Debate Tidbits

I am so tired right now. I had my oral argument for my Moot Court class about three hours ago. It went well, and I'm grateful for that. The funny thing (yes, funny now; scary a while ago) was that I'd honestly thought that the oral argument, which is 15% of the grade, was scheduled for tomorrow instead of today. Whew - it's a good thing I'd worked on it over the weekend.

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To my ADS friends who are in law school: guys, you better do Moot Court! I won't be definite about it, but I'm really, really thinking about going for Moot Court next year. Jessup Competition, anyone? Haha, yes, the Gunner dreams. Special mention to John and Jess (Lopez, how are you?!). And also to William.

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Speaking of debate, I was talking to Ray A. how many weeks ago at some party. He said that we should have paired up and gotten ND to fund us for Worlds. I was like, oo nga no, sayang! Yes, we were dreaming (I am oh-so-rusty, friends; I can feel it.), but that would have been fun. I still have two Worlds left. Chances are that I'm not going to use those up though. Too bad Ray's leaving in a few months; we could have made that plan work for this year. Who's hosting Worlds this year, anyway? Oh, when Ray gets back, ask him to do card tricks. No joke, guys. He can do magic, and he can do it well.

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Here's to grand debating dreams.

Looking Back

I couldn't sleep, so here I am, typing something up. It's 1:30 AM on a Sunday morning, and I'm awake. Yuckers. I'm not wide awake, mind. I'm just awake enough not be asleep. And that didn't make sense at all, so let's not follow that thought. Man, I don't have anything to say. Let me think. Okay, so this morning, I came across the journal that I had started in anticipation of my life here at ND. I started it about a little more than a month before I left. It was an interesting read. Same old issues but different characters. It's funny how things turn out.

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I keep a journal for two reasons: 1) I find it therapeutic to ramble and 2) I like reading about me. The first reason is pretty self-explanatory, so I'll go on to the second. And, well, that's pretty self-explanatory too, so let's move on. I guess what I want to say is that, when I read about me, I get the impression that my life is a lot more interesting than I think it is. And I can list all the reasons why, but I won't. I'm tired and sleepy, and I'm so not in the mood.

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I miss having a TV. When I got here, I purposely chose not to get one because I was trying to be good. But the badness came through in other ways, so there went that plan. I remember the DVD marathons that I used to have before - days and days of nothing but movies. Fun, fun times. Those were the days.

I miss Meteor Garden and Buffy the Vampire Slayers (BtVS). Those were awesome series, and I was totally absorbed in both of them. Well, except that I didn't like Meteor Garden II as much as I did Meteor Garden I. And also, I didn't go on to watch Seasons 6-7 of BtVS. Season 6 is when Buffy gets all down about being alive; I didn't think I could stand to watch her whine.

I miss them both, though. Ah, remnants of the lazy life I've left behind.

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I sometimes think of how things would be like if I'd gone on climbing the corporate ladder. I ranked pretty well in my course, and the opportunities were there for the taking. I wonder how things would be now if I'd pursued this management program I'd been accepted in. That was a kick-ass program too - good salary, sponsored training abroad, and solid career advancement opportunity. I guess I'd have been the regular Makati girl - Enterprise building during the day and then Greenbelt 3 at night. And then off to England for training, at some point. It's an interesting thought. I write wistfully now, but I know that if I had to choose all over again, I'd still forego that and pursue law.

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Advertising was a good industry to start my 'business career' in. It's not at all as glamorous as it's frequently portrayed, but it's a good learning experience still. You get to juggle one million tasks and one million personalities - what other job gives you that? It's not for me, though. At least accounts is not for me. I was thinking of shifting to copywriting for a while. The Creative Director of the firm where I worked told me to give him a call if ever I wanted to pursue that. I was flattered as hey when he told me that at my despedida. And grateful too, actually. But yeah, that's one call I'm pretty sure I won't be making.

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Going to bed, take two.

