Deepest Thanks to Thee

 

After 13 hours of waiting in vain with my three batch mates at Clare Heaven's Bookbinding services, here come my seven hardbound thesis copies.

Thesis is indeed one of the hardest parts in every UP student’s academic life (not to mention about it being a solo project), because it leads to having a mixed-up mind that usually results to anxiety and depression. What was unimaginable for me three semesters ago was actually possible three semesters later. It’s a surreal feeling that the research study I’ve been working on for the past three semesters is finally done, and it would not have been possible if not because of those people who gave me support in any means.

 

I am very grateful for the constructive feedbacks my panellists and adviser have given my thesis. If not because of those comments and pieces of advice, my study would still have been very shallow and unorganized. I want to thank Prof. Dennis John Sumaylo for helping me narrow down my scope during the thesis proposal part; to Prof. Karen Joyce Cayamanda for giving me the idea that I should just highlight one part in my thesis; and of course, to Prof. Sheila Grace Europa for being patient with me all throughout.

 

I want to thank the beautiful and charming CHSS Librarian, Mrs. Merlyn Castaneros for showing her genuine kindness to me whenever I disturb her for the books I couldn’t locate only to find out that they’re just actually in their assigned shelves. She understands about our situation, and I acknowledge her for that. Her words of encouragement to me and my colleagues never failed to help me feel that I can really get it over with.

 

 

It’s a pleasure to express my appreciation to my pretty friends Jael Magbanua, Ann Marjorie Luz, Maicie Ceballo, Christine Bayang, Regina Doctura, Francis Lyn Malalis,  Ella Rinos, the Aguzar siblings and Ali Altizo for helping me cope with pressure. They made it easier for me to deal with difficult circumstances by hanging out with me to get rid of stress. Thanks for the happy memories we had during our fashion photo shoots, laugh trips, and pig-out moments.

 

Similarly, I want to thank my batch mates and special friends namely,  Janice Javerle, Jewel Rose Torotoro, Maxine Alexandra Villas, Shimea More, Lavinia Oliveros, Ria Petrache, Troy Requizo, Jesse Pizarro and Charina Amor for giving me guidelines on how I should go about with my thesis. They were also the ones who were there for me in times when I didn’t know what to do anymore. They gave me strength and motivation not to give up on what I have already started.

 

I also feel so gratified with the boost my boyfriend-and-bestfriend Ciovic David Sol Balabbo has given me. I’m thankful because he never complained about me being busy with school the past year. He always raises my spirit, and he always believes in my capacity. He sees the good in me even though I’ve been very short-tempered lately because of too much tension. I thank him for understanding me and for giving me confidence all the time.

 

More importantly, I owe my deepest gratitude to my family Miko, Janine, Mikee, especially to my mother who didn’t ever surrender in providing for me despite the many short-comings and disappointments I’ve caused her. She is my number one inspiration in doing my best for this thesis, because I don’t want to fail her again. She gave me countless chances to prove myself, and I’m forever thankful for that. I hope you’re proud of me. I also want to thank my father who accompanied me and my friends until 2am while we were waiting for our hardbound copies. I don’t know what could have happened to Ate Jael, Charina and me if he wasn’t around. I love you Mama Bebet and Papa Bebot!

 

Lastly, this thesis will never be feasible without the divine help coming from my Almighty God and Savior. I thank you My Lord for sharing me your knowledge and wisdom so that I can be able to finish this requirement successfully. Thank You for giving me peace of mind when I need it the most. Thank You for always listening to my unending requests and rants. Thank You for granting the necessities of this study. Most of all, thank You for all the blessing! I offer all these in your name, My Lord.

