LIFE is a Watermelon Shake!

Counting My Blessings!

2012-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to write my year end report before January like how I used to do way back when Friendster blog was still kickin but failed to do so because I was preoccupied with other stuff. Like cleaning up the mess in my room, everything's scattered til now...for the record...it took me more than a day to clean this filthy, mice-infested dungeon! Despite these odd things in life, I have so much to thank God for...

2011 was my year, I must say! Though astrologically, 2012, year of the Dragon, is my year! I don't normally look forward because I don't treat such act with whopping optimism. There's something in "looking back" that's mysterious and magical...even if events already happened, fortunes were claimed, a year had passed and life was never the same...I don't count golden chicks before the white eggs are hatched so here I am...counting my blessings this 2011!
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1) Bought a netbook for myself! Thanks to my Sister Julie! She paid half of it.
2) Passed the board exam! I'm now a licensed teacher!
3) Got a new and exciting job!
4) First international travel...to the land of the Merlion!
5) Dared to wear 2-pc in Boracay! (Call me loser! But yeah, that should be my first & last defiance against conservatism!)
6) Spent Christmas with Mom's relatives from the other side of the planet!
7) Made a random act of kindness to a stranger. Feels good to be secretly altruistic in the most unexpected circumstance!
8) My siblings are precious pieces of me! We are still intact despite the grueling family issues.
9) My bf, never gave up on me? That should make me one lucky girl!
10) I'm still youthful, dainty, and lovely as ever! (Beauty is a choice!)
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I couldn't be happier, healthier and wealthier...with LOVE and intangible gifts!

It's yesterday once more!

2011-11-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought it's been 10 years since...

...BOYS bullied girls
...GIRLS bullied half-bred boys
...HALF-BRED boys lured boys
...BOYS cut classes because of TAMIYA
...GIRLS bartered stationeries
...HALF-BRED boys tried to do both

...recess was the best subject
...with canteen's magic basket
...classmates were happy
...but some were unlucky (including me)
...to manage the basket market
...for every deficit
...we took out money from our pocket

Who would have imagined it's been 10 years since...

...we left our alma mater
...but we never really left our dear school

...we brought it with us
...despite different paths

...we remembered the lessons from our teachers
...despite different careers

...we valued education
...despite different inclinations

...and despite everything else
...we shall reminisce that at one point in our lives, we shared a kind of collective student experience only in

LAHUG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

KUDOS to our GREAT TEACHERS!

For a job WELL DONE! ^^

Short tribute to our teachers and classmates!

[Click picture to see youtube video]

[Click logo to see vimeo video]

Cheating Death!

2011-11-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Thank God I'm still alive! I have to write something about a disturbing experience just so I could preserve the lingering effect it had on me. Today, after eating lunch with my bf, I decided to take a nap - a nap that turned into a death-defying experience.

Have you ever experienced "urom"? It's a Cebuano term for its closest English counterpart "nightmare" but it's more than just a nightmare. If you've experienced this phenomenon, you're one of the lucky people who surpassed it. If it's been randomly recurring in your lifetime, then let me give you some notes so you could survive once more!

- a person undergoes a period of sleep paralysis so the body couldn't move for split seconds to even long agonizing minutes
- hyperventilation, sweating and irregular breathing pattern
- it's usually associated with great fear or other strong emotions
- you perceive things very vividly that you construe reality from mere perception (lucid dreaming may occur-you can control the things around you and the events that you want to happen in that distorted reality)

And the most difficult part is to realize that you're under a dream.
You must wake up before it's all too late!

So how do you check reality?

1. Try to navigate the place - go out and explore as much as you can!

2. We've been surrounded by technology, so check if your gadgets don't fail. My personal accounts: can't call or send text messages using mobile phone, can't send email or IM, light switch malfunctioned

If ~~TECHNOLOGY~~ fails in such circumstances, then there's 80-90% probability that you're dreaming!

3. Stare and concentrate on one object for seconds and if it changes while staring at it, then wake up because if you don't have a mental problem, you must be DREAMING!

If you've checked reality and you are strongly convinced that you're lost in a dream, the next problem would be to wake your body up before it physiologically shuts down and leave you in an infinite state of limbo - an understatement of DEATH!

Now, how do you push yourself to wake up?

