JTA Musings 2: Once in my College Life

     The the day I knew I was accepted into the program, my thoughts were full the happy fact that dude, I'm going to study abroad. I'm excited at the idea of THE hell semester looming ahead, where I'm going to be struggling with 5 subjects with requirements that seem to have the same deadline. And I'm also excited of the idea of having my hell semester while I'm part of the core team of one of Ateneo's biggest events.

     "If I could pull this off, God what an ego booster!". Hahaha JK.

     The month of April was all about eagerness and anticipation. I'm excited to do my first homework. I'm excited to go to the first organization meeting. I'm excited to meet my fellow JTA coursemates. I'm treasuring every single moment of my JTA sem because I know that at moments like these, time just seems to be flying really fast.

     May is the gloomier one, and this is also the time where I start to panic a little because June's near ahead. The thought of turning 19 -Wow. Seems like yesterday I was just 18! But on the academics stuff, May is where we're starting to work on the first part of our group projects -and this was hard because we still got that not-really-doing-anything-much-yet hangover from April. And what delights bothers me is going to school when the regular semester has already ended -which means no human traffic HAHAHA especially in the SEC walk. :))

     June. Before I knew it, we're already halfway through the semester. @.@ And this is the first time in my entire life where I studied on the eve of my birthday! How cool is that. Really, when you're studying and too preoccupied with all those org and academic stuff, you can't help it but feel less excited than usual for your birthday. One year older? Ok, no big deal *back to philo readings*. BTW, at first I found it odd to be going to school with people around already. Hahaha May hangover :))

     July. THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. HELL. This is the month where I'm almost already near to tears out of frustration. July is when I'm already expecting myself to breakdown any moment. July is the month when I bummed with Korean series the night before our final marketing pass because I seriously needed a break or else. Imagine going to the extent of telling yourself "This will all be worth it in the end" just to keep yourself going on and away from the thoughts of giving up. :)

     If I've started the sem with anticipation, I think I'm ending this one with hesitation. The day a friend of mine contacted me regarding joining this year's dance competition in September was the day I was forced to acknowledge the things/PEOPLE I will badly miss while I'm out there braving the Jang Geun Suk's homeland. Now I understand why some friends of mine prefer to forgo this opportunity despite being a once-in-your-college-life opportunity. Because in place of this you will also miss moments and people which could also happen once in your college life.

      Am I talking about backing out or regretting joining the program? No, and I really hope this would still be my answer by the time I get back in December. When I get there, I may be scared of opening my Facebook homepage and seeing tagged photos of my friends who are also having the time of their life with each other. I am also scared of losing my close friends: what if we will not be as close as before? Lastly, I'm scared of being homesick. No matter how many times our lecturer tell us that homesickness can now be cured with Skype and Facebook, I beg to disagree. Facebook, YM! and Skype, prove me wrong then! :)

      Go online [always while you can]. Write on their walls. BUZZ them. Send them emails. Give effort. Or else you might get used to the momentary life without them [which is not cool btw]. And they will get used to the few days without you.

      And I bet you don't want that.

Heartbreaker

Just a thought. There are two types of heartbreakers.

Yes, you read it right. Two.

     The first type would be the easiest to spot. The natural heartbreaker. At first he's just another pretty face in the crowd but then give him time and he'll end up being every woman's object of affection. How did he do it? It's really at first all about the looks (admit it or not you'll always first notice someone through his face [and body] value), the talents he can brag about PLUS his being friendly with you. And actually it ends up he's rather too friendly to you. He calls you out of nowhere only to ask "How are you?" and when you insist on asking why did he call you he would just reply "Answer me first, how are you?" He invites you to hang-out, parties and other crazy things just like a close friend -and you've just met him. If you ask me, I only see guy friends of mine exert this kind of effort to girls who they really really like.

      And yeah, when you just can't help it and ask this guy "Do you like her?". Surprise surprise! He'll respond with a "No, I'm really just friendly."

     OHH. HOW KUPAL OF HIM.

     But for the second type of heartbreaker, he is the guy you will never have for the reason that his heart will not [or maybe will find a hard time] be able to like you in that way. This guy's naturally friendly and ,take note of this, so unlike the first type of heartbreaker where his friendliness bothers you and makes you wonder whether he's hitting on you. This guy's a good company, talented, kind, always looks out after his friends and he's got a good humor also. And yeah, he always shares his baon with his friends. Can we consider him a boyfriend material? Why not.

     And when he finally admitted that he's not who we think he is, girls' heart sank [including mine haha jk] for reasons you-know-what.

     And when friends tell him, "Grabe, sayang." or "A lot of girls actually like you.", he would feel sad because he knows he has really no intention of disappointing or hurting someone. "Ayoko nang makakasakit", he would say.

     And from this point I bet you would already know how Heartbreaker #1 would react to compliments about girls swooning over him.

     So I guess by now it's clear who would I prefer from the two to get my heart broken with :))

     I am proud to know someone who feels bad because has no intention of hurting people who just can't help but like him as a guy. And I am really lucky to have met someone who doesn't really care how many girls who got their hearts broken because of him since basically he is a natural heartbreaker. He just can't help it HAHA. :D

     AND I REALLY THOUGHT STUFFS LIKE THESE ONLY HAPPEN IN MOVIES. :)

Gaga Lovin'

I really love how Gaga's  voice always sounds better in live performances as compared to her music videos. And  I think her performances aren't complete without her playing the piano. Cool. I envy her talent.



