When Venetians Go Blind, You Get Venetians Blinds!

No pun intended and no offense to the Venetians. This afternoon, I was at SM Makati (a department store), looking for Venetian blinds. My father broke the blinds in my office. The rather irritating thing is that the sales people cannot seem to know what a Venetian blind is!

To add salt to the wound, I was passed on from one sales person to another! I was pointed to this, to that to that , to this direction. What on Earth?!

The sales people in a department store ought to know what and wherever do they keep whatsoever they are selling, right?

To the sales people of SM Makati: Please know everything you are selling. It's a shame not to know anything about something in your (one of your) field(s) of specializations.

In other words, it's utterly demoralizing and stupid not to know what a dinosaur is when you are an archeologist/paleontologist.

Ciao everyone!

Ce Que signifie Il Pour être dix-huit

Greetings everyone! After approximately 3 months and 3 days of Blogging hibernation, I'm here again because it's Open Season yet again! Here's what's up although is down this paragraph :)

Eighteen. Dix-Huit. Basic French lesson on numbers.

What is the significance of the number eighteen? According to my secreatary, wikipedia.org,:

In science:

The atomic number of argon

In religion and literature:

The Hebrew word for "life" is חי (chai), which has a numerical value of 18. Consequently, the custom has arisen in Jewish circles to give donations and monetary gifts in multiples of 18 as an expression of blessing for long life.

In Judaism, in the Talmud; Pirkei Avot (5:25), Rabbi Yehudah ben Teime gives the age of 18 as the appropriate age to get married ("Ben shmonah esra lechupah", at eighteen years old to the Chupah (marriage canopy).

In Ancient Roman custom the number 18 can symbolise a blood relative.

Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 was originally named Catch-18 because of the Hebrew meaning of the number, but was amended to the published title to avoid confusion with another war novel, Mila 18.

There are 18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gita, which is contained in the Mahabharata, which has 18 books. The Kurukshetra War which the epic depicts, is between 18 armies (11 on the Kuru side, 7 on the Pandava).

Others:

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.

In many parts of the world, 18 is the age minimum for purchasing tobacco and alcoholic beverages. It is also the voting age in many countries. During the Vietnam War, Americans could be drafted at an age as low as 18, but were not allowed to vote in most states until they were 21.

A movement spread to lower the voting age, and in 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment extended a guarantee of suffrage to anyone 18 years or older in all states. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in the U.K. and many other nations around that time.

In the United Kingdom, eighteen-year-olds can purchase tobacco, alcohol and pornography, go to war, vote, and model for pornography; (but the age of consent is 16).

In most European countries 18 is the legal driving age without a parent present.

In many countries 18 is the age of majority.

Minimum age at which one can get a full driver's license in many U.S states and Canadian provinces.
Minimum age to drive a car in many countries in the world. See also: 18 certificate, Coming of age

In the United States, it is the minimum age at which one may get a real tattoo.

It is the legal age at which one may gamble in some states in the United States.

In other fields
Eighteen is also:

a 2005 movie directed by Richard Bell and starring Brendan Fletcher and Alan Cumming.

A 2002 album by electronic artist Moby.

The number of holes in a stipulated round of golf

The number of chapters into which James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses is divided

The number of wheels on the most common type of North American tractor-trailer truck, which are hence often called 18-wheelers

The customary percentage to tip a waitress in a restaurant by groups of four or moreThe number of the French department Cher and the Turkish province Bitlis

DVD-18 is double-sided, double-layered DVD format

A Canon error message, see E18 error

In neo-Nazi circles, a code word for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet: A = 1, H = 8.

Android 18, a fictional character in the metaseries Dragon Ball.

18th Street gang, a Hispanic American gang

In some countries the number 18 means blood (relative)

All right. Now to the blog post. Indeed, eighteen has several significances. It's been part of life. In fact, it has been a part of my life. My sister's birthday is December 18th, a friend of mine is born on April 18th, the time now is 12:18 AM (haha) and today, I am eighteen (18) years old. Yes.

Eighteen. Dix-huit. Labing-walo.

