Another cup of coffee please...

I don't want this month to end without a single post so I'm multitasking. This involves shifting my browser from thesis stuff to Facebook and Pet Society, to Fashion Wars and to my blog. It's been a while since my last post. But nothing much have changed, really. I'm still caught up with tons of school stuff. If there's one thing that has changed, it's my rekindled relationship with my over-sized coffee mug.

The fact that I have a lot of experience in the area of sleep deprivation plus my constant practice of pulling an all nighter definitely did come in handy during these times of thesis cram sessions. Though I am done with my second set of 200 hours of internship (this means I'm supposed to be free during Mondays and Wednesdays) my whirlpool of daily activities did not even changed a bit. Back then, most of my free time are spent in Billy's place doing our thesis. Now the days when I'm not supposed to be in school were still spent in school since we have to do a lot of testing procedures and consult our thesis adviser every chance we get. And then each day after class, Billy, Archie and Merce stay at my place until almost midnight for our thesis. I try to catch up on some Zzzs while they work and then I start working on the paperworks until morning after they left.
To make my long story short, I am currently back on zombie-mode. I'm having a hard time listening to my professors during class. Unfortunately for my Broadcasting subject, it's on the exact time that my sleepiness is at its peak and falling flat on my face from some serious form of fatigue was all I could think of. But I can't sleep during class. especially if I'm seating at the front row!

I still have loads to tell! And I promise to make time during one of my Thesis101 overnight sessions. That is, if I still have an ounce of sanity left.

Pains, Lessons and Blessings. Part II

FRIENDS= HAPPINESS.

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.




This one's a given. They are one of the few reasons why my sanity is still intact even though college has taken its toll on me since day one. They are one of the few reasons why I always look forward to sem breaks and holidays.


And Sharmaine, who has been my dearest friend since fourth grade. I've learned enough lessons from her to last me a lifetime. She reminds me of the type of person I wanted to become. And in times of troubles, when all others fail, hers is the hand I can always reach out to.
24/7.


HE LOVES YOU, SO BE NICE.

To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another.


2008 was the year we turned two.
Sure, we do argue a lot. There were many times I refused to speak to him for days. But it still doesn't change the fact that two years later, I'm still in love with someone who makes me suuuper happy. And loves me dearly even though my mood swings proved to be a real pain in the ass time and time again. Who tries hard to keep up with my shopping sprees and treats complaining as a big no-no. Who treats my family as his own. Who holds my hand as if he's never ever gonna let go.

THANK YOU.
You're the very reason why I would love to believe in HAPPILY EVER AFTER. :)

Pains, Lessons and Blessings. Part I

"Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect and Thank God it can go."
****
2008 has been my own whirlpool of ups and downs. Got me close to tears at some point, crying my heart out in another, but happy and contented most of the time.

Lessons-

COURAGE.

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing the heart.

There were a dozen times during the year when I have felt defeated.
I was almost in tears when I found out that Daddy was sick. That was by far, the biggest blow. I immediately prayed for him to be okay, but the damage was already done. One of the hardest parts, apart from from not-knowing and dealing with uncertainties is facing my shattered views. Just because he's the best father anyone could have ever had and he takes good care of everything, and he lifts you up even from the deepest pit of your darkest days, it doesn't mean that he has this impenetrable shield and he's always strong.
Those six months was among our darkest days, and I thank God with all my heart that it's all over now.
Yes, I've dealt with my shattered views about my father's health. But how I see him as a person will never change, or shatter like a broken glass. It's hard as steel.
He is still the world's greatest dad.

ACCEPTANCE.

Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it.

One failed mark last semester was enough to send me locked up in my room for three straight days while crying non-stop. That sucks. A lot. But thankfully, I've gotten over it with a lot of prayer that everything will turn out fine. The thing about failure is (though it sucks a lot), it gives you the opportunity to bounce back higher.
Because of that subject, I'm taking different classes now for the first time. Technically. It's not really the first, but the first one's internship so that doesn't count. I had to face my first 200 hours of internship alone while everybody else had to take classes on Signals and Spectra again over the summer. (Remember when we filed a complaint regarding of our professor and I'm the only one among my friends who passed the subject. Yep, that's why.)
Now, I've decided to omit taking different classes on my things-that-I-hate-to-do-since-it-totally-sucks list. It does not really classify as overly-majorly bad. In fact, I'm happy that I'm taking different classes. It's good that I'm learning different things and I got to spend one whole day every week with Ann and Ria alone. And looking back, it's good that things got really shaky last semester break. Since I was too worried about the possibility of not graduating on time, I got Archie and myself into skipping the semester break and starting with our internship early to avoid schedule-problems. Now Archie, Billy and Gaudi, all three who expected to be summer grads are almost done with 400 hours of internship! Now all that's left for us to do is get pass this huge obstacle called thesis back to back with pre-board exams and we'll be done with school. For good. Best of luck to all of us!

