wondering where our eldest sister had gone. Well, she was just in the house, particularly in my room, sleeping. She sleeps the whole day! She wakes at night and leaves for work then sleeps again when she comes back. But she did help us in her own little ways. She swept our yard [once] and leaves early, so we could lock the doors early.

We used to fight with Ate Tek very early in the morning [because she wakes us and tells us to clean the house]. We're supposed to clean it when we're back from Inna's school! Why didn't she clean the house instead? Ate Angge used to scold her during the eve when she's back from work. She tells Ate Tek to help us in little ways like washing her plates. Despite our [daily] bickering, we miraculously worked harmoniously and survived the week.

"Amang"

"Sa wakas uulan na din!" That was what my mom said when she heard Kuya Kim announce a storm that may pass here in Manila. My dad told her that all we need is a little rain. He told her how destructive a storm is. He retold to her the story of how our lives were when "Milenyo" came. My mom was in the USA during that time and she never got to experience the very difficult way of living. Both water supply and electricity were gone.

We had an exam to pass last Sunday. A passing grade in that exam means "hello" to the jr. black belt. We can't have a black belt until we're sixteen so we have to use a jr. black belt for now. Ate Angge didn't want to take the exam which may give her a blue belt. Our sensei really wants her to take the exam but her hopes were shattered when my sister didn't appear.

My dad didn't take us to the school (by car) because he's extremely tired so my little sister and I traveled alone. It was raining when we left the house and it rained even harder when we rode in the trike. We were soaked and muddy when we got to the jeepney. We thought we'd feel relieved in there but thunder came. It was followed by a lightning that struck a nearby vehicle. Poor vehicle.

We rushed to our school and got there 5 minutes before the exam. We had a written exam first followed by warm-up exercises then the kata, a series of moves performed differently by each belt. Before the results of the written exam were revealed, we were forced to join the sparring. Forget about the sparring results. Hehe. Anyway, I didn't like the result of my written exam. We were given wrong information by our sensei. I passed the exam though but I really want to get a perfect score.

So that was "Amang", the first typhoon in our country.

III-Feynman

After a month of waiting, I finally received my report card.

My heart was beating fast when I reached the third floor. Traveling in a very hot, sunny day made me feel so tired. In addition to that, I was also expecting to see my name in the special section's list. It is the class for varsity players, choir members, rondalla members and dancers. I just had a bad feeling that I'd get dropped from the first section. I don't like to be in the special section (though it's called special) so I'm hoping to be in the first section again. See, I was exhausted and anxious at the same time.

Then Joyce and Effie greeted me and told me the good news. I'm still in their class. Whew. And because I doubted them, they showed me the list of the people in Feynmann. Indeed, my name was there. Sadly, four girls from our class were transferred to different classes and three girls took their place. I admire the boys from our class because they were not increased nor decreased. They spend most of their free time at the computer shop but they still get to maintain their good grades. Anyway, welcome, Shara, Karen and Venus.

Our teacher came after an hour and she distributed our report cards. Unfortunately, I didn't know that we must submit 2 1x1 pictures before we receive our card. So I went back at home to find the pictures. I returned to our school right after I found them and I received my card. Yey!

As expected, I got my usual grade in both Maths. My grades in TLE, MAPEH, SPEDRA and Physics shocked me. I never submitted our first project in TLE, I always get lower grades in MAPEH (compared to the other rondalla players and lyrists), I just stared at our teacher in SPEDRA while he scolds us and I was one of the unlucky people who never had the chance to recite in Physics. And I am really thankful because I have been blessed with these understanding teachers. My adviser's comment in the third grading also caught my eye. It says, "Bigyang pansin ang mga mababang marka". I promise to do better this coming school year.

After the card giving, I, with Joyce and Tatum, went to our usual place, Jollibee. It's the nearest place to our school that we could settle in so we don't have any choice. We waited in there until the sun sets. We spent our time eating, exchanging stories, laughing and eating some more until it's not too hot outside to go home.