I miss this so much.

Sad `cause I'm missing something. :(

Those five days were the best five days I've had in quite a while. Sure they were days of stress, frustration and humiliation but the best part of it was, those were the five days that I felt so happy. I really miss the five days of waking up so early and traveling all the way from Antipolo to Taft. And the road trips, dude. HAHAHA. I really miss debate so much. :( ASDC 2009 was by far the best competition I've participated in. SRSLY. Had so much fun with all my clubmates and I'm sure we formed strong bonds with that five days. And besides, we were able to meet GREAT NEW PEOPLE ... did I forget to mention HOT? =)) Pero that's beside the point. :P Get me, reader. ASDC was not only a new experience but something wherein I was able to learn so much from and something that made me feel so happy. It was the event where I was able to give my best and realize that though people give everything they have, others just tend to give so much more and that's why they win. Sure losing hurt (IT HURT A LOT) but I with every loss I gained so much knowledge that at the end, it was okay.

9 September, first day of ASDC 2009: HAHAHA. Okayyy. The nerves were not helping at all. I swear I couldn't eat breakfast on the morning of that day and the night before was the worst. I kept tossing and turning in bed 'cause I was so afraid. =)) When I got to school, I saw the AA bus waiting at the MPB. Oh God. I swear it was the first time that I found the AA bus to be so menacing. :-j But still, I rode the bus and we were off to McMarcos. GOD. When we arrived at McMarcos and everyone was already inside the bus, a kid suddenly appeared out of nowhere and begged for alms. God he was scary! :)) He kept insisting that we give him money and when we were about to close the door, he stuck his head and prevented the door to close. :| Good thing, Ms. R gave him some money and he left. =)))) Anyway, the ride to La Salle Manila was super scaryyy. @-) The road never seemed to end and God was I thankful for that. =)) But of course, we were going to reach our destination. What was I thinking? :-j And at that moment, I didn't want to get off the bus. SRSLY. :-&

After we registered we went to the Convening Hall and lo and behold ... EVERYONE WAS THERE. I mean, the teams were almost complete. HAHAHA. :)))) So anyway, no seats were available so we went to the back rows and sat down. Thank God, we did. :"> :"> :"> HAHAHA. So anyway, after hours and hours of debate seminar (which we barely listened to `cause we were all so nervous about the first round), lunch came and go and *drumroll* ... FIRST ROUND. HAHAHA. The first round was nerve-wrecking, as in seriously. And when we lost (

P.S. The Convening Hall's carpet was the best. :-j HAHAHA. First day that we met Jayson, our adj. =)) Saw Kara alreadyyy! FINALLY. We bonded and we had he time to catch up with each other. :> Jayson and I scared Monik when we were waiting for my dad to fetch us at AA. HAHAHA. =)) Thought Monik was going to cry already. :P

10 September, second day of ASDC 2009: So the second day was probably the same as the first day although this time there were three rounds in a day so at the end of this day ... my brain was gone. =)) I think we won a few rounds here ... I think. :))) But anyway, the nerves were still the same and so was the frustation that I felt every time our team lost a debate. =(( But it was okay. I mean, I had to stand up and be better. My team depended on me .... so there was no way that I could be all sulky and gloomy all day long. I went home earlier than the day before and I promised that I'd matterload but as soon as I got home, I laid on my bed and rest. :-j

P.S. This is the day when I cried out of frustration, I think. I mean, I felt so frustrated and angry that my team depended on me. It felt so heavy so I had to cry to release the anger. :P :))) HAHAHA. That was an awakening for my team. :> :P And I bet this is the day when I got to ride with M in an elevator. HAHAHA. :-j PEP-TALK WITH JAYSON on the way home ... I think. :-j

