How the semester ended

My "fourth" year-first semester ended last Friday, and um, yea, it was FUN.

Never in my entire life (in UP) have I ever experienced the weariness and exhaustion I felt during that last week of the semester, and I am hoping that it'll be the first and the last. Er. I know, I know. I said I am just hoping.

I honestly felt like I was crawling under stacks of papers and equations and medical terms, and I just can't breathe and I badly wanted out, thank God, I am so done with that (for now, for the thoughts of my grades are haunting me right now). Remembering that chaotic week even gives me goosebumps, it was a really bad week. 

Here's a peak on how it went:

Monday evening to Tuesday morning

Review at McDo with my roomie, Ila (this lasted from 9pm until 2 am):

Tuesday 

Last minute review for Clinical Psychology at the UPDEPP ehem "garden" (I look so studious there, ain't I?):

Then, after a stressful exam and before going home to more schoolworks, tada! the kids played at the Air Force Playground to shove the stress away. Hehe. (Um, more like took some photos than play, though)

Then, Wednesday, October 9 came, and hey, that's the date of birth of the most gorgeous lady ever. Ehehehehem.

So, a birthday amidst all these, huh?

Some bday presents:

DJ's gift is wrapped

tada! It's poop.

                   

Nikki's message. This was embarrassing, because this is the library computer and she left it like this for like hours there. Oh, but this is really sweet, ain't it?

 Then off to studying again

@ Starbucks. And dya see those Chemistry reviewers? (heh~ just browsed those though)

Presents again

Soleil's letter to me. Hehe. I have a deep appreciation for letters! Super sweet. And the stationery she used is also really cute.

Soleil's and Jessica's gifts to meh! :D Happy kid. (Jessica: DIY rabbit(?). Soleil: mixed CD, planner, letters. Both:  DIY bookmarks hehe of "some" guys)

halfway thru reviewing, Soleil and I "rested" to read a magazine, and rate the guy we are most likely to be attracted to

Off to Le Tigresses' Semender

More presents

from Jean and Yna & Yra. Um, I don't really know what my girls are up to with these gifts, but I find these gifts really personal haha. Sweet(?) More like making fun o'me though, haha. JK. Loved them (Jean: Wreath with purple, peach, and teal roses. Yna & Yra: Amelia's Boy Survival Guide Book)

They were not as busy as I was

the tigresses are playing this cute little game Jean introduced to us. The modern and virtual tayaan. I dunno what's this called though.

Thursday

Everyone in our apartment unit was busy, so this was how it was there. Hehe. No, this isn't a guy's room, we're all girls here.

  Picnic Grounds, Clark. (no, this isn't a picnic, this is review)

Snacks

They were preppin for a "therapy session"

</3

Boneil & Baldo

Mourning over Ch...

Decided I can't take these anymore, so...

I threw the reviewers away.

As if throwing them would take the hurt away. Retrieved them at once though

 Pictorial...

Staked lying on a not-so-clean bed of grass for a bunch of photos

(insert a tearjerking quote here)

Sunny. <3

Soleil, Jessica and I decided we couldn't study in the Picnic Grounds (for obvious reasons), so we rested for a while and went to Starbucks instead

I bet they're tired

Hehe. Serious mode

Soleil and her antidepressants & uppers

Then, let's not talk about Friday (Chemistry final exam day).

My body felt so heavy and tired that week. When I went home, as my sister was opening the gate for me, she was laughing at my eyebags, because those black bags were visible even in the dark. She told me afterwards that I looked like I came from war when she saw me. Huh! That week, I barely had sleep. </3 and I told the people at home not to wake me up the next day, but because my body is already used to no sleep, I woke up early. :'( until now, my body clock is still broken. 

But I am very glad, I feel hopeless and hopeful. Well, during times like this one, I see more of God's love and grace and I realize that His arms are my bed through whenever. Cool, yes. I mean I feel sorry for feeling really sick of all these things, because I always miss the point that God is with me, but He always assures me that He'll be with me when I walk thru the fire and waters (Isaiah 43:2). I am so thankful I got through it, and I got this awesome friends to be with me, too! :D Awesome people meet their own kind. Ehem

And when I got home, my family and I officially celebrated my birthdayyyy!

