State of the Nation Address

Elections wrapped up over a week ago. It was a Wednesday.

I don't know the actual results of the elections yet, but it doesn't take an idiot to know when you've lost. From the beginning of the race, I urged my friends to vote for me. And they have, most of them. And for that, I am grateful.

Getting in to something like this wasn't for the sake of winning anyway. This was just for the hell of it. I've mentioned that I was just running because the other guy was running unopposed. I was not trying to prove a point nor was I seeing the injustice in whatever politics is. I was merely running.

I'd joke around and answer people who ask me why I was running. I'd say that I wanted to lose weight. I'd get a laugh or two, mostly because I kinda needed the weight loss.

The campaigning part of the elections was fun. I got to meet new people. These people were eager. And somehow, like me, they were pick to run against the one party. And so, we did. We were half hoping to lose,  but a part of us could never say we didn't want to win.

A week before the elections, I cast my Certificate of Candidacy. With me was my friend, Aldous, who was then running for secretary because it was the only position left to run for. The person in charge switched him with the person who was running for VP Ext. And that he was.

Our group, yet unnamed, started out with one less party member -- a VP Int. We started out our campaign as planned. First thing on the agenda was the name. We decided on Team Party, Party, a name Aldous and I had already decided on before meeting the other party members. Right before we started posting fliers, we had found ourselves complete and we were starting to look like a legit party.

For the campaign, I had an Idea to post mock posters of what ballots should look like, with our names on the blanks provided. People who were slow could not get the poster right away, not unless explained by a smarter or "faster" friend. The poster bombed. Without any appropriate pictures of us, people were stuck reading the other party's poster.

Naturally, the other party members suggested to have a different poster, a better one. I did them one even better. We took pictures of ourselves looking kind of stoned. I was sure that  it would grab more people's attention. And it did, kind of. One key ingredient I had forgotten to add was a caption that said picture it out, which would have been epic. But again, unfriendly to slow understanders.

The real challenge of the campaign was going room to room. I was not accustomed to speaking to crowds(classrooms). Aldous and I were the only people available to go room to room. We were at first, hesitant, but were encouraged to go for it. And so we did.

The room to room went fine. The only real problem was when we faced a stronger crowd, a class that was ,at that time, currently in Philosophy. When we asked everyone if they had any questions, the teacher encouraged his students to ask questions that could make him proud, as a Philosophy teacher. Students tried, and really only two succeeded in doing so. Thinking about it now, I could not really remember how that went exactly.

Then a week later, elections. The election started on Tuesday and would end on the next day. Students had to come to a certain area in the school to vote. This was different from the election last year. Last year, people from the current student council hopped from classroom-to-classroom to get people's votes. As a result of the change, not many who could have voted could. 

And on the Wednesday, disappointed from the results of Tuesday, they hopped from class to class, as they did the year prior. More people had indeed voted, but not everyone had the chance to really use their right to. My friends who really wanted to vote for me couldn't. I was disappointed, but understood the predicament.

Days have passed and the actual tally has not been announced. I just want to know how many votes I had gotten. Why? To really just soothe my ego. I could not live with myself if I had 30, 20, or less votes. And the possibility of which is quite unlikely. I just hope that the results won't prove me wrong.

I've mentioned that all I really needed to get through the humiliation of losing profoundly, was that my friends voted for me, and that they have my back.

To my running mates, I couldn't have done whatever it is I did without you. You guys were awesome. To my friends who voted or to those could not, I am deeply grateful.

Thank you.

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A little plugging couldn't harm anyone. Visit my friend's blog: http://michaelbriantina.wordpress.com

Cooked Pageantries

Friday afternoon, I was still worn out from the excitement of what occurred in the morning. We still had to attend a class. Thank god, the teacher was absent. During this time, I had just received the poster we wanted to replaces our old one with. And the one they gave me was a fail.

The design that I made the night before was perfect. No one needed to add anything on it. But this information did not get to our VP Internal who was the one I put in charge of printing it. I could not print it myself due to the fact that I was not going to be in school. Then I decided to just cut the thing, severing all the hard work the VP Internal did.

Both parties were to attend a forum at 5:30pm. I was not excited to this. This was because I was not the kind of person that answers really tough questions. At about 3 o' clock, I raced home and quickly took a bath and changed, so that I'd look fresh. And if I didn't answer any questions, I'd have that going for me.

The forum was kind of sad, only attended by a few. Other than the two parties who were also short of members, were the people of the current supreme student council and a few students. The forum ended quick. The parties just introduced theirselves and gave their platform. After the forum, my friend, who was with me already during the forum, and I went straight to my car and headed for SWU for the main event of the PT/OT week, the coronation night of Miss Rehabilitative Sciences.

On our way there, we saw some of our friends who were walking towards the same location. So I gave them a lift. The same problem happened like earlier. We got lost again, but somehow we managed to get there in one piece.

