PERFECTION

Change Is Happening

2008-12-27T00:42:00.000-08:00

According to the website, this is my 260th blog entry in this forgotten website and while that doesn't require any celebration, it's a cool fact. I've taken this blogsite in another direction, with other social network sites being more public and more well-known. While I've posted some things on those websites, they do not entirely define what yours truly is made of (I will no longer post my name to avoid being Googled). I am back to being the king! Here in this site, I will relay thoughts and opinions that are quite intimate and downright opposite the facade that I usually show these days. There's only so much that maturity and personal growth can take you, but when you lean on the art of writing, it can be your personal haven. This may be some dumb rip-off of One Tree Hill, but nevertheless, it's quite helpful. Yes, having your personal life plastered in the internet can be okay, as long as you have a bit of privacy.

The last time I wrote something here was last May. That time, I was just a regular student trying to finish his studies, preparing for the next part of my life, and somewhat living a decent life. As of right now, I've just finished with my studies and just using the holidays as a relaxation period before plunging into the world of work. In short, I'm currently a bum. Hopefully, I'll get a good job by next year. So to all business companies out there, give me a holler. ;)

As of yesterday, I was ready for the "real" world next year. Why? Because despite of how the world has been this year, I'm actually doing okay. I have a proper education with no disciplinary precautions to take note of. By the grace of God, my family is doing well both financially and emotionally, which I am lucky. I have friends who were raised well and whom I can trust, except when money is at stake. Joke. Most importantly, I am ready, or so I thought. After all, I display a decent work ethic, a nimble and logical mind, a tough skin, and what a wrestler in WWE would call an indestructible soul. Heck, I've also been active in organizations in school, I have talent in writing and I'm pretty cultured as well. To the naked eye, that's a ready person. But what's wrong? Well, it's funny how a pointless website like Facebook can give you a harsh dose of reality. If you watched the movie Transformers, which is one of the coolest movies ever, notice the part when the soldiers in the city were about to fight Blackout (the helicopter of the Decepticons). What one of the soldiers said was that the weak part of the robots was the chest. That applies also to yours truly.

While it's quite evident that my pectoral muscles aren't ripped or hard, what's worse is what it covers, and I don't mean the rib cage. We can all agree that as young adults, we live somewhat of a busy life, whether it's school or at work. But when we get home and we look at ourselves at the mirror, that little amount of time can be beneficial in seeing what we are made of. When I look at myself, I could barely see a heart. It's not that I don't have a passion in life, nor I am a cold guy, it's just that I cannot forget or ignore things that I should. Somehow, I can't accept change well for the days of yesterday were somewhat great and a safe zone to myself. I try so hard to bring back the days of the past, to the point that I hold back and refuse what's been given in front of me. I am haunted by past experiences, past failures, past hardships. What I do to battle these things is well, the good things in the past. I prefer going to the movies because that's what me and my friends would regularly do when we were young. I enjoy 90's music more because they remind me of my childhood. And yes, the same applies to my personal life. This has to stop now and I can't believe some damn website gave me a reality check.

For next year, the king will no longer hold back. The king will accept change gracefully, as if the past never happened. This is a different ballgame, a different mindset. When I can't find the answers to my previous questions, I'll just change what I'm gonna ask. This is a second chance for Joppy V., a second coming. Things will be different, I gurantee it. PEACE! - rJv

Empty

2008-05-19T01:21:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that the last time I wrote "something", it was a long, long time ago. What I mean by that is that that's the last time I wrote something meaningful, which both I felt my mind and my heart wanted to say. Perhaps my pride wouldn't let me admit, but I feel no longer inspired to make a meaningful paragraph, let alone a blog entry. In fact, just ask the people in our Batch Assembly about it, with their constant heckling and reminding for me to finish the article, which I didn't. Sorry guys.=p I don't know, especially here in my blog, I feel restricted to write something, in fear of getting a bad reaction and unneeded doses of controversies from society. I guess society isn't ready yet to hear what's on my mind. That realization came to me a few years ago, which is a result of my bland story telling about my uninteresting life. Maybe someday, I'll be able to regain my bravado and swagger as the wizard of words and the king of the blogs, but for now, my life is currently in cruise control as my years as a teenager rapidly dwindle away. And yes, I still won't use Multiply as a blog.

If you readers noticed, it's summer time. Kinda. It's gonna end in a few days for me so I'm pretty much gonna hit the books for the final academic time this upcoming term. To some, that's a bummer, but for me, it's a relief. For me, this summer vacation is miles away as fun as my previous breaks. Though I've had a couple breaks in which majority of the days sucked, there was at least one or two moments of that break in which you would remember your summer vacation because of that. Like last summer, my summer sucked but because of our trip to Boracay, that summer was pretty memorable. I'll probably gonna go down in history as the only college student who went to Boracay who had fun without drinking a lot. In fact, I only drank a cup of the blue alcoholic thing and that's that. As for this summer, there's no memorable moment like that. I guess the most memorable time this summer is when me and the Ayala Boys went on a "spontanious" trip to Tagaytay last Saturday after a movie and a bottle of beer.=) Arriving at 5:30 in the morning, that is one experience that I'll always look back and my mother will freak out if she found out that we went there without her permission. Finally, for me, I've had the happiest memories that even the most painful ones. And being stuck at home doesn't help either since the mind still ticks and if it isn't active, it tends to remember parts in life that you want to forget and get over. So here's to next summer that it will be a fun one despite me being a graduate and having to get a job. Yeahboi. ;)

Because I didn't do much this summer, my television has been having a workout with me since I've spent countless hours on the boob tube watching the stupidest events. I've watched how the Orlando Magic squabble a potential winnable game to a boring, washed out team whose point guard was injured and was led by an inexperienced rookie named Rodney Stuckey. In one of my favorite addictions this summer, which is American Idol, I've been a witness to one of the lamest renditions of a good song originally sung by Chris Brown, courtesy of David Archuleta. While I'm rooting for David Cook in the finals, I must admit, the other David is a pretty good singer, despite his mumbly, goody-goody, doubtful if he's gay personality. However, that was the lamest cover and good thing he has talent or that would've been it for him. Finally, as one my guiltiest and probably the worst guilty pleasures this summer, when I have nothing to do at night, I pondered upon following the teen edition of PBB. If you ask me, ABS-CBN dropped the ball in making the show more profitable than it is right now, with an annoying host (Mariel Rodriguez should be completely banned from entering the PBB house speaking to anyone related to PBB personally), lame new concepts (having guardians kills the suspense), and cry baby contestants for it's quite clear this year's batch are very immature for their age and they didn't think of the consequences before entering. And what's stupid about this season? Despite the whiny contestants who didn't notice that that they had a once-in-a-million chance to earn a lot of money, fame and a better life for their family and instead opted to give up, I'll give the award to the flirtatious dude who has (well, HAD) a girlfriend upon entering the house and studies in the rival school of my high school. I'm not hating on him because he studies in the green, but because he gives love and manhood a bad name. Had he used his mind to think rather than his dick, he would've lasted longer than he did and he would've saved his ex from all the emotional burden that she'll be facing, as soon as the "other" girl leaves the house. This dude is as egotistical, as he is transparent. He obviously wants to be famous so what does he do? He goes to a show that gurantees fame to its cast and what's next? Seeing as the public digs love teams, he goes for the prettiest girl in the house, neglecting everything in his life outside the house. Upon eviction, he goes to The Buzz (another guilty pleasure) and explains that he couldn't control his emotions and that is why romance happened. He uses his suave and acclaimed fame and at the end, he washed his hands from the wrongness in the world and ended up looking like a nice guy. A real classy dude I might say. Anyhow, it's a show, it's a business and it's a way to take an hour off each day of my boring summer.=)

I can't believe I talked about that type of sh*t in my blog. Anyway, I'll try to find something to do here in my house. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Politics, Can't Live Without It

2008-03-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone. Yours truly is currently is bored, ignored, tired and unfocused. It's been a rough week and well, I could really use a bit of relaxation. My grades are taking a dip and ironically, I expected that to happen. It's campaign time again and well, that's one of the disadvantages in being active in such things. It was my choice to choose this kind of life again and I guess I have to accept the consequences if there are any. All I know is that I'm glad I have something good to fight for.

As you all know, I am a loyal member of Santugon, a political party in DLSU. Now, many would think that politics and yours truly aren't exactly a match made in heaven. I thought of the same way too before. Eventually, I did enjoy the thrill of campaigns and RTRs and I realized the value of having a non-partisan political perspective. Honestly, I was tempted to write something in Multiply since almost everyone has done that for the last few days. However, if ever I wanted to write my thoughts on politics, I wanted to do it in a comfortable environment, which is my blog. Now, I am a different type of Santugon member, in that I don't follow the abbreviated values which are written in their brochures and SPOAs. Instead, I rely on telling things of as they are. Brochures can't tell me what I see. And for three years, I've sticked with Santugon because of one thing: family values. I firmly believe that society can be more effective and efficient if there is a sense of unity and friendship among the members, and not a governmental hierarchy. That is how my batch won Best Batch Assembly last year. While I haven't ran ever for any position and I don't have a big position in Santugon, I continue to support Santugon because it has given me more that I could every repay it. Trust me, right now, I could've refused to help out now since I don't have a lot to gain. But I know fighting for your beliefs doesn't end when you don't benefit from it anymore. Some people will find it silly that I still lend a hand, but hey, unlike a lot of people, I chose to do something that would not do me any good, but would benefit other people when I'm gone.

For my batch, please vote for Steph Yu, Gillian Flores, Tere Pangilinan and Jean Alaba. For our College Assembly President, vote Charm Tan. As for the Executive Board, please vote for Nadia Ong, Jessa Rena, Christine Lacson, Sars Santos, Aimee Chua and Agnes De Castro.

The hardest part sometimes in campaigns is when your candidates are against one of your close friends and this year turns out to be that moment for me. For me, politics and friendship are like water and oil for me, so I have no trouble voting against my friend. Why? Because I don't need to prove my friendship by voting for him. It's just like basketball: if you're my friend and you're my opponent, I'm not gonna let you win. If you're my friend, you're running against my candidates and I don't think you should win, then that's simple for me: I won't vote for you. If you don't like it, tough luck. That doesn't mean that you're not my friend, it just means I think you won't make a good Batch Representative. Oops, I think I gave too much information there. My criteria for friendship isn't all that high. However, my criteria for politics is the opposite. I want a batch representative who is competent, has experience in the work and has the same beliefs as mine. I don't want someone who runs just because someone forces him to do so. I don't want someone who banks on getting votes by his popularity. That's just plain cheap politics. But hey, that's why Erap became our country's president. If I'm getting a bit too informative with what I'm writing right now, I would gladly entertain questions.

Anyway, it's getting late so I better sleep. Once again, DERECHO SANTUGON! PEACE!-rJv

2 Cents And Extra Change

2008-02-25T04:17:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to study for my midterms in my Service Marketing class but infortunately, I suddenly had a slight case of writer's adrenaline. Sure, a marketing communication mix is nice to study, but my urge to drop some extra statements following my previous entry overcame my need to hit the books (or handouts in my case). Now all of a sudden, this page's life has once again been revived, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess we'll see in the future of what the outcome is.

Pertaining to the topic I talked about last time, I truly believe love is a good thing, but when it's too much, it's just unbearable. What does the king mean? Well, my Joppy-holics, I'm going to tackle the subject of PDA. In my conspiring mind, there are two types of PDA. The first one is the obvious one, which is the physical type. You know it well, like holding hands in public, sometimes even making out for the whole world to see. A stimulating visual, but an improper one nonetheless. The thing is, I've already accepted this type of public affection. As conservative as I am, I've already understood that society isn't as prim and proper as it was during the old times. We're heading towards a more liberating type of social community and while it's odd to me, I guess it's normal to the present world. However, what creeps me more is the second type of PDA. People won't consider it as PDA but I'll call it what it is. This is the less physical type of PDA and more of the verbal type. You know, the ones you see in Multiply, Friendster, YM, and other means of social communication. Some of which are blog entries confessing about their love for a certain someone and letting the whole world read about it, that type of sh*t. It's cute and all, but not my cup of tea. It's quite funny when you see strangers do it, it's a bit weird if your close friends do it, and its just downright uncomfortable when the people close to you like your siblings and ex-girlfriends do it. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that type of stuff. In fact, I'm sure God would rather see that than the frequent headlines all over the world talking about war, death, poverty and malice. To this all-Atenean reject, stuff like that just makes me queezy. Again, it's just another opinion. ;)

Let's move on to another worthless topic. Yesterday, while I was watching The Buzz (yes, i watch that show), Mariel Rodriguez was interviewed. Before, I would react normally. Now, after Pinoy Big Brother, I can no longer stand her exaggerated and plastic attitude that makes me wanna get a gun and shoot myself, everytime I hear her annoying voice. It's a shame since before, she had a better image, since she has that intelectual beauty and vibrant aura. Now, I just can't stand her. That is the results of overexposure. This thought is nothing of great importance, but I just want to vent out my hatred for an annoying TV personality.

Anyway, I better start studying since time is of the essence. Tomorrow is again the start of the week and as usual, I want to start the week right. Hopefully in the NBA, players like Caron Butler and Jermaine O'neal could play again since I'm currently getting killed in my Fantasy Leagues. Keep safe everyone. PEACE!-rJv

The Spectator

2008-02-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon my peers and colleagues of the outside world. Now, I feel that this is more of a newsletter than a blog since the last time I posted something was last month. Anyway, I'm back, I'm great, I'm sleepy and I'm on cruise control when it comes to my current life. As once a tormentor of souls in the world of blogging, I now take a backseat in that aspect of my life and just spectate the different journal entries of society, particularly in Multiply. What can I say, I tried to advertise this website but to no avail. Society prefers a product that has more than one benefit. In regard to those entries, it seems there's no more purpose for me in the world of words for there are a LOT of people who cause quite a stir with what they write! It's amazing how writing can be a unique way of letting go of such rage and anger, with the usual topic being boy-girl relationships and surprising stories of betrayal and deceit of former friends. Normally, I wouldn't post things like that if I had a girlfriend or if a friend stabs me in the back, but then again, a lot of people used to hate me for what I wrote before so I guess my opinion isn't worth anything. Nonetheless, I'm just glad I have something interesting to read when I'm browsing the Internet. To the ones who have written those things, I applaud you guys for your interesting choice of topics to write about and I mean no harm.=D

Moving on, since this is the February, we have to talk about Valentines! You see, not only is Valentines Day one of the most cheesiest, most overrated days in the calendar, it's one of the most profitable. As couples do their corny deeds, giving such expensive gifts to each other and declaring their love in such absurd manners, they're handing out a ton of money to the business world and I guess that's a good thing. Anyway, for me, spreading the love, despite overdoing in on that day, is better than spreading hate. And I must admit, I was a wee bit envious of those couples roaming around the campus that day, but all in all, that wasn't a big deal for me and I'm just glad that that week was a cheerful one. Now this is what I think of Valentines: it's just so f*cking overrated and I applaud all those businesses who earned a lot of money during February 14. They used their business savvy and took advantage of people's emotions, and as a result, they are swimming in a pool of money. Now, pardon to those couples out there who had a great Valentines despite such expenses, I just think of things differently. You see, if I were in a situation in which I am emotionally attached with someone, I wouldn't let a stupid day control what I do! I'm going to do something nice to someone mainly because I want to, not because it's traditional for me to do so. Besides that, doing something during Valentines is downright predictable! Instead of having 365 days to surprise her, you only have at the most, 24 hours. That kills the anticipation. But then again, I'm the one who's single so who am I to say such things right?=D

With that, I'm just gonna fix my lineup for tomorrow in Fantasy Basketball. I wish everyone a good day and a good night. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Long Breaks And Headaches

2008-01-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

Hello there earthlings. The king is back from the States, and I had the time of my life. My family and I first stayed in Los Angeles and then in Las Vegas. Everything I expected for my trip was fulfilled and then some. First, the cold weather was a breath of fresh air, no pun intended. If you ask me, I'd rather be stuck in a place that's really chilly than somewhere that's quite scorching hot. Of course, when we talk about the United States of America, we're talking about shopping. Unlike in the Philippines, the stores in the USA are generous ones, handing out discounts that are quite hard to resist. A Joppy fact: I do my shopping in other countries, not because I wanna be a big shot, but because it's cheaper outside the country. Finally, of course seeing my relatives there and hanging out with them was the highlight of my trip. With three families living under one roof, imagine how fun was that for me. My Tito Sonny has a kick-ass house, complete with a swimming pool, pool table and the three top consoles today, the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. We also went to a lot of places there, like the Strip, Hooters, and Magic Mountain and Universal Studios in LA. I managed to hang out also with my best friend Paje and I even got to sleep over his mansion. Spending Christmas and New Year there was quite different compared to the Philippines. It's more laid back there and well, it helps to have a big family reunion. Overall, I can't wait to go back there. I'll miss everything about my trip, especially my cousins Kyle, Ross, Jake and Alex. With me still being a minor, they were the ones whom I hung out with the most. It won't be soon before I'll be at their presence again.

After a killer (or sweet, as my cousin Kyle would usually say) trip in the US, I'm back in the real world, and the real world is school. If you're not a La Sallite, just to inform you, our scheduling is now a four-day school week. Yes people, we have the day off every Fridays. That may seem nice but it's not as cool as it seems. Classes are longer and they get boring quickly. What I hate the most is the long breaks that can take a toll on anyone. Everyday, I have a break of an average of five hours. Five hours! Based on my first week back from school, that type of break gets boring, tiring and extremely awkward. I don't even know if I can take this type of sh*t for one term. To kill the time, I need to find a hobby or at least someone to play basketball with. Somehow, I'm gonna find a good thing about this scheduling but it won't be easy.

Sometimes, I seem to forget that we're in a new year now, and there a ton of challenges awaiting for me in 2008. The obvious one is that hopefully, I'll be graduating soon. It's a thrilling feeling knowing that college will finally be over but at the same time, it's kinda scary as well. The REAL isn't as forgiving as the school world. There are no more restrictions and lifelines, and one mistake can be fatal. Papers and stress in both the mind and the heart are already tiring, what more if it's the open world? Anyway, with a new year, there's always our resolutions. Some don't even bother making one since they think they'll just break them but for the king, I will try my best to follow mine. So what's my first? Well, for 2008, I want to have stable relationships with at least most of the people I know. That way, awkward moments aren't as frequent as they are right now. My second one is to have a different approach when it comes to work. The life after college won't take laziness as well as college does so I need to work on that. Finally, I want to strengthen my faith in God. Often, during my glorious times, I seem to forget about Him. But when I falter, He is the one picks me up when I fall, and gives me strength and guidance during the hard times in my life. If 2008 becomes a good year for yours truly, it will be because of Him. So thank you God. =)

With that, I will conclude this awful entry. Take care ladies and gentlemen. PEACE!-rJv

Clear Visions

2007-12-11T03:44:00.000-08:00

Good evening avid (sarcasm) Joppy-holics. The great one has once again entered the blogging world to bring you another one of those entries that reeks of emotion, amusement and leisure. It's exam week in the world of Joppy, and my next and last exam for the term will be on Thursday. It will be for my finance class, the most boring mathematical subject in my college. At first, I thought economics was the most boring subject ever, but seeing how my professor made that subject quite fun this term, I guess finance took its throne. I should be studying right now, but seeing as though I'm currently sick and I had a bad day today, I'm gonna stick awhile here in the computer area of my house. To everyone who still has exams this week, good luck to you all.

Of course, I cannot that deny that Christmas is just around the corner. A few more days and the gifts will be piling on, the parties will start though I think the parties already started before, and the courageous will have visible eyebags when they attend the morning masses. As for me, I will spend the holidays in the United States with my relatives from my dad side. It's the first time my family will spend Christmas and New Year there and you may be wondering why we planned on doing this this year. Well basically, my dad just wanted to see some snow so I guess the USA is the most convenient place to see that since we have relatives there. Quirky as it may seem, I guess I'm down with that. As fun as it may seem, It's not the same when you're celebrating Christmas here. I may be living in a society with a corrupt government and an unpredictable weather, but nothing beats spending time with my friends and family here in the Philippines. It's just a jolly feeling being in cheerful mood hanging out with your friends and neighbors, with smiles on our faces because for at least one team in the year, we can just relax, enjoy the good times and celebrate the holidays for truly, it's a time for celebration. But with my ticket already booked, I guess I have to look at this in a positive way. It would be nice to see relatives of mind whom I've not seen in a very long time. Plus, there's shopping, the Howard Stern Show, Hooters, cold weather and jetlag so I guess that will do.=D

When it comes to my Christmas wish list, I have a lot. The simple ones being a PS3, a ticket to a Pacers game, a new iPod, basketball shoes, a pair of pants, Marvel action figures, a Prison Break 3 DVD, a laptop, a new cellphone, free McDo, and a ton of cash. For the meaningful ones, like any other person, I want eternal happiness and protection for my loved ones, and good grades for me. And for the REAL things I really want for Christmas, I hope the Lord gives them to me. First, I'd like to have the feeling of clarity. It's hard living when the smoke and fog just won't clear out. Life will simply be better if things become simple as they seem and problems can be easily solved by normal intellect. I also want answers to unanswered questions. While I must admit, sometimes, when you try to find answers to certain questions, life gives you answers that you regret asking for. You see things that you don't want to see, hear things that you don't want to hear, know things that you don't want to know, think about things that you don't want to think about, feel things you don't want to feel. While some answers are hard to swallow and some are not, they still are answers. Finally, I wish for the ability to make the right choices and make the right judgments. This does not mean I will be correct all the time. People still make mistakes and what matters is how you bounce back and react to them. Having these three will truly make my life content. If not, a PS3 will do!=D

I must admit, I had a rough year, with a lot of weird things happening at the last few months of the year. I expected my Christmas to happen in a different way while I have encountered sadness and the feeling of hopelessness, I still have a reason to enjoy the holidays. I'm grateful to have a kick-ass family, and of course, the Ayala boys and H2005. I was able to experience new things like go to Boracay and steal a ton of freebies in the Ad Congress, which I think fee was overpriced. I got to sell stuff for my major and make a profit along the way. I also got to go to Hong Kong where I saw more Chinese people than I usually see in school. This year is also the year my extremely obese nephew Rome was born. Finally, let's just say that this year is the most emotion-packed year I've had in a long time. I guess I'm okay with what I have. A lot of people aren't as fortunate as me.

With that, if this is the last time I'm gonna write here in my blog before I leave the country, I would like to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! PEACE!-rJv

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

2007-11-24T23:06:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, this domain hasn't been the most visited website in the internet world, but this is my haven. A lot of people probably have forgotten this thing and what I have written in it, and a lot more don't know I have a blog at all. It would be easier to just blog using a certain website that's most popular for picture uploading capabilities, but as always, I go old-school. ;) In terms of advertising, I won't probably reach out to many people, but I guess that's not my motive. After so many months of not going here, it's time to go back. Chances are, I'll be talking to myself only. And who knows, the controversies and insults could go back as well.=D Ladies and gentlemen, the king is back.

It's funny how many things have happened for the past 4-5 months and I have not written about them all. I watched sadly as the DLSU Green Archers eliminate the ADMU Blue Eagles in the semifinals and sweep the 14-0 UE Red Warriors in the UAAP Finals. That is the Atenean's ultimate nightmare. Last week, I went to the Philippine Ad Congress with my blockmates and I had a blast. Bonding times with the C48 peeps makes me realize how much I'll miss them when we graduate, especially now since next term is the last term we'll spend together as the one after that is thesis time. I'm fortunate to have the chance to get to know more some of my blockmates that I haven't talked to much for the past 3 years of my stay in DLSU. Like all other guys my age, I have participated in NBA Fantasy Leagues, and I'm doing quite fine with my teams. Advice: pick your sleeper picks well. This term, I'm selling a whole ton of stuff for my Marksam class. These products range from Jansport bags, Nike and Adidas sports apparel, Globe prepaid load, Sanuk footwear (I must remember that they are NOT sandals), Rubbermaid and Vercia glassware for all you moms out there, Avon make-up for girls who want an affordable way to look beautiful, and so much more. If interested, IM me in my YM or just text me. With the holiday season looming, there WILL be discounts. =) To the more active and social people, that's boring sh*t. To me, that's a lot.

In this portion, I was supposed to write something quite personal here, but eventually, I deleted it and decided to keep it to myself. If you manage to read it before, you deserve a medal. As much as I feel that I have an indestructible soul, the king still has a heart of a human being. I do have problems, though not as serious as the ones who are unfortunate than me spiritually and financially, but I have problems nonetheless. Normally, the old Joppy would let it all out here in my blog, but this time, I'll keep it to myself instead.

With that, I'm about to part with my signature line that I haven't used in a long time. Maybe I'll write more often here and maybe I won't. Whatever the case, the good days will come for the great one. A few more weeks and it's Christmas time. Take care. PEACE!-rJv

So Long Sweet Summer

2007-05-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

And then there was one day left. In less than 30 hours, it's time for yours truly to go back to the place where I triumphed and flourished, but at the same time failed and disappointed. As a La Sallite, it's time to hit the books again, feel the stress and hardships of academic and co-curricular activities. This year, I joined FOUR organizations, namely the BECS, BEA, Santugon, and of course, the BA. How I'm gonna juggle my time, I don't know. Hopefully, I'm able to do so. For the first term, I'm gonna take it a little easy so I enrolled in only five subjects, since I'm sure to be delayed by one term due to my genius level of an accounting prowess. Last term took a big toll on me both academically and physically, and as a result, I chose to hibernate from the world of Taft. What that means is that I avoided to go to school and everything that's related to it, which includes meetings and team building sessions. Sorry guys. =p The only thing I attended was the BEA team building last Friday, and I'm glad I got to see some of my schoolmates. But regardless of this, once classes start, I'll be back in tip top shape.=D

As a closing to this year's summer, I take a look back at all those memories I've had with everyone involved in them. First of all, me and family went to Hong Kong during Holy Week and it HK rocks! Cold weather, accessible places, good food, different culture and of course, shopping sprees! Having no signal and being weirded out when I saw my neighbor Jason also helped in improving the experience as well! Next up is my very memorable trip to Boracay with the Ayala Boys. That alone completed my whole summer and I plan on going there again next year. After that, there's our yearly basketball tournament, AQCHAI. I will never forget how we were eliminated from Final 4 contention when we lost a crucial game by a last second game-winner by the opposing team. That stung harder than sticking a needle up your ass. As part of growing up, my activities with the Ayala Boys have also changed, as we had two humorous drinking sessions, excluding myself since I don't drink. Nevertheless, it was all good and during the second drinking session, we started at 8:30 in the evening and we ended at 11:30 the next day! That experience would make any mother paranoid.=p Aside from these moments, I'll also remember all those simple hang-outs, basketball exhibitions, poker nights and movie gimmicks with the boys. It doesn't hurt also that our Canadian homie Carlo Ram visited us this summer. ;) Compared to last summer, this summer kicked ass! Now, I have 365 days to yearn for that summer enjoyment.

Oh yeah, I'm happy to say that my computer is finally virus free, after two months of being a feeding frenzy for worm viruses. The network speed has also sped up for unkown reasons and it makes YM conversations, downloading songs and checking out people's Multiply accounts more enjoyable. Anyway, I will try to sleep now for I have to get used to sleeping early for my classes. It pains to do it since I usually sleep at around 4 in the morning. With, I hope all you non-DLSU people enjoy what's left of your summer vacation for I pray to God for more days of freedom. Good night everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Four Days

2007-05-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

Evening everyone. As the summer sizzles, school is out and my PC still has a virus, it's hard to communicate with anyone other than my neighbors. This time, I don't want talk about school stuff for I'm still mending my academic wounds from last term. For once, I don't actually miss going to school, not because I don't like the people there anymore, but because I feel that this is the right time for myself to go back the life I had before I went to college. In the world of Joppy, that kind of life is playing basketball with the Ayala boys, hanging out in the village, a few gimmicks now and then, and of course, staying in the northern area of Metro Manila. So to my schoolmates out there, I hope you're enjoying your summer vacation as much as I am right now.=p

It's been approximately one week since I arrived from a four-day vacation from the Philippines' version of heaven, Boracay. It was my first time going there and I'm glad I got to go there with the Ayala boys, namely future UAAP star Tonino Gonzaga, our official bouncer Nino Buendia, Allen "Two Minutes" Mangilit, Niko "Number 1" de Castro, and Louie "Goldfinger" Quiogue. While some of us had other companions during the trip (Niko's brother, Tonino's classmates etc.), we manage to spend majority of the time together as a group, or as Team B, as we would like to call it. Corny I know. To the Bora "veterans" out there, you know the things to do in Bora: swimming, henna tattoos and eating in the afternoon, drinking, socializing and partying in the evening, and sleeping and dozing off all morning. That's pretty much the same formula that we used in Boracay, with some minor tweaks of course. And as expected, I saw many of my friends there, from the ones in La Salle, Poveda, and even some of my neighbors. What's funny is that this trip wasn't planned long long ago and in fact, I think it was just planned during Holy Week. In some sense, what made the trip special is that all of us had different intentions in going to Bora. Some of us went there as a way of celebrating graduation. Others went there to party and to experience again the atmosphere of Boracay. Not surprisingly, one of us went there to show off his buff body, even to the point of him going topless during the evening, in which the weather was a bit chilly. You guess who that person is. As for me, being a"virgin" of the island, I wanted to know what the fuss is all about and experience of actually enjoying my time there. And while I feel that spending 10,000 bucks for a four-day vacation is a waste of money, I got more than I bargained for.=D

I guess this entry is pretty much about my trip in Boracay.=p And while some yearly visiting Bora goers may think that I'm like a loser for dedicating an entry for a single trip, the truth is, it was probably one of the most fun experiences I ever had. From riding the Flying Fish, to getting a henna tattoo, to buying bracelets and the strawberry slush shake from my favorite place in Bora, D'Mall, it was a blast. I miss the soft sand and the clear water, as well as the long walks that we had to endure to go to different places. Then there's the 24/7 Pinoy Big Brother Channel, the crispy fried chicken of Andok's, the incredibly expensive trike fees and the beautiful sunset. Of course, there were plenty of incredible memories, like the experience of travelling alone going there, Allen's 15 shots of humorous embarassment, Niko's showing of pure vanity by flirting with Senator Loren Legarda by using his rock-hard abs, and well-known to us Team B members, my infamous "two-day" fling. Only the Ayala people who went to Bora know about it and if you're a nice Joppy-holic, I might even tell it to you.=p Overall, my first time in Bora kicked ass, and I didn't have to get drunk! And while some things are a bit confusing after that trip, I now long for the day that I can get to go back to that damn place because I don't f*cking know what's gonna happen there when me and the Ayala boys go there again. All we need to do is wait for next summer and save up some money, for trips like that aren't exactly petty cash.=D

Ironic as it may seem, after wishing for a day of peace with no problems, I got four days of that. And while I'm back here in Quezon City, I guess I have to endure the hardships once again. Oh well! Have a nice summer guys. PEACE!-rJv

Just One Moment

2007-04-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. With the decreasing popularity of my blog, I am currently questioning the purpose of writing stuff here. I guess the only thing that's holding me back from closing this site down is my passion for writing and the memories of my past entries, back when I was an insensitive egomaniac. Actually, I'm still an insensitive egomaniac but to a lesser degree, fortunately. =D Anyway, I want to start of in a happy way by remembering incredibly fun time I had last Holy Week. Two weeks ago, me and family, as well as my brother's wife and daughter and my sister's husband, went to the wonderful country of Hong Kong. While I was excited to see so many Chinese people (sarcasm factor at 7.36), it was a nice way to seperate myself from the stress factor of Metro Manila life. Of course, it was also great to experience a cold breezy weather and to ride a clean, more advanced and less rowdy train station, and more importantly, shopping and free food! With those two things, Joppy world is heaven. But as usual, all good things come to an end.

The week after that is probably one of the most stressful, heart-wrenching exam weeks I ever had. Before that week, each second of my vacation hours were very valuable for studying, for my grades are an all-time low. There are some subjects in which I had a chance of failing, and that is why I NEED to do well on the exams. Now that classes are officially over, I should be rejoicing but I'm not. It's quite funny that when I still had classes, my mind is already on vacation. And now that the work is done, it seems my mind is still in DLSU still. I don't know which is more painful, waiting for the days 'til I see my course cards, or actually seeing my grades in person. Currently, I'm breaking down mentally, and the only thing that's holding my head up high is my faith in the Lord. If ever I fail, I don't blame the Lord for letting that happen. The only person that should be blamed is me. It's all in God's hands now. Realistically, my grades this term lowered because of my other activities, mainly the General Elections. However, I don't blame that either for it was my choice to serve Santugon, and I plan to do that again on the upcoming Freshmen Elections, regardless of what my role will be on that time. Now, somebody before texted me wondering why people like me keep wasting our time on these, when we could have better lives both socially and academically. Well, first of all, the sacrifices are worth it. Low grades and sleep deprivation are painful things to bear but with the big differences we are making, maybe it's a good deal after all. I may be stupid, but hey, at least I did something productive for once.=p

While I can't compete with my friends in making a nice entry about the elections, I could talk about it in a Joppy perspective. With the experiences I had, having been active in four elections, the whole process is downright difficult but at the same time, silly, with all the happening that's already part of the election formula. While there will be people who will campaign by telling the students why they should win, the others will campaign by telling them why their opponents don't deserve to win. At the side of an active campaign officer, when somebody says something bad about their party, they assume defeat. But when they hear what they want to hear, it raises hope and victory. It's quite funny because while these are the usual happenings of politics, we are still filled with a whirlwind of emotions, thanks to the political backstabbing, paranoia and the psycholigal factors. In campus politics, when somebody says something, someone else reacts and I'll show you how. For example, a friend of mine who was also a batch officer stated that when she attended a Santugon seminar, all she saw was people singing and dancing but no work. Reading this, I will react by asking her of what she has done as a batch officer for the past year. Then, I will say that if Santugon people are such lazy farts, then why can I recall so many activites of our batch, that has been ran by Santugon officers. Bias? Favoritism? I don't think so. Being the one who wrote the year-end summary, my head ached because of the numerous articles I had to write because of countless activities.=p Is my example clear now?

With the year done with, this is the last time that I will be talking about campus politics. Until the next elections, I don't want to think about it anymore. This summer, my one and only goal is for at least one day, things will go my way. I don't want any more problems and sh*t so God, please help me! Next week, me and the Ayala Boys will be going to Boracay so I hope my summer starts well. It's the first time that I will be going there so I guess I'm a loser.=p Take care guys. PEACE!-rJv

So Long Second Year

2007-03-31T02:07:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. Life couldn't get any more frustrating for yours truly, for my computer currently has a Worm virus that I couldn't remove. It started when I was online in my YM when I stupidly clicked a link that I thought was an innocent one. I guess that makes me a moron.=p So right now, I can't access my YM without it malfunctioning and sending stupid messages to my contacts on its own. With computer technology at its peak, you may be wondering how did I manage to get this virus. Well that's quite simple: I forgot to update my Spyware.=D That's what stupidity and ignorance can get you. So if you have any ideas on how to remove a Worm.VB.ck virus, feel free to message me in my Chatterbox.=p

Last week, we found out the results of the General Elections and it was quite bittersweet. On the positive side, first of all, my batch, BnE2008, was once again a Derecho batch and we have a new "batch king", Ms. Stephanie King (enter "batch king!" chants).=p Second, Aimee Chua won the College Assembly Position, which no doubt, she rightfully deserves, despite all those dirty rumors made by those pathetic people, and the betrayals of those she counted on before. I guess payback's a yellow and blue political b*tch. ;) Finally, CBE's own Stacy Carbonel won as Vice President of Operations, and it shows us that you don't need monster credentials to be elected into a big position. I applaud all the people in CBE who took care of our college, especially the freshmen who did an extremely outstanding job of promoting our candidates, even to those who weren't part of their batch. As for the bad news, while Aimee won as CBE CAP, the other Santugon candidates who ran for CAP for their respective colleges weren't as fortunate. As for the Executive Board, while it's better than last year, it's still 1-5. Also, some batches that were once Derecho batches, are no longer 100% yellow and blue. Despite all this, my hats off to those candidates and supporters who worked their asses off in campaigning for it shows how much they want to serve the school and their fellow La Sallians. Next up is another Freshmen Elections so another battle will commence next year. Whoopee.=D

After two weeks, my sophomore life in DLSU will come to an end. Hopefully, I will pass all my subjects as well. It's hard to believe that less than a year and a half, I'm about to freakin' graduate! It feels like it was just yesterday when it was my LPEP orientation, and all I had was a gray cap, a green shirt and a weird creepy grin for a thought came to my head, saying to me, "this is no longer Ateneo, Joppy". I remember the freshman version of me, who was living the thrill of being in college end enjoying the company and united nature of my blockmates. I also remember hearing those irritating songs that were played numerous times on the radio, like Hale's "The Day You Said Goodnight" and of course, Parokya's "First Day Funk". I guess they're on my iPod because of their sentimental value only. As for second year, it was the time that I no longer relied on the company of my blockmates for it was time to do things and make decisions on my own. My only point in second year was to work my ass off just to pass my subjects and do my best to be active in my co-curricular activities. While I did that, I was fortunate to make strong relationships with the ones that I've worked with and with those that weren't my blockmates. As my junior year looms ahead, I wonder what I challenges I have to face. The results of the General Elections have opened several opportunities for me to be more able to serve the CBE society and I hope I could take advantage of this. As for the life outside academics, I hope they prosper as well.=D All in all, I hope for a good one next year.

