happy april

2 graduations, 3 birthdays and reunion of all sorts here and there.

definitely the busiest summer month. happy happy!

yac yac's graduation

kuya's graduation

ice cream-themed grad party!

happy birthday pa!

twenteen!

paradise family outing/ lola's bday

pisay mini reunions

looking forward to many crazy fun fun days for the rest of the summer! mata ne!

bisdaks in the volleyball limelight

My eyes were glued and watched the whole day through the live webcast of Nestea (nestea.com.ph) and it's official; BISDAKS (bisayang dako) dominated the finals of the Nestea Beach Volley National Circuit 2008, both in the men's and women's division, which concluded in Boracay yesterday. Woohoo!! Way to go mga bai!

Cebu's Janelle Tabio and Florian Gutierrez of Southwestern University ended the final match with 18-21, 21-19, 15-11, regaining their throne in sweet revenge from top rival and fellow Cebuano team, the defending champs University of the Visayas' Janez Armie Igot and Jusabelle Brillo. SWU made history, being the only team to win four championship titles in the Nestea Beach Volley Tournament.

Third place was awarded to University of Mindanao-Tagum's Mylin Que and Liezel Manatad after they crushed UAAP Season 70 champs Far Eastern University's Wendyanne Semana and Shaira Gonzalez in straight sets, 21-15, 21-9. Adamson University's Rizza Jane Laguilles and Angela Benting came in 5th.

In the men's division, Dumaguete's pride, Rolando Agus and Arnel Amadeo of Foundation University fought a hard 15-21, 21-14, 15-9 game to topple down Cebu's Jonrey Sansing and James Ryan Rivera of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation for the championship title.

For the third place, University of Saint La Salle-Bacolod's Emmanuel Marlon Luces and Mark Sabusap outlasted University of Mindanao- Tagum's Raquelito Tayabas and Lowell Fabian in a 21-19, 18-21, 15-11 thriller. FEU's Edjet Mabbayad and Jerry Mabutol came in 5th.

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University of San Jose Recoletos-Cebu

University of St. La Salle-Bacolod

The on-going Shakey's V-League Season 5 will welcome, for the first time, two regional powerhouses. University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and University of San Jose Recoletos- Cebu will join the quarterfinals with the remaining four teams who didn't qualify outright in the semifinals, namely: FEU, ADMU, LPU and CSB. (ADU and SSC-R got the first two spots in the semifinals). Can these bisdaks make up for the no-show of UST and DLSU, stun the other Luzon teams and wow crowds? We'll see. We'll see. Fingers crossed. :)

*pictures from spikeithard.com and www.v-league.ph

hate post

i hate it when people insist that they are right when all the evidence is there, laid on the table. pilit nagmamalinis, when all the dirt is waving at their faces. worse, sila pa ang nagagalit when we saw their faults. tsktsk. whatever happened to the good manners and anger management amongst the rich, i don't know. it all went away with the money they spent. hahay.

its toll on me

yes, i enjoyed 5 days worth of dinner coupled with 2 afternoons of coffee larcepuccino.

yep, all for a good, cold night. or so i thought.

i woke up sooner than the chickens, running for the nearest comfort.

thank God, it was just 3 leaps away.

then on, i was awake but with blankets and pillows drowning me.

break the fast, my Mom said before she left;

it's a basic rule in pharmacology, gobble up before you gulp in.

i did eat half of a piece and 2 sips of choco milk.

but in a wink, there it went, like i never ate.

it left me weak, so i got some rest and snored.

oh.. hirugohan is ready, grandma called out.

i am starving. i badly need to eat.

fish eyes stared, ripe mangoes tickled my nose.

but Tommy said, "No, i don't like that."

it sounded like a threat for another run, so i obliged.

i ended up with rice and soup. aka LUGAW

jut when i thought i am relieved from the hunger,

there i went running again.

and there it went too, like i never ate.

again.

for the 3rd time.

i certainly hope that this won't go on for another day.

it's awful and painful.

ps: dear Tommy,

please let me eat again. i'll try my best not to get you

exhausted with all the food i take in. please please please.

i am for volleyball

Women's Volleyball UAAP Season 70

Volleyball Season 70 concluded with a bang when the Adamson Lady Falcons served it long on FEU's match point and ended the five-set thriller, do or die, Game 3 at The Arena in San Juan last Sunday. (though i just watched from the telecast by Studio 23. hehe) It's the Lady Tamaraws' 30th UAAP title as Adamson fought for their very first. The Ateneo Lady Eagles finished 4th and powerhouse and defending champs, the UST Tigresses, came in 3rd.

