and her name was Alyssa...

Once upon a time, Stephanie Alyssa Perez Amada was one of my tightest and most pronounced rival debaters. She was excellent at what she does and she was very feisty and passionate about debating. We would epicly battle it out on the podium and see who's opinion was stronger than the other at the end of the day. I never really expected that our rivalry would blossom into anything more than a premature and mediocre tug-of-war. 

A year later, she was my seatmate during my very first accountancy class. Contrary to that overflowing confidence often mistaken as a bitchy image she exudes when she's debating, I discovered, Alyssa was actually a shy, timid and well-reserved young woman. Nevertheless, she was a force to be reckoned with in class. We grew close as blockmates and even closer as FRIENDS since she belonged to our tight circle which we have come to call ourselves as "bayOotZ!". Here, Alyssa developed a more cheerful disposition. She not only sat by the sidelines while laughing at my jokes but she occasionally pitched in her own witty retorts whenever she has some.

Our friendship went from Me furnishing her that winning piece and helping her out with her delivery during the ROTC Oratorical Contest, to her opening up and pouring out her innermost thoughts and tucked-away secrets when she became my partner during an activity for our BC11 class. We also had our fair share of disagreements, healthy squabbles over which hunky hunk was hunkier than the other and petty disputes over which really came first between Neanderthals and Aling Dionesia.

We bonded even more during the CBA Squad practices because we were often the only ones on duty since the other Officers cannot really stand being at such a close proximity with someone as awesome as Alyssa (*wink* aminin! XD). But even then Alyssa displayed her paramount dedication and conviction in wanting to fulfill her responsibilities with the most favorable outcome. Our efforts were rewarded ever so generously when CBA bested two other Colleges during that competiton. From then on Alyssa and I both knew that we had a true friend in each other whenever we needed one.

Aside from being an esteemed leader, Alyssa was also an extremely accomplished student. We then became some of the chosen few along with another who would represent the school in various learning-giving bodies in the country. We hailed a taxi in Cebu together towards I.T. Park when we applied for the American Chamber of Commerce. She of course, although deeply heartbreaking, was easily chosen before us. It was perfectly undeniable since excellent leadership and dexterity seem to inherently course through her veins. She, however, with her thoughtful and considerate heart, saw it fitting to pay homage to our ambitions and efforts by sharing with us the spoils of her victory. We, of course, were more than happy to oblige (thank you for the shirt lys!).

She did what she can in order to ease the burdens of those around her even if she was already experiencing an even herculean burden far greater than ours put together. She lived a simple life. Enjoyed the company of ALL her silly friends. Laughed so hard that made breathing so difficult. She was a model student and a well-grounded person. While others were stressing over deadlines, Alyssa was stressing over her own personal deadline here on our plains. While others felt sad over an absence of a genuine LoveLife, she was busy fighting her own battle just to keep her heart pumping a little while longer. She had an unparalleled thirst for life and she taught me that every opportunity given is meant to be taken, after all, it's not so hard to die when you know you have LIVED. Her borrowed time here on earth might have been short-lived but she will forever be remembered by the number of lives she has touched, the friendships she has built and the legacy she has left behind, and her name was Alyssa... A FRIEND... A COMRADE... A VISITOR... Once... upon... a time...

What is beauty??

“Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love? Why or why not? “


” If I had to change my religious beliefs, I will not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is GOD who created me. And I have my faith and my principles. And these what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God too, Thank you.”

This was the question and answer portion who took the world by storm last September 13, 2011 during the 60th Miss Universe Pageant held in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Representing the Philippines was our very own Shamcey Gurrea Supsup who hailed all the way from the place where effortless, world-class personalities are naturally born everyday - General Santos City.

Shamcey, 25, was born on May 16, 1986. She moved to General Santos City with her family when she was 3 years old.

She grew up with her father, Timoteo, since her mother (Marcey) worked as an engineer abroad. Before studying in Manila, she helped her father in the farm, feeding chickens and goats.

In school, Shamcey studied hard and enjoyed reading books. She was a valedictorian of her grade school batch, and was salutatorian of her high school batch at the Makati High School.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines and topped the 2010 Architect Licensure Examination.