For this Holy Week, my family and I are going again to Hong Kong, and compared to the other two years, I'm feeling quite excited. With sh*t ass workload I have in school, I could really use a vacation. Hopefully, when I get back, I could have my working shoes on so I could study hard and kick ass in my exams. I need to do well in some of my tests so I pray to God that He gives me the strength to be mentally prepared for them. With that, I'm off to another DVD series marathon. PEACE!-rJv

Politics For The Fourth Time

2007-03-17T01:29:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. It's hard to believe that the last time I wrote something here, it was Valentines Day and I was giving lame-ass advice to you all. Now, it's March, the other schools have no classes left while the others are currently taking their final exams. But as always, in DLSU, summer vacation does not start on March. All I can say is that I'm tired. REAL tired. I'm fed up with late night studying and papers that I have no desire to do. I just want to get things done, pass my classes and get out of school, even if my vacation is for only one month. Before, I took for granted my summer days, everyday thinking that summer will go on forever. When I arrived in college, no classes for one week is a blessing and especially now, weekends at home is like the best thing ever. Boring, true, but hey, it works. =D

And now, I wanna tackle the big thing that's currently happening in school, which is the General Elections. If you're not a La Sallite, you're probably not gonna understand this paragraph. Anyway, for our Executive Board, we have people who are more than qualified for their respective positions in Nadia Ong, Monika Reunilla, Stacy Carbonell, Agnes de Castro, Bea Lim and the most deserving guy that should be Student Council President. Keane Palatino! As for our College Assembly President, it's safe to say that nobody screams CBE CAP other than AIMEE CHUA. You'd be a fool if you didn't think she was right for the job. And for my batch BnE2008, we have STEPH KING, KRISTINE (KISH) SHROFF, NIX JOSON AND TONET PACHECO. This election, I graduated from simply a Campaign Officer into an Executive Officer. Being said that, my job was to check for rooms to give RTRs to, sometimes be the one to introduce the candidates during the RTRs, take care of the candidates and give them directions, and most important of all, support them. Now, I wasn't required to do this job, nor did anyone pressure me to take this job. The main reason why I took this strenuous job is because I truly believe in our slate, for they are truly deserving to win. I, along with my other CBE team, wouldn't go early to school, cut a few classes, run from building to building, spend a lot time and money, and go home extremely late, if they weren't worth it. Condemn me for being selfish but my first and foremost priority is my batch. Excluding Kish (a former SC president of her high school) who didn't become active until this year, me, Steph, Nix, Tonet, as well as my other friends, started from being simple CO's who took part in supporting our elected officers of the first year, Aimee, Freshy, Dex and Monika. But thanks to Santugon, little did I know that they would do so much for my batch, with Steph as VP for Activities, Kish as VP for Marketing, Nix as Executive Secretary and Tonet as an La Rep. And while one person from the other party argued they had high positions only because they were from Santugon, I'm sorry but as a result, they did a whole sh*tload for our batch! I just hope everyone sees this too. That's all.

With that, I wanna thank everyone who helped this week for it was a hell of a rough one. It's all in God's hands I guess. In the past elections, among the people "active" in this thing, I may have regarded as one of the laziest people there, and in fact, I may have been a poser. But in this case, as long as our candidates work their ass off, I will fight for them no matter what. They have done so much for me and the batch, and it's time for me to repay them. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Love And Leisure

2007-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

Good evening Joppy-holics. If you look at my page, it seems I have not written anything new here for more than one whole month so I guess I'll greet you all in Internet World an extremely belated Happy New Year. Actually, I wrote something here last month but because of the technical difficulties that occurred last month regarding the earthquake overseas that pretty much f*cked up DSL subscribers' connections nationwide, for some reason, what I wrote somehow disappeared, with only the title remaining. Anyway, because I'm a very studious person and a future valedictorian and Oxford scholar, I might as well talk about school first. This term hosts the biggest academic challenge for the king, with six subjects that have stressed yours truly in a level like no other. These are my subjects: Financial Management, Managerial Accounting, Quantitative Techniques, Market Consumer Behavior (my major), Obligations and Contracts, and the most important of all, Religion and Morality. That's one major, two math subjects, one accounting, one law and a subject that shows how much of an asshole I am according to my actions and motives. So far, I'm getting by but of course, there's plenty of room for improvement.=D I have a dream of being a Dean's lister, but to achieve that, I need more effort, better study habits and an affinity for staying up late to study. I currently have none of the above so I have a long way to go. By the way, I went partying for two straight weeks already. Does that make me a party boy? Life sure is sweet.=)

Oh looky here, it's almost Valentines Day! The market demand for flowers, chocolates and fancy dinners will again be high, giving hard decisions for stores to how much will they discount of their regular prices in order to maximize profit. I don't know how accurate my statement as, but you get the point. I don't expect much for February 14, except couples wearing red and pink, a late dismissal, a jam-packed University Break, and hopefully, no quizzes! I don't have any reflections for Valentines, for the day speaks for itself. But to all you lovebirds out there, all I can say is treat him/her well, stay off the crack, study hard, and don't think about renting a motel! Be like me, studying despite the lack of results, but drug-free and sexual harassment-free. I feel like a role model. Oh wait, I AM a role model. A good role model, in fact. I'm also a very humble person, with a good heart and a drive to succeed in life. I felt good writing that.=D

Staying with the them of college life, the General Elections is nearly arriving. Next month, the blue and yellow and the orange and red will once again clash in fighting for positions in the Student Council and what better way to spicen up the last term than a good ol' political warfare. I'm not naive to realize that the elections will be a very peaceful one, for there is no such thing as a worry-free elections. I'm not afraid to say that because it's almost true. However, I'm not saying that there is a good political group and a bad one for Santugon and Tapat are no perfect groups. But of course, I'm on Santugon's side because I think they focus on what's the most important thing in DLSU: the students. I'm impressed by myself for I managed to gain knowledge about politics but hey, don't put me in a debate because I will go down. Anyway, in our batch, from information I got from different sources, it will be a tough fight. It will be tough for others because all the candidates are formidable, and it takes a closer look to see what any of them lacks. For me, it will be tough because of the people that I will have to turn my back on. When I say that, I'm implying that sometime in our lives, our perceptions become different from the ones that we love. I will have to be frank, and my frankness is sometimes perceived as insensitivity. Aside from that, everyone knows which side I'm voting. So guys, as early campaigning, vote Derecho SANTUGON.=)

With that, I'm gonna watch some wrestling action. Once again, I have a cough and cold, and it sucks. Happy Valentines everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Enchanting

2006-12-21T06:14:00.000-08:00

Evening again. Time flies incredibly fast that I fail to realize that Christmas is just four days away! With or without money, I haven't had time to go Christmas shopping and in my case, I DON'T have money.=p Christmas break has been fine, though most of the days I spent bumming around in my house playing with my PS2. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to wake up early for Simbang Gabi, due to my hatred of waking up early in the morning. Needless to say, I don't exactly have perfect attendance records for my morning classes.=p I'm also currently out of shape for I have not gone to the gym or gone jogging for I'm a lazy fart. I guess my main purpose for this break is to get some rest for schoolwork simply sucks. And here I am again, sitting around, writing simple nothings here in my "controversial" blog, which my blockmate Chino described it.=D

I'm sure in everyone's Christmas breaks, there's that day that you'll go outside the city or even the country. For me, it was a trip to Enchanted Kingdom with my blockmates Kish, Kaila, Reph, Dodong, Phillip, Pia, Ruby, Chuhbaby, Kenneth, Kurstin, Cis, Kim and Iyah. While the prices of a ticket have gone up, lucky for us, we got eight free tickets, courtesy of Shroff Travelling Agency.=D So if you guys are planning to take a trip, don't just go to any agency, go to Shroff Travelling Agency.;) What can say, I got cheaper tickets so I guess it's fair to promote something here in return.=D Anyway, to make the day better, there wasn't a lot of people there yesterday, probably because most students still had classes. As a result, we managed to take advantage of the rides, and we almost rode all of them. After conquering my fear one year ago, I rode the Space Shuttle four times, and while it sounds stupid, I'm proud of myself for I have taken a step away from gayness and one step towards true manhood.=p We also got to play paintball there, but for a hefty price, but hey, paintball is fun, especially when somebody shoots you on the head. Unfortunately, we didn't have transportation going home so we had to take the shuttle, which was unbelievably expensive! 150 pesos for a ride up to Glorietta, that's freakin' insane! Regardless of that, I had fun yesterday eventhough my wallet didn't.=D Eventhough the people I'm close with didn't come, I had a great time hanging out with the ones who came with me to EK.=D I may had conflict with some of them before, but hopefully, I'm redeeming myself day by day. The king can do that, you know.;)

Thinking about this season, I realized that as I grow up year by year, I no longer yearn for material gifts for Christmas. Of course, it would be better if somebody gave some clothes, an iPod, a PS3, cash and other stuff like that, but the thing is, compared to friendship, peace and yes, love, those materials are petty and small. I guess I kinda miss those times when I was a kid, when I was hanging out with my neighbors almost every day of my past Christmas breaks. Whether it was going swimming at night, watching a movie or playing NBA Live, those were unforgettable times. Unfortunately, the only thing constant here in this world is change, and as we all grow up, we have different choices to take and different paths to go to, hence migration and lifestyle changes. It's stupid for me to think that I could relive those memories when I barely reached puberty but hey, I guess it shows that I have a mind that functions right?=p So to all you Joppy-holics out there, whether you're partying at Embassy on a hot Wednesday night, or thinking about the perfect gift for your special one, or if you're just some dimwitted fool like me, I hope you enjoy this season for this is the season of happiness. Of course, don't be a moron and spend time with your family as well.=p And finally, don't forgot to give yours truly a present. That's all!=D

Tomorrow's the wedding of the king's sister and well, if my statistics are right, I think this is the last night that she'll be staying here in the house. I'm not gonna get emotional as my sister wants to be, as she's been demanding me to cry on her wedding since I wept during my brother's wedding. But I dunno, I guess it's gonna be very different without her here. I must admit, I'm not really close to my family, probably because my age difference is quite far from my siblings. Basically, since I entered teenhood, I've been living with four adults in one house. Inside the house, I'm pretty much quiet and passive here, unlike for example, in school in which I'm the opposite of that. However, among the people here, I'm the closest to my sister so go figure.=p It's gonna feel weird not seeing her on an everday basis since I've been living with her since the time when I was just a handsome sperm cell, but it's all good. Sooner or later, it's bound to happen so I guess tomorrow's the time.=p And after tomorrow, I will be the only person in the family without a wife or even a girlfriend. Now that's freakin's sad.=D

With that, I'm off to sleep. Happy holidays everyone. PEACE!-rJv

December Blues

2006-12-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Finally, it's Christmas break time. But wait, of course there's something that will spoil my fun. And that certain thing is my Market Research professor. With all my other subjects done and over with, unfortunately, my prof thinks it's appropriate for his students to have an oral exam ON A SATURDAY. And get this, the exam will be up to only 12 minutes per student. Due to sheer bad luck, I'm assigned to take the exam at 6 in the afternoon on Saturday. Now, correct me if I'm wrong because this situation is making me quite dumber than I already am, but I think my professor is making me go to school on a Saturday night, for an exam that's for only less than a quarter of an hour. In my opinion, that's quite f*cked up. First, La Salle ain't exactly near my house and it's a 1-hour drive from Quezon City to Manila, and that's not counting the traffic during Saturdays. Second, it's for only 12 freakin' minutes damn it! Who goes to school for 12 minutes?!!? Third, it was only halfday last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I have no more class for the rest of the week. I guess my professor prefers teaching at night time than afternoons. Creepy. An exam is an exam but geez man, what a waste of time. With that time, I could've been playing basketball with the Ayala boys, watching a movie with my blockmates or going on a date with my crush. Oh wait, scratch the last part. I'm hopeless on that category.=p Anyway, you all get the point. After Saturday, I never want to be under that geeky bastard's class ever again! That is one of my Christmas wishes.=D

Despite that damn Saturday oral exam, it's pretty much vacation time starting today. My mind has just checked out for this year and I just want to kick back, relax and pray for some freakin' cold weather since this month is quite warm for a December. I'm looking forward to hanging out with DLSU friends and ADMU classmates, Simbang Gabi sessions (assuming I wake up early =D) with the Ayala gang, a trip or two to the gym and the basketball court, my long-awaited driver's license, my sister's wedding (hey, it's bound to happen soon right?=p) and of course, Christmas and New Year. Hopefully, it won't be as boring as last year, when I literally locked myself inside my house, doing nothing. So if you people have plans, feel free to talk to yours truly. ;) Anyway, I've got nothing to talk about so I'll just write down my Christmas wish list. Who knows, I just might get them.=p

-A PS3 and The Sims 2 for my PC. Something to kill boredom inside the Vinuya residence.
-An 20 GB iPod. Need more space for my other songs.
-Good grades of course!
-New clothes. I just need simple collared shirts, that's all. I'm a cheapskate and I'm not a party boy, so the People are People stuff are not my thing.
-Socks. The king needs new pairs of socks. Badly. Preferrably ankle socks.=D
-The longly-awaited driver's license ever since my "accident".
-New shorts and pants. Have to start the new year in a good way right?;D
-Accounting worksheets. I just ran out a few weeks ago. Damn.
-Finally and the most important of all, personal happiness! Oh yeah!=)

With, I will now head upstairs to watch anything on TV that's not related to nudity and violence. Happy holidays peeps. PEACE!-rJv

It's Good To Be Blue

2006-12-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Good morning to everyone who is anyone or someone in this world. After dealing with the harsh nature of hell week, we escape from the oven and then we go into the pit of flames that is exam week. I have four exams this week, each unique in their own way but all are needed to be studied. Unfortunately for me, I'm not doing the studying part and I plan on starting today. Of course, that's easier said than done. Feeling very strained and tired, I have to literally lift my ass in order for me to work. Add the fact that my family will be having a semi-formal thingy dinner later and you have the perfect recipe for failure. But like before, the king will find a way to get it done.;)

Now let's get to the reason why I'm writing here in this stupid blog despite the tough road that I'm about to face in around 18 hours. Last night was one of the best nights I had this year, in fact my whole life probably. Now what could happen last night? It's my freakin' high school class reunion damn it!=D The venue was in Pedro's house and eventhough nothing crazy happened last night, I was overwhelmed by the nostalgic feeling of seeing your old buddies after a year or so. Thankfully, many came, from my two buddies since first year, Gab and Ron, to my fellow La Sallian Julian, to my UAAP idol Jai Reyes, and of course, Gab's crush, Migo Librojo.=p It's amazing being overly excited seeing people you've been with for four years after not seeing them for a long long time. Along with a few drinks, we all just talked, remembering the old times and discussing what we're currently doing today. Many of changed, some of them are the same, and most of them had longer hair.=p Regardless of that, I still miss all of them. Using the DLSU term UBE (Ultimate Bonding Experience), I got the chance to do that with some of my classmates, and while I'm surprised with what they have to share, those were still good moments. Oh yeah, the food was great also. Eventhough I'm contented in DLSU, I still wonder how my life would be had I passed Ateneo. Oh well. Maybe somehow, I could be more close to my classmates next year. That way, I could enjoy their lifestyles as well! Oh yeah!=D

Last night was also an eye-opener for me. Listening to all the stories my classmates had to tell me, I realized something and one of my classmates made it clear to me: I've missed out on a lot of things. It's not because I'm currently studying in DLSU, but because of last night, I realized that I'm a person who stays on the safe side of things. Basically, that means I'm soft and I'm taking the road less travelled.=D I don't know. And as some of them changed, I wonder whether I changed for the better or for the worse. At first, straightening up my life and maintaining that good guy image would be appropriate for me, but after last night, maybe I overdid it. Before, I planned on proving wrong the people who think nice guys finish last. Maybe it's more difficult than it seems. Besides, it's almost pointless for me to try my best to be a nice guy as much as possible for I'm sure there are people out there who think I'm an arrogant pervert and plainly, hate my guts. Just ask the girl who's filing me a harassment case in Litera1 class.=p Another reflection period from the great one. ;)

I planned on also writing about a professor who is currently teaching me for my majors class, but because he's an egotistical geeky bastard who I think is currently majoring in the art of Bullshit-ism, I figured he's just a waste of time. He exemplifies the negative stereotype people think of when it comes to Ateneans, and he pisses me off. And why do I think he's egotistical? He searches himself in Google damn it! So if I write his name here, he'll probably find out that many hate his ass and he'll force me to make a gayish public apology that states how an "inspirational" person he is in the world of business, like what he forced to do to my fellow Marketing batchmate. I could sum him in two words: he sucks. Anyway, I better study. PEACE!-rJv

Harassed?

2006-12-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

Evening people. As of this moment, the king is in bad condition. As usual, the stress of schoolwork is getting to me, eventhough you won't see it in my face. I know I'm not the only one who is currently feeling this but hey, the feeling sucks. Second, after a very long while (around a year or so), I finally got sick a few weeks ago. And while my fever is gone and my cold has become mild, my cough has been the same after two weeks. My chest feels awful and I just wish I could spew out all the phlegm inside my body. It's doesn't feel good coughing after every five seconds so I hope the medicine I'm taking works as soon as possible. Stress and sickness is not a good combination folks.;)

I don't know if this is serious sh*t or a comedy segment but this week, I learned something silly from my Literature professor. Last Tuesday, after class, my professor asked me to stay after class because she had to tell me something. At first I thought my grades are gonna go down because I failed to watch a play that was required of us. Instead, I found out that one of my classmates is filing a harassment case against me! Learning about this, I was very stunned. When I thought of the word harassment, the first thing that came into my mind was this classmate who's a filing a case against me is accusing me of groping her in the ass or her chest area. If that was the situation, then I'm 150% innocent. My prof only gave a brief explanation about this and she asked me to go to the head of the Literature department for further details. However, she told me to not think much about it because obviously, this "case" is ridiculious. Around 1:30, I spoke to Dr. Bayot, the Literature head and he told me the exact details. When he told me who the accuser was, I did not know her at all. But apparently, this girl told Dr. Bayot, that I stared at her in a perverted way, which is stupid since I sit in front of the class and she sits far far at the back. Also, at the time the "crime" was done, my professor was sitting behind me, aware of my actions, so there goes her evidence.=p Dr. Bayot was also bewildered by this case, but of course, this situation has to be discussed thoroughly for it to finally be ended. Usually, I would retaliate by lashing out in a hot-tempered way and calling that girl names that the devil would only create. Instead, I'll let the authorities handle the case because I have the biggest weapon: the truth. In fact, if my greed would take control, I'd sue this girl and take her to the REAL court, and when I win, I'd spend my winnings on a new iPod, a PS3 and some new clothes. Of course, I'm no law student so I don't know how I'm gonna do that.=p But seriously, what upsets me is not the fact that this girl is filing a case that could destroy my future if this was true, but this girl is questioning my character and moral fiber. For me to do something sadistic as that is out of my human nature, and this girl is calling me a perverted criminal. I am a college student, and I do only wrong things that college students do, like cheating and cutting class, not looking at girls as if they are fresh meat. In fact, this case is pointless since 1.) I don't know this girl 2.) I'm not attracted to this girl and I don't recognize her and 3.) my professor could give you all of the other facts needed. So if that girl wants to call me a sex offender, then I say bring it and if karma was a part of Catholocism, it would bite a chunk out of your ass! The truth would hurt so bad, you're gonna wish you didn't take Litera1 this term! Oh yeah! Now viewers of this blog could write your reactions through the Chatterbox at the left side of this page. Now why would I write something so embarassing here? Because this is how much I know that I didn't do anything wrong. Cocky? I sure am. ;)

With that aside, I wanna talk about the Kryptonite of a lot of guys, which is the feeling of being torpe. It's hard to overcome this feeling, especially when you're already a college student. Thinking about it, being torpe is kinda like circumcision, for it's a scary thought but if you manage to man up and get some courage to overcome this fear, it will be a smooth ride all the way. Now, comparing the foreskin of a penis to the fear of rejection of a man is quite disgusting, it somehow connects for some sick reason. It's hard to offer your dick to a doctor who's gonna give pain to your man meat, but as long as you don't act like well, a dick (no pun intended), it will do more good than harm.=p However, it's more difficult to show a girl that you her for there are millions of ways you could screw this up. Because I am a man without pride, I'm willing to admit that I'm torpe. I have not passed this phase and hopefully, I will soon. But when it comes to circumcision, it's a different story! Wait, that didn't sound well.=D

Anyway, this so called sex offender is gonna hit the hay. I have a Market Research project to be finished by Monday so good luck to me and my group. Good night Joppy-holics. PEACE!-rJv

The Lights The Wind The Stress

2006-11-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone. As requested by my good, little, petite, tiny, microscopic, small friend Nina Barbasa, it's time for the king to make another entry in the outdated version of releasing hidden emotions, which is the form of blogging. It's very late on a schoolnight but fortunately, I have the privilege of staying up late, thanks to my 11:20 class tomorrow. I just got to enroll for my classes next term and all I can say is that whoever made the new DLSU enrollment policy is a racial, moronic psycho. Basically, aside from having the honor of being able to enroll last among my batchmates, now, I have to enroll one hour after the students who have last names starting from A-K. This pattern will be alternated after next term but come on man, everyone could see the unfairness in this system! I understand that I can enroll last because I failed a subject before, but because my last name starts with the letter V?? That's a dumbfuck situation! Despite all this, I managed to make a decent schedule and because of the expected stress for next term, I might have to live in a dorm. Roommates anyone?=D And for other academic news, my Relstwo professor continues to piss the f*ck out of everyone in my class and as for Mr. Markres, he's still assigning course-related projects with bogus deadlines. What else is new?;)

With all these things that are hassle to the muscle, I ponder upon the bright lights and the slight breezy air that's coming to our environment. It's that time again where people are waking super early to hear Mass, families are getting together and everyone's at peace as we once again rejoice the birth of Christ. In spite of all the stress and pressure of college life, I find serenity in knowing that we are nearing the month of happiness, not to mention Christmas break.=p For some reason, I have a good feeling for this Christmas. I know it won't be the same as before, probably because we're all getting older and me and my friends have different priorities and groups of friends, but I'm optimistic about the holiday season. And no, I won't party hard like there's no tomorrow, so no need to check for Ponti or Embassy pictures on my Multiply account.=p Hopefully, I could get my driver's license, and with that, I could get together with some old faces and of course enter the adult world with keys in my hands. As for gifts, I know what I want, which is a PS. Other than that, I just want to hang out with my high school classmates and I'm satisfied with that.;)

I'm supposed to write about another thing here but I guess I could spare my Joppy moment of reflection to some other entry. My cough and cold is getting funny so I better rest. It's been a year since my last sickness so I guess it sucks to get sick by this time. Anyway, good luck to everyone with all your studies. Finally, when you want to write something on my tag board, please don't write anything derigatory or insulting to other people. Luckily, I'm not the only one who reads my sh*t so unneeded bashing and deformation of character is not welcomed here. I'm writing here because a few days ago, somebody wrote something foul regarding one of my friends. To that person, I'm sorry but I had to remove his/her message immediately. Going to my mentality of Joppynism, let's keep things wholesome. =D

With that, I'm going to bed. Goodnight guys. PEACE!-rJv

Never Dies

2006-10-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to greet everyone a belated Happy Halloween!=) Because DLSU is a trimestrial system, we don't have a mid-year break and as a result, some doofus in the front office of the Philippines thought it would be appropriate for us to go to school on both October 31 and November 2. That of course, is talking bullsh*t. Despite all this, yesterday went great! As usual, the youth of Ayala Heights held the yearly haunted house for the village. This time, after holding it before in an abandoned house and a badminton court under construction, this time it was held in the pergola, which I think will be the permanent venue from now on. However, despite the change of scenery, once again, the haunted house was a success and I'm positive that the kids and adults who wondered the streets of Ayala Heights managed to have a good time during the day of ghouls, ghosts and goblins alike. It can't be determined if this year bested last year's outcome but I'm satisfied with our work. To be honest, at first, I was kinda doubting if the haunted was gonna be nice this year. In fact, I was worried that this year would be our last time we would be holding this annual ritual. The reason why I felt this was because if we weren't losing volunteers due to migration, we were losing people due to aging. To be realistic, we aren't getting any younger and college and work is a busy environment. Thanks to my classes, I wasn't able to contribute much since I had to study. Luckily, thanks to the others including the new faces of the village, it turned out well. Weather was also a hindrance because of the typhoon Paeng but I guess nothing beats the power of the Halloween spirit. I'm glad I'm part of this schindig for due to the success of it, even GMA and ABS-CBN dropped by to check on us! But success aside, I guess it feels great to give the kids a night to remember with the haunted house. With that, hats off to everyone for good job. ;)

After Halloween, we go back to the real world where quizzes are needed to be studied for, projects are to be made and papers to be written. It kinda sucks but hey, it's life. You know what to expect in life but somehow it maintains it unpredictability. Tomorrow may seem like a normal day but who knows, it might be the day that you find out that your crush likes you as well or it could be the day of your death. And when you try to overtake life and expect the outcomes depending on what you see, somehow life throws a curveball and the opposite of your expectations happen. Most of the time, that's usually the situation.=p Basically, we're under life's mercy and all we gotta do is expect the unexpected or more importantly, don't expect! With advice like this, when I die, my name will probably be connected to the likes of Stephen King, Socrates and Vincent Van Gogh. Long live the king. =p

After life, we move on to more important topics, mainly basketball. The regular season has just started in the NBA, and this year is more competitive than ever. The usual title contenders are back like Dallas, San Antonio, Miami and Detroit, as well improved playoff teams like Cleveland, Indiana, Phoenix and the LA Clippers. Even the crappy teams like Houston, Minnesota and Toronto are ready to compete, but of course, New York, Seattle, Portland and Philadelphia will all suck.=p In the real world, I would pick Dallas to win (sorry San Antonio). However, loyal as always, I'm still rooting for the Indiana Pacers.=D

Now I better start studying for my Statistics test on Friday. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Hands Down And Nothing

2006-10-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Good evening homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals, trisexuals and actively sexual people out there. After a few stressful days, the king is back here. Maybe it's because I don't have homework, but I feel like writing right now. Of course, I should be writing articles for the upcoming batch E-newsletter, or for the website and the year-ending summary, but of course, being the procrastinating bitch that I am, I prioritize my haven of nothingness first. =p I don't know, the king is still waiting for the day that I finally have nothing to talk about. Maybe it will come sooner than later but hey, screw that. Anyway, get some food, sit on a comfy chair and read away about the life of Joppy-nism. As always, there's no fancy words or imaginative poetry here, so put that damn dictionary back on your shelves.=D

The first two things that I want to talk about are about two of my current professors this term. While I have no intentions of bashing them or call them names, they can be a bit annoying at times. I won't put their names here, but if you managed to take a peek at my schedule, then you'll probably recognize them. First up is my Religion teacher. At first, she seemed like the humorous old lady type of teacher. A bit grumpy yet jokes a little so she's all right. As time passed by, little did we know that this was only a facade. The beast finally showed up and boy were we fumigating! Suddenly, she became a hot-tempered, indecisive, egotistical granny who nagged and bullied her way into being a hotdog in our class, all because she's the professor. My golly what an airheaded Mother Goose! When it comes to directions, she changes things at the last minute and when we make mistakes because of it, she goes nuts! And when there's debates, sometimes she's right, but when she knows she's wrong, she either insists she's right using her teacher powers or she changes the subject. She enfuriates me to a very high level and I'm only refraining myself from writing profanities here. The second one is my Market Research professor, which he calls himself as a soft spoken person, which he is by the way.=p I've read about him before from my friend's online Friendster journal, and according to that source, he's a terror. In class, he's a nice guy so I'm guessing he'll grade our projects in an unforgiving manner. However, all throughout the term, all I learned from him is to become a better cook. This guy hardly teaches anything related to the subject and he only asks us to cook some food for him in short amount of time (e.g. like two days). Hint: he manages a restaurant. I don't know if this is supposed to help but hey, it's for a grade. Despite all this, he graduated from Ateneo so he's okay for me.=) Biased? I know and I'm loving it.=D

Anyway, reflection period time. Have you guys felt excited after planning something cool and when that day came, for some reason, things don't go the way that you planned it to be? That, my friends, is the result of what we call high expectations. That is how things gets screwed up. So to all daydreamers and wannabe fortune tellers out there, better quit your habit so that you won't get disappointed with things.=D A helpful message from Joppy Vinuya, the guy with a good boy image, but in fact, a boy toiling with failed potentials, swift in judging people, dancing with bad luck and battling the need to work hard. With that, I sleep and hopefully dream of something better than this. Night guys. PEACE!-rJv

It Hurts

2006-10-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you already know but yes, the Ateneo Blue Eagles, despite being number one all throughout the UAAP tournament, failed to capture the championship as they lost to two freakin' free throws in today's deciding game against UST, 74-76. It was definitely a heartbreaking site to watch, JC Intal's last shot rattled out of the rim, giving UST possession of the ball and eventually celebrating in a shocking victory. I feel bad for graduating players JC Intal, Doug Kramer and Macky Escalona, my idol Zion Laterre, my classmate for three years Jai Reyes and the other players for they did everything except disappoint us fellow Eagles. And despite losing, heart and determination makes winners out of those who have them. Basketball may be "just" a game but for some reason, I can't seem to laugh off this depressing moment. It's no secret that I'm still an Eagle at heart and to be so close in regaining the glory and eventually watching it slip away, it's just hard to stomach. Yes, I've boasted about the team's performance to my DLSU peers and I'm more than willing to eat my words, but for some reason, I can't joke about it. I apologize to those who texted me and messaged me in YM, explaining to me the outcome of the game in a very peculiar manner and I didn't reply. I'm not a sore loser and since I was cocky bastard during the eliminations, I'll gladly accept what's coming to me. It's just difficult to treat it as a joke right now. Anyway, congratulations to UST for a well-fought victory for they are very deserving of the championship. But as always, like we say in Ateneo, "win or lose, it's the school we choose", and that's the way it is up to now. I'm proud to be an Atenean, not because of its reputation, but because of how the school molds a person's character. Heart, passion and determination is something that's not learned, only felt. And yes, the state of "emo" can't get you that. This is a serious entry so might as well take a stab at the topic of emo right?;p

Going back to the Ateneo topic, while taking a break last night from studying the most confusing subject ever, COMSTA2, I stumbled upon my drawer of retreat letters during well, our retreat in high school. Reading all those letters one by one, it made me realize how I f*ckin' miss high school life! No, it's not just about my classmates and teachers, but everything about high school. Everything from soirees to cheating in tests to sportsfests to school fairs to girl-boy rumors with other schools, you can't find that in any damn college. Oh yeah, there's also porn. Kidding. =p I don't know, I guess it just sank in the fact that being in DLSU, I can't see those idiots as often as I want to. I guess part of the reason why I wanted ADMU to win badly so that when the bonfire comes, I have a reason to go to my alma mater, hang out with the boys, and even bring some of my DLSU friends with me there. Nevertheless, I guess reality has to show its ugly face and no bonfire for you, me and all of the people, but I don't know why, but I can't keep my eyes off you. That was not clear at all. Oh well!=D

With that, I have nothing to say now. To my classmates, I will see you soon and to Julian, I will return your basketball soon also. For any comments, just fill me in anywhere, anytime and don't mind the sexual tones of that line. I must now eat so I'm outta here. PEACE!-rJv

One Second Matters

2006-09-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Because classes are suspended for tomorrow, the king is back here in the world of blogging. I have a sh*tload of things to do, like my Market Research thingy, study for tests, and BA stuff, but hey, it's a free night so might as well enjoy it. First of all, if you didn't watch Game 1 of the UAAP finals between UST and Ateneo, then you missed out on something spectacular. Whether you're an Atenean, a Thomasian, a La Sallian, a Harvard student or whatever, you have got to admit, that one second lay-up by butterfinger Doug Kramer has got to be one of the most ingenious plays ever seen by a human person. I've never cursed loudly in joy while watching a game ever since Gec Chia scored the game winning shot against UE in the Final Four of Ateneo's previous championship year. I'm sure Kramer's shot broke so many hearts of those Growling Tigers, not to mention flooded the already rain-vulnerable roads of Espana with tears of anguish. Tomorrow is supposed to be Game 2 and eventhough I wanted it to be cancelled, I guess I'll take it since I could watch the game on TV. It's do or die for UST and if Ateneo wins, I hope my DLSU friends can come to our bonfire celebration. If not, I guess my renegade UAAP fanatic high school classmate Roy Devesa will do something insane like post derigatory comments in YM or most probably bomb the already old buildings of UST. I have no idea what my charismatic buddy will do. Oh yeah, our juniors and women's teams are also in the finals. It goes to show that this is OUR TIME! Tonino Gonzaga for finals MVP in the juniors division!

So let's talk about something stupid and pointless like I always do here. Have you ever felt like after doing something, minutes after, you realized that what you did was stupid and you instantly thought of a better way? For example, you texted someone with a damn witty remark and when she replied, it wasn't pretty. Moments after, you kept thinking about other responses you could've used instead of the one that you sent and you realized what an idiot you are. As a recipient of this situation many times, I have felt this weird feeling althrough out the king's valiant quest for greatness, especially during some of the defining moments of yours truly. If it is humanly possible to kick yourself in the ass, I would've done that so many times to myself that my sexy ass would be bruised and red as hell. I'm sure Pido Jarencio, the coach of UST, feels the same way. Every second, every thought and every analysis is important not only in Joppy world, but in the planet we call earth as well. There are times that proper thinking is needed, for there are things in life that provide no second chances, like Accounting class, for instance.=D If you fail, not only do you waste a whole lot of your parents' hard-earned net income(accounting term, ladies and gentlemen), but you screw up your college life as well, especially your expected graduation time. You get my point right?=D No? Damn.

For some reason, September seems to be the birthday month. With that, I'd like greet my peers who celebrated their birthdays this month: Zab, Karla, Jean, Kaila, Dianne(boo!), Jess, Laurice, Rufus, Bartholomew, Engleberg, Kalachuchi and Zimbabwe. It's up to you to decide who are the ones that are real and the ones that are fictional.=p Note to self: never trust Friendster regarding birthday reminders. I screwed up with the birthday greetings two times this month and I even had the balls to act cool and greet them during midnight. Oh well!

With that, I end this with my usual closing signature and let us all rest, sleep and ponder as the hours pass by before the Blue Eagles kick some Growling Tiger ass! Go Ateneo, One Big Fight! PEACE!-rJv

Emo-dium

2006-09-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Good day mate. First of all, the king is shocked and saddened by the loss of the original Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. I must admit, I'm not a fan of the Discovery Channel, nor any of the other nature-oriented channels, for I don't even watch those documentaries of how animals make their babies in a rather compromising but dirty position. Hell, I even had to search Google on who the heck is Steve Irwin. But watching those tributes to the Australian native with the trademark accent and the unforgettable word, "crikey", I began to realize what a big loss to the world is Steve Irwin, and it's a shame that he has to go at an early time. At the very least, he died doing what he loved the most, and I guess that provides a little comfort to such a horrible tragedy. Nonetheless, the king still mourns the loss of the Crocodile Hunter, as well as the whole world.

Well term break has been what I expected it to be, a time to rest. In fact, I feel like I'm having too much of it, and I'm good to go back to school again. Unfortunately for me, I managed to screw up with my Accounting, therefore receiving a failing grade. I guess the incredibly difficult exam sealed the deal for the king. Despite this, I have to move and do better this time, and hopefully, my mom won't take my head off because of it. I guess part of the reason why I sucked this term was because I applied too much pressure on myself, to the point that I gave up on myself a couple of times. It's obvious that I can get high grades, but achieving results like that takes practice and not just determination and wishful thinking. Right now, I'm quite disoriented and I need to f*ckin' get a hold of my life and improve on my priorities and decision-making, for I'm very wasted. It starts off with proper study habits and the rest follows that I guess.=p

Now onto unimportant stuff. Tonight, somebody messaged me regarding the subject of "emo" and whether I feel that enigmatic feeling. I'm quite amused for I don't picture myself as the "emo" type of person, for well, I'm not. By unclear definition, emo is caused by such cases as intimate wondering or listening to well, "emo" music. I must admit, I do not know any "emo" bands, probably because I don't know the meaning of the genre and what is required for a song to be "emo". Does the song have to talk about heartbreak or falling in love? Does it require to have a rock theme? Is it an evolutionary form of the ballads and senti songs of the past? Pardon me for being uncool but I have no idea why emo is emo!=p That is why I stick to 90's rock bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Pearl Jam and the Gin Blossoms, for their songs focus on the REAL side of life, all while adding a spice of poetry and their respective touches to their songs. Looking at other sources of information, from looking at captions from Multiply sites, the "emo look" is performed in a simple manner. If you're the focus of the camera, you're supposed to not stare at the flash and instead, direct your view away from the camera, and unto the left or right side of you, towards preferably, a bright or mystical portion of the photo, in order for the picture to be more "emo". Dramatic, I must admit, but for me, that's it. Frankly, I think the state of emo is just an overrated way of showing emotion that's made only cooler. Emotion is just a starting step of being human. After that, there's intensity, passion, reality and love (not the usual disgusting type). Maybe someday I will try the emo type of life, but if I start to act weird and my status messages become similar to "in love", "missing someone" or "waiting for that special person", then the king quits! By the way, I am not saying that emo is wrong, so to all emo people out there, more power to you! My words are not facts, just opinions.;)

Anyway, because I had nothing to do yesterday, I researched on the current happenings in the Marvel superheroes world, and I'm quite surprised with what I've learned. Here are some of them: Jean Grey is dead and Cyclops has a new wife; In order to protect his teammates, Gambit joined Apocalypse and was transformed into one of the Four Horsemen, Death; Spider-man joined the Avengers; Daredevil is in jail; Juggernaut is a good guy now; Because of the Civil War, Iron Man and Captain America are enemies; Finally, because of the Scarlet Witch, all but 183 heroes lost their power. I'm sure many didn't know these things, and a couple more don't care, but hey, it's free information. Anyway, I better sleep now. PEACE!-rJv

The Wait

2006-08-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

Good evening Joppyholics all around the world. I'm back again after a week and a half for basically, it's term break. After one week of no gimmicks, studying all day up to 3 in the morning, using the computer at the maximum level for papers and endless prayers to the Lord, exam week is finally over. This was the most that I've studied in my entire life and for the first time, I could say that I gave it my all. However, throughout that week, I realized a couple of things. First, had I had good grades from the start, I doubt that I'm gonna study that hard the way I did last week. The only reason why I crammed my ass off is because my grades were on the line, which is a shallow reason for working hard. Second, I must admit, I prayed a whole lot to the Lord last week. That would be a good thing, only if I did that more regularly. It's quite disappointing that I only took time to talk to the Lord just because I was facing adversity, and for that reason only. This is quite pathetic especially because I'm a former Atenean, in which we're taught to be Christ-centered people, and instead, I'm using prayer as an emergency card. I guess somehow, I learned something to end this term and hopefully, I can use them for next term. However, I feel that this week is the most stressful of all. As each day passes until I get my course cards, the anxiety grows and my nerves quiver second by second. This the real hell week and by the grace of God, I can get through it.=D

Continuing with the subject of school, I guess I could afford to look back at the previous term that recently concluded. Academically, I had high expectations for myself and that put more pressure on me, thus resulting in my demise. I just need to better my prioritizing and steer clear from unneeded distractions, and I'm all set. Grades aside, this term wasn't that bad at all. As I grow more distant from my blockmates, I got the opportunity to make new friends and become closer to those that I don't talk with much last schoolyear. This is the kind of social life that I want to have, in which I have no desire to become a household name. Besides, I could never have the life of a cassanova for I left my testicles somewhere in Katipunan, so I guess everybody knows where I'm headed.=p To conclude this, I may not have suceeded in becoming a Dean's lister, a heartthrob, a varsity player or even a man for others, and I probably won't care much. I still am the conceited, boyband loving, Accounting test failing, McDonald's eating, model of greatness which we all humans refer to as the Joppy Vinuya. Now that's cool.;)

Now here are my last minute opinions about senseless nothings: Ateneo will be champions in both the seniors and juniors division in the UAAP. Mr. Kennedy will be a future WWE Champion and the Hardy Boys will reunite. The Indiana Pacers will be a team to be feared in the NBA next season. America's Next Top Model is cool for one of the models is a lezbian who will make out with a girl next episode. McDonald's should freakin' lower their prices! Sometimes, quantity over quality should be used when buying clothes. Love is something everyone should have but it's not required. That's all, thank you.