FEU LADY TAMARAWS

Here is the list of Awardees for Season 70:

Women’s Volleyball:

MVP: WENDYANNE SEMANA (FEU)
Best Scorer: MA. ROSARIO SORIANO (ADMU)
Best Attacker/Spiker: MARY JEAN BALSE (UST)
Best Blocker: CELINE ANNE HERNANDEZ (DLSU)
Best Server: RISSA JANE LAGUILLES (ADU)
Best Setter: JANET SERAFICA (ADU)
Best Digger/Libero: LIZLEE ANN GATA (ADU)
Best Receiver: MA. ROSARIO SORIANO (ADMU)
Rookie of the Year: MA. CARMINA DENISE ACEVEDO (ADMU)

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I've missed quite a lot of UAAP seasons and V-league conferences and i'm still getting to know the new faces of today's Philippine volleyball. I saw so many promising talents but this player definitely caught my attention: Anna Camille Abanto of FEU. With her sharp kills, all-around skills and boyish charms, she reminds me much of my dear TAKASHI MIYUKI. I'll make sure to watch out for her in the coming games. :)

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When the Shakey's V-League first aired Season 1, there were Michelle Carolino, Maureen Penetrante, Roxanne Pimentel, Desiree Hernandez, Mic Mic Laborte and Cherry Rose Macatangay, to name a few, who ruled the court and gave television a new sport to follow (i say, revived glory). Today, 4 or 5 years later, volleyball proved to be as enjoyable as basketball with thousands or maybe even millions of avid followers cheering in the Arena or in front of the TV. And it's not just an adrenalin show, you know. Adrenalin + skill + parade of beauties all in one package. With more exposure, more sponsors and more airtime, i see a Professional Volleyball League not very far from here. Fingers crossed. :) Shoutouts to potential sponsors! haha.

So, see you soon at the much awaited Season 5 of the Shakey's V-league and on December for UAAP Season 71. Let's see if UST can defend their title. Go Volleyball! :)

*pictures and list of awardees taken from spikeithard.com and feu.edu.ph

hiyawan sunday

hiyawan sunday-slash-reunion. be still my beating-like-amplifiers-in-a-rock-concert heart.

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Dahil sa Davao kami nakatira at kahit siguro katabi lang ng Araneta ang bahay namin, I can never afford to watch a Ne-yo concert. I could have killed for a ticket. haha So when ASAP 08 flashed their teasers for that Sunday's episode, I thought, it's not so bad after all. Ne-yo's going to sing a familiar tune or two on the boob tube for me to sing and dance to. So, I waited patiently, enduring some song numbers from the 'not-so-singers' who belted it out in fluctuating notes. (It was nice to see the Streetboys again, though. I bow to them.)

I was already gulping down my tinolang native chicken when Ate Mar called out from the sala, "DON! DON! NE-YO NA!" I left my food unfinished and rushed to the living room. The NE-YO number, or so I thought, wasn't a Ne-yo number at all! There they were, sing and dance ala Because of You, Gary V., Kris Lawrence and (drum roll please) DUNCAN RAMOS!!!!!! MY DUNCAN RAMOS!!!!! haha So, March 2, 2008, the Taylaran residence on Marigold Street succumbed to the reverberating shrieks of yours truly and crashed into bits and pieces. Kung sa bisaya pa, ga lanog lanog akong tingog, nabungkag among balay! After years and years, nagpakita ulit si dunx sa akin, doing what he's best at.. "...and it's all because of you..." woohoo!

*The moment the camera's lenses focused on Dunx, my mobile phone beeped twice in succession. 1st message was something like this: Dawn, nasa ASAP si Duncan. Dali! Siyempre, ikaw agad na isip ko kasi alam kong miss mo na siya. (from bea). It has been proven over and over again, me and bea are bestfriends. BEST. :)

The 2nd message was this: Nood ka gud ng ASAP. (from junaidi). I am very blessed to have a guy like him. uyab jud mi. haha Who said the make-believe boyfriend and the real boyfriend can't be friends? haha AHLAVET! :)

operation: let's play with snow

waking up to a snowy morning is just one of most beautiful things you'll ever experience. thanks to gino's email, i would not have noticed the falling snow. it might have snowed for hours now, i suppose, because the snow's already 2 inches thick. so, i knocked on marianne's door...