Shebelieves that there is life on other planets, and that women have a natural advantage over men because "we have intuition so men don't fool us.

Asked if she could be any animal, Shamcey said she wants to be a bird "so I can fly and see the mountains."

Ms. Shamcey Supsup came in 4th place or third runner up during that pageant. Many speculates that there was a political side to that, she brushes off that issue gracefully by saying that she was happy for Ms. Angola's win and that she found nobody more deserving for the title than her.

Truly Shamcey has once again placed our country back on the world map. The epitome of a Filipina whom we can all be proud of!

High School Class History (revised)

The first week of our class showed a bit of disparity and interstice among the students (so true!). It was clear to me that the whole class was divided, both figuratively and literally, so to speak. On one side of the room sat all the Anquinians and on the other half sat the Jatico class (you would know which is which by the stench..^^), clearly showing that everyone still had hang-overs from last school year. But as the days went on, we started to befriend each other and instead of regarding ourselves as separate classes, we united into a single HOMOSEXUAL body and started calling our section IV-Huang. Err...wait, Huang?? Shouldn't it be Pinero? (no, definitely HUANG!)

IV-Researchers Huang, the name we should be bringing. But there was a big "swap" when somebody out of the box entered our classroom to teach English, and serve as our adviser--Mrs. (kamo nai tiwas)--as we'd come to call her by. Just hark back how our feelings were, kind of deviating from the norm.*nosebleed* Remember the words, "do not entertain bad thoughts"? Well, these words really made us realize that its our choice to be happy or sad. I guess we will really miss writing our journals (hell no!) at the same time assimilating the thoughts given to us by Ms. Joy which are so applicable in our daily lives (oh, you mean her homily?). Who could also forget how inconvenient our classroom was? It was not until Ms. Joy initiated our move out that we found a better dwelling for the entire school year, just next door.(^^)

At first, we were complaining a bit when it comes to how incredibly ridiculous our expenditures were but later on we realized how much Ms. Joy's plans made our room an even more comfortable place than before (whatever Ron!). But then of course, our lives weren't all sunshine and daisies. There were a lot of times when Ms. Joy shed tears because of our behaviors. (who could blame us right?..when all she did was impose new policies on us?..she held us around our necks with an iron fist that b*tch..haha). "The class is a haven," who would have thought that those doll-eyed, innocent faces of yesteryear would be in the center of all intrigue? I guess cupid aimed his arrows pretty well that they unfortunately landed on the hearts of our classmates, who then fell victims to what we foolhardy often refer to as LOVE (ehem!). Now this calls for shockwaves of drama. That's what we call highschool! We've managed to collate countless memories from our class and still got room to spare.

There was the undeniably unforgettable acquaintance party when all the boys traded in their masculinity for a glimpse of their feminine sides (xet..wla man to natiwas!). "You can run but you cant hide," we all enjoyed throwing icing on each others' faces that night. We felt sorry for the damaged cake though (haha..lingaw au to!).

How about the birthday of our "matriarch"? Some had cried and were so sentimental (btaw..offer2x pa jud ko ad2 ug hanky..ka lech!). We touched Ms. Joy's heart (and crumpled it to a pulp..joke!) by adding up some music, cakes and a special letter. There was also a time when Jera's buttons were pushed to the limit and she was already planning to give up her class presidency because she simply have had enough (ka.experience pud ko adto sa 3rd year..apir Jew!). It was a good thing that she stayed strong enough to last her position throughout the entire schoolyear or we would have been goners (amen!).

We may have had our utter pit-falls but we stood together and held our ground. Things may have trampled us, but it sure made us so much stronger. Each of our relationships may have fallen 7 times, but we have risen above our shortcomings with us standing 8 more (daghana sa ako na edit ani oi..hehe).

Another thought to reminisce was when an earthquake had occurred and caused a bit of havoc among us. It made us reflect on the importance of life and gave way to Ms. Joy's saying, "when one of the sheep in a herd is lost, leave the rest in search of the lost one." A terse saying that is of great significance.