With that, I must hit the hay and pack up my thing for me and my blockmates are going to Tagaytay tomorrow. Hopefully, many will come. I hope. I hope. Take it easy guys. PEACE!-rJv

At Times Like These..

2006-08-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, gals, gays and lezbos worldwide. Yours truly is back but as always, I won't be writing much here. As much as I miss writing, posting pointless atrocious things that matters to almost nobody and making a complete jackass of myself, college life has engulfed my whole lifestyle so well, that's it. I can no longer post regularly what I did each day, what movies I watched and which person I pissed off, but hey, that can either be a good thing or a bad thing right?=p Anyway, to try to make up for lost time, as much as possible, I will try to make my blog a "2 Cents" column. What that means is that I'll try to talk about the recent happenings in Joppyland and wreak havoc with my unsanctified words. By the way, emphasize on the word, "try". I feel good now.

It may have been weeks ago but I still remember this year's Freshmen Elections for this was the first elections in college that I became active in, in which none of my batchmates are running. This was also my first elections as a sophomore, so the tables are turned for the great one. Instead of being the clueless freshman who had nothing but enthusiasm and a naive mentality, I played the part of the grizzled veteran who had the knowledge and experience but had the work ethic of a sloth. The results? Santugon ended up winning 20 out of 22 positions, but unfortunately, CBE was victimized of a 3-1 slate, in which one of our candidates, Princess Cenizal, lost by I think nine votes. Upon hearing this during the night of the results, I was crushed and while everyone was rejoicing and celebrating, I couldn't help but break down and shed a sh*t load of tears for Princess. I thought that time, had I had the energy to lift my ass and talk to at least 10 more freshmen and convince them to vote right, the outcome would've been different. Nevertheless, what's done is done and with a long road ahead, I firmly believe that our elected officers, JJ, Pierre, and Jessa do their jobs well with their "other" officer and follow on the footsteps of my batch. While there are no rewards or promotions given in being part of the Santugon CBE Core, I still feel that I was also rewarded with this experience. I made so many new friends during the elections, especially with the Frosh, and while I firmly believe they're sh*t as hell more unpredictable than my batch, they're still great in my book.=D I didn't join the Core for the sake of spotting hot girls inside Andrew Building, but to give back what Santugon gave to me last year, and despite my procrastination, I feel that I accomplished that. Now, we head on to the General Elections this third term.;)

Hell week may be different to everyone, but regardless of what school you go to or what course you are taking, the stress is still there. As for this term, hell week was more tormenting than ever before. I want to just get through with my three exams in COMSTA, ACCOM and COMCALC, my paper in English, my take home exam in Market and my Accounting folder, and I'm off to relaxation. My grades in Accounting and Statistics are incredibly low this term, and I'm really hoping that God is willing to help me in this predicament that I'm in.=p Despite all this, I'm gonna miss my subjects and the people whom I spent them with. From my hokey metrosexual professor in COMSTA who laughs like Count Dracula just for the sake of a simple joke, to the numerous comedy moments with my Market buddies and my professor, which is I think the complete package.;) I should be given a 4.0 just for saying that. However, I am sick and tired of waking up at 6 in the morning everyday so on with the next term! Yahoo!=D

With that, I end this entry. I need to study for Accounting right now and I will really regret it if I don't. Term break is only a few days away so if anyone of you have any plans or anything like that, feel free to contact the king. Good luck to all exam takers out there and I will catch on the flip side. PEACE!-rJv

Dropping By..

2006-07-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Good evening Joppy-holics. Like I said before, my entries will now be a rarity here due to my current condition. But since I don't have much homework tonight and well, I have a couple thoughts in my head and I'm feeling a little bit the dramatic but overused "emo" mode, so I might as well share some of it here. Besides, I'll be doing Peter's journal critique (for a hefty price of course), so I need the practice as well. Though I feel that there's something I need to do for tomorrow, probably for Accounting or English, but hey, I'm used to forgetting school stuff so another blunder wouldn't hurt the king.=p Everyday is a work so I might as well use this chance to procrastinate a little.=D

So what's the king up to?(The king; I miss that moniker) Like I said, these past few weeks have pure business and school stuff. While the BA is still managing its current activity, which is the Soph Cup, I turn my head into helping out Santugon and its current candidates for the upcoming Freshmen Elections for BnE 2009. Our candidates are a unique batch, but I gurantee, these people hard hardworking, approachable people that I would vote for anytime. Of course, they wouldn't win if they didn't have support, and the CBE Core is doing that. In our Core, we have great leaders in Martin and Stacy, as well as a great supporting cast. I, along with Steph, Nix, Java, KC, Miles and Gelo are the ones who go to almost ALL the meetings and we stay there up to its final second, and then we go to McDo to eat in our Happy Place. While this may be stressful, or hassle to the massel as my high school classmate Jotham wrote in one of his Multiply albums, but because we form a well-oiled team and we have fun, late evenings in DLSU don't suck that much. We also have additional help from Jean, Zab, Joey, Jicko, Anj and Mav, which is really needed. From how the people work, I already see those who I think my batchmates will see more in the third term as well next school year.=p I admire these individuals for compared to them, I feel like a freakin' poser who can't even do a simple thing like text a couple of Santugon frosh in a block. As much as I want Santugon to win again, I'm kinda disappointed in myself for I know I can do more. I guess I have a few more weeks to shape up I guess.=p Oh yeah, I'm planning to be active in COSCA so that's pretty cool right?=D Thank God I have kind hearted professors this term for if I didn't have them, I wouldn't have this much time for my co-curricular activities. With that, Derecho Santugon!

Just because me and my BA/Core peeps are extremely busy, doesn't mean that I no longer have a thinking mind right?=p While all this madness is going around, I manage to take time to have a break, smell the flowers and think about my personal life, as well as stuff outside the meetings and orientations. Since I AM in college, it can't be helped that there are girls that will come and go and take a portion of time in a college boy's life. If you ask me, making love relationships a big deal like some people do is a big joke. If you want to find someone, you don't have to "live for the moment", "wait patiently" or other crap like that, you just have to be a good person, avoid pissing off other people and of course, the corny but true rule, be yourself.=p It's a simple and understandable theory constructed by the logical thinking mind of the great one and I sure hell know it works.;) As for me, I'm single, I have a shaky history with this touchy subject, but I no longer give a rat's ass about it.=p I have a family, great friends, BA, Santugon and my other orgs. to keep me busy, Accounting to piss me off, basketball and gym to keep me in shape and porn to make my life happy. Just joking about the last part.=p I am a porn hater and I am not number 1 like Niko (number 1 is an Ayala boy term). That's all!

Anyway, I'm gonna download some songs using ShareBear, endorsed by my fellow BA-mate, Pearle.=p It's an embarassing name but hey, the thing works. I reformatted my PC so all my songs got erased and well, for some reason, I can't install Limewire. Oh well! Have a pleasant evening everyone. 10 days left. PEACE!-rJv

My Final Word..?

2006-07-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

It has been more than a month since I last wrote something here, and unfortunately, it could be a long time before I write something new again here. It's not that I no longer love to write, but due to inconsistency and a really busy lifestyle, I can no longer shelf time to write something here. My jobs and responsibilities in the BA has grown, plus, with the Freshman elections coming soon, I have to work hard for Santugon also. To complete my co-curricular activies, I will try my best to be active in my other organizations, preferrably AdCreate and COSCA. Finally, staying true to my promise of becoming a Dean's Lister, in order to achieve this, I have to make sacrifices and this is one of them. So after two years of writing controversy and emotional garbage, the king has finally rested from his expertise. That is all and may everyone excel in the art of Joppynism. PEACE!-rJv

Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year?

2006-05-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings Joppy-holics. It's a Saturday evening, it's raining outside and it's another night alone here in my house. I wasn't supposed to write here tonight but somehow, the sound of the pouring rain and the crashing of lightning gave me inspiration. I'm not gonna go sappy and write something about love but at least I'm gonna write something! Besides, Pinoy Big Brother starts at around 9 so I have 30 minutes or so to burn. Oh well!=D

One week of school has passed and it was quite an interesting one. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was that freshman Atenean who was culture shocked to the fullest for the idea of studying in my alumni school's rival is quite overwhelming and a hard pill to swallow. But this week, I felt like a bigshot looking down at the freshmen(or Froshies in DLSU lingo) who were giddy and doing all sorts of frosh activities like going to lunch together in big groups and staring at their EAF's as if it was a porn magazine. As for my classes, I guess they're okay, aside from the fact that I don't have a lot of C48 classmates in my classes except for Computer and my Accom2A class got dissolved. Luckily, I got another one with the same professor and I had a lot of non-block friends in my other classes. In the Batch Assembly, we instantly had an upcoming activity called the Soph Cup, which is basically a follow-up to last year's Frosh Cup. It's simply a sports tournament for our batchmates, consisting of different games like basketball, volleyball and frisbee. To promote this and to assist our fellow batchmates in registering, we had a booth in the Yuchenco lobby. However, this area didn't just serve as a place to register but it was also a hang out place for us BA members. During our breaks, we basically head to this area to talk, eat, bond and chitchat about anything and everything. Looking at this, it showed that our team building a few weeks ago worked and hopefully, we become even more closer as a result of it. Since we no longer have a booth, hopefully, we can find another place for the BA to hang out after our strenuous classes. Suggestions anyone? Though the week didn't well for I found out that my block will no longer team with our buddies from C34 during the Soph Cup due to special reason, I guess things are looking up for the king. I guess.=p

Looking at this week, I guess it can be concluded that block unity is quite hard to garner when you're a sophomore. In my case, aside from my close friends, I no longer talk too much with my blockmates. Maybe it's because of past conflict, and maybe it's because of the difference of break times, but whatever the case, it's hard to be a team player now for C48. Maybe the real college is all about looking out for yourself for aside from your usual group of friends and orgmates, you're on your own. No longer will you have class presidents or PRO's to help manage the class funds and make soirees in order for you to meet somebody new. I guess the real college for me happened just last Monday. Now how will I survive one whole schoolyear without my usual comofort zone in the form of C48? This Blue Eagle has no idea.=p

I guess that's probably it. Oh yeah, one final thing. An advice to those who have laptops and are wanting to save it from breaking down quickly: if you're going out at night and if you're probably gonna arrive home late, unless you're a person with a great memory like the king, I advice you to please turn off your laptops instead of letting it run all through the night, just for the sake of being online in YM or something. Not only is it pointless, but you're shortening your laptop's running life, and if that happens, you have to get it repaired and repairs require the act of shedding lots of cash. A simple advice from BnE2008's own misunderstood Publications Officer.;) Later. PEACE!-rJv

A Fond Farewell

2006-05-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

After days of not writing here, the king is back with a now rare entry coming from the king's great and nimble mind. There are two reasons why I'm no longer a frequent blogger. These two reasons are what we humans call "happiness" and "contentedness". For once in my life, I feel like the usual stress and problems that I often face are lifted off my shoulders and it feels great. Yes, for the past few days, it feels like luck is on my side but other than that, this carefree spirit is due to a transformation that I've made this summer. Looking back, I have learned to take things slowly and face life one day at a time and not to worry much about what's gonna happen in the future. It may sound so dramatic but it does work!=D Before, I felt like I tried to do everything in the quickest way, and one example is when everytime I order McDo food here in my house, and in a matter of under 10 minutes, I can finish a doublecheeseburger, two large fries and chicken nuggets. Now, I no longer know what's the point in taking things too fast, so now, I'm doing the opposite. And as of tonight, I don't know what I'm currently talking about now. Whoopsee.=p

This is the last day of my extremely short summer and though part of me is saying that this sucks, the other part of me is relieved. For one more year, I'm going to face the world of academic and mental stress, but hey, I guess it's better than sitting on my ass all day here in my house. I must admit, at the start of summer, it wasn't all that fun, and it doesn't get any better when your closest friends are often out doing God knows what.=p But late in the summer, that's when things became better as each day passed by. In short, that's when I finally escaped the life of bumming around and I actually got to go somewhere. However, gimmicks and outings aside, there was that factor in this summer that made me realize that eventhough I never got the chance to feel the sand of Boracay and do some clubbing sh*t here in the city, this summer was worth remembering. I can't explain or even describe this certain factor, but it made this short vacation worth the while. Anyway, here's the list of events this summer that I'll definitely remember:

-Hong Kong trip with the family
-Finding out I passed Accom1b!
-Volunteering for LPEP
-Adi's surprise party, my incredible acting skills that day and the gimmick afterwards
-the mini-high school reunion in Katipunan
-Kish's debut!
-team Ayala's first losing record
-Tagaytay outing with my blockmates and my first time to sleep in a 1000php hotel
-Finally, the BA team building in Freshy's house in Laguna

Speaking of the team building which was yesterday and we arrived today, that was one hell of a trip! Freshy's house there was nice also, with the karaoke machine, pool table, swimming pool and comfortable rooms. There were also activities that were led by Freshy's high school orgmates, and while some of them were quite boring, some were fun and motivational and somehow, I learned something out of it and hopefully, this will bring the BA together. During the free time, we all just went nuts, swimming until 4 in the morning, singing our hearts out with the karaoke machine, playing poker using Monopoly money for chips and so much more. Out of the 52 officers, only 24 went to the outing but hey, I guess now those 28 officers regret that they didn't come.=p Joke. All in all, it was the perfect way to end this summer.=)

With that, I end this entry by saluting this 1 1/2 vacation at the theme of Urbandub's "First of Summer" for despite its quirks, this summer rocks! As this door closes, the schoolyear's door opens and I will enter it carefully but head on. It will be a tough road but hey, who said life was easy?;) Anyway, we didn't sleep all that much last night since we enjoyed so much so I better rest now. Thank you summer and I will see you in 365 days. PEACE!-rJv

Long Long Time

2006-05-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of unexplainable boredome and laziness, I finally wrote something here in my f*cking blog. Now usually, it's easy for me to write something controversial or idiotic here so what went wrong now? Well, first of all, with my suckfest of a summer, I don't have much to talk about. All those plans I made at the start of the summer were bullsh*t for they ain't happening.=p It goes to show that in order to have a fun summer vacation, it should be free flowing and unorganized, for it's definitely hard to meet one's own expectations. Second, I'm too lazy to write! The majority of my summer vacation, I spent those days inside my house and it completely sucks! Finally, for some mysterious reason, despite this piece of crap I call my summer, I'm somehow "happy" and in peace with myself. The reason for this? I have no idea but at least I feel great!=D

Now what's up with the king? Well, nothing much because like I said, this summer is a big disappointment. My blockmates are nowhere to be seen as expected but I'm shocked that there wasn't any type of reunion with my Ateneo classmates during the high school. This summer was the only free time I had to meet up with them yet I wasn't able to hang out with them for at least one damn day. And don't get me started with my neighbors for I'm surprised with how they are right now.=p In the previous years, my summer days were fun for almost everyday, me and the Ayala boys had something to do, whether it's a gimmick, overnight, outing or just a day to play basketball or go to the gym. Now, while some are busy with their girlfriends and varsity and sh*t, the rest became gym rats and lazy bums.=p Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy going to the gym every now and then, but five times a week? That's boring as hell man. I would understand if you're like that if you're an athlete or something, but what's the point if you're not? Everyone wants to have a nice body but come on man, being that addicted to the gym is just plain ridiculious. As for gimmicks, that's almost non-existent here. I don't know if it's because money is hard to come by these days but more often than not, I spend my nights here in the Vinuya residence. At times, we have poker nights but frankly, I'm tired of it, even if it's in Triplejack. This dilemma has pushed me to the brink of insanity, to the point that me, Roland Joseph T. Vinuya, have an daily TV schedule and I even watch Pokemon and Power Rangers! If you think that's pathetic, then you're right on the money.=) Thankfully, there's something that prevents my summer from being a complete bust. What's that? I don't know. I'm just making that up. I think.=p

With nothing to talk about, I might as well discuss about the incredible phenomena that has hit nationwide television by storm, Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition.=D If you're a teenager and you tell me that you haven't watched a single episode of it, then I'd say you're a liar.=p Just kidding. At a business standpoint, the people of PBB made a great move in making a teen edition, for in the previous two editions, they've already captured the mass market. Now that they've taken the teenage demographic also, they literally have the whole country watching their product. As a former hater of the show, they have made me eat my own words for I must admit, I'm a little addicted to the show. As much as possible, I try to catch it during nighttime, as well as the Uplate show in the early morning. Now what are the king's thoughts about the housemates? First of all, I can't stand Bam! He's corny, trying hard, a pain in the ass, a KSP and I'm glad Nina likes Fred instead of his fat ass. As for Nina, I think she's too "friendly", shallow and complacent, but hey, she creates ratings, if you know what I mean.;) Of course, I can't forget about my fellow Atenean Mikee, who's playing the game smartly and not like a complete moron like Bam.=p For the others, they're okay in their own individual ways and more power to them. When you write about PBB like what I'm doing right now, it shows that you're desperate to do something.=D

Anyway, that's all. I have nothing left to talk about so see you in YM world. PEACE!-rJv

Move Along

2006-04-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

I just came home from another heartbreaking loss in our inter-village tournament and we got our asses whooped pretty good. Our opponent for tonight was Tivoli Greens, and due to the lack of frontcourt presence, we got beat in the rebounding and fast break department. For now, we have a disappointing 1-4 record and maybe it's because we have busy schedules, or we have outings in different times, or we don't have a coach when the going gets tough, but whatever the case, we're on the outside looking in. It's the first time I ever experienced a losing record in our tournament, and in a span of five games, I'm already getting used to the feeling of defeat. And what happened to that single win? Well that's the game that I didn't play so right now, I feel really good.=p Oh well! The good part in this is that we can plan a Boracay trip for next month, or at least doing something not related to basketball. What a way to start the summer!=)

Now what's the reason why I missed that one game? Well, during the day of the game, my friends from my block planned to go to Alabang to chill and swim so since I won't be seeing these guys for a long time, missing one measly game was worth it. We were supposed to meet at DLSU by 12, but due to the lack of transportation, me and Adi took the MRT and we arrived late. When we were all there, me, Adi, Kish, Petard, Mau, Lau and Chino all headed to south and after a few stopovers including snacktime at Kish's house, we eventually arrived at ATC where we met up with Den and Leeanne. After that, we went to Den's house but unfortunately, Kish wasn't able to come with us. Anyway, Den's house was REALLY far away! If Alabang for me is already far, then her house was like located in the borders of Tagaytay. Needless to say, it felt like a beachhouse atmosphere there, with the concave streets and the wind blowing around. After an episode of Friends, we decided to go swimming, except Leeanne, who had no swimwear.=p So for around two hours, the king, a single bachelor, went swimming with three happy couples and while it sucked, it was a nice dosage of reality.=D After a big dinner, around 9:30, me and the Manila people headed back to OUR civilization, as Petard dropped me and Adi in Greenhills, where we were fetched by our driver. Overall, it was a nice way to spend time with my blockmates and I'd like to thank Petard for the transpo and Den and her parents for making our lives comfortable in their home.=) Oh yeah, Den has two of the coolest parents that I've ever known. Real down to earth people.=)

Because my head is still rocking after our stellar effort in our game, I'm too fatigued to do my usual controversial reflections about the stupidest things in life. The only that I could think about is how I'm going to face the new schoolyear this May 22. That's how generous our school is in giving dayoffs. Oh yeah, did you guys know that DLSU is suspended in the UAAP for one whole year? While I have little to no reaction in this since I'm an eternal Ateneo fanatic, the people of ABS-CBN, Studio 23 and the other companies that are banking on the UAAP's popularity are pissed off since the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry draws so much money and now, these two teams won't butt heads for one full season. Oh dear.=p It goes to show that cheating can be applied only in tests and homework, not in nationwide leagues. Wait, that didn't sound good. Sh*t. Anyway, I've been using this summer as a remedy to the pains of last year and now, I'm healing quite good. All the mean things I've done and the bad choices I made, I learned from them and now, I'm one year smarter. While I cannot erase the consequences, I can however make something positive of it. Starting next year, I'm just gonna be focused with my studies and doing a good job in the BA. It may seem like bullsh*t coming out of the mouth of a guy who had SRP in high school for three years, but hey, I'm serious about this sh*t. I'm already used to have haters but now, I wanna prove the doubters wrong and I dunno how, but I guarantee I will get that Dean's list award next term. Talk is cheap unless it's written in my stupid blog so I might as well prove my words. Besides, when my mom sees my grades for last term, I guess it's only fair that I make it up to her. I did not fail but my grades sure do suck!=p

With that, to the Ayala boys, lock all your doors for in a few days, the steady Ram is going back to Manila, now darker, older and more English speaking than ever! Later. PEACE!-rJv

Surpassion

2006-04-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

You know what sucks about summer? First of all, the freakin' weather! For some scientific reason, the refrigerator in our house, as well as my airconditioning, are busted, making life hard for yours truly. Now, I can't even enjoy a cold beverage because there's no ice in the freezer and my room is nearing the temperature of the one similar to a sauna. Also, for another scientific reason, I get dehydrated more. It'd nice to have iced tea here in the house but since our maid makes one of the sweetest and most oversaturated ones, instead I drink Coke and that's not healthy. Such shallow complaints make the world of Joppynism such an interesting one.=D

Today is course card day and unfortunately, I arrived late in school so I failed to get two of my five cards this term. All I can say is that whether it's due to lack of intelligence or exit mode, my grades are quite low. And no, I'm not trying to be humble or like some of those people who are not satisfied with a grade like a 2.5, my grades really aren't that impressive. Nonetheless, all that matters for me this time is that I pass all my subjects and I'm okay with that. Now that's what we call mediocrity, ladies and gentlemen.=D I got to hang out with my friends from my block, namely Adi, Den, Dianne, Leeanne, Lau and Chino, and during lunchtime, we ate a very expensive meal in Yellow Cab. Around 1:45, I went to the first official informal meeting (description courtesy of our VP for Operations Conrad Lee =p) of the Operations committee in the conservatory. There, Conrad explained all the things that we need to know and behold batchmates, as the Publications officer, I'm in charge of all the written stuff of the batch so you better read all them damn it. Kidding. Like I said before, we now have 19 new members I think, so next year will be an interesting one. Around 4:30, me, Dianne and Adi took the trains home and since I'm too lazy to climb the stairs of the Quezone Ave. station, I went to Shangri-la instead with Dianne as we waited for our fetchers. Done.

It's amazing how us Lasallian students get riled up with seeing our grades printed on a piece of paper, with our different reactions and emotions. While some are satsfied with the sight of a 1.0 grade marked in their cards, others shriek and are terrified with this for it's a downer to anyone's GPA, especially those who are determined to be a Dean's lister. Seeing this, I'm kinda grateful that problems like these are the only things that we have to worry about in our lives. I mean come on, all we need to do is just study our books and do our homework and we're all set. In the meantime, our parents are breaking their backs to earn money for our education and basic necessities in life, eventhough some of us crap on their efforts and focus the things in life that aren't cool. I'm one of those people who somehow did this and I'm quite disgusted in myself that I'm not pushing myself to do more than I'm capable of. Oh yeah, think of the less fortunate people who are almost killing themselves just to even buy a decent meal for their families. These are the ones who have the right to whine about their hardships, yet we complain as much as them because of small reasons. Not getting the king's point? Here's another example. Today, whether it was in school or in the internet, I noticed that some people are making a big deal about being single, whether it's because they haven't had a relationship in a long while, or they recently broke up with their exes. While I completely have no ill feelings nor intentions to insult these people, it wouldn't hurt to have a little reality check.=p As a guy who sucks with girls, there's nothing wrong with being single and in fact, it's kinda cool.=D Sure, it would be neat to have someone special since you're not bound for loneliness and the fact that you can change you Friendster status to "In a Relationship", "Married" or my favorite "It's Complicated", but golly golly, it's not the end of the friggin' world if you're single! Besides, what's so wrong with being single? There are six billion people in this world, and while I'm no scientist, I'm sure at least half of these people are single right? And for crying out loud, you should be grateful that you even have a decent social life! Think about it, would you rather be single or abnormal or handicapped? If you ask me, I'd rather remain this way than be retarded. Oh wait, I think I AM retarded. Sh*t. Lesson for today folks: be grateful with what you freakin' have, because other people are not as lucky as you. Greatness at its finest.;)

With that, I have a gurantee for next schoolyear: I'm gonna make it in the Dean's list. I don't know how I'm gonna do it but it WILL happen. "Some" people think I'm a conceited jerk so I might live this persona. Good evening everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Where The Sun Is Always Shining..

2006-04-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, the king is finally back in the Philippines! It may be bad news to some but hey, it's all good. I just got back from Hong Kong with my family and I had a f*cking great time there! All I can say is that that country kicks ass! The place was great, with the cool places and the incredible city life. It's like every building is a mall or a restaurant there, and since most of the buildings are connected to each other through air conditioned pathways, it makes walking easier for you don't have to go the ground floor of the building and walk the streets. We went to Disneyland, Ocean Park, Victoria's Peak and the marketplace in Mong Kok and all were awesome tourist places. Of course, we can't forget that HK is the shopping capital of the world, and that's what me and siblings did best!=p As much as I would like to abuse the power of my big daddy's credit card, since I'm not the only one who wants to buy stuff there, I went a little easy but I'm happy with the stuff I bought. Quite frankly, HK kicks our country's ass in every aspect possible! The people are nicer, technology is more advanced and poverty is minimized, thanks to government-sponsored homes for low income folks. While I was disappointed that the weather wasn't what I expected, at least it became cold during the last day of our stay there. Finally, the MTR, their version of out MRT and LRT, was cool as hell, eventhough the smell inside was quite awful. Overall, it was a great trip and I had new experiences like riding a double decker bus and a sea ferry ship, walking the long shopping road known as Nathan road and eating the oriental version of one of my favorite cuisines ever, the McDonald's double cheeseburger meal.=D While I've seen too much people with chinky eyes lately, I'm back and eventhough it's hot here, it feels great to be home.;)

Now aside from the trip, what has the king done lately? Well, to be honest, nothing much but here in the village, unless you intend to stay home and do nothing but stare at your lifeless computer, odds are, you won't get bored as long you have friends here. I've scrapped my plans in taking a summer job since my vacation is quite short and wasting 4-5 hours on a low paying job 5 days a week is summer suicide. I still plan on getting my damn license because I'm really getting old and I'm tired of hitching rides with my friends. All I need to do is get over the garage incedent that traumatized me for one full year. Finally, as basketball is popular to us Ayala peeps, there's a new rave in our village, and that is poker. This summer, poker nights have been constant not only to my generation of Ayala boys, but to the Ayala boys that came before us. (Yes people, when me, Niko, Tonino, Jason, Allen, Angelo and my other peeps were a bunch of infants and sperm cells, there were already Ayala boys roaming the village. Now, they're a bunch of near graduates and working adults who own the basketball court on Sundays.=p) Anyway, I'm happy to say that I won my first game last night, not to mention 100 bucks. It isn't much but hey, it comes with pride.=D Like I always say, it's great to be king. ;) Arrogant? Maybe. Oh well!

Like I've said a million times before, I'm f*cking glad it's summer! Just recently, I just found out that I freakin' passed Accom1B and it's the best feeling ever! All the hardwork paid off and I'd like to thank God for it. In the BA, the number of members increased in an alarming rate and I'm now the current publications officer, which is great since I can use my writing skills to the fullest. Prior to what I learned in Busorga class, I'm not so sure with the narrowing of the control span but hey, I get to meet new people and if it works, it works.=) As for the other school stuff, I'm not missing it whatsoever and though I'm still waiting for any block outing, I'm quite contented here in the north part of town. Why? Because there's something we all call the comfort zone. When you're in it, it's the best feeling ever. As long as you have full control of your actions and you have a tight group of friends, it's like a big load is taken off your back since you don't have to think much about how people see you. Outside my comfort zone for example, in school, "some" people think I'm a cold hearted, arrogant prick, similar to one of my current favorite wrestlers, Randy Orton, and well, they abhor me to a high level. I don't have to like that, but hey, you can't expect everyone to like you.=p I may be like this because of influence, or maybe it's because of plain genetic effects, or because I studied in a school that has a discriminating reputation of producing conceited jerks, but whatever the case, it's there. Inside the comfort zone, that's not much of a problem. In my case, though the people close to me still think I'm a cocky bastard, they don't see it as a reason to despise me as if I'm the son of Satan. While some things we do or say may be offensive or hurtful to some, it's all fun and games for us for we don't take things seriously when we don't have to. That my friends, is what we humans call true friendship. The concept is simple: instead of judging anyone by their looks or what they say or do, the proper procedure is simply just getting to know the person and looking past his or her pet peeves. It's a simple idea but unfortunately, we live in a complicated world and the truth is, we're all a bunch of hypocrites. We judge other people unfairly, as if we're innocent little angels who have never done anything wrong in our lives. Writing this, I'm probably a hypocrite as well. I'm not writing this to target anyone, nor am I sarcastic, I'm just writing the truth and as influenced by former WWE champ Edge, it's called Rated-R writing.;) So the next time we all plan on judging someone and loathing them for petty reasons, always remember that somewhere inside, there's a bitch or an asshole inside of us. This, my Joppy-holics, is the effect of four days of clear solitude: writing inspiration.=)

In the meantime, I must now suit up to play basketball. Oh yeah, I'd like to greet my BA-mate Tonet Pacheco aka Tootsie Roll and my neighbor Hanz Choy aka Doc Patty a Happy Birthday. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Its' Over...For Now

2006-04-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

If you tried entering my blog last week to have a daily dose of controversial jibberish, and it says that the page cannot be found, odds are, I shut down my blog TEMPORARILY. As we all know, it was my exams last week and I REALLY needed to concentrate on my studies. It's make or break time for me in Accounting, as I need to get at least 53% of the test for me to pass. It may seem easy when you look at it, but when it comes to ACCOM1B, nothing's easy. Anyway, what matters is that it's back again so read all the sh*t that I write, post something in my tagboard, and join in the havoc and chaps that only the world of Joppy can ommitt.=p

And after one week of hardwork, stress and resistance to join the Ayala boys in basketball practices and poker nights, classes are finally over. It just ended last Friday and what a relief it was. I expected both my Accounting and Busorga to be extremely difficult, and while they're both no sure-passes, somehow they were answerable, if you know what I mean. I dunno if I worked hard enough to deserve to pass Accounting but I hope I did. I can't afford to repeat ACCOM1B again for 1.) I already failed ACCOM1, 2.) I'd be wasting 5000 bucks and 3.) I'm not guranteed that I'll pass if ever I repeat. Studying all day and all night isn't exactly easy but of course, the person that motivated me is God. I went to the school chapel a few days ago to pray to God so that He could give me strength and inner peace from what's been happening lately, somehow, it worked and if ever I pass, there's no one to thank but the big guy who lives in the heavens. Not only will He stop me from being very delayed, He will also give me bragging rights for passing ACCOM1B in one try is a big feat itself. That's a cool thing.=D

I wasn't able to say goodbye properly to my blockmates in a nice way last Friday. Then again, I didn't have to since I'm sure many of them are relieved to not see my face for one month. =p They can hate me now until the start of the schoolyear up to graduation day but for now, I'm determined to have the most fun, peaceful, carefree summer of my life! For one month, all I want is to chill, hang out with my neighbors and Ateneo peeps, go to an outing or two and plain have the time of my life for one extremely short month. If there's a block outing or something, the same thing goes, and if grudges are still held, then there's nothing I can do. No need for fights this summer, and the "good people" can just relax and enjoy their vacation as well.=) For now, I don't have much to do and in the AQCHAI tournament, we currently have an abismal 0-3 record, which is the first we ever had a 3-game losing streak. Aside from that, I still have a positive outlook of my summer and to you H2005 classmates: your summers are now complete now that the king is back.;)

Of course, there's plenty that I'll miss, now that I won't be going to Taft for a period of time, mainly in my third term classes. It's the first term to be seperated from my block, and it turned out well. I made new friends, pissed off some, but managed to have a great time as well. I'll miss being late most of the time in English, especially the 7:40 MF sessions. I'll miss the Accounting classes in which me and my seatmates Jenny, Gladys and Ciara tend to fail at our tests together.=p As for Busorga, I'll miss annoying my new best friend, Grace! Oh wait, she's the one who keeps disturbing when I'm trying to listen to the teacher.=p As for my block dominated classes, Filipino and PE, while I won't miss a lot in Filipino, in PE, I'll miss my incredibly snobbish professor, as well as my dance partner, Tin (in a friends way of course), since she's been nice and cooperative with me and all the things that our prof tells us to do.=p Finally, I could never forget Kaspil class, where me and Anj take turns cutting class, and since almost everyone there is a comedian, especially Lester, the master of annoying teachers and fellow classmates.=D As for my other friends in school, of course, I cannot forget the BA. Also, I'll miss making making idiotic jokes with Jean and despite my constant teasing, I'll miss those "serious" talks with my outside the classroom brother, Tina.=D Basically, I'll miss a lot of things.=D

Oh yeah, I'm going to Hong Kong tomorrow so obviously, I won't be online for awhile and I won't be updating this for at least four more days. It's Holy Week so take this time to spend with your family. I'm sure many of you aren't from DLSU so one week away from fun with friends won't hurt your summer much. Take care y'all. PEACE!-rJv

The Last Word

2006-04-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

Finally, it's the last week of the schoolyear and I can't wait for it to freakin' end. Mathematical wise, I only have three schooldays left, for I don't have classes on both Wednesday and Thursday. I'm relieved that I only have two exams for this term, Accounting and Busorga, and they're both on Friday. While my grades are decent enough, I REALLY need to pass the exams for Accounting. The king is walking on eggshells in that course, and if ever I fail, not only will it be a big dent to academic records, but also to my infamous humongous ego as well.=p It's gonna be a tough week, but going back to what the Ateneo taught me, as long as you show heart in what you're gonna do, more often than not, you're gonna succeed. Saint Ignatius, pray for us.=)

So what's left to do for this week? First, it's my argumentative essay for English class in which I really screwed up with. Normally, I don't blunder with stuff like this, but for some reason, I just can't seem to get how to explain my points of view in an argument. It's either because of that or I'm too lazy to research for added information.=p For PEDance, my group, consisting of myself, Dianne, Chino, Kandy, Harley and my partner Tin, have a performance on Tuesday in which we have to dance the salsa. We just practiced yesterday, what surprised me about the dance is not the "wholesome" factor that it brings, but its range of difficulty. Nonetheless, it's better than the La Cumbian dance in which our snobbish professor has a costume for. Green shirt, pedal pushers, short stockings and loafers anyone?=p I have to wear black slacks and polo shirt so if anyone could lend me a black long-sleeve polo shirt, I'd be eternally grateful. Also on that same day, I have my reporting for Busorga so once again, I need to be in business attire so combine that with the PE thing, it's gonna be a sweaty day. Finally, there's the incredibly difficult practice set for Accounting, but thanks to modern technology, we now have something we call the copy-paste system. After that, exam time. Good luck to me babeh!=D

As I feel great surviving my first year as an official, LaSallian, I really can't wait for this schoolyear to just die. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna miss my blockmates, my BA-mates as well as my other friends, but I think it's time for me to go back to my life before college began. It's time for me to go back to my roots and geographical-wise, spend more time in the north side of town. With me studying in a new environment, despite what I have accomplished and what I've learned, I feel that somehow, I have lost myself with the hype of first year college and I need to calm down and seperate myself from my new life. It cannot be seen on my face, but I am a little bit burned out. I could deal with the heavy loads of tests and papers because I was already trained hard in Ateneo. What I wasn't ready for is the emotional rollercoaster that I came upon in my first year. Studying in an all-boys school for 12 years, you don't deal with sh*t like these in school. All you care about is passing, basketball, drinking parties, chicks and thinking of sexual and disgusting terms to insult your classmate's manhood. While this may seem subtle and masochistic, it somehow made life a little bit simpler for us. Now, you have to deal with harsh politics, more fierce peer pressure and people who are unstable emotional-wise. Thanks to Santugon and the BA, I have learned to deal with people. But other than that, I know myself to the point that I can say that Joppy Vinuya is an impatient and insensitive man. If you're looking for weakness in me, then look no further. You might think that this leading to my current problem, but the truth is, I have had it with trying to be the good guy and attempting to fix this situation for it's not gonna end in a good way this time around. This is a type of scenario in which the unstoppable force (yours truly) goes head-to-head with the immovable object (the third party in the situation). In short, nobody's backing down. My mind is already somewhere else, probably in Boracay, so make mean comments or whatever, for I don't care anymore. I just need my 1-month vacation, a passing grade in Accounting and hopefully, it becomes true that time heals everything. Other than that, have a nice summer everyone. ;)

Now what's up with the dramatic and intense entry? Well, it's because this is my last entry for the schoolyear so might as well end it with a bang. I have no desire to piss anyone off and all I want is to clear my mind so that I can freakin' study well for the exams. That's all. Until next time, folks. PEACE!-rJv