Because they love me they tell me the truth. Need I say more?

Naligo kami, promise, mukha lang hindi.

It was a very mini celebration because it's my 19th already, but I loved the intimacy and the sweetness of it all. :D I thank God for all these awesome people in my life.

Haha, and now, I am just waiting in faith for the results of my "hard" labor this semester that has just passed! Huhu. Waiting in faith will pay well, I believe. Oh yeah.

The Irony of Saying Goodbye to Greeting Cards

I love greeting cards! For me, it's the same as loving bookmarks. And recently, I have read a very saddening post about it from NY Times.

Yes, yes, we all are in this fast-paced world, that there'd be no room for improvements if we'd rather rely on our sentimental thoughts, but still!

Anyways, imagine the world grows shallower and shallower and saying I love you becomes so virtual. Oh, relationships couldn't get more and more so not-intimate. It is actually what's starting to happen now.

Ever since there had been Facebook greetings on birthdays, I feared that time will come when we would not need to use the greeting cards anymore, and soon, they'll be phased out, and that would be truly truly heartbreaking. Oh no, I was wrong, I sort of predicted this ever since there'd been texting and stuff, and Facebook greetings just made birthday greetings more "non-special".

I have a thing for greeting cards and writing letters, because I grew up receiving different greeting cards. When my dad was alive, he was working overseas as a seaman, and we'd always write each other, him, my mom and us siblings. Whenever the Valentine's day would be approaching, I'd be expecting my greeting card already, or during my birthdays or Christmases.

So, obviously, I grew up writing letters. Been doing that since I can remember. I remember that my mom would write drafts for us, and we would copy them in our gradeschool pads, so it'd be so us writing. I remembered when we already knew how to write, we'd write our dad the newly discovered jokes we have. And having read the letters now (since my dad brought all of the letters home), our letters were so corny and so childish, well that's how it's supposed to be for kids, right?

So the shift from paper to virtual (that I've been preparing for for like years) somehow breaks my heart (though I consider them to be very very helpful eg reports, papers, acad-related, etc). Look the leather-covered diaries of the past became blogs, and there are emails (ha! which is useful though), oh don't forget the photo albums. We are in a bullet train, that the shift could sometimes be unnoticeable, that you'll only notice if you looked hard.

We are not yet saying goodbye to greeting cards so far yet, but from the look of things, we're gradually getting there. Blue Mountain (as was stated from the NY Times article) is on top with their ecards these days. And a lot of other things are becoming e-something.

Greeting cards (sigh)

There's a different kind of feels in receiving and giving greeting cards. Because you'll know that there is a certain extent of specialness in the relationship between the two people who gave and received the card. Why? Because the giver would be making an effort to buy and choose a greeting card, and add up a paragraph or two of message to the receiver. Waaa~ lovely, right? While these days, you can just sit in front of your laptop or whatever computer device you're using and type "HBD! :)" or "Happy birthdayyyyyy!" and post or tweet it. Haaa!

I really like the vintage greeting cards which I didn't really experience. The drawings are intricate and so feminine, though there's some kind of creepiness in them because they're uh old.

But as much as classic things are lovely, the fanciness in modern greeting cards is also not to be dismissed. The bright colors are just so lovely.

And there are also a lot of other ideas incorporated in greeting cards like the greeting cards that have music or tones. Haha~ I've received a lot of singing greeting cards when I was young, and my sibs, too. :))) Lovely. Just lovely.

These wonders! Can we just go and say goodbye to these things that made our special occasions extra special?! So, it's also our fault that there's been a decline in the greeting cards sales, we aren't buying them anymore, well, I do but on special occasions alone. Waah, now, I want to help the greeting cards companies by buying cards every single occasion of the people I love. If that could impede the virtual world of greetings somehow. Haha, idealistic much.

Anyway, I hope well for the next generation but it seems that they'll be missing out so much in life! Ha! But what to miss when you haven't experienced them? It's like how we preferred jeans to frocks now. Haaay.

The changing world is changing rapidly, huh?