operation: let's make snowmen!

my mr. snowman

mr. snowman's family

given the fact that we are newbies to seeing so much white around us.. anything goes.. :)

operation: let's make snow angels!

angel dawnita

angel marianna

and by anything, we mean anything..

dear God,

Lord, thank you for the snow. i'm seeing my childhood dreams right before my very eyes. thank you that i am given this special chance that other dreamers might never ever have. you really never fail to make your children happy. childish as it may seem, but to us who have dreamed of snow all our lives, one snowy day was more than enough. but you made it two. THANK YOU, LORD!

music therapy

when eating your heart out just makes you feel bloated,

when you ran out of dvds to save your life,

and when everybody else is asleep...

there's always that song in your playlist that does its job.

(currently listening to southborder)

on partying and alcohol

"will you drink alcohol? what do you want to drink, dawn?"
"anything but not beer... kahlua and milk, then."
"milk? how old are you?"

there's an unwritten rule when attending a party: drink. everybody's doing it, anyway. i'm trying hard to fit in, you know. but please don't take it against me that i don't have the gastrointestinal tracts for alcohol. i won't take it against those who do have them, too. cool na kung cool. but i just came to be with friends.

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i just got home from a friend's party (all with alcohol and loud music) and i realized(for the nth time around), i'm no party person, at all. yep, i tried talking to people who come up to me and introduce themselves. but the conversation ended there. i can't make it any more longer than the 30 second "yoroshiku. my name's dawn," drill. i ended up sitting on the couch for as long as i can remember, watching MTV VMA's, eating chips and drinking my kahlua and milk drink made an hour ago, while watching other people pour second or perhaps their third helpings of beer and chatting with themselves. bored, while everybody else had something to do.

i remember one crazy time when we dressed up for a night of partying supposedly with MTV in shibuya. but since we were below 20, we weren't allowed to get in. so we headed for another club instead. when the door opened, there goes the small room, with dim yet flashing lights, crammed with sweaty and drunk people, dancing (dirty dancing?) to the loudest music i've ever heard. our ticket came with a cup of vodka, or so i thought. i got it anyway just to look like i belong. haha we had our little spot in the middle of the dancefloor, me and my friends forming a little circle. for a while i enjoyed the dancing but things changed so fast. here goes a guy or two, slowly dancing their way nearer to our circle. maygawd. why do they have to dance so close to you? worse, why behind you? total panic. it didn't do me good. i was wishing i had my boyfriend there, i'd feel safer that way. but he was not there and i'm freaking out. haha good thing, the club had a separate room for the girls only. a big, muscled guy was guarding the entrance to the room to ensure it remains for girls only. it was my last resort to escape the horrors of the dancefloor. so, i stayed there, sat down, gave my high-heeled feet a break and watched tv for the rest of the night. (or should i say, dawn?).

don't get me wrong, i have nothing against partyphiles. it's their way of having fun. and i've got dozens of friends who looove to party. it's just that i can't get the hang of the mixture of alcohol+deafening music+super close range dancing+strangers (read: drunk strangers) in one room. i enjoy a lot things and i enjoy them with friends; sports, shopping, traveling, eating, etc.

but definitely, partying is not for me.

4 days of happiness

i've been off for the past weeks. acads here and there, people here and there. blah blah. i can go on ranting for as long as i want. i tried eating my way out of it, finishing 1 chocolate cake roll in 10 minutes, 2 in 30, 15 pieces of mandarins, pringles, bento and peach tea on the sides. All, while watching 24 from sundown until sundown. Oh, hibernation lifestyle in the confines of my humble cave. But it didn't work for me when i thought it would. crazy. crazy.

but the past 4 days have been happy days, thank God. the Lord's rainbow after the rain.

sunday: papa called from home and woke me up at around noon just to let me hear Jay Durias singing the OST of a new teleserye in ASAP. "langit sa 'yong tabi.. la la la la la..." Oh, i love my family. They know how to make me squeal and smile like a fool. good thing, i'll see them real soon and i'm looking forward to it.

monday: the last day of class. i still have a nihongo exam next week though, but it's officially over. yeba!

