Arrived from Lucap, Pangasinan yesterday. We went to the Hundred Islands. Pictures will be uploaded later as I need to study for the f*ckin' NMAT. I'm annoyed because I HAVE to study plant biology, psychology, sociology and anthropology. Not that I hate these topics; I love reading on these topics especially evolution and behavior experiments. I just don't understand how knowing stuff about the vascular system of plants or who Comte is will prove that I am ready to go to med school. And I now feel that the NMAT was made to give all those BS Biology students a huge advantage over us, paramedical students.

Napanood ko kanina ng Game KNB. Bonus round na ang naabutan ko. Ang category ay Scientific Laws named after famous Scientists. Ang Bonus letters ay JEW. At ang mga letrang binigay ng kalahok ay MDT. Ayon. Wala siyang natama. Malas niya lang kasi kung sinabi niya sana ang mga letrang A, C, B, G, H o V, may tatlo na siyang tama. Sino ba namang nakaabot ng 3rd yr high school ang hindi nakakakilala sa Avogradro's, Charles', Boyle's, Graham's, Gay-lussac's, Henry's at Van der Waals equation? Malas lang niya.

Madali naman ang M, Maxwell's equations pero iyong iba ang hirap. Hindi ko agad naisip ang Torricelli's law(ayaw ko talaga sa Physics) at wala talaga ako naisip sa J at W(wala rin ako makita sa Wiki? May sagot sila, hindi ko maalala.). Pati nga ang mga researchers ng Game KNB mali ang mga sagot sa ilang letra. Hindi naman LAW ang Enstein's THEORY of relativity at ang Darwin's THEORY of Evolution. Pwede siguro siya mag-reklamo sa ABS.

Siguro, maganda ang mangyayari kung isang Physical Chemist o Physicist ang nandoon kasi kung anu-anong Law at Equation ang mababanggit niya at baka mag-away pa sila ng researchers ng Game KNB. Kaya lang nga may salita ngang FAMOUS sa category so baka matalo siya kapag masyadong obscure ang isagot niya. At least masasabi niya na hindi law ang theory at baka bigyan siya ng bagong pagkakataon.

Ano ba ang pwedeng sagot sa E at D? D, Descartes' theorem. E, Erlenmeyer rule(kunwari pwede na pati ang rule). Pwede rin siguro sa M ang Markovnikov's rule

My blogging experience so far:

"Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own."
- Sidney J. Harris

side note: I know it should be more gender sensitive, but a quote is a quote.

side note2: It could also be applied to people who saw a movie or read a book and think that the writer or director is brilliant because of concepts introduced that were new to him. Example: Matrix borrowing from Rene Descartes' predicament.

In celebration of the Holy Week(Days for me), I urge you to play Bible Fight. (I recommend playing as Eve.)

I just got invited to join the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

It's creepy. I've been googling it and I've managed to see chapter websites only. No controversies or huge issues.

Should I join or not? Some notable Filipinos were or are members of this society. Examples are Ferdinand Marcos and Carlos P Romulo. I don't know if I deserve to be member because the only thing I've managed to do is get good grades during my first two years in UPM; grades which are being pulled down by my so-so performance during this academic year. I guess the main benefit would be the ability to expand my network but I'm too antisocial to be able to flourish in those kinds of environment.

Crap... As if I don't already have enough on my plate.

You'd think I should be done with my school work by now but no I'm not. I still have classes on Monday and Tuesday. And I've just realized that summer has started and I'm still stuck in my room doing these uh... things. At least, my room has a nice view.

I have crazy hell week to look forward to and instead of preparing and studying for the tons of tests I'll be facing, I'm doing a transcription of a lecture in Nutrition. Incidentally, the lecture is included in my test tomorrow and I'm not the one who is supposed to do the freaking transcription. Basically, my classmates decided that they deserve to be excused from trans duty due to the hell week and because the professor gave the copy of his presentation late(lecture on monday, copy given on Thursday). Uh... Hello! Wasn't it your duty to take f*ckin' notes during the lecture and not just rely on the copy to be given later? And on top of that, the lecture was held last Monday. Your group had about 3 days to pester the instructor or borrow notes from more hard-working and dedicated classmates. Then you ask us if it is all right if we let you off trans duty? Surprisingly, I was the only one who exclaimed my disapproval. And even though I told you this, you still didn't make a proper trans, instead you just uploaded a pdf file containing the scans of the hardcopy the instructor gave you. Wow! You had all of yesterday to make the f*ckin' trans yet all you did was this?! I'll just make a mental note to give your group crappy trans next semester.