And her choreography is just so catchy which makes you wanna learn it. Especially the Telephone and Alejandro dance :)

JTA Musings 1: Preserving my Sanity

     10 days to go till my 1st JTA semester ends.

     (cliche ahead) Seems like yesterday when my first day of JTA sem started and now here I am, struggling with the requirements from papers to presentations to long exams. Now I understand why JTA sem can be such a hell -juggling with four major subjects and one tough core subject! That's for the record. Yet as for my situation, pairing up JTA with Recruitment Week, well you could imagine fusing a week-long school event with your academics O.O But that's another story! I'll share it here next time [when I will finally have my free time back again, after this sem ends!]

     Back to JTA sem. I could still remember having a bet with my blockmate for whoever will breakdown first, loses. Haha. I personally pictured myself giving up on my requirements and just end up crying. But surprisingly, I haven't reached that level yet. Even during the Recruitment Week [which was my personal bet] when we would report to school 6am everyday (OMG that really was torture for me) and with all the piled-up quizzes and requirements which I temporarily neglected, I was still fine, I didn't breakdown.  Good for me! :)

     So here's a short list of what probably kept me sane these past few [hell yeah] months:

     KOREAN STUFF. I know some people would roll their eyes at me, thinking that Korean stuff is crap, listening to songs and watching dramas in a language which you yourself don't understand. Yes but what can I do I don't mind listening to songs which I can only comprehend a very few words and definitely I don't mind watching Korean series -duh that's why there's such thing as subtitles! Watching series like these really keep you sane especially when serious school stuff are eating you up and taking most of your free time. Though I felt guilty watching these stuff knowing that there's so much to do and so little time, I feel happy squeezing these stuff in my free time and I still manage to do everything on my checklist. So for this JTA sem, I'm proud to finish THREE dramas! :D

Personal Preference  

Another story with a gay theme haha

 

Full House

I love the Three Bears song! I shall learn it in Korean :D

My Girl

I think this is my favorite among the three :)

     So if you wanna know more about Korean dramas, click here and for online series, MySoju and Dramafans are my bestfriends.

      Also, Taeyang's smooth dance moves and sexy voice also did the trick and helped kept me sane -other way around? :). He's like Korea's Justin Timberlake, although he's short. Toinkz. And his performances tend to get a bit steamy to the level that one of his concerts was strictly off limits to minors :D

     Here's the music video of one of his songs. And the dance version is really worth embedding here :))

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     FOOD. I've been eating quite a lot so I won't be surprised if someone will say that I've gained weight. I can't spare an hour for jogging or any other exercise.Not to mention that I'm an emotional eater. TSK. So screw those test results that made me eat happy food which are basically Korean ice cream ,chocolates, bananaque, Hong Kong stir-fried noodles, Wicked Oreos, frozen yogurt, burger, seafood and etc. :)

     FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I really think I'm screwing up my social life because of this semester and I'm pissed about it. I can't believe I'm postponing catching-up talks, hang-outs, whole day bonding 'till the 22nd! I'm such a bad friend and I really feel bad about it.  Still, weekly dinners and lunchtimes with friends, texts from my dad and wake-up calls from my mom are also one of the things that kept me sane this semester. Yeah!

     FACEBOOK. Of course.Seeing group photos where I'm tagged kind of comforts me from the screwing-up-my-social-life thing :D

     MOVIES. I'm looking forward to so many movies that I really can't wait to say goodbye to this stressful sem!

     SLEEP. Really I'm surprised that up to this time I'm still able to get enough sleep. I'm sure I'm not slacking off. Maybe sleepless nights was just an exaggeration? Or it could be overrated.. Or maybe I just couldn't hear my alarm no matter what. :)) 

     KOREA. Though this may not be my first choice, yet I'm really excited to go abroad that we even already made a partial list of the things to do when we're there :D :D So please, South Korea, don't fail me. just make friends with the North and everything's good.

     last but not the least ...

     PAUL THE OCTOPUS. I keep seeing the word 'octopus' or 'pusit' in my FB news feed that I can't help but google what's the fuss all about. Oh, it's about a psychic octopus of the World Cup. Coincidence or not, funny how this Octopus managed to be 100% accurate in his world cup predictions. Some critics say he's just a lazy octopus going for the box nearest to him. Yet some even say that Paul, just like other sea creatures, is going for the box with the flag attached to it that has the brightest colors (red, yellow, shades of orange, etc). Still, Paul gets death/dinner threats. :))Whatever. His predictions are as accurate as J. K. Rowling's Professor Trelawney. Paul's the New Nostradamus, haha. In the finals, Paul predicted Spain, yes the one with the box nearest to him and the tank and the one with the most striking flag. And guess what, Spain won. And Spain's flag with Paul the King is a winner :)) Congratulations, Spaniards! and special mention to Andres Iniesta, the guy who kicked the ball towards Spain's victory :)

Paul, the Unofficial King of Spain

    2 minutes 'till 3am and I still haven't started on my Final Philo paper which is due 3 days later. And I still haven't studied for my Orals too. And I still haven't touched my Finance book. Really, I should just click the 'Save Now' button and time to go back to reality. No use escaping from it, and I have to wake up 5 hours later for our mock presentation practice! For what it's worth, I think this year is gonna be a good one. *crossed fingers* I really can't wait to cross out all the days in my countdown till 22! So Ingrid, Basyah! Aja Aja! Korea here I come! :)

* photo credits to dramafans.org and koreandrama.org and Yahoo Sports