Sunburn

2006-03-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was the continuation of the BNE2008 Frosh Cup and the sun was as scorching as ever! My team's(C48 and C34 are in one team) game was the first and we won a nailbiter. After the game, I attended 0ne hour of my make-up class for Accounting and after that, it was back to the hardcourt for me. After another game in which we won again, we ate lunch then Adi and his friend Perkin taught me how to play frisbee and after that, a bunch of people joined us to play a sisx-on-six game in which I almost caught the frisbee on our goal, had it not bounced off my chest. Oh well! What followed next would be the biggest game in the Froshcup. It was us against the people from C47 and C40 and FYI, C47 is known for being the best in basketball in our batch in CBE. During the first half, we got clobbered pretty badly, in which their biggest lead was 12. To make matters worse, in the spirit of competition, they talked a little bit of trash talking, which was annoying yet amusing, and eventhough that would upset a normal team, we just remained focused. In the second half, we managed to claw back and gain the lead, thanks to the brilliance of my teammate Mavi Ferrer and a little something we call teamwork. What's great is that during that time, for some reason, the trash talking disappeared, which I don't know why. The crowd was very concentrated on the game since it was a close match, and it even reached overtime. As both teams gave it their all, eventually, because we played with pure heart and determination, we came out on top. That was the biggest victory for us since we were considered the underdogs on that game, yet we showed that pure teamwork can beat pure talent anytime. After the game, we were informed that the championship will start after 20 minutes, which sucked, but because we had no lights and the activity ban starting this week, we had no choice. As the game started, little did we know that there was another variable that we had to face: cramps. Yes people, as time passed, my teammates started to feel the pain of endless running for 2 hours, starting from my fellow Atenean Mickey Curbita, then Mavi, then yours truly, ending with the batch VP David Ofrecio. Freshy and Mavi managed to play again but as for us Ateneans, we were a mini hospital at our bench, as both of Mickey's legs cramped up and my lower back and quadriceps hurt like hell. In the end, we lost in the championship but as seen in the C47 game, we proved to the people watching that we're also champions. I ended the day eating at Pizza Hut with Adi, Petard and Fresh and then commuting home all banged up and bruised. A fun but extremely strenuous day.;)

Looking back at that day, I took home more than just a swollen back and bruised quadriceps. I managed to gain new friendship with the people in my batch, like my teammates Mavi, Mickey, Ian, Starsky and Chriz, some of their blockmates, as well as our opponents and even those who I played frisbee with.=p These are some of the reasons why it's hard for me to leave DLSU to go to Ateneo. It's because of the friendships that I've gained with the people that I see everyday in campus that make me stay in Taft, despite the fact that it's such a hassle for me to just go to school and go home. But with these people, those long trips are worth it and eventhough I'm still in conflict with "some" of the people I know there, I guess all the drama and suspense are all worth it.=p After all, you can't expect everyone to like you and as for me, there may be Joppy haters but all that matters are the people who are close to me and I'm contented with that. You could call me gay, pathetic, a nobody or any other word you could find in the dictionary and I still couldn't care less.;) We have a line in DLSU called "Life is Taft", and eventhough this wasn't the life that I wanted, I might as well try to live it to the fullest for well, that's what life is all about. Besides, who wouldn't wanna live a life in which all classrooms are all airconditioned and hot women are walking everywhere?=p

As summer approaches step by step(well, at least for me =p), what are my plans? Thanks to the extremely hot weather, I'm certainly not taking summer classes! First of all, my family and I are going to Hong Kong during Holy Week so it's shopping galore. After that, I really wanna go to Boracay since well, I haven't gone there. I'm a loser, I know.=p If not, then any beach would do, as long as I'm with my friends. I also wanna take a summer job as a barista in Starbucks, but given its work hours and my short break, it's not going well. Of course, summer wouldn't be summer without the AQCHAI basketball tournament, and hopefully, we'll win this time. Finally, for the rest of my summer days, I'd like to spend it with the Ayala people, as well as my H-boys from my high school days and of course, my blockmates.;) I'm gonna stay away from Taft as much as possible and spend some time here in the north. Hopefully, my plan works out.=D

With that, I'm gonna now write my major composition for English class. I'm also gonna do Lau's paper for 85 bucks.=p PEACE!-rJv

Yellow And Blue

2006-03-21T04:16:00.000-08:00

Hello again. School's out for almost everyone but mine so please help me ease the suffering. I've got around 20 days to go, not to mention a research paper and dance for PE, 2 finals exams, a major composition for English and a practice set for Accounting. I could also include the quizzes and homeworks as well but that would be too sad to think about. Going back to my Blue Eagle roots, this is what you call exit mode, in which you're still in school while your mind is already on vacation. For now, I can only think about summer, those days in which I can sleep all morning, the soft sand of the beach, the nights of gimmicks and carefree fun and most importantly, one whole month without studies! Once, I was happy to be in school, now, I'm just wading it out until it's all over. Our last day is on April 11 so you do the math.=p

Anyway, back to business. Last Saturday, I started the morning by ushering for the confirmation seminar for the upcoming freshmen. It was optional for us BA members, but since I also had a make-up accounting class that day and well, I could put this in my credentials, I volunteered. It was quite tiring, going from distant places of the school like the third floor of the LS building, the William Shaw Theatre and the farthest of all, the Gokungwei building. What followed two hours after that is my 3-hour accounting make-up class, in which I learned nothing about depreciation and bad debts. I was about to go home when I learned that that day was when the results of the elections would be announced. Because of that, I stayed in a classroom in which all Santugon members were asked to stay. The room was rowdy, not too mention smelly and hot as well, to the point that we had to get another room because it was too much. Some people slept, some played cards, Monopoly and other games, some played the guitar while others just took their time just talking and being wild. Counting the votes and manually checking them isn't exactly an easy task, so we waited for more than 5 hours inside that classroom. When the results came in, from the looks of the Executive Board, it didn't look good for Santugon. For BNE2008, I was relieved that we won 4-0. Congratulations to Fresh, Aimee, Monika and Tonette for their well-deserved win. However, there were some batches that weren't a Derecho vote and worse, there 1-3 batches and even a Straight Tapat batch. Eventhough a lot of us had good outcomes with our respective batches, we cried when we learned that some of the candidates didn't make it. The crushing blow was when Mico Geronimo announced that the Executive Board was swept once again by Tapat. Almost all of us were in tears that time somehow, all of us, as in the whole Santugon family, became closer after this amazing experience. Some of us came on top, while some lost, but either way, we're proud of each other for it was a good fight and counting the votes was just the only thing that stood on our way. We celebrated afterwards by going to Pizza Hut and eventhough I spent a lot of money for a single dinner, it was well worth it. Overall, it was a day that made me proud to be a member of Santugon and grateful to once again be in the Batch Assembly and serve our batch under the blue and yellow team. Next year is dedicated to Stacy Carbonel, our candidate for CBE president, our candidates for the Executive Board, as well as the others who didn't win. And if our current CBE president and school EB don't like us, well sorry to them.=D

Last week, I learned a lot of things that I don't like and they are quite a lot. For now, I'll just name a few. First, I don't like know-it-all classmates who hardly know you but they had the nerve to destroy your Filipino presentation by grilling you with difficult but worthless questions. all for the sake of trying to be cool. Then, when they get the chance to rate your work, they give you a zero for hard work, eventhough you spent countless nights on it. I know there's nothing with that type of sh*t, but come on man, have a heart! I'm sure it's not much to ask for a little bit of cooperation right? Second, I don't like 100-vote getting backstabbers who talk sh*t about my blockmate Freshy, just to freakin' win a damn election. Actions like that simply show defeat and denial of the fact that you've been beat even before the counting of votes occurred. If you're at least gonna lose, then lose with class and dignity damn it. Third, I HATE Ashlee Simpson! It really puzzles me that she and Jessica are sisters, for dude, her singing sucks! Her songs are uninspiring as well, and don't get me started with her Avril Lavigne wannabe persona. Yuck. Finally, I can't stand being ignored because I "supposedly" said something foul and well, you know the story.=p From sources I know, this person told me to "stop" what I'm doing because it's getting on her nerves, and therefore, I've completely stopped asking for yellow paper from my classmates. Nobody's telling me what I did wrong to her, and using my advanced intelligence, I came up with the hypothesis that my laziness to buy paper for myself is the root cause of her anger. That's the only thing that I can come up with since I've been havoc-less for quite a while. If somebody knows the answer to this mystery, you know my YM id.;) Speaking of YM, I'm sensing someone will take full advantage of Yahoo's ever reliable stealth settings.=)

To wrap this up, I would like to greet the following a belated Happy Birthday: my blockmates Anjo and Ryan, my brother who just turned 30(Damn, that's old =p) and finally, my neighbor Jason's sister Anne, whom which I was invited to her debut so I'd like to thank her, as well as her family for it. That's all. PEACE!-rJv

Seldom Times Of Depression

2006-03-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was our Froshcup in DLSU and eventhough the venue was at the hot area called the sports plaza, it was all good. We only played one game but hey, at least we won.=p I'm pretty sure everyone who played enjoyed as well, since in spite of some people not wanting to play, everything went well. Good job by the BA and keep in mind guys that this event was made yours truly by the good people of Santugon.;) Other activities made by our officers are the Sariwa Frosh Party, the Christmas For a Cause charity fund and the making of the block scheds during the start of the third term. You could call some of them "underground" credentials or whatever, but the point is, they were made for the people of CBE and if "some" people think the folks from Santugon are just a bunch of fake leaders who don't make their own specific plans of action, then I say screw you. As for our candidates, we have 100% faith in them and whether we win or lose, we would never resort to cheating, backstabbing nor trashtalking. So I say to all you haters out there: go ahead and spread your rumors, and I hope you feel good when somebody believes you, because if we lose because of them, we won't look like losers when we fall.;) Anyway, back to the story! After the game, I went to Greenbelt with Den, Dianne, Lau, Kish and Leeanne. I felt like a pimp that time, yet I felt gay at the same time as well.=p We watched "Date Movie", which sucked completely! The movie was corny, senseless and incredibly short! After that, we walked around Greenbelt and G4, and when my driver fetched me, I went to Loyola Memorial for a relative of mine passed away just recently. After the mass, I managed to meet my twin bro's schoolmate in Zobel, Falene and I dunno why I keep meeting girls in funerals but I'm glad I had company. As much as funerals are saddening, they're boring as well if you don't have anyone your age to talk to. Around 10:30, I went home.

I just watched One Tree Hill season 3 a few moments ago and as always, it rocked! The king is a big fan of this hit series for eventhough the situations in Tree Hill are different from our place, the show provides interesting storylines that make us frequent watchers. As for me, I like it for its reflective purposes and it always inspires me to write here in my neglected blog. From looking at YM status messages, we pretty familiar with the new line from the show: 6 billion people in the world, 6 billion souls, yet sometimes we only need is one. Of course, the line is correct for obviously, when we have "that" one, everything and everyone in the world disappear. The problem is trying to find that one. Whether it's Lucas and Brooke or Nathan and Haylie, life has its complications and fate is our big daddy. If you ask me, the one who told us to follow what our hearts tell us so speaks a whole lot of bullcrap. Following your heart doesn't exactly mean instant success and in my opinion, sometimes it's better to just keep your mouth shut. When opportunities arise, we waste them and when we see what we want, more often time than not, we fail. When hearts breaking and everything's shaking, we cower and hide, fearing to take the leap of fate and well, the rest is history. Life will make complete jackasses out of us if we let it, so I advice everyone to just chill and focus on the better things in life, like Accounting.=)

Sorry if I'm being reflective and bitter, I'm just having one of those awful days. My schedule for next year is completely screwed and of course, as each term passes by, the more I distant myself from my blockmates. It's just nerve-wrecking facing second year on your lonesome. Oh yeah, if things get screwed up more, I'm still thinking if I'm gonna go back to Ateneo or stay in La Salle. I don't talk about it that much because well, I have no idea what to do next. I'm not stressed or anything, but physically, mentally and emotionally, somehow I get drained. I dunno, I guess time will tell me what to do next. Sh*t.

Anyway, I have a major composition for my English class so I better get to it. Vote Derecho guys. PEACE!-rJv

Can't Go Back..

2006-03-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

Campaign week has just ended today and I congratulate all the candidates for their hardwork and dedication so that the La Sallian community can see things the best way, which we all know, is the Santugon way. I'm sure this week was one of their most emotional and stressful days they've ever had in their whole lives, as people were losing their voices due to the continuous RTR's and frustrations began to rise since doing campaign work for 5 whole days is quite difficult, considering the fact that they had studies and family matter to attend to. My hats off to them and even to the people from Tapat for their resiliency and sacrifices. As for me, while the GE isn't as fun as the freshmen elections, as I spent my days and nights on meetings and RTR's, I understand further what it takes to be a leader of a big community. While I don't have the credentials of your usual presidents and batch representatives, I'm beginning to learn to the true meaning of leadership and service. Who knows, maybe we'll see an Atenean in the La Sallian office.;) I doubt it.=p

After a brief trip to Shangri-La, I finally have a Bluetooth device for my PC! Because of that, I can now update regularly my new Multiply account so please check that out. I've already uploaded some pics and I've stolen some more from my friends' accounts, so be sure to keep an eye on that. As for my blackmail pictures, as much as I'd like to post them, my conscience begged me to not do it. Oh well!=D And since I now have pictures in my arsenal, my ability to reflect on life's wonders has improved. I dunno, there's just something about looking at your photos, especially those happy moments, for as I look at my blockmates' picture frenzy, I manage to laugh and remember those hilarious moments with those knuckleheads. Those first days of class with those people were one of the most fun days of my academic life, even if there were some bad times. Sure, the new environment was a big factor, but what made that time fun was the fact that emotions weren't yet shown in our little circle. That time, we were just giddy enthusiastic boys and girls who were exploring the wonders of college life, but eventually, little did we know that "special problems" would arise from places other than Math and Accounting classes. While some triumphed in this emotional roller coaster, some hearts were crushed and one friendship was ruined. By looking at my previous entry, we all know whose friendship was it.=p Emotions complicate things and if only I could turn back time and change the mistakes that I did, I would do it in an instant. Since that's not possible, the least that I wanna do is mend fences and heal battle wounds. But as you can see, that's extremely hard to do when you're dealing with people who think ignorance is the greatest way to solve a problem. If you ask me, even a Dean's Lister would know that that's entirely false but hey, I'm no genius who gets high grades in every subject I have, including the wretched Accom1B. By the way, my Multiply id is joppyman.=)

Oh yeah, the king would like to congratulate all fourth year students who have completed all your requirements and are days away from one of their most important events in their lives, graduation. It's taken you a long way to get here but I hope you guys look back at your four years of high school life and like a certain Green Day song, I hope you realize that you had the time of your life in HS. After a few graduation practices, summer is upon you guys so I advice you enjoy this break, as if it was the last break you'll ever get in your life. As for us, we just finished midterms period so we're feeling the pain right now. We have another month to go so please pray for us. Anyway, my hats off to you guys and if ever Ateneo screws your college application, then I hope to see you in a certain school in Taft. You won't regret studying there.;)

Anyway, I better sleep since I have to go to DLSU tomorrow in the morning. It's our sportsfest and you bet your ass I'm gonna work my butt to win that damn basketball tournament. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Just Thinking

2006-03-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

After so many weeks, I'm finally home again on a Saturday night, which isn't a surprise since I'm not a party boy, unlike what some people think of me.=p The reason why I'm not out? Well, it's finals week for my high school Ayala peeps and as for my blockmates, I have no idea where they are. Since the start of the third term, and with things not as the same as it was during the start of classes, we haven't really gone out during our weekends, except of course, the Sariwa frosh party. I kinda miss doing "block stuff" with those people, but hey, it's just another phase in college I guess. So I'm here in my house while everyone's partying or something, doing nothing but listen to music and wait at my computer area, hoping I could talk with someone online. I guess I'm a little glad that I made my Multiply account so that I have something to do in times like these. Unfortunately, I still need to buy a Bluetooth device for my PC, and if I become a millionaire tomorrow, I'd purchase a scanner, a camera and an iPod as well. As for now, I'll stick to saving money to buy a Bluetooth thingy and earphones for my iPod.=D Oh sh*t, I forgot. I need to buy Accounting worksheets, a new pen and yellow pad. F*ck!

I wasn't supposed to write a certain story here in my blog, due to the fact that if I do that, my block-renowned conflict with someone would arise from the grave once again. Now what gave me reason and courage to write? Well, believe it or not, I was inspired by WWE's Rated-R Superstar and future WWE Champion Edge. For non-wrestling fans out there, he's the guy whom everyone hates because he talks about topics that no one would dare to talk about and he says the foulest and controversial things as well. Now you might be wondering what's so likeable about an insensitive jackass like Edge. Yes, he says the sh*ttiest things, but what he says are also the truth. The REAL reason why people hate him is because they can't handle the truth, so as portrayed on the soap opera of wrestling, they can't stand him as a result. Minus the part when he stole Lita from his bestfriend Matt Hardy, he's kinda like me and that's cool. People should really watch and understand wrestling. They'll learn something, I'm sure.=)

By now, two questions are inside your head, which are "Joppy, are you done with your pointless drama?" and "Joppy, what trouble have you gotten into again?" To answer, yes I'm done with the drama and here goes. I've written something related to this but for another time, have you experience being COMPLETELY ignored by someone for a very long amount of time? Well, surprise surprise, the king has experienced this recently!=) In fact, this ignorant silence has lasted for an entire month already, surpassing almost every record of my asshole status. Now what mean thing did I do now? Well let me see here, I did nothing? It's either that or some Joppy clone decided to backstab everyone and insult every living thing he saw. But seriously, I'm 99.9% sure I did nothing wrong, yet every YM and text message I send to this person falls on deaf ears. The king has tried asking other "sources", but to no avail. I don't know what feels less irritating, trying to talk to an ignorant person like the one in this case or a blank wall. From jokes to apologies, to the powers of reasoning, I've done it all. If you ask me, I think this problem is getting stupid and immature for 1.) we're in freakin' college and 2.) it can be resolved in the form of a private conversation. If this person can abuse the power of ignorance, then I can exploit the power of freedom of speech as well. I'd understand the cause of this silent treatment had anyone had told me what I've done, but alas, not a thought in sight. I've had it with being naive, and if I piss off this person further and ignores me completely, then at least I have a reason to be ignored. It's like I'm in a room filled with gasoline and these words are my matchsticks, in which I'm no longer afraid to light them up and drop them on the ground. The final word: willful ignorance for no apparent reason is a bunch of crap!

Somehow, despite the risks, I feel better writing this. Stay tuned for more Rated-R stuff. I have plenty more to say. PEACE!-rJv

Chaos All Around

2006-02-26T05:11:00.000-08:00

With everything's that's happening around Makati, just as we're finally seeing the light, we turn again to the world of turmoil, with rallies and threats all around. I must admit, I don't know much the reason why people started rallying for the resignation of our president, and call me blind, shallow or whatever, but I wish they would just stop with this nonsense. They're clever in using the EDSA Revolution day as the day of their revolt, but as we can see, they're not exactly well-supported by our fellow citizens. All the good they did was give us a day off from school and more time for me to rest. And what is the result of this so-called free time? Lo and behold, I finally made my own Multiply account!=D I took my pictures from my other friends' accounts and I sure hope they don't mind. But once I finally have the funds to purchase a Bluetooth device, then I don't have to resort to visual theft.=) But what will happen to this blog once I'm occupied with the other account? Well, writing is my greatest passion and no matter how "distracting" my Multiply will be, I'll still be able to use my blog and write all these thoughts that will continue to amuse so many people and piss off even more! I am the great one, Joppy Vinuya, and using TNA star Christian Cage's line, "that's how I roll".;)

Since there were no classes last Friday, I took this time to play basketball in the afternoon and at night, me, Niko and Tonino went to Eastwood to watch a movie. The film of the night was "Final Destination 3", and it was a total waste of time and money! Had it not use the Final Destination name, I would not have spent 120 bucks for a piece of crap! Let's see, other than a few lines, it had no connection with the first 2 movies, the characters were lame, it had no originality and worst of all, it was so f*cking predictable! Since you already know that they're all gonna die, where's the damn suspense?! Just watch the movie if you want to see gruesome death scenes. Anyway, we left Eastwood early and after a burger in our new hang out place in Commonwealth, Burger Machine, we went home due to certain reasons. The next night, guess what, we went back to Eastwood, but this time, we watched "Big Momma's House 2", and thank God that didn't suck. Unfortunately, Tonino had to go home early so we went back to the village. Since the night was still young, me, Niko and Hanz decided to go back to Eastwood, using Niko's car. We ate at Fazolli's and basically, we spent the most of the night, just talking and taking advantage of the free bottomless drinks. We went home at around 2:30 and while all you party boys and girls would think that we're boring people, then maybe you're right. Oh well!=D

While as much as I'd like to crap on more about Final Destination 3, the movie somehow had one line that made me think. I don't know the exact words but I think one dude said there that willful ignorance is the result of lack of control. While the dude died a horrible death in the movie, he made a point. In life, especially now with the chaos all around, we ignore all what's happening outside for we have no control over it and we can't understand it as well. In our personal lives, the same thing happens. When one upsets you with what he or she says, you completely ignore the person, completely leaving out the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he or she could explain what he or she said, if only you gave the person a chance to talk. Problems are dealt by understanding, not ignoring, and I sure damn hell hope everyone knows that. Your life would be better that way.=D

Anyway, since I won't be doing much schoolword tonight, I'm gonna fix my Multiply account now. My id by the way is joppyman. There's a link in my blog so be sure to check it out. Answer my Johari thingy also since I don't have anything to do now. PEACE!-rJv

The Things You Learn..

2006-02-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

First of all, I'm f*cking stressed of midterms week!! I have a midterm test and business case in Accounting, a role playing thingy in BUSORGA, and to top it off, papers for English and Filipino. The stress started as early as Monday, when we had an ridiculiously difficult test in KASPIL1. The test was a joke, as you literally had to freakin' Spanish words and parts in Philippine history that nobody cares about. To make matters worse, she gives us a 40-page article and she expects us to make a 3-page reflection due tomorrow! What the f*ck!? KASPIL ain't exactly the only subject we have in school so I don't get this pointless homework. This week sucks. Period.

Now for some happy thoughts. Last Saturday was our batch party entitled "Sariwa", and if you missed that party, then you missed a lot, my friend. During the afternoon however, we had to watch some boring-ass play in the UP Theatre, and lucky for me, that's just outside my village!=D After the play, me, Lau, Ponggy, Kish and Benson went to my house to freshen up and we arrived at the Edge Showroom at around 8:45. At first, there weren't a lot of people yet but after awhile, the place was jam-packed! There were so many people in the room that you didn't even have ample space to freakin' dance! Oh yeah, that night was also the birthday of my blockmate and one of my most trusted friends/batch-VP's/gorillas in the world, David Ofrecio. We didn't have the ability to make a unique surprise for Freshy so instead, we gave him a heartfelt cake. With boobs.=D Besides that, the party rocked! There was some sort of hidden drama that the king had to face, but other than that, it was all good. Around 1:30, I left the party, took Ponggy and my neighbor and batchmate, Lawrence home and I quickly hit the bed. Awesome night.=)

For today, a memorable thing happened to me after class. It's not worth the headlines, but it's something worth remembering. You see, after English class, me and some of my blockmates went to eat at KFC. While it started as the usual comedic insults and schoolwork talk, eventually went to the subjects of our personal lives and past experiences. As we talked about heartbreak and loss, I began to see them more than just their popular one-dimensional descriptions. Listening to their stories, I had a clearer mindframe and I began to see them more than just blockmates, but as ordinary people like me. Sure, some of them I'm not close with, and maybe some of them don't like me much due to my past actions, but for that time, that didn't matter. Outside the school campus, politics and my longtime tension with me and one of my blockmates, I'm glad I was able to see past the current conditions and ask my blockmates on what's up with them and what happened to them before. You learn a lot from the people you're with everyday. You really do.=D

By the way, please answer my Johari test thingy. It won't take you longer than 5 minutes tops. There's a link there under the Joppy News section so feel free to visit it. Anyway, I better study now. PEACE!-rJv

Valentines Day. It Sucks.

2006-02-14T05:37:00.000-08:00

Well looky here, the day has finally arrived. Happy Valentines to all couples out there, Happy Single Awareness to the single ones, condolences to the heartbroken and good fortunes to the gift stores all around. With the day finally over, all I can say is that my first Valentines in college is weird one, combined with unexpected happenings and bitterness all around. While I feel like everybody has found someone special, I'm glad that I'm wrong. I'm proud of my singlehood and I hope every single boy or girl feels the same way too! Yahoo!=p

For today, we didn't have PEDANCE in the morning, and that's a big relief! I slept peacefully because of it and at around 10, I left my house. My first subject for today was accounting, and I'm happy to say that I finally passed my first ACCOM1B test! To any Dean's Lister, that doesn't sound too important but in the world of Joppy, that's a big deal! To make the day a bit better, BUSORGA class was cancelled! To make use of the free time, me, Dianne and my most favorite BUSORGA classmate ever, Grace, hung out in Animo, as we watched Grace gobble up a plate of nachos in a short amount of time. As time went by, the thought began to sink in that damn, all the couples and mushy atmosphere are making me f*cking sick! I'm glad I didn't encounter "her" because well, our conflict is growing worse as each day passes by. I just needed to get out of the school so me and Dianne decided to cut our English classes and head on straight to Glorietta. She was also gonna meet with her high school friends so I got to meet two of them when we arrived. We ate at Shakey's and we walked afterwards, and at around 7:30, Dianne and I left. All in all, the day was okay, but still, I think it was a pretty good way to face the wrath of Cupid.=D

As much as I'd like to reflect on something, my different emotions have cluttered my thoughts in my head. I feel like a million bucks yet I'm dumbfounded why people close to me are annoyed by yours truly. Hell, I even feel that some of my well-trusted friends are drifting away also. I dunno. Oh well! Hope you had a good Valentines guys! And to the loverboys: don't worry, you'll gain back your money soon and always remember that every cent you spend on your girl is worth it. That's all. PEACE!-rJv

On Fire..

2006-02-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, by golly, last Saturday, it was an interesting night to say the least. It was Denisse's debut in Club Industry and I went there along with my Ayala peeps, Niko and Tonino. We arrived early so we, along with my Ateneo batchmate and Capitol neighbor Norby, went to Ice Monster to chill out first. Niko and Tonino were supposed to be part of the 18 roses but thanks to improper timing, they missed the damn part of the debut because a certain someone thought that it was too early.=p When we arrived, I saw a lot of my friends there, like my neighbor/model Ekay, her friend Trina Buling, my CLA friends in DLSU and some of the hottest chicks I know, my Holy Spirit friends, Sai, Iza, Chinette, Tere and the Domster! I was paid to write that.=) The program was the usual debut thing, and it ended by opening the dancefloor and drinks were served for free. Everyone was partying like crazy and this was the first time that I went clubbing, so needless to say, all I could do there was chillax and hang out with my friends. At first, I though that the night was just another one of those fun nights in which the trip was well-spent but nothing new happened. However, like they say, never assume. That's when a friend of mine introduced me to a certain girl that would change the way I see life as I know it. I can't mention her name due to certain reasons and no, it's not because she's a guy nor we had a past. For now, we'll call her M.=) For some reason, me and M hit it off quite easily eventhough me and her are 2 completely different people. However, during that night, because of her, I learned so many things that I didn't take much time to think about, and she even showed me a few dance moves to remedy my 2 left feet.=D What happened after? Nothing malicious or anything, but I don't want to explain it in detail since well, my hands are tired.=D As for the after party, all I'm saying is that I had the time of my life, to the point that me and Niko arrived in our village at around 5 in the f*cking morning! Overall, it was one of the most fun nights of my life but hopefully, I won't do it too often for my parents would kill me.=D

Well, looky here, we're an hour away from the day of romance, Valentines day! It's also a special day for us without girlfriends and boyfriends for it's also Single Awareness day!=D While it sucks to have nobody special with me, what I do get is pride, dignity, freedom, a wallet filled with money and more time to study for Accounting. Damn, I sound pathetic.=p But you know, as a single dude for more than 2 years, I'm actually kinda proud of myself for being this way. Maybe love isn't for me at this time, but at least I didn't take the easy way out and settled with something that isn't worth it. That's a good thing. When you think about it, Valentines kinda seems overrated. I mean come on, what's the history of this damn day? Which Greek god died and spread love across the world? It just doesn't make sense! There maybe a little bit of bitterness in my words but if you wanna talk about love, isn't love used to make EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DAY special for the one you adore the most? I'm no Cupid but I think that's how it works. Then again, there's a reason why I suck with girls.=p I'll just leave this subject to the scientists and as for all the flower and gift shop owners out there: I'm sure you're laughing your hearts out for you guys completely exploited Valentines and gained a lot of profit, and therefore I applaud you.=) Maybe next year you could do the same thing to me too. JUST MAYBE.=p

Finally, just when I thought that I'm already a good boy, someone is upset with me for a questionable reason and as a result, she now ignores me. Once again, only a few know about this person. We've had friction before and normally, I'd try to fix this in an instant. This time, I've pretty much had it. Ignorance may be a solution to many of the world's problems but not this one. Seriously, I don't know what the hell I said or did and it pisses me off that this certain person acts so immature. Oh sh*t, did I just call her immature? Now, I'm REALLY in trouble. We're in freakin' college, and you don't need to be a Dean's Lister to realize that conflict with people close to you isn't a cool thing. My intention for this isn't for anger, nor to make insults. I just wanna fix the damn thing for it's pretty much a shallow thing to rant about. Just tell me what the f*ck I said or did that upset you, and after that, I would explain my reason and I would gladly apologize for it. I'm taking a longshot in writing this for this would upset her more than help, but hey, it's worth a try.;)

Anyway, it's time to hit the hay. Have a good day tomorrow guys. PEACE!-rJv

Oh The Drama Continues..

2006-02-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

If you go to my school(eventhough you can't since non-Lasallians aren't allowed to enter the campus) this week, you'd be amazed of how my school takes Valentines seriously and how they try to profit because of it. All throughout the central plaza, there were so many booths that were placed in honor of the month of love. Of course, there were flower sales but I was amazed that there was picture booth for couples and for some high-school memories, there was also a pairing/handcuffing booth, which I think wasn't a good idea since, well, this is college.=p Nonetheless, love is in the air, and money is in the minds of those responsible for the booths.=)

You know what's worse than being loveless during Valentines? It's being "in love" but you can't spend Valentines with that special someone, in which reasons may vary. I mean think about it, if you're not into the mushy stuff yet, Valentines would just be a normal day and you don't have to think about your net sales incurred for your flower, chocolates and restaurant food purchases. That's accounting lingo, if you didn't notice.=) As for the other scenario, eventhough your wallet size wouldn't decrease, by golly, it hurts the heart bro.=p Now what are the reasons why scenarios like these occur? Is it because you're an asshole? Is it because someone close to you stabbed you in the back and gave some dirt about you to your crush? Is it because her friends don't think you're the right one for her? Or maybe, JUST maybe, she doesn't like you and instead, she hates your guts as much as I hate mayonnaise on my burger. The reasons are endless and it makes the world a more interesting place to live in.=) Now what kind of scenario am I in? If I perfect my Accounting test tomorrow, then I'll tell you.=D

General elections is coming up in my school and well, it's kinda nerve-wrecking. The GE is like a bigger, harder and more stressful version of the recent freshman elections, with more competitors and more time needed on meetings, practices, strategies and RTR's. As an officer in my batch, it's my job and duty, along with my other BA mates, to lead all this campaigning sh*t so that once again, like during the FE, Santugon would prevail. The BA has to take a more important role now, and not just as to be campaigning officers, so we're in for a long ride. However, it's not that I lost my faith on my alliance, but I feel kinda worried that the "other" political organization, JUST might give some serious competition, since all CBE students are included in the voting. So please vote for Santugon on the GE. It's worth it.=)

With that, I'm gonna continue my studying and hopefully, I'll remember my lessons for tomorrow's test. Oh yeah, Mark Bunag sucks!=D PEACE!-rJv

Valentines Day Massacre

2006-02-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

Shortly after the untimed death of De La Salle's beloved Bro. Gonzales comes another horrible incedent that occurred near the DLSU premises. There was a shooting that happened on top of the roof of McDonald's, which resulted in the arrival of hordes of police, security, media people and cameramen. While I wasn't present at the time of the shooting, what I heard was some dude shot a girl(I don't know if the guy had any relations with the girl) and after that, he shot himself on the roof. If anyone knows what really happened, just let me know. Eventhough I wasn't able to see the dead bodies on the pavement or on the roof, I'm sure it was a gruesome sight to see and believe, McDonald's Taft wasn't selling double cheeseburgers and Happy Meals this afternoon. Let us pray for the souls of Bro. Andrew and the ones who died today, and they may rest in peace in God's hands. On the lighter note, when a tabloid newspaper made an article about Bro. Andrew's death, I was on the main picture of that article, with me lining up to see Bro. Andrew's coffin. Thanks to my C42 friends for that news during a grim week.

Despite this tragedy, today was quite a fun one. But first of all, I'd like to greet my blockmate Phillip So an advanced Happy Birthday!=) Anyway, we were required to watch a dance thingy for PEDANCE today and it was entitled "Kalsada", featuring one of my AMG friends, Alexi Bautista. I was scheduled to watched at 3 p.m., but as we all know, I have a KASPIL1 class at 3:40, not to mention a quiz. By using college's time flexibility, I first stayed in the auditorium for 30 minutes, and after that, I went to my classroom to take my test. Once it was done, I headed back to Yuchenko to finish the show. After the show, we surprised Phillip with a cake, which we paid 20 bucks each for. I was supposed to go home after that but unfortunately, SOME of my commuting blockmates didn't want me riding with them so they completely left me behind, despite the fact that I was just walking around 10 meters behind them. Great job guys.=) because of this, I became too lazy to go home alone so I ate at KFC along with my other blockmates. Around 5:45, my blockmates went and thinking it was a Friday, I still didn't want to go home so I texted Den if she was still in DLSU. When we met up, I eventually ended up watching "Kalsada" AGAIN, this time with Den and my friend, Criselle.=p I'm not a fan of shows like that but when you're bored, you're also desperate. I left at around 8. Nice.=)

Since this is the month of love, I have the right to talk about that damn ridiculious subject so here goes. For tonight, I'm gonna talk about the painful scenario which I call the "breath taker". It's a corny term, I know, but hey, call me if you think of a cooler one!=p It's like this: after a sorrowful break-up with a girlfriend/boyfriend/MU that you REALLY adore, weeks or months after that sad day, you found out that that this special person found another significant other in his or her life. You may think that this is a painful feeling, but believe me, you're wrong. That feeling makes the word "painful" sound like a compliment if you know what I mean. As a recipient of this feeling before, words couldn't describe how this feeling affects you both in the mind and in the heart and thus, it takes your breath away for awhile. To a normal human being, it also affects the human body but when you're like me, it has no effect at all.;) After hearing the news, the first thing you do is deny the pain but once reality sinks in, there's nothing you can do but sulk in agony. Your mind gets clouded up with thoughts of the past, you lose your appetite and even wonderful things like basketball and pornography(according to my friend, not me) couldn't heal your hurt. And don't get me started on the heart, for the feeling is like being a Blue Eagle being pierced by the arrows of a Green Archer. It's that excruciating. This pain may last for a day, or even up to a month, but if you know the proper ways in dealing with this, you'll be in tip top shape in no time! Normally, I'd give you advice, but if I do that, you'd probably end being a thorn on women's roses like yours truly. All I can say is don't lose hope and always remember that there are other fish in the sea and a blue whale in the form of one Joppy Vinuya. Good luck!=D

With that, I'd like to take this time to rest and think of the many reasons why I suck at accounting. PEACE!-rJv

That Wretched Month Again..

