I'm such a geek, har har

I'm such a geek, and it amazes me sometimes how geeky I act. I've always been known to be quite an odd person. I do weird things, and that's just how I am.

You may ask, "A geek? But you're not a dork? A dweeb? A nerd? What's the difference anyways?"

Here's the answer:

I'm not a dweeb nor a dork because I've no problems interacting with other people. In fact, I can honestly say that I am quite the charmer. HA HA HA. That was hard to write. But seriously, I'm not socially inept. Shy at times, yes; but definitely not socially inept. So that takes dweeb and dork out of my choices, leaving "geek" as my only choice. (Though I have to admit, I can be such a nerd sometimes. I’m a little bit intelligent, a little bit socially inept and a little bit obsessed, so am I a bit of a nerd, or a bit of a dweeby dorky geek, or dweeby geeky dork, or dorky geeky dweeb, or dorky dweeby geek, or geeky dweeby dork, or geeky dorky dweeb? I'm not sure. Ha ha ha)

The thing is, it’s actually become “cool” to be a geek –before, “geek” used to be a derogatory term, the geeks have really managed to reclaim it. In reality, geeks are EVERYWHERE. I love hanging out with geeks, because not only are they fun – I’m always learning something new from them! Where nerds can be more generic, a lot of geeks are almost like …. specialists. However, “nerd” is still seen as a derogatory thing, and I think a lot of people tend to be closeted nerds. You just don’t see the proud declarations of nerdness that you do from the geek crowd.

In a galaxy far far away..........

Most people I've met know that I've been a geek all my life (and I'm proud to say that). Knowing this, they continue to become friends with me. Ha ha ha. No, actually, a lot of people say that me being a geek is quite fun. So, thanks to everyone who has let me become part of their lives. This is kind of like a tribute to you. It's symbolic, okay? Ha ha ha. Seriously. I think of the characters in this cute video I found as the people I've met - characters I will never forget.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF_3Hyb6IfU&feature=player_embedded]

Tis' the season to....... go hi-tech?

Hey, you. Yes, you. Have you seen my site yet? You should check it out.

In recent years, Christmas has changed. It's practically lost its meaning to people. Instead of it being the time to celebrate Christ's birth, it has been replaced by the notion that it is time to buy expensive gifts, go on extravagant vacations, and to stuff our mouths with lots of delicious food. As we get older, the image of its sanctity in the Christian tradition fades away and our celebrations more exaggerated
The holiday season just isn’t the same anymore. Is it because of the non-stop rings and beeps that we get from our phones every two seconds that’s keeping us from spending more time with our families? Everyone has a phone nowadays, even elementary school kids (Which I don’t really understand. Who are they texting? Their parents? Seriously, who? Why are little kids in our time Facebooking and YMing? I didn’t even understand this whole technology stuff until I started high school.)
If they aren’t texting and making hour-long phone calls, chances are they’re listening to their iPods, mp3s or other gadgets. They practically enter their own little antisocial world when they tune out the rest of the room. They ignore the outside world having parties and drinking to their hearts desire as they listen to their own genre of music.
Besides that, they have their laptops, their Xboxes, Wiis, PS3s, and other toys to keep them busy in their rooms. The good thing about having these consoles is at least they can share it with their family. A little bit of new generation family bonding.
It is hard for the older generations to grasp this inconsiderate behavior. Brought up in a generation where the family worked and played together as a unit they are at a loss on how to deal with this actions during the holidays. Grandparents try to hold conversations with their grandchildren but can barely get a couple of words out before the cell phone goes off. They repeatedly ask the kids questions only to find out that the only thing they are listening to is the music on their ear phones. At a time when there is a growing distance between the young and the elderly this only deepens the gap.

“The world is your playground”

AKYAT BAHAY STYLE: PARKOUR

What do you get when you mix martial arts, gymnastics, track, and suburban ground? That’s right. PARKOUR.

