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I love learning new things, exploring places, and dreaming big.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Trips to the Cities - Sta. Rosa City

The Progressive Sta. Rosa (Part 1)

Sta. Rosa City is a first class component city in Laguna. It is one of the most progressive cities in the country today. Last week, I went to SM City Sta. Rosa to buy a pair of sneakers. I was all alone again in the city.

Why at Sta. Rosa? At first I planned to buy in Los Banos but I found no shoes that I liked. I also went to Waltermart Calamba, but still there is none. By the way, Calamba City will soon have SM City Calamba. It's exciting. I hope it will be opened by Christmas. So I have no chice, I have to go to Sta. Rosa only to buy a new pair of shoes. It's my dad's promise to buy me a new one.

Fortunately I did not get lost going from Calamba to Sta. Rosa. I got off to Balibago Commercial Complex and rode a jeepney to SM City Sta. Rosa. I admire the progressiveness of the city.

I bought a pair of sneakers at Bench store. It's a good buy since it isn't costly and quality guaranteed. I trust Bench, it's 100% Pinoy and their designs suit my personality.

A Promise to be Fulfilled

Bummer. I promised to myself to always have a blog entry every now and then. But what have I done? I have to bring back to myself the importance and beauty of blogging. Just at least everyday to share my thoughts. even a short entry, like this one.

Right?

Trips to the Cities - Metro Manila

Whoa! After so many days, here I am, back again in my blog. A month has passed. My last blog entry was on the last week of May. And it's already the first of July! How busy am I? There are so many things that I want to share in my blog but I did not find the right time to do it. And I think this is the right time. (I hope)

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A Lone Trip to the Capital City (Part 1)

So it's first sem again. Many things to do means many sleepless nights. But I don't want to talk about it yet. First I want to talk about my experiences when I forgot to post here. Last month before the classes started, I went to Manila all by myself. It was an adventure for me to go to the city for the first time alone. It was for my thesis on zoos. I have to contact each of the three zoos I have chosen, namely the Manila, Malabon, and Avilon Zoos by sending them a letter of permission to conduct my study.

My first stop was in Manila Zoo located at the Malate district. It was so exciting because I have to ride the LRT (Light Rail Transit) for the first time. I have gone to give the letter, and I was on again for my next stop.

Next was the Malabon Zoo. It is located at the city of Malabon, north of Manila. I have to ride the LRT again and drop off at Monumento station. After that, I walked northward to the zoo, gave the letter, and off again. Next was the Avilon Zoo.

Avilon is located at the town of Rodriguez in Rizal Province. It is near Quezon City so I thought it was easy to go there. I rode the jeepney to Commonwealth Market. I found a jeepney going to Brgy. San Isidro in Rodriguez and jumped in. I thought the route was to the town proper, but it was not. I started to panic when I wasn't recognizing the town proper at all (we went to Avilon for a field trip for ZOO3). The driver said that the town proper is on the other side of the barrio. So I have to hire a tricycle to go straight to Avilon. I was in a panic state actually, because it's nearly 6PM already, an my parents were also worried for me. The tricycle driver demanded for 60 pesos for the ride. I finally arrived at Avilon and gave the letter to the guard. Now I can go home. It was an adventure!

I rode a jeepney from Rodriguez to Cubao, Quezon City. The route went to the town of San Mateo in Rizal and the City of Marikina. I saw the Marikina River for the first time. It was beautiful at night. Marikina is truly a clean city. When I reached EDSA, I searched for the Greenstar terminal with buses bound to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. It was located at Monte de Piedad street. Fortunately, I found a bus going out of that street to EDSA, otherwise I would have been lost searching for the terminal. Then I safely went back home. It was a remarkable city adventure. I thank all the people whom I asked for the directions and places while I'm 'lost' in the city.

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A Lone Trip to the Capital City (Part 2)

I don't remember the exact date, but in the first week of June, I went to Manila again to conduct the study in Manila Zoo. I was excited, but at the same time, nervous. I went to the admin office of the zoo to talk to the staff. They made comments on my questionnaire, then I went to the park to approach the visitors. i thougfht it was easy, but later on I realized that it was difficult to approach people because they are busy enjoying themselves with their families and friends. But I have to be confident.

Half of the day I spent walking in the park searching for respondents. It was difficult really, but at the same time, fun. I did not manage to talk to 20 respondents. I only had 9 or so. And I also forgot to take pictures of the animals. And so I planned to go back again to Manila once more.

