I've often heard opinions on what college kids do. Apparently, normal college students go out a lot, party as much as possible, and study when they can't avoid it. They slog through college with passing grades because school is boring. Sometimes, they don't even show up for class.

I don't really know how other college kids act. Maybe popular opinion is wrong (which often happens) or it's just a stereotype. But if that's the way things are supposed to be, no thanks. I don't want to get into it. I'd rather be different.

I'm just happy I've ended up with friends who choose to be different too.




We've been doing pretty well so far and thought of going on another escapade. Among other things, we've flown kites and gone to the beach. So what should we do next?


Arn, our resident cook, invited us to taste her lasagna dish. Joni's house happens to be the nearest house to our university, so we drove over with ingredients yesterday afternoon.


Arn's a very happy cook.

Anyway, we all helped out with turning meat, tomatoes, spices, and a baguette into lasagna and garlic bread. I've never cooked lasagna before (my cooking hardly involves the oven) so I found it really interesting. I especially liked the layering bit.








I've always been obsessively interested with how raw food turns into something totally different when cooked. Learning about how the molecules change their behavior when cooked fascinates me. Maybe that led to my inclination in Chemical Engineering?

Back to the lasagna though. Joni has made sure I won't forget this step.


So the lasagna went in the oven. Being highly improvisational, Arn and Cookie didn't bother to time the baking. There wasn't even a recipe.

"We'll just check it from time to time," they said. "The smell tells if it's done."

As long as it isn't burnt, it's fine by me.

And now the garlic bread...




With the lasagna cooking and the kitchen clean, we decided to kill some time. In other words, let's play some Wii.


We laughed a lot, and enjoyed the games. My left arm is a bit sore today though.


The games came to an end with the lasagna perfectly baked. We had to eat after all.


And so ends another adventure. Times like these remind me to be grateful for the things I have, and the people I care about. I'm glad God put people in my life who don't need to smoke, drink, or do risky things to have fun.

It's cool being different.



Note: Apologies for the lateness of this post. A typhoon swept by my country and disconnected our internet connection for a while. It's back now though, and I'm blogging once more!

Technology's a funny thing. It's changed so much of what we do. Everyone would agree that the way our parents, their parents, and the rest of our forefathers lived is a far cry from the way we live today.

Like last Wednesday. I was in school --- no more summer vacation, you understand --- and had just sat through a Philosophy class. We had an hour-long break, and my classmates pulled out iPods, mobile phones, and other gadgets. Most memorable was the group of guys glued to a tiny television and rooting the Boston Celtics on in the fourth quarter of Game Six.

What the heck, I was rooting for them as well. I'm thrilled they finally won the championship!

But moving on, that pretty normal scene made me think about how dependent people are on technology today. Even me, for that matter. I don't leave home without my two mobile phones --- not unusual in my country --- and an iPod. I read books online, and I download study material my professors e-mail me. I draw, paint, blog, and mind-map on my computer as well.

It's just crazy.


I still do a lot of things sans computer though. For instance, I'm more comfortable planning my schedule on a generic planner from the bookstore. I still draw in my sketchbooks and write in a journal by hand. I continue using Postits to fashion my To-Do lists for the day.

And my favorite thing in the world is going through a book on a rocking chair in our home library. I love the way I can turn a page, the way the words look on the paper, and the quiet atmosphere. I love how I can stay engrossed for hours (or until my dog steals one of my slippers).

But most of all, I love how reading the old-fashioned way reminds me that "techie"-ness isn't the be-all and end-all of existence. Just because all these bits and pieces of machinery make my life easier doesn't mean they should be my life. There are lots of things they could never replace: enjoying nature, talking face-to-face with family and friends, playing with my dog, and especially my relationship with God.

I think that's just pretty cool.



My cousins / pseudo-siblings are lounging about the bedroom as I type out this post. They're playing with the dog, trying out cartridges in our old Game Boy, and singing modified nursery rhymes. I can't help but laugh as I listen to them.


This brings to mind a conversation we were having a few weeks back. It all started when KD and Chrisy --- two of my cousins in case you were wondering --- decided to play mancala at lunchtime.

Ken, KD's big brother, then comes in from their house next door to make KD eat lunch with him.

"You're playing now?" Ken asked. KD looked up from where he was crouched on the floor.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?" KD answered. Jonny (Chrisy's brother) and I just watched them as we inhaled large amounts of spaghetti at Jonny's kitchen table.

"It's lunchtime! Come eat with me!"

"No."

"KD!"

