Project 14, 15, 16 and 17 (part 2)

On Family and Friends

Enchanted Kingdom
Thanks to Marga, my fellow graduate, for treating us to Enchanted Kingdom. Though there were only four of us, we were able to enjoy at the same time, face our fears, especially for our baby Louise. Thank God the queues were not long. In the span of 5 hours, we got to ride flying fiesta, rio grande and anchor's away twice and thrice for log jam. Bonding with these girls is love.

Marga, Chinny, Zombie, Louise and Me

Antipolo Overnight
Does living with 2 girls and 1 gay friend appeal to you? I had the chance to experience it with my closest friends in college. Just a little background, our "eccentric group" was formed way back in first year, thanks to our English-Lit class for two semesters. Why eccentric? Well if you try to assess us individually, you'd realize that all four of us have totally different personalities. Even I can't explain the dynamics of our relationship. Nevertheless, Rica loves them so much.

Overnight at St. Gabriel, Avidaland, nightswimming at Loreland and breakfast at Katipunan.
Canyonwoods

I love that place, feels like I'm in a different country. Even if the use of their facilities was very expensive, I still want to go back there. Thanks to the beautiful houses there, I now have a clear picture of my dreamhouse.

Hello boys! ang kukulit niyo talaga.

Project 10 and 11

It just dawned on me that I'm ending another chapter of my life soon. So for the past two weeks, all I did was to entertain all emotions and stress in my life. And as I got tired, I am trying to reject and remove from my system those which are not necessary and are of no use in the near future. Though the whole process is no joke, family and friends were always there to support and remind me that I am not alone. Lord, help me. Amen.

A recap of what happened to me for the past two weeks...

Week 10

Two of the dearest persons in my life celebrated their birthdays that week.

Second Year Second Sem. After-Class-Matteo-Up routine
March 8 - Happy Birthday, babe!

Thank you for everything. I hope you liked my gift. hihihi! Gamitin mo yan pag nasa office ka na. Don't worry, things will go well. Hope for the best and I'm always praying for you. I love you and God bless.

PS. Straight na ulit hair mo!

March 10 - Happy Birthday, sister!

You're the best sister ever. Kasi nga naman, nag-iisa ka lang. I'm very proud of you. Finally, may work ka na. Do well and kayang-kaya mo yan. Thank you for always being there for me and for constantly praying for me. I'm praying for you as well. Na pressure na ako magkaroon ng work kasi meron ka na. :P I love you and God bless.

Pasta Party
Thank you Thirdy, Andrei, Angelo, Lloyd, TJ, Franz, Quin, Brian and Janelle for coming. I hope you liked the food I prepared. Solid lang talaga ng charades and pictionary. Next time ulit?

First Time to make Cannelloni.

Sobrang kulit ng boys.

Week 11

Looking for work
Because all of my friends were looking for work that time, I was somehow pressured to do the same. And so I opened accounts in Jobstreet and JobsDB. While browsing through the sites, I realized that there are a lot of job openings in the market. However, the positions being offered do not necessarily suit me. It's either I do not like the job or my educational background does not match the job. Talk about mismatch of job offers and job seekers (structural unemployment).

Anyhow, I'm still considering of taking Accounting for my second course. Yet a lot of people kept on telling me to take MBA instead. To work or to study?

Graduation preparation
Mama gave me a very nice pair of shoes. I needed to buy black shoes for my graduation. Since my last pair of black pump shoes was back in High school (We were required to wear heels for the last 3 months of our Senior year.), I asked Mama if I can get another one.

Aren't they pretty?

Graduation, here I come ~ Rica Gran

Project 9

Finals
Monday that week was my last day of Finals. I submitted my last paper and had my last oral exam! After everything, Angelo and I watched Miss You Like Crazy at Trinoma. I didn't like the plot and I found it dragging in the middle of the movie. Nevertheless, Bea and John Lloyd look good together. :P

Thesis
Tuesday was Thesis day with Anya (and Ray). We went to UP for the printing and binding of our thesis. While waiting, we had lunch at Chocolate Kiss. Congratulations to us, Annie, We're finally done!

*BIG SMILES*

Clearance week
I started last Tuesday right after we submitted our Thesis, then finished everything last Thursday. Kamusta naman ang pabalik-balik! You'll see in the faces of those people waiting in line, how annoyed they were. Good thing Angelo was there to accompany me. After we submitted our clearance, we ate out with Rissa since Angelo was craving for Kare-Kare. We were supposed to eat at Barrio Fiesta, but ended eating at Lydia's Lechon. We ate Kare-kare, Lechon, Lechong Paksiw and Bituka. Someone wasn't satisfied with all that food so he insisted on having desert at Icebergs. I think I gained 10 pounds after. Thank you Rissa and Angelo. Sa uulitin. :D

Grades
Thank you Lord for a wonderful surprise. My QPI for this semester is 3.5, my highest QPI ever. I didn't expect it. Happy Mode!