Child’s Play: Color Blocking for Plenary

What I wore

Mini-Floral-Dress-Worn-As-Top: FOVL (Japanese brand)

Polo-Blouse-Worn-As-Blazer: Rosella (Japanese brand)

Skirt: Vintage

Dark Brown Boots: Janeo

Sleek Belt: SM Accessories

Bag: Secosana

Earrings: Gift from Mom

Necklace: from England

Bangle: from England

Two days ago was our Thesis Plenary (final defense), and I’m just so glad and proud to say… I made it at last! We still have a few things to add for our final draft though, but what I’m sure of is that my sacrifice for this major subject is about to end soon. I’m ultimately stoked to don our school’s famous sablay for our much-awaited graduation come 18th of April. Now that it’s nearing the finish line (and it's only a month to go), it’s becoming even more nerve-wrecking! The anticipation is killing me!

Now on the glam side of this post, presentations at school has always been the BA Communication Arts students venue for dolling up. A fashion enthusiast like me would miss chances like this under no circumstance. Of course it’s uncommon for a shutterbug like me, to play dress up without photography. What good are lovely clothes when you don’t get to capture them? That’s just what I personally think. Maybe that might wrinkle your brows, but for me it’s something that I totally dig.

I always plan my outfits days ahead, and with that I mean I have a sort of “dress rehearsal” so that I won’t go panicking in front of my closet on the day itself. I chose to throw in some vivid hues for this get-up to uplift my mood, because I’ve been in some neutral colors like white, black, brown/beige lately. I also decided to wear my mini floral dress as a top, and my blue button-down top as a blazer. I tucked the dress in the skirt, put the blouse over it and cinched everything with the sleek belt.

I love that my printed top and bangle made it pop in my plain color-blocked ensemble. It’s like having two fashion fad in one – print popping and color blocking. How ‘bout that? I also love that the combination of this vibrant blue and yellow shades made a cheerful effect in my mood for this day. Blue is associated to the calm waters and yellow to the bright sunshine, so putting them together definitely helped me be in good spirits that lasted for the entire day, and hopefully for the whole week as well.

How could I not be in a pleasant disposition when I wore clothes that look so happy, and I got one of the best news in my college life? Color therapy and good news indeed have the power to make us feel so great about ourselves! Thank you so much dear God for the blessing! Now I’m off to write the abstract, acknowledgement  and biographical sketch to cap off my final thesis draft. I’m almost done! And oh please hype this look in Lookbook. ‘Til next time and have a good day, lovely dolls!

Of Assorted Thoughts and Stuff

I don't want to use the term "random" due to the fact that it has become an overrated word used for blogs. Just let me use "assorted" instead. So yeah, this post is going to be about different things running in my head. My mind is not in its proper state to elaborate on a single subject, as of the moment. My blogger-rific train of thought is currently unavailable. I'm kind of lost, because of my blogger's block that caused my week-long hiatus. I'm done with my explanation, let us now proceed to what I have to share:

This is how happy I am. My ghosts came out.

• Last week was my first week to be out of school! It feels really great not having to worry about academic matters. Well, I'm not done with my thesis yet, but my adviser told me that it only needs some minor revisions. I can't wait to wrap it up. I can't wait to say "I'm all set and ready to march this April 2012!"

My first Camiguin escapade last February 2010. This was taken at White Island.

• I'm planning to go with my sister Janine on their Arts and Society class' trip to Camiguin this February 2012. I miss that paradise a great deal! I wanna bathe in Sto. Nino Cold Spring, Katibawasan Falls and Arden Hot Spring one more time. I'll try to persuade my parents if they could grant me that wish. I'm crossing my fingers!

The Secret Circle Cast.  From left to right: Thomas Dekker as Adam, Shelley Hennig as Diana, Robertson as Cassie, Louis Hunter as Nick, Phoebe Tonkin as Faye and Jessica Parker Kennedy as Melissa.

• This is one of the TV series I've been watching lately alongside The Lying Game, New Girl, Community, Pretty Little Liars and Breaking Bad. I like it because it involves teens and magic, but I can't say that I'm into it. This show's Pilot episode is a little off for me. Some acts and lines were corny and cliche, but I can forgo them and still give TSC a chance. I'm still on the 4th episode.