Turning 18 today is like turning the giant turnstile of a ginormous vault door in front of me. I have opened the previous door. Here is the next door. I don't know where I am going. But one thing is sure. God is here to guide my way.

I am now allowed to do the things I was prohibited to do. Two sides of the coin. Good and the Bad. I'll choose Good although I know I am prone to slip and do evil things because I am a humble sinner.

I now possess the rights that the world once refused to grant me. The right to vote. The right to watch PG18 movies (Not X-Rated!). The right to have a driver's license and drive a car. The right to be one of the majorities. Yes, I am slowly climbing up the demographic ladder age-wise. With all these rights on a face of a card is another face---obligations, responsibilities and major decisions.

I must be a responsible Filipino citizen on Earth. I must live a blameless Christian life. I must develop myself. I must be better than I was before. Move forward but compile in a book the memories of the past. For I shall understand my present and future if I will look back at my past.

If I may have done bad, inappropriate and sinister things, do forgive me. I apologize to those whom I've hurt. I ask for forgiveness to those whom I've wronged.

I know that the damage has been done. But let us stand up, close the book and look forward and walk towards the horizon of a majestic, wonderful and marvelous future.

I was thinking these past few days, if I commit a crime, my future cellmates will throw me a welcome party.

No. That's one party I will dare miss.

I was apprehended before for jay-walking and was given a reprieve. I will abide by the law for I am a law abiding citizen. I will not commit a crime.

I am now of legal age. There are lots more to do and experience. God is not yet done with me.

I must act more maturely than before. I must observe stricter etiquette than I have been before.

I am now free from the chains of being a child.

Yes, I am now free from the bondage of being a minor.

I strived to reach for the bar. I now reached it and got hold of it. I will soon step on it and later look down on it as reminder of what was a child's life.

I am now an adult. A responsible, mature adult. I am now officially a citizen of legal age. I am now EIGHTEEN.

Ce que signifie il pour etre dix-huit?

(What it means to be eighteen?)

C'est que signifie il pour etre dix-huit...
(This is what it means to be eighteen...)

Work-Filled Vacation

Salut tout le monde! Hi! I'm currently in Calamba City, Laguna for a business meeting. I will not be able to update this site for the next 2 weeks or so due to the work lined-up for me. On Saturday, I will host a birthday party, on Sunday is Summer Youth Camp 2009's Camp Orientation. April-21-24 is the Camp itself and by the end of April or first week of May, I will go to Donsol, Sorsogon for a vacation and a series of business meetings. We might also tape there. So, God bless everyone and enjoy your vacation while I enjoy my work-filled vacation. A tout a l'heure!

P.S. Why does work always haunt my vacation?

Finals

Salut! I apologize for being away for quite some time. Here's why:

Any college student would agree if I tell you that the most dreaded, most cruel part of a year in college is the Finals week of every last term of the academic year. It is the time when everyone is scrambling to finish the projects, papers, theses, research papers and such to meet the fast-approaching deadline. Students constantly remind themselves that after this, all will be fine and it will finally be over. However, there are just some instances when we thought it's over, but in truth, it haven't even begun...

Today is the first day of the dreaded finals week in school. I missed a Quiz in BRANDMA and got over another quiz in ENTREPS. The only thing bothering my mind at the moment (in school) is the Final Exam in QUAMET2 (Quantitative Methods). I've got the next two months off and my series of travels will soon begin.

Any student will tell you that they hate finales. Final exams and such do take its toll to even the brightest student. Yes, they constantly remind themselves that it would soon be over. The only bad thing is, it would start all over again. The good thing is, these dreaded finales will finally come to an end and will soon lead to a flourishing finale.

Quiz No. 1 Answers to Take the Knowledge Challenge!

Bonjour tout le monde! Here are the answers to Quiz No. 1 of Take The Knowledge Challenge! If you haven't yet visited the site, here's the link: http://knowledgechallenge.blogspot.com

BTW, I'll be posting just the answers. The explanations, soon.