1. Look at your hands and shake them as much as you can! Or move your pinky finger!

2. Stomp your feet to the ground with force!

3. Grab or reach anything around you with all your might until you get it!

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These tips will surely be of great help but you can never cheat DEATH! After all, no one knows when your time comes! To die while sleeping is better than to wake up in a hell-like Earth and eventually die because of humanity's animosity!

(PS: My death-defying experience is yet to be continued because I'm too sleepy and ready to experience another dream! Hopefully, it's something inspiring this time!)

Reviving Blog Posts: Part 1

2011-11-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

Good thing I was able to save my Friendster blog posts before the social networking site was doomed. I started in 2005 and until now I'm still trying to be an exhibitionist! One of the great argumentative posts I've ever made back in college was this "Blogging as an Act of Exhibitionism!" and I was totally against the premise! Let me try to relive the frustration I felt 5 years ago...Take note: Everything is in toto!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 22nd, 2006 at 9:58 am

blogging=exhibitionism?

no offense to the person concerned:
bloggers are not exhibitionists…
we are not exposing ourselves to public…
neither are we trying to get some attention watsoever!
we blog because we are rational beings…
capable of thinking, feeling and perceiving…
thus we simply share and express what we think, feel and perceive!
blog’s no less than a diary… it’s also a behavioral artifact which may help in understanding one’s inner self! as a blogger myself, i must say that blogging really helps in developing a person’s positive well being!
blogging is not a psychosexual disorder nor an abnormal act… how could you equate it with exhibitionism ?!
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And this post ticked some people off! Let's recall the comments too...
15 Responses to “blogging=exhibitionism?”

Jackie-San Says:
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:12 pmasa man ka nakadungog ana ba? Kinsa man gasulti ana ba?
grace Says:
June 23rd, 2006 at 8:52 pmyep..blogging is not exhibitionism.im not a blogger but i bet,writers or bloggers get satisfied only when we get some feedback.a reality one can never deny.why not keep a personal diary instead if one does not intend to let others know our thoughts?then,bloggers must be somehow waitng for response..BUT that is way way far from exhibitionism..
YvAiNe Says:
June 24th, 2006 at 1:24 amthen again what is his/her definition of exhibitionism?hmmm..?
Charmaine Says:
June 24th, 2006 at 2:12 amexhibitionism….
indecent and compulsive exposure of the genitals in public to acquire attention… saonz!!!
' 'mara rev ' ' Says:
June 24th, 2006 at 4:42 amdamn!!! asa ka nkadungog ana cham? im a blogger although dli au ko maka post daily, still you know me to be the blogger na mu-share jud sa iya feelings bwt, almost everything…exhibitionism? haller?! i agree with grace, its way far from blogging…blogging is one way of expressing ourselves, not exposing ourselves!!!! duh?!!!?
Charmaine Says:
June 24th, 2006 at 5:45 ammulang… pero sowee mara i cant tell u knsay nisulti anah…ahihi… i still respect her… bsag mean kaau iyang comment bout blogging…ahihihihi… ^_^
Darliza Says:
June 24th, 2006 at 8:06 pmi beg to disagree.
exhibitionism para nako, is deriving pleasure from showing a part of yourself to others, and not just on physical terms.
blogging is still part exhibitionism. i mean, why not? being an exhib doesnt have to be all about sex y’know. defy the borders of basic dictionary meaning. if you bare yourself for people to see, and actually get the kick out of it, that is exhibitionism.
Charmaine Says:
June 26th, 2006 at 1:09 ampsychologically or psychiatrically speaking, exhibitionism is the incapability of the mind to control the compulsive exposure of oneself, not necessarily the genitals, to attract public attention. in short it’s an abnormal act… a deviation from the norm!
you can’t blame us, psych studs for perceiving things scientifically…or even if we try to defy the borders of basic dictionary meaning, we still couldnt get the negative impact of the term itself! it isnt just the appropriate term to describe blogging… it could have been sumthing that’s positive in its sense…
i have nothing against those who feel to disagree with me…everyone’s comment is respected… and im happy that we’re trying to exercise the art of argumentation…^_^
Rommel Says:
June 30th, 2006 at 6:54 amhey… ingna cya ha… pabasaha sa akong blog, basin ma.usab iyang definition sa ‘exhibitionism’… pero i’m not saying i’m ‘flashing’ something there… just tell her to visit natio… basin makasabot cya sa difference.
& if ngpatagad jud ang mga bloggers, so be it… with her mere comment, it just proves that she pays attention 2 d blogger’s alleged endeavor. hahaha!
YvAiNe Says:
July 2nd, 2006 at 9:10 pmi think that people react basically to what society is considered as a standard..and yes exhibitionism does have a sexual cum negative impact to the ears..but the nothing is, you go beyond the dictionary meaning, because really, its only a matter of perspective.
Charmaine Says:
July 5th, 2006 at 7:38 amsoweee ass di ko ka dare mo ingon sa iyaha…
yeah it’s a matter of perspective rah… but may unta kung ang perspective sa mga taw kay positive… di mn gud nimo ma help kay ang nature sa word nega na gud… how wud u actually shift the perspective from negative to positive.
Jaclyn kline Says:
July 8th, 2006 at 4:51 amexhibitionism…hmmm… makadawat pa ko’s ksp nga word better than dat. however dependnt mn xa’s paggamit. remember meaning varies (possibly radically) upon the writer, the reader, and the dictionary.
i blv the word’s a bit harsh to descryb this act of self expression. we blog coz we wnt to share (hope that someone shares) our sentimnts w/ us. basta! the word’s just not the ryt one.
Charmaine Says:
July 8th, 2006 at 8:56 ammu jed… wrong kaau ang word…^:)^
kOuRty Says:
July 17th, 2006 at 1:11 amsory na jud cham nag kamali ra to si u know.. hehe… impulsive ra to oi… nyahahaha. maybe wala xa kasuway ug blog.. iya mistake ato kay iya cguro gi generalize, cguro kay naay mga blogger na nag exhibtion nyahahahaha
Charmaine Says:
July 17th, 2006 at 9:49 ambtaw… i knw la jud to niya gi mean… la mn sad ko nasuko… im just trying to defend “US”… ahiihihi.. mga vlogers…^_^