I've finally summoned up the cash and courage to purchase a new pair of glasses. I bought one in the Robinson's Ermita branch of Sarabia Opticals. It's around Php1800. A bit high compared to the prices offered in Quiapo but I do not want to go to Quiapo to search for glasses; I just don't have the time, energy and knowledge.

The grade of my eyes(I forgot the technical term) is still 50/50 not 25/25 and definitely not 100/50. I guess the 25/25 was due to the fact that I got my eyes refracted after our Unknown test in Microbiology which involved searching for a tiny tiny red thing in a sea of blue and white. The 100/50, I can't explain but I did have my eyes refracted after a class which involved a good bit of reading. Anyway, my plan still works; my parents still do not know a thing about my lost glasses.

I'll try to post a picture once I claim my new pair.

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Hell week was moved due to the "Interfaith" rally yesterday. I did not participate and it is not because I completely disagree with their views. I don't know who they are fooling; the Roman Catholic(and its many sects and subgroups) faith is probably the only faith there. Why would you pray the Rosary in an interfaith rally? And what about us faithless? Still, the power of the Roman Catholic church and its followers is still a force to be reckoned with in this country. However, the effects of the rally on pGMA(who regularly attends mass and a very religious person) seem non-existent, at least in this issue(read: family planning).

I just saw the movie, Pisay(I didn't study there in case anybody is wondering). It was good but not great. It succeeded in capturing some of the essence of high school life(I laughed so hard at the Noli-Fili sequence) and it offers a new take on the Martial Law Era and the important events included in it. The plot got slightly weird near the end and some events jumped to the resolution(needless to say, most of the endings were happy ones) without much elaboration. My main beef is the killing off of one character. It was so clumsily handled and happened so abruptly; the end became a bit too cheesy. Sure two scenes hinted at it but those weren't enough. Still, it's nice to watch and I love how Eugene Domingo acted in this movie.

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A character based on Fanny Garcia is in Pisay. Of course it was not her because a romantic relationship was hinted that I believe was totally non-existent since she was still happily married during that time. I think she already had her son during that period and if marriage problems are present, she probably still devotes much of her time on her son and not so much on romantic interests.

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Many rallies today. *sigh* I still don't know which side to join. I know as a citizen of this country I should choose one and stick with it until evidence shows I'm obviously wrong. I have other things to worry about which are much closer to my heart than this mess. I know... I know... I should prioritize this as this'll affect me and my future but it is just so uh... messy. What I need is to sit in or read a good discussion of the issue(I wasn't able to follow much of the proceedings and speeches and whatnot; Jun Lozada's crying was too much for me) and why the heck should we oust pGMA based on this findings.

What is with music and the need for people to constantly hear their favorite ones repeatedly? Why do we not get tired of it so easily as compared to a movie or a book? Wait, wrong framing. Why is it that I do not get tired of songs or pieces as easily as I get tired for say a good but not exceptional book? And I don't even want to talk about movies which rarely get the 2nd viewing from me if I understood it during the first one.

Maybe there is already a paper on this one but I'm too lazy(and incompetent) to search for it. I'll just believe that because music needs very minimal effort to appreciate and lasts for a very short time(of course, that'll also explain why we do not get tired of some commercials and short videos so easily) that is why listening to it repeatedly is common. But that only explains how it is possible and not why we listen to it over and over again.