Also known as "free-running”, the sport involves navigating through urban terrain and architectural obstacles. The goal of a traceur (one who does parkour) is to navigate an urban environment with as much speed and fluidity as possible. Basically you combine running with jumping on, over, or through an object; trying to combine moves into one flowing run. You can run or jump on (or off) rails, walls, steps, and basically anything that can be used as an obstacle.

Parkour originated in the Parisian suburb of Lisses, France. Sebastien Foucan, David Belle and friends were playing as all kids do. However they continued furthering their skills. Today, almost 20 years later, parkour has spread all across the globe. According to co-founder David Belle, the spirit of parkour is guided in part by the notions of "escape" and "reach", that is, the idea of using physical agility and quick thinking to get out of difficult situations, and to be able to go anywhere that one wants to.

Mostly, parkour involves drilling core techniques over and over until one is comfortable enough to combine movements. There is also emphasis on "discipline" because parkour is not a sport involving competition. It is more an activity involving you and your own boundaries, and a tight-knit community of friends.

Having just entered the Philippine radar less than a decade ago, it poses to be the next big urban-athletic trend. Even here in Baguio, you can see parkour starting to spread. There is a team/group of traceurs that practice in Burnham park and other “secret” locations, practically every Sunday, the X-Limit: Baguio Freerunners."Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move," as found on their webpage on Facebook. I think it’s quite inspiring that although they practice a discipline that is not quite known yet, they aim to spread knowledge about this budding sport.

And I still don't understand....

Those who know me personally know that I am quite a techie - I love my gadgets and I like being up-to-date on the latest stuff out there - and I try to learn about a lot of things computer-related. So far, I've learned how to use Adobe Photoshop, a little bit of Flash, Illustrator, and recently (thanks to Ms. Samantha Degay) I've tried dabbing in Paint Tool SAI. On the technical side, I've learned how to arrange a UTP cable, how to assemble a CPU (oh, my CAL ICT compeptiton memories, ha ha ha) and quite a bit more.

Recently, I've been told that I am a rose among the thorns in this field. I don't understand this. It it so rare to find a woman lugging around a toolbox? Or checking out a pair of wicked drives instead of cute accessories? To my disappointment, I saw mostly guys at a recent IT-related competition. In our team, there were three girls and one guy (Marianne Domalanta, Sam Degay, Jerricko Mabanta and I) and it kinda showed that girls are just as good, and sometimes even better, in these competitions. But as I looked around the hall where we were to stay, I saw mostly men. Of course, this was the norm, but I was hoping that there would be more girls there. It's a modern world, right? (Well, as modern as it can get here in the country.) Why are girls such a rarity in IT events?

I've done some looking into results of a few IT competitions in the country, and to no surprise, I saw mostly guy's names (unless masculine names are trending, which I really doubt). I was slightly disappointed, but somehow this gave me a bit of hope. Before, the field was dominated b guys, but now, at least there are more girls joining in. Hopefully "girl-power" will take over. Someday.

Take a trip down memory lane.

I asked my classmates about what they put in their photo blogs. They all said that they put something about SLU - its history, the campuses, etc. Well, I want to be different. Although my blog post isn't exactly related to the description given to us (Sir Tabor basically told us to make a photo blog for SLU), I think it would be okay to blog about the people I've met and the memories I've shared with my SLU family.

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I want to start off with my club-mates. Because SLU offers clubs and groups you can join in, have had the chance to make friends with other students, whether they be older or younger than me.





I like being a part of the clubs offered, like the THE (Technology and Home Economics) club, GSP (Girl Scouts of the Philippines), and much more. They hold activities often which give us chances to be social with others, and also to improve ourselves in a certain field.

upper: GSP Cook-Out held last Oct. 2, 2010.
lower: THE Club Grotto clean-up last October 9, 2010



Second, my previous classmates who've become good friends of mine. Being in the Science section is tough, and we never get any new classmates, which is the downside of being in a special section. That is why I try as much as possible to never loose my connections to my friends in the Regular section. Although I rarely see them nowadays due to scheduling conflicts and overloading work, I don't want to forget the times we had shared as good friends.