CHARITY.

Kindness is contagious.

Probably one of the best things that I've done this year is embracing the gift of service by joining Charity Focus. Writing for HelpOthers.Org and touching other people's hearts from different places across the globe really IS something. This is certainly one good way of spreading my blessings brought by other people's kindness.


Too bad I'm too busy at school, I've posted only five stories so far. That's nothing compared to dozens of stories most volunteers post each day. I promise to make time during the weeks to come. Writing for HelpOthers.Org has become my sort of theraphy. My personal escape from my busy world. :) Here are some of my favorite comments posted to my stories.

From my story Smiles (April 14)

On Apr 16, 2008, lovebug says:
Life is very often, not a pretty picture, but you gave what you had. That is enough.

On Jul 13, 2008, Aurelia says:
Smile because what you did made a big difference in him...a few coins and a big smile...perfec combo. :0) ~Aurelia

From my story Straight From a Woman's Heart (April 16)

On Apr 16, 2008, martzi says:
it was proven that God really exist using the people around us. your sharing is really good. here is my smiles for you.

On May 1, 2008, lovebug says:
Sorry, it has taken so much time to catch up with your story of April 16th, it really touched my heart. Hope you will post again, I might learn something before my time is over.

From my post Happy Father's Day to my Angel In Disguise (June 15)

On Jun 15, 2008, wayfarer says:
Arnee, I used to sail with guys from Sierra Leone who did the same thing, worked at sea ten months a year to provide for their families. I thought it was heroic then and I still do. Your dad is a hero!

On Jun 15, 2008, lmil1954 says:
That is a wonderful tribute to your dad, arnee. You are blessed and so is he. Happy father's Day to all...and my daughter said it to me this morning too (and Im her mom) Love, Lida:)

On Jun 15, 2008, makesomeonesmile says:
That is great arnee! What a special dad and special person you are too!

From my story Love, Life and Service (July 8)

On Jul 8, 2008, JuneBug says:
Yes, a beautiful story! There were many services I have missed because of the pain of my disease. I always regret missing out. Then I came to the conclusion, I'm gonna hurt wherever I am, so might as well be in church with my church family and growing closer to God. Yes, He knows our pain well....:)

From my post Eight Lies of a Mother (August 29)

On Sep 1, 2008, warmth says:
i salute all the women i know of my life. Your story have inspired me to appreciate them. Thank u and God Bless u


There you go. The first part of my year-end report. Part II's due tomorrow. This is a promise I have to keep.
Gotta go. Gotta go. I still have to help mom with all the cooking. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Cheers to another chance to get it right!

I'm sure as hell thankful that I take down notes!

For the third time this week, I'm on this very spot. Trying to pull things together, get pass these loopholes that are seriously starting to affect my memory. It has been a while and I wanted to write about lot of things. I planned to write about lot of things. Some of these things even hit me when I least expected it. I have no idea why most of them vanish into thin air when I'm at this very spot. The only reason I managed to get pass my first sentence (which is something I've failed to do in my previous attempts) is that I've got help from a notepad.
It's THAT serious.
Leave it to my memory to forget about stuff just when I am about to make use of those stuff.
I even had to write some of them down just so I wouldn't forget!
Oh well, I guess jotting down notes would not be too bad. The good thing is, it doesn't take much getting used to. I've had lot of practice at school. And now I have to do the same for my blog, for crying out loud!
****
Let me happily announce that I am enjoying my Christmas break a lot. Although there's a lot of school stuff I ought to be dealing with (it's hard to concentrate on school stuff when you're all prepped up for the holidays), I am very happy that I am getting a lot of sleep than usual. And I get a chance to read books. And go shopping till my feet are screaming in agony from walking from store to store and I am nearly broke.
Unfortunately and inevitably, it's only just a matter of time before I go back to zombie-slash-vampire mode. Zombie- since I will definitely have to deal again with a serious case of eye bags fully equipped with the dark circles under my eyes. I would be somewhat disoriented during the day due to lack of sleep, I will talk less and stare into nothingness most of the time.
Vampire- not because I'm only awake during night time but awake during both day time and night time. Stephenie Meyer has been feeding a lot of vampire facts into my mind. I know the 'being nocturnal' stuff about vampires is just a myth since vampires don't sleep. At all. We will surely have a lot of common then for the weeks to come, while I stay up all night doing my thesis.
But before that, I would definitely have to do this again. Notes or no notes. I will write about some of the good things that happened this year.
Somewhat like a year-end report.
But I guess I have to make a written list first. Anything mental does not function really well right now.

fully Booked.

I took the day off.

I planned to spend the day with Pito. I did. But Pito has been terribly quiet for the past few days, it was driving me crazy. His eyes were drooping. He won't eat a thing and is asleep most of the time. When he's awake, he just sits lazily, looking very tired, his head slightly leaning to one side.