Miss Rehabilitative Sciences was the grand finale to the PT/OT week. The event was compulsory to students. And we went there to support our friend who was in the competition. She was number four, out of nine contestants. Most were beautiful, some were questionable.

The night was started pleasantly. My friends and I were late, of course. We drifted off course when I took a wrong turn somewhere, what a waste of gas. We went inside and the pageant had already begun. The contestants walked out on the stage, one by one. They presented a welcoming dance number, in their gowns. It's important to note that the theme of the night was goddesses. So all nine of them were trying their bests to actually stay on stage. A funny thing happened when one of the contestants actually tripped on stage, but she was quick to stand up again.

The goddesses announced themselves; a little about who they're representing and who they really are, and from what school. As our friend came to introduce herself, my classmates and I shouted as hard as we could. She passed the left side of the stage and waved a quick hello to us.

Soon after their costume round. They then proceeded to something more casual. They all wore the same dress. Soon after that, they wore these gowns. Most of them wore a shade of green. Then the answer portion.

The Q&A was unexpected. Honestly, I did not think that our contestants, nor everyone else in the group, would answer well. The Velez contestants were all remarkable in answering their questions. They handled it with much poise and grace. Then, we all thought that this is what would make us win.

Minor awards were handed out. Awards like Most Photogenic, Best in Costume, Best in Gown, and the like. We waited for our contestants' names to be called. It never came. Not one award was merited to our girls, not one at all. This disappointed the students of our school very much. The least we could have won was Best in Gown or Best in Costume, but we won neither.

Soon after the disappointments, a top four was to be announced. Only the top four out of the top nine will be included in the finals of the pageant. One by one, names were called from CDU and SWU. Where was Velez? -- Nowhere. This could have been understandable IF we did very bad in the Q&A, which we didn't. I would recall two, or one, from the top four couldn't get to the words to what she wanted to say.

After the top four was announced, every Velezian (students from Velez) walked out of the Coliseum. Then the winner was announced. Soon after that, the CDU students followed in our footsteps. I was told that the judges started from zero again, rather than the total score for the whole competition.

This kinds of things are not something new in pageants. And as my teacher later told us, coming from an unbiased side, that we were to smart to be in that competition. That garnered a level of respect from me. Not that it would have mattered anyway.

I'd like to congratulate my friend, Erika Nicole Q. Teves, for winning Miss Rehabilitative Sciences 2011. 
You deserved it.

The Amazing Presidential Race

The week was pretty interesting. On monday, first on the agenda was to file my certificate of candidacy for my bid to run for president. And people might wonder why I'm running for president for my entire school, some really asked. The truth for the decision was because I was asked to, and being the person that I am, I did. So here we are.

The week just got started and not only was that happening for me, but it was a big time for the PT/OT department. This was because of the PT/OT week. And I, a PT student, was included in the said event. Well, not entirely, for the most part.

Monday was the big opening to the event. I wouldn't say that it was that big, but it was. Kind of. We were free to wear our casual uniforms. And with the conflict to our class schedules, we were free from class after lunch. We then proceeded to go to the EMVM Hall (the name itself isn't important, all you have to know is that it's a hall) to attend the annual quiz bowl. And although we only took third place, we were given much joy when the teacher's presented with a dance number.

Monday was also Valentine's day. So naturally, people will be bringing flowers and/or chocolates to their love ones/crushes and whatnot. And this day proved to be a good one for my friend when he fulfilled his wish to sing to his crush. Way to go, buddy!

Other than those, we had to go to SouthWestern University(which my friend and I didn't do) and I baked a pie later that night. So, a pretty fun monday for me.

Nothing much had happened during Tuesday through Thursday other than building a campaign and marketing our faces. These were tiring to do, yet fun. Making a fool out of yourselves could only do so much.

Friday marked the most fun I had during the PT/OT week. We were to join in an Amazing Race. And we were to compete with two groups from the opposing school, Cebu Doctors' University. Considering the race was to take place in SWU, I'm guessing the contestants from there were forfeited.

The night before the race was the night before I actually knew of it. I got a sudden message from the guy in charge, Big Jan Carreon, urging me to join. And again, being who I am, I did. I also thought that it would give me a good boost in my race for president which in turn, really did not.

The teams were in 3s, two boys and a girl; two teams from each school. The first problem we encountered before the race had even began was how to get to SWU. All three members of the group were clueless on how to get there. And the simplest solution was to ride a cab, as we did.

We were the first team there. Somehow, it's an accomplishment we can boast about. If the rules stated that immediate forfeit was to be given to the other teams who did get there before 8, we could have won first place. But it wasn't, and we didn't.

