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.

Blog Awards for Mystic Nymph

I just got my third blog award from Nicole of Simple but Fabulous. It's actually my first award from a blogger friend abroad. Thanks a lot for this, dear. This is one of the things that made my week great. One of the rules for this One Lovely Blog Award is to share seven (7) things about myself. So, here goes:

• I'm really smitten with the existence of Freemasons. I love learning about the history of DeMolay. I don't know why I'm just so interested. 

•  I love food more than fashion. I especially love Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Italian and of course Filipino cuisine. 

• Something's wrong w/ me. I have a lot of blog ideas, but I'm feeling lackadaisical on writing about them. I hope I get back my passion soon. 

•  I love this line I got from Community: "I hate it when girls make Halloween Parties as excuse for dressing up like sluts." - Brita Perry 

•  Something I've realized when taking beauty shots of nature. It's best to take pictures of sceneries in landscape orientation, not portrait. 

•  I hate crowded places so much. I hate falling in line. I hate waiting for so long. Those things wear out my patience a great deal. 

• I am a big animal and nature lover. I really thank Prof. Antonio Obsioma for strengthening my support towards the importance of Biodiversity.

By the power vested in me, I humbly present this award to these seventeen (17) ravishing blogs I visit on a regular basis. I hope I somehow painted a smile on your face because of this.

Ayza of Everything NICE and totally ICE.

Pinguu of it's all because i'm a unicorn

Neris of Fashion Fractions

La Mode En Rose of La Mode En Rose

Chelsea Elizabeth of Organized Mess

Zahara of Scarlet's Walk

Kristen of What Goes On

Georgia of downtown wolf
Lavinia of a dash of Lav
Tim of timmyboy
Addie of The Cat Hag
Tessa of Fashion Facile
Harija of My Lyfe ; My Story
Rowan of Red Reidinghood
Sunny & Star of Sunny Days and Starry Nights
Manon of  The Old Coffee
Glenn of Gencified

The rules are just simple. Just give the award to the person from whom you have received it and link them. Write 7 things about yourself. Give the award to 15 other blogs. I passed the limit. They deserve it, anyway. Inform them about it.

Here's to blogging everyone! Long live to this lovely blog. Much love!

EDIT (July 14, 2011): I received two blog awards today from a very promising blogger friend from Luzon.

My fourth award.

My fifth award.

Thank you so much Ms. Glenn Encinares (Gencified). You have made my day!

Happy Weekend

I added some notes again in my happiness bottle after days of abandoning it. I haven't dropped some notes lately because of my lazy bones and troubled thoughts. But I want to thank God for making my weekend happy again. It was, shall I say, memorable because of the following:

Happy note for Saturday - "I just got my first nail polish ever from Queen B. OnlineShop." I ordered French Kiss for myself, Winter Pink for Shimea and Purple Stone for Ferina. Thanks SCARLET's WALK for introducing your great shop to me. I'll save some bucks again so I can buy one of those tempting Skin Food lip care collection, and another shade of nail polish from you.

French Kiss, Purple Stone, Winter Pink nail polish from Skin Food.

I love French Kiss, but my nails are ugly. They have irregular shapes. :-(

AIR 21 delivered the items two days after my transaction with Ms. Z!

Happy note for Sunday: "My high school friends and I the celebration at Roland's house for being ONE OF AdDU's Magna Cum." We pigged out with the great food they served. We laughed with the never-ending antics of everyone. We screamed like we're part of the suspense-thriller movie (Midnight Meat Train) that we watched. I just miss their company so much!

Roland and Anna Lei -- Diamond's lovebirds!

Presenting.. the Magna Cum Laude himself.

My Shutterbug moments should never be missed out.

Another ME moments showcasing Emperador and my Skin Food nail polish.

The party goers of Diamond.

Long live high school! I love you friends!

Beautiful girls all over the world.

My dear true friend, Regine. Glad we met again!

Picture taking with Alma (above) and Jojan (below).

Hopefully this week I can drop a number of happy notes again despite the headaches we're about to encounter at school. Two weeks to go, and the hectic school days will be over (at least for me), for a while. I pray that everything will fall into their proper place. I really hope I can get rid of this anxious mind I've been carrying for almost more than a semester already. Help me survive this week, dear God!

What made you happy this week?

Things That Made Me Smile

Photo by: Katherine Kaye Santos

Edited via Photoscape

Wearing:

Kamiseta Top

Cherokee Sweater

Herbench Jeans

Bag from England

08:52Am - Sorry, I couldn't think of any creative title for this blog post. I'm bugged by many things again. I know the content is more important, right? Because I'm feeling a little nervous for this Friday's Thesis Proposal Plenary, I just want to think of happy thoughts to calm myself a bit. I'm actually thinking of opening my Happiness Bottle since I'm feeling down at the moment. Should I? Let me get it for a minute.

