Grad School Is Fun
December 13, 2009So far grad school is a blast! After a few weeks I already have good friends among my classmates.
And wonderful camaraderie with the rest of the Master in Communication Society members.
Perhaps it is because we are all more self-confident now? More self-assured?
I can’t be sure, but I think I am the oldest of all my classmates, although I don’t think I look it. 
When we were introducing ourselves they would mention the year they graduated from college and most of them said “two thousand and …” so … ’nuff said. 
Lectures in all my classes are done in reporting style, which forces us, the students to do a lot of research. I don’t mind it. I actually think we learn more this way, especially during the classroom discussions which are always lively.
I feel blessed in having intelligent, friendly, and inquisitive classmates. Looking forward to when school resumes in January.
On tenterhooks and hopeful
December 7, 2009
It is a mere 12 days until we find out who wins the Canon 450D Rebel DSLR Camera in the Fizzer Twilight contest and, I kid you not, I’m starting to get tense in anticipation. This is why I don’t usually join contests. I fear at times that the stress would kill me.
My highest ranking so far in this contest is #3. Imagine how my heart dropped when I got home last night and found I slid down to #5! Two new players appeared out of nowhere! And somehow they were able to get 400+ people to vote for them in mere hours when it has taken me days to get 200+ people to vote for me. How did they do that?
I’m hoping it is some sort of illegal anomaly so that I could retain my original place then I will just have to worry about beating the votes of 2 other people. I’m also hoping that the committee find something wrong with the entries of #1 and #2, hehehe. I see it, I don’t know why they don’t.
Friends, please, please, please help me win! Vote for me. Oh, and it would really help if you give me 
Help me get my Christmas wish
December 2, 2009
Growing up there is one gadget that I remember wanting more than any other. No, it’s not the phone, and it isn’t the computer either (personal computers were not commonplace until much later). The one gadget I wanted most was a camera. And not just any camera, I wanted an SLR (single-lens reflex) camera.
I love taking pictures. For me there is greater joy in being behind the camera than in being in front of it. Back in the days of analog photography I always looked forward to picking up my contact sheets/prints from the film developer and hoped fervently that I got more good shots than bad. Now that’s it’s the new millennia, SLRs have evolved into DSLRs (”D” for digital) and seeing the results of my attempts is almost instantaneous thus making me more eager than ever to own a decent camera.
This month I have the opportunity to win a Canon EOS 450D Rebel XSi Digital Camera complete with lenses, but I need your help to win this prize. I’ve joined the Twilight Saga photo contest on Fizzer.ph and the person who receives the most number of votes wins!
For my Twilight inspired photo I had the choice of going ethereal (angelic), wolfish, or vampish. I opted for ethereal. (I’ve never been a Goth girl so I fear I won’t be able to carry off the dark, menacing vamp look, hehehe.) Like I said, I went for ethereal — wind blowing through my hair, an expectant and wistful expression on my face, as if breathlessly waiting for my wolf-man to return. Yeah, you read it right; I said wolf-man, not vampire. Call me weird, but I’ve always been on Team Jacob from the time I read the books more than a year ago. I’m not denying Edward’s old world appeal, mind you, I just like my man warm and cuddly and rippling with the muscles.
For me to have any chance at winning this wonderful prize I desperately need your help, and this is how you can give it to me:
- You have to be a member of Fizzer.ph (http://www.fizzer.ph). If you are not yet a member then please do sign up. It’s free! Fizzer is a new local social networking site, so don’t worry about getting spammed or sent viruses by it. It would, perhaps be comparable to Facebook but with less features at the moment.
- Go to http://www.fizzer.ph/#competitions/twilight and vote for me by clicking on the VOTE button below my picture and name.
It’s that easy!
Perhaps you would like to join the contest yourself? If you do, then you need to know that the rules for joining the contest are very strict.
- Contestants need to be a member of Fizzer.ph
- The photo entry has to be Twilight inspired, meaning it should be vampish, wolfish, or ethereal.
- The photo should be exactly 382 by 500 pixels.
- The photo should not be posted in other social networking sites.
Contest ends on 20 December 2009 at exactly 10am.
I will really, really appreciate all your votes. Thank you, friends, in advance, for my Christmas gift! Hope you like my pic, too. 
Empowered
March 9, 2009
I am woman.
I am strong. I am invincible.
I am a goddess!
Independent. Self-reliant. Assured.
Capable. Skilled. A match for any man.
Pain is no stranger to me.
I have known pain so great it could have killed me.
And yet I survived and stand before you whole.
I have swallowed the bitter pill
Of rejection and disappointment many times.
Apathy, indecision, self-doubt
Self-recrimination, insecurity, loss of pride
But worst of all … helplessness.
Worthless, pitiful
A shadow of the person I used to be.
But no more.
I am strong. I am invincible.
I am a goddess!
And yet … I am human
And can’t help but feel.
I am vulnerable but I will overcome.
I feel pain, but I will endure.
I care … and that will never change.
Earth mother
Nurturer …
I’m a chameleon, ever changing
To fit my surroundings
To be what you need me to be.
Mother, sister, daughter
Boss, nurse, lover, wife, friend …
I am woman
I am a goddess!
Hear me roar!
Adieu, Ricky
April 23, 2007
18 April 2007 - Our friend Ricky leaves us and journeys to his place in the kingdom of heaven.
21 April 2007 - We, his friends, and his family bid him a final farewell.
Looking at the picture on the right (taken outside the crematorium on Manila Memorial where Ricky was then being cremated with his son Rocky) I find myself thinking, "if only Ricky could see us now." But then who is to say he wasn't watching us at the time? And smiling with us while we reminisced about all the times we spent together on VA and NWA activities. I bet he was chuckling at the anecdotes about the "lap dance of death" from his "victims".
Yes, death is a sad event, and yet we choose not to wallow in our friend's death but rather would celebrate the life he has lived. Ricky has touched so many lives and has been a positive influence to so many people that it seems impossible to believe he won't be there to joke around with. Even talking about him in the past tense seems wrong.
Ricky, someday, we will all join you up there, and when we do, we will party geek-style — with a convention to top all conventions!
This may seem inappropriate but Ricky was a big fan of Monty Python so I would like to share some lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail which I found highly amusing.
Dingo: You must spank her well, and after you are done with her, you may deal with her as you like… and then… spank me.
All: And me. And me too. And me.
Dingo: Yes. Yes, you must give us all a good spanking.
Dingo: And after the spanking, the oral sex.
Galahad: Well, I could stay a bit longer…
To quote Dr. McCoy, "In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that… and perhaps more, only one of each of us." There can be only one Ricky Sunico and we are privileged to have known you, Ricky.
Safe journey, Ricky, and adieu!