Group Messages. Photo not intended for copyright infringement.

• Someone's been sending me group messages, and I kind of feel really annoyed. Why should she have to broadcast what she's doing through SMS. Duh, like we care! I hope this girl finds it in her heart that group texts are already obsolete. Why can't she post it on Facebook or Twitter instead of sending it one by one to all her phone book contacts.

• As a bonus, I'll also be sharing some of the tunes that I've been indulging these past few days. Some of it are from my favorite movies and TV series' Soundtrack. Here they are:

We Won't Run - Sarah Blasko

Young Blood - The Naked and Famous

DNA - The Kills

Could've Had Me - Lex Land

Move With Me - Savannah Packard

I Want It All - Jules Larson

Sleep Alone - Bat for Lashes

Reasons To Love You - Meiko

Paralyzer - Finger Eleven

La Vie En Rose - Louise Armstrong

That's it for now, blogger friends. I hope you enjoyed reading my drifless blog post for today. According to http://thesaurus.com, drifless is the synonym of random. I used it, because as I said I hate using the latter. LOL! By the way, I'm looking for someone who could kick off my upcoming blog series that will feature the various thoughts of different guest writers. Who wants to be the first to do so? Just give me a buzz on my Facebook Page. I'll be waiting. Much love!

Abstract Maranao Okir Art

I have been so stressed for the past weeks’ academic binge. I lacked some shut eye, which resulted to constant headaches. And now that school’s over, I’m slowly getting back what I had deprived myself of – slumber… and of course, blogging. Teehee. I’m still not supposed to do this, but I really feel the need to take some time off. After the scholastic breakdown I had last week, I imposed myself an unwritten rule that I shouldn’t blog until such time that my thesis is far from over. I honestly feel that I’m nearly done, so let me take a breather just this once.

Enough said.

I got to let out my artistic side again because of our Filipino 21 (Philippine Folklore) subject. We were asked to create something that can popularize our country’s ethnic art as our final project. I chose the Maranao Okir Art, because it’s very popular. This art is known for its exuberance and vitality. It also crosses different forms. The Maranao is one of the thirteen tribes of Muslim in the Philippines. It is the subject of researchers’ interest most of the time, thus making them the most studied tribe in the country. As far as I know, it is the most extravagant Muslim tribe.

Since I have been suffering from cognitive overload lately, I couldn’t think of an original okir art. I apologize, because I just copied what I found in the web. I only used pastel crayons and illustration board. No pun intended. I just didn’t have enough resources and time to exert my utmost effort in crafting my own design. If given another chance, I will definitely do my best to show you my own interpretation of the said art. Spoken like a real beauty queen, eh? Anyhow, below is an abstract okir art made by a student from Mindanao State University (MSU).

The Original from (Al-Nezzar Ali’s blog). Not intended for copyright infringement.

The nasty version. Not intended for plagiarism.

Yours truly. The fake artist holding her ugly work of art. I hope you like it somehow.

LOL for the hoping soul here! Piece based on Pinta Okir Group‘s (MSU Gensan) piece for the

Okil in Abstraction Workshop.

SVS: Ezra Fitz and Aria Montgomery

Reblogged from http://-amandasdays.tumblr.com/

This is one of the cutest scenes from Pretty Little Liars Season 1 Episode 15: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Lie Lie Again. This was when Aria went to Mr. Fitz’s room and flirtatiously convinces him to accompany her to the BASIA Art opening. While Aria was showing her “work” to her big love, Katie Herzig’s Hey Na Na was being played in the background. I wish I can be that sweet to my man!

And by the way, please pray for me because today is my Thesis Plenary. It’s sort of a second defense for my research's Results and Discussion. I hope I can finally graduate this October! May God bless me. I can't wait to finally write lengthier and more substantial posts after this week!