So anyway. As I said in my last post, work has begun! I’ve been working for 2 full weeks (well, not really, what with the holiday (Happy Lunar New Year!) and the three-day seminar thing we had last week, I’ve actually been “working” for only 6 days. Which is ridiculous! It feels like it’s been months, not because it’s tedious or boring, but because things are going so fast! I’m still in training, so rather than “working,” it feels more like I’m in school. Everyone is super nice so it feels like being part of one big happy family. It’s been great. Tiring, but great.

Well, enough about that! I’m going to be working for a long long time, and I don’t want every single one of my posts to be dragging accounts of life at work. Most likely it will go something like “Wake up, go to work, have lunch, continue work, go home.” Copy and paste a hundred times, and you’ll have my life story.

I’ve been watching “Sherlock“! As a kid, I’ve always loved reading the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Doctor Watson, especially how Sherlock Holmes’s amazing mind works. It’s fascinating to see him make those connections that I would never have thought of. The British TV series “Sherlock” brings him to life in the 21st century, which makes it even more awesome, because imagine Sherlock’s analytical skills coupled with the use of technology! Add some amazing acting, funny yet still moving character interactions, plus of course, those super sexy British accents, and you have one brilliantly crafted show. The only part about it that sucks is that there’s so little of it! Only 6 episodes so far (although episodes are around 90 minutes each), and we’ll all have to wait another year for the next one.

And if you’re watching it too, I still have The Reichenbach Fall to go, so DON’T SPOIL >:(

January

• In the middle of our “thesis” project, Season Berry
• Went on immersion to Pililla, Rizal, where I got to spend a weekend with Hapinoy nanay, Tita Carmela and her lovely family
• Weekly Manang’s dates with Jes and Gail (and occasionally Angela) <3
• Auditioned for Blue Roast, which was fun, and we were actually not that bad. XD

February

• Did a report on Japanese food for Japanese food culture class. Best class ever <3 <3 <3
• Had a sudden urge to get myself a guinea pig because of this photo. The idea never came to fruition.
• Presented for the legendary Theo prof, Sir Bobby Guev, who liked our report. Totally worth all those sleepless nights!
• Watched the BlueRep play “Stages of Love” for Valentine’s. Not really.
• A-Stat Elections Week… which also meant the end of our term as officers. It was fun while it lasted!
• Started a Japanese food blog for Japanese food culture class! http://livingjapanese.wordpress.com/ Fun!
• Exams ended for everyone else but me, who still had to go to school for Eco (which I did manage to ace, so oh well!)

March

• My birthday! I don’t remember what happened exactly.
• Blue Roast! The “graduation” party where we got to eat “roast” calf (thus the name), and also received a “blue rose” (Ateneo is so punny) which we were supposed to give to the person who touched our lives the most during college. Took it home and kept it in a milk tea cup for two days ) More importantly, got a photo with Fr. Dacanay and Fr. Nebres (separately. If I had a picture with both of them together, the world would explode).
• My friends graduated! :’)

April

• Went to Singapore, one of my dream destinations! Met up with some friends from JTA as well!

May

• Bummed my butt off
• Also met up with my neighbor Bless to swim!

June

• Back to school, all by myself. But surprise surprise! Met so many new friends and my supposedly loner sem became the most unexpectedly fun sem yet.
• Had some really interesting classes such as Japanese and Korean languages, Marketing Communications, and Financial Derivatives. I think I learned more in this semester than all my previous semesters combined. (Not really, but that’s what it felt like, at the time.)

July

• School is boring. Nothing to report.
• Actually, only because I wasn’t very active on Facebook so I now have absolutely no idea what was going on at that time.
• Camp Math planning, probably.

August

• CAMP MATH! Crazy, crazy month. Every spare minute was spent planning and preparing, I have no idea how, but we did it. Something I will never forget.

September

• Post-project depression. Suddenly, staying at home with nothing to do became a bad thing.
• Wasted my life away on Monopoly Deal sessions with practically everyone I meet ) 2 to 3 hour games were the norm.

October

• Began watching My Little Pony. Yes, this is a life event, okay?
• Started playing modern designer board games. Awesome!
• Made a scrapbook for Korean class! YAY!
• Successfully conqured the last (and possibly worst?) hell week of my college life!!! 11 major requirements over a 2 week period? Nuts!
• GRADUATED!!! (And it wasn’t even as lackluster as I thought! Got to have my own special “celebration” thanks to really great friends )
• Started bumming again.

November

• AMS Leadership Training Seminar. I wasn’t the one being trained on leadership, but it was a memorable experience nevertheless. How can it not be, when we had to cook and wash dishes for 35 people?
• Bum bum bum, job hunting, bum bum bum. Spent so much time commuting that I finished an entire Harry Potter audio book in a few days’ time.

December

• GOT A JOB! (Parang Sims lang haha!)
• Met with plenty of good friends, had plenty of good food!

And that marks the end of my year. It had its ups and downs, but I’ve grown so much as a person and I wouldn’t want to change a thing.

It’s been fun, 2011. 2012, here we come!

I don’t think I’ve ever posted food photos here, and what better day to start than today! It’s Blog Action Day and the topic is food.

