The Pips

You realize that you don't see your friends as much when you start dressing up when the barkada plans to go on a gimmick. The Pips, aka friendskami, aka my college friends, have seen me on dress-down Wednesdays when I'd just wear a CS shirt, jeans, and flip flops. They've also seen me in shorts and a T-shirt while doing a God-knows-what-MP at God-knows-what-time in the night. But on Saturday, I came all dressed up with matching dangling earrings. My friends didn't miss a beat, though, as we almost looked like a pool of Christmas trees with our bouncing and dangling beads.

We met up for no reason at all, just that we missed each other and our virtual YM meetings and tons of emails weren't enough for us. Rhea even kept touching everyone to make sure that we were really there.

After the usual debate on where to eat, we had lunch at Italianni's in Glorietta (Miki's treat, [thanks, Mikimayk!]) which ensued with our usual meal kwentuhans, chismis, and kamustahans. It felt like the usual Friday night dinner, only now we were having a late lunch, and we weren't in Diliman, for once.

After a THE big surprise of Jam, Von's comments that we all missed, lots of food, kwento, and laughter that is characteristic of the Friends, we proceeded to waste our money in Greenbelt's Timezone. There, Hanna sank more baskets than any of us, Miki hit funny creatures with a passion (and I mean with passion -- he was so gigil, you'd think that the creatures did him a moral wrong), Chris danced and failed with me in DanceRev, and I shreiked and shouted high-pitched Oh-my-Gods as I shot virtual soldiers (they all shreiked like girls with me.)

Hanna, Rhea, and I decided to indulge with Starbucks coffee afterward. After consuming two mocha frappes, a coffee frappe, and a yummy Oreo cheesecake, we still extended for about an hour in the cozy coffee shop. I'm absolutely sure that it wasn't the coffee, but the company that made me stay. It's fun analyzing people, friendships, and love with friends. It's fun sharing your thoughts, voicing out your opinions, and ultimately giving a part of yourself to your friends. I miss having these deep conversations.

Hanna: Kahit magdamagan na kwentuhan sa Starbucks kasama ka, kaya ko.
Chris: DanceRev one more time! Sana hindi na tayo magfail para hindi din sayang pera natin.
Rhea: Wahahaha... Kinikilig ako sa mga storya mo. Rhea, isdayou?!?
Miki: Pukpok the funny creatures with a vengeance! You crack me up, Mike. Get well soon!
Jam: Surprised na kung surprised! Congrats!
Von: Sana lab mo talaga kami at ililibre mo kami next time.
Daniw: Sana makasama ka next time...

In my heart of hearts, I know that no one can ever replace the Pips. Andito lang kayo, pips -> , pramis.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Naalala ko na. Kaibigan kita. Kahit na may hinanakit tayo, kaya nating magpatawad at malampasan. Kahit hindi tayo masyadong nagkikita, kabisado ko pa rin ang mukha mo, ang ngiti mo at ang mga paborito mong sabihin. Kapag wala na akong lakas o anuman, nandyan ka para punan yung wala ako. Kahit corny jokes mo, tatawanan ko pa rin. At kahit magkalayo pa tayo ng landas, mananatili ka pa rin sa puso ko. Pip kita e.

-"Pips" by Hanna Sarmiento

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Hua Pak! The Second Gathering

My whole family was on holiday last August 19, Quezon City Day, when my father drove me to Makati, not for work, but to catch a ride to Island Cove in Cavite. In Island Cove, the Technology Solutions Group of HP celebrated its two years in the company with a Chinese theme entitled Hua Pak! The Second Gathering.

The offsite was much more fun than I expected. The food was great (yeah, chubbs = pig)! I was a part of the Pink Team, aptly named Hua Pink!, which was good for me because the pink ribbon matched my favorite pink Penshoppe pants (chubbs = kikay). I met lots of people from the company and affirmed that HP really is an eclectic bunch. I had a fun time cheering my team on and participating in the games.

The show in the evening was like a Cursor App flashback for me. All the newhires were gave a presentation that matched the theme. I was in the second group with Arlene and Ryan and all the Cursor-UP CS peeps -- Mike S., Sars, Gino, Cha, KD, Mshel, Tina, Jan, and GM (I'm dressed in white behind Tops in picture). It was fun watching Jan and Mike dancing to Instant Ayos and Totoy Bibo. But it was kind of embarrassing dancing to Kung Fu Fighting, the Basketball Pump Up Song and The Lion Sleeps Tonight, as I've never been a dancer. Hehe.. I guess Chesca's wacky steps, lots and lots of energy, and more of kapal ng mukha sealed it for us.

The night progressed with a presentation of the Lead Team which brought the house down and a good-bye tribute to Mr. Paul Martin (wearing toga with lead team in picture), who's leaving to work in HP Singapore. Paul was my boss's boss's boss. Now, I guess he's my boss's boss's boss's boss. I didn't have a chance to work with him here at HP, but I know that he's been here in the Philippines for quite a while. It's true what they say that Paul is amiable and very friendly. I got a chance to be his student in CS 173, Project Management, when I was a senior in UP. He was one of the people who evaluated our work on EBB (Electronic Baby Book: Your Baby's First Book!). He gave very good feedback and taught us how to improve our work. That's why though I don't know him that well, I'm sad that he's leaving. The applause and the tribute on Friday night only affirmed how grateful the people are with his work on the site. I know he's touched so many lives, mine included.

