hitch free

if everything happens without a hitch, i am going to be a free woman come saturday night...at least until the exam results come out.

sigh. should have been today, but i guess some things can't be helped.

chris, a friend from baguio, sent me a text message. called me atty. i told him that if he's right, i'm going home and i'm taking him drinking. then i'll help him with his bar exam next year. fair trade, hehehe.

right now have to cut this short. have sealant all over my hands and it's taking me ages to peel them off... they're bringing my tiny strands of hair with them. sigh. plumber i'm not.

the powers that be hate me

the other day we found out we would have to retake commercial law. i ranted and ranted and ranted.

i woke up feeling okay and ready to face the world again.

when i got to school, i locked my car with the keys in the ignition. smart girl. luckily the machine shop of the college of engineering was nearby. asked for a wire so i can pick the lock.

i got the wire and set to work. a few minutes later the guard comes over to investigate. he ended up helping me but it turns out he knows about 1/10, maybe less, of what i know about cars. so he just watched. 15 -20 minutes later i was still at it. the lock wasn't cooperating. it simply jiggled in place. it had started raining right after i locked the car. the guard was nice enough to bring an umbrella. when i was about to give up i yanked the wire out in frustration. the lock opened. damn.

attended my lecture. on my way home i passed by for a large container of iced coffee. on the way home it spilled. over my jeans, onto the airconditioning, the transmission and the car seat. it was a lot of coffee. smart girl, leaving the container unsupported.

so i headed straight for home and took a shower right away to wash off the bad luck. my going home was a good thing. saved the rest of the world.

confirmed

we're taking the commercial law exam again. on october 4, 8pm to 12 midnight.

it's not right. it's not fair.

to hell with the persons responsible for that leakage. they don't deserve to be lawyers.

^@^$&(*$^^%@%%$((!!!

all the curse words i have learned in my life are on the tip of my tongue and begging to be said. or screamed.

just found out that we might have to retake commercial law because some idiots in another school had a 100% leakage.

sure that was my worst exam. for the first time in 3 sundays i actually encountered problems which drew up blanks in my data base. but i don't want to have to go through another exam after this sunday.

it's not fair. we slogged through that exam without any help. we agonized over the questions concerning topics which we had thought were excluded. we did our best. and it will be all for naught.

not fair. i hate this.

ah beer

finally. beer. after months (okay, 1 month 16 days, not counting the red horse i had last week. didn't have much effect on me), i finally drank beer.

how could i have lived without my dearest pal??????

played billiards. put my cue stick to use. was a bit rusty (me, not my cue stick) but played a passable game.

which reminds me. my cue stick needs a name. how's about django?

anyways, just typing as the thoughts come.

must be the alcohol. happily tipsy.

and sleepy.

night.

sharp knives

tell me, why is it that in knife sets which are labelled "needs no sharpening!" they include that piece of metal which is used precisely for sharpening?

raed this

this is circulating over the net. interesting.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod
are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and
lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.


Fcuknig amzanig huh?

i'll see you in court

when somebody says this, it always comes as a threat.

but then when a lecturer in a bar review class says it, the phrase transforms itself into words of encouragement.

sure i'll see them in court. not as accused (me) and opposing counsel (them). but as equals, both counsels. i may be a bumbling newbie but hey, i won't complain.


i'll see you in court. those words have never sounded so sweet.

i only hope it happens really soon. and i mean by april of next year.

law deans

thought i'd write about a nice incident last sunday.

the first sunday of the bar we had to line up because we were a little late. it was a long line, probably 200 meters. so we said we'll be early the next sunday.

the following sunday we left about 20 minutes earlier (i left my watch but i decided to just borrow my dad's and not risk being late again.). when we got to lasalle there was no line. people were packing up, and the way to the buildings was clear.

hmmm. we all checked our watches to verify that we were not late. it wasn't even 715 yet. it felt like we had stepped into the twilight zone.