2006-02-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

If you went to the WWE's official website or any other wrestling site in the internet, you may have seen or heard that yes, the 2006 winner of the Royal Rumble is none other than the midget Rey Mysterio, all because he dedicated that match to the late Eddie Guerrero. Sure, Rey's talented and charismatic, but having a guy shorter than me headline Wrestlemania would feel weird. In my opinion, Randy Orton, RVD or even Triple H should've won the Rumble. Oh well! Oh yeah, to make matters worse, in the WWE Championship match, John Cena beat Edge to regain the belt. That's plain bullsh*t! Did you know that when Edge was champ, the ratings of Raw went up? And did you notice that for the past few weeks, the only people that were cheering for Cena are women and little kids? Anyway, it's just another wrestling insight from yours truly.=)

Guess what, today's the first day of February, the month of love! I'm sure most of you guys and gals can't wait for February 14 to arrive and to have a date with your loved one whether in a mall, a restaurant, a concert, out of town or wherever your hearts take you. Just make sure to remember that February is the month of love, not the month to make love. There's a difference so to you teenagers out there, keep your pants up and wait until you get old. If you're married, then ummm, more power to you.=D As for me, I'm alone for Valentine's again but hopefully, I'd have a gimmick with some of my friends that day. I'm contented with where I am and I wanna focus on my studies rather play Cupid's game which is one of the most dangerous games in the world. And yes, what I said is bullsh*t and quite false but if it's not the time, then it's not the time. As much as I hate being controlled, I will once again abide by fate's rule and just be that best friend-material dude which my friends with boyfriends/girlfriends run to, whenever they have love problems. It's quite a nice job when you think of it, but I wish it would've been better if it was a paying job.=D If you ask me, I'm contented with 10 bucks per advice since well, there's a sense of satisfaction when doing so. But wait, what about "her"? I've been asked numerous times about this and I no longer say much about it since I'm contented with where we stand. Keeping your mouth shut can say a lot of things so I suggest you try it.;) Like what my PE teachers in Ateneo usually say when they give us free time to play basketball, "have fun and enjoy life, babeh!". Minus the "babeh" part, I agree with them.=)

In business matters,I'm sure the flower and chocolate shops in the city are racking up on sales and revenues and hopefully, I'll do the same thing. You see, my sister used to work for a flower shop and before, she would ask me to help her get orders for flowers for Valentine's, proms, graduation balls, etc. In exchange, I get a little bit of profit, and I do mean LITTLE, but hey, money is money, so I'll take it. However, I think she no longer works there but hopefully, she's still connected to the shop so I can help in getting orders. So to all lovebirds out there who needs some gifts, I'll keep you posted on this.;) By the way, if you guys want to buy a poker set and One Tree Hill season 3 VCD's, I know some people who sell them. I'm truly learning from my Marketing Management course.=)

Anyway, tomorrow is Accounting quiz day, and eventhough I have a .1% chance of passing it, I'm still gonna study. Good night everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Long Long Week

2006-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

What a week has this been! It was a culminating combination of stress, hardship, frustration and struggle. And what are the results? Well, nothing much but my first Accom1B failed test, my back pain from Tonino's high knee, 300 bucks for doing Juls' paperwork, the return of my sisig addiction, another incredibly difficult PE dance session and finally, my retreat letter that I haven't given to Nina, which was due so many days ago. Other than that, my week was fine, if you're into these types of hard times.=D

Despite the fact that my week was a very long one, I was looking forward to the end of it, not just because I need to rest, but because of the fair in my high school, Ateneo de Manila. I went there last night with the Ayala boys, and at first I thought that there was a concert, instead the bands played last Friday and last night was the night of the fashion show, featuring of course, some Atenean, as well as some lovely girls, and more inportantly, one of the models there was a product of Ayala Heights, Ekay Uichanco. I'm sure you know her because Ekay knows all the people in the Philippines. Joke!=p When we arrived, while we were entering the covered courts, after 4 years of experiencing the inspection, I'm still amused by how the teachers check your wallet if you have any condoms. It's not that I have a problem with protection, but come on, the idea of doing it inside the covered courts is utterly stupid. Also, I was kinda disappointed that I didn't see any of my classmates, friends and teachers when I was in high school since half of my reason of going to the fair is to see them. Oh well! Anyway, the fashion show was okay, as well as the other sideshows like the dance contest and whatever they did out there. However, the highlight of the night was when they announced the best models of that night, for my neighbor Ekay won Best Female, which was kinda obvious, since she lives in the same street as yours truly.=p Now wouldn't you want living in the street with a hot model like Ekay and a sexy beast like the great one??=) I'm sure you do.;) After the show, we went to 7-11 because Tonino and Niko wanted to buy some beers, and after driving home Veronica and Gelo, me, Tonino and Niko went to Niko's house to chill. Around 1, I went home. Great night.=)

Going to a high school fair after so many months, I got the feeling that damn, I'm really old! I'm no longer used to seeing young people and experiencing the "high school drama", with the mingling of boy and girl and how they develop relationships with each other. The truth is, I miss that type of sh*t for in college, I see couples at a regular basis. There's no more suspense since you're in a different environment from high school. I guess that's the price of the sense of enjoyment of studying in college.=p Nonetheless, as much as I want to turn back time and relive the old days, I'm happy with where I am. Really, I am.=D By the way, I was supposed to write some hurtful comments here but since I'm too sleepy to be angry, maybe I'll do that some other time! Excited?=)

With that, I'm going to do my most favorite thing in the world, study! Later. PEACE!-rJv

Sleepy...

2006-01-22T01:26:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone. First of all, I would like to congratulate the pride of our country, Manny Pacquiao, on his victory against Erik Morales. It was an exciting match, but in the end, El Terible could not withstand Manny's ferocious offense which resulted in a TKO in the tenth round. My hats off to him and not only did he garnered a sh*t load of money for his win, he put prestige back to our country and gave us hope that maybe, just maybe, there's some hope for our country, corrupt officials and low economy aside. Good job Pacman.=)

Last Friday was the BECS seminar for CBE and as part of the Batch Assembly, I was required to become an usher, which would've been okay, if it weren't for the fact that we had to be there by 6:30, which sucked. Because of it, I had to wake up at around 5 in the morning and leave at around 5:30, and I almost encountered traffic which surprised me, but thankfully, I managed to be on time. Anyway, we still had to attend our classes but after them, we had to go to the auditorium to help out. The seminar was boring as hell, so needless to say, I wasn't quite excited ushering in the room so I dilly dallied with my blockmates during my break.=p I was groggy that day to the point that remembering that day again makes tires me in an indirect way so I can't recall properly that day. After the seminar, me and my new friends from AMG ate in McDo and after that, me, Fresh and Sioco hung out afterwards. My driver was gonna pick me up directly in DLSU, which is a good thing since I didn't wanna commute wearing long sleeves and a tie. To kill time, me and some of my BA-mates watched the battle of the bands (FYI: All the judges and hosts were from Tapat. No comment) and after that we went to some Santugon meeting and around 7:30, my driver picked me up. Overall it was an interesting but draining day. Yeba.

As for yesterday, I spent it with the Ayala boys and in the afternoon, we played basketball in the clubhouse along with Niko's LSGH boyfriends. I've not played basketball for months so needless to say, I sucked so badly that even the shots that went in didn't look nice. There was one instant when we scrambling for the ball and Tonino accidentally gave me a high knee on my lower back, which still hurts up until right now. Anyway, around 6:30, we went to Eastwood to do our usual gimmick and this time, after our traditional dinner at Fazzolis, we watched "Jarhead", which was a neat movie, with all the rotting corpses, war battles, pornography and masturbation scenes, which I'm sure Niko liked. Just joking.=p After our after-movie ritual of going to Starbucks and talking and constant insults, we took a cab home at around 11:30. It was a great night, considering I don't hang with the Ayala boys that much.=)

Now it's for the usual Joppy Vinuya reflection about the finer things in life. My former classmate Gab wanted me to write something about sex here but I refused, considering I'm not a pervert. Kidding! That conversation never happened between us.=D Believe it or not, my reflection for today came from. Sioco. Yes the guy who has "issues".=p Anyway, last Friday, while we were just standing near the ampitheater, he said something that was rather gay, but had a point. While looking at the people around us, we saw so many couples walking together, holding hands and happy together. While we're okay being 2 of the sexiest bachelors in our batch, it was quite envious seeing those couples for it truly makes a difference in this world having someone special by your side, and vice versa. The world may seem unfair since people like us are decent guys, we study hard, we avoid drugs and smoking, yet the people who have more pet peeves than us get the glory AND the girl. It's frustrating but hey, patience is a virtue. Oh yeah, eventually, I realized that these words came from Sioco so I quickly woke up from this sentimental sh*t. Nevertheless, it has its points. Thanks Siocs!;) By the way, he's not gay. Promise.=D

Anyway, I better take a bath. Oh yeah, I'd like to greet the following people who celebrated their birthdays this week: Jason Mariposa, Janus Jarapa, Din-din Hermoso and Nix Joson. Later. PEACE!-rJv

Saturday Slump

2006-01-14T06:18:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to go out with the Ayala boys tonight, but thanks to my incredibly confusing, frustrating and enfruriating mother, I'm stuck here in my house again doing nothing but use the computer and listen to music. Now I know where I get my cookiness from.=p Okay, so I went out this afternoon, but other than that, I don't f*cking know why she didn't permit me to go out tonight! Let's see, in the world I call earth, Saturday is the day of the week in which you can just rest, chill or go out somewhere after a tiring week. I didn't fail a single subject in the second term, and certainly not yet this term, and by golly, exams are so far away! Looking at this week and even this month, I never took drugs, not even smoke or drink, and certainly I didn't have pre-marital sex, but why am I punished tonight? The transportation is taken care of, and I never asked for any money! In fact, I felt like I was a good boy this week, as I studied my lessons from Monday to Friday even if I didn't have a test, and I think my teachers and friends are proud of the "new" Joppy Vinuya. When I asked her why I wasn't allowed, she told me that it's self-explanatory. Right, and I'm the master of accounting.=p What kind of f*cking reason is that?! I would accept such punishment if I did something wrong, but the thing is, I didn't! Oh the wonders of motherhood.

For all its worth, today was a great day, aside from this fiasco. Nina and I went out today so we met at Katipunan at around 12. Her cousin Peppy came along with us and we went to Eastwood to eat and watch a movie. When we arrived, we ate at Jack's Loft and lucky for me, Nina treated me lunch! Now why would anyone treat me in an expensive restaurant for no reason? You see, Nina and I had a bet that if she passed UA&P, she would treat me lunch. Go figure it out what the result was.;) After eating, the 3 of us headed to the theatre and as promised days before, the movie tickets was my treat.=D We watched "The Family Stone" and eventhough the story was kinda weird, I was teary eyed, courtest of the mother in the movie that had breast cancer I think. At around 3, we went to Ateneo to watch an ABL game and after that, Peppy went with her blue sausages AKA Atenean friends and Nina and I walked around the high school campus. When we were done, we went to Ayala Heights where I drove her to her batchmate's house for some kinda meeting and of course, that's where I live so it's simple math that I went home.=p Around 6:30, that's when the now infamous mother-son screwjob occurred, via phonecall. And here I am.=)

Oh yeah, I would like to greet the following a belated Happy Birthday and I forget anyone, remind me next time. Here goes: Niko de Castro, Kurstin Ang, Ekay Uichanco, Dom Ignacio and Sari Campos. Finally, congrats to all the fourth year students out there who passed their dream college schools. If the Ateneo fanatics out there managed to get past the Blue Eagle ruthless entrance acceptancy, my hats off to you for I wasn't able to do that, despite my 12 years of studying there. If not, you could always go to DLSU and join me there, and besides, the chances of appealing there are high!=D Other than that, I wish you all luck for the UP results and I don't need to do that for UA&P, for obvious reasons.=) Other than that, please value your education, no matter where you study. Ayt?=)

Anyway, I will now wallow in my late night depression. PEACE!-rJv

The Real College

2006-01-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I changed my layout again. This time, I finally found a skin that exaggerates the blue color to the highest level. It was hard to find this, as I refused to use any skin that's made by the color green and definitely, not the color pink! I hope you all like it.;)

It's been quite awhile since I wrote here in my blog and well, it's because I've been concentrating on the first 2 weeks of the third term. Again, like I said before, I'm no longer spending all my subjects with my block and I have my own schedule. Also, in this term, I also have the most difficult accounting subject in DLSU, Accom1B, and believe it or not, I spent the whole just preparing for it by studying my Accom1A lessons. I overestimate the subject, to the point that I chose to not take my Calculus subject for the term, just for the sake of it. As for my teachers, thankfully, they aren't boring nor assholes, well except for my PE teacher. That woman screams like hell, and my God, what temper! As for my classmates, lucky for me, I have at least 2-3 friends or blockmates per subject, but again, it's not the same without C48. Finally, when it comes to the breaks, this was the disadvantage of not being a block anymore. Since I have my own schedule, I'm having a difficult time trying to find some people that I can hang out with during my breaks, and if ever I don't find any, I spend my time in a boring way by circling the campus alone while listening to my iPod. I guess this is the REAL college and I better get used to it for I have 2 more years in DLSU. At times like this, you'd wish that you had a special companion or something for by God, the boredom will eat your brain!

With how things are different this time and the long road ahead, I feel that I should brace myself for the worst and well, be prepared for anything. Other than of course the new class style in the third term, I've noticed a few more differences this year. Some of which is the birth of the new couple, Chino and Lau, and the fact that as of the past few days, Dianne constantly leaves me behind and goes ahead towards the LRT station, despite me and her having the same dismissal times all throughout the week. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised with that, given Dianne's long record of mean things she has done since the first time I met her. Just joking.=p But seriously, I should approach this year in a better way than last year. Regarding my studies, I should give more time to it and avoid unnecessary distractions. Oh yeah, I should probably stop making fun of people, or by the least, reduce it. I have more friends when I do that.=) Finally, I should be more careful with my so-called "heart" this time. The last time I used the darn useless thing, it got whooped pretty bad! But in fairness, nobody has pumelled, crippled, crushed and devastated the king's bloody organ like "she" did, which is quite impressive. It sucks and all, but hey, it's all in the days work for the all-Atenean reject.=)

With that, I end this by asking all you freshmen CBE students in DLSU to buy from me our batch shirt. It's worth 150 bucks. PEACE!-rJv

2005 Part 3

2006-01-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone. Well, my first day of the third term was quite "interesting". Like in the second term, I had only one class during Wednesdays and this time, my Kaspil1 class is at 3:40. However, today, I went to school earlier, because my block had this gift giving thing and I had a BA meeting as well. It was great seeing both the BA and C48 again and it was first day funk all over again. After the meeting and my blockmates left, I wondered what I'm gonna do, now that my blockmates and I don't have the same schedules. That is where Tina, I mean, Cristina came in. While my loser self was walking around the campus like an idiot, I managed to see Cristina in quite a predicament. I won't explain it further but I must say, it's something I've never seen in my whole teenage life.=p Anyway, after a few rounds around the campus, I went back to where Cristina was and there she was, alone and scared of what happened to her. To calm her down, I invited her to eat in McDo and after a sumptuous meal, I "escorted" her to the LRT. Needless to say, this girl had quite a first day.=p Anyway, my class was near and with little time remaining, I headed to my assigned classroom and I was surprised that I was quite an early bird. Thankfully, Anj, Ponggy and some of my C47 friends were my classmates there so that was pretty cool. Me and Anj talked for awhile as the professor was not there. After 20 minutes, we came up with the conclusion that he or she ain't attending at all. Normally, that'd be cool but in my case, that sucked! I went DLSU for the sake of one class, and the damn prof didn't even show up!=p After that, I just went home. Cool day wasn't it?;)

This is the final part of my recap of 2005 and by God, it's hard to make these things so I hope you all appreciate my craft!=p Anyway, I've talked about all those moments both good and bad, and my realizations and resolutions for me life. However, all these wouldn't occur if it weren't for those people that are part of my life. With that, I send messages to these people. My family already knows where I stand so here's the rest:

-BA members: Despite my being an Atenean, thanks for letting me join the team. We managed to do quite a pretty good job for our batch and hopefully, we can continue working together again in the future. And Sioco, I think you're gay. Joke!;)
-My friends outside my class and school: Thanks for your friendship and though I'm not close with some of you guys, the king still thinks you're a bunch of great people.
-H-boys: It's been a long time since we've all been reunited but despite the distance, thank you for being great brothers to the king. I may be in a different college but I still cherish those 3-4 years with you guys. I still think Mark Bunag's an ass and Sam has poor taste in women since he likes Hilary Duff, but I still love you guys. And yes, Agca, even you.=p
-C48: I've pretty said everything good about these people so I don't need to explain further. Thanks for making my first months of college in DLSU a hell of a ride and even if we're no longer in the same block, I still look forward in going to outings, parties, debuts, gimmicks and doobie nights with you guys. Just joking about the last part. I wouldn't enjoy going to a very far school if it weren't for you guys and that makes DLSU an OKAY school.=D
-Finally, the Ayala people, or the Ayala boys: As my playmates, brothers and teammates for a very long time, it's quite obvious that you're very close to me both physically and emotionally. We've been through everything but looking at this year, the fun ride is slowly ending. Like all the other Ayala boys who have set their eyes on other things, I feel that it's my time to move on and concentrate on my other endeavors. Besides, from the pictures and stories that I've seen and heard, I can see that you don't need me to complete your gimmicks and sh*t. In fact, I feel like I've been holding you guys for quite some time now, so without me, you can finally enjoy yourselves further. For example, when I'm around, you're not allowed to go at certain houses and you're discouraged to meet with certain people. Without me, that's no longer a problem. So good luck to you guys and don't worry, the king will still be around.;)

Finally, it's all done! Let's start 2006 with a bang and throw all negativity in the past. PEACE!-rJv

2005 Part 2

2006-01-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone! Today is the third day of 2006 and the last day of my miserable Christmas break in which I accomplished nothing. All I did was eat, sleep, YM, download some songs and when I didn't feel like a bum, I go to the gym or jogging around the village. Sounds fun eh?=p Luckily for me, I got my PS2 fixed also during break, though the usual hanging sometimes occurs. I bought WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 and Resident Evil 4, and both were worth the money. I'm still a sucker for wrestling games and by God, RE 4 is the first game that scared the sh*t out of me! In the game, you're no longer facing regular zombies and now, something worse. The one moment that I could never forget was when I was shooting some creepy bastards and all of a sudden, some creepy dude with a chainsaw made a surprise attack on me and tore my head apart. Anyway, my break sucked and I'm glad I'm back to work again.

As for today, it was back to school for the king but this time, I went there just to enroll for the third term. While most of my blockmates already enrolled before, for today, I was with my blockmates, Dianne and Pia. We went there early in the morning but since the line was still long, we decided to enroll in the afternoon instead. To kill time, we went to Glorietta to watch "Ako Legal Wife" and yes, it's my first time to watch a Tagalog flick in a movie theatre, since I missed the showings of Xerex, Hibla and Sex Drive in the past. Just kidding. The movie, surprisingly, was quite amusing, with all the crazy antics, and it didn't hurt also to have Julianne Lee and Bianca King starring there too.=D After the movie, we headed back to DLSU to enroll. After showing our receipts to the people in the conservatory, since the line was quite long, I accompanied Pia and Dianne to the EAF printing room, where the school's meanest disciplinarian, Mang Jack, was awaiting outside. When he asked me why I'm entering the room, I told him that I was gonna have my EAF printed, when the truth is, I'm not. When I was about to leave, suddenly, Mang Jack asked for my newly printed EAF, and since I didn't have any, I was caught red-handed and after that, he sat me down and gave me a long and frightening sermon. Luckily, he didn't give me a sanction and after that, I got my receipt, went to Shang to buy a gift and went home. Done!

As you can see, this is part 2 of my recap of 2005. In my previous entry, I posted my top 10 moments for last year, but prior to that, I did some mean stuff, blundered a little more, and I had habits that people don't usually like in a person like yours truly.=D Therefore, I have thought of a couple of New Year's resolutions to make 2006 a more fruitful year, not only for the king, but for the great one's friends and family as well! Anyway, let us cut this speech crap and here it is:

-Be more sensitive with other people's feelings. Right _____?=)
-Study more damn it. That's the only way I can pass Accounting.
-Lessen computer time. It wastes electricity and time needed for hitting the books.
-Learn to wake up early. Tardiness is not a good thing.
-Thy shall love thou next door neighbor.
-Don't eat so much fatty foods like sisig. Unless I want to die at an early age.
-Avoid conflicts. I won't have nothing much to talk about here if I do that, but it's worth it.=D
-Finally, learn to appreciate each day that God gives me. Enough said.;)

Cool resolutions eh? No? Oh well. PEACE!-rJv

2005 Part 1

2006-01-01T03:50:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to greet everyone a Happy New Year! I hope you all managed to survive last night with your fingers intact since fireworks are quiet the craze during every New Years eve. As for me, thank God I had a nice celebration last night. Since Celebrity was closed last night, fortunately for me, we attended mass at the clubhouse where it was vibrant and of course, you can't go wrong with having a celebration with your whole community. Sure the weather's no longer cool and breezy, but I'm ready to move on to the new year anyway.=p After the mass, we all headed back to our house and to kill time while waiting for midnight to come, me and my family paid poker and for me, it was my first time to play that game. I heard that the game's quite popular in Ateneo since cards are allowed there, but for DLSU, it's the opposite. I managed to win a few hands, even at times I was the leading chip leader, but in the end, I have come to the conclusion that I suck at it, and I really need more practice. When midnight finally came, we all headed outside as we lit our fireworks and viewed the other ones from our neighbors. Normally, my dad and brother and our driver are the ones who light up the fireworks, but with me getting older and my dad not getting any younger, it won't be too long before it's gonna be my turn to light those damn things. As of now, I'm just building my courage year after year and when the times, hopefully, I'd be ready.=) After the fireworks, we had a quick meal, played a few more poker hands and when my relatives finally left, I played my PS2, watched American Pie after, and I slept at around 5 in the morning. Overall, it was a good night in the Vinuya residence.

With the new year on the rise, it's time to write my recap of the year 2005. From looking at my previous blog entries, it's very obvious that this was one of the unique years that I've had in my whole 18 years of living in this world. However, if you're not an avid fan of my blog or you don't know me at all, the reason why 2005 was quite a thrill for me is because this is the year that I stepped inside the world of college. From the 6 months that I've been studying in college, I could summarize that college is worlds away from high school and grade school. As for me, it's been a whole new world for me for not only is this the first time that I'm studying in a co-ed environment, but I'm now residing in the rival university of my alma mater. Nevertheless, I've had so many memorable moments this year and in this entry, I'm going to list down the top 10 moments for me in 2005. While 2005 had so many downsides for me like the death of my ADMU batchmate Luke Lising, the loss of Ateneo in the UAAP and of course, the day that I was rejected from the college of Ateneo, but other than that, I really do feel that last year was quite a good run for me. With that, here's my top 10 list:

10.) My graduation- My reward for surviving 4 years of high school terror. Sure, it was saddening to part from my class but it was my time to move on. Nevertheless, I had the time of my life in high school.
9.) Summer 2005- With SRP out of my life, I had a blast this summer, from my trip to China, my graduation ball, to the AQCHAI basketball in which Ayala was second place.
8.) Campaign week- It was the first time that I explored the world of politics and student councils.
7.) Victory for Santugon- With all 4 candidates winning, this day made all those RTR's and late night meetings were worth it. I believed in Santugon and as a reward, I'm now an officer in my batch.
6.) My first regular schoolday in college- It was a highly anticipated day and I'm glad it turned out great.
5.) LPEP- The freshman orientation in DLSU. This is the first time that I got to spend time with my blockmates but little did I know that this was the start of something great.=)
4.) C48's "Christmas party"- Though this was the time of the end of C48, I'm glad it ended well.
3.) The debuts of my friends and blockmates- Debuts equals fun and sometimes, magical nights. Enough said. ;)
2.) Tagaytay physics field trip- My block's only outing. The whole day was fun as hell, from the bus trip to our pool antics. That weekend rocked!
And finally 1.) Mine and Lau's surprise birthday party- Throughout my teenage life, I've wondered how it would feel to have a surprise party just for you. Thanks to my block, I finally know now. That moment was quite overwhelming and I couldn't thank C48 enough for participating in that.=)

There you go folks. Stay tuned for part 2. PEACE!-rJv

Merry Christmas. I Guess.

2005-12-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to greet everyone one Merry Christmas!=) I hope you guys enjoyed Christmas Eve by spending your time with your family and loved ones, whether you celebrated it at home, out of town, out of the country or whatever. We all have different lifestyles and as for me, I'm curious of how my friends celebrate theirs, since the vibe of Christmas is different among families. I'd like to thank all those who greeted me last night, and sorry if I wasn't able to greet you as well. Being the cheapskate that I am, I used the free and trusty Yahoo Messenger to send out my greetings and unfortunately, I was only able to greet under 300 people.;) If you managed to get what you want as a Christmas gift, then good for you! If not, then just remember that it's the thought that counts.=p While we're busy feasting and doing whatever crazy sh*t that come inside our minds, I hope you guys remember to greet the ones who are busy washing our dishes and guarding the gates of our villages. These are our maids and drivers, who work hard just to make things comfortable for us 365 times a year, as well as the security guards and maintenance people who make sure our villages are clean and secure from all sorts of harm. They're not as fortunate as many of us, yet they pour their blood and sweat just for the sake of our comfort. Basically, just give love on Christmas day!=)

As for my Christmas, as usual it started with a mass. However, instead of the usual crowded mass in the clubhouse, my family decided to go to mass at Celebrity, and while it was less crowded, more comfortable and the mass was fast, I was kinda pissed off that my family decided to "break" the tradition. I mean come on, I rarely have time for my neighbors and now I can no longer spend at least an hour of celebration with them. It's quite a downer for me, since I think I only saw the Ayala boys only once this month. After the mass, we went back to my house, as my relatives from the mother side arrived, which is a good sign since I get along more with my cousins on that side since they're the same age as mine. Unfortunately for me, they were only able to stay up to around 10:30, since they have other family obligations that night. Way to go Christmas! I spent the rest of the night just using the computer and my YM, even if there weren't much people online that night who were using the PC as well. Basically, Christmas isn't the same for me as before. When midnight finally came, we all greeted each other, and after a quick meal, we all headed to the living room to open our gifts. As for me, I received some shirts, a pair of shorts, a case for my phone, a couple of bags, one of which is a shoulder bag, which I really needed for school, and the grand finale, speakers for my iPod, courtesy of my parents. After my relatives left, I went to my room, fixed some of my stuff and at around 4, I just slept. Ladies and gentlemen, that is how Christmas 2005 went for the king.

As you can see, Christmas for the king didn't exactly go as planned this year, both physically and emotionally. It started with me not being able to wake up early for the Simbang Gabi, and it ended with last night. However, during the afternoon of December 24, when I went jogging ad as I saw the Christmas lights of all the houses that time, it made me think about something: as much as MY Christmas "stunk", seeing all those houses bright and colorful, I really do wish that while I had a subpar Christmas season, I hope everyone else in the world had a colorful and merry one. While that's highly unlikely, I really do hope that my misery didn't contaminate the minds of my loved ones, as well as the strangers. Looking back, I now realize that Christmas isn't all that fun when you're not spending it with the ones you love. No expensive gift or, luxurious vacation can deny love and friendship, and that, my friends, is a fact. Like I said, for this month, I wasn't able to spend much time with the Ayala people, unlike in the previous years in which I was with them every night and every day. I really do miss my high school classmates also, and right now, I'm experiencing the disadvantage of studying in La Salle while almost everyone is in ADMU. And like I posted in my previous entries, this month marks the conclusion of C48, which isn't exactly the best way to close our time as blockmates. Oh yeah, to make matters worse, my iPod's busted, which also sucks.=D It would've been if I've spent more time with those people, it would've been nicer as well as to have "her"(if confused, refer to previous entries), I should be grateful that I have a whole lot of people who I care for and care for me as well, like my family, the Ayala boys, my Ateneo classmates, C48, my other DLSU and ADMU friends, as well those whom I've known since high school. Their friendship is already a gift for me and I really don't know how to repay them. Mushy? I know. Therefore, I'm gonna stop now.=)

With Christmas done, we now have our eyes set for the new year! While I'm contented of how 2005 went, I'm ready to move on to the new year and start 2006 right. Believe it or not, I'm excited to go to school already, with my new bag and my new clothes and with Accom1B!=p I've been stuck here in my house for almost a week already so I f*cking really need to go out! I don't know where everyone is, but please, anyone, help me ease my suffering! As for now, I'm busy preparing my 2005 recap which I will post in the upcoming days. While I intend on making this as a yearly tradition, it doesn't hurt that it also kills the boredom that I've been feeling for so many days now. In conclusion, BOREDOM SUCKS.

The king will now sit back, relax and chat with whoever has the time and patience to cope up with the great one. Happy holidays guys. 365 days left before Christmas. PEACE!-rJv

Going South

2005-12-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Course card is done and over with and I am happy to say that I have no failing grade! In fact, my compared to my usual work efficiency, my grades are quite high, though it's nothing compared to C48's intellectual powerhouses like Kurstin, Ryan, Dan, Olivia and Ms. "Master of Accounting". I'm kinda bummed out that my grades in Accom1A and Economics are low (1.0 to be exact), especially in Economics since my professor is gay and I could use my gender to my advantage.=p The Accom1A grade is expected, like what I said before. I was shocked also that my Math grade dropped to 2.5, and I didn't even get a 4 in CWTS. Damn! Nonetheless, I'm glad my course cards this term look prettier than last term.=p

After a long day of running from classroom to classroom, acquiring our grades from our teachers, it was finally time to have our block party in Kish's house in Alabang. That's right folks, the king, a resident of the north side of NCR, went to the dirty south!;) It was also a sleepover but eventhough a lot of us went to Alabang, only me, Fresh, Lau, Den, Peter, Jiggs and Chino were allowed to sleep over, but that's okay! I appreciated the efforts of all those who went, since Alabang isn't exactly quite near and well, this is probably our final get-together as a block so they made the best of it. =) Anyway, when we got there we ate dinner outside Kish's house, since the weather was very cool. Like me. Some of my other blockmates didn't arrive yet so to kill time, we played the classic game of truth or dare, and I might say, while that game becomes stale fast in soirees and other parties, I was quite enjoying myself watching my blockmates do silly dares. What completed my night and probably my life as well, is when Anjo spoke his classic line, "what song is it again?", along with emphasis and emotion. It was one of the greatest moments of my life for Anjo no longer says that anymore, no matter how much I try to convince him. The last time he spoke of those words, it was the time when my lunchmates were Adi, Sieg, Fresh, Alleje, Peter and Anjo, and that was in the first month of school! When some of my blockmates finally arrived, the house was in a frenzy! Many talked inside and outside the house, Chino and Jiggs practiced their unorthodox piano skills and I was busy torturing Anjo's already bruised ego.=p When things became calmer, we all just sat outside, just chilling and talking the night away. While this wasn't exactly the most enjoyable thing ever, I just let the moment take me. There we were, a majority of C48, united for probably one last time. It made me realize that damn, I'm part of probably one of the best, if not, THE best, block in DLSU.=) Around midnight, many of my blockmates had to go, and for the rest of us, we watched Fresh's and Kish's video presentations and after that, we went to Starbucks to grab some coffee. After finishing our drinks, the 8 of drove somewhere to have Sex. The place was kinda drab but it was okay. It was the first time I ever had Sex and it felt great!=D Oh yeah, Sex means Sinangag Express, you perverted bastard. Going back, the thought finally sinked in that sh*t, I'm spending one night in the freakin' south!=D Around 4, we hit the snooze button and eventhough Peter's phone and its annoying ringtone kept ringing without anyone answering it, my sleep was great. Sure, it would've been nice if Lau belly was my pillow but I made due!=D When we woke up, we ate breakfast, took a bath and we went to ATC. We ate lunch there as well as have a studio pic, as a souvenir for our southside trip. What can I say, it's great to be a south peep!=D After dropping Kish at her house, the day ended with Peter impressing me when we entered an E-pass sector, in which we didn't have that specific pass. While this violation would usually result in a ticket, Petard used his Enlish-speaking skills to the fullest and we avoided the ticket! Good job Petard! I was dropped in Glorietta, in which along my way to the MRT, I saw my bro, Tina.=) Around 6:30, I arrived home. Needless to say, being a south peep for 2 days was a blast! Thanks Kish!=)

Following the Christmas spirit, to my blockmates, happy holidays to you guys and to your families as well. Thank you for coming to the party for it was fun as hell! Hopefully, though our schedules won't permit it, this won't be the last time we have things like this. For all you guys going to your provinces, I hope you guys have a nice and safe trip, especially to my blockmate, Benson, who's going back to Leyte, and to my fellow BA members, Nikka and Din-din, whom both are from Iligan. As for, I'm just using this time to just relax and think. Right know, I don't know if it's because of the lack of sleep but it's only sinking in me right now the thought that I'm no longer gonna spend the rest of my college with the complete C48. It's like I'm in a dream and I just woke up. I'm starting all over again with society but this time, there are no longer blocks or classes, but just me. While I'm anxious yet curious on how the "new" college system would work, it's kinda dissappointing that we're gonna get deblocked this quickly. Damn.

Anyway, I better sleep now. PEACE!-rJv

A Thing That We Shouldn't Ask

2005-12-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hello there, kiddies. While tonight is your usual chilly winter December night, an added presence of anxiety and excitement linger around my house. Tomorrow is the day that I get to see my grades, and I'm REALLY nervous to see my Accounting grade. While my grade is definitely higher than last term, I'm still in doubt on whenever I pass or not for my grades aren't that high. On a positive note, tomorrow night is our block's Christmas party in Kish's house and hopefully, many will go from our block. It's in Alabang so since most of C48 live in the south area, I sure hell am praying that they can make it. It's also a sleepover so I'm determined to have fun tomorrow night! I just hope that my Accounting grade doesn't ruin my day.=p

As we all know, it's Christmas season and it means free time for all of us! I'm sure many of you have plans on going on an outing, attending parties, Christmas shopping and of course, spending time with your loved ones. However, for those who have nothing to do but bum around, the great Joppy Vinuya has advice for y'all. Instead of spending the break by playing video games, watching TV or sleeping, take this time to exercise!=) While December is one of the most glorious months of the year, it's also the most fattening as well. This is the month when food supplies are at the highest peak, and most probably, you'll be munching your heart out. For example, we had a party last night, and lucky for me, they were serving 2 of my most favorite food in the world aside from fried chicken, lechon and sisig. I ate 3 plates full of it, including diced mangos mixed with tomatoes and bagoong. While this sounds good, food like these can kill you instantly if you don't watch your cholesterol and blood pressure. However, if you exercise regularly, you can eat all these without care while you remain healthy. With classes beginning in January, take this time to go to your local gym and do some weightlifting. You don't have to carry 50 lbs. for each arm, but just be sure that you're being challenged by the workout. From watching shopping channels when I was a kid, I learned that muscle training creates lean muscle, and lean muscle not only burns fat, it sculps your body as well. Also, if you think your village is safe, try to go jogging at around 6 pm (or even 6 am if you can wake up that early) since cardiovascular exercises are good for the heart. The weather is very cool every morning and night during December, so make the best of it.=D This advice is influenced by my very hot, sexy blockmate, Lau Quiambao. Thanks Lauee!=D

While I wait for tomorrow to arise, thoughts cloud again in my head. This usually happens to me during December, for at this time, I spend lonely nights thinking about all the things that happened to me throughout the year, and even the past experiences before. Obviously, we cannot change everything that has happened in the past, but there's always that dreaded question: what if? What if I passed Ateneo? Would I be fortunate to meet great people like in C48? What if I spent more time studying Accom1A in the first term? Would I be struggling in Accom1B right now instead of browsing the previous lessons for the second time? What if I didn't go to the Poveda fair on November 23, 2001? Nevermind about the last part. Anyway, you get the point. If we changed our past actions before, would it still be the same way right now? While the answer is quite obvious, it still manages to boggle our minds of the possibilities on how things would be right now. I mean come on, if things happened differently, maybe our economy right now would be higher (though it's highly unlikely since almost all of our politicians are corrupt). The lives of many would probably be better than now and even some of us would still be alive if things happened differently. As teenagers, we could've been honor students had we studied harder, and maybe we would've fallen in love with other people, had we not met our present significant others. Oh how life can give us many things to stumble upon on.=p

Anyway, I will now eat my nightly snack. Happy holidays everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Little Thoughts

2005-12-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

Last night was the debut of the little one, Nina Barbasa. She's so small, she could give my blockmate, Dianne Cuarto, a run for her money! Just kidding.;) The venue was in the Intercontinental Hotel, and as for the great one, with a green long-sleeved shirt and coat, I arrived late as usual, 1 hour late to be exact.=) Now, what's different with this debut is that I didn't have any companion going there. Why? Because eventhough I knew some of the people there, they didn't have time to accompany the king during that night. I know you're thinking that it's insane to go to a debut alone, but since this is the same Nina whom I've known for more than 4 years, I happily obliged.;) At first, I thought this completely sucked, and it's public humiliation at its finest, but thanks to Nina, she assisted me and let me sit in a table with some her Povedan friends, and she even wanted to take a picture with me, which was kinda sweet.;) When dinner started, what people didn't know was that I had a hidden battle in my table. Being seated in my table, the lone guy with around 6 friendly Povedans, it was the ultimate struggle for English speaking supremacy. With no dictionary and PC in hand, I was on my own (note: there is nothing wrong with being English speakers).=p Needless to say, I made a lot of new friends that night, but it was not without a price. I think. However, there was one girl there named Camille, who surprised me when she spoke. She wasn't like the "usual" Povedan (note: I am not assuming all Povedans are the same, but you know, they have similar qualities. PEACE), and that eased the pressure off me. When the program started, we watched the video presentation, the 18 treasures, and then the 18 roses, which I was included. After the program, I was alone again, so unfortunately, I had to tell Nina that I had to go, and when I left the party, I went to Greenbelt for some of my blockmates were there. We walked around for awhile and at around 12:20, some my blockmates wanted to go to Absinth so I decided to go home instead. However, realizing that it's officially Nina's birthday (her birthday is December 18), I decided to make a last stop in the hotel so I walked the incredibly far distance between GB3 to Intercon. Sadly, when I arrived, there were no longer people there. Nonetheless, I had a great time and I learned that night that being a loner isn't so bad sometimes.;)

For some reason, formal and semi-formal debuts amuse me a lot. I find it quite amazing that for 1 night, you see a girl's life and you venture through her memories and childhood, which gives a little dose of nostolgia. While I'm not suggesting guys(and even gays!) to have debuts on their 18th birthdays, instead, I'm advicing you guys that when you're in a debut, when there's some sort of video presentation or something, instead of lining up at the buffet table, give time to take part in the viewing for eventhough it isn't much important to you or your friends, it means a lot to the debutant, and it's the least you could do for the birthday celebrant, since you've been invited to a kick-ass party and given a free-for-all food frenzy. Oh yeah, debut food rocks. Just a thought. As for me, I'm just grateful to be invited to parties like these, as this is clear proof that I'm now getting away from the depths of Loserville. That's a good thing.=)

This December, I don't know why, but this year, I just don't feel the Christmas spirit like before. For now, I just want to spend the vacation by having gimmicks, going to the gym since this is my only free time, and jogging at nighttime since the weather is cool. However, when I go outside, the Christmas lights aren't as bright and colorful as they used to be. As for me, I haven't attended even 1 simbang gabi for I'm too tired and lazy to do so. All I'm thinking right now is course card day and on whether I passed Accounting or not. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm getting old. Or because the economic crisis is being a downer to the Philippines. I just don't freakin' know.=p

Anyway, there's a party here so I better blend in with the old people, or else my mom will scream my head off. By the way, I would like to greet someone who celebrated her birthday on December 14. That is all. PEACE!-rJv

It's That Season Again..

