Forty Days: Day 34

Not even a year ago (March 26, 2009), I was walking down this school hallway in Ovada, still lost and confused. I was about to graduate then from my 4-year BS Pharmacy course in my university in Manila. We just took a visit in Ovada to take a look at the school and consider the chances of me studying here for yet another year. I never really wanted to study here. What I wanted at that time was to go straight to the U.S. or stay in the country and take up Medicine. Studying in Ovada was so out of the plan. Now, as I’m walking down this hallway again, no longer am I lost or confused. I’m just so confident and thankful that I made the right decisions. Thanks to Dean Eva, the gates are open. Everything’s up to me now.

***

Meet Auie, the Red Doggie!

Auie, the Red Doggie!

Because we’re already flying back home tomorrow, Goldie gave Audrey and me a farewell gift. To Audrey, she gave little Breadou, and to me, she gave a red stuffed doggie which from now on I will call Auie!

***

Have I really been kind? Last week, Ate Inday told me that because I’m the kindest tenant in the dorm, the landlady won’t anymore charge Mommy a transient fee. Now she won’t let me pay the electricity!

Forty Days: Day 31

Kimmy introduced me to Ian Choe’s music. Ian Choe is a Korean residing in Massachussetts, and is a friend of 2PM’s Nichkhun. Let’s welcome him to YouTube by watching his very first video:

***

I used to think that Goldie is happy because she’s got almost everything a person could dream for: money, parents who are doctors, a big house, iPhone, credit card, etc. But I was wrong. She said that all of these, she doesn’t really want. What she really wants is to be best at something so that people won’t compare her with others anymore. Her parents always compare her with her brother who’s always a dean’s lister, and the college org which she handled before always compares her with the new president who managed to grab them an award for community service—one thing Goldie failed to do during her term.

During a lunch date at McDonald’s with Kpop Lover and Audrey last week, we talked about our dreams and the means on how to achieve them. We also talked about our sad issues and who may be the saddest person in our dorm.

I thought of all of my dormmates and realized that each of them is sad in one way or another. Veronica is sad because she’s not close with her parents and as a result, can’t open up her feelings to them. Goldie is sad because she’s always being compared with her siblings and orgmates. Unni is sad because there are a lot of things to do and too little time on her hands. Kpop Lover is sad because her mom expects her to watch over her little brother and take responsibility for their pharmacy. Audrey is sad because she still doesn’t have a US visa. Jobie is sad because she’s leaving for the States on July and will have to leave her non-US-citizen mom behind. Ruffa and Gretchen are still a mystery to me but I think they’re sad too.

While I was sweeping the floor just moments ago, I thought all those things over, and realized that even though I’m not rich like most of them, I may actually be the happiest person in the dorm.

***

Kpop Lover flew to Manila tonight. Tomorrow, she and her family will be flying not to Korea but to Thailand.

Forty Days: Day 27

Just got home from Magsaysay Avenue with Kpop Lover, Audrey, Goldie and Nathan. We had durian, and gosh! It was awesome!!! The D101 variety, to be specific! Pair it with Coke, they say. (Sorry, I don’t drink softdrinks, but even so, durian was really yummy!)

Durian with Coke

Tonight was great. We had dinner at Pard’s, took pictures at People’s Park, and ate durian. These may just be ordinary for others. But for me, tonight was great because I got to spend it with great people.

BTW, I read some articles about durian and learned that it contains a lot of tryptophan, which is a precursor of serotonin, the happy hormone. So in other words, durian makes a person happy.

Dreams Update: JANUARY 2010

Today, I still want to become a doctor (either an MD or a PharmD) and become a young millionaire. As much as possible, I want health and money to be the least of my problems. I also like the idea of having my own family in the future, but before that, I want to become really rich that I can travel the whole world and afford a ticket to every concert I’d like to attend.

While listening to Audrey and Kpop Lover’s conversation about Goldie’s parents last January 5, I suddenly came up with a very good reason on why I should become a doctor: It’s because I want to give my future children a good life, just like what Goldie has now.

I wish that I’d still be young by the time I became rich so I’d still have more time and strength to do anything I wanted to do with my life—take piano, violin and guitar lessons, learn different Asian languages, take my Mom and brother to Paris, build my own restaurant, donate a laboratory to my former school, establish my own scholarship foundation, et cetera.

To sum things up, my dreams for today all talk about money. Money, money, and more money. Money may not be the most important thing in the world, but it definitely affects the most important things in the world, just as a famous Filipino preacher had said.

Dear Goldie

December 18, 2009 (20:38)

Dear Goldie,

You’re one of the sweetest persons I know. Hope you’ll never change. I’m really grateful that we crossed paths again in Ovada since we were never close way back in college. Thanks for being so nice to me. I was really touched when you came into our room one night just to share your dream (about “him”) with me.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Friends forever!