got to the end of the barricaded area. they asked for our permits. i had mine in a plastic envelope in my zipped bag. the supreme court guard was nice enough to open the bag for me and just reach in, since my bag was really packed.

i walked through and decided to pull my plastic envelope out of my bag. it had my permits and about 9 signpens.

when i got to the area where the law deans were standing (they stand there every sunday and wish the barristers from their respective schools good luck), my envelope came free. and so did my pens. all my pens spilled out.

i heard a comment "ang dami niyan ah."

and just when i was about to let myself blush, two of the deans approached me. one of them put a hand on my shoulder and said "don't move, iha. we'll take care of this." he and the other guy picked up the pens and handed them to me.

"ayan. dagdag good luck sa yo ha?"

i found myself smiling like an idiot. and thanking them. my blush never made it. i don't think i was embarrassed at all.

it put me in a good mood. and it filled me with hope, crazy though that thought may be.

there are human law deans pala. :)

sleepy day

for the first time in a long time, found myself sleeping till noon. i went out to attend a lecture at 730. got home at 930 and promptly sprawled on my rug. fell asleep.

must be the rains. such nice weather.

three's company

john ritter is dead na pala. sad. undiagnosed heart condition.

2nd sunday

it's monday.

yesterday was the second day of the bar. it was EXHAUSTING to say the least.

not to mention difficult. taxation will always haunt me for the rest of my life.

imagine this. i walked out of the exam room and looked for my friends. then we went searching for my dad who was waiting for me. found him. so we all headed for the car.

lo and behold, my dad had a copy of the tax exam. and he answered the 2 questions which i got totally wrong. now that, ladies and gentlemen, sucked.

16 points down the drain and my dad, who is not a lawyer, simply rattled off the answers which i should have known.

maybe i was just so tired from the morning session.

shit happens, i guess. so i slept from 10 pm last night to 7 in the morning. not bad.

but no matter, 2 more sundays to go and i'm free. for today though, i'm hitting the bookstores.

attack of the singkits

okay. it's been going on for too long. first it was anime. that was fine with me. the graphics themselves were enough to warrant appreciation.

then came the spanish telenovelas. beautiful women, hunky men... enough said.

but then came the taiwanese telenovelas (or tsinovelas, as they call it). no offense to those who think the members of f4 are delicious, i find myself thinking them quite ordinary. nothing spectacular, you know.

and as if the invasion of primetime tv wasn't enough, the music videos came, then the songs on the radio, and now, my neighbor's kid, who can't be more than 7 years old, is singing the damned taiwanese songs!

i'm betting she doesn't understand a word she's saying. but assuming that she does, i'm pretty sure she would be one of the small percentage of filipinos...

what is it about these foreign shows that get us filipinos all rabid and frothing at the mouth?

but come to think of it, we've been watching english programs since time immemorial.

maybe that's it. at least for me, i grew up in an environment where english programs held reign. different strokes, little house on the prairie, jennifer slept here, cosby show, three's company, and the numerous english cartoons (but hey, voltes v and mazinger-z and daimos rocked) and the ever present sesame street...

english programs were something i took for granted. they were always there. so i didn't think much of it. then when the new foreign programs came on, i got jolted.

maybe i just don't like change. maybe i prefer to listen to songs i understand. maybe i'm racist... (could be.) hope not. i did like sassy girl (korean ), amelie (french), my wife is gangster (korean), 2002 (taiwanese) and malena (italian).

maybe i just don't like the fact that they are getting more coverage than local shows and local artists.

all these maybes.

maybe i just don't like people calling me dawmingsu just because the bar is getting in the way of my haircuts.

oh well. back to the books.

ay mali

mali ata yung 37 hours... hmmmm

basta. it's friday. tomorrow's saturday. exam is at 8 on sunday. so you do the math.

all i know is that i should be panicking by now....

or not. maybe another massage.

at my wit's end

37 hours to go before my next exam.

notes 5 inches thick. looking at them is making me nauseous.

i need a miracle.

smells

things i noticed last night.