2005-12-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

After so many days of staying up late due to studying and making projects (yes people, I do work too), finals week is finally over! It's vacation time now as we say farewell to what's left of the second term. For Monday, it was Econ1 with our absolutely hilarious gay teacher who not only gave us additional points for our exam, but he also "tutored" us while we were taking the test. For Tuesday, it was Math and it was okay. What followed the exam was our pizza party, which is the prize we won from "Christmas For A Cause", in which our block donated the most number of clothes for charity. Finally, yesterday was our Accom1A test my golly, it was hard! To make it worse, I arrived 45 minutes late of the exam! Obviously, my grade is higher than last term, but I pray to the Lord that it holds up for me to pass Accounting. We still have projects due for this week but for me, my mind is already in temporary exit mode. Yesterday was my last school day for this year and I now embark on doing something cool for the rest of my free days. Outing anyone?=)

As much as I would love to just relax and avoid school work for a couple of weeks, this break marks the end of C48. We're already incomplete in most of our subjects in the second term and now, we're finally broken up. Sure, some of us might have the same classes but the thing is, it's not the same as before. Hell, I even think that I won't be classmates with some of my blockmates in my unique schedule for next term. If it's any concellation, I'm glad we ended the year with the pizza party, in which I, along with some of my blockmates, worked hard just to win it for our class. It's kinda hard to imagine going to school next year, and not seeing each and everyone of them in my classes, especially the ones that I'm close with. What makes it harder is that unlike in high school, where we can see our other friends during recess, lunch and dismissal, our breaks are also unidentical, making me wonder who I'm gonna hang out with when I don't have class. I've said this a million times before, my block is great and I do believe it's really special. We have no models, no basketball players and most probably, we weren't the popular people in our old schools, yet we're very united in DLSU. When we do stuff, we do it together, without leaving anyone behind. I will always remember those fun times with my blockmates, from the debuts, to the LPEP, to the volleyball tournament, to the Tagaytay outing and every day that I went to class with those people. Even if 6 months have passed, I'm the batch's AVP for grievance and perfectly contented with the facilities, I'm still not a proud Green Archer but I do feel extremely lucky that my first block in DLSU was with C48. To me, I wouldn't change a thing about it, even if you put me in a block that's filled with only hot chicks. That's how much C48 rocks!

As the sun sets for C48, one of the things that make me completely happy is that many of my blockmates have found someone special, either inside or outside my block. It feels great seeing them so overjoyed when they're with their significant others, and it proves that whether it's February, July, December or any other month, love is truly in the air. While I usually see them walking along the campus together, I walk alone and though at times I feel envious, it doesn't bother me much for I do know that someday, it's gonna be my turn doing that with someone that I can truly care for. It might not be now, not even next year or maybe even after 10 years, thanks to my personality that can turn off a million women, but someday it will. By using Accounting terms, I really do feel that God gave me an accounts receivable and it won't be long before I cash on it. You won't get that sentence if you're still in high school so don't even try.=p As an advanced present to you loyal Joppy-holics, here's a very secret Joppy fact: during this schoolyear, I actually thought that I found "the one", but unfortunately, fate thought a different thing. She was great, a slight pinch away from perfection, and though it looked good on paper, I was in the wrong place, the wrong time, and in the wrong frame of mind. This ruined our friendship and while I'm saddened by this, as much as I failed, I don't regret following my heart. Maybe next time, I could just think a little more and probably learn to shut my mouth. I wish her the best for I guess destiny decided that I should look the other way. Now you're wondering why the king wrote this at this time? Well, not only because it's "over", it's because it's vacation time and I won't be seeing any of my fellow La Sallites soon.=D Good thinking by the great one? No doubt.;)

To close this, I would like to wish everyone happy holidays and I hope you guys use this time off from school and maybe in work to spend time with your family and your loved ones as well. Also, as we count the days of the coming of Jesus Christ, let us make His entry more worthwhile by lowering our pride and saying sorry to those that we've wronged and forgiving those who have done us wrong as well. Christmas is a time of joy and celebration and it certainly would look better if we reconciled with our enemies. Good luck with your Christmas shopping as well, and feel free to give the king a Christmas present.=D As of now, I need a new bag, sneakers, socks, earphones and speakers for my iPod and a winter hat. That's all.=p Finally, as the new year is coming, take this time also to look back at 2005 and reflect on all the good, bad and ugly things that have happened this year. I know I will do this, and I will share it with you guys when I write again here in my blog. Isn't it great?=)

Anyway, I will now download some more songs for my iPod. 11 days to go before Christmas. PEACE!-rJv

Holding Back

2005-12-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

Correct me if my math is wrong, but it's been more than a week since I wrote something here. The reason? First of all, thank God my connection isn't busted anymore. The truth is, I'm holding back with my words and reflections for the sake of only one person. You can guess all you want, and odds are, if everyone I know reads this entry, most probably only 47 people will get the correct answer. In my previous entries, "this" person is somewhat affected by what I write and therefore, I will refrain from using that writing style for now. Normally, I don't let anyone mess with how I use the power of the pen, but this is an exception. The truth is, I care for that person. I really do. Unfortunately for me, this person doesn't see it the same way that I do. To that person, I am a selfish, insensitive bastard and the truth is, the person is probably correct. In life, it's really hard to change your past bad habits instantly, and as hard as I tried to change mine, I lost the battle. Now, life isn't a game, and and so are some of the things in life like love, friendship and hatred, but from what I've experienced, life is not a game yet somebody loses. I only talk about it with a selected group but as much as my days in college were fun as hell, it's been pretty rough for me inside. I don't want to elaborate on this, given the circumstances, so I'll just try to explain the hardships that I've faced. You don't have to be a UAAP player or an athlete to experience this, but imagine yourself as a basketball player playing in the most important game in your life. Now, with what I've learned in basketball talks and such, even if you're 100 points down, you NEVER give up. However, imagine being a player in a team in which you're down around 30 points, and there's less than 2 minutes in the fourth quarter. That is how I feel, make that FELT before. Unclear? It's okay.;)

Tomorrow is the last day C48 will go to school as an official block and obviously, it saddens me a lot. Many people wouldn't understand my sadness for me and my blockmates had a strong and unique bond with each other. From the time during our LPEP, to the exams, to the Physics camp and to the debuts of some of my blockmates, there was never a dull moment with those guys and one of the regret I have is that I didn't get to know each one of them as much as I wanted to. It's also a shame that I had conflicts with some of them, all because of shallow reasons that could've been resolved easily. However, the thing that kills me is that I will end this term having a broken friendship with 1 person. You see, that person is an extremely special someone to me, and I didn't expect to go World War 3 with someone like that person. With that aside, I'm really thankful for so many things and I really do feel like I owe my blockmates a lot.

I'd like to thank some of my buddies, especially Adi and Fresh, for their friendship, loyalty and non-stop comedy. I thank Peter for letting us chill in his condo and being a great "general" to us.=p I thank Siegsauer for his embarassing moments and blue and yellow shorts for it brought me nothing but laughter and joy. I thank Kish, Iyah, Den and Kim for listening to my problems and being truly understanding people. I thank Dianne, for being present in class so I can make fun of her height and extremely large calves. I thank Lau, Bil and her huge arms for they are my walking stress balls whenever I fail a quiz or I have a rough day. I thank Leeanne for all the talks we had, eventhough I couldn't understand what she's saying since she talks so fast. I thank Anjo for we became another famous dynamic duo, joining the ranks of Batman and Robin, Starsky and Hutch, and Dumb and Dumber. I thank Dan Alleje and Nico Favila for helping me learn to be fluent in English and showing me how to grow a beard. I thank Kenneth for inspiring me to play DOTA and for showing me the true meaning of the word "sausage". I thank Olivia for her hardwork and her selflessness, despite the fact that I sometimes slack off in some projects. Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their friendship, originality and for just being part of C48. Just because I didn't mention your names doesn't mean I don't care about you or I've forgotten about you. I'm just closer to some, that's all!=D Wait, I feel like I'm missing someone! Should I thank that person? Stay tuned to find out.;)

Anyway, I will now continue on with my incredibly difficult Economics paper, and I'd like to thank my PETITE friend, Nina, for letting me interview her dad. Also, a belated Happy Birthday to my friend, Mai. PEACE!-rJv

No Need To Stay Home

2005-11-28T01:07:00.000-08:00

This was probably the most care free week I had this year. Why? Well, it's because I didn't have to do much this week. In fact, all I needed to do was study for a quiz in Accom1A and that was it. What made the week better was I was able to go out on my free days, mainly Friday and Saturday. Though on some Fridays, I have to stay in school during the nighttime because we have our weekly BA meeting days on that day, I don't think of it as a chore and well, I kinda enjoy doing it since I get to be with my fellow BA members and our meetings are usually laughtrips galore. I do have a lot of things to do for the batch this week but oh well!=D As for this Friday, after the meeting, me, Anj, Fresh, Mav and Lots ate in Pizza Hut afterwards and my God, the added tax that Pizza Hut bills you is incredibly high. Just wanna share that in case you wanna eat there.=D If I were you, I'd eat in Yellow Cab instead!;)

The next day, instead of going to Barangay Commonwealth, we had our CWTS session in DLSU, like the classes that we had in the first term. It was in the afternoon but I had to go Yellow Cab in the morning, along with my fellow BA member Nikka, because we had to speak to a manager regarding a tie-up between Yellow Cab and DLSU. While waiting for Nikka, I went first to the conservatory and what happened next was the most uncomfortable thing ever. Only my blockmates can understand this.=p Anyway, after talking to the YC manager, I dropped by at the conservatory and then I went to Peter's condo where Fresh was playing NBA Live 2006, in which he created his own player. To join in the fun, I made my own player as well, and he is a bloody Englishman with sweet shooting, jumping and passing ability but lacks dribbling. Anyway, when classes ended, me and some of my blockmates went to G4 to chill, seeing as it was a Saturday night. We looked around, just wondering, and when we rested for awhile, we managed to see the fireworks that usually happen every weekend nights. I also had heart to heart talks with my blockmates, and it was great, seeing as we don't usually have that, well at least for me.=p Around 9, it was just me, Petard, Lau and Mau so we decided to eat the Food Court. At around 9:45, I had to go home since the MRT was gonna close soon, but the scariest sh*t happened while going to the station. Seeing as the stores were closing since it was already late, I had to rush to the station entrance and when I got there, it was closed! And with the closed lights and creepy atmosphere, the place was going Silent Hill on me. Lucky for me, I managed to find another way to the station and off I went.=)

Normally, I don't go out on Sundays but yesterday was differentatious. Fine, differentatious is not a normal word but you get the point. This was the graduation party for our CWTS kids and also the celebration for us since we no longer have CWTS anymore, and that is quite celebratious. Once again, celebratious is not a word but you get the idea. The party turned out well, and honestly, I'm gonna miss those little rascals. They annoy the f*ck out of me, but well, their enthusiasm grew on me.=p When we left, the day felt unsatisfied so me, Fresh, Petard, Siegsauer, Lau, Den, Kish and Dianne went to my house to chillax after the long morning. We ordered pizza, had a Friends marathon, and after that, we just chilled in my room. It felt surreal having my blockmates come to my house since I'm very far away from theirs, but it felt great for they saw what the real Joppy is all about, and not just the identity that I bring to class. When they left, my mom nagged me into coming to some baptism party that I don't know about. I was pissed off at first since I had plans, but when I got there, my anger turned into happiness. The baptism was over and my God, the food was awesome! Steak, spaghetti, spare ribs and lechon for free? Hell yeah! After my sumptuous meal, I headed off to Steph King's debut in New World Hotel. The theme was Arabian but if you ask me, I think it was Chinese.=p Anyway, the party went great, and though I was startled when Monika victimized me with the guest interview, I had a blast! It was nice to get to know the second King in the batch assembly, other than yours truly, the REAL king.;) Anyway, at midnight, me, Petard, Fresh, Anj and Mav, went to Absinth, not just to drink(well they drank, not me), but to play Text Twist as well!=D The reality of playing video games inside a bar was too much for me so at around 1:30, I went home. Oh yeah, I was also tired.=D

No Joppy Vinuya reflections for this entry for it seems that some people think that everything I say and do has to have a double meaning and it stinks. Anyway, since it's been a long time since I've written here, I would like to greet the people who celebrated their birthday recently, namely my blockmate Leeanne, my Santugonmate Java, and of course, the recent debutant, Stephanie King. That's all! PEACE!-rJv

Worth The Spending

2005-11-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been quite a trip for the king! It started off last Friday when me and some of my blockmates went to Glorietta since we wanted to watch a movie. Oh yeah, Veana Laureen's twin, Veana Maureen, and I'm sure that made someone happy that night.=p Some of us took a cab going there, and some of us rode the MRT, including yours truly, and we were joined by some of my blockmates, but they had to go home quickly. When we arrived at the station, due to the incredibly long line, we had to take the longer, more dangerous route going to G4 where we had to ride an escalator and cross the streets. I remembered that route perfectly, for the last time I took that route, I was with a "companion" and she almost got mugged while going to the mall. By the way, I wrote about that a few months ago so go ahead and find it.=D Anyway, we were planning to watch Harry Potter the next day so unfortunately, we couldn't watch that night for Flightplan was the only movie showing and the next film viewing was very late. So instead, we headed off to Greenbelt and we ate in some Chinese restaurant, and the reasons why I forgot the name of the place were because I hate Chinese food and in my opinion, all Chinese restaurants are the same!=p By the way, I don't mean to disrespect any Chinese people out there.=) As much as sweet and sour pork and chicken lemon made me queezy, the food was nice and paying 200 bucks for my food was worth since the company I'm with was great. We headed to some bar afterwards and at around 9:30, I rode the MRT going home. Great night.=)

As for yesterday, it started off with my second to the last session of CWTS. Am I gonna miss doing this? Well, a little but not a lot. Sorry.=p As much as I would like to help out in the community, when your Saturday starts by waking up early, that's not a good thing. After CWTS, me and some of my blockmates went to Shang Hotel for there was a bazaar and Lau, Leeanne and Kim had a stall in which they sell girly accessories and clothes. Unfortunately for me, Adi and Nico(or Nicofavila as I would like to call him), we had to sit at the back of Peter car for there were too many of us in the vehicle. When we arrived, the place reminded me off the Holy Spirit graduation ball a few years back. Just a thought.;) I spent the whole day there, going back and forth to the mall a few times, just to eat or withdraw cash. Seeing my blockmates trying to sell stuff, I tried to be a salesman as well, and I couldn't help but be impressed by how Kim's brother, Hawk, managed to sell so many stuff with his "charm". Of course, he couldn't have done it with Chino's acting skills, but other than that, I see a future for the little runt.;) My feet were throbbing, due to the fact that there were no chairs there, but hey, I was having fun. The reason why I had to withdraw cash was because I'm not used to bazaars and for that day, I bought 3 shirts and a "thing". Around 8, we helped up in cleaning and that's how I realized that this type of business is difficult both physically and mentally. We ate a well-deserved meal in CPK after and once again, though I paid a lot on food, it was worth it. My driver picked me up at around 11 and I went home, safe and freakin' tired.;)

Once again, moments like these make me realize of how much I've become attached to my blockmates. In a span of a few months, we've been through a whole lot of sh*t, and the only thing that I regret is not trying to get to know some of them. All of them are unique in their own ways, and if you're not from my block and you're wondering if I see someone "special" there, I would smile and not say anything at all.=p However, what I really like about my block, is that everyone's invited whenever there's a celebration. Unlike some people, whenever there's a celebration, C48 sticks together, not like in a certain place in which if there's a house that I'm banned to go to and there's a party there, and well, I'd rather not talk about it.=p

As for today, I met up with my Ateneo friends, Ron, Gab, Matty, Mike and Julian, for Julian's blockmate and his friends were challenging us in a game of hoops. Money was on the line also and as for the results, all I'm gonna say is that me and wallet are happy right now.=) It was great seeing my buddies again, and the money made the day even better. Now, if only somebody would tell what the hell does Ron's "FF" mean, my life would be at peace right now.=p Anyway, I will now rest. PEACE!-rJv

Viva La Raza

2005-11-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

Finally, our internet in our house has been fixed AGAIN! I can now go back to downloading songs and using my YM until anytime I want, and that is a good thing! However, I can't rejoice yet, for there is school work at hand. Along with my partner, Peter aka Petard, we have a paperwork in Rels1 that's not very hard, but it's very long. We have to make this a good one for this will be our finals exam for the subject. Speaking of exams, enrollment is this week and unfortunately for me, I can only enroll on Friday, due to the fact that I'm no longer the school's main priority since I failed Accounting. Hopefully, I could manage to get the same schedule with my blockmates so that well, I could spend more time with them, simple as that. I don't give a damn of how much the block schedule sucks, as long as I'm C48.;)

Today, there's no other dramatic word that I could think of to describe this day. All in all, I was happy, that's all! After class, we didn't do anything surreal and nothing spectacular happened, but this was a day that I needed. Basically, me, Lau, Den and Adi just talked, and we talked about the things that we used to talk about before things became complicated. I must admit, I was in a bad trip for the past few days, and somehow, our conversation made me happy for once. I still haven't found my sanity, but at least I regained my smile.=D After that, we went to Zen and we watched "The Prince And Me", handpicked by yours truly.;) When the movie ended, me and Lau went to the conservatory to have a "bonding session", while we waited for someone that my blockmates is quite fond of.;) Around 6:30, I left DLSU and here I am, in the luxury of my home.:)

Finally, the world is saddened and shocked by the death of WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero. Many of you don't know him, but he's one of the most talented, hard workers in the wrestling world today. Off the ring, he was a loving father, a good friend, and a role model to everyone. He had to face the demons that hampered him all through his career, like drugs and alcoholism, and he managed to overcome them all, and in the process, he achieved success in the ring, even winning the WWE belt one time, beating Brock Lesnar. His charisma was seen by many, and if you ask me, the "lie, cheat and steal" idea was the funniest gimmick ever, and that was the reason why he became a main eventer, despite his size disadvantage. It may seem strange that I'm writing a tribute to a wrestler, but somehow, when I found about his death, it felt really weird. Yes, he was just one of my favorite wrestlers, but it felt unreal knowing that he's now gone. It's a sad way for his life to end, for he was just reaching the peak of his career, as proven with the rumors that he would've won the World Heavyweight Title from Batista, had he not died. Still, he's a reminder for us to live life to the fullest and never give up on all our problems. My deepest condolences to the Guerrero family and I'm sure Eddy is up there, lying, cheating and stealing. We will miss you deeply Eddie. Viva La Raza.

Anyway, I will now do my Rels1 paper for Petard is expecting it by tomorrow. PEACE!-rJv

No Need To Believe In Fairy Tales..

2005-11-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

As the week ends, I'm still pissed off that the computer technician hasn't come to our house to fix our networking connection. Up until now, we're only relying on one computer that has the connection, which is my brother's PC. I have a ton of files to download and save in MY computer, ranging from school files, and pictures that I usually steal from other people's Multiply sites.=p That is why I have no plans to make my own Multiply account. Why make my own site of pictures, when I could just feed off from the other people who have? That's smart thinking, courtesy of yours truly.;)

As for yesterday, it was another long, strenuous, weekend killing session of CWTS and on that day, I was REALLY too lazy to teach the children. Add the fact that in my class, I have around 2 gay children who constantly "touch" me when they have the chance, it wasn't exactly my kind of way to start the weekend.=p It's true that it feels great to help our the less unfortunate, but make it a required session and it loses its value. This is the exact way I felt about last year, when we had our Tulong Dunong in Ateneo, but unlike in the "other" college, my CWTS ends this term. Whoopee.=p After all of us in our group were done "teaching", we all went to to our meeting place as we wait for Peter's driver to come pick us up. As we were waiting, we talked about who we want to be if we were Disney characters, based on how we look and the situation that we are in right now. My favorite was when we said that Dianne is the exact replica of Tinker Bell, since they're both bright, bubbly and fun to be with. Oh yeah, they're both tiny people. Peace Dianne! =p After that, I headed off to get a haircut in celebrity, in which I fell asleep as the barber was cutting my hair. Luckily, it turned out nice and I'm currently trying on a new hairstyle. Hopefully, it won't look like the hair I had around 5 years ago, when I looked like a boyband member.=p When I arrived home, I slept the whole afternoon, watched wrestling at night, and when my brother left, I took this opportunity to surf the net. It was another boring Saturday night, but I wouldn't have in any other way.=)

This afternoon, with nothing to do, I managed to watch "A Cinderella Story" in HBO and surprisingly, it was the reason why I'm inspired to write here.=D It's basically safe to say that, despite the gayness, our theme for today is fairy tales.=p In the movie, Hillary Duff plays Sam, a beautiful, smart(smart as in straight A student) and friendly girl whose weakness is a fragile heart. Meanwhile, Chad Michael Murray plays Austin, a neat looking dude whom people think he's a cool badass, but actually, he has a soft side, and get this, he's also an aspiring writer. Sh*t man, where do the f*cking directors get these type of characters?? By the way, it's amazing that I was able to watch the movie, when before, I hated teen chick flicks with my life.=p Anyway, the movie is about how 2 people with EXTREMELY opposite personalities managed to see each other in a closer way and well, they ended up having that Cinderella story, but with a modern day twist. Both had strengths and weaknesses, yet together, they completed each other quite well. This movie truly is inspiring for it shows that just because 2 people are different from each other, it doesn't mean that they don't have a chance.=) I'm sure all the boys who are reading this are puking their guts out, but as for the girls, use this as a reference guide in case you have suitors up your alley. It's free so use it and use it well.;)

As for me, I honestly don't believe in fairy tales. There is a reason why there are so many movies based on this, and it's because happy endings don't usually happen a lot in a place we call earth. I'm an extreme realist, so I really know this.=p Life is all about taking chances and the same goes for the only legal substance in this world, which is love. Now, I don't know why I constantly talk about this topic but here I go again. Based on experience, I'm not exactly MVP material, and I don't know if this would land me a job at Candy, Seventeen or Meg, but I'm taking my chances.=D Anyway, to all little boys out there, if you like someone and you feel that she(or he if you're gay) is worth the effort, then go for it! Girls who grab your heart instantly don't come that very often and what's more, you're not the only person in the market who is vying for her. But of course, what about the fear of being rejected? Well, eventhough rejection just might be the next most painful thing other than being kicked in the balls, and believe me, being lowblowed is hard, it won't kill and if you checked your ego out the door, it won't bother you much. You can be rejected a million times, but at least it won't kill you. Just make sure you're in it for the right reasons and most importantly, make sure the girl you're eyeing is not a transvestite. Kidding.=p

Finally, going to my "silence issue" in my previous entry, we "talked" and she still wants to continue the silence. I'm glad that we agreed that silence truly is golden, but as for me, I don't like gold. It's shiny, valuable and rare, but it doesn't tickle my fancy. Nevertheless, I will abide by her rules. It's better off this way I guess. Anyway, I must end this for my mom is gonna use the internet. PEACE!-rJv

Silence Sucks

2005-11-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is my worry-free day of the week, obviously because my schedule is so light. After 2 hours of PE, I wait for more than 5 hours for my next subject, which is Poligov. But for today, it wasn't quite like my usual Wednesdays. Today was our finals in PE and I thought that it was gonna start at 7:30 so I left the house at around 6:30 and I arrived at around 8. It turned out that it was a normal sched and the class would start at the regular time of 9:30. With no choice and with Sieg being my only companion, I made use of the time by taking a short nap outside our classroom. When it finally began, I hastened my time in my practical tests and soon enough, Taekwando class over. I'd like to thank our coach, Mr. Stephen Hernandez and I wish him luck in the SEA Games.;) After having lunch with Dianne, Kish and Lau, we went to Zen where Kandy was gonna treat us a movie there. We watched "A Lot Like Love", and my golly, there were 19 of us inside the room! Needless to say, there was little to no leg room there and we had to improvise. Still, times like these make me realize of how much I'm lucky to have a great block.;) After the movie, we headed to the Yuchenko hall, where there was an exhibition containing neat gadgets like webcams, Wi-Fi devices and digital printers. And speaking of digital printers, me and my picture-addict of a blockmate Iyah, stumbled upon a printer that can print an image from your cellphone just by inserting your memory card to the device. Much to my delight, we were given 4 pictures each from our phones to print using the gizmo. When mine came out, I was quite satisfied.=D After that, it was Poligov time and another frustrating ride of the MRT. Great day.

I'm sure all of you young boys and girls have experienced this and the king is no different. Whether it happened when you were a child or a teenager, I'm sure almost all of you were teased to a certain girl or boy and by golly, I'm damn that pissed you off before, right?;) As for yours truly, when I was a child, being far away from puberty that time, it drove me mad when my friends tease me to a girl. I would lash out in an enraged way, but as I grew up and I grew more mature, it doesn't bother me much anymore. Even today, I'm being dealt by this crazy schindig, and the thing is, sometimes I even enjoy it. Of course, it's cool when all the attention is on you but sometimes, when it goes too far, it's no longer fun.=p But of course, nothing beats being in the position in which you're the one whose making fun of a "couple" and making their lives miserable with the jokes that instantly pop out of your mind. It's plain old fun and if you ask me, I'm glad the art of teasing couples is alive and kicking in today's society for it makes life more fun. However, this brings us to today's question: if this is wholesome fun, why do some people get annoyed by it? Basically, teasing is an effect of rumors. For example, when a rumor spreads out that a boy likes a certain girl, there are 2 scenarios that can happen: the rumor may be true or it can be just a joke. If it's true, then why do people overreact when they're being teased? It's bad to lie and if it's the truth, just lay it all on the table. Cases like this happen when the "liker" tries to use the sneaky way and keep his feelings to himself. My advise? Well, if you like a person, you don't have to tell her directly, but you can tell it your or even HER friends, depending on who you're more comfortable with. That would stop the teasing for the truth is already set free. Who knows, maybe they'd be willing to help in your "journey" as well?=D However, it annoys me that if in case a rumor is false, why do some people get mad about it? If you believe in your heart that you don't like someone and they tease you to her, then why don't you just ignore them? Overreacting could make you susceptible to more teasing and that's not a good thing. With ignorance, you can douse out any fire a rumor can start. That, my dear Joppy-holics is another Joppy 101 lesson in life.;) That is why there are people that are good, people that are great, and only one that is Joppy.;)

Finally, I will now break a small portion of my so-called silence, literally. If you're not a blockmate, odds are, you won't understand this and I won't explain it to you. Anyway, I've been having problems wth a certain person in my block and no, we didn't have a fight or anything like that. But due to the words that were said, and the actions that were done, life has been uncomfortable between the 2 of us and well, this lead to us not being in speaking terms with each other. We only talk through YM and text messaging and don't get me wrong, we're in "good" terms. Silence can be sometimes golden, but this is freakin' killing me faster than boredom. As much as I want to get a vocal sledge hammer and break this silence, this time, I'm gonna let her make the next move. I've done my part and I've tried my best to give a remedy to this situation, yet my efforts are in vain. So if she wants to talk, then good for everyone. If not, then I will try to live my life, knowing that I cannot speak a word to someone I know deeply. Dramatic it is, but it's all in the day's work for the king.=)

Anyway, my internet is still busted and I'm still using my brother's PC so I better end this before he arrives. Stay in school guys and don't ever cut class. PEACE!-rJv

Sucking Statements?

2005-11-04T03:16:00.000-08:00

I wasn't supposed to write today, seeing as though my internet is busted once again, but someone who decided to visit my blog inspired me to hit the pen. As you can see in my tagboard, someone named "iujadsl", thought that what I write here in my blog sucks, so he(or she) decided to tell me what's in his or her mind. In my previous tagboard, many weren't hesitant to thrash my tagboard with threats and hate messages, so in my new one, I now have the capability to ban those motherf*ckers who have nothing decent to say. However, in this case, what "iujadsl" said may be harsh and I'm dying to ban this dude, however, it isn't irrelevant so I'll gladly accept such negative feedback.=) The old Joppy would probably react in a different way, but now, I'll let it slip. Besides, maybe the one who wrote this has a point. MAYBE what I write here sucks. Then again, the things that've written here are forms of masterpiece. We don't know that and that's where feedback comes in.=p To do something different, I'm going to give supports on why this "iujadsl" totally hates my statements. Though I've had so many hours practicing on the art of writing, as you can see in my previous entries, I have a tendency to have poor grammar and my sentences sometimes make no sense. Some of my topics are downright pointless, and I act as if I know everything in this world. My "king" persona kinda makes people think that I'm cocky, and some of my foul statements sure hell don't help for it rubs people the wrong way, especially the ones that I target. I have control of myself and I write this way, not because I intend on embarassing people, but because these are the things that I think of, and these are the things that I feel. That is how journals are used and of course, if you don't like what you see, then stop visiting my damn site. If these are the reasons why I suck, then by God, so be it. Any more comments? If there are none, I would like to further improve on my relationship with "iujadsl". Like I said, I appreciate you statement, but it makes me wonder: if you seem so comfortable criticizing my blog, why didn't you use your real name? I'm sure you have a real one, so why don't you want me to know who you are? I'm not gonna lose sleep over a silly comment, but come to think of it, maybe you're in the same league as mine: people who suck. Oh yeah, that's just an opinion so don't take it personally.=) If ever you react, I'm sure you're gonna try to make the wittiest insult you can dish out to me and that's perfectly fine. Besides that, thank you for being a guest in my entry and well, I hope there's peace between us 2 opinionated people.;)

With that taken care off, let's get down to business. Or something like that. The truth is, my "mini sembreak" sucks ass. Aside from Halloween, it's boring here in the North side. I practically do nothing when I don't have class, and add the fact that my PS2 and internet are busted, I'm totally screwed. I only had classes on last Wednesday and yesterday this week, and thank God for them. Luckily, the workload wasn't much, and I spent those days on our newly assigned weekly Batch Assembly meeting. After that, I spent my free time in Peter's condo, along with my other blockmates. Now what do we do there? Basically, we walk the extra mile to go there, just to play some games for the PS2, especially WWE Raw vs. Smackdown. While this game is very old and I've played it a million times already, thanks to my blockmates, it's fun again to play it. Why? Because thanks to its wrestler creation feature, we were able to make some of our C48 pals, including Sieg, Freshy, Anjo and even our resident female diva dancer, Kish! As for me, I was able to create an almost identical model of myself, with my trademark color coordinated cap and shirt combo, khaki shorts and white Adidas sneakers. I have the moveset of the "Legend Killer", Randy Orton, and I finish my opponents off with the patented RKO. Now isn't that fun or what?=D

Serious stories aside, this boredom is freakin' killing me. With no other way to kill the meloncholy atmosphere than the use of television, I can conclude that I really need my internet. Good thing the NBA season has recently started, and my Indiana Pacers are off to a nice 2-0 start. I predict that they will go all the way to the finals where they will beat the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games. I think of it this way, probably because I'm a biased bastard.=) Aside from hoops, I managed to see some episodes of the hit reality show, "Pinoy Big Brother", and I'm sorry to all PBB fans, but damn, this show sucks ass! The episodes are dull, the main characters are too corny and they try too hard to speak English, and "Big Brother" sounds more moronic than intimidating. Damnit, even the girls aren't hot, and when a reality TV show stinks, the chicks usually save the program.=p This goes to show that Filipinos shouldn't remake shows made famous by other countries. And this is what boredom does to you.=)

Anyway, I will now watch Joe Schmo 2. PEACE!-rJv

Halloween Havoc

2005-10-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

As part of my usual college life, I went to another debut again last night. The debutant? None other than one of my friends from Holy Spirit, who by the way still owes me 50 pesos for I wrote her UA&P essay before, Marian Magturo. The venue was in Plaza Ibarra, and I went there alongside my very good buddy from my high school days, Ron Fernandez. It was a formal debut so I would like to thank my neighbor, Jason Mariposa for lending me his coat, which I will return on Wednesday. Though the program started, I must say, it was quite long, compared to the other debuts that I've went to. For me, I didn't mind for I spent the whole time talking and bonding with Ron, and it was great, considering that we don't see each other that much. Hell, talking to any of my classmates from high school is one of the best experiences for the king, since I've been seperated from them. I managed to see some of my friends from Holy Spirit also, so it was nice. The night literally ended on a high note, as Marian did a medley of songs while playing the keyboard. After that, Ron and I went home, probably at around 12:30. Overall, it was a Sunday well spent and oh yeah, today is Marian's birthday!=)

Of course, I would like to greet everyone today Happy Halloween!=) And like in the previous years, this day is taken seriously by the people here in Ayala Heights and we do our best to make each Halloween a memorable one. This day was no different. We started by going to Kayelle's house to put our makeup on and meet with everyone who's part of the haunted house crew. Around 5:30 we headed to the newly built badminton court, which was the site of this year's haunted house. Our members diminished a little bit, showing that we are getting older, and we managed to pick up a few "rookies" in our core. Believe it or not, one of which is my next door neighbor, and believe it more, we got along just fine. I wouldn't say that I was a happy camper, but all in all, we were cool. ;) I'm still banned to go to her house, but hey, I wouldn't have it any other way.=) Around 6:30, the program started and unlike the previous years, I now play the role of the main usher. This was the most coveted position in the group and because of my improved maturity, I managed to snag it from the rest. Why is the position everyone wants to have? Well, girls think it's a very easy task and as for the boys, they use it to meet hot girls.=p Thank God I'm fortunate to have a mind of a college boy.=D I wasn't able to see much of the scaring part, but from the reactions of the people, I think everything went smoothly. We ended early, around 10 or so, and it was the earliest among all the haunted houses that we've done. I went home early tonight for everyone had their own plans and well, I'm kinda tired. After all this, I can say that this year was one of the better Halloweens I've had and if you don't believe me, if you have the time, try to find my Halloween blog entry last year and compare it to this year's. Finally, congratulations to Kayelle, Tina(a neighbor of mine, not my arrogant friend who studies in DLSU), and the rest of the Halloween crew for a job well done. Everyone gave their all and because it, we have another successful haunted house in our bag.=)

Now what makes Halloween different from the other holidays in the world? Well, for one, Halloween doesn't require you to pay homage to something or visit a certain place. Aside from the trick or treating part and the scary costumes, it just requires you to be happy and enjoy life for one single day. During Halloween, all you have to do is put a smile on your face. For one day, forget the fact that you suck at Accounting and you have a boatload of projects on the way. Ignore the reality that eventhough you're 100% sure that you're a nice guy, the girl you like won't give you a chance to show her what you could offer her. During Halloween, put those thoughts on the shelf. Better yet, spend Halloween in Ayala Heights and feast your eyes on the hotties that walk around. Just joking.=p As for the king, I used this day to bond with my community while at the same time, I managed to put a smile(or a scare) on the people who wanted to see the haunted house. For tonight, I was problemless, non-sentimental and the world was in my hands. If only each day would be like this.=D

As this night comes to an end and the ghouls and goblins hybernate for next, let us use tomorrow's All Souls' Day to comemorate all those that aren't with us today. As they moved on to the other world, we pay homage to them and if they're buried here in the Philippines, as much as possible, let us visit them in their resting place. With that, the king is now signing off and if you find yourself in a dark room tonight, odds are, you're not alone. PEACE!-rJv

It's Been A Long Time...

2005-10-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Like the title, it's been a long time since I've written something here in my wonderful blog. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm glad my fanfare for my site is increasing, and I'm very grateful that people actually care about what I write. Anyway, my internet was busted a few days ago and well, it's midterms week. Yes people, as the Ateneans, Thomasians, UA&P students and the other college people celebrate their lengthy vacations, I'm stuck in school studying and cramming my head out, just to pass in my subjects. Most probably, the most stressful day was yesterday, when I had my tests in Accounting, Economics and Math straight, without any breaks at all. So for more than 4 hours, my brain was filled with numbers, variables and all that sh*t that I despise. Oh yeah, did I mention that I had a business case for Accounting that was due on that day. And did I mention that I had to collect my quizzes and exercises in one folder for that subject too? I dunno about you, but that really sucks! At least now, I can relax for the hardships are over. For now.=D

We're nearing the end of October and we are now a few days away from the night where the ghouls and ghosts rule the night, Halloween. This is the day where kids stroll from door to door, scavanging for treats that will spoil their fancies. Some of you might be surprised, but Halloween is one of my favorite days. Why? Because for one day, I can be a kid again and with a village like Ayala Heights, you're bound to have fun as you go trick or treating along the streets. However, for the past few years, I've refrained from hunting for sweets in the village, due to the fact that I now regularly join the haunted house crew every Halloween. If you don't know, every October 31, we build a haunted house that we planned ourselves, and we even partake in the actual day where we scare the sh*t out of people when they enter the house. The crew consists of some of our parents, the young adults, the Ayala boys, the Ayala girls, some kiddies, and even a few special guests so needless to say, it's great bonding time with my community. Of course, building a haunted house ain't no easy task so each of us has to give 100% of our effort in order for this year to be a success. That means that we have to attend the meetings, avoid slacking off during the building time, and of course, refrain from acting like an ass during the actual day itself. That is why I somehow get annoyed with people who don't attend the meetings or not help with the making of the house, and for some reason, they yearn to have envious positions like being the usher or something. Though unlike the previous years when I had all the time in the world to help out, I still try to use what's left of my free time(if I had any) to assist the committee. Why? Because in the end, I feel great when something I work hard for turns out to be a smash hit. And finally, I feel that Allen Mangilit should not play the part of any monster in the haunted house for he is not ugly. That's all. Thank you.