11 September, third day of ASDC 2009: BREAK NIGHT! =))) HAHAHA. The last day of debating for the teams who won't be breaking. HAHAHA. That rhymes! :-bd So anyway, I think everyone was looking forward to this day 'cause this was the last day of torture. :-j I think we all gave our best on this day knowing that it was the day wherein we should balance our wins & losses. I mean, that's what I wanted. I wanted to have like a 4-3 stance or maybe a 3-4 stance would do. :P :))) And HEY, that's what we got. \:D/ So anyway, I think this was the day wherein we went up against Reedley and they won the debate. :-& UGH. I hate that school. :| What made me even more angrier was the fact that Tippy got a "79" speaker score. Yeah, right. :| That adj did not know how to adj. /:) HAHAHA. >:) >:) I think I gave her a 2 or maybe a 3 if I was nice enough. :P What else happened on this day? OH! We fought against a team that iron-manned. =)) They were only two and one of their speakers had THREE speaker ROLES. HAHAHA. Kawawa naman sila. :P We won over them! \:D/ But I admire them `cause they were able to survive as an incomplete team. :P ^:)^ OH. And our team fought against another team from AA. :)) HAHAHA. Hello, Ate Chin Tricia Ruiz and Yumi Odal. :-j That debate was my favorite not only `cause we won but because the debate was THE BEST. It was just like training and it was as if the adj during our debate wasn't there and we were just in a normal room debating against each other. I loved that. :P :))))

The Break Night was fun too. PARTYYYY. Although it got ruined after we found out that we were being monitored all night long. And when I mean monitored I mean our movements were being watched and observed the whole break night. :| :| :| x( And just when we were having so much fun dancing and goofing around with each other. /:) I mean, we were just dancing with each other ... with the exception of one dance where we Jayson joined us. But that was like one time only and after that we didn't dance with him anymore. x( UGH. The night was so ruined. But 'twas okayyyy. :)))) We were able to have lots of fun before we learned that we were being watched. :P Danced with Liana Oliveros Ines Pagdanganan Angela Caranay Monik Repoquit Yumi Odal Tricia Ruiz Regine Reyes. It was the best! \:D/

P.S. Went home at around 1AM alreadyyy. :)) The teams who broke were good but there were some teams who I expected to break but didn't. :(

12 September, fourth day of ASDC 2009: HAHAHA. We went to La Salle Manila though we didn't break. WHOOPS. :P :)))) Anyway, it was fun all the same. We weren't able to watch the Octofinals `cause we had to watch "Kanser" ... which wasn't that great, by the way. But we were able to watch the Quarter Finals! :P I still had to wake up so earlyyyy. UGH. Meeting III-4 again was so fun. I missed my classmates so much! BEAR HUGS are the best in the morning. :P After Kanser was done, Liana Oliveros Monik Repoquit Yumi Odal Ines Pagdanganan and I left for La Salle Manila. We left at about past ten in the morning and we arrived at like one in the afternoon! HAHAHAHA. =))))) We got lost in Manila! We had an unexpected ROAD TRIP in the streets of Metro Manila! We almost went to Quiapo & Divisoria! That was how lost we were. :| :)))) We rode round and round and round and we reached places I didn't even know existed. :-j :-j :-j But of course, it was the best road trip everrrr. :> Finally we reached the entrance of Brother Andrew Hall (where the debate was being held ... forgot to mention it earlier HAHAHAHA) and we took the elevator to the 6th floor. We were so hungry that we knew we just had to eat lunch first. :P HAHAHAHA. We were so lucky! The food was awesome ... finally, food worth our 3500. :P Get this, when we arrived at La Salle Manila, we were still wearing our uniform. HAHAHAHA. =)))) But anyway, we had the time of our lives that day. I was able to buy a "DEBATER. My element." shirt and we were able to watch :"> :"> :"> Martin and Vito debate. :x What else could we have asked for? @-)

P.S. Martin's WHIP SPEECH was so awesome. He was so HOT. :x Vito's REPLY SPEECH was to die for. He won Xavier the debate, I tell you. :"> :"> :"> Though the lights went out `cause some guy at the back accidentally leaned on the switch, his reply speech was still the best ever. :x Poor DAEWON1. HAHAHA. :-j DAE-LOST na. :))))) Watched the Public Speaking Eliminations ... was okay. =)) Daryl was so benta, though. :P