LOVE & HATE = YOU & I

2011-10-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

LOVE wouldn’t be as blissful without HATE

I call our so called love story a HATE story because it didn’t really start with LOVE after all. It all started with being total strangers! Guess what’s next? He was an event crasher! I didn’t invite him for our "free food taste" advertising class project. What the heck? Who was he? Some classmates drooled over his unkemptly tied long hair. Guys like him can never catch my attention. He was not even close to ideal. He was such an unnoticeable being. In short, NOT MY TYPE! But fate, surprisingly, has its own way of bringing you to the person whom you can claim yours forever! Of course not literally forever, but at least for the rest of your life!

Until now, I don’t exactly know what made him love the over demanding, self-gratifying, conceited, and emotionally unstable ME? Let me elaborate on being emotionally unstable. A girl is acceptably emotional, but beyond that is no longer tolerable! I know guys hate it when their girls switch from being sweet and gentle to an extremely monstrous state. I am even more monstrous than you could ever imagine. Almost every day, I used to greet him with devastating break-ups, whining words of frustration, and idealistic views of what a boyfriend should/shouldn’t do. I was freakishly immature and the relationship was a total disaster! But I guess there’s no precise formula whatsoever for a lasting relationship. We have had our share of ups and downs and we will continuously experience the seemingly endless cycle. It’s been two years since the day we committed our souls to each other. I know it’s too early to conclude because the future is still uncertain but the uncertainty makes such relationship a marvel.

Our love story is not just a mere story of LOVE, it’s also a story of HATE

H = Happiness A = Acceptance T = Trials E = Experiences

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LOVE and HATE don’t collide after all, because they complement each other like

You & I

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I’ve written this for our 2^nd year anniversary (July 15, 2011) but glad I didn’t share it yet, for words have been more substantiated since then.