Soon after we've arrived, the CDU teams got there too. And I stress TEAMS because we were the only team representing our school, short of one other. Soon after that, the race had begun. The first challenge was to put together the pieces of paper to form a word which was either BOTANICAL or, basing from when we stopped caring, BOTA---L. Honestly, we heard the other teams mentioning the place, but we decided to finish the thing on our own, just because. And that cost us third place in the race at the very start, third place out of three, which was good for us. We'd win either way.

When we got to the botanical garden, our appetite was tested. We had to eat three large chunks of pork liver, a piece of ampalaya(bitter melon or bitter gourd, in english), and a glass half full of raw eggs. And as we ate, we were on the verge of vomiting. The first two of the latter are quite delicious if you really like it, which all three of us didn't. This didn't make strides for our group, still stuck in third place.

After that, we were brought to the MAHAM building(as it was pronounced, the actual meaning I forgot.) We were tasked to do a human wheel barrow around a certain area, circling it for five times, making us look foolish to SWU students that were passing by. The strain of the activity still has my abdominal area still hurting.

Still in third place, the clue of the challenge was to go to the Aznar Coliseum which was a building outside of the school. It was a 5-10minute walk, or a 2-3 minute run. We walked, not seeming to mind that we were gonna finish last. Our stomachs were yet again tested. We were told to pick a paper which contained these three possible words: BUMBAY(onion), OKRA(okra), and SILI(chili). I got onion and my friend was quick to exchange mine with his, which was chili. I reluctantly accepted. I bit the tip, and quickly felt the spiciness. I stopped eating. It's important to note that at this point, I was the only one who had taken a bite out of the three of us. After a few moments, I decided to just swallow the chili whole, and I did. Still, I was the one who had eaten their pick. I decided to buy water and when I came back they had just finished theirs. (The girl hadn't, the other guy ate enough.) The ones who monitored us, didn't care anymore if we finish it or not.

We went on to the next area, the PT area of SWU. The school only offered PT, considering Velez  has both PT and OT while CDU had another course, RTP(respiratory therapy). We were to pick from two options: Deliver an ampao to a person hidden amongst others on the 2nd floor or make a square out of different sized papers, as in a tangram. We chose to do papers. Our girl got it, and once again we were given pieces of paper that would make out to a certain location in the school. The only sure word we could make out was, MEMORIAL. We didn't bother finishing it.

To our dismay, there is more than one memorial building, even more than two. We had gotten to the memorial library and MAHAM building, instead of listening to the instincts of our girl member. This called for us to go to the Aznar coliseum again which housed the memorial building we were looking for. On our way there, a friend of ours informed us that the task was on the oval. And so we went. One of our members had to put a sack over his head and hop the length of the oval. Other members could take over, but we didn't bother.

After that, we were to proceed to the 3rd floor Engineering building. It was a few meters to where we had been earlier in the MAHAM building. The building as we learned had recently suffered a fire. The roof and floor were charred. In this area, we were tasked to obtain nine letters that were buried deep in flour. The only catch was, we couldn't use our hands. This explains why the other teams that passed us were white. The nine letters formed the word THERAPIST. After that, one of the members had to whistle a song while eating polvoron. The other two members had to sing to it. The monitors decided not to go on with the song, seeing as that we were already the last group. I mean, what else could we do wrong?

The back and forth walking to the Aznar coliseum and SWU was probably the most tiring, other than the human wheel barrow. Determined to win third place, we walked towards the coliseum with our heads held high. And when we got there, we were greeted with cheers and our very last challenge. It was a very simple task, blow out the two candles with only your nose - simple but difficult. Our girl member and I blew hard on the candles to no results. Our other member told us to step aside, and he finished the challenge rather quickly.

It was official, third place goes to us, Velez Group A. The other group never showed up which was kind of a good thing. My team could have been placed fourth as it probably would've. We returned to our school, championing our accomplishment. With flour still on our faces, we stood tall walking inside our school.

And the day had not ended yet.

Pie Maker Cliffhanger

Pie making is hard. Baking, in general, is hard. So, when you go to those bakeshops and see those cakes and other pastries, that's the result of hours and hours of hard work and practice. I bring this up because I'm making one right now.

As we speak, my pie is in the oven. My pie is a mess. The crust alone will bring the quality down. But I won't be that upset. It is my first pie.

The thought of making pie occurred to me when I saw my uncle's recipe books. Both from renowned brands, Betty Crocker and Pillsburry. I got my start to baking from making cheesecake, which was not baked. I wanted to try making a baked cheesecake, but ultimately stuck with making the no-bake one.

From then on, I wanted to make desserts. For one thing, because they're good. Another, because I just love desserts. Making pies will just indulge my sweet teeth. (Stress on teeth, rather than just tooth.)

The pie that's currently in the oven is supposed to be an apple pie. I opted to do this, because it was kind of cheaper, compared to making cherries or pecan. But sooner or later, I might want to do a pecan pie which is the pie I really want to make. I just want to try making it first.

