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I know I have sinned against the gods of vanity and have failed to bring my digicam to Palawan that weekend. Nonetheless, with the help of the world wide web and my Facebook account, I finally have decent pictures to share with everyone!

This is me and my cousin, Chantelle, in our very own swing!

We had a picnic lunch that day in a small island across the Dos Palmas resort. It took us an hour to get there via boat so you could just imagine how hungry we were when we got there! The food the staff had catered for us was absolutely mouth-watering. I just kept getting second (and third) servings because with a wide variety of dishes to choose from, it was a sin to think of dieting!

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Posted in Etcetera, Red-Letter Days, Relationships | 2 Comments »

As of this moment, I’ve had three Hard Candy pieces published in our favorite magazine: “Left Behind” for June, “I’m a Survivor!” for September, and “Dirty Hands,” co-written with Reggie Belmonte, for August. Allow me to share with you some of my experiences and insights after writing my first three Hard Candy articles.

June: “Left Behind” (Children of OFWs)
This article, my first Hard Candy assignment, remains my favorite. During a Council of Cool meeting, I pitched the idea of doing an article about how parental migration affected left-behind children. I have a keen interest in migration-related matters, and at the time, I had completed a research on children of OFWs. I knew that some of them had some stories about the negative effects of their parents’ absence, so I suggested a Hard Candy article about such cases. I was really surprised when Ate Angel later offered me the assignment. It was an honor because not only was my idea approved, but I also got to write the article myself! I was very proud of this assignment because it was something that I was really passionate about.
I’ll never forget that one of my sources for this article kept thanking me profusely when she saw the June issue. It turned out her OFW mother was coming home that month and she said my article would be the perfect gift for her mom. That really made my day!
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Hey everyone!

I just got back from Bacolod. What did I do there again? Thesis ethnography/immersion once again! Yes, my thesis mates and I went back to the Kansalakan mountain clinic in Barangay Banwague, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. We had to go back to witness the medical mission, assist somehow, interview more residents and community health workers and shoot more footage.

I really have tons of stories to tell, but let me save the kwento about my newest adventure after my thesis mates give me copies of our pictures. Hehe! I did not bring my camera because for some reason, it is always low batt! Grr! I have to get a new cam soon!

So for now, I will be sharing the pasalubong I bought for my family and friends: Oh and my thesis mates and I bought pasalubong for our professors as well.  (smiley please)

Of course, the famous Piyaya of Bacolod! I love the chocolate and ube filling so I got both flavors.
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I don’t wish to frighten you or “eww” you out but I just found this anecdote in my life to be fairly unforgettable.

P.S.: This blog is not for the faint hearted.

Last week was sort of dissection week for me, a Biology major. I was so excited to be opening up frogs again because what I did back in second year high school was no fun at all. We were all in groups that I wasn’t even able to get some one-on-one with the frog. Thankfully, when I got into college, we work by pairs and thus, I get some quality time with my frog. Oh, I meant toad. I forgot to mention that everyone in Biology is using toads because of the reality that frogs are now endangered species. Well anyway, let me just say that toads weren’t the last dissection we’ll ever do. I heard we’ll do cats and sharks too.

The first laboratory activity we did was to “skin” the frog because we were in the process of studying the musculatory system.

This is the before shot.

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If you’ll ask me who my favorite teacher is, I probably would have a hard time giving you an answer. I love all my teachers and professors and giving you just one name would be unfair.

But if you’d ask me about who I’ll remember the most or who’s the most influential, I’d only say one name.

Ellenita Manalaysay.

She’s my professor in three major subjects and she’s the coolest among all my professors. Maybe because she’s the youngest…or maybe because she’s the most animated. She makes us all laugh because of her comments. Our favorite? “Uy, green, ang cute no?” (Emphasis on the cute). So funny.
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Posted in Etcetera, Relationships | 2 Comments »