(right: Reeann, Karen, Michaela, and I at Abigail's house)




Third, and most of all, my 3 Mapagpakumbaba family and our honorary members (Liezel, Lianne, Joseph, Irwin, Trevor, Clarisse, Andrea S., etc). Most of us have already met each other before being combined in one section during our second year. Right now, 3Sci is mainly made up of the students from 1SciA, followed by the 1SciB kids, and lastly, the 1SciC-ers. We've all experienced what a hard job it is to stay in the Science section, being trimmed to 19 students this year. We may have a few problems sometimes, but we all work together to fix things. We don't always agree, and there is some bitterness and resentment left sometimes, but we always try to change that. How could we not? We've all been together for almost 3 years now, and we will (hopefully) be together again for our 4th year in high school.


We've had good times, bad times. Through thick and thin, we stand and put up a fight. We don't let personal matters affect how we work (most of the time), and that's why we Sci students come (usually) come out on top.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

This photo was taken at the Science and Math exhibit in the school's attic. For the whole period, we got to goof around and have fun while trying out the cool projects made by us and our schoolmates.

This one was taken in our classroom. We were spelling random words, and Lycon wanted to spell out "Totoy," an inside joke in 3Sci.

This one was taken outside the classroom, during dismissal on the day of our Sayawit presentation. The hats were part of our costume, and we were having fun with the camera.







This one was taken at Aaron's family's house after we had our project-making there. Not really effective, because since almost everyone was there, we had too much fun. I remember our group barely doing our project (luckily we were able to pass it on time)





This one was taken at Easter Gym, during the basketball semi-finals (SLU Cubs VS UC Jaguars). This is an instance of where our ex-classmates Trevor, Joseph, and Irwin hang out with us, even if they're not our classmates anymore. I think it's great that even if they're in the Regular section now, they still visit us every day.





Okay, so maybe I didn't follow the parameters of this assignment; I was supposed to make a photo blog post about SLU, and I didn't follow the instruction, but I sure had fun reminiscing about the good times we had. Sir told us to make a photoblog FOR SLU, but I think this was better. See, my logic in doing this was to talk about some fond moments I've had because of SLU, thus implying that I am really privileged to be studying in SLU, (which is celebrating its centennial soon), and making it a sort of thank you post to SLU. I don't know, maybe I'll get a low grade for this. Nonetheless, if I am to receive a bad grade, I won't complain. I like this post. I was smiling the entire time I was writing it (tired as I was). I hope to make more happy memories like these, and I'm happy I get to make them because I go to school in Saint Louis University - Laboratory High School. :D

I owe SLU a LOT.

SLU will be celebrating its centennial next year, and everyone's excited about it. Of course, because so far, it's the biggest milestone our school has ever achieved. It's not every day that something is commemorated for surviving a hundred years (unless there's an international centennial commission of some sort).

After studying in SLU for about more than 7 years now (since second grade), I can confirm that SLU truly is a good school. No, wait, scratch that. Saint Louis University is a GREAT school. I am proud to be a Louisian, I am proud to wear my uniform, and (although many people don't) I always have my ID with me. I really love SLU, and I will never forget my fond memories of this admirable institution.

We were tasked to write a blog post about our gift to SLU. I could think of a few things, like prayers, or help in their outreach programs, or a poster to display somewhere on campus (here I go again, wanna-be artist), maybe a video about how much we love SLU. I've been thinking.... A class project, maybe. A video montage showing us students asking random people what they think of SLU. We should do it sometime! :D

With the amount of time given for this assignment, it won't be possible to do some of the things listed above. Maybe, if I had the chance, I would try to accomplish something for SLU. But then I was thinking-- Wouldn't excelling in my studies count as my gift to SLU? If I do well in my studies, well enough to get recognition, wouldn't that put SLU's name out there? I owe my stellar grades to the countless teachers who've molded me into what I am today. Without the guidance of our amazing teachers, we would get nowhere. "Kung 'di ka mag-aral, may maaatupag ka ba?" This is what my relatives always remind me of. I know, I know. Without school, I will end up nowhere. And right now, I'm not exactly where I want to be, but I'm slowly getting there. That is why I owe SLU so much.