1.) shrimp gone bad would take on the exact smell of a fish market.
2.) lanzones which gets stored in plastic and gets exposed to sunlight will smell like a sweaty armpit.
3.) i must be going mad, but at least i smell good.

gmrng people!

getting melancholy

first day of the bar. had to wake up at 5 because my sister was calling me. hell i asked for a 545 wake up call. but then i understood that i had to WAKE UP! it was bar day!

so i did. breakfast, pack stuff, last minute reading, quick shower then off to la salle. sigh. we almost didn't make it because i left my lunch and goodie bag in the hotel room. but make it we did, thanks to mang ramon our driver, tiborce who made a run for my lunch, and my dad and sister who made sure we wouldn't have to talk to the chairman of the bar committee just to gain admittance. (yes, they do that if you're late)

it was the usual bedlam. schools had their usual welcoming committees lined up under the lrt screaming GOOD LUCK! GOD BLESS! WE WILL TOPS DA BAR!. people were waving, confetti everywhere, bands here and there. tents set up everywhere. people in shirts with various mottos and school logos. it was a fiesta. it was chaotic. and there on the street were cops who had cordoned the area to keep the spectators away from the multitude of barristers who all looked like they were walking to their doom. me included.

then it hit me. not panic, mind you. not even resignation. i suddenly felt sad.

i looked at the spectators and wasn't really seeing them. i remembered how i had envisioned this day would be. wen would go with me from the hotel and walk me to the closed off area and kiss me good luck. then he would run to that place under the lrt and cheer me on. that was how i imagined it would be. back then.

but then there i was. walking with my notes, loaded with a bag filled with books and my trusty jacket. tiborce, my sister and my dad were there, cheering me on. but no wen. like i said, it made me sad. and after wallowing in that sadness for about 5 minutes, i put the vision away.

it was like putting away a well loved toy. the toy that gets set aside either because it had been outgrown, or it was too old and tattered to withstand further handling. i felt a distinct twinge somewhere in the region of my heart.

i think i was saddened more by the thought that what i had envisioned wasn't there, rather than the actual fact of his absence. does that make sense? is there a difference?

oh well. i snapped out of it after a while. mainly because some idiot was screaming something at me... he was calling me dawmingsu (or whatever the hell that taiwanese guy's character's name is). if i wasn't taking the bar i would have jumped the ropes and hit him with my goodie bag.

that's it. after the bar, i am definitely having a hair cut!

night people. time to sleep.

2 down, 6 to go

first sunday is finished. so that's 2 subjects. 6 to go.

sigh. i don't know how to describe it. on the one hand i think i did okay. but then i begin remembering stuff i should have answered. and things i shouldn't have.

oh well. beyond my hands.

hand. my hand is so tired it wants to sleep for a month or so.

back to the books. i will get through this. and then....

TO SAGADA AND BEYOND!!!

2 days to go

bar is here.

have what's left of today and tomorrow to finish reading whatever it is i have to read.

i am surprisingly calm. i hope that is a good sign.

i have my pens, i have a nice plastic folder for my permit, a nice pad for last minute notes... with all these implements at hand, how can i fail?

seriously though, i hope i pass. if i don't i guess whoever reads my blog will have to suffer another 6 months of bar whining next year. so pray for me. it'll be for your own good.

now i look intimidating

yesterday my neighbor hitched a ride with me again. seems she just waits for me to come down then runs out of the house to hitch a ride.

anyways, back to the conversation bout her kids. then she asked about one of our friends. she used to see him in econ. told her he's my sister's friend and that i used to work with him back when i was in second year law school.

she was surprised that i worked while i was in school. then she blurted this out: "naku mahihirapan kang maghanap ng asawa niyan! maiintimidate sa 'yo mga lalake!"

ahem. two 5 minute rides and she reaches this conclusion.

dang. what a nice way to start the morning.

my destiny

when panic strikes, i go online.

somebody sent me a test to know my destiny. tiborce took one to get to know his past. he posted his results. taking my cue from him, am posting mine.