"No, I'm not very hungry. You eat first if you like." KD stopped looking at Ken, and started concentrating on his mancala pieces.

"Please, KD!"

"You go first."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Go first!" Jonny and I were trying not to laugh. Ken started pacing around the mancala players.

"Your turn, KD," Chrisy announced as if Ken wasn't throwing daggers at KD with his glare. KD started putting his pieces into place.

"But I'll feel so alone," Ken admitted. There was an awkward pause before I started humming a sad song.

Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely...

Ken shook his head and left. The game continued without distractions while Jonny and I ate more spaghetti.

The front door then opened. Again.

"I thought you went first!"

"We have hotdogs, KD," Ken said in the manner of the Devil enticing a hapless passerby into sin.

KD shrugged.

"CHEESEDOGS!"

"OK, just eat first," KD said.

"But I might finish the food before you get back!"

"Then I'll eat something else." Suddenly, Chrisy started crowing like a hen that had just laid a basket of eggs.

"I'M WINNING! OH YEAH!"

"Aah!" KD shouted. Chrisy started cackling in a disturbing hag-like manner.

"Aah!" KD repeated. "I'm going home!"

"Yes!" Ken pumped his fist in the air.

"Or maybe not," KD added. "I'll beat you, Chris!"

"KD! Please!" KD looked at his brother in slight disgust. He then sighed.

"I'll be back after lunch," he announced. I just laughed.

"You know," Jonny called after them, "it's fun to eat alone. No one will make you diet."

"Uh-huh," I added. "You can eat everything, Ken!"

"Still!" Ken shot back before closing the front door.

Those same cousins are calling me down for dinner now, so I guess this ends my post. 'Til next time!



Angel, a friend I've had since my kindergarten days, got through a particularly trying year of her Nursing college course. After the special ceremony commemorating said milestone passed by, she decided to celebrate.

By treating a few relatives and close friends to delicious crepes.




They were seriously tasty; I got on a high from all the cream I lapped up.


I couldn't decided exactly which crepe I wanted so I made the shop put together all my favorites. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their dishes as well.




By the time I got to KD for a picture, he'd eaten most of the toppings. I don't recall what he was eating.


It was cool to go out together after not seeing Angel for quite a while. School had taken its toll apparently, but she's happy as can be. So were we; this is free food, after all. *wink wink*

That short friendly foodie adventure was just the thing to end of summer. We laughed, talked, and commiserated over how quick the summer had gone by.

School may be starting again --- it has started, in fact --- but I've got wonderful memories to go over as I go back to studying all over again.



So. The trip.

I headed to Iloilo (another province in our country) for a special Bible conference last week.


It took a bit of time to get used to things. I guess that's the funny thing about the Philippines; every island seems like a whole other world. There are similar styles of dress and buildings, but people speak other dialects and eat in different ways. It was all so fascinating though, and fun to be somewhere new.

The area aside, I made new friends and caught up with a few old ones. The conference itself was also food for thought, and God spoke through it to everyone there.




The conference was about seeking God in our lives. The topics ranged from having faith that God was in control to loving Him because He loves us.

One thing I needed to hear was about the world coming to an end. Scary, but true. The speaker reminded us how the Bible talks about the world coming to an end someday. It doesn't really matter when, but the fact we know it will happen means we should be prepared for it. He likened it to knowing your office building was going to collapse before it actually happened. Would we still go to work if we knew it would happen?

Or would we move to a new office and take everything valuable with us instead?

I thought that made a lot of sense. I mean, everyone knows the world will probably end someday. Prices keep rising --- has anyone filled up their car's gas tank lately and not shuddered about the increase? --- and people keep dying because of hunger, disease and increasingly severe natural disasters. Then there are those scientific findings on water shortage and global warming. It's all got to come to a head somehow. We just don't think it'll crash anytime soon, and life is too busy to think of things like that.

But if we really knew about how God loves us, we'd be crazy not to hold on to Him and invest in what's eternal. The speaker said investing in the world is empty. Say you work to become the richest guy in the world. What then? There's no meaning; that's why the richest people give most of their money away. When you die, you can't take anything with you.

This doesn't mean we all become hermits, of course, and sit around waiting for the sky to fall. It just means we choose to follow Him and do right for Him. We choose to love Him and trust that we'll be with Him someday in the best ending of all.

"If you don't see how much more wonderful God is than the rest of this world," the speaker announced, "then pray that you'll see it. The joy you get from God is so much more than anything else; it'll change your life. But you'll only know what I mean when you've tried it."