08:54Am - I'm two minutes late. Anyway, I'm going to pick ten happy notes that I'll be sharing you in random order. This is going to be fun (Well, at least for me. LOL!) So now, let the picking begin:

The first note: "I'm happy because Caramel got used to our home! Welcome little kitty!" By the way, Caramel is the kitten I found at school She's so cute. I uploaded pictures of her in Facebook. She's the one I'm holding in my sole picture for this post. My Mom wants to change her name to Ginger. I think it's better. What do you think?

The second note: "The song Endless Love makes me feel so in love!" I'm totally into that song now. It's just so romantic. I can imagine it being sang while I walk down the aisle when the perfect time comes. I want to download different versions of it. I haven't liked any Glee songs, but this one's actually good. Do you know any covers of it aside from Glee?

The third note: "I'm happy because I made Ciovic happy because of what I wrote about him." I guess you've already read my post about The Mystic Boyfriend. If not, just click the link provided. He also told me that he shared that piece to his cousins from Manila. That just goes to show that I really made him smile somehow. He said I made him cry! He also said that he will write me a letter of response. Can't wait to read it!

The fourth note: "I'm happy because I'm at home with Mom. I went home early because our teacher seemed not to be in the mood to teach. Quiz postponed!" My Mom was sick that time when I wrote that note. It's good to be with Mom alone, because we get to talk more. I actually miss our dates at Merco (Davao Doc). We used to eat there a lot before. I hope that happens again soon. I love you, Mom!

The fifth note: "The semester is about to end. I'm happy because I'm going to have more time to work on my thesis." This sem has totally been rough for me. Hopefully this summer break, I'll have a luxury of time to interview my respondents. I want to graduate this October. I have to! I need to help my Mama and Papa lessen their financial problems. I need to find a good job to help my family. This time, I have to practice being noble. No joke intended.

The sixth note: "I'm happy because I get write more, unlike before. Mom told my sister she's proud of me." When my sister Mikee relayed to me what Mom has said, I felt like I was on a cloud nine. She said my sister should read my posts because I have good ones. How sweet of that, eh? I'm now more inspired to write substantial write-ups because she is my reader. I hope she knows more about me and my deepest thoughts through Mystic Nymph.

The seventh note: "I'm happy because I got a new pen from my father for my write-ups." I still write using pen, although we already have computers here at home. I feel pressured writing my papers in front of the monitor. It's like I can't think of anything good to talk about in my essays. I can express more and better using my paper and pen instead. That's what you call cognitive dissonance. Learned that from Communication Theories 101 in first year college.

The eighth note: "I'm happy because I went to church with my sisters." It has been weeks since I've last heard the word of God. We had a lot of activities that were scheduled on a Sunday. I apologize for that My Lord! What I've learned in church yesterday was: The degree of God's grace is equal to everyone of us. We are all sinners saved by the grace of God. I've heard a lot of messages like that, but that was what I really needed to hear whenever I feel such a bad person.

The ninth note: "I'm happy because I had a food trip bond with two of my best friends once again." Regine, Dwaine and I ate at Picobello and Zabadani Cafe. We enjoyed Pico's Quattro Stagioni and Con Salsiccie; and Zab's Qatayaf, Dajaj Kebab and Pita Shateerah. It was actually two weeks ago. That was a gastronomic blast indeed. Their company is the best I had. We laugh and talk about inane stuffs whenever we're together. I'll be posting about it as soon as Reg uploads our photos.

The tenth note: "I'm happy because Ciovic's coming home in a week." He has been in Manila for more than a month, and I badly miss him. He's there for his grandfather's burial, and family reunion as well. I'm also happy for him because he finally got what he always wanted. His tito gave him a precious gift -- a drum set! How cool is that! Now I can see him play anytime, since I'm not allowed to go out at night when gigs are usually scheduled.

10:29Am - That's it for today readers. I hope you had fun reading my happy notes. You can also do the same. Let's all together collect our happy thoughts and experiences in a bottle.

Presenting.. My Happiness Bottle

I've learned this cute idea from my sister who also learned it from her teacher. I call it "Happiness Bottle" because it is where you put your happy thoughts and experiences everyday. I started dropping some notes just last month, which is technically last year. You just need a wine bottle, and a good number of little papers. I used Paul Masson bottle because I like the shape, so lovely! You may use colorful notes to make it look beautiful if you like. Everytime you feel down and troubled, of course you can not drop a happy note. What you will do, is to read all the happy notes you've written. That way, your ill feeling will slowly be gone with the wind. Try it too, it's fun!