"your destiny is to be a Performer

Whether you know it or not, this is the role that is most in tune with who you are at your core. As a Performer, people are stimulated by your talkative, friendly, entertaining manner and love your generous, comical, and uninhibited way. With your outgoing, impulsive, and positive nature, you can't help but be uplifting to those around you because you are constantly showing them that loving life is productive and necessary. You are always attracted to new ideas, fashions and trends, and fascinated by the possibilities that each represent. You probably listen to your senses before making decisions, but because you are generally eager to experience all that life has to offer, you should pay even closer attention. You may have a tendency to be overly self-indulgent and this could be harmful to you and the people you love. Remember that your charming social gifts can help you go far."

last time i checked i wanted to be a lawyer. hmmm... richard gere doing a tap dance comes to mind.

nah. i'd much rather bake, thank you.

panic attack

had a panic attack. checked out the questions in my handout. couldn't answer the second question and it was supposed to be basic.

heart racing, breath short, head pounding, stomach falling..... then i had the good sense to go look for an answer. whew!

i can do this. i have to.

so, i will write a longer one next time. can anybody tell me why the sorting of this blog has gone haywire?

minamaligno talaga

now my comments link is missing.... sigh.

oh well

guess whoever wants to read the september 2 entries is going to have to scroll down after the september one. minamaligno blog ko

this is really weird

this is so weird. why are my posts getting published in reverse?

i probably look like a counselor

this morning i gave one of my neighbors a ride to school because the rain was pouring and she didn't have an umbrella. since i was all alone in the car i didn't mind.

she asked me my name (tina po.), what i was doing (on my way to school), how law school was (finished).

she said i must be really tough to have survived law school to which i said, hindi naman po, and blushed on cue. then she said "ang hirap pala magpamilya."

heyng??? where did that come from? there i was blushing to the tips of my nice hair (hehehe. vanity.) then she drops that statement. did i look like i would welcome the confidence? must be the glasses. i looked serious and willing to listen. maybe.

alam mo ba yung ibig kong sabihin? (duh?) i said no.

apparently she is currently having problems with her eldest son who is hell-bent on showing his rebellious streak. so i let her talk.

she said she had worked so hard for her family and that she made sure they had things which she never had when she was growing up. she had to ride the karitela (horse-drawn carriage) and wade through floods to get to school. she said she grew up tough.

and now her son was a rebel. and her husband was no help because he just kept quiet.

so she turned to me. she asked me if it was normal.

normal? what is normal? kids these days defy normal. or redefine what is normal. i told her i wasn't sure. maybe it was just a phase and that he will grow out of it.

i didn't know what to say.

so i brought her to econ and bid her goodbye. it was the least i could do considering that i hadn't the faintest idea what to say to comfort her. or if i should even try. maybe it was enough that she said it out loud. oh well. she said thank you and i said it was nothing.

hope things work out for her. i think i will put off the giving of free rides for the moment. it sorta kinda depressed me.

sometimes driving alone is not so bad.

rainy day

it's raining. and classes are suspended.

everybody around me is complaining. i'm not. maybe because the weather reminds me of home.

we used to have days like this which would stretch for weeks. heavy rains, gloomy skies and cold cold air. but then back home, if there was no typhoon signal declared, everybody had to go to school. even those in kindergarten. i'm not so sure what they do now. i suppose they let the kids in kindergarten stay home.

i arrived in school soaked to the skin. and i think people thought i had lost my marbles because i wasn't bothered in the least. it was kinda fun. just like home. and true to form, i still don't carry an umbrella. englishman i ain't.

hope i don't get sick tho.

weird

this is weird. the order of my blog is screwed. wonder why? smsrtf may sagot ka ba sa tanong na yan????

numb butt

my butt is numb.

funny feeling. you don't really notice it till you stand up. stupid. of course you don't notice. that's what being numb is! sheesh.