I can't write down everything we talked about, but God's love was just so overwhelming. People came back changed for the better. Seriously, I can't believe how different some people I went with are now.

Some have dropped bad habits. Kids have told surprised parents they would listen to them more. Others who were fighting have started getting along. And everyone's just the happiest I've ever seen them. It's pretty cool.

I'm really glad I got to go though I didn't take as many pictures as I'd have liked. I didn't get much down time because of stuff --- like playing violin for the meetings --- I'd promised to do. I did get photos of the cool ceiling in one of our rooms from a friend though.


And an amazing sunset we enjoyed while going back home.


The trip was really awesome, and I'm glad I got to go.



Note: I'm back! But the pictures from the trip aren't ready yet, so thought I'd just post a funny conversation we had on the trip. Take care!


Allie sighed.

"I want to pee with someone," she announced. Daphy (my sister) and I looked at each other.

"Well," I ventured. "You could use that bottle over there if you don't feel like going to the bathroom. I'll volunteer to empty it first." We were on an overnight boat trip for a Bible conference in another part of the country. It was understandable why she didn't feel like using the public bathroom stalls. They didn't even have locks, and I had seen a few cockroaches the last time I used them.

Allie laughed, and hugged the bottle. She mimed sleeping beside the bottle. Daphy just looked at her thoughtfully.

"Seriously, if you really want to go to the bathroom, I could come," I offered.

"I could come too," Daphy added.

"But why would I want to go to the bathroom?" Allie asked.

"To pee," Daphy answered.

"Yeah, we'd go with you," I said.

"But I don't want to pee."

"What do you mean you don't want to pee?" Daphy asked. "You just said so."

"I didn't say I wanted to pee," Allie protested.

"Yes, you did."

"Uh-huh, just now!"

"No, I didn't!"

"You said you wanted to pee with someone!"

"No, I said I wanted to be with someone!"

There was a pause.

"Pee?" Daphy asked timidly.

"No, be. B. B. Beeeeeeee," Allie said. "I wanted to beee with someone. I don't like being alone."

"Oh, she wanted to be with someone," Daphy told me loudly. We thought about the whole debacle in silence.

"So that's why you told me to use the bottle," Allie mumbled.

We all started to laugh.

I've often heard opinions on what college kids do. Apparently, normal college students go out a lot, party as much as possible, and study when they can't avoid it. They slog through college with passing grades because school is boring. Sometimes, they don't even show up for class.

I don't really know how other college kids act. Maybe popular opinion is wrong (which often happens) or it's just a stereotype. But if that's the way things are supposed to be, no thanks. I don't want to get into it. I'd rather be different.

I'm just happy I've ended up with friends who choose to be different too.




We've been doing pretty well so far and thought of going on another escapade. Among other things, we've flown kites and gone to the beach. So what should we do next?


Arn, our resident cook, invited us to taste her lasagna dish. Joni's house happens to be the nearest house to our university, so we drove over with ingredients yesterday afternoon.


Arn's a very happy cook.

Anyway, we all helped out with turning meat, tomatoes, spices, and a baguette into lasagna and garlic bread. I've never cooked lasagna before (my cooking hardly involves the oven) so I found it really interesting. I especially liked the layering bit.








I've always been obsessively interested with how raw food turns into something totally different when cooked. Learning about how the molecules change their behavior when cooked fascinates me. Maybe that led to my inclination in Chemical Engineering?

Back to the lasagna though. Joni has made sure I won't forget this step.


So the lasagna went in the oven. Being highly improvisational, Arn and Cookie didn't bother to time the baking. There wasn't even a recipe.

"We'll just check it from time to time," they said. "The smell tells if it's done."

As long as it isn't burnt, it's fine by me.

And now the garlic bread...




With the lasagna cooking and the kitchen clean, we decided to kill some time. In other words, let's play some Wii.


We laughed a lot, and enjoyed the games. My left arm is a bit sore today though.


The games came to an end with the lasagna perfectly baked. We had to eat after all.


And so ends another adventure. Times like these remind me to be grateful for the things I have, and the people I care about. I'm glad God put people in my life who don't need to smoke, drink, or do risky things to have fun.

It's cool being different.



Note: Apologies for the lateness of this post. A typhoon swept by my country and disconnected our internet connection for a while. It's back now though, and I'm blogging once more!

Technology's a funny thing. It's changed so much of what we do. Everyone would agree that the way our parents, their parents, and the rest of our forefathers lived is a far cry from the way we live today.