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I hate the song "Batang bata ka pa". When I was 7, I hated it.(I hate it when grown-ups tell me what to do and how to think and stuff like that.) Now, it still hate it.(I feel I made a grammatical error...*shudder*) F*ck! It starts fine(in lyrics at least, in music not so much) spouting some things we, young people, are tired of hearing of even though those are true. And it ends with a slight disclaimer, a "kid" singing along agreeing completely with the message. However, there exists the singer who thinks he is smarter than everyone who is younger than him. Crapola! This should have never been revived. Ugh... Sugarfree, I for one know that smoking is bad and showing people smoking in your music videos is worse and I'm so much younger than you. And really, we, young people, are usually very cynical about life and do not think it is a small piece of paradise. However, I can have a compromise just remove the following lines:

1. Tanggapin mo na lang ang katotohanan
Na ikaw ay isang musmos lang na wala pang alam
Makinig ka na lang, makinig ka na lang
-Fine, I'll shut up but who will I be listening to? And this reeks of patriarchal society crap: "I have power(/older/a grown man/etc.), therefore; I know every thing and everybody should listen to me. Bwhahahaha! You are just a kid, shut up!"

2. Ganyan talaga ang buhay lagi kang nasasabihan
Pagkat ikaw ay bata at wala pang nalalaman
Makinig ka sa ‘king payo pagkat musmos pa lamang
At malaman nang maaga ang wasto sa kamalian
(emphases mine)
-The emphasized line is stupid. Really... Again, why should I listen to you? The only qualification you have is being older than me. And older doesn't necessarily means wiser. You have to prove yourself to me first and not just assert your age.

Okay, I found this thing you could post on your blog(I forgot what they call it these days.). It is a blog readability test. Basically, you type the url of your blog or website(or someone else's) and they'll rate its readability. So, what did I get?

I got a Junior High School readability. I'm insulted because one of the blogs I've read talks about meaningless stuff got a College(Undergrad) rating. Then again, I have been putting up really short and meaningless posts(with lots of pictures) these past few weeks; the key word being putting up because I have really long ones in my drafts/unpublished area. So to test the validity of the tool, I've decided to try how it rates some of the other blogs I read.

http://otherjoseph.livejournal.com -> Junior High School
Incidentally, it is a photoblog with very few words. I guess the tool measures how long your average post is and pictures do not really count to how high the level of intellect is needed in reading a blog(not that I mean my blog needs a high level of intellect to be understood nor do I am for my blog to be that type of blog).

http://teenatheist.wordpress.com -> Junior High School
From the URL, it is a blog by a teenage girl atheist living in _____(she prefers to keep her country of origin a secret). Long posts, simple language, tendency for rants.

http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/ -> High School
It is a really good blog by an analytical philosopher with a tendency for discussions on ethics and philosophy of science. The really good thing about this blog is the high quality of the posts without the need for resorting to weird lingo or vocabulary only a few people will understand(read: Kant). Besides, what is the need for philosophy(and discussions on it) if the mass do not understand it.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/ -> College(undergrad) level
Another good blog with very interesting albeit slightly longer posts. I swear that you sometimes need to stop for a while and review what you've read in order to be sure that you are getting the point.

One of the blogs I read had a Genius level. I'm bothered because it contains a fair amount of pictures and usually have short posts. Then again, most of her posts are poems or are very cryptic(sometimes I think it is too artsy) language that you really need to think about to understand.

Conclusions: Pictures means lower readability rating. Simple language means low RR also. The longer the posts(and the maybe the frequency too[not tested]) increases the RR. Poetry trumps long analytical essays.

Effects on me: Not much. After some thought, I've decided that I prefer a low RR since it means more people will be able to understand my posts. And why should I care if the blogs I(and hundreds of others) think are really smart have relatively lower ratings. Obviously, RR is not a very good measure of a blog's substance. However, I think this should be a wake-up call. I should make more meaty posts since I have been slacking but I probably still won't post any thing too personal since this is a public blog(even if very few read it) and not a personal diary with a double lock. Maybe I should edit and finally post those drafts I've written during times of ignited emotions.

And, I need to proofread my posts before and immediately after publishing them. I think I'm committing too many grammatical and typographical errors.

I have one of those few Sundays where I am not required to study for any upcoming exams. One reason is I don't know exactly when my next exam is going to be but I just know that they're at least one week away. Yay! Free Sunday! But I'm still going to spend a good part of the morning catching up on Microbiology readings.