Getting Back to It - Or Pretending To

It's the Sunday before school starts. Yeah, Spring Break's come to a close, and I'm pretty bummed about that. It's time for me to suit up for work again. I've been a horrible student for the past how many hours, really. I had trouble concentrating on the reading for tomorrow, but instead of diligently plodding on and seeking to understand, I blasted lots of upbeat and happy music through my headphones. My objective was accomplished - time passed by, and the readings became bearable. The sad catch was that I don't think I understood much of what I read. I was reading this one case, for example, and I was at the last line when the holding stated something completely different from what I'd understood thus far. When that happened, I stared at the last sentence in disbelief. And then I shrugged and 'read on.' What I don't understand now, I will figure out tomorrow.

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There are tons of stories to tell, actually, so this next section won't be a rant and rave about how boring my life's been so far. It hasn't been boring at all, mind. If anything, it's been almost too exciting to believe. Yes, I exaggerate not. But no details on this public space. I'm a private person, so you'll have to hear the stories from me.

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I was talking to my high school buddy, Abu, last Saturday morning. I'd talked to her about two weeks ago, and I'd said I'd call her back the next day, but something happened the night before and I was too distracted to. Well, that morning, something else happened, and I was too distracted not to call. I was up at the ungodly hour of 830 AM, and I didn't want to wake up any more of the friends that I'd kept up until late (as in really late). Anyway, Abu and I were talking and talking, and it was as though we picked up right from where we left off. If I'm not mistaken, that was during our high school graduation, which was five years ago. The power of friendship. And the beauty of it too.

On that note, I'd like to say that I know I have call "utangs" to Manila friends who are here now. I chalk that debt up to lousy, lousy time management on my part (that useful ogre will just not be tamed). But that said, I know that I will call everyone here eventually. That's a statement of fact. When I do, I hope the time will be right and that fun conversations will flow. Similar sentiments abound for my e-mail backlog. Holy cow, friends, I apologize for the silence. But you guys do know that when I disappear for a while, you can expect novel e-mails that should last you for years. In the meantime, look to this blog to confirm that I am not yet dead.

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The next few months are bound to be exciting. New experiences, important decisions to make, different skills to learn... Yeah, yeah, just practicing my spiel for the Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood audition. That was an awesome show. I liked it a whole lot, and I'd be genuinely offended if you told me anything to the contrary. Well, no, not really. We monkeys have our own bananas, and if you can't see the beauty of mine, then I feel sorry for you because you're blind.

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I want to publish something. The last article I did was on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I had a lot of fun doing that, and I got paid for it too. I haven't written anything in ages. My goodness. No excuses, no excuses. If I'd publish my journal, I'd be rich and famous. But I won't do that. My secrets aren't for you. They'll be revealed to this world when we're all dead. And the world will mourn my passing.

Uncreatively Titled

Dilly-dallying time. I've been staring at the computer screen for how many minutes now, and I'm tired of reading my legal writing. In fact, a while ago, while I was in the middle of editing this paper I've to submit by the end of this week, I laid me down to sleep for a five-minute nap that lasted for three hours. When I woke up from that sleep, I saw the pink of my bedsheet, so I knew I was in my room. For some reason, though, I had it in my head that if I walked out of my room, I would see the rest of my family there instead of a leaf-laden hallway.

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It was snowing when I woke up for the second time today. As the past how many days have been blissfully snow-free, this did not come as a pleasant surprise. I hate snow; I really do. It looks nice and white and pure, but ... well, in the interest of Lent, I won't say what I really think of it. I don't like it at all. I don't, I don't, I don't. Oh well. That's one more thing to complain about.

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For some reason, Natalie Imbruglia gets me right here every Sunday. Her lyrics just speak to me: "Tonight, can I be lost forever/To drown my soul in sensory pleasure" from Beauty on the Fire and "I'm counting down the days tonight/I just want to be a million miles away from here." from Counting Down the Days. (Thanks to Cokelover for the mp3s as well as for the banner, by the way!) Self-explanatory reasons, so let's move on.