Like last Wednesday. I was in school --- no more summer vacation, you understand --- and had just sat through a Philosophy class. We had an hour-long break, and my classmates pulled out iPods, mobile phones, and other gadgets. Most memorable was the group of guys glued to a tiny television and rooting the Boston Celtics on in the fourth quarter of Game Six.

What the heck, I was rooting for them as well. I'm thrilled they finally won the championship!

But moving on, that pretty normal scene made me think about how dependent people are on technology today. Even me, for that matter. I don't leave home without my two mobile phones --- not unusual in my country --- and an iPod. I read books online, and I download study material my professors e-mail me. I draw, paint, blog, and mind-map on my computer as well.

It's just crazy.


I still do a lot of things sans computer though. For instance, I'm more comfortable planning my schedule on a generic planner from the bookstore. I still draw in my sketchbooks and write in a journal by hand. I continue using Postits to fashion my To-Do lists for the day.

And my favorite thing in the world is going through a book on a rocking chair in our home library. I love the way I can turn a page, the way the words look on the paper, and the quiet atmosphere. I love how I can stay engrossed for hours (or until my dog steals one of my slippers).

But most of all, I love how reading the old-fashioned way reminds me that "techie"-ness isn't the be-all and end-all of existence. Just because all these bits and pieces of machinery make my life easier doesn't mean they should be my life. There are lots of things they could never replace: enjoying nature, talking face-to-face with family and friends, playing with my dog, and especially my relationship with God.

I think that's just pretty cool.



My cousins / pseudo-siblings are lounging about the bedroom as I type out this post. They're playing with the dog, trying out cartridges in our old Game Boy, and singing modified nursery rhymes. I can't help but laugh as I listen to them.


This brings to mind a conversation we were having a few weeks back. It all started when KD and Chrisy --- two of my cousins in case you were wondering --- decided to play mancala at lunchtime.

Ken, KD's big brother, then comes in from their house next door to make KD eat lunch with him.

"You're playing now?" Ken asked. KD looked up from where he was crouched on the floor.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?" KD answered. Jonny (Chrisy's brother) and I just watched them as we inhaled large amounts of spaghetti at Jonny's kitchen table.

"It's lunchtime! Come eat with me!"

"No."

"KD!"

"No, I'm not very hungry. You eat first if you like." KD stopped looking at Ken, and started concentrating on his mancala pieces.

"Please, KD!"

"You go first."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Go first!" Jonny and I were trying not to laugh. Ken started pacing around the mancala players.

"Your turn, KD," Chrisy announced as if Ken wasn't throwing daggers at KD with his glare. KD started putting his pieces into place.

"But I'll feel so alone," Ken admitted. There was an awkward pause before I started humming a sad song.

Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely...

Ken shook his head and left. The game continued without distractions while Jonny and I ate more spaghetti.

The front door then opened. Again.

"I thought you went first!"

"We have hotdogs, KD," Ken said in the manner of the Devil enticing a hapless passerby into sin.

KD shrugged.

"CHEESEDOGS!"

"OK, just eat first," KD said.

"But I might finish the food before you get back!"

"Then I'll eat something else." Suddenly, Chrisy started crowing like a hen that had just laid a basket of eggs.

"I'M WINNING! OH YEAH!"

"Aah!" KD shouted. Chrisy started cackling in a disturbing hag-like manner.

"Aah!" KD repeated. "I'm going home!"

"Yes!" Ken pumped his fist in the air.

"Or maybe not," KD added. "I'll beat you, Chris!"

"KD! Please!" KD looked at his brother in slight disgust. He then sighed.

"I'll be back after lunch," he announced. I just laughed.

"You know," Jonny called after them, "it's fun to eat alone. No one will make you diet."

"Uh-huh," I added. "You can eat everything, Ken!"

"Still!" Ken shot back before closing the front door.

Those same cousins are calling me down for dinner now, so I guess this ends my post. 'Til next time!



Angel, a friend I've had since my kindergarten days, got through a particularly trying year of her Nursing college course. After the special ceremony commemorating said milestone passed by, she decided to celebrate.

By treating a few relatives and close friends to delicious crepes.




They were seriously tasty; I got on a high from all the cream I lapped up.


I couldn't decided exactly which crepe I wanted so I made the shop put together all my favorites. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their dishes as well.




By the time I got to KD for a picture, he'd eaten most of the toppings. I don't recall what he was eating.