Stress-Stricken

2011-07-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

They'd say ~~STRESS~~ is BAD but not for a workaholic like me. I adore ~~STRESS~~ more than ever. It makes me think, makes me alive, hyperactive 24/7, like the movie limitless. It's a form of a drug that activates my brain to work efficiently. Quite ironic but I get sick without it. I may not be feeling its long term effects yet because I'm still enjoying my youth. When my hair would turn gray, that's probably the time when I'll get my fair share of stress-related health risks. But that's if I reach that stage. It's too morbid to think that our generation would die young. Gone are the baby boomers. Don't expect too much of your life span because you might get disappointed. With the birth of instant things...food, technology, work or even relationships. I don't think we'll even be closer to 60 or 70. So what am I trying to advocate here? Be a stressful person like me? Of course not! It still depends on the capacity of the individual to handle stress. So what I'm trying to say is.. handle your ~~STRESS~~ well before it strikes you. Before you lose sanity...your grip of reality. Try to assess yourself if you've suffered too much stress in life. If so, are you still in your sound mind to act and follow the goals you've made for yourself? Are you still able to do your duties without compromising other important things? If not, then YOU should be ALARMED!

T-E-A-C-H-eers!

2011-05-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Success wouldn't be as meaningful without failure much as happiness wouldn't be as sweet without sorrow. There's no clear-cut formula for success because it is too relative a concept to be defined by a single person or groups of scholars, scientists, geniuses, combined. However, I came across my archive of self-made quotes and found something relevant to post. Just a year ago (04/11/2010), I wrote:

"Success in not about outperforming others who outperformed you, but outperforming what you have already performed."

Whoah! I never thought I could think that way. That was my own definition of success. Unknowingly, it directed me towards the path of success. After a year, I have gone far from where I started my professional journey and the road doesn't stop after achieving my license as a teacher. I still have more things to experience, places to discover, talents to hone, and students to inspire like how I was inspired by my teachers. I salute all the teachers who positively influenced me to become one of them. I believe that we have brilliant teachers but something's wrong with the educational system. Hmmmn...this would be another interesting topic to blog soon. Anyhow, I would like to surround myself with positive emotions before I go ranting about our country's marred educational system.

Cheers to the old and new TEACHERS! Let's start to make a difference by not following the conventional ways of teaching! Experiment! Explore! Learn! Teach! and INSPIRE! ^^

Dreams are my REALITY

2011-03-01T01:11:00.000-08:00

Sweating, pounding, grinding, echoing, screeching...

It was sordid down under. I couldn’t believe I’ve been to a place bereft of life and happiness. I tried my luck and pushed the button… 1,2,3,4,5…15…30……50…….100 feet below the ground! Legend has it that you can only escape from hell if you perform the given tasks with specifications. Take note: with exact specifications.

We reached the bottom. The elevator slowly opened, giving us a grand entryway. Amused but terrified. The place was impregnated with awful air. It was some sort of an emergency room and everybody seemed very busy. One lady approached without uttering a word. My instincts told me to follow her. Alas! We found our individual cells. Each was placed in a small cell, like one cubicle in a not-so-stylish restroom, without a toilet bowl, faucet or even a chair to relax your ass with while waiting. I waited impatiently. I was so impatient that I couldn’t help but notice people outside. As I peeked through the windowpane, there was a man with convoluted tattoos holding a huge local knife. I thought he was going to kill me for Christ-sake. Am I going to be next? What strength, power or agility do I have to fight against this hooligan?

With a sigh of relief, the door opened. I expected to see a lot of people just like the moment I arrived in that place. I was wrong, there was no one. I was transported to another world. It was too peaceful, beautiful, magnificent, but lethargic. It didn’t meet my expectation of a battlefield but the creepy thoughts were still playing inside my head. I supposed there were creatures stealthily hiding from the bushes, trees and mountains waiting to devour their precious pawn. I have nothing to defend myself with in case these enemies would attack. No amulets, swords, or magical spells. Just a hippie girl trying to be courageous. Then, a piece of paper slowly dropped from the heavens. It was a note from the chieftain of hell:

Task: Capture a pigeon and enjoy your meal!

Time Limit: 24 hours

Whoa! How can I catch a soaring pigeon without tools for hunting?

A brilliant idea hit me. And so I played dead thinking that I can lure the pigeon to eat my flesh on the ground. It was my last resort. I couldn’t think of any profound way to physically immobilize a pigeon. I know pigeons are smart but I still hoped my scheme would work for these birds. I badly need a pigeon in 24 hours. Fortunately, a pigeon went closer to my still body. As it draws nearer, my heart increasingly pounds with inexplicable excitement. I only have one chance. I need to get this done. Time was ticking away.