1. C. the worst citizens

2. D. Klampenborgen, Denmark
3. A. cats
4. B. Karen McCluskey
5. D. Polo
6. E. Juan Sebastian del Cano
7. B. Mortimer
8. C. Ruby
9. C. 29
10. A. Switzerland
11. B. Chlorine
12. E. California
13. A. Philatelist
14. C. Louis XIV
15. D. 1938

My next quiz is posted here: knowledgechallenge.blogspot.com
I'll be posting the answers to Quiz No. 2 on Monday, as well as Quiz No. 3.
Quiz No. 3's category is Science and Technology, so for those Science whizzes and lovers, watch out for it! Have a great day everyone!

Spelling Bee Recall Post 1

Bonjour tout le monde! So, the other day, that's the 18th of March, I and my father watched
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the RCBC Plaza in Makati. Here's a recall:

In a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", a 9.7. This musical comedy is really hilarious, although there are points of drama. Miss Pinky Marquez was a audience-contestant in this musical. We saw Christian Bautista at the auditorium. Anyway, a lot of extremely bizarre words like hasenpfeffer, one that sounds like "transflukey", capybara, acouchi, Weltanschauung, teonanacatl et cetera were given to the contestants to spell.

I'll have a more detailed recap of the musical, soon. And more words to spell, of course.

Summer Youth Camp 2009: Call of Duty-World at War Post 1

Bonsoir tout le monde!

I invite every youth in the Philippines, especially those who are living in the National Capital Region, more especially those who live in Makati City to join Camp Kabataan's Summer Youth Camp 2009 with the theme "Call of Duty-World at War".

This is a 4-day, 3-night Youth Camp to be held on April 21-24, 2009 (contrary to the poster) at the Peniel Campsite, O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.

The camp's goal is to teach and train young people in the area of leadership, moral values and how to properly connect with other people in a way that is both educational and recreational. The cost of this event is only P400, inclusive of a roundtrip transportation (air-conditioned bus), meals from Tuesday night to Friday morning, the 4-day, 3-night bed accommodations, training materials and insurance. The original cost of this camp per camper is P1630 but because of our local and international sponsors, we are able to lower the amount.

If you are interested to join this exciting, one-of-a-kind, annual event, just send me an email at raisip@apc.edu.ph; comment on this post, or contact me at 09159037243 for more info. Got questions? Feel free to contact me.

This surely is a productive and fun way to spend your summer vacation! So hurry! Contact me and sign-up now!

When Your Father Gets Petulant... It's Indignation

Salut! Have you ever experienced being so angry, you thought of having an outlet for it? Here's mine:

Last week, my father decided to have the house renovated for the nth time. The house I'm currently living in is our ancestral house and is about 60 years old. Last Monday, he hired a contractor and two laborers (Why such a small number of laborers, I don't know why). As I prepared to go to school, the laborers started to work. When I got home by 2 that afternoon, all they finished is a layer of hollow blocks cemented together, without the steel bracing yet. I was infuriated because from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM, that's 6 hours they've been in the house, lunchbreak deducted, they should have by at that time, finished the work of putting up a six by seven foot wall! At 5 PM, Daddy fired the laborers and the contractor.

It is Friday today and every time I look at that less-than-a-foot-wall, I get irritated. The work is not yet done and the appliances, pieces of furniture and stuff that we have in the part of the house that is being renovated, is all over the place! The living room and the guest room that we have is filled with bags of sand and cement. The dining room can no longer be a place where people gather, sit down and eat happily. The dining room is now a place where adults and the elderly wonder whether it is a part of a 5o-year old abandoned house, a haunted house for Halloween, or a yard sale! What on earth is this?! I believe that the bathroom is the only place in our house that is currently presentable.

So, the main point of this ""homily"": Earlier this afternoon, my Daddy scolded me as to how the house looked. He accused me of wrecking and causing chaos and entropy to set in! In the first place, was it I who hired those incompetent laborers? And was it I who decided on venturing into the renovation thingy that is quite uncertain with the results? And was it I who decided where to place the pieces of furniture, et cetera all over the place????? Clearly, my father is being petulant! Don't blame your mistake on me, for goodness' sake!