It was a schoolyear where varieties of cheer were invented, first there was the familiar rhythm of the stomping and clapping (nangapil tani ta sa stomp the yard..haha), then there was the so-called "Barrera cheer" (hala ka wew!..starring au ko dre!), then the popularized chanting of the movie 300: AWOO! AWOO! (kash o!..nyaha) This was revised by the Pineronian boys (of course la jud koi labot aron..hehe) and turned into: GWAPO! GWAPO! And last but not the least, the cheer which was taken from the song "Crank That", the AAAHHH-YOOUU! Now, aren't we an inventive bunch? And not to mention the ever hilarious musical stints of the boys (again..la npud koi labot ani..^^), spearheaded by Jeffrey, who gave rise to the ever popular "G-song".

The Science Camp was unfortunately the first and last for us, but on the bright side, it left us packing with great memories. Remember the late night visit the boys (kani, apil nko ani..^^) paid the girls who were already sound asleep? (yeah ryt!) The boys probably forgot the saying: "biruin mo na lang yung taong lasing, wag lang yung bagong gising." (tama pud ang mga boys ad2 noh!) The guys weren't expecting some tempers to flare. Who could blame us girls right? As they say, "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." (yawyaw au ni c Rona ui..sheeesh!^^) But luckily, they came prepared. They brought us food! Hunger triumphed over anger after all (ako npud muhatag saying, "the fastest way to a woman's heart is through her panties..joke!..through her stomach btaw..^^). When we played kickball during one of our PE classes, we were all left well amused. The slippery ground of Science High showed no mercy to Edward, Kashmere, Jeffrey and Pman who fell victim with the laws of Physics as gravity and a seemingly lack of friction caused them their muddy demise (haha..peace frnds!). Those are the same grounds that we will always be missing. The 4 long years of torture and treacherous playing was sooooo worth it. We will be leaving the school with our heads held high. We'd be friends forever and we'll surely have each others' backs. "WHAT ARE FRIENDS ARE 39?" as they always say.(yuhryt!..na nxa nman ta ron?..hmmm?)

39 different personalities that have bonded and meshed well together, gave way to a schoolyear with the most intriguing, unfathomable and incandescent year of our lives, most remembered and cherished all throughout our highschool life.
As what William Shakespeare said, "Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them." (daghanang quotes oi!) Greatness was surely thrust upon us from the very moment we stepped on the hallowed grounds of Ramon Teves Pastor Memorial- Dumaguete Science High School; we've clearly shown that we've achieved greatness through the years we've endured here, but even before all of that, each and every one of us were already born great.

A repost of one of my early notes in FB

Here i am, visually analyzing the contents of my screwed up room.. another full moon.. a perfect time to make use of my powers to their full extent.. i stood up, walked to my closet with nothing on but a pair of bunny slippers.. i got a shirt i loved, a pair of clean undies and those jeans that hugged my legs so tightly.. i donned everything on and started on my wake..

a flash of memories came flooding towards me as soon as i saw his picture on the bedside table. "when will this ever end?!", i muttered to myself in exasperation. just then, there was a rapping knock on my door. my senses tingled and i immediately reacted to the sound. i know my neighborhood too well. nobody would be brave enough to disturb me that much, not in this time of night.i walked to the door as quietly as i can and braced myself for whatever lies behind it. "shit! i hate surprises. this kind of tension is killing me"...i raised my arm in a futile attempt to turn the knob. with all my might i tried to fight the terror that was slowly creeping its way inside of me. just then a breeze swept through my entire body, numbing all my senses until what's left of me is but a rigid corpse clinging on the doorknob for dear life. i knew something was off. with all the strength i could possible muster, i started pacing backwards away from the door. whatever it is must have heard me because as soon as i was getting ready to put my foot a step behind of me, the rasping grew louder. louder and louder it went, each moment more vicious than the previous.i staggered onto my feet. "i had to run, get away from here as fast as i can"... what used to be just a few steps to my room seemed like miles from where i was at. a wave of realization washed all of what little courage i had left from me. and then there was silence from behind me. the cold night air against my back paralyzed me. i was scared to look back but i know i had to. i slowly inclined my head to the direction of the door and the sight that met me knocked the living daylights out of me....

*this is supposed to be a recurrent dream i used to have*