It was cool to go out together after not seeing Angel for quite a while. School had taken its toll apparently, but she's happy as can be. So were we; this is free food, after all. *wink wink*

That short friendly foodie adventure was just the thing to end of summer. We laughed, talked, and commiserated over how quick the summer had gone by.

School may be starting again --- it has started, in fact --- but I've got wonderful memories to go over as I go back to studying all over again.



So. The trip.

I headed to Iloilo (another province in our country) for a special Bible conference last week.


It took a bit of time to get used to things. I guess that's the funny thing about the Philippines; every island seems like a whole other world. There are similar styles of dress and buildings, but people speak other dialects and eat in different ways. It was all so fascinating though, and fun to be somewhere new.

The area aside, I made new friends and caught up with a few old ones. The conference itself was also food for thought, and God spoke through it to everyone there.




The conference was about seeking God in our lives. The topics ranged from having faith that God was in control to loving Him because He loves us.

One thing I needed to hear was about the world coming to an end. Scary, but true. The speaker reminded us how the Bible talks about the world coming to an end someday. It doesn't really matter when, but the fact we know it will happen means we should be prepared for it. He likened it to knowing your office building was going to collapse before it actually happened. Would we still go to work if we knew it would happen?

Or would we move to a new office and take everything valuable with us instead?

I thought that made a lot of sense. I mean, everyone knows the world will probably end someday. Prices keep rising --- has anyone filled up their car's gas tank lately and not shuddered about the increase? --- and people keep dying because of hunger, disease and increasingly severe natural disasters. Then there are those scientific findings on water shortage and global warming. It's all got to come to a head somehow. We just don't think it'll crash anytime soon, and life is too busy to think of things like that.

But if we really knew about how God loves us, we'd be crazy not to hold on to Him and invest in what's eternal. The speaker said investing in the world is empty. Say you work to become the richest guy in the world. What then? There's no meaning; that's why the richest people give most of their money away. When you die, you can't take anything with you.

This doesn't mean we all become hermits, of course, and sit around waiting for the sky to fall. It just means we choose to follow Him and do right for Him. We choose to love Him and trust that we'll be with Him someday in the best ending of all.

"If you don't see how much more wonderful God is than the rest of this world," the speaker announced, "then pray that you'll see it. The joy you get from God is so much more than anything else; it'll change your life. But you'll only know what I mean when you've tried it."

I can't write down everything we talked about, but God's love was just so overwhelming. People came back changed for the better. Seriously, I can't believe how different some people I went with are now.

Some have dropped bad habits. Kids have told surprised parents they would listen to them more. Others who were fighting have started getting along. And everyone's just the happiest I've ever seen them. It's pretty cool.

I'm really glad I got to go though I didn't take as many pictures as I'd have liked. I didn't get much down time because of stuff --- like playing violin for the meetings --- I'd promised to do. I did get photos of the cool ceiling in one of our rooms from a friend though.


And an amazing sunset we enjoyed while going back home.


The trip was really awesome, and I'm glad I got to go.



Note: I'm back! But the pictures from the trip aren't ready yet, so thought I'd just post a funny conversation we had on the trip. Take care!


Allie sighed.

"I want to pee with someone," she announced. Daphy (my sister) and I looked at each other.

"Well," I ventured. "You could use that bottle over there if you don't feel like going to the bathroom. I'll volunteer to empty it first." We were on an overnight boat trip for a Bible conference in another part of the country. It was understandable why she didn't feel like using the public bathroom stalls. They didn't even have locks, and I had seen a few cockroaches the last time I used them.

Allie laughed, and hugged the bottle. She mimed sleeping beside the bottle. Daphy just looked at her thoughtfully.

"Seriously, if you really want to go to the bathroom, I could come," I offered.

"I could come too," Daphy added.

"But why would I want to go to the bathroom?" Allie asked.

"To pee," Daphy answered.

"Yeah, we'd go with you," I said.

"But I don't want to pee."

"What do you mean you don't want to pee?" Daphy asked. "You just said so."

"I didn't say I wanted to pee," Allie protested.

"Yes, you did."

"Uh-huh, just now!"

"No, I didn't!"

"You said you wanted to pee with someone!"

"No, I said I wanted to be with someone!"

There was a pause.

"Pee?" Daphy asked timidly.

"No, be. B. B. Beeeeeeee," Allie said. "I wanted to beee with someone. I don't like being alone."

"Oh, she wanted to be with someone," Daphy told me loudly. We thought about the whole debacle in silence.

"So that's why you told me to use the bottle," Allie mumbled.

We all started to laugh.