I am worried sick. I'm not at all used to his being silent almost all the time. I'm glad that he was starting to feel better before he got to bed. He definitely should feel better. We're celebrating his second birthday tomorrow. No kiddie parties this time. Just lunch at Leslie's with the whole family plus Archie. It will break my heart to see Pito not in the mood for some fun due to some stupid pneumonia. I wouldn't like that.

Since Pito spent most of the day in bed, and since I was still feeling tired from the long drive to Batangas City yesterday, I decided to do the famous catching up on sleep over the weekend thing. For a moment there I thought it was doing wonders but then I started to feel rather gloomy. I felt the urge to get up and do something. I bailed myself out of doing my homework and downloaded New Moon instead. I've just finished Twilight last Wednesday, finished it in fifteen hours so Archie and I can finally watch the movie after class on Thursday. Since then I've been wanting to finish all four books of the Twilight Saga. Unfortunately, since I am definitely one of the very few late bloomers who heard about the book ages ago but had just found time to read it since the movie is coming out, I had to pay the price. Now that I finally urged myself to understand this obsession every other readers have, I am having difficulty finding the books in bookstores! Now I feel like I'm in a trance. I haven't finished New Moon yet and I'm already thinking about the next book. And the next.

Yeah.
I feel like I'm in a trance.
I feel this really strong urge to click the Publish Post button right away and get back to New Moon.
Yeah. I am in a trance.
Now I feel like I would happily oblige.

My Crate Escape.

I am back for a moment. :)

I'll be back to school for my twelve noon class later on so while I'm having my three hour break, I decided to do something decent. It was a toss between reviewing my notes and blogging. Obviously, the latter won by a landslide. That would be two votes out of two since I only have two hands.
I just don't want my blog to feel rather left out. No, I didn't become Victor Van Dort's corpse bride. It's just that I am currently caught in my own whirlwind of school works and another 200 hours of internship and thesis and technical study and pre - board exam review during Saturdays. As much as I wanted to post something here before I forget the details of what I was going to write, I couldn't find the time. School has just been consuming all my time and energy.
There were few times I have been able to sneak away. Too bad some didn't last long. Before long Pito would either appear carrying a Walt Disney book or drag me outside to buy candy. Reading to Pito has become one of our cutest bonding moments. I try to teach him new words but he's just head over heels in love with Mickey Mouse whom he calls Wickey Mouse. I once tried to introduce Minnie Mouse to him. His efforts showed but Wickey Mouse has clearly won his heart.

Pito: (pointing to Minnie Mouse) Wickey Mouse!
Arnee: No. It's Minnie Mouse. Minnie.
Pito: Minnie Mouse?
Arnee: Yup! Minnie Mouse!
Pito: (happily) Minnie Wickey Mouse!

He was so happy while saying Minnie Wickey Mouse over and over again. It was like he had just found his new bestfriend.

So each morning, eventhough I'm almost late for school or the office, I would happily oblige whenever he sits beside me with a new Walt Disney book wide open while saying "Basa tayo!". The Walt Disney set, composed of books 1-18 were mine when I was young. Now I feel very proud that Pito has become so inclined to books. Thank you so much Wickey, I mean, Mickey Mouse! (wink)

Some of the very few times I managed to sneak away were mostly spent with Archie. We're either at the mall, the movie house or in my house watching DVD.

Still together! Still lost!

Skipper: We've lost engine one.
Private: And engine two is no longer on fire.
Kowalski:[on the microphone] This is your captain speaking. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we will be landing immediately.
[everyone claps]
Kowalski: Tha bad news is we're crash landing.

Last week , I dragged him into the movie house to watch Madagascar 2. As expected, we were laughing our heads off the whole time. I loved the first movie and I was crazy about this one too. :) Archie and I were among the four people who didn't come with kids. Everybody else was toting along little kids! It was fun seeing that they actually made seeing the movie a family affair. The movie wouldn't be the same without little kiddie faces lighting up once their parents finally got hold of their movie tickets. It was remarkable. As soon as the lights went out, I was laughing my heart out along with everybody else. :)

Lo and Behold!

... the new me.
***
Yes, I am currently undergoing a transformation. Thanks to the countless sleepless nights and to the very few non-sleepless nights characterized by my 3 hours of sleep a day, I am about to become... (drum roll) a corpse bride.
Not that I'm getting married anytime soon. It's just that I'm currently dealing with a serious case of eye bags and being on my first day back to school does not contribute much on my plan to take action. There's just so much to do, so much to learn and so many things to deal with. Perhaps what keep us going is the fact that the end is drawing near and we are (hopefully) graduating!
This is it.
Welcome to our final semester. Now the only thing left to do is to leave no room for mistakes and make sure that the 'final' semester stays just that.

final(adj.)- last, concluding, finishing, ultimate, closing, end