Finally, as requested by my blockmate, Lau, and her companion, Bill, I've listed three things that caught my eye this week. Don't worry, you won't be seeing any sappy sublots for tonight so breath easy.=D Anyway, making the number 3 spot is the lack of stored value cards in the MRT station. I mean come on, my dismissal is during rush hour so it really pisses me off that I have to f*cking get in line to buy a freakin' ticket! They say that they are reprinting new cards, but if you ask me, I don't give a sh*t if Erap's face is seen on the cards. Second on the list is McDo's midyear arsenal, the Twister Fries. Yes, it tastes good but damn, the product is expensive and what's worse is that they don't give you a lot when you order. Sadly, I've been ordering it everyday this week and it's costing me a lot. Finally, the one that takes it all is the wacky piece of clothing that my blockmate, Siegsauer Pua wore last Tuesday. For a more vivid description, he wore a checkered blue and yellow pair of shorts that can be usually seen in a circus or in a chess tournament arena. But seriously, I've never met anyone who had the balls to wear that thing! That is why I love C48, you never what you're gonna see each day.;)

It's midnight and I think I better hit the hay for I have CWTS tomorrow. Good night guys! PEACE!-rJv

Life Savoring

2005-10-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

I have been made fun of by some of my blockmates, due to the fact that I have a tendency to "target" people in my class that somehow manage to annoy me through my days in college. While I appreciate the sarcastic statements and humorous gestures, I guess it would be appopriate also to clarify the reason why I write this way. First of all, I don't write this way to ruin anyone's reputation, or to act like some doofy gossip geek who stirs up issues, just to gain recognition or acceptance. I'm happy with where I am and I don't regret any conflicts I've had with some people for I've learned something in the entire process. Instead, I write this way for the last time I heard, that's what journals are for. Since I'm human, you can't expect me to always write about good goody stuff for I do have those days when I get pissed off or depressed. I want to vent out unusual topics, like idiotic people, jamming sessions, politics and yes, the downright mushy thing we call love.;) Oh yeah, some people say that blogs are pointless since it's inappopriate to let the world know what's going on in your life. What does the king say about this? While studying religion, I learned that we were made to be relational beings. And I'm being relational. Yes, it feels weird that the people around you know every move you make, but at the same time, this blog proves that I do live in the real world, but unlike other mere mortals, I make my life as fruitful as possible, even if I do have some off days and some roadblocks that hinder my way towards a better way of living. Now, don't you wish you were me?;)

I forgot to post this in my previous entries, but last October 12, it was the birthday of my dear blockmate, Pia Tamondong. The king apologizes for his blunder and I wish her the best.=) Yesterday was her debut, and the venue was in Villa Rona, somewhere in Marikina. The way there was quite confusing, but when I arrived, I was astounded of how nicely built the place was. It was the exact type of housing you would want to stay in, in case you wanted to go for an outing.=D As usual, me and my blockmates looked stunning in semi-formal attire, and even some looked "red-hot", and if you don't know what I mean, just ask the batch VP, David Ofrecio, or my blockmate, Lau "Bill Bill" Quiambao.=p The program started late, but when it began, it was quite good. Oh yeah, the food was delicious.;) Since me and some of my blockmates weren't close with Pia, we were a little bit in OP mode, but when it comes to C48, there's no such thing as a dull moment.=) The program ended around 10:30 so we went upstairs to get in our swimming gear to make the night more enjoyable. The debut was also a swimming party and a sleepover so needless to say, we brought a lot of stuff. Sadly, many didn't stay overnight or take a dip in the pool, except for me, Fresh, Lau, Dan, Kandi, Camille C., Kim, Dianne, Cis, Chino, Jiggs, Jonreph and Gerard. To tell you how much I was disappointed that night, just ask the people whom I referred to, regarding the "red-hot" statement.=p The night was solemn and peaceful, with beer drinking, card playing and chit-chatting. You may say that it's boring, but it was cool and like I said before, boredom is non-existent in our block. I slept at around 4 in the morning, and at around 10:30 the next day, after some breakfast and mindless wrestling where Cis tried to pull down my shorts to bare my sexy ass, we left the premises. It was a neat experience and I'd like to thank Pia and her family for the memorable night.=)

And just when you thought this weekend bonanza has ended, like they say in home shopping networks, "but there's more!" We had to watch a play for Filipi1 entitled, "Valentin", so it wasn't time to go home yet. After leaving Villa Rona, we took a cab and we headed off to Jonreph's house since it's the closest place to the theater. When we arrived, we watched TV, some took a bath, and after that we ate lunch, courtesy of Jonreph's mom. On a side not, I would like to say that Jonreph's family was very hospitable, for we felt like home there.=D The play was supposed to start at 2:30 so around that time, we darted towards the theater, to avoid being late. The play was very entertaining, culminating the elements of Philippine history, musical prowess and your usual romance formula, but at the same time, infusing amusing scenes, involving horny Spaniards, falling chandeliers and drunkards. The play ended at around 5, so I went home, courtesy of Adi and his dad. As I entered the gate of our house, I felt that after this jam-packed weekend, I've developed a stronger bond with my block and I've began to appreciate each and every one of them even more. I may act like I'm Mr. C48 or something, but at least I don't put computer games and jamming sessions over their birthdays. I will now end my statement on that.=)

The transformation has been complete. For some mysterious reason, I've turned sappy, and basically, I'm goin' freakin' crazy. Proof? Well, as of now, I'm currently inspired by the song, "If Life Is So Short", by The Moffatts. Now, why the hell would the king be inspired by cheesy love song that's performed by a bunch of gayish long-haired boys whose main competition is Hanson? Well, unlike other people, I don't hate boybands and lyrical wise, the words in the song makes some sense.=p To avoid spreading the idea of faggotism, I'll only talk about the chorus.=D It starts of by saying that if life is so short, why do people turn away from love when it's already shoved in their faces. People want to be appreciated, taken care of, and most importantly, be loved, but when a sane, decent person comes into their lives, why do they sometimes ignore it? Finally, in the second line, it states that if love is so strong, why can't some people take the chance? Is it because of the lack of trust? Or is it the fear of getting hurt? If love REALLY is strong, wouldn't it destroy all these seeds of doubt? I wrote this a few months ago, but in my opinion, time can be a reliable ally for love, at the same time, it can be its worst enemy. It all depends on the frame of mind of the person. Time can heal broken hearts and time can make a person move on with their lives. If you try to fight the tides of time, that's when it will become your foe. I read before somewhere that there is a time for everything, a time to love, a time to move on, a time to eat lunch, etc., While I feel that the right time to eat lunch is at around 12 noon, when EXACTLY is the perfect time to love? Any answers? Feel free to comment on this as I get cornier everyday.=p

This could probably the longest entry that I've done. Well what can I say, I'm a sucker for writing.=p PEACE!-rJv

It's Not All About Honesty

2005-10-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was LEAP day for us La Sallites, and if you don't know what LEAP is, it's a day where we all have to attend a certain class that's not related with our course or our subjects. The classes range from bible talks, to street dancing, to leadership seminars, and so much more. If you ask me, I think it's a waste of time but if it helps me to skip Accounting, Math, Economics and Filipino, then I'm game.=p Since I enrolled late, I didn't have much choices so I was forced to enlist in a class called The Sexfiles. In this class, we were taught the right techiniques to please a woman and how to make love for more than 2 days. Just joking.=p If you perverts can get over the title, it's basically a program that enables us to see how a mind of a man and woman tick and the cause and effects of sex cases and how it clashes with the meaning and purpose of true love. The truth is, despite the fact that I didn't see anyone I knew there, the talk was kinda cool, probably thanks to the speakers' dynamic presentations and broad knowledge about the topic. Needless to say, I learned a lot and it helped me expand my values and theories about society and how to succeed in it. After the class, I ate lunch and after a few hours, me, Lau, Dianne, Fresh, Jiggs, Chino, Peter and Leeanne went to Glorietta to watch a movie and made good use of our remaining leisure time. We watched "Into The Blue", and by God, seeing Jessica Alba in those revealing outfits is reasonable enough for me to spend 100 bucks on that movie! I apologize for sounding like a pig, but that girl's special assets are one of a kind! It was like falling in love for the first time! I will stop now.=D At around 5, I left Glorietta and headed home. Good day.=)

In my last entry, I wrote that I was gonna discuss a statement that a UAAP courtside reporter made, regarding the tournament's recent happenings. However, what I learned today made me realize that I should tone down my ways for they don't lead to justice and peace at all. Besides, the UAAP is already over so we should move on with our lives. Anyway, today was our block picture taking and as our theme, we decided to wear our old high school uniforms, an idea that may be overdone by many, but hey, I was the one who thought about it in our block.=p Another block used that theme today, but we wore our uniforms C48 style.;) Despite the rain, we had fun posing for the camera and rekindling the days when we were high school youths. Wearing the full Ateneo outfit sure felt great, and I'm sure my blockmates felt the same way for their alma mater. After that, me and many of my blockmates went to eat in a deserted room in near the SPS cafeteria. We had MAJOR bonding session, highlighted by Kish's dance moves, Olivia's Math magic and my infamous impersonations of our fellow blockmates and professors. This incedent made me realize of how lucky I am to be part of C48. These are a bunch of great boys and girls who manage to unite as one, despite our quirks and differences. I am truly grateful for the fact that no matter how much I get rejected in the game of love, or how many quizzes I fail in Accounting, I'm still part of probably the greatest block in the world. Oh yeah, not only did I realize these things today, I managed to patch up my conflict with a certain someone in my block. Remember what I wrote last time? We're cool now.=) It was just a simple misunderstanding, that's all. I didn't write it here but I had another scuffle a few days ago with someone else regarding financial debts, but I might as well paid it. After all, money can be gotten easily, but lifelong friendships is hard to come by these days. Overall, this day was quite productive.=)

Finally, please pray for my high school classmate, Pedro Tison, for he currently has dengue fever. According to my fellow H-boys, his condition is critical so he needs all the help he could get. There is a chance that things could get worse but I know God won't let it happen. My faith in God is telling me that he's in good hands, but of course, it wouldn't hurt to give a simple heartfelt prayer for my seatmate of 3 years(his last name is Tison and mine is Vinuya). Peds, get well soon and when you're on your feet again, I hope you kick Marc Yee's ass! Just joking Phapha Marc.;)

Anyway, I will now rest. PEACE!-rJv

Screaming Infidelities

2005-10-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was the acquaintance party of my second organization in DLSU. which is JEMA, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to go due to once again, lack of transportation. Besides, I was kinda upset that the ones who were selling the tickets weren't gonna go to the party so that diminished the value of their tickets a whole lot more. So instead, I went out with Niko and Tonino and we went to Eastwood, to have our usual gimmick. Along the way there, Niko's driver was drunk, and while talking endlessly, he uttered so many things that were filled with sexual content and unheard of antics. Needless to say, that made me chuckle.=p Anyway, when we got there, we had a quick meal in Fazzolis, and we headed off to the movie theatre to watch "The 40 Year Old Virgin". The film was freakin's hilarious, and though there were no A-list stars that starred in the movie, the presentation was fantastic. The king recommends this to anyone, especially the young kids.=) After the movie, we went to Starbucks to chill like we always do, talking about anything in particular. It's kinda disappointing that we didn't have anyone to pick on but the gimmick was nice. At around midnight, we took a taxi and we went to Niko's place to once again, chillax. We spent 3 hours, just talking about so many things, and while other people may think that this is totally boring, 3 hours of bonding time with the Ayala boys might be more fun than going to a bar, watching a porn film, and even playing DOTA.=p I went home at around 3 in the morning, totally drained but fulfilled.;)

I'm sure many of you watched the UAAP finals this week, and while many of you are heavily disappointed, I know many of you also are ecstatic about the outcome. For all those who aren't well-updated about the current happenings, the FEU Tamaraws swept its season series against the tough De La Salle Green Archers, ending Arwind Santos' unbelievable college hoops career with a bang. Both games were nail biters, but in the end, FEU prevailed. In the final game, the Tamaraws ended up being victorious, for many stepped up, especially in the final minutes of the game, from the likes of RJ Rizada, Mark Isip, Jonas Villanueva and of course, the MVP, Arwind Santos. While I would say that FEU DESERVED their title, I have to give my props to DLSU for giving them a run for their money. Both teams showed their competitive spirit but sadly, the value of sportsmanship was somehow ignored in the first part of this series. Oh well! What's done is done and we move on with our lives.;)

All throughout the history of my blog, I've never had so many reactions as much as I had, after I wrote about the current scene in the UAAP, and I would like to thank you guys for the feedback. Thank you for telling me how you feel and thank you for understanding the fact that I still bleed blue. Unfortunately for me, one of my blockmates took the damn thing too seriously. Last Friday, during our Poligov class, while I was joking with our teacher about the UAAP, suddenly, I was attacked by a vocal aggression, courtesy of my blockmate. She yelled at me for no reason, enraged by the fact that I don't root for DLSU, and she hampered me with comments that are quite painful in the ears. While that didn't upset me much, what insulted me was the moment she told me that I act like this for I'm richer and smarter than her. That was totally below the belt for that's the biggest insult you could say to an Atenean!! I don't degrade anyone for their financial conditions or their "level", and it's sad that people think that Ateneans act like we're better than other people. Money can't buy happiness and besides, so what if I have money?!? Thanks to luck and the hardwork and generosity of my parents, I'm fortunate to have some cash. I don't flaunt it, but I sure hell ain't gonna give it all away. Maybe I do have more money than her, but that doesn't make me better than her! And smarter? Who f*ckin' failed Accounting?! What's worse, after class, she tells everyone of how mean I am and now, I end up being the bad guy! Now that's unfair! From what I've heard, you started the confrontation and when I was joking with our prof, YOU butted in and lashed me with your words. I'd happily accept it if it was my fault, but sorry, it's yours. Also, it's my choice to root for FEU, so buzz off. I'm still loyal to ADMU so deal with it, for 12 years in ADMU cannot be replaced easily by 6 months in DLSU. I respect that you love our school but please, work on your temper and stop attacking people out of nowhere with your outrage. Not to sound self-centered but because of this incedent, this creates more complications with my relationship with my other blockmate, whom I'm already having a hard time with, due to what happened weeks before. Of course, I'm a fair person so if that certain blockmate wants to speak her mind and enlighten me with something I don't know, feel free to write in my message board or comment about my entry, for all I want is honesty. So stop hiding from your stealth settings and invisibility and tell me your story. Ayt?

Since this entry's too long, in my next one, I will react to an e-mail regarding a reaction of a sports reporter. PEACE!-rJv

Explanations

2005-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, what all people have waited for, NBA Live 2006 is finally in stores now!=) As for me, this time, I would practice hard for this game, for last year's installment, i sucked ass! I had my PS2 repaired just for this game, and it was worth every penny. I purchased 3 other games also, so obviously, I'm a bit pre-occupied as of this moment. However, writing is my passion so I shelved some time just for this. I'll probably start playing again a few hours later so for now, I just wanna sit back and relax while my fingers do the talking.;)

A lot of my blockmates reacted towards what I wrote yesterday, concerning the person I "targeted" in one of my paragraphs, and from what I've seen, it looks like I just hit the mark. Maybe it's because of my spider sense, or I just have that churning feeling, but I feel like that certain person knows already. If that's the case, then I will justify my actions, just to show that I think before I act. First of all, my intention for writing that thing is not to hurt the person, nor destroy her reputation in any way at all. My message for that paragraph isn't "you suck", but all I wanna do is find out the reason for the person's recent behavior. When my mother found out that I was feuding with my next door neighbor, she was terrified at me for she realized that I have the power to destroy people, not in the physical way, but in the mental and emotional aspect. But that's all in the past and I no longer desire hatred. If anyone has conflict with me, I just turn my back away from them. Anyway, many people would probably think I'm tackless for writing that, and maybe they are true. But from my point of view, I'm just trying to be honest, and if I have to pay the consequences for being honest, then so be it. If you ask me, I'd rather have a friend who tells the truth even at extreme measures, than have a friend who's a complete liar. Yes, the truth hurts sometimes, but the thing is, it doesn't have to give pain if you molded the truth into a good thing. What I mean is, the truth hurts if only 1.) you're lying and 2.) you know that what you're doing is wrong. I'm sorry if what I wrote offended you, but keep in mind that I'm NOT the bad guy in this situation. I got that from the movie, "Daredevil", which is one my favorite movies of all time.=)

Despite my regained addiction for my PS2, I still feel that sentimental feeling that started around 2 weeks ago. Thanks to my best friend, Joppy jr., aka my iPod, I spend countless hours everyday listening to songs about love, heartbreak and all that sh*t that complicate what we feel in this world. Now what the hell am I feeling right now? I dunno, dude. But here's the scary part: I'm beginning to feel the urge to write poems! God, save me from this gayness!! Watching the king write a sonnet, haiku and all that sh*t, is not a pleasant scene, so somebody just hit my head to help me regain my sanity. I refuse to become a fag and if I have to watch 100 videos of porn to get back my manhood, then so be it!! Wait, I'm now regretting that I wrote that. Nevertheless, I still cannot explain what emotions are playing in my mind. I sucks, yet it feels nice, yet I'm turning into one homosexual. Nice.=)

Anyway, I will now get back to my PS2. PEACE!-rJv

Washed Up

2005-10-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon Joppy-holics. According to my Yahoo Messenger, it looks like many of you are feeling the very excruciating feeling of stress! Papers? Reports? Quizzes? I feel your pain. Wait. No I don't. Why? Because I don't have to do anything today!=p In fact I'm planning on getting my PS2 from the repair shop and buy NBA Live 2006 and play the damn thing all day long.=) Speaking of basketball, last Friday, we, the Santugon freshmen, had a game against the Santugon upperclassmen and we won by only 2 points. It was a close game and the losers had to pay for the referee's service fee. Of course, when you get out paying something, that's good.=)

As for yesterday, I spent the morning going to DLSU to help out in planning what we're gonna do for our next CWTS session. It wasn't required, but I was willing to lend a hand. Besides, we played DOTA afterwards so the trip was worth it.;) When I went home, I spent the afternoon using my YM, downloading some songs, eating and watching TV. My parents went to Baguio so I had more freedom on that night, so thankfully, the Ayala boys planned our usual gimmick that we haven't done for a very long time. Around 8, me, Niko, Tonino and Gelo went to Eastwood to do our usual gimmick stuff. We watched "Transporter 2", and though them movie was interesting, it was downright unrealistic. I mean, who the f*ck stays alive without a scratch, after having your plane crash down from 20,000 feet?! After the movie, we headed off to Starbucks to chill out and drink some coffee. While talking with my neighbors there, I managed to spot my friends from Poveda, namely, Nina, Janelle, and Nicole, who by the way, still owes me 150 bucks! We talked for awhile and of course, it was nice to see familiar faces again.;) Around 12:30, we left Eastwood and after dropping Gelo in his house, me and Niko went to Tonino's house to once again, chill.;) We talked for a very long while, and we discussed quite a lot of topics, which is one of the reasons why I love hanging out with those idiots. It's hard to be very open with a many people but that doesn't matter when you're with the Ayala boys, and it shows that we're not snobbish, arrogant, rich kids.=p Me and Niko left at around 3, which was one of the latest times I've went home this year. And due to my late arrival last night, I wasn't able to wake up for the mass. I hope God forgives me on my blunder.=)

Usually, I spend my Sundays just resting at home, even if there's no homework or quiz for the next day. Of course, I'd die if didn't use my computer for my leisure time.=p And obviously, I like to write here in my blog.=p However, I do like to read other blogs that might tickle my fancy. Today, I read something that caught my eye. In this certain blog, the author talks about having her plans all screwed up because of all the committments that one has to take from a lot of people. It's a give-in that i disagree on this, what upsets me that not only is this an easy problem, but it's freakin' common sense! Though my brain is defficient and it's proven by my recent failure in Accounting, I can still manage to give a king's eye view on this. Let's begin. When we look at what committment, it's just the cousin of the value of priorities. What does the king mean? Well, of course, before committing to something, nothing comes first before the people that are close to your lives, like family, friends and blockmates, not basketball, music or anything else. In her entry, she complains about not having time for her blockmates, yet she writes about her musical experiences with numerous sets of people. See the problem? There are more than 40 people in her block, yet she can't spend time with anyone of them and she manages to "jam" with a different party?! I think there's a problem there. From what I've read before, I think she NEVER attended ANY party/debut of anyone in the block. She makes excuses on why she can't come to those events, and though I have no right to call it bullsh*t, from what I've seen and heard, I'm hesitant to take her word for it. Many people know that what I value most is honesty, and I'm willing to believe what people say for the only things that can justify their actions are their conscience and integrity, but in this case, in the words of the great one, "you gotta be sh*ttin' me!". If you don't get along with your blockmates, then just freakin' say it, rather than act like a damn fraud, for if there's one type of people that I hate, it's those people who aren't real. So that certain person, feel free to comment on what I've written, for anything informative would be helpful. Keep in mind that I'm not angry. I'm just trying to find some answers. Also, remember that this is not backstabbing or disfigurement of character, for what I'm trying to do is confront you in an indirect way. Many are confused by your actions, and therefore, I will be their beacon of light. ;)

I will now watch TV. That is all. PEACE!-rJv

Green Blood Does Not Exist

2005-09-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

What we've watched today gave me the strength to write here, despite the fact that I'm once again fatigued. Unfortunately for me and my fellow Blue Eagles, our team succumbed to DLSU's juggernaut offense, eliminating us from title contention, and ending the college lives of some, like LA Tenorio and Magnum Membrere. I know many of you Green Archers out there chuckled when Tenorio whimpered and somehow overacted, during his last game in the college league. You can laugh all you want, but you can never understand how that dude poured every ounce of blood, sweat and tears, just to give ADMU another day to fight. Sadly, it wasn't enough. That brings us to today's Finals showdown between the DLSU Green Archers and the FEU Tamaraws. From what I saw, it was a good game, very intense and competitive, and it was quite a sight to see. It went down the wire, but eventually, thanks to the hustle and intensity of Arwind Santos, the Tamaraws won, and at the same time, Arwind Santos proved to everyone that he is indeed, one MVP that we can be proud of. However, just as we thought we watched a classic match between 2 powerful teams, something despicable happened. As the players and coaches walked towards their respective locker rooms, a DLSU manager gave Arwind a cheap shot at the back of his head. That's when all sh*t occurred. Somehow, I'm not surprised that DLSU pulled another deed to further disgrace its already tainted reputation.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't HATE La Salle. In fact, I've been studying there for more than 4 months and they've treated me like royalty. But when you react to losing by hitting the opponent's star player at the back of his head, that is an action that's fitted for scumbags. When you lose, you should go accept defeat with your head up, and despite your loss, you'll win respect in the process. That is why despite their ugly defeats to DLSU, Ateneo has all my respect. To lose by a big margin may be a bit embarassing, but when you take it as a man, it turns into an honorable act. Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten Ryan Arana's dance during the game before the Final 4 against Ateneo. I think Arana is a talented player, his dance was unique, but about his integrity? With his lack of respect for the losing team, it seems like he doesn't know what integrity means.=p I don't about you guys, but we were taught in Ateneo that whether we win or lose, we should show some sportsmanship, shake the opponent's hands, and make the world a better place to live in for we don't need trash talking and cocky bastards in earth. Though basketball is just a sport, how people act on the court can mean so many things. FEU may not look so luxurious financially, but take a look at Arwind Santos and his teammates. Though they're not millionaires, they train hard, act like real gentlemen, yet on the court, they could whoop any team's ass, and yes, including Ateneo's.=p From what we've seen from DLSU, we have a rude dancing fool, a manager who I think is gay for he loves to hit people from behind, and players that have all the talent in this world but their love for talking smack prevents them from being class acts. I'm probably enfuriating so many people here but this is a wake-up call to all of us. We don't want players that are winners by the law of basketball. We need people who are both winners on AND off the court. That's just a simple thing to ask for and you don't one sexy Atenean to stick that in your brain.;)

Finally, after some frustrations with what I watched today, I end this with a reflection about the icky topic that we call love. Lately, I'm quite fascinated with a case of a certain guy that I know, but though I will share his story, I will keep his identity in closed doors. Go figure if you think this is set in my village, school or any type of sh*t that you can think of. Anyway, so this guy is very mesmerized and astonished with a certain girl that he knows quite well. And who can't blame him, the girl is truly great, not as great as the king, but she surely is one of a kind. She's the complete package, beauty, brains, a kind heart, genuine personality and the icing on the cake, a smile that could sink a thousand ships. The last description I got from Troy so please don't sue me. This dude would do anything for that girl, but at the same time, he doubts what he feels. As for the girl, she can't seem to see the poor guy's heart, for she, too, is facing problems of heartbreak. F*ck man, I'm getting sentimental, but I must go on!=D These two would've been great together, and if I could play the role of Cupid, I would bombard them with my royal Green Archer arrows. But since I'm just the greatest man in the world, I just feel for them.=p If only the girl sees the true person of the dude, they might just end up as the couple that everyone falls in love with. The guy's intentions are genuine, dispatching the murky feeling of lust, breaking through the barriers of physical attraction, and most importantly, diving inside the whirlpool of truth and honesty. Would this end up being the greatest story ever told? How should I know!? I'm just a writer, not a gypsy.=p Oh yeah, I managed to create this paragraph thanks to the inspiration that I got from my Filipino teacher, when he told us the story about his life. I'm proud of what I wrote.=D

Anyway, I will now eat again for my dinner wasn't enough. Be sure to catch The Apprentice later. PEACE!-rJv

What Song Is It Again?

2005-09-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

Today was another CWTS lecture day and surprisingly, it wasn't THAT bad. However, my day didn't start by just going to DLSU immediately. Instead, I first went to Celeb to meet up with my petite Povedan friend, Nina Barbasa.=p She asked me to make her UA&P essay and with my expertice in the world of writing, I happily obliged. Of course, I don't do these things for free so the price was 100 bucks. By the way, if you undergrads are too lazy to make your essays, papers or anything like that, just text me and at a range of 50-150 bucks, I do your work. It requires money but hey, it's worth it. ;) Anyway, we ate "brunch" and we talked a lot, which felt great, considering that I don't see my non-DLSU friends that much. Around 11:30, Nina left and I headed off to the MRT station, going to DLSU. It rained like sh*t, and I arrived there soaking wet. When the session started, I first thought that our teacher would act like her usual bitchy self. I was wrong, and for some mysterious phenomenon, she was nice, encouraging and understanding. Weird, but I'll take it. After class, me and the boys played "the game" and after an hour, I headed off to Shang-ri La for I was gonna be fetched there. I still think having a CWTS lecture session is a waste of time, but for today, it was okay.=D

Usually, I don't like sharing bad issues here in my carefree blog. Wait a minute, yes I do. =p Though it's not proven to be true yet, I might as well write it here and if the people in my block that I'm referring to in this statement read this, there's the message board located on the left side of the page. Anyway, the second term has barely started and the king finds himself with some conflict with a few of his blockmates.=p Actually, there are 2 people in my block that I'm having quite a rough time with, as far as I know. The first, I just found out just today, when I made a pointless-but-humorous comment in what she said. How did I found out? Well, after I said that thing, she gave me the evil stare, ignored me like she did the whole week, and when I asked why she was being a snob, she replied in a berserk way, saying that she's had it with being teased by the king. Though that made me laugh again, I realized that, even if my insults are not foul nor personal, when done too much, it can be quite annoying. Starting Monday, I'm gonna try to shut my mouth, to avoid having scuffles with anyone else.=D As for the second one, this is quite deeper and more complicated than the first one, and it's really a weird predicament. Some people know about this and as much as I want to share it with you, Joppy fanatics, I'm not comfortable telling the damn story. All I'm saying to her is that, I'm sorry.

As for my final word, I'm sorry for all those people who celebrated their debuts this month, in which I'm not able to go to, namely, my Santugon-mate, Anj, and the world's meanest blockmate, Dianne.=p In the past, I've wasn't usually invited in celebrations such as these, so it's a shame that I'm not able to attend their debuts. Hey, at least I tried to go to other people's birthday parties, unlike some people who don't try at all.;) Oops, did I just offend someone?=p As for now, I'm listening to "Especially For You" by MYMP, "More Than Words" by Extreme, and pardon me for my corniness, "It Might Be You" by Stephen Bishop. These songs were played last Saturday, and thanks to my trusty iPod, I managed to remember that night and I'm able to listen to the songs again. Just a thought.=)

Anyway, I will now watch wrestling on this cold Saturday night. PEACE!-rJv

Friday I'm In Love

2005-09-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

So many days have passed since I've made an entry here in my wonderful blog. Due to my rough schedule, I hardly have the time and energy to write something here, and as we all know, when I write here, I write something LONG! Because of this, I've forgotten to greet some of my blockmates, who celebrated their birthdays this month. The September celebrants are Laurice Tan, the small and very terrible Dianne Cuarto, and another one, which I will talk about later.;)

You may be wondering about the title and no, the king is not "in love". I think. I got the title from a very old song from the band, The Cure. The song is stored in my iPod and it talks about someone having a rough week and when the week finally ended, it ended in a glorious way. I figured that my first week in the second term was similar to that, except of course, the falling in love part. I think. For more inoformation about the song, just look it up in your favorite lyric search engine sites. Monday, I felt the joy seeing my blockmates once again. Tuesday, I tasted the pain of Accom1A and having 4 straight subjects straight. Wednesday, the political side came out of me when we had our batch assembly picture taking and when me and some of my Santugon-mates hung out at the Student Council Office. Thursday, I cringed and agony and defeat, when I viewed live, as my beloved Ateneo Blue Eagles get clobbered by my present college. After defeating FEU, I figured that ADMU would have a psychological advantage against their rivals. Alas, I was wrong. It didn't bother me much when I saw the horrible scoreboard and when Ryan Aranas showed his true colors when he taunted Barracoso late in the game, what pissed me off was those people I know, who are new to the rivalry, whom I know, quickly talked trash to me and bashed my old school. One statement was, "Ateneans = LOSERS". Last time I heard, basketball was just a game. Oh yeah, just because we lost the game, doesn't mean we are losers in life. If you ask me, I'd rather lose with pride than win with poor sportsmanship. Oh yeah, the one who told me about the "Ateneans = losers" statement is a blockmate of mine.;) Some people would think that I'm taking this sh*t seriously, but think of it this way: would you like it if I insulted your old school? I rest my case.=) To end the 5-day school spree, Friday, after class, I played basketball with Niko, PJ, Erbin and the rest of my Santugon-mates. And it felt good.=)

Now going back to the theme of the song, what was the event that became the cream of the crop of this week? Well yesterday, going back further to the first paragraph, it was the debut of C48's master of accounting, Kaila Magno. I skipped CWTS for 1.) It's one boring waste of time, 2.) DLSU isn't exactly near my house and 3.) I needed to buy a damn gift for the birthday celebrant.=D I left the house at 6:45 and I arrived in the New World Hotel at around 7:30. Inside the party room, I became acquainted with some of the people I know, like Kaila's friends which were also my friends, like Y2K and the very arrogant Tina Castillo, and of course, my beloved blockmates. =) We ate first a hearty dinner, and after that, the program started. Oh yeah some interesting notes: First, ONCE AGAIN, Kat didn't go to a special event. Gee, I wonder why..?=p Finally, the eye gouging scene was Chuhbaby, who looked like a governor, along with my blockmate, Camille Ante, AKA Dodong, who looked like his First Lady. That was cool.=) The program began with the 18 candles, and I have to admit, it was a tear jerker, especially when Dodong delivered her sincere message. Other than that, I'm quite impressed with how fluent Assumptionistas are in speaking English. I don't mean that as an insult. :) Oh yeah, the host kept asking my blockmates who took part in the 18 candles if there was someone "making a mark" with the birthday celebrant. The damn audience responded to that question with their buzzing sounds. It must be embarassing for that dude who was ranted by his friends.=p Next up was the 18 roses, in which, I was also part of. All I'm gonna say is that it went well. Those buzzing sounds kept appearing for that unfortunate crowd favorite, and unfortunately, that dude was me.=p And I don't freakin' know why. To close the party, we danced the night away. There were instances where the DJ played some senti songs, so due to popular demand, and in order to quiet my blockmates, me and Kaila slow danced for a little while. I'm sure my blockmates went home happy because of it. It shows that how much they discriminate me for my blue blood, I still try to do my best to please my blockmates.=p I left at around 12:30, enough time to be the first to greet Kaila since her birthday is on September 18.=) Oh yeah, before we left, there was one incedent which involved Siegsauer Pua, his camera phone and what's left of his shame.=p I arrived home at around 1. Overall, it was a great party and I would be happier if the night didn't end. Oh well!=D And once again, I'm not in love. I think.

Since I've not written for a very long time here in my blog, I guess I'm entitled to write a corny, mushy reflection.=p I'm sure many of us shy away from falling in love because we're scared to get hurt by rejection or heartbreak. We make excuses, saying that we need to focus on our studies or that we're not looking for a special someone. While sometimes, it's true, sometimes, it's just a load of crap. However, it truly is special when the risk doesn't pay off, yet, you don't get affected much since you care for that person so much. In cases such as this, it feels like it would feel much better to jump off a cliff and fall face flat on the floor than jump on the same cliff with a harness or a net. Despite knowing that you have NO chance with that person, you don't give a f*ck since you're in cloud 9. Oh, the wonders of life. Writing this, I'm sure many would ask if I feel this way right now. Maybe, then again, maybe not.;)

F*ck, this sh*t is long. Better wrap this one up. PEACE!-rJv

Last Days

2005-09-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, good for me, my break is about to end in a matter of hours. Sure, having 2 weeks without any form of schoolwork is nice, but I'd rather work and study now, to make my days seem more productive. Despite my awful schedule, there's so many reasons why I'm very excited to go to school. I can't wait to see my blockmates again, to work for the batch assembly, and of course, to see who I will be spending my Accounting class with.=p

But first, I always want to end my breaks on a good note and this break's not different from the rest. In Tagalog, it's called "huling banat". To start my plan, last Friday, I started the day by going to DLSU to get my EAF, along with Niko. When I saw my schedule, it was not so nice to look at. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I only have 10 minute breaks after 4 straight subjects that consist of Filipino, Economics, Accounting and Math. On Wednesdays, I only have 2 subjects, PE and Poligov, with PE from 9:30-11:30 and Poligov from 4:50-5:50. That's a 5 hour break so no need to do the math. As for Mondays and Fridays, my dismissal is 5:50. I can't think of another schedule that sucks more than mine. While Niko was enrolling, I ate with Fresh and Lau in UM and after that, the Ayala boys went home. I slept the whole afternoon and around 7, me and Niko went to Fitness First in Libis to of course, lift weights. After taking a shower, we headed off to Eastwood to the birthday party of our friend, Jessa Cruz. At first, we thought that we wouldn't see anyone there that we knew, but once again, we were wrong. The place was filled with my Atenean batchmates, as well as Niko's LSGH friends, and of course, Jessa's peers also. I was also happy to see my 2 H2005 buddies, Jotham and Mikko, for I haven't seen them for a very long time.=p Oh yeah, when I went outside, I saw Gelo and he was on a double date. Angeline would want to kill me for writing this.=p Anyway, back to the party! The food there was good and of course, talking to my Atenean friends after a very long time is an irreplaceable feeling. We left Eastwood at around 11. When you put together going to the gym, free transportation, a great party, good food, being able to see old friends and a nice Saturday evening, all while not spending a single cent, you get the perfect gimmick. Again, Happy Birthday to Jessa and thanks for inviting the king!;)

As for yesterday, once again, me and Niko, went to DLSU but this time, we went there to play basketball with our fellow Santugon-mates. Many went there like, Erbin, PJ, Jicko and the upperclassmen. It felt great to play well after a long time, though I have to admit, it was f*cking tiring, running from court to court without taking breaks. After taking a bath and purchasing food from McDo, me, Niko and Kenzo, went to Magallanes to visit the house of our Santugon friend from CLA, Mara. We were supposed to help with a garage sale, it turned out that almost all of the people left. The only people remaining were Y2K and of course, Mara. Since our transpo was gone, we talked for awhile while waiting for it to come back. Eventually, Niko's driver came back and after dropping Kenzo in Ayala, we headed home. As for my solo plans, it was the debut of my cousin-in-law, Bea, and since I'm a good relative, I planned to go there, despite the fact that I don't know any of her friends.=p I arrived at around 8:20 and thankfully, my cousins and cousins-in-law were there, like Mae-mae, Taktak, Pendix and of course, my favorite cousin, Thea!=) Oh yeah, I met Thea's 2 friends also in the party, Jenny and Mara, whom I hung out almost the whole night, along with my cousins of course.;) Anyway, after a few minutes of talking and eating, the most appetite-losing thing happened. From out of nowhere, I managed to see my next door neighbor during the party, along with her you-know-what. If you're not a fan of my blog, me and my next door neighbor(or NDN) have a tainted history in the past. As for her companion that night, he's not worth talking about here so I won't waste space here in my blog just for him. It's not that I have a grudge against him or I hate his ass, the old Joppy would usually feel that way but not the new me. I don't want to say negative stuff anymore so I just refrain from commenting about certain stuff, for I know that if I talk smack, it won't be a nice scene. Besides, I don't have anything to say to him, so in lame man's term, I don't give a f*ck about him!=) Anyway, eventually, most of my relatives found out about this and a shock frenzy occurred, which was kinda cool.=p At least I had something to do that night! I completely ignored the duo for the king hates awkward moments. When they left, the night went well, bonding with my relatives and friends, eating a LOT, and me being the butt of the jokes, due to my weird love life in the past.=p I left at around midnight, for my cousins were about to leave also. Advanced Happy Birthday to Bea and if anyone could explain to me what a cousin-in-law is, feel free to message me in YM. Overall, another great night that not even a certain someone can ruin.=)

Since I think I wrote a lot already in this blog entry, I will skip my usual Joppy Vinuya sappy reflections about life. Oh yeah, if you watched Manny Pacquiao's boxing match this morning, it was a massacre! Congratulations to the Pac Man for representing our country well. You make all of us proud to be a Filipino, despite our economy and political problems. PEACE!-rJv

The Power Of The Course Card

2005-09-08T01:36:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you La Sallites had a rough time with the getting of the course cards, and so did the king. Because I failed Accounting by a VERY slim margin, it ruined my whole damn term break. It pissed me off, to the point that I didn't have the energy to go to my planned outings even if I know that they would be a blast. However, since what's done is done, I'll just try to move on and do my best this term. Of course, I have my eyes set on getting a 4.0 in each subject, but of course, a shiny 1.0 won't hurt either.=p It really is painful for me and my ego to get a failing grade, but life goes on and I guess I'm forced to take Round 2 against my nemesis, Accom1A.

For today, as DLSU students know by now, is the day when we have to start adjusting our schedules if in case we failed a subject. Having failed Accounting, I guess it's safe to say that I'm supposed to go to my school today. Besides, I have to enroll also so I really needed to go to school. RG and I planned yesterday that we would enroll together, since we're both accounting experts, sarcastically speaking.=p When he arrived, after validating his ID, we went to UM to adjust our schedules online and while we're doing that, we were joined by Anton Lota and some of our buddies from C47. After that, we went back to DLSU to pay for our enrollment fees. By the way, my Accounting schedule is T-Th 11:30-12:50, so unfortunately for me, I won't be having breaks on those days. Oh yeah, what sucks more is that my other subjects for that day are Filipino, Economics and Math. Talk about bad luck.=p Anyway, after enrolling, the addiction suddenly came again so we headed to the nearest computer shop to play a 1-on-1 game of DOTA! By the way, my advice for DOTA beginners is to NEVER use Medusa or the Lich without any teammates.=D Oh yeah, Raztah is the man! After our little game, we ate lunch, talked for awhile, and finally, we headed home. Despite my failure, somehow, I managed to enjoy the day as it is. Done.