I played cards (no money involved) with my cousins, niece and neighbor to release my anger. Yes, when I get so irritated and angry, I replace it with a much useful emotion---INDIGNATION.

Have a great night everyone!

Another Update

Salut tout le monde! Forgive me for having a lousy title for this post. It's because of the 'randomnessity' of the events that happened today.

I came to school late. 31 minutes late for my first class, Business Math, in which we have a quiz. A long quiz. The formulas annuity, amortization, mortgage payment and unpaid balances were on the test paper yet I racked my brain trying to figure out the formula and how to get the answers on several questions. I ended up leaving some numbers blank. I just hope I pass the exam.

In Public Speaking 2, we just had a lecture on debate. This, fortunately for us, is the last topic on this course. Unfortunately for us, Sir Fred has to prolong our agony by giving us debate as our Final Exam. The schedule goes through Holy Week. That just hurts.

In Philippine History, we discussed what Sir Argie discussed as the betrayal of the Philippine Revolution. We also discussed the first American occupation in the Philippines via the Battle of Manila Bay and the sinking of USS Maine.

In Brand Management, we discussed Pricing Strategies for goods and services. Our Final Paper and Defense is slated on the 1st of April, or April Fool's Day. Well, that is not a joke. Ms. Jonna's not kidding.

Anyway, after I finish this post, I'm gonna prepare to go to the RCBC Plaza in Makati to watch the Broadway Musical "Spelling Bee". I won two tickets via a contest in Studio 23. I asked several of my friends plus my sister to watch it with me, but they some other things they need taken care of. So I am to watch it with my father. More updates later or tomorrow! Adieu!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bonjour tout le monde! In observance of St. Patrick's Day, my blog will be "wearing green".

Happy St. Paddy's day everyone! It is so annoying to be sick today. Cough and Cold, headache. By the way, the rain poured here in Makati, Philippines this morning. It's weird having rains in Summer. A drizzle would be acceptable, but pouring rain!? It's a downpour! Climate change. Anyway, it started in the wee hours of the morning. Around 4 A.M., I suppose. The weather was so cold this morning that I just slept up to 12:20 noon! Yep. I overslept. This afternoon, after lunch, I planned on taking a nap and before I knew it, I slept for several hours. I woke up at around 6:30 P.M. I'm hoping to kick this illness of mine. We'll be having a quiz on Business Math tomorrow morning and I still have a lot of things needed done. Oh, BTW, I'll be watching a Broadway musical tomorrow at 8PM at the RCBC Plaza. Title's "Spelling Bee". I know this is gonna be fun.

More updates tomorrow! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Day 3 of APC's College Week 2009

Bonjour! Good evening Philippines! Here's another update from Rege.

The third day of APC's College Week was great! Today, we concluded the Season 2 of The Amazing Race Asia Pacific College. The first two days, I was a runner. I recorded the journeys and the agonies of the two teams I followed, on tape. Kuya George and Ate Danica, the first team I followed on tape, were eliminated due to a double elimination. Sir EA and Sir Serge on the other hand, the second team I followed on Day 2, were also eliminated due to a triple elimination. Both teams are really good. Delays just sealed their fate. Today, I am a station/challenge marshal. I handled the Roadblock, Who's got a Good Memory? The teams must transfer ten of the forty pictures that are related to the tasks they've completed the past two days to another table inside the Student Activities Office. In the end, Sir Bryan Reginald (of whom I share my name with) and another professor, I think it's Sir Jake, won the race and went home with two thousand pesos.

Haven't I mentioned that we have Terri Reed, the only Filipina contestant of The Amazing Race Asia 2 as our guest of honor and presentor of contestants in The Amazing Race Asia Pacific College Season 2?

The next main highlight of the day is the game show entitled "Ku-kuwatro ka ba?" (English translation: Will you get a four?). the title is based on APC's grading system wherein 4.0 is the highest grade. 3 teams of 4 professors competed in this game show. It was patterned after a term in APC. They answered 2 long quizzes by using the Moodle, a learning management system. Group 2 won the eliminationround. 4 professors vied for the top spot: Sir Bryan Reginald (yet again), Ms. Virgie, Sir Carl and Sir Calimlim. Eventually, Sir Bryan won the competition, yet again.