Before I begin with the food photos, all of which I have never posted on The Lunch Buddies before (if only because I’ve forgotten), I’d like to give a simple message so that this post is not just a photo dump: Don’t waste food! My heart breaks every time I see someone leaving behind food and dumping it into the trash. We’re currently facing a bleak future where our energy resources will be completely depleted, and it’s our duty as human beings to save the planet so that the future generations can enjoy it as much as we do. So much energy goes into producing food, and when we throw it away, all that energy is used for nothing, when it could have gone into other more useful things. Just because you pay for it doesn’t mean that you have the right to waste it! Money is not going to save our planet! Every time you decide to leave behind food in a restaurant, think about all the things that went into that dish, where those ingredients came from, how much energy was used in creating it, and remember that all of that will be wasted as well.

Finally, the food photos! And don’t worry, I didn’t leave a single gram of any of this!

Bon Appetit!

Xocolat – Oriental Chicken Salad

Makan Makan Singapore – White Chai Tow Kway (Radish Cake)

Makan Makan Singapore – BBQ Wings

Golden Fortune – Beef Balls

Golden Fortune – Hakaw

Peanut Butter Company – BBQ Wings w/ Rice

Xocolat – Xocolat Chicken Pasta

Xocolat – Pork Belly

Flaming Wings – Smokey BBQ Chicken Tenders with Ranch Dressing

Xocolat – Frozen “Hot” Xoco

Cocktales – (I have no idea what this is called but it had melon, mango and bananas in it.)

Anybody? No? Just me? Okay.

It’s not that I have terrible friends with no sense of humor, but there’s just something so quirky and likable about TV characters that make me want to be like them. There’s probably a sitcom out there with a group of friends similar to my own, with a person in my situation, but I don’t want my life on screen. It’s too real and too raw, and I would probably end up depressed because oh hey, TV Me is solving all of her problems while still looking fabulous and getting a boyfriend to match, while I sit here watching TV. No! I want to watch a group of people with antics so zany and hilarious and so totally different from my life because I don’t want to be me, I want to be someone else.

I’ve been watching New Girl, a new sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel, and I’m like, “Oh wow, why is she so pretty and so adorable and so perfect and why does she get to hang out with all these guys who just love her and would do anything to keep her from getting hurt, and… why am I not like that?”

I have issues. Is this a sign of insecurity? Probably. I’m going to go study now.

(Yes, I do realize that somewhere up there, I’ve left behind my original topic and moved to another one but whatever.)

Somehow, graduating one semester later than everybody else became one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It’s still to early to say, academics-wise, but the friends I’ve met and the memories I’ve made, these are things that I won’t ever, ever forget. What I originally expected to be a lonely and boring semester turned out to be the most unexpectedly awesome one ever.

Today, I received a pleasant surprise, although “pleasant” is certainly a huge understatement. I was just blown away by how much love you’ve given me, despite most of you having known me for just a couple of months. I’m not a very expressive person, but I love you all tremendously and no words can express how I feel right now. Kaya… hearts na lang: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ x infinity!!!

AMS, thanks for the past 4.5 years. Even though I may not be as good in Math as the rest of you, AMS has always been home to me and will continue to be. Because of AMS, I will never be able to write the word Math without capitalizing it.

(Thanks so much to Ted, Jason, and everyone else who planned this and came by today. Sobrang galing! ) Pwede na kayong manligaw! Although next time, Jason, huwag maging masyadong obvious, ha? )

But I have to be realistic. This is Glee we’re talking about, where the plot is just an afterthought and the main point is all the flashy costumes, pretty people, self-deprecating humor and awesome-tastic musical numbers.

Yet although there is probably 99% chance that the show is going to go downhill eventually, who cares? It is so fun, and even if the plot disintegrates halfway through the fifth episode and nothing will ever happen, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have fun anyway.

Glee, don’t disappoint me. Looking forward to seeing you for the next few months! ♥

So, is this a thing, or am I weird for feeling like this? Maybe it’s because I’ve never been good at meeting new people, and it’s always been awkward for me to make new friends. So when I meet someone new and I take a liking towards them, I suddenly want to jump ahead into the best friend zone. Because I understand how that might be slightly (okay, very) freaky for some people, I take it slowly, and I assume, naturally.

But it’s not enough! I end up never becoming close friends with them and we just awkwardly drift apart. And I’m torn, because what if that person was my soul brother/sister, or whatever, and I just totally lost out on that opportunity because of my stupid social awkwardness???

And in conclusion, to you, who are reading this: if I’m being weird and all suddenly friendly, don’t be scared! Let’s be friends! ♥

P.S. Although… now that I think about it, this is probably how a stalker feels.

OVER HERE –> http://charmaineyv.tumblr.com/

Filled will all sorts of pop culture goodness – movies, Harry Potter, K-pop, fuzzy animals, you name it! I don’t post a lot of original stuff, I mostly just reblog, but it’s all stuff I love so if you love the things I love, you’ll probably love my Tumblr.

(I’ve been posting regularly lately, so when you’re bored and there’s nothing here for you to read, go there! )

If you have a Tumblr too, do share! I love checking out people’s Tumblrs, tells a lot about them and their personality.