My next comeback was June 6, my dad's birthday. I went again to Manila to finish the Manila Zoo assessment. But unfortunately, it was raining. I thought it might be better to stroll in the streets and wait for the rain to stop or at least lessen. So I walked and walked, exploring the streets of Malate and Ermita. It was fun to look at different people and places you just first saw. I have seen UP Manila, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, Robinsons Place Manila, and the World Health Organization in Ermita district. I also saw Harrison Plaza, Ninoy Aquino Memorial Stadium, Rizal Sports Complex, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Ospital ng Maynila, Baywalk, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines all in Malate district. I have seen all these but still the rain did not stop. But at least it lessened. So I decided to go to Manila Zoo to continue my study.

Fortunately, the rain has stopped. People flocked to the zoo again and I started my interviews. When I finally finished it, I interviewed the resident veterinarian on some things. I found out that she was a graduate of UPLB. How great was that? After that, i took pictures of the animals, and went outside the zoo to buy my dad a birthday gift.

I went to Harrison Plaza to check out some sando, but I don't like the designs. So I tried the mall in EDSA corner Taft Avenue. Nothing again. So I decided to go to SM Mall of Asia, though it was already near 7PM. It was my third time to go there. The first one was in our field trip in HIST2, the second in HUM2. I browsed some sando, and what I found was the same in Harrison. I have no choice but to buy 2 sandos, one with Beverly Hills design, and the other with the LA design. I went home again safely after that tiresome activity.

I was planning to conduct the Malabon Zoo assessment, but the owner did not positively respond to my letter. And so I have to find another zoo. What I have in mind is the Tagaytay Zoo.


Zoos are the primary institutions for the public to get in touch with the wild

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Positive with Problems

It is only now that I posted at my blog. I had so many problems this past few days, and I was not in the mood to post. It is only now that I had the will and the chance to say what I want to.

First of all, summer class is over. I am not in Los Baños anymore to go to a nearby Internet Café where I can surf the net, which is one of my leisure activities. Now that I’m here in Magdalena, there’s the TV and I can watch all day long, not mentioning my PC where I can play offline games. I have also my books to read on. There’s so much to do. But the thing is, we have no Internet. I have to go to a computer shop to surf, and that’s so…inconvenient. So there, I had no time for surfing the net. Now, I managed to get online because dad brought the laptop and I can surf using Smart Broadband. I don’t want to surf in my PC because loading is too slow.

Secondly, I had to work on my thesis. Because of this, there came up with other problems. I had to prepare my proposal for my adviser to check for revisions. I also made the request letters for the zoos. I came back to LB to present it to her. And there were some things in the letter and questionnaire that needed to be changed. So I worked on it. I emailed the revised versions to her, and still she is not yet checking her email. I have to start gathering data as soon as possible, before the classes for 1st semester starts.

My third problem is about friendship. In my thesis, I have to go to three zoos, one in Manila, one in Malabon, and one in Rodriguez, Rizal. I have to give questionnaires to the visitors, as well as the zoo staff, so I can get information regarding the animal welfare management of zoos. I have to do that in three days, so I will not waste money for costly transport fare. It must be one zoo, one day. And I think I can’t do that all by myself. I need help. I need my friends. And there was only one person I thought of who will help me—the one who I consider my best friend. We don’t say to each other that we’re best friends, but I think we know to ourselves that we are. And then, I asked him to help me with my thesis. We will be in Manila for three days, and at night, we could stay at the house of our friend in Sta. Mesa, Manila. But he refused. I made all efforts to convince him but still, he did not want to go. He said that he couldn’t stay that long in Manila. I was so depressed that my only best friend refused to help me. This thesis is very important to me, and I was so sad that he couldn’t make a sacrifice for himself just to help me. I thought to myself that he still has many things to learn in life. Because of that, I forgive him. He is still not communicating with me, and so do I. I hope I can do this on my own. I can do this.

The fourth problem is about my sister. I thought to myself that I am being a bad brother to her. I am the one who should give way, because I am older that her. But no, I am treating her like she’s the same age as mine. We don’t think the same, and because I’m older, I should know the best thing to do for the situation not to get worse. However, it was not the case. I think she hated me for being an unforgiving brother. We are still not talking to each other. But I sensed signs that she wanted to make peace with me. One time she offered me chips. That was the first time she spoke to me for…5 days I think. But I refused her offer. I was so bad. I hope we’ll be better soon.

My fifth problem is just recent. It’s just a while ago, at dinner. It is about my dad. We were having dinner; he was drunk, when suddenly the topic was about my sister and me. He asked my why I was acting badly at her and we were always quarreling. Then I said that it’s a normal thing about siblings, just like in husbands and wives. He took it as an unserious answer, and he started to hate me again. I hope we will be better soon.