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Red Horse, in conspiracy with red and white, mega-whipped my ass two Saturdays ago. Last Saturday, it was J. C. and cotton b. But I was fine then, and I'm fine now. One more time'll make three.

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Why can't spring break start already? I was talking to my sister a while ago, and she said that her school ends on Friday, just like mine does. But when I told her that mine'd end for just a week, she said, "Cham, mine's a real break, as in not just a week." Summertime in Manila. Emergency's over, the beaches await, and the fun's gonna start soon. I want to go home for the summer. But I know that I'll be here.

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I'm drying up here, literally. My hands are red and itchy, and my fingers have the audacity to cut themselves just because I sometimes forget to apply lotion. My goodness. I'll say this for the one-millionth time - it's a really good thing I like me.

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Last thing before I move on to the next dilly-dallying affair: I was thinking of being more thematic in my blog approach. Well, okay, I was thinking of explaining "The Gunner" theme and saying a bit about me and how this blog ties in with that and all that introductory horse that would somehow make for an interesting read. It was a good plan while it lasted.

The Laundry Can Wait

I'm supposed to be editing something right now, but Franz Ferdinand's blasting away, and the laundy bomb is ticking, so I'll put the work off until the one-hour period that the clothes have to bake in the dryer. I've been extremely unproductive today, and I feel really, really good. Okay, I did get my work stuff done - for those of you who don't know, I'll be working as a Research Assistant this summer. Lots of good reasons why, and you can guess at them or get in touch in me and hope I'd tell you. So yeah, there was quite a bit of paperwork that I had to take care of. It was daunting at first, but it's all fixed now, and I'm glad. Why am I talking about work?!

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Let's talk about something else. I got an e-mail from the Father Figure in this place I'm staying. Guess what it was about - Boxelder Bugs that are invading some apartments (not mine; only dust here). Sounds gruesome? Well, click here to see how they look like. And we thought cockroaches were bad. At least cockroaches are monochromatic. Colorful insects are just freaky. The website reminds me of my Constitutional Law professor. He likes making Powerpoint presentations with insects in them. How many classes ago, for instance, we were talking about this case (I can't remember the name.) with a green insect in it (Oh my goodness, I can't remember the insect either.) Anyway, he asked the class what effect that insect had (I think it was a fly) on interstate commerce. The first thing that popped into my mind was how it'd make people stay clear of its habitat-state. My classmate answered that people might flock over there to check the fly out. And yet another classmate answered that the fly affected biodiversity. Different kinds of lawyers with different kinds of answers. I am oh-so-glad that I didn't voice my answer out.

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Just a while ago, I was cracking up because of this trailer. Oh my goodness, isn't it hilarious? It sets my endorphins off like crazy, and I think I'll go to that site instead of the gym when I need to feel happy. But I will start working out when I get to be 700 pounds. I felt so bad/horrified a while ago; I was in a certification class when the conductor said something about morbid obesity and how a 700-pound woman couldn't fit in the elevator in her workplace. Oh dear.

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More than a little while ago, I was downtown, freezing my butt off in the bus station. I don't understand the term "freezing my butt off." It should be something like "freezing my face off" or "freezing my nose off." Or even "numbing my legs off." Well, some things don't make sense to me, and that's fine. A few days back, a friend and I were walking home from the library. I told her that we should get a massage, except that we should get a Thai massage. She repeated the Thai massage phrase, and I knew she thought I meant "thigh massage." That was laugh-out-loud funny. After we laughed about that, she said, "hey, whatever floats your boat." Yeah, whatever does, indeed. But sorry, a thigh massage doesn't do it for me.

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It goes without saying that this site's under construction. Yeah, yeah, I like saying useless things. This blog wouldn't be here if I wanted to keep silent. I make no promises, but I think I'll be posting more often. I just love wasting time. Okay, my wet clothes have been waiting for ten minutes now. Back to the laundry place. Hey, maybe I can catch the last few minutes of American Idol! Okay, I'm out of here.