Love,

The Silent Spectator

PS: I’m sure you’ll receive a greeting from “him” this Christmas! And I’m looking forward to visiting your blog soon! ☺

5 Things

It seems that in a 10-hour shift, the last hour is always the longest because by then you would only stare at your watch and wait ’till it’s time to go. That was exactly what Derrick, Goldie and I would have done if we hadn’t passed by Kpop Lover’s ward and saw what she and her partner were doing. They were writing something on a piece of paper. They were making a list of “5 Things” (5 things I want for Christmas, 5 traits I look for in a man, etc.).

Sounds interesting! Next moment, Derrick, Goldie and I were already in our separate wards, writing our own lists. Here’s mine:

5 things I want for Christmas
1)      a new diary
2)      peace of mind and heart
3)      happy time with family
4)      be able to play “Wedding Dress” on piano
5)      finish the Shargel book

5 dream careers
1)      medical doctor
2)      pianist and composer
3)      playwright
4)      secret agent
5)      professional blogger or editor of a magazine

5 places I want to go to
1)      South Korea
2)      Paris
3)      Vatican City
4)      Japan (just in time for cherry blossoms)
5)      Greece

5 traits I’d like my future spouse to have (I had a hard time thinking about this)
1)      God-fearing
2)      supportive
3)      understanding
4)      Kyuhyun-like (serious but funny, innocent but playful, child-like but mature)
5)      someone who loves me just because

And here’s Derrick’s list! (Note: All side comments are his.)
5 things I want for Christmas
1)      (name of a girl)
2)      PS3
3)      iTouch with ePocrates
4)      basketball jersey – KD35
5)      fiesta ham – craving!!!

5 dream careers
He didn’t make one.

5 places I want to go to
1)      My province – I wanna go home!
2)      Isla Reta – bring back the memories!
3)      America – NBA galore!
4)      Kota Kinabalu – with my chick!
5)      New Zealand – I will raise cows!

5 traits I’d like my future spouse to have (He actually wrote 6!)
1)      someone who would love me for who I am
2)      patient – because I’m naughty
3)      NBSB – because I’m an NGSB
4)      listener – because I’m a talker
5)      simple – sophisticated persons are hard to deal with
6)      appreciative – someone who would appreciate all my effort

Too bad, I forgot to ask for Goldie’s list. Anyway, I can still remember one of the 5 things she wants for Christmas—a greeting from him.

Grass

After class, Kpop Lover, Audrey, Goldie, and I had lunch together at a Vietnamese restaurant. The menu was a bit expensive, I must admit, but I thought that it’s also good to try something new once in a while. Before that, I have eaten in a Vietnamese restaurant only once. That was way back in San Francisco two years ago. All I can remember from that day was me and my mom and my uncle sipping from a bowl of noodle soup topped with a lot of what looked like strips of cabbage or lettuce. Until now, I have no idea what exactly those strips were, but I do remember that my uncle called them “grass.”

Mi Tom Thit

Audrey and I ordered a bowl of Mi Tom Thit (noodle soup with egg, shrimp, squid, etc.) and a plate of Com Tay Cam Ga (rice topped with chicken and greens). We noticed that Vietnamese food has a lot of greens. “Tastes like grass,” Audrey said. Kpop Lover and Goldie ordered a bowl of Bun Bo Xao (cold noodles with beef and a lot of grass greens), and another order of Com Tay Cam Ga.

Bun Bo Xao

When the waiter served Kpop Lover and Goldie’s Bun Bo Xao, we were like “Wow… that looks so delicious!” They really looked so yummy that Audrey and I kind of regretted having ordered Mi Tom Thit. Anyway, when our noodle soup was served, it looked good nonetheless (but the Bun Bo Xao still looked a lot yummier T_T). When I took a sip of our Mi Tom Thit, it tasted good somehow. But there was something different with it. “Tastes weird. Tastes like…chlorox!!!” Audrey said. We tried to squeeze in a little calamansi to improve the taste, but then it only tasted like chlorox with calamansi scent.

Com Tay Cam Ga

On the other hand, Goldie and Kpop Lover’s Bun Bo Xao was awesome. I loved it! We all did. If ever I would eat at that Vietnamese restaurant again, I would definitely have a bowl of Bun Bo Xao. The delicious taste of beef and strips of grass lettuce complemented with the “plainness” of the cold noodles very well. My taste buds were greatly satisfied. Our rice topping, Com Tay Cam Ga, was also good. I think I ate more than half of it when Audrey and I were actually supposed to share. Sorry, Audrey. (peace)

Also, after reading the names of the other dishes on their menu, I learned that Mi means “egg,” and Bo means “beef.” In the menu, above Mi Tom Thit was another dish which also had a Mi in its name. I read both of their ingredients and noticed that the only thing they had in common was egg, so Mi must definitely mean “egg.” Same with Bun Bo Xao, I also found another dish with Bo in its name and the only ingredient they had in common was beef. Ergo, Bo=beef! Amazing?