Tomorrow, we will be having the 4th Annual Intra-College Quiz Show. Schools will be battling it out for the top honor. I together with two Business Administration students will compete in the said contest.

Which of APC's four schools, SoMA (Multimedia Arts), SoAB (Accountancy and Business), SoE (Engineering), SoCSIT (Computer Science and Information Technology) will emerge victoriously?

I do hope we win this one. We will find out tomorrow. Have a blessed night everyone!

One of The Worst 'Five Minutes' of My Life

Salut! Today is Day 2 of College Week in APC and yes, as the title of this post suggested, I just had, yet again, one of the worst 'five minutes' of my life.

This morning, we had the 2009 APC Speech Olympics. First up was the 2009 APC Debate Society Annual Debate. My blockmate Glenn together with Chloe and another guy won the competition. Congratulations Glenn and Chloe!

Next up is the Extemporaneous Speaking. In the eliminations held weeks before the finals, I was chosen as a finalist. The topic back then was "The Insignificance of the EDSA People Power Revolution to the Filipino Youth", or something like it. I already forgot. It's just how meaningless it has become to the youth.

The girls spoke first. I was the fifth speaker. BTW, the topic was "Women as builders of Communities and Dreams". As I walked up the stage, I didnt notice that my slim, white necktie was on my right shoulder. It sort of kinda flew XD I greeted the audience with the French version of "Good morning to all of you" or Bonne matin tout le monde --- en francais.

The crowd cheered. I know I was of to a good start. I think, I made a mistake by focusing on the time when the woman was created. i quoted Genesis 1 verse 18, 21 and 23. I think I bored the audience. My speech turned out to be a boring, religious type of a whatonearisthis speech.

The topic was given last Friday and I just had my speech done yesterday evening. Thanks Mrs. Padilla for your help. Also that evening, I went to my aunt's house to tutor my cousin. I ended up sleeping at 2 in the morning after I finished my laundry.

I made a mistakes during my speech. I interchanged 'man' and 'woman'. I forgot some of my lines. And I exceeded the five-minute time limit.

All of this is because of a unpreparedness, no sufficient amount of sleep, a lot of things in mind, and no breakfast on the day of the competition.

Bottomline: A very good speech can be ruined by unpreparedness.

You might've brought bullets and ammunition to a war. But if you do not have the ability, the courage, the skill... if you are unprepared even a bit...if you don't know how to fire your guns... if you are caught off guard... if you do not learn from your wounds of previous battles... you will lose a war, or terribly...

Tomorrow has got to improve. Have agreat night everyone!

College Week at APC

Bonne matin tout le monde! I know It's around 1:30 yet I'm still awake.

Anyway, today until Saturday, that's March 9-14, 2009 is Asia Pacific College. A lot of fun activities are lined up and I'm sure, this is gonna be one College Week to look forward to. BTW, I'll be competing in an Extemporaneous Speech Contest on Tuesday and the whole week long, I'd be a marshal and documenting officer of The Amazing Race ASIA PACIFIC COLLEGE Season 2. I missed it so much. Ate Mica and I were contestants last year. Too bad we're eliminated second. Oh, and on Friday, I will be assisting the judges for the upcoming Mr. and Ms. Asia Pacific College Pageant. Since one of the judges is Japanese, I am forced and expected to learn Nihonggo or Japanese.

More updates soon!

Adieu Francis, Adieu!

The Philippines has just lost another foundation in the showbiz industry.

Francis Magalona, Philippines' patriotic Master Rapper passed away at twelve noon, March 6, 2009.

My deepest condolences and my sincerest sympathy to the Magalona Family.

We will surely miss you Francis. Adieu Francis, Adieu...

I'm Back!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Hi! Hi! A lot of things happened during my last update here. I'll be posting them one by one soon. I really missed this a lot. I'm so sorry for my blogging dormancy of three months. I've got a lot of stories to tell so keep on visiting this site and I'll keep you posted.

Merci! A tout a l'heure!
Rege