13 September, last day of ASDC 2009: The five awesome days have come to an end. :( I can't believe time flies so fast. :(( We watched the Semi`s and the Grand Finals on this day! :)))) We arrived just in time for the semi-finals where Xavier was against PSci. :)))) HAHAHA. They won this round for sure. :> .... I quote, "Defend your point, sir!". HAHAHAHA. :-j So anyway, we had lunch/snacks/break/whatever and we had the time of our lives. The tension between Ms. R and our group (Seniors & Juniors + Tricia Ruiz) was so evident that we had to take separate tables. :| :)))) Oh well. /:) We hung out with Jayson and thanks to him, we were able to take THE BEST pictures everrr. ^:)^ Although we weren't able to take a picture of Vito's face, his ears were good enough. HAHAHAHA. Kiddinggg. :-j Lunch time was so longgg. HAHAHA. :))) I can still remember how bangag we were on that dayyyy. Jungle Juice was awesome, though. :P Yumi & I loved that thing. Anyway, when they finally announced that the Grand Finals was going to commence in a few minutes, everyone rushed outside and headed out. But of course, we had to stay behind --- TO TAKE PICTURES. \:D/ Loved it. Thank goodness we stayed behind. :"> `Cause of this we were able to take an elevator with VV and LV. :x HAHAHA. The SHAME Ines & Liana. Tsk. Tsk. You were so obvious in the elevator! =)))) Martin was laughing and smiling already. :P HAHAHAHA.

The Grand Finals was NOT fun at all. :| The auditorium (did I spell it out right? :P) was big enough for Yumi and I to play hide & seek with the whole AFS. HAHAHAHA. =)) We were so bored that we hid under the tables and we asked AFS to look for us. They were so KJ, however, that they didn't even bother looking. /:) HAHAHA. And they let Jayson and Kip take our seats for us. :| SE. Bahala sila. :)))) Because of that, we had to sit beside Dan. HAHAHA. >:) >:) >:) We asked him questions about who he liked and some other questions just to grill him. HAHAHA. :> Also, with his permission, we found out what Xavier's matter folders really looked like. ^:)^ God, they were scary. :-j With that last round ... I didn't like the turn of the debate at all. A definition challange? Eew. :-& I think it ruined the debate. :| It was Xavier against Southridge kasi and SR challenged XS when they could have just worked with XS`s definition. Tsk. Tsk.

Championship Dinner was okay. :))) I didn't like the first parts but the end of the dinner was the best. HAHAHAHA. :-j The food was okayy. SOCIAL GRACES! :-j We had to sit in a separate table from the rest of the AFS `cause we were too many to fit in one table. :| But `twas okay. :P Yumi Liana and I sat with Kara and some debaters from St. Scho and we also sat with Dan Remo (ATE ANGELA. :>). The dinner was fun `cause the public speaking contestants were so funnyyyy! =))))) They made me laugh, really. :P But of course, when it was time for the decision on the debate ... :| Didn't like it at all. /:) There was a split decision (5-4 ... NOT GOOD) and the win went to Southridge. :| It was not good. NOT AT ALL. XS should have won hands down. :| UGH. If I knew who that person was who sided with SR and made the decision a 5-4 ... >:) Lagot yun sakin. :-j But with that aside, Yumi Ines Liana and I did something really FUN after the dinner. HAHAHAHA. :"> :"> :"> God, nakakahiya talaga. :)))) We approached the table of Xavier and we talked to Vito and Martin about their loss. HAHAHA.

US: "Congratulations." V: "Thanks." US: "We think you should've won." V: "I know. Values." US: "Yeah." M: *smiles*

HAHAHAHA. :"> Okayyy. Wasn't that great? :x Now, since everyone left and went down to the AA bus, the four of us had to take the elevator downstairs so that it was going to be quicker. And then ... LO AND BEHOLD, there they were taking the same elevator. =))

ME: "Wait! Wait for us!" V & M: *opens the door of the elevator, gets out and lets us in while holding the elevator doors open for us*

OH MY. My heart. :"> HAHAHA. They (Martin and Vito) actually held the doors open for us and let us in. HAYYY. Such gentlemen. =)) But of course, something bad happened too. :| I don't know who did it or what but a guy from Xavier must have pressed the elevator doors so they opened and when it did, a guy said to us "Why do you keep opening the door?". WE WERE LIKE ... profanities here. =))) Kasi naman e. Feeling niya siya yun. :| UGH. :-& But anyway, all that matters is :x. =)) On the way home, we had so much fun talking and talking and talking about what happened at ASDC and the turn of events. Remembering all those days always bring about the memories of the GREATEST DEBATE COMPET everrr!

