Cagayan and Camiguin: Day 3

On our last day in CDO, we were scheduled to do white water rafting. We waited in the lobby of Mallbery Suites for a long time because my two little brothers took a long time to fetch us. We then went to Divisoria in downtown Cagayan de Oro to ride the jeepney that would take us to the rafting site.

For three hours, we had fun screaming, laughing and paddling through the numerous rapids. The water in the river looks murky. But it's not that bad. It is just colored brown because of the rain the night before.

After we took a shower, we visited a water treatment facility together with Den's dad. It was enormous! That night we had dinnner at Ramen Tei in Limketkai Center together with my family and Den's dad.

Cagayan and Camiguin: Day 2

On our second day, we woke up early to go to the famous White Island. Den's titos were kind enough to arrange everything for us. They even picked us up from our hotel. We settled in our makeshift tent, which was for rent for only Php 10. 

After two awesome hours in the pristine White Island, we took our banca back to the main island. We took a shower in the hotel and quickly packed our things afterwards because we had to catch our ferry back to Cagayan de Oro. Upon arriving in the pier of Balingoan, we had a late lunch at a seaside restaurant.

Cagayan and Camiguin Adventure

Last August 9 to 11, my friends and I went to my hometown, Cagayan de Oro, for a short weekend getaway. We were dropped off by Den's dad at the airport before sunrise. We got to CDO around 8:00am. My parents were excitedly waiting for us at the arrival area. We were then whisked to Sunburst for a sumptuous breakfast buffet.

After breakfast, we took our car for a two-hour drive to Balingoan Port. From there, we rode a ferry to Camiguin Island. The last time I was in the island was way back in 1998 for my 9th birthday so I was pretty excited to go back and see the new developments in this tiny island. Upon our arrival, we were met by a driver from our hotel. At the same time, two of Den's titos met us at the pier and invited us to have lunch at a seaside restaurant just nearby. We feasted on seafood for lunch. It was so damn good! A funny moment took place during lunch. Den's titos suggested we order buko juice because it is very fresh daw. I didn't think it was literally that fresh until I saw the waiter who took our order climb up a coconut tree. Haha! 

After lunch, we parted ways with Den's titos and checked in to our hotel, Bahay Bakasyunan. We settled in our small room and then changed into our swim clothes to prepare for our island tour. First stop: Katibawasan Falls. We enjoyed swimming in the 250-feet high waterfalls. Next stop: Sto. Nino Cold Springs. We got lucky because we had the place to ourselves. Third stop: Soda Pool. We didn't spend so much time here because there is nothing fancy about this place.

Fourth stop: Sunken Cemetery. We were lucky to catch the beautiful sunset upon arriving here. I will certainly miss this spectacular view when I leave for my semester abroad. Fifth stop: Old Volcano Walkway. It was already dark when we got here so we didn't have the chance to walk up the 14 stations of the cross. Last stop: Ardent Hot Springs. It was very relaxing to finish our island tour here. We stayed until 8:00pm. Back in our hotel, we enjoyed a nice dinner and had our last swim in the pool.

JTA Sem is Over

JTA Sem is finally over! Thank you to Mark for documenting most of the nakakaloka and momentous events throughout this crazy semester. While waiting for our Marketing oral defense outside the SOM office building, stress was still all over our faces.

After our successful oral defense, we went to Matteo Ricci Study Hall and celebrated over a box of pizza from Yellow Cab! After lunch, the guys suggested we play guitar hero just in front of Ateneo. I was so tired, but I nevertheless joined the group because everybody was in a celebratory mood!

Bleeding Love

Almost There

The end is near. Not the end of the world silly! But the end of JTA semester. Yahooo! In two weeks time, all these shall be over---the stress, intrigues and chaos! This semester taught me one very important lesson: looks can be very deceiving. For instance, the sweetest girl in class can be the most horrible freeloader or rudest scandalmonger! Oh my gosh, I hope this is just a bad dream.

Stress Mates

Lately, all I have been dwelling on is STRESS!!! Here are my dearest stress mates: 

1. JUNKFOOD. Hence, the weight gain. 10 pounds and counting...Shit!!!
2. COFFEE. I average about 2 to 3 cups a day. Hence, the hyperacidity. Burp!!!

3. FRIENDS. My friends and I were consulting to Sir Pilar about our paper in this picture! Look at the blackboard behind our professor...numbers everywhere!!! OMG!!!

Bangkok: A Quick Break

Last June 5 to 9, my siblings and I (minus our youngest brother) had a quick vacation in Bangkok, Thailand. I was a bit hesitant to join the trip because I had to be absent from school for 3 days. But I decided to push through because the trip was my sister's treat. Plus, it's my first out-of-the-country trip together with my siblings without our parents. We were very excited to visit Bangkok once again after six long years!

Our first itinerary was to visit Dream World, a classical fantasy-land, complete with miniature versions of legendary sites and modern amusements.

The park is divided into four main areas: Dream World Plaza, Dream Garden, Fantasy Land and Adventure Land. My favorite area in the park was Snow Town. Lots of activities were in store for us like sleigh riding, snowman making, and tubing. It was crazy cold but crazy fun too!

During our remaining days in Bangkok, all we did was go shopping! We went to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market, considered as the largest in Thailand. My sister and I came up with an idea to start our own online business! We bought several tops and dresses, which we plan to sell through Multiply, a social networking site. Check out our online store, Chinky Closet, for more items.

Another highlight of our trip was watching the Calypso Cabaret Show at Asia Hotel Bangkok. Prior to the show, we also enjoyed a sumptuous dinner buffet at the same hotel. 

I'm Drowning

Help! I'm drowning in STRESS!

First, my crazy four-hour FINANCE class every Saturday is definitely a weekend killer! All the problem solving is eating up my brain cells!!! I've always been fond of Math or any subject that deals with numbers, but I can't stand 4 straight hours of this class starting as early as 8:00am every Saturday!

Moving on, I used to think that MARKETING is a breeze. But with a terror teacher like ours, I'm not sure if I still feel the same way. My groupmates and I are currently doing a marketing plan for Magnolia Chocolait and we haven't got a decent grade ever since the start of the semester.

The most adorable professor this semester is definitely Sir Pilar, our professor in our OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT class. Our lessons in OpMan are not really difficult but they are tedious, usually involving very long solutions. Plus, it also has a written component like Marketing. So every other week, there is always a paper due for us, alternating between Marketing and OpMan! Torture!!!

This semester, I promised myself that I would make an effort to learn about MULTIMEDIA like Photoshop and Flash. But as much as I try to read my notes and listen to our professor, I still don't get it. Poor me.

Lastly, we are taking PHILOSOPHY this semester, the first out of the four required Philosophy classes before graduation. I hate how abstract the readings for this subject seem to be. Oh thesis statements, please give me a break!!!

Sisig Hooray

I celebrated my 19th birthday at Sisig Hooray along Katipunan Avenue this evening. It was nothing special. I was just with a bunch of friends whom I randomly invited while I was on my way back to my dormitory today. The JTA semester has been so stressful since it started last month; hence, I no longer bothered to make plans for my birthday. This was really an impromptu celebration!