tuesday: i was an hour late but it didn't matter anyway. we went ice sakting in aka renga, a first time for me. woohoo. 'di ako natumba, infairness. after that, we had ice cream in a store called cold stone,where they sing while they make the ice cream. cute. then, we had purikura and pictorials in MM21. laughtrip and child-like fun. talking about flushing away all the negativity in and around me. it worked.

wednesday: still awake and already 6:30 am, sitting by the sliding doors of my room while watching my last 2 episodes of 24, my eyes caught sight of drops outside. OMG! i've been waiting for this for 19 years! SNOW!!!! i stood there, outside my veranda in my PJ's, a jacket and my camera in one hand, letting the snow fall on my hair which looked liked big flakes of dandruff. haha i stood there, shivering and teary eyed, watching the rooftops change its color from brown and blue to white, watching everything turn to white and wishing it would never stop.

Thank you, Lord.

PS: I placed a bowl outside while it snowed. I have snow water! haha

greetings from SAORI... :)

My day started out wrong. Walang tulog kasi gumawa ng outline for my ever long report about Mr. Darcy. I had to go to school early to finish it. There goes Dawn, 8 in the morning, walking towards the bus stop. I met Yama there, naghihintay din ng bus. Hi dito, hello dun. Turns out, maaga din siya kasi she still has an unfinished report to do. We were not ourselves that moment, stress just overpowered our usually enthusiastic conversations. Fast forward, we arrived at the station, got into the train, still dull and silent and falling halfway asleep. We reached futamatagawa station and changed trains.

"Dawn! Dawn! Dawn! I have something to show you!"

"Nani ga? Bikkurishita, Yama-chan!" ("unsa man? nakuratan ba ya ko!")

Yama just got lost in the rush hour exodus of people. Next few moments...
She opens her folder and looks for something. She finds it and hands it over to me. I got excited. What could that small paper be?

"My friend got this for me. I'll give it to you. pu re zen to desu."

The moment I saw the word TORAY, I knew what Yama just gave me. An autograph from no less than

木村　沙織　(Saori Kimura)

(FYI: Saori plays as wing spiker of the Japan National Team. She also plays with Toray Arrows in the Japan V-League.)

With a Dawn smile (the smile nung una ko na meet face to face ang Southborder... haha You can imagine.. :) ), I managed to mutter:

"Really?? 本当　に　嬉しい!!!!!! ありがとう!!!

(happy ako masyado!!! SALAMAT!!!)

"Don't smile that big during your classes, ok? hehe"

"*Laughs* arigatou!!!! arigatou!!!! arigatou!!!!"

That made my day start all over again. *wink!

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Thanks to Yama, i'm craving for volleyball again.. haha Here's a clip of Japan's game versus Poland during the World Cup 2007; 5 sets cramped in 11 minutes.. Japan's most exciting game in 2007, I should say. :) Enjoy!

what shall i call you?

I'm doing my last and most difficult paper for my Pride and Prejudice class and by way of closing our books, here's a script of the alternate US ending of the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice. Goodbye Darcy. Certainly, vanity, not pride had been your folly.

darcy: and what shall i call you when i'm crossed? mrs. darcy?

elizabeth: no. you may only call me mrs. darcy when you are completely, perfectly and incandescently happy.

darcy: and how are you this evening, MRS. DARCY?

mrs. darcy... mrs. darcy... mrs. darcy...

* Pride and Prejudice. DVD. Universal Studios, 2005

静か な

what is with the silence, Nelly C.?
no, i'm not mad nor scared.
i'm not asking why, not judging how
but i am hoping you'd answer anyway.

random. oh so random.

i just had to write something. bear with me.

i was reading the january 2008 US edition of the marie claire magazine, with a pregnant and a still sexy christina aguilera on the cover. it reminded me of my very first magazine 7 or 8 years ago, with a younger aguilera riding a motorcycle on the cover. how nostalgic. i miss my mags.

i'm a confessed late-bloomer fanatic of 24 and of tony and michelle's twists and turns. sleepless nights are so fun. but too bad my chase edmunds is nowhere to be found after the 3rd season. :(

hi chase! :)

so, they're working hard to make yokohama a creative city. artists and creators who decide to live here get a subsidy based on criteria. that's good. i'd like another walk of yokohama before i leave.

marianne, cris and nami went out for mister donuts after class. i regret i didn't go with them. i realized, i'm craving for a ポン　デ　ドボル　ショコラー. yum.