What's with the catching up? I've realized that as one progresses with his/her major the greater the feeling of urgency to study. Then again, maybe it's just me. It is not about getting high grades for med school anymore; it is more about learning about stuff that I'd be needing to do in my future line of work(and I'd kick ass once we discuss these things in med school). I've been feeling like my high school friend lately, "Puro BA(business ad) na lang... BA, BA,BA." In my case, change the BA to PH(public health). Maybe, most people taking up their majors are feeling these things. I guess I should feel sorry for my nursing friends because they have majors in their first year of college.

I think I'm becoming incoherent so I'll stop rambling.

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I saw Juno and Little Miss Sunshine yesterday. Juno was funny and warm while LMS was funny, warm and sad; both were empowering. The best scenes for me in Juno was the end where they sang to each other and the scene with Jennifer Garner. For LMS, it was the talent show. If you want more articulate reviews go to rottentomatoes.com.

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What I've been up to last week...

Barangay Field Work:

Going home...

Huh? There's me!

Interview(Interviewer: My groupmate Liane)

I've been trying to save money to buy a new pair of glasses(I still haven't told my parents I lost the new ones they bought me.). I asked about prices in various shops, Sarabia Opticals seem to offer the cheapest pairs. The cheapest is at Php800. Right now, I have Php1150 (Two weeks of saving and that's all I've got. I'm pathetic, I shouldn't have wasted money this past week but my stomach comes first.) I have enough money but I still want to have Php2000 before I buy just so that I would have more choices in terms of frames and lenses. The anti-glare ones seem to be a bit more expensive.

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It's still Single Awareness Month. Yes, 19 years and I still don't have someone for Valentine's day(then again, 11 of those years don't really count, do they?).

What I've been up to these past weeks, aside from studying for exams and trying to think of new dance steps.

Virus culture using Egg Embryo:

Virus model:

Playing with my nephew(who is not so cute in this picture):

Phalakasan(no pics of actual playing...aw...):

Damn! I keep getting these "average" grades in my exams. Of course, I blame myself. Why couldn't I push myself harder? Why do I fall prey to "rookie" traps in tests? Being "average" is not bad but to achieve certain goals I have to be exceptional. Still, the sem is not over. I still have half of it waiting for me and giving me a chance to remedy this state of mediocrity I'm in.

I've been getting in trouble with "the rules" lately. Mostly resulting in confrontations with security guards. I know it's their job to ensure everyone's safety but they also have to use their brains and be practical or at the very least consistent.

The first involved a confrontation with the LRT guard. He was being stupid so I got angry at him. He was finished inspecting the bag of the passenger in front of the line and she was just packing her things up. A rare and empty train arrives so I decided to approach him with my OPEN bag to allow him to "inspect" it. Instead, he tells me to step back. Hello? Lumapit na nga ako eh! Eng-eng ka ba? And to add further insult, he said that there would be more trains. Yes, it is a train station but do you know how uncommon empty trains are during rush hour? Angrily, I've emptied my whole bag on the table and showed him the lack of dangerous objects inside my bag. Not contented, he told me to empty the smaller pocket of my bag. After the whole ordeal, I entered the boarding area.

After this incident, I've decided to one day wreck some havoc on them. Hopefully, this week but I've tons of exams and haven't made sure that my schemes would not result in a lifetime ban from using the LRT. Some of my plans:
1. After the inspection, I'll stand behind them and comment on their "great skills."
ex. "Wow! Ang galing naman ng stick na yan! Nakakakita!"
"Kuya, saan niyo nabili ang stick na yan? Ang galing mag-inspection eh!"
(Brings out my own stick) "Kuya, pwede pasubok?"

2. After an inspection, I'll stand behind the guards and bring out a survey form/check list and try to ask the passengers if they were satisfied with the "inspection." Or, write marks on the paper after every inspection.