Oh yeah, you may be wondering how my mother reacted when she found out that I failed Accom1A. Well let me tell you, her words were more painful than being stabbed by a rusty knife. I first showed her my higher scores but when she finally saw the big 0.0, she completely flipped. I tried to explain to her the situation on why I got the score but all my reasoning fell on deaf ears. She focused on that subject full contact, and she didn't even remember that I did quite well on some of my other subjects. That's what's wrong with society today, after seeing one negative thing, some people completely forget all the other positive stuff that happened. The result of that is war, misunderstanding and ignorance for peace. What really furiated me was the fact that she accused me of not working hard for I used my time on the computer and just blogging and using the YM. Like in Gwen Stefani's song, that sh*t is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! It really pisses me off that other people make a totally wrong conclusion of your performance, especially when they're related to you. While it's true that I slacked off a couple of times, it can't deny the fact that I busted my ass just to get a respectable grade. While I can admit that I'm not the smartest in my block, I can admit also that I'm not a quitter. If I had that kind of mentality, then I wouldn't have wasted my time studying in a nice but expensive school like DLSU. Pardon me for failing, but please, don't ever quickly judge my performance, based on what you see in the f*cking course card. I may be dumb with numbers, but I ain't no wussy who backs away from a freakin' challenge. It's understandable for my mom to be disappointed with me, but to rob me from the truth and quickly say that I'm a slacker is totally wrong. My main reason on why I work my sexy ass off, just to pass all subjects in one damn term, is to cheer my mom up for she's used to me failing constantly. I want her to get the chance to say that her dumb son, at least for 1 term, got decent and respectable scores in all of his subjects. But after this, it truly breaks my heart that my efforts to achieve that main goal, don't mean much to her. F*ck.

Anyway, I will now take a bath for awhile ago, in the LRT, I was beside one smelly dude and somehow, his odor went to me. PEACE!-rJv

Blank

2005-09-06T02:18:00.000-07:00

Well, what a dud has my term break have become. I didn't go to my 2 planned outings due to so many reasons that I'm too lazy to write here. Clearly, I'm making this blog entry just to kill the boredom. I wish this damn break would end soon so I could something productive after a long while. Since we have our break earlier than the other schools, as much as I'd like to shove it in my friends' throats the fact that while they're cramming their heads out, I'm practically doing nothing that's related to academics, It made me think that maybe I'd rather like doing the same thing that they're doing right now, instead of being a complete bum. Of course, since we had an earlier break, sometime in the future, while my friends from other schools are enjoying their breaks at the beach, mall, etc., I'm stuck in school dealing with the stress.=p The worst part about having no classes is that I don't have allowance. And since money makes the world go round, I'm standing still here doing NOTHING. Now, I regret not taking my driving seriously for I cannot go anywhere since my parents don't trust me with our cars. I could be going to the gym right now, or in Katipunan, or maybe even on Rockwell or Glorietta. Instead, I'm here in the house, being one with the boredom. In short, this sucks!

Now what have I've done productive during the break? The most fun I've probably done was go to Ateneo thrice to visit my old classmates. Along with my Santugon-mates, I've also watched some UAAP games inside the Blue Eagle Gym. In the games that I saw, I watched as the Green Archers win both games against officially and "unofficially", against UP and UE, respectively, and sadly, I was one of the unlucky ones to view the chokefest of the Blue Eagles when they battled the UST Tigers. No DOTA for me this break but instead, I used my free time to do something more productive and free like going to the gym and playing basketball in the clubhouse. I managed to go to only one gimmick, and that is with the Ayala boys last Saturday, when we went to Eastwood to watch "The Longest Yard". Finally, a movie that was worth every cent. What did I do for the rest of my break? I slept, used my YM all day, downloaded some songs, and talked with someone on the phone once. Sounds fun. I'm being sarcastic.

My brain would be filled with nothing if it weren't for someone whom I'm quite fond with, if you know what I mean.;) She's someone who's quite famous before here in my blog, due to all those entries that I've written, based on her.=) Anyway, we chatted last night and she wanted me to watch a certain show so I can learn something about life. Normally, it's nothing much but I kinda thought that she's pertaining that I don't know a lot about life. Though I'm guilty of not being the master of life, I'm definitely not clueless about it. It's hard to define and explain life for clearly, even dictionaries can't even elaborate on the subject unless you relate it to science. I may be a boy genius but I'm also incapable of talking about it in a confident way. However, I do know what life is NOT about. Life is not about how many points we make in a basketball game, or how high our grades are in Accounting class. I may break some hearts here but it's also not just about the times you spent with someone special in your life. That's why I die of laughter whenever I read blogs that contain mostly of dates, relationship fights and heartbreaks. The last time I heard, a blog is a place where you write about your whole life, not just your love life. Clearly, some people just can't see the difference.=p Once again, my statements are just opinions, so don't take offense if I somehow manage to hit you with my words of wisdom. Anyway, a friend told me that he knows a certain band who knows a lot about life. Now what band is that? Lifehouse. Now, that's corny sh*t.=p

I'm kinda surprised that eventhough I'm bored to death here in my house, time seems to go by so fast. That's good. Anyway, I must now take a bath. PEACE!-rJv

Term Break Madness

2005-09-02T03:16:00.000-07:00

As much as I try to enjoy my break, it's hard to forget the grim truth that I found out during course card day. I passed all subjects but one: Accounting. I needed 67% in the exam but I came away shorthanded with just 52%. Seeing that 0.0 grade made me cringe in fear and frustrations for I knew my grade was a few decimals away from the passing quota. Around 8 of us failed in that subject and as much as I try to laugh it away, the fact that I have to repeat the subject, my classmates will advance without me in that area and I have to adjust my schedule for the next 2 terms, pisses me off to the nth level. I could whine and complain about our professor for her unfairness, but the thing is, it's not entirely her fault. Sure she could've just given a few mercy points, but I knew deep inside that I didn't apply much effort in studying. Accounting is a very difficult subject and since I didn't work hard, like they say, failing to prepare is preparing to fail. What saddens me is that I've disappointed my family once again, especially my mom, who once again, has to deal with his son who has a brain defficiency when it comes to studying. I've also embarassed the name of Ateneo, making me think whether I'm worthy of studying in ADMU or not. Ateneo is more difficult than DLSU and to fail at this period, it means that I'm not ready to face a more stressful lifestyle. The only positive that I see in this is that many of my friends also failed that subject, so if in case we all become blockmates there, Accom1a might be more fun the second time around. Damn! F*ck! Sh*t! I hate my life.

Anyway, let's talk about happy stuff. I'm sure those who watched the UAAP yesterday were amazed by what happened during the DLSU-UE game in the Blue Eagle Gym. I've sworn before that I will NEVER watch a La Salle game live, unless they're facing ADMU, but due to boredom in my house, I was forced to view the game in person, just to have something to do. Besides, it's in Ateneo so I'm not complaining.=p Anyway, for those who didn't watch, what happened was, during the fourth quarter, with only little time remaining, the Archers, having a respectable lead, learned that the game's not over until the whistle sounds. By saying that, it means that despite their lead in crunch time, the Warriors, in a miraculous way, managed to catch up and even grab the lead, thanks to their tight pressure defense. While watching that, my jaw dropped for I might actually see the biggest screwjob ever in UAAP history. Many La Sallians started throwing stuff inside the court, which I thought was kinda rude. Fortunately for La Salle, they had 1 second left to inbound, and thanks to Franz Pumaren's cunning plays, they managed to tie the game, thanks to an inside bank shot, courtesy of one Cholo Villanueva. The celebrations started and since I was ringside, I managed to see how the mighty Archer crowd showed their "interesting" behavior. Being NR to the happenings, I noticed that the people on our side were trash talking the UE crowd, exposing their middle fingers, and chanting unneeded words like "jologs". It made me somewhat happy, knowing that we Ateneans NEVER resort to trash talking, whether the opponent is La Salle, NU, or anyone else. Basketball is just a game, so there's no need to show rude behavior just because of it. I'm very disappointed of how the crowd reacted for La Salle is a great school, but acting that way is very immature and unsportsmanlike. Eventually, the Archers took over in overtime and they managed to leave the court with a win. After that, me, Niko, Y2k and Anj went to the college courts to watch our friends in their game. Again, it was nice to see some of my classmates and fellow Blue Eagle alumni.;) It was a good day, but not enough to take away the bitter taste of failure. When I arrived home, after taking a warm bath, me and "Da King", Steph(my Santugon-mate, not my neighbor), talked on the phone, and thanks to her wacky comments regarding other people, it made me chuckle and whithered away the pain a little. That felt good.=)

For today, I had to go to school early for we had our Batch Assembly meeting regarding what position we will get. As for me, I'm officially the AVP of grievance in our batch. What that means is that, whoever has a problem regarding behavioral issues, teacher complaints, disciplinary cases and things like that, they can approach me for help. Due to my short temper and impatience, this will be a difficult task but nonetheless, I'm happy with it.=) Congratulations also to my fellow Santugon-mates and I hope we could all go to Ilocos this week in our team building. After the meeting, we headed off to McDo to eat, but suddenly, the addiction came to me again, as well as to 5 other people. Since there were no people in school today, me, Dex, Jicko, Sioco, Peter and Lots quickly ran to the nearest computer store to play DOTA! It was 1 hour of heaven but after that, it seemed that my wallet wasn't thinking of the same idea as mine. Around 1, we headed home and as for me, I slept the whole afternoon. Great day.=)

With that, I will now eat dinner for I have not eaten the whole afternoon, due to lack of funds. Go Ateneo! PEACE!-rJv

My Home Away From Home..

2005-08-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

Good evening Joppy-holics. With me being stuck here at home, due to my term break, I can finally conclude that it's better to have classes than not have any at all. College is different from high school for during high school, it's a drag to go to school and sometimes, we make silly excuses just to be absent. Before, I told my maid that I needed to stay home and rest for my back was itching! What's sillier is that the people in the house bought it!=p In college, since the environment is more vibrant, you're encouraged to go to school, even if there's a quiz or some boring orientation or something. There are future endeavors in the break that I will participate in, but for now, this break sucks! However, tomorrow is the day that I will find out if I passed Accounting and Physics so I might have to eat my words if worst comes to worst.=p

For today, I didn't go the extra distance but it's one of the best days I've had this schoolyear. It's not because I got a high grade in Com Math, nor did I meet Anne Curtis personally. It's because I got the opportunity to go back and visit the REAL school for champions, Ateneo De Manila University!=) I just planned this last night, and lucky for me, 2 current non-Ateneans wanted to join me. Me, my fellow La Sallite, Julian Martinez, and the military man from Kansas, Roy Devesa, were to meet in McDo first, but since Julian woke up late, me and Roy had to go on our own. Once we arrived in campus, it was one of the best things that I've ever seen in my whole life. Since I'm now used to the Yuchenko Halls and Conservatories in the world, though I've studied before here, it was still a breath of fresh air for me. It sucked that since I'm no longer an official Atenean, I'm now barred from entering certain buildings but that's alright.;) I saw some of my friends while walking along the premises, chatted a little with some of my neighbors, and of course, I reunited with a few of my former classmates. It was nice to see the following today: Ron, Gab, David, Renz, Phapha Marc, Jaron, Jotham, Kev, Jiggy, Boogs and Inigo. To the other people whom I did not see: I will be back soon.;) I even visited the high school campus and I chatted a little with the ice tea and Jamaican Patty vendors, two stores which I used to buy my food during my stay in AHS. While going to Moro Lorenzo, I was lucky to see my fourth year Math year whom I've impersonated so many times, the ever lovable Mr. Llona!=D Oh yeah, he's the only Math teacher I've had in high school that didn't fail me in that subject. To make my visit more memorable, I bought an Ateneo shirt and I plan on wearing it in La Salle! Don't worry, I've done that before and one time, I even wore my AHS polo shirt.=p I'm such a punk-ass b*tch. A few conversations later, I left ADMU at around 4:30 for I was tired and Niko hitched a ride with me. I was supposed to watch the H-boys' basketball game, but due to the bad weather, I decided to call it a day. Done.=)

This day made me think about a certain issue that I've forgotten until now. Do I want to go back to my alma mater, or should I continue on with my new life in DLSU? It's clear that both have advantages and disadvantages, but which choice would I be more comfortable with? In DLSU, of course, the facilities are nicer and I've been able to make a name of myself. Thanks to Santugon and even my block, I've been able to take leadership roles, and I've learned to act mature in everything I do, since I'm carrying Ateneo's name in everything I do, and not even ADMU can take that away from DLSU. However, let's be realistic: I'm blue-blooded. I like studying in La Salle but true to my Eagle roots, I'm not fully agreeing on what it stands for. If I go back to ADMU, I'll have to give away the comfortable life but that's okay since I'll eventually get used to studying without airconditioning. The distance from my house is shorter also so no more transportation problems for me, if that's the case. And oh yeah, like they say, home is where the heart is. Basically, it's all even. The deciding factor would be this: can I sacrifice the friendships and bonds that I've had with the people I've known during my stay in DLSU for a chance to go back to the life that I've left? Now that's cool. Oh well!=D

Anyway, I'm going to watch One Tree Hill, even if it's a replay episode again. PEACE!-rJv

Some Time Off

2005-08-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, finals week is over and now, the getting of the course cards are now my main concern. The Accounting test was freakin' difficult, the Physics and Com Math exams were quite simple and my grade in Critical Thinking is in limbo with our paper as our finals exam. But enough of that, it's time to have fun! I must enjoy these 2 weeks of freedom for after that, all hell will break loose again. I already have plans for my break, like the Santugon mega team building, and our block outing, but other than that, I want to do as well the usual stuff, the stuff that I used to do on a regular basis when I had time. I want to play basketball in the clubhouse, go to the gym, hang out in a neighbor's house, even go to the mall just to watch a movie with the Ayala boys. Oh yeah, I want to go to Ateneo and see my classmates for I really miss them badly! College is cool but there's nothing more fun than reuniting with those idiots.=p All in all, I wanna have fun these 2 weeks!

To start the fun, me and some of my blockmates decided to go to Glorietta to watch "Skeleton Key", starring the ridiculiously hot Kate Hudson! We met in DLSU at around 11, ate in KFC, then we headed off to G4. The movie was gonna start at 4 so we decided to play in Timezone. Though we have different sets of friends in block, that time, it was pure block unity! We were shooting hoops, playing air hockey and basically, having fun, as if we were one big family. It was a blast, and it was proof that we don't need beer and all the other alcoholic beverages to have fun. When the movie was about to start, we bought some food then we went inside the theatre. The movie was truly a screamfest, and if you don't believe me, just ask my blockmates, Olivia the marvelous, and the DOTA king, Kenneth. They were screaming their lungs out, to the point that the ones who sat them left the theatre for they couldn't concentrate on the movie, for the 2 scaredy cats were hollering like hell.=p If you ask me, the movie was great but the ending sucked! It was poorly executed and a true disappointment. After the movie, we bought a picture card to remember this great day. Around 7, everyone went home happily, safe and sound.=)

It's amazing that 3 months ago, we were 43 complete strangers, all from different homes, diferent lifestyles and different mindsets. Now, it's as if we've known each other for more than a year. While this is a good thing, there's still something that kinda bothers me a bit. Eventually, in a class, groups of people form what we call a "barkada". I'm sure the others formed theirs for the members in their groups have personalities in their lifestyles, beliefs and personalities, but me, it's a different story. After the "boys" were formed, then the mixed group, which consisted of around 13 people, it made me think how I managed to join in this barkada. Is it because of my personality? Sure I enjoy making fun of people but all of us do! Is it because of my "stature"? Ateneo may be a big-time school but other than that, I'm your everyday boy. Definitely, I don't want to act like I'm unreachable because I don't associate myself with people who act like that. Since I'm the only one who studies in a school in Katipunan, I don't have a lot of stuff in common with the gang. In fact, I feel like I only belong in that group because I have a strong and mischievious personality. Other than that, I'm worlds away from them. Looking at my group, I'm open with only 2 guys there and only 1 from the girls. There are 2 other girls that I'm very open with, but they aren't in my so-called "barkada". Oh yeah, I'm annoyed with one person in the block, but unless I told you who the person is, you'd be surprised when you find out who the person is.=p Sounds f*cked up, eh? I agree. Because of this, I officially quit this barkada. Why? Because it's against my morals to just aquaint myself with only one type of crowd for in life, you have to work with different people. I value each of my blockmates and I'm not a person who clings to only one person, to the point that she's controlling my every move. I think I just hit a nerve. Oh well.=p

I think this blog entry is long enough but before I end this, here's another thought. After surviving 1 term in college and experiencing the hardships of it, I think I'm ready to take a leap of fate in my personal life.=p I'm serious, goddamnit! I mean come on, this is freakin' college. You can't expect anyone to be oblivious of the fact that college is like the miniature version of how we're going to act in the adult world. Besides, if I continue to shy away from human affection, I might grow up to be a prude or worse, no offense to the Lord, I might consider priesthood! Now that's a scary thought.=p Of course my studies are my main priority, but you know, when THAT girl comes along, you have to take the risk for you never know when you're going to get another chance for happiness. Sounds corny? That's because it is.=p

Anyway, I've got spend some quality time with my bestfriend, my iPod. PEACE!-rJv

Goodbye And Hello Again...

2005-08-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the start of finals week so I'll make this brief since I have so many things to do. The week starts of with the Accounting exam and mathematic-wise, I need to get 67% in the test to pass Accom1A. That means I can't afford to sleep much today if I want to do well.=p Also, our Sociology paper is due tomorrow, and since I'm the group leader, I have to do majority of that paper. The things I do to get a good grade.=D Yesterday, we had a group study on Accounting and though I learned a lot, especially from Kaila the Great, I need more practice with the lessons and all that sh*t. Last Friday, after Accounting class, I made a quick visit to the school chapel, and I got down on my knees and asked God to give me the strength and courage to beat the pressure and do well for 3 hours of tomorrow. I have faith in God and I believe that He will help me, but of course, I have to do my part also.;)

Yesterday also was the going away party of Ayala Heights' English speaking master, Carlo Ramirez. If you're a close friend of his, you probably know by now that he's migrating this Sunday. This is a blow for us, Ayala boys, since we've lost so many to migration and I have no idea who's next. I've known Carlo for more than 8 years and to lose somebody like him, it's a big deal to us here in the village. When you lose a ballpen, you just buy a new one. When you lose a cellphone, you get pissed off but you move on. But when you lose a friend of yours that you've known, even before you were circumcised, that's a pill that's hard to swallow. I'm probably going to see him again since he's returning here in April so no need to get dramatic.;) Anyway, me and Jason were the first to arrive from the Ayala boys, since the others had to go to some party. For me it was embarrassing for us to arrive late for this was the last time we're going to have Carlo as regular village resident here, yet we put other minor things before him. I'll have my finals in a few days yet I shed some studying time just for the sake of the Ram.=D When the others arrived, we talked, joked around, then eventually, the peer pressure came. Many of Carlo's buddies began forcing us to drink and as you all know, the king hates peer pressure. Many of my fellow neighbors succumbed to it, but for me, I happily evaded from it. I don't give a f*ck if they think I'm corny for refusing to drink because I'm not gonna do something that I don't feel comfortable doing. I'm not gonna act and try to be cool because that's not how I roll.;) I went home at around 12:30 since I had to study. Done.=)

As for this morning, I was the reader for today's mass, along with my neighbor, Juls.=D Niko was supposed to be the reader, but since he had something to do, or so he says, I kindly accepted to sub for him. This was the first time I did this, but when I managed to do it in front of the people, I felt that I did a pretty good job.=p The older people who were in charge of the mass told me that I was good, but then again, maybe they were just trying to be polite.;p Will this be a regular thing for the king? We'll see.;) After the mass, before joining my usual circle of friends, the impossible happened. After so many numerous months, I saw HER again, the girl of my past that I spent more than 2 years thinking about, until this year. I don't know if it's a coincedence that she went to mass the day that I was a reader, but she was there. As I stared at her, I realized that as much as I've matured, grown stronger and even if I say to myself that I've escaped the ghosts of the past, no matter how hard I try, she still manages to get past the barriers of my heart and give me this weird feeling inside. She's like one of my few weaknesses, aside from Accounting, alcohol and mayonnaise. Don't get me wrong, I'm over with what happened before, and the memories are happily on the shelves, but I just think it's unfair that she still can mesmerize me despite my efforts to forget her. This is bullsh*t. Oh well, maybe DOTA will ease away the pain.=D

Wow, just when I thought I'll make just a brief entry, I manage to take away 30 minutes of my life because writing this. Anyway, have to study. PEACE!-rJv

Taking A Look

2005-08-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

Something creepy has been happening in the Vinuya residence these past few days and I've never experienced anything like it. You see, 2 days ago, while going up our stairs, I managed to spot a snake lying along the hallway of our third floor. Frightened by the reptile, I quickly headed down the kitchen to ask for backup. When the maids and our driver went up, the snake was nowhere to be seen, so they made a quick checkup on all our rooms, just to see where the creature headed off. Eventually everyone gave up, and I began to think that I was hallucinating or I was seeing things or something.=p The night after that, it turned out that I was wrong. After spending 3 grueling hours on our Critical Thinking finals paper, I headed to my bedroom to get my well-deserved beauty sleep. Once I opened up the lights, there it was again. Seeing my closet when I entered the room, the snake popped out of one my jeans and using my lightning fast reflexes, I darted downstairs to get some help. My brother was home also so he joined in the fray. Since the snake was hiding secretly behind my shirts, my brother and my driver cluttered my clothes until they finally saw the snake and they clobbered it with a stick and a tennis racket. With blood splashing all over the floor, my driver put the snake's body inside a little garbage bag but when he was about to throw the damn thing in the can, the snake began to move again. Using extreme measures, we had no choice but to flatten the snake using our car. Finally, peace and order beacons in our house. =D

Next week is finals week and everything's at stake, especially my Accounting and Physics grade. If I do badly in our exams, there's a possibility that I have to repeat those subjects again. My back is against a wall so I have no choice but to study, work hard and pray to God that I succeed. We just got our EAF's today and my schedule and subjects suck! On Wednesdays, I have a 4-hour break and I go home late on M-W-F. By the way, tomorrow will be the last time that we'll use the Yuchenko classrooms so I'm quite pissed off because of that. That building was the best and now, we have to resort to mediocre standards.=p As for the subjects, we now have Economics, Filipino, a harder Accounting subject and with subjects like these, it's not a good thing. For now, I'm just focused on next week for it's make or break time for the king.;) Success is my only option, failure is not. All in all, I wish everyone the best of luck and I know that we get through this sh*t.

Since our Physics class was used basically on presentations, I used this time to sit back and have a heart to heart to talk with the Master of Accounting. If you don't know who that person is, just take a look at some of my previous blog entries. Anyway, we talked in a deeper level, deeper than we usually do since all I do is make fun of people.=p Anyway, our conversation reminded me of how much I've changed since entering college. The most surprising change in me is the fact that I'm taking the whole "studies first" mentality quite seriously.=p Yes people, my education is my first priority for now, along with of course, family and friends, and my love life at a very distant second. I feel that I have to first earn decent grades before involving myself in something that requires committment and patience. Besides, I have a motto that in order to become a good boyfriend to some special girl, I have to be first, a good boy and a good friend. I think I have not proven that and I have my bad grades and unimpressive reputation to prove it. Though I think I can finally handle a relationship, it's better to just wait and just enjoy life. There are two things that I don't play with: fire and people's lives. That's a start!=D No need to dive in to something I'm not comfortable with, and just stay on safe ground and do what's expected of you by God. Who knows, maybe she's just out there waiting.;) Another beautiful masterpiece about the wonders of life by the great one, Joppy Vinuya.;)

It will probably be a long time before I write again here since finals is near so I hope you guys enjoy what I wrote or something.=p For comments, there's the tagboard that's located at the left part of my blog. Once again, good luck to all freshmen and sweet dreams everyone! Derecho Santugon! PEACE!-rJv

Too Much

2005-08-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

What a day it was last Saturday! It was jam-packed, without any dull moments whatsoever and it consumed every ounce of my energy.=p The day started off when I went to DLSU because we had our PE volleyball tournament. It's been a while since we played volleyball and it's been a VERY long time since I've engaged in any athletic competition, which I'm not used to, since in my high school days, I would use my free time to play basketball with the Ayala boys, or go to the gym and if there's no transportation, jog around the streets of my village. Anyway, all the blocks who were taking up volleyball were there, and I'm glad to see familiar faces, besides my blockmates. I played both in the mixed and the men's division, and even one time, I also played in the ladies division against C49, not because I'm gay, but because one girl from that class, Sharon Yu, was killing our girls with her uncanny skills. By the way, be sure to vote for her in the Seventeen magazine model search. We did well in the other 2 divisions, if I must say so myself, and I was quite enjoying myself since my purpose in our team was to spike the ball since my blockmates think I'm a hyper, hot-tempered fool.=p We ended at around lunchtime and I left the sports complex, tired but fulfilled. We had to attend some talk for Critical Thinking, but because of it's boring speaker, I just signed my name, left the premises and hung out with my new companion, the very muscular Trissy Cayco.=D I left at around 3 and and when I arrived home, I rested for the day wasn't done yet.

After an afternoon of rest and serenity, I had to suit up for I was off to the debut/party of my blockmate Denise, as well as her friend, Anina. We had to wear semi-formal attire and since the boys in the block planned to wear long sleeves, I followed the trend. After finding the right wardrobe, I ate my dinner and at around 7:30, Adi arrived in my house for we were going to go to the party together. The party, by the way, was in Embassy, and yes people, that's the insanely expensive bar in Fort Bonifacio but we got in for FREE! Jealous?;) Anyway, we arrived too early so me and Adi walked around the premises and we had our "bonding" time that we used to have, before life became more interesting for the both of us.;) When the guests began to arrive, as well as the people in our block, that's when the real party started! Meeting some of the people in the party, I quickly realized that I was in a whole new world! The Philippines may not be gangsta territory, but here in NCR, the people from the south, COMPLETELY different from the ones who live in the north, like yours truly. If I live in Ayala Heights, these people live in Ayala Alabang! However, like us, they're very nice, mellow people.=) And oh yeah, did I mention that this was the first time I went inside a club? It was also nice to see some of my fellow Atenean brothers, especially my tall classmate in high school, Inigo Ramos.;) When it was near midnight, the party heated up as the people started dancing to the club music. Guess what, I danced also! Yes ladies and gentlemen, the king, known for his two left feet, finally learned to dance naturally after all these years.=) I couldn't have done it without my blockmates, who I'm very comfortable with, anywhere I go. At around 1:30, I left Embassy and headed home. It was a great night and once again, I'd like to thank Den and her nice family, as well as Anina's family, for the incredible party.=)

Finally, another classic Joppy Vinuya reflection period! You guys know the saying, "be careful what you wish for you might just get it"? Normally, this is a good thing but things get screwed up when it's linked to the other saying, "too much of a good thing is not a good thing at all". People want the basic necessity in life, which is happiness. But what happens when they do get that happiness but they get too much of it? Bad things happen, my man. Confusion and frustration branch from it, and the main cuisine? People get hurt. Is this sh*t happening to me? Not really but it's better to be prepared for it. Another thought given to you by the master of all things great, the king.;)

A fun fact: after P.E. class, to avoid embarassment, us guys take a shower in the men's bathroom. However, after 2 consecutive sessions, one of us didn't take a bath. Guess who he is? Just think about it.;) PEACE!-rJv

The First Step

2005-08-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Good evening ladies and gents. It's kinda surprising that the first term of class is about to end, with the finals exams just a few days away. It was just yesterday when I entered DLSU, with minimal friends and that bitter taste of Blue Eagle rejection, and now, I'm a full-fledged college boy!=p I feel sorry for those high school seniors who just took the UPCAT, and for the next few months, will feel the wrath of the dreaded ACET test, as well as the ones of DLSU, UA&P, UST and so much more. It's not the actual exams that scare the student but the anxiety that's created during those periods of waiting for that letter, which will say whether you passed or not. That was not an easy time for the king and I'm sure it won't be as well to you guys.;) Studying for the exams won't help so you guys who act like brainiacs can stop fooling yourselves by "reviewing" for the tests.=p Only God can help you and of course, during test time, when in doubt, choose B or C. Good luck!;)

For some reason, I've been too lazy to study hard for this week and I don't know why. And of course, when I'm not studying, I'm probably staring at my computer while using my YM, downloading some songs, and of course, checking out a few sites that are NOT filled with porn.=D Just want to clear things since I know some perverts out there are thinking about something malicious.;) Anyway, I stumbled upon the blog of my neighbor Steph, which happens to be one of the few blogs that I visit since its content is original and interesting as well.:) In her latest entry, I read that she found "the one" and she hopes that each of us would experience the same thing also. Of course, that made me think! Should I believe myself that because of my studies, I'm too busy to search for "the one", or is it really because the king is afraid to commit? Have the ghosts of the past finally done the deed and drilled another hole of fear in the great one? Arrogance aside, I believe that I'm a pretty nice guy, definitely better than my old self, and of course, I never 2-timed or played anyone.=D Looks? You be the judge of that.=p As hot as I am(=p), am I afraid to get burned again for the nth time? It could be, since nobody wants to be rejected 10 million times. By the way, I borrowed the "10 million times" term from the people from Santugon.=D I'm thinking deep thoughts once again. However, my grades are kinda low, especially in Accounting and Physics so it could go either way! I'm done with being sentimental.=)

It's been around 2 weeks since my birthday and I've found my new best friend in school. Words cannot describe how my iPod has made my life easier and more fun than ever. As of tonight I have around 430 songs in it, ranging from OPM acts, oldies, alternative rock, a little bit R'n'B, some sentimental songs and yes, I also listen to boybands.=p No I'm not gay and I only listen to "mature" boybands like 98 Degrees and not those faggot groups like the Backstreet Boys. Anyway, I use my iPod when I take the LRT/MRT, when I walk around, when I eat and sometimes even during class. It puts my mind at ease and it rids me off those people who piss me off, which is a good thing!=D

Anyway, I will now watch the new season of The Apprentice. PEACE!-rJv

So Many Things, So Little Time

2005-08-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday nights are the only time that I have to use my free mind to write stuff here in my blog and I'm quite upset about it since it seems like I feel something new or realize an original thought each day, but alas, I don't have the time to write. With school stuff, as well as the campaign and other projects, as much as it is stressful, unlike others, I don't bitch about it and act like I'm gonna lose my mind or something. I know some college people who act like this and it really amuses me! Geez man, it's only the first term and you're already panicking?! Things are gonna get tougher in the upcoming months so the work load for this term is just mild. Also, there are other people who do have more work than the usual college student, yet they don't complain about it. If you want some examples related to school, I'm talking about the political candidates, both in Santugon and Tapat, as well as the independents, who have to spend so many hours practicing RTR's, running around the campus while campaigning and so much more. Same for the upperclassmen who sacrificed their time, just for the sake of these candidates. The funniest story I heard was about someone who whined about the stress since the homework rate was rampant and this person "acted" like the campaigning was consuming the person's free time. We'll keep that story up to there and all I'm saying that although being "active" in campaigns is an enlightening activity, always remember: STUDIES FIRST. If you can't take the school stuff, then cut down on the co-curricular stuff until you handle juggling a busy schedule. Another helpful advice from the king.=)

Now back to school stuff. Last Thursday, my block did something that I never imagined that we would do as a class. I completely forgot what we did in our classes and all I remember is what we did during dismissal. It was planned in a satisfactory way but regardless of this, the plan pulled through. So after Critical Thinking, off we were to UM, in Queriko's(I don't know the correct spelling of that restaurant), to sit down and chug some beers. Of course, there were a handful who didn't come with us but it was understandable. Anyway, it was quite a colorful cast, from yours truly, to Dan the Man, to Olivia the Mathematics powerhouse, to Gerard the self-proclaimed "cute person", to the girl next door, Kaila Magno.=p Eventhough some didn't drink, including myself, it was an interesting sight to see the block act like a bunch of hooligans and try something new.=D We took so much pictures that time that it deserved its own Multiply account! Anyway, after a couple went home, I followed after and to my surprise, I was able to ride the LRT and MRT with my old, and I mean OLD, high school classmate, the big-nosed growing boy of H2005, Samuel Caleb Padla!=) We had quite a hearty conversation during the trip and it was a nice remembrance of my second home, Ateneo de Manila. Great day.=)

As for yesterday, I had to go home early because it was also the day of Santugon's victory party. Oh yeah, my mom had to use the driver so I had to hurry. But first, I had a little dosage of DOTA to soothe the mind and after that, after waiting for a few minutes for the rain to calm down, I headed off to the LRT and MRT stations. While lining up for my ticket, I met by surprise, Kaila's friend, Tina, so lucky for me, I had a companion while going home.=D When I arrived home, with not much time to spare, I quickly grabbed my "costume" and off I were to the party. CBE was assigned to wear Chicago-themed clothes, but because of my laziness, I just brought a long-sleeved white polo shirt.=D I arrived early so I met up with Peter, Fresh, Dan and Jicko and we ate in Quattro, a restaurant in Quezon Ave. Eventually, we arrived at the venue and f*ck man, the house was big and the people were rowdy as hell! At first, I was ridiculed for my "costume originality", but eventually, it faded off.=D All the different colleges were there, the food was great and the awards and the people were just flat out hilarious. What made stood out from the rest were the costumes of Mommy Gela, Bessie, Jiggs etc., and as for me, one of the most memorable sights that I've seen was seeing Niko wearing a damn skirt in front of so many people. Needless to say, dignities were not invited in the party so Niko left his on his house.=p Anyway, I had a blast mingling with my CBE-mates and even the people of the other colleges. There was never a dull moment we were truly one big family.=D Around midnight, me, Toto, Steph, Java, Gatz and Anj went to Starbucks to get some coffee and needless to say, walking along the public areas without any costume was indeed an advantage.;) When we came back, it amazed me that almost nobody felt sleepy or restless at that time. In fact, many swam in the pool, some sang their hearts out while using the karaoke machine and the rest drank, smoked and chilled. It was such a wonderful sight. Of course, my mom would die if I didn't go home so me and Niko took a cab home and that was it. I took a bath and dozed off. Another great day.=)

I slept for only around an hour due to the fact that I had to wake up early for CWTS. We were supposed to do something similar to Tulong Dunong of Ateneo fame, and since I can't go directly to the place in Commonwealth, I had to shave some sleeping time for the journey to Taft. Some of my fellow Santugon-mates had CWTS also so I'm glad I wasn't the only whose eyes were barely opened. We had some slight delays but eventually, we left at around 2:30. I needed sleep badly so I thank Kat for letting me lie on her lap after teaching my kids, as well as during the trip back to DLSU.=) I ate a quick meal in KFC and after that, I went home. Now, I'm quite amazed that I'm not asleep yet but oh well.=D

Though I'm avoiding someone in my block, it just astonishes me how my block improves every minute. I don't know if I'm part of the reason why my block is getting better, but I'm proud of each and every one of my classmates. To end this damn entry, to all those taking the UPCAT, I wish you good luck but PLEASE don't take it personally IF you don't pass. It's not the end of the world and be lucky for some people can't even get to the colleges with lower educational standards. Besides, if you pass DLSU, you can join the king in his journey from Blue Eagle-dom to Archer-nism. Good night everyone. PEACE!-rJv

Saliksik

2005-08-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

First of all, yesterday was the birthday of my blockmate, Peter Domingo, so if you haven't greeted him, it's not too late do so! I would like to thank him also for treating us in Shakey's, where we consumed so many slices of pizza while studying for Accounting. We also had our Orient1 session that day, where some Ping Lacson look-alike explained to us something that I didn't understand. It's probably because I wasn't listening.=p After awhile during that talk, he spoke of things that once again, proved that La Salle lacks the honor and skills of a certain blue school as this dude bashed, thrashed and degraded Ateneo and their courses. I must admit, he was quite convincing, but all in all, what he preached about was utter bullshit. If Ateneo sucks so bad, then why are there so many students out there that cried a flood of tears when they were rejected by ADMU? And the fool even had the balls to say that Ateneo brainwashes its students into thinking that we're more superior than other people! What in God's name?! As a proud alumni of Ateneo, I feel insulted by this statement for Ateneo played a big part in molding me into a man who values integrity and honor. I never thought in my entire life that I'm higher than anyone else, except for those morons who just have no class. But if the guy really doesn't like ADMU, rather than saying negative comments about it, he should've just shut the hell up! Oh well, I guess Eagle bashing is pretty popular in DLSU these days.=) To ease my anger, me and the C48 guys played DOTA for around 2 hours. After that, I ate in Tropical Hut with my Santugon buddies, Anj, Rachelle, Monika and Bogus. End of the day.;)

As for today, we had our Saliksik day. For all you non-La Sallites out there, Saliksik is just the same with your typical recollection, except ours is more boring than usual since it's just held in DLSU and it's not an overnight thing. What sucked is that there was no electricity in the place so we were stuck to using fans to cool ourselves. The activities were quite dragging, except for the bomb activity where we had to use mind and strategy, not to mention a face towel for combined with the lack of air conditioning, the activity was strenuous and very physical. Using pure teamwork among us all, we managed to succeed in that activity, and we were the third block to do so this year. The final activity was the writing of short notes for our blockmates, using small pieces of scratch paper. As for me, since the effort was worth it, I decided to write letters for ALL of my blockmates, just to show that I appreciate their company and that I'm thankful for their company. It was painful on my right hand but it was food for the soul.=) By the way, I'd like to thank all those who gave me letters as well, no matter how long or short they are. If there's one thing that warms the king's heart, it's a letter that is written in a sincere form.=D As a closing for the day, we had a Mass and afterwards, we read our letters while having our snack. I went home early not because I was bored to death, but because my pants were loose and I forgot to wear a belt.=p Overall, it was a time well spent as a rest away from academic stuff.

This day has given proof that there's something truly about my class. Despite some minor flaws, I'm really at home with my blockmates. Today, from Ponggy and Iyah's heart-to-heart talks, to lifting Dorm Boy's heavy ass during the bomb activity, to hearing Camille Canlas' irrelevant comments, it was truly a blast. From the letter that some people wrote me, I'm glad that they appreciate my contributions and efforts for the truth is, my blockmates are some of the reasons why I strive to work hard in everything I do. I'm sure some "people" in the block just plans to keep in touch with only a handful in class after we get deblocked. I plan to keep in touch with 42 people. We are 43 students in our block. Another dramatic entry by the king.=)

With all this writing, I'm getting hungry so I'm off to the kitchen. PEACE!-rJv