4 more reports to go and i'm done with my so-called japanese academic life. but still, i don't want to start making them. not yet. lazy dawn. i'd rather play.

and speaking of that, seiko and me are the unbeaten champs in our badminton class. haha. new career. but volleyball will always be my いちばん and numero uno.

i'm still thinking about our high school batch reunion. i really missed a lot of fun. and my bestfriends are planning to get together again soon in manila. i'm dying of envy. again. humanda kayo pag balik ko dyan!

the other day, i had the strong urge to look up for probable med schools in the UK. it somewhat changed my plans. Master course in Medical Microbiology first before of getting an MD. University of Birmingham and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, here I come! :)

i have to go. it's getting late and it's super cold outside. i forgot my jacket. haha good luck scoliotic back. may you not kill me with pain. i've had enough of the it's-a-girls-thing-kind-of-pain yesterday.

room matters

i feel so good and beaming with pride that i can now show off my room to anyone who knocks at my door...


it had cost me two tablets of mefenamic acid and a day...


hooray. :)

New Year, New Goals

Yokoso 2008!

Goals to keep me busy with. :)

1) have my lazy tooth extracted.
-it sounds painful but I have to. Dentist's advice.

2) learn how to drive.
-and get a driver's license. I'm way over 18 anyway. haha

3) dance again.
-i regret that i gave up my love for dance when i entered college but
i want to do it again and lose weight on the sides. haha

4) fight for my scholarship key.
-i need a 3.7 this first sem of 2008 to get a key. I don't how I will do it
with 4 majors and a physics class but I will. I should.

5) quality time with family.
-i've been away for a year and i miss them. I've got a lot of catching
up to do. Hear, hear about the Manila trip, ma! hehe

6) take NMAT on december.
-this is the first step to enter medical school. And to get into the best
medical schools, at least an NMAT score of 90 percentile is required.

7) formulate a sensible and feasible thesis proposal.
-the horror of all horrors of college life, secondary to finding a job
atleast. I hope I'll make a good one 'coz a BPI-DOST award is waiting.

8) visit QC.
-It will be my 20th birthday present for myself: to visit QC on my own. And
be with jun and my closest friends for a few days. Hello, Puerto!

*May we all have a blessed 2008! :)

wake up, you sleepy head!

I've been lazy these past days, with dvd engagements all night until 朝日 shows up and dozing until the last rays are gone.

My day's the other way around. As it has always been. Only worse.
Blame it to oversleeping.

I feel weak and too tired to cook.
Blame it to over sleeping.

My room's a mess for weeks or maybe months now.
Blame it to over sleeping.

I haven't seen the sun for a while now.
Blame it to over sleeping.

I doubt if I can wake up tomorrow in time for our Tokyo trip.
Blame it to over sleeping.


And to 24.

habang atin ang gabi

had a gluttonous make-your-own sushi dinner..

5 am and still awake..

taking advantage of the free internet.. (arigatou Uchida-sensei)

made a chikka account.. (but nobody replied)

trying to blog my supposed-to-be-sad-but-turned-out-to-be-happy Christmas..
(salamat Mar, Kat, Gino, Ate Cy, Kuya Jayson, Ate Nor and Xiao)

wanting to answer my mom's e-mail..

assessing my 2007.. (a blessed year)

but no luck..

maybe next time..

wondering who'll come to our high school batch reunion tonight..

and thinking of the fun they'll have..

all without me..

hahay..

no more drama of wanting to be home..

in less than 2 months, i'll be home anyway.. :)

but now...

i'll just continue my lazy dawn..

listening to a deadly dose of my musical refuge..

if there is such a term..

SOUTHBORDER..

w/ Jay Oliver Durias at Kanto Bar (Davao Show 2004)

Ginger Bread Christmas Cottage

Dec. 22, 2007


Today, we made a ginger bread house. Six hours, a tray of home-made apple pie, glasses of peach tea and a Bridget Jones’ Diary movie after, the snow-covered cottage stood up while decorations were being glued on its roof.



A minute or two of that Yatta! and yehey! feeling, the sweet-smelling house collapsed. The meringue a.k.a snow a.k.a glue didn’t do its job well. And, damn gravity. haha



In the end, we had to eat the house, piece by piece.


It’s three more days to an apparently sabishii, no-noche-buena-and-family Christmas but I’ll not be a collapsed ginger bread cottage. I refuse to be one though I’m already on the edge.


Merry Christmas everyone!