Seconds later…

Bravo! My flashing hand quickly choked the pigeon’s neck. With no sign of remorse, I killed the poor pigeon. I thought it was over. I remembered the legend. I need to perform the exact specifications. The note said to capture a pigeon and enjoy your meal. But I couldn’t eat a raw pigeon. I can’t take it but I had no choice. I took a bite at the pigeon’s neck. It was nauseatingly bloody. Have I turned into a voracious beast? How could I do such an act?

Then another note dropped from the sky:

You need to eat: 50% raw pigeon or 25% cooked pigeon

Not again! Specs should be followed in order to escape. I decided to create a fire and cook the pigeon just so I could only eat ¼ of the pigeon’s body. I need to do it before my 24-hour limit… before I’d be sucked into the dungeon of oblivion forever.

Sweating, pounding, grinding, echoing, screeching...

Have I escaped? Or have I been forgotten?

Tick tock, tick tock! The clock struck!

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Dreams are sometimes simple but oftentimes they’re too hard to understand. There have been a lot of studies conducted about dreams. Why do people dream? Is dreaming a by-product of the conscious expressed in the unconscious? Dreams that occur during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep stage tend to be remembered vividly.

I just had a lucid dream and I want to share this because I want to share a part of my unconscious. To let others see what I saw, feel what I felt, perceive what I perceived and interpret what I may fail to interpret. I’m not really a fan of Sigmund Freud, famous for his psychoanalytic theory, but I would just like people to be imaginative and introspective of themselves. You may never know, interpreting dreams would help you get to know yourself better in the unconscious level.

Here are possible interpretations to my dream:

Physiological/Physical Sense: I was too hungry, my stomach dictated my brain to find and cook for something out from nowhere.

Cognitive Sense: I absorbed a lot of information from the physical world before I slept and my brain created stories out from those sensory perceptions. I could remember I was reading my sister Julie’s blog about defecating and all sorts of nasty things. I also revisited my old blog and my sister Jackie’s blog about MED life. I probably created a negative mental aversion about what she’s doing with her cadaver in med school.

Emotional/Psychological Sense: I may still be in constant battle with how life really sucks for the past few months. Death of our grandpa, financial crisis, family crisis, name them all. I’m trying to escape from the responsibilities but I just couldn’t do so. I have to follow orders, exact specifications as expressed in my dream. I want to do something really great to be able to escape and I want to do something outstanding so that people will not forget me. But in my search for greatness, I became nobody. Life doesn’t stop there though. I can be somebody, someday and prove to the world that I am not an animal who can be shooed away. It’s getting too mushy so I’d better stop. ^^

See what dreams can give you? You engage in a deeper understanding of the self. You alone can interpret your dreams more than any other psychoanalytic or psychic person for that matter. If you have more interpretations to my dream feel free to drop comments! You can also share some of your dreams here so we could help you interpret…^^

Say NO to DRUGS!

2011-02-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

Part of my social responsibility is to spread awareness about the pressing DRUG ADDICTION problem of the Filipino youth. So I'm sharing this poster to the public. I made this a year ago for our Drug Rehabilitation Center. For more info about House of Hope, you can visit our website: www.houseofhopecebu.com

Think Old, Feel Young!

2011-02-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Elementary Classmates Reunited after 10 Awesome Years!

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Date: February 19, 2011

Place: Mrs. Sesbreño's House

Attendance: 13 (upper left clockwise: Kira Mae Legista, Kenneth Vince Vildosola, Anna Loida Asilo, Carmel Pielago, Maam Sesbreño, Charmaine Acha, Carl Francis Atilano, Gretchen Hernaez, Jonas Conel, Josua Quilo, Bon Ernesto Oriondo, Arjay Paracuelles, Ace Virgel Almario, Jomarie Buhay)
("'('_')")

--> The Officers <--
Head Organizer: Charmaine
Secretary: Anna Loida
Treasurer: Yours truly
Auditor: Jonas
Food Committee: Kira, Jomarie, Josua
Transpo: Carl, Bon, Joey
Program/MCs: Kenneth, Carmel
Tarp: Arjay
Give aways: Kenneth
Directory: Gretchen
Website: Ace

Grand Reunion: May 28-29, 2011, Villa Rammelyn, Minglanilla

http://lahugelementaryschool-batch2001.pcriot.com/