P.S. I miss ASDC 2009 so bad. :(

24. You know who you are.

Thirteen Days

Yesterday must have been life’s idea of a bad joke. Wishing for something to happen is fun, with all the laughter and endless prayers that come along with praying for that wish to come true. But when it actually comes true, something just doesn’t feel right. Wishing to have A(H1N1) at school was fun, with all our what-if’s and if-only’s. But when it actually did come, well it was truly a different thing.

Expectations ran high when Ms. Lacanlale excused our teachers out of their classes in an emergency conference outside our classrooms. Obviously it was urgent, they didn’t even bother getting a room to discuss. Rumors began to circulate within the classroom, “Swine flu’s reached AA.” - “School’s going to be suspended!” - “Who’s the girl who got A(H1N1)?”. Everyone was talking. When classes finally ended, everyone was asked to gather. Something very important was going to be announced, was all they said. Confirmed. It must be a Swine Flu case for an emergency batch meeting to arise. Yes. There it was. Ms. Lacanlale announcing to the microphone that AA did have one confirmed case. Yes. We were getting suspended for 13 Days. Yes. We were getting quarantined. Every rumor, now confirmed. What now?

We weren’t going to slack off, that’s for sure. Tons and tons of assignments were placed on us. Every subject had its own homework. Ugh. With thirteen days at our disposal, teachers were sure to have made something out of it. /:) But, what now? I’m not particularly happy about the suspension. WHY? I’ll tell you why. We go to school on Saturdays. More school-time. Less me-time. Preparation time for the Fair’s been cut off. Students may be okay with it, but we’re not. Committees will be rushing everything when classes resume, that’s for sure, especially those whose jobs require preparations before the fair starts. And personally, I’ll lose my school-mode. What? It takes me so long to get used to school and now that I’m getting the hang of it, it’s gone. What sick joke is that?

Ugh. Whatever. I’m not really happy. The only reason I am is that we’re given extra extra time to prepare for the IP. That’s one thing I’ll be honest about. More IP time. Yey. HAHA. But yeah. That’s all. Weigh the pros and the cons. You decide if it’s good or not. /:) All I’m saying is, this must be life’s idea of a bad joke.

Labels: A(H1N1), Quarantine, Thirteen Days

Article ! \:D/ Here is the article written about him. I want to put it on my blog for everyone to know. Read and take to heart a feat remembered by history. The article was written by Lennox Lewis, a former world heavyweight champion and a boxing commentator for HBO Sports. Here it is !

“Pound for pound, Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world. But even more important than holding that distinction, Manny has connected with the people of his home country, the Philippines, to the point where he`s almost like a god. The people have rallied behind him and feel like they`re a part of him, because they can see his talent, his dedication, his grace and his class. The grip he holds over the Philippines is similar to Nelson Mandela`s influence in South Africa. I can surely see Manny becoming the Philippine President one day.
In fact, he already ran for Congress in the Philippines but lost, in part because voters thought he could do more for the country as an inspirational champion boxer. I agree with the Filipino people. Manny, 30, already has a true global reach, and his influence will only expand, as he gets better. Manny is from the Muhammad Ali school. He`s a boxer, a puncher and mover-- a champion in four weight divisions. He doesn`t stand there and take shots. He throws that wicked jab and is so quick to dodge trouble.
Boxing needs a guy like Manny. Too often, when something positive develops, the sport takes two steps backward; you never know where the black eye is going to come from. With Manny, you don`t have to worry about that. He just loves the sport and knows he`s carrying the hopes of his country in the ring.”

P.S. This is taken word-per-word from the article itself. Didn`t change anything. ;) Oh and did you know that Manny Pacquiao is the first athlete the Philippine Postal Corp. honored with his own stamp?! =)) Yes. I am definitely proud to have a Filipino go down in history. I don`t know about the rest, but I`m happy with this feat. Are you?