I have so many things to improve on to myself. Now I know that problems really do make us stronger individuals. They make you think what things you should work upon so that next time, you will do better and become an improved person. They make you know about yourself, as well as other people. Now I believe that problems really make life…fun and exciting.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Last Look

Whoa! I was so busy. I have to rush-edit our music video which is due today. We already presented it to class, and I was surprised that my classmates made a positive feedback to my music video. By the way, our MV is entitled "Last Look". It is an emo song performed by the local band Chicosci. Here it is:





I have to go through hardships and all just to rush this video. I stayed at the computer shop till 2pm just to finish this (This is a group work, actually). I was in PC 13 and I was so unlucky that I have to shoot the whole video flashed at the monitor! The video cannot be published in that PC, so I have to shoot it in whole. So I made solutions to fix that technical difficulty, and voila, it's finished.

But my unluckyness did not just end there. I went to the apartment just to see that the gate is locked and I have no key! So I have to wait for someone who is still awake, or gonna be awake, at that time (it was 2:30 am!). No one heard my call, and so I had to stay at the stairs and wait...and wait...until I fell asleep. FORTUNATELY, there was someone who woke up to get a glass of water (I suppose) and heard me calling at the gate. Thank God! I was saved! I could finally sleep in my nice bed (it was quarter to 4 am).

I woke up nervous of what could turn out in our MV. And here it was. All efforts were paid for by their positive comments...:) (I hope Miss Potchi noticed me more. O_O)

I have another problem. Mask project! And four papers due tomorrow! I am not yet starting it. I hope for a miracle....



So far away, one last look...

Friday, May 7, 2010

A Study on Lack of Sleep

This is an article on Yahoo! that I got interested in :


from http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100505/hl_afp/healthsciencesleepbritainitaly#mwpphu-container

Lack of sleep linked to early death: study
AFP

Wed May 5, 9:44 am ET

LONDON (AFP) – People who get less than six hours sleep per night have an increased risk of dying prematurely, researchers said on Wednesday.

Those who slumbered for less than that amount of time were 12 percent more likely to die early, though researchers also found a link between sleeping more than nine hours and premature death.

"If you sleep little, you can develop diabetes, obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol," Francesco Cappuccio, who led research on the subject at Britain's University of Warwick, told AFP.

The study, conducted with the Federico II University in Naples, Italy, aggregated decade-long studies from around the world involving more than 1.3 million people and found "unequivocal evidence of the direct link" between lack of sleep and premature death.

"We think that the relation between little sleep and illness is due to a series of hormonal and metabolical mechanisms," Cappuccio said.

The findings of the study were published in the Sleep journal.

Cappuccio believes the duration of sleep is a public health issue and should be considered as a behavioural risk factor by doctors.

"Society pushes us to sleep less and less," Cappuccio said, adding that about 20 percent of the population in the United States and Britain sleeps less than five hours.

Sleeping less than six hours is "more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift work"

The study also found a link between sleeping more than nine hours per night and premature death, but Cappuccio said oversleeping is more likely to be an effect of illness, rather than a cause.

"Doctors never ask how much one sleeps, but that could be an indicator that something is wrong," said Cappuccio, who heads the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the University of Warwick.

Research showed no adverse effects for those sleeping between six and eight hours per day.


And here's some comments:

So what your telling me is that even though I feel better after just 4 hrs then i do with 8, and now I'm gonna die because of it. (Justin Wed May 05, 2010 07:10 am)

Why can't science just admit it's flawed and no matter what you do, you're still going to die? Just live life as best you can do and stop worrying about stupid things. It's all anybody ever asks. (Dragon Of Heaven Wed May 05, 2010 07:11 am)

ALL centenarians, when interviewed, repeat the same short list of advice:
Get plenty of rest.
Eat right.
Exercise regularly. (Rattle and Hum Wed May 05, 2010 07:31 am)

Let's all sleep ! (Taiyo Wed May 05, 2010 07:16 am)


---> So... I usually get only 4 to 5 hours of sleep a day during the regular semester. Does this mean I have to sleep more than that so I can live longer? Life today is really stressful. I should try sleeping earlier...if I can do that. I hope I can. I can do that...

for the sake of health. :)

Thank God It's Friday!

I'm in a very very gooood mood today! Why? Here's my list:


First, it's Friday.

Second, I've got to post at my blog again.

Third, I've fixed the time zone on my blog.

Fourth, I've got to see Miss Potchi again.

Fifth, I topped our HUM2 exam, but tied with a classmate.

Sixth, I became instantly famous because I let my classmate, who tied up with me in the exam, to have the prize for the highest scorer.

Seventh, my teacher in that class gave me a compliment for what I have done.

Eighth, I hoped that Miss Potchi recognized me because of what I've done.

Ninth, I'm excited for my HUM1 class this afternoon.

And tenth, I'm excited with our HUM2 field trip tomorrow at the National Museum!


Whew! Ten reasons to be happy this Friday..
Is it OK to shout?

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!