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Coming from Christian school all of her short life, I would like to present an extremely short prayer/poem as my gift to SLU on it's centennial.


Saint Louis University is the Light of The North
Excellent students it brings forth
With the help and guidance of Father all powerful,
SLU has become a wonderful school

Almighty Father whose words are full of greatness
We thank you for our school's success
Thank You for the love during the hundred years,
We hope to bring the Louisian to new frontiers


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Now, I know what you're thinking, "Yan lang? Bakit ang ikli?" Fear not, dear readers, I have a whole lifetime to show how much SLU has made an impact on my life, short as it is. As much as I loved being an elementary school student (you know, running around and stuff), I would have been a different person had I gone to another school. All the people who've met me know that I'm very "patriotic" to my school, and that I am very proud of it. SLU is my paradise, and I love my school. It doesn't matter whether I'm top of the class or even bottom of the heap, I'm simply happy that I can stay in such a great learning institution.

I love my LHS

Baguio celebrated its centennial on the 1st of September, and guess what? Saint Louis University will be celebrating its centennial in 2011. So, happy 100th, SLU.

SLU has come a long way, and the entire of next year, including this December, will be spent commemorating the impact SLU has had on Baguio City, Northern Luzon, and the rest of the country.

In 1907, CICM Missionaries arrived in the Philippines, and they saw that the Cordilleras has not been penetrated by the Spaniards spreading Christianity at the time.

SLU had humble beginnings. It was started in 1911 by Rev Fr Séraphin Devesse, CICM, as a one-room catechism school for less than a dozen local boys. Four years after Fr Devesse started the school, intermediate grades and a trade school were started, and six years after that, the high school division was inaugurated; this was Saint Louis School.

On May 13 1963, SLS was conferred University status by the Philippine Government, which later grew to be the Light of the North we all know and love. SLU is considered as one of the most excellent educational institutions in the Philippines, because of this, it has been called the center of education north of Metro Manila.

Saint Louis University is celebrating it's centennial next year, so let's party! :D

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SLU-LHS is my home, my paradise. I've been a "Louisian" ever since my family moved here in 2003 from Tarlac City, Tarlac and enrolled me in Saint Louis University - Laboratory Elementary School. I was a generally mediocre student, nothing special; but being a student in one of the most prestigious schools in the region made me feel special. Lousians are known to be competent, socially involved, creative, and Christian-spirited -- and that's right. We Louisians are competent; we come out on top in national and international competitions. We're socially involved; we have community outreach programs. We're creative; we show off our talents and color up our school. And we're Christian-spirited, we true Christians, we believe in God.

I love my school. I love the campus (even if we encounter dog/cat crap every once in a while in the hallways). I love the teachers (even if there are some teachers who are, well, not-so-lenient). I love all the events that transpire in my school (from the Intrams, to prom, to the Christmas Cantata). Everything about my school is great. Albeit we do no have the best of the best - we're not as high-tech as some schools in the country - we still produce dome of the brightest kids out there. Look, if you want your kid to be successful in life, send him to SLU-LHS. Seriously. I'm not bluffing or anything. I'm not over-selling SLU to you guys, but really, it is the best out there. (I'm starting to sound like some kind of salesman or something. Let's move on.)

They say high school is the best years of our lives, and I think they, whoever "they" are, are right. As Charles Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." I think this is a very fitting description/overview of what high school is like. It is indeed the best of times, where you make more friends, develop your talents, make it big, improve yourself, and let the raging hormones take over and all in love. It is also the worst of times, where we experience tons and tons of homework, are pressured to excel, experience pain and heartbreak, and so much more.

I’ve only been a high school student for less than three years now, and I can confidently say that these times are going to stay in my memories forever. I’ve made new friends (however hard a task that was for me), I’ve learned new things about myself, and I’ve fallen in love. Ha ha ha ha. I love being in high school, and being in Saint Louis University – Laboratory High School has made all the difference.