3. In the case of really fast inspections(ie those that involve the stick entering the bag without the guard even looking inside), I'll say, "Ayusin mo nga ang trabaho mo!" or "Ang dami-daming bulsa ng bag ko, isa lang tinignan mo." Then, I'll stand behind him and act as a supervisor(with the occasional "tsk" and "ay, ang daming bulsang hindi nabuksan" and "ano kaya ang nasa loob noong plastic sa loob niyong bag?". I'll probably do this on a Friday.

4. Inside my bag, I'll place a smaller bag, which in turn contains an opaque plastic, which the contains tons of clothes and a small black box which would then contain nothing.

The other situation was initially my fault but the guard aggravated the situation by being a proud bastard. I too am a proud bastard and would not grovel and beg to be forgiven of my mistakes. I'd take the punishment and apologize but I'd not fall down on my knees and beg for forgiveness. The only thing I fear now is that there is a small chance that I'd not be able to graduate; then again, my offense is not a major offense and they didn't even confiscated my ID.

MAYBE, I should try being more patient, forgiving and less proud. Hah! I respect authority but if they start being irrational, I start rebelling against them.

Been really busy. A very full plate. This'll probably last until the end of the sem. I can't believe that I have so many exams to look forward to for the next weeks. Good thing I do not have to do any more of those long papers like the ones I did in Humanidades 1 and KomII, still there is a journal report and a barangay field work report to look forward to.

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Crap! I lost my glasses. They didn't even last for 1 week. My parents still do not know about them. I plan to buy my own pair as soon as I save enough money. Hopefully, I'll find cheap, light and nice glasses(and, they probably should look really similar to the ones I lost). No headaches though, thank goodness.

Even though, few(only me) read this blog I'd still like to warn everybody of this website I recently found. The Dengue Cure website by Mr. Edwin Casimiro. The website offers some uh...advice on how to cure and treat dengue. Some are benign and acceptable, like getting enough bed rest and offering comfort to the sick(though once the sick is in the near 40's he or she doesn't really notice any thing that much) to weird like eating lots of fruit to downright stupid, electrotherapy to kill the virus and to never ever trust doctors and hospitals.

The weird thing is the advice he gives will probably work most of the time since dengue is not really cured by any drug. Our body manages to neutralize the virus on its own, it just needs a little more energy. That is why treatment for it is only supportive therapy(IV feeding and rehydration) for most individuals especially those who were healthy when they were infected.

In my case, I spent only 2 days in trance mode due to the fever but after that I was feeling quite well. The only thing I needed was IV therapy because of my extreme loss of appetite, vomiting the previous days and my inability to eat(I was too tired). I didn't even need a plasma transfusion. I haven't read any real studies but for those who I know contacted the disease, their cases were similar to mine as they managed to defeat the disease without ingestion of any drugs.

On the other hand, the website contains this herb which promises to kill the virus(not that I think this would be really significant as we've seen most cases resolve with proper supportive therapy) which scientists could look into.

Source: "Dengue Fever" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

Bumaba raw ang grado ng salamin ko. Hindi na naman iyon mataas sa simula't-simula pa lang. 50 noon at, pagkatapos ng 1 yr, 25 na. Ewan ko kung accurate iyon kasi hindi naman nagamitan ng machine tulad noong diagnosis sa akin last year. Sana nga totoo at parang totoo kasi hindi na ako masyado nagkaka-sakit sa ulo dahil sa mata kahit buong araw ko hindi suot salamin ko at nag-aaral pa para sa mga exam.

Paano ba yan? Mababawasan na ang taray at katakot powers ko kung bumalik pa sa normal ang mata ko. Tutal hindi naman talaga dapat ako nagsasalamin kasi napakaburara kong nilalang.

Crap. I forgot my glasses in the dance studio. How can someone forget their own glasses? Then again, I am one of the few people in the world who managed to throw their retainers with the garbage. My parents don't know about it, I still see fine and, hopefully, headaches from eye strain won't come. And fortunately, I've been wanting to replace those heavy, very dirty, very scratched and very crooked glasses.

Internet connection was down from Monday to Wednesday. Goy sick on Wednesday and still feel a bit ill. Two exams for next week, and two more the week after that.

This month sucks...