It was a fun weekend for me  The Cursor People in HP even had a photo op (SEXXXY!) and I arrived just in time for the UP-NU game that we won! And Abby's back! Can't be any happier (according to Chris: "Para kang si Kris Aquino na inlove kay James Yap)! The weekend wrapped up with us cousins having dinner at Pancake House Congressional and coffee at Figaro (my treat ).

Lastly, my new laptop arrived last Monday! Yey!  And I named it...

Abraham.

Surprised?!?  Wahehe!

*thanks to Marco Tomimbang and Lou Ortega for the pictures.

Feeling Blue

I didn't have a great weekend. From what happened -- or what didn't happen -- on Friday to UP's loss to UST's 1-6 on Sunday. And Abby has measles.  I miss seeing him play so much.  I wish there's still hope to make it to the Final4. Go Maroons!

Since I'm in an infectiously depressing mood today (I daresay as infectious as Abby's measles), I thought of my favorite comfort food. I loooove the following (especially when I'm depressed):

1. Country Style's triple chocolate doughnut
2. Mister Donut's double chocolate doughnut
3. Mister Donut's Belgian bites
4. Hershey's Cookies n Cream chocolate
5. Hershey's Milk Chocolate
6. Hershey's Hugs and Kisses
7. Nestle's Milk Chocolate
8. Reese's Peanutbutter cups
9. Chocolate Kiss's Devil's Food Cake
10. Chocolate Kiss's Kahlua Butternut Cake
11. Red Ribbon's Black Forest
12. Red Ribbon's Chocolate Mousse
13. Goldilock's Chocolate Roll
14. KFC's Chocolate Mousse
15. Ferrero Rocher
16. Cello's chocolate doughnut
17. Gonuts Donuts' chocolate doughnut
18. Dunkin Donuts' chocolate doughnut
19. Cadbury's Timeout
20. Cadbury's Dairy Milk
21. Selecta's Cookies n Cream ice cream
22. Fruits in Ice Cream's green tea ice cream
23. Fruits in Ice Cream's raspberry ice cream
24. Fruits in Ice Cream's rocky road ice cream
25. Starbucks' green tea frappe
26. Starbucks' caramel frappe
27. Starbucks' coffee frappe
26. McDonald's caramel sundae
27. Jollibee's choco-mallow pie

Yes, I love them all. And yes, they make me fat. And yes, it's true that my family has a history of diabetes.

Gawd, I might die with my comfort food. But at least I get to die in comfort.

*photos taken from http://personalize-my-favors.com/hershey%27skiss.jpg
http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Cadburys_Dairy_Milk_Single_49g.jpg

Acoustic Jamengg

Karl de Leon of Peyups posted some superb pictures of the UP Ateneo game in the first round. They can be found here. I've included some pictures that I found interesting. I swear that I'm in the first picture with MK. And of course the second is a nice one of Abby.

I don't know if I'm going to watch the game tomorrow. It's my dad's birthday and I'm starting to think that I'm a jinx to UP's MBT.  Baka nacoconcious si Abby... JOKE!

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

After work yesterday, I went to UP to watch the Acoustic Jamengg sponsored by UP Engineering Society (EnggSoc cute!). I've always wanted to watch Acoustic, but I never had the chance to because it was always scheduled on a Friday before an exam. So I grabbed the chance before my Saturdays are occupied with work.

The sexy people, i.e. the Cursor people, got into some technical difficulties (again. Storya na ng buhay -- mula Awitan hanggang Acoustic... Hmf! ) when they sang Manila Girl. But they're Sana Maulit Muli was really really good. Galing nina Aimee at Lew. Kakaiyak yung kanta... <nagdrama daw ba>

Kung kaya kong iwanan ka
Di na sana aasa pa
Kung kaya kong umiwas na
Di na sana lalapit pa...
Mahal pa rin kita, giliw...

Lastly, can I just say that it's weird how fast people can walk in and out of your life? One moment they're there, the next moment they're not. Weird. I feel like I'm wearing my pink GradBall gown again.

My Favorite Professors

It's a coincidence that two of my most favorite professors from college celebrate their birthdays in August. Happy Birthday to Sir Oggie Hermosilla on August 2 and an equally happy birthday to Prof Evangel Quiwa on August 7!!!

Both of them have been my professors in 2 different courses each. Sir Hermo for Math 53 (Calculus) and Math 157 (Discrete Math) and Sir Quiwa for CS 32 (Data Structures) and CS 131 (Numerical Methods).

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

During my college years, Sir Hermo has earned a reputation as a terror prof in Math. You can just imagine my surprise when he introduced himself on the first day of classes as the terror Hermo in the flesh. A professor who loves wearing shorts and sandals in school, he was our tor-mentor who started lecturing on our very first day.