weird thing tho, no needles and pins when the circulation gets started again. hmmm. theory: no muscles, hence, no needles and pins. man i'm really getting fat.

caliper measurements indicate fat percentage. i say that should be changed. they should be made to indicate fat content instead.

with thoughts like this in my head how will i have space for law related matters?????

ice tea and da gaddem yellow lanes (this is a long one.)

was drinking ice tea (or is it iced tea?) for lunch and was about to have my second glass when i remembered my horrible experience last friday.

went to pick up my sister at the airport. the trip to the airport was uneventful, except for a stray bus which threatened to make a pug nosed sedan of kojak (my car). got there in 30 minutes from up. not bad.

wasn't so lucky on the trip back. it was friday and payday. it was almost 3 pm and we were all starving so we decided to get lunch in rockwell. first restaurant we saw was country waffles. so we decided to eat there.

lunch was long and leisurely. my sister and i swapped stories about her experiences in japan and my oh so boring life as a bar reviewee facing impending doom. it was relaxing and i dreaded having to get up from my chair. but we had to get home.

so i drove home. my sister slept. she was exhausted and having a bout with a cold. so it was me and myself. had a great conversation. such an exchange of ideas!

me: bad trip yung bus na yun ah!
myself: oo nga. syet.
me: nice billboard.
myself: oo nga.

and so on and so forth.

traffic was really bad. i was resigned and figured it'll take us about 2 hours to get home. oh well. wasn't really in the mood to while away the time elsewhere so i told myself to be patient and we'll be home sooner or later. me agreed.

but then somewhere along edsa i began to feel uncomfortable. i had drunk about a liter of ice tea and i was feeling the effect. i needed to pee.

i stood (sat?) my ground and said i'll just wait till i get home. i can hold it. and i didn't want to leave my sister sleeping in the car while i was in a gas station's rest room.

so drive i did. at the kamias intersection i began to feel relieved. just one more turn to east avenue and i'll be home free.

but then the gaddem yellow lanes were there. when i crossed the intersection i stayed clear of the yellow lanes since i didn't want to get caught by a traffic enforcer. the thought of getting caught while i was desperately in need of a rest room was not appealing. and neither was wetting the car seat.

so stay clear i did. when i got to the broken yellow lines i knew it was safe to turn. then some idiot fx with an idiot driver blocked my right. followed by another idiot pick up and an idiot bus. damn! i couldn't make a turn. i followed the policy. i stayed clear of the yellow lanes because i had green plates. they didn't follow the rules. why was i suffering???? i needed to pee!!!!! gaddem yellow lanes.

i had two choices. either go straight when the light turned green and go by agham road or wait till the first fx moved and cut into the lane and speed for east avenue. took a peek. traffic enforcers. might be apprehended for swerving. hay naku. straight it is.

i thought i would totally lose it. i was getting goosebumps from the stress and the aircon wasn't helping any. was feeling almost lightheaded. the conversation between me and myself was evolving into one where we (me and myself) competed on who could say more curse words.

light finally turned green and i drove like a madman. when i finally got home i realized my sister had luggages. she remained asleep and blissfully unaware of my predicament. i woke her up. she had two bags. she was sick. i had to take the bigger bag.

picked up the big bag, slung it over my shoulder and made a run for it. 20 meters then up 4 flights of stairs. fumbled with the key, got in, threw the bag onto the sofa and ran for the bathroom. almost didn't make it. but i did.

bathroom never looked so good.

i was exhausted. after almost 2 hours of driving i was ready to drop. sat in front of the tv and pondered.

the point of this long narrative being, bottomless ice (iced?) tea, payday weekend traffic, airconditioning, and dose gaddem yellow lanes make for a lethal combination. consider yourself warned.

september and counting

in 28 days i will be free of all these worries and i can have a life again. it's amazing how life can be put on hold by an event which takes all of four sundays. not a month of sundays. but 4. haaay. almost done.