A Feat Remembered By History.

The sun was already high up in the sky when I awoke this morning. Can`t say I was happy about that. I struggled to stay asleep, but my head had already begun to ache. I hate oversleeping. I can`t believe I had overslept... again ! I can vividly remember last night. It was okay. We just had a DVD marathon and a few minutes of watching WWE (Haha. Wrestling`s really entertaining, for those whose eyebrows are up right now) but besides that, I could swear we slept early. Or was it too early? Haha. Our helper said that she could still hear our laughter at midnight-- tsk, tsk. Nothing good about that. We must`ve slept past twelve already. Gah. I hate sleeping so late and having to wake up with my head pounding. I felt sticky and uncomfortable. Another thing I hate about oversleeping, I miss the morning. The morning when the air`s still cold and the sun still hiding. Argh. I rushed to the dining room, no one in sight. My dad`s outside with his friends (they got here so early), our helper said they were going to do something to our roof. Fixing it, I think. My father doesn`t hire other people to do mechanical stuff `cause he likes to do them himself. I guess this time, he got his friends to come over and help him. *sigh* Why do they have to be so noisy in the morning? With their boisterous laughter and the hammer pounding away? My head can`t take it. I take a seat and face the refrigerator, Where`s our brunch? I ask our helper. God, I hate brunches. @-)

I finish eating, and surprisingly I took a while. Normally, when I take my brunch, I eat it in a hurry. See, I hate sitting down there feeling all hot and sweaty. Besides, I begin to smell like food. /:) Anyway, I hear the car coming to the driveway. A few minutes ago, my dad left to fetch my mom from work. Don`t feel surprised. Though it`s a Sunday, Mom still works. That`s just the way it is, I`ve often said it`s unfair but she just laughs it off. Haha. @-) I greet them and then I see something that made me jump. My mom was holding an issue of TIME. I rushed to their room. I just needed to get my hands on that special edition. It was a double issue featuring the 100 Most Influential People in the World. That I`ve got to see. I grab the magazine on their table and begin flipping. God, I love these specials. I was excited. I knew Oprah was there, I mean, she has to be. It is Oprah. The only person who`s been on the list ever since it`s begun. :> :> :> Now that`s influential. I flip a few more pages and found people I`d already expect to be there like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey, Jay Leno, and Tiger Woods. Also, a few others that surprised me... raised my eyebrows and made me laugh. Zac Efron was there. He made me laugh, only teen on the list you know. Go Teen Power ! He`s kind of handsome too. Then, there was Penelope Cruz. God, she`s hot. Kate Winslet was there as well. The Twitter Guys, as they called them, were there as well. Sarah Palin was included too. The Ladies of the View and Stella McCartney were also included. Of course, a lot more influential people were there. Mostly on politics and some others whose feats I don`t really know about (will find out later).

But, what really really really really really got my attention and made me shout was that someone I knew (and I`m sure the Filipinos know very well too) was included on the list. He`s made history, as I`d like to say. He`s conquered the whole sport, if you must know. He`s made the whole nation proud (at least I am). Manny Pacquiao. Yes, to all those reading this entry, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao is part of the 100 Most Influential People of the World. In fact, he`s been categorized under “Heroes and Icons”. With all honesty, when I flipped through that page, I stopped. I couldn`t believe my eyes. At first I was thinking, Hey! I know this guy from somewhere. Then it hit me, OMG. It`s Manny ! Haha. =)) I just had to shout. I called out everyone in the household and they too couldn`t believe what they were seeing. I couldn`t help but saying, Finally! A Filipino whose feat will forever be remembered in history! How proud could I have been? Every time he enters that ring, he brings his country with him. He represents each and every Filipino`s dream: To make his nation known throughout the world. To make every Filipino proud. In his every victory, we are with him. With every belt he`s won, we`ve won. I believe that the reason why his punches are that hard is because in every punch he makes, we the Filipinos punch with him. That`s why they`re so strong, don`t you agree? And, as I read the article written about him, I couldn`t help but swell with pride. Finally ! Finally ! A Filipino went down in history ! Forever remembered as part of the chosen hundred known as the Most Influential People in the World.