First problem I had was the shortening. I didn't know what the hell that was. Then a couple of youtube videos later, I used butter instead. Second thing was making the crust. The crust is probably the most vital thing there is to the pie, other than the filling, which was easy to do compared to the crust.

The crust had to have this kind of precision to make. The ingredients had to be just right, as does everything else in baking. This was a challenge for me, a first time baker. I don't think that pie was the right thing to start with. But nevertheless, I continued with it.

When I started writing this blog, I had just cleaned everything I had used to bake my first pie. And midway through writing, the timer went off and my pie was finished. I don't know yet how it tastes like. I am letting it cool a bit, until I finish writing this blog.

I hope it's as good as it smells. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. The pie is good, but not great. A few minor adjustments, and I'll be baking perfectly.

Scandals and Friendships

There's a kind of limitation to how I can write my blogs, a certain censor that I have to follow. Naturally after writing a blog, I just click share on facebook and on twitter. And knowing most people, they're not really gonna read it. This is how I want it to work, sometimes.

I don't want everybody reading it. I want to write about things that happen to me. And some of my friends on facebook, who are in the blog post, might actually get to read it. At this point, it's really up to them how to react. I am the writer, I'm bias to myself. And most, if not all of my blogs, are gonna be one-sided.

Like one of my blog post, it has a tendency to become a sort of controversy around at school. Or it really might not. Who knows? Granted, it might not have the magnitude of a controversy like the scandal running around now. It is not my place to say what or who, and it kills me that I can't tell anyone.

Scandals can get everywhere. No matter where it started or when, it will bite you in the ass. One might assume from reading this that I am involved in one, I assure you that I'm not.

On to a different topic, I have these two friends at school. I don't have just two, but I'm talking about these two in particular. It doesn't matter if they read this, or if they ever wanted to, because there's nothing they can do about it anyway.

So, these two, a cold war had been going on. The origins of this war are somewhat undetermined, but what matters is now. These two have been going at it(silently) for months or at least more than one semester, talking behind each others' backs.

Once upon a time, I remember these two actually being friends. A year or two has passed since then, and now, they're not. These two are my friends, but I can say I'm closer with the other one. But now, I think if we really are that close. I mean, if we were, I would have told her sooner. (Well, she knows now.)

There was this one time a group of friends and I were talking about another friend. Albeit, not in a nice way. Then a friend in a group pointed out that if we were friends with the other one not present, he didn't see why we wouldn't tell that guy what was on our minds. We all fell silent. The guy was right, and we were bad friends for it.

Back to the point, if you're close friends you should tell them. There's a catch though, the other girl and I are  friends too, so should I have told on her? Things like these make you have to decide on where your allegiances lie.

And I chose to be silent, and be an observer. Laughing at jokes from both sides.

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The war rages on..

Funeral For a Lover

A death of a friend, a lover leaving you, these are all pretty sad things. Things that can make one cry. And after watching someone in an emotional moment, I realized that I've never actually felt sad and cried about something.

The two things mentioned above, I've been through. And at my age, it's uncommon to have a friend as young as you just fade away. My friend died of bone cancer which I've heard is the most painful kind of it. I don't actually know, but I'd imagine any type of cancer is pretty bad. During the final months of existence, we, of course, were optimistic he'd pull through after he went to China to get his operation.

The last conversation I had with him was when I saw him log-in in his YM account. And we chatted for a while. He had told me that his pain limited him to only some things, like typing with only one hand -- in which he did. During this time, he was in China and I was at home, not worried at all about his cancer.

Time went by, and he was back in the Philippines. He was weak. And to my knowledge, he couldn't get out of the house because he probably couldn't. One night, I was at a friend's house. My friend got a phone call telling us that our friend had succumbed to his disease. In that instant, we stopped playing. One thing I regret was not visiting when I had the chance. Some friend I am.

We went to his wake and I saw my friend just break down. He was the closest to our friend who'd just died. And again on the day of his burial, when he spoke in the eulogy. During the eulogy, I teared up, hearing all those stories about how he lived. Every year on All Souls' Day, we visit him.

When I was 18, not too long ago, I had a girlfriend. Long story short, I was rebound. The relationship didn't last very long. I'd rather not dwell on the topic because frankly, I'm still a little pissed on how that all went. When we broke up, I felt angry. Not sad, but angry. Since then, it's just a little annoying that I see her every once in a while at school.

So, I am either only teary-eyed or just angry. Are those the only two emotions I possess? Of course, those aren't the only emotions I have. But these get me thinking, will I ever feel what it is to be really sad? What it means to have a friend die at such an early age? What it means to have a lover leave you? Or are these the right kind of feelings to have in these kinds of situations -- get teary-eyed or angry?

Is it?

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Rest in Peace, Aaron So.