It was scary at first but I took it as a challenge. Everyday in the sem revealed itself as a fun day with Sir Hermo's witty, corny and often green jokes. Of course the exams weren't fun at all, sitting down for three hours and trying to squeeze your brain to come up with answers to write in your blue book has never been fun. But the feeling is really really good when you know your hard work paid off. For me, that's what being Sir Hermo's student is: fulfilling and fun. It's not surprising that there were a lot of things to learn from an extroverted self-professed geek with a PhD to brag about. I for one, as Chabelita, as he fondly nicknamed me, learned a lot.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Prof Evangel Quiwa is a relatively short man who drives an old blue Beetle. He's often seen at MH207 or at the Dean's office where he attends to his College Secretary duties. During registration period, I often wonder why Sir Quiwa shoulders the manual enlistment of students, given that registration has always been a mess and everyone just wants to get a slot.

Prof Quiwa's smile is infectious. He smiles at co-teachers, students and past students. He smiles during class, when he teaches us how to heapify or how to perform Runge-Kutta. He gives very very corny jokes about forests (CS-related and tree-related) and a mean one about DLSU when he discussed the UPCAT procedure. He gives a lot of quotable quotes too, like "A perfect world is one with no round-off errors." He marvels to the class at the genius of Dijkstra and Newton and loves elegant solutions. I'm just amazed by how he loves elegant solutions that he beams every time he teaches them. I'm amazed by how much he's shared his knowledge with us. I'm so amazed by Sir Quiwa because I feel his desire to teach when he teaches us. I feel his happiness in imparting knowledge. Just this makes him the best. And just this makes me very very happy and priviledged to learn and to have been taught by a great man like him.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

When I graduated last April, Prof Quiwa was there to shake my hand. It was an honor and I will forever be proud to have been his student. Sir Oggie wasn't there during my last sem in school. He was on sick leave and is now back at home in the Visayas. I'm continuously looking for a way to contact him, so I can share my accomplishments to him like the old times.

Sir Hermo and Sir Quiwa are two teachers who had the biggest impact in my life. It feels good to have a part of them in me as it feels good to be indebted in them for molding me to be the person that I am now. For that Sirs, I thank you very very much.

Huhu, Abby...

Fouled out?!? 4pts?!? Huuuuwaaaat, Abby?!?

Walang hiya ka. Nakakainis ka. Nabwibwiset ako sa yo.

Nanood pa naman ako. Huhuhu...

Tinitignan mo pa ng masama yung mga referee after mong grumaduate sa game. Tsk tsk. Sabi ko sa sarili ko never akong papatol sa mainitin ang ulo. Tsk tsk... *more headshaking* Pero pag ikaw... Hmm... Pag-isipan natin. Teka, hindi na pala pinag-iisipan yun. Kasi if I give up on you, I'll totally have a zilch-zero lovelife, ooops, make that, a pseudo-lovelife. Hehe.

Galingan mo sa next round!  UP FIGHT pa din!!!

abby and abap happy together?

It's been a while since I shared the stuff that I've been up to here in the office. I've just been too caught up with the UAAP and Abby, of course. *sighs* Isn't it obvious that I'm still not over the Abby hype?!? Hahaha... ko siya. UP FIGHT!!!

Hanna and I will be watching the game tomorrow, an UPCAT day, so I hope the Maroons win. In other words, I want roasted tamarraws for dinner tomorrow. << cue in evil laugh>>

FEU vs UP, 6 August, Sat, 4pm, Blue Eagle Gym. See ya there!

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Today is the last day of our 4-day ABAP training. It's only now that I realize that I missed programming.  But I was thinking, maybe it's just CS11 programming that I miss, the easy stuff. Hehe. If you asked me to code e-NoDeS again, I wouldn't know what to say...

The past two weeks were also dedicated to training. We had our SD-AR Jumpstart where we learned a ton of SAP stuff. There were also many, many acronyms and stuff I need to remember as well. GLD 430, CRM, SC, SD, AR, GLD 420, SLOC, DC, XD01, OVKK, MM02, VA01, VT03, SE11, SE16... Sige na, lahat na ng alpahnumeric permutations ibigay na ninyo!

So generally, I've been busy in the office... And I expect to be til the end of time (wag naman sana). To think this isn't even busy busy busy yet. Let's see when the project comes rolling in.

Oh and I met my co-newhires also! They're Arlene and Ryan, both from Ateneo. Together, we will go through all the different trainings for the rest of August.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

So that's it for me and the fair city of Makati! It's a Friday (yey yey! happy Friday!) and I'll be a QC-Diliman creature during the weekend. I'll be in Loyola for the game on Saturday. But I won't be able to jog in UP on Sunday, though. Of course I don't want to jog during an UPCAT day. I expect I wouldn't be able to reach UP in a car.

Last sidenote before saying goodbye: Gosh! It's been 5 years since I took the UPCAT at Math Building. Am I really that old? <<rhetorical question, I forbid you to answer>>

Happy Weekend Folks! Cheers! <<sorry, naalala ko si Sir Feria eh>>