Feeling Fat and Happy - Rica Gran

Project 05

Week 05 was special. Nothing grandiose but just a few new and exciting things happened to me. I have no intentions of sharing anything to you but for one.

A.R.A.
ARA stands for Angel, Rica and Anya. I know, this sounds so high school! And I'm a bit disturbed because I like it. Hahaha! I enjoyed my afternoon date with these girls. Thank you for making our little get-together possible. I love you both.

Pictures were taken last Oct 2008 inside my room.

PS. We miss you, Dane.

2 weeks left ~ Rica Gran

Project 04

I would have to say that this week was a week overflowing with love. :)

Kythe Week

I promoted this here in my blog before. And i have to say that this project was a success. The event was held at the Colayco Pavillion. It had 4 booths. The photo competition booth gave free Hansels to those who voted. They also had a free photobooth. I love the placards and Kapitan Kimo. Written on the placards were "I cancervive.", "I dream of a world where Cancer is just a zodiac sign." and "Cancel Cancer." The third booth, where I spent most of my spare time, was called the Toy Workshop. Here, we made drums, maracas and toy cars to be given out to the Kythe kids. And the last booth was the blood drive booth. I'm so happy that I got Mico to donate blood (it was his first time.) and participate in the activities. He's lucky because the Kythe Week team were giving away a set of coloredpens to those who were able to go through all the booths. I wonder if he gave it to Berna. :D

Mico's "kumakandidato" pose. Good job Mr. Lifesaver.

Kythe Picnic
I can honestly say that I enjoyed our picnic. Everyone was willing to participate in the games. Angelo's chinese garter exhibition would have to be one of the highlights of that event. I also enjoyed the jamming sessions. I'm in love with Janelle's sweet voice. hihihi. One of the songs sung during the event was a song that has a special place in my heart, it was sung during the invocation.



Kythe Flying

I wasn't able to help during the set up since I had recollection that morning. But by 1:00pm, everything was already fixed and we were just waiting for the kids to come. We commenced the event with a Eucharistic celebration. Everyone was filled with the yummy Binalot (except for me and Adrianna). There were also free ice cream and cotton candy. The kids enjoyed the skit prepared by Kythe members. The parents were also able to relax and enjoy, thanks to the free massage by the blind people.

UBE Firetruck was there to give everyone a ride around the Belfield.

Not to mention, Marc Nelson came! Everyone wants to be close to him.

with Adrianna, and cute boy John Cena.

Congrats Mia and Angelo!

I salute your core team as well! You guys were amazing. :D

Immersion Recollection
I kept all of these in my heart.

• "We all have a share of poverty in our lives. We're just scared to admit it." - Recollection Master on poverty

• "The call for us is not only to step out of our comfort zone but to expand the territories of our comfort zone." - Ma'am Rina on our immersion experience

• "There are two types of love. The first kind of love is you love because you derive happiness in that person. The second kind of love is benevolence. You give love because you want to and you give it without asking for anything in return."; "Ask the Lord to give you the grace to forgive them." - Father on love and forgiveness

Send-off Dinner
Baby Eli will be leaving us sooner than we thought. But before their whole family leaves for the states, we gave a send-off dinner at Zhu, Fort Bonifacio. We also went to Venetian Mall at Mckinley Hill. Sayang, we weren't complete. Nevertheless, every moment spent with them is priceless.

First Draft
We were able to pass it on time! Good job to us Annie.

St. Scholastica LSS#16
I read the second reading for that day. Overrated but still one of my favorite readings.

1 Corinthians 13

loved ~ Rica Gran

Project 03

A super late update.

Week 3 was an uneventful week for me. Nothing extraordinary happened aside from the fact that I lost my phone for the -nth time. I'm so dismayed that day because I can't leave the house in time for my class since my brother wasn't home yet from work. I blame him why I lost my phone that day. He wasn't answering my calls and messages. So I opted to bring the keys to my grandparents house. While walking along our street, I remembered texting him where to get the keys. A few minutes after riding a cab, I realized that my phone was missing. I'm so disappointed with myself. Good thing I still have my Globe phone with me. So if you need anything, you may contact me through my Globe number. Will get a new phone by Wednesday for my Sun sim. I'll be using the same number so don't delete it in your phonebooks.

JOB FAIR

That week was also the university's Job Fair week. Even though I plan to study again after graduation, I still submitted my resume to some of the companies. The Placement Office also provided a soft copy of our graduation pictures so that we can use it in our resumes. One word to describe my grad pic, Fail! Annie and I weren't really satisfied with our pictures. Oh well! But aside from being busy with the job fair, Annie and I applied for our SSS numbers. Talk about express lane! Thank you Placement Office. I remember Kuya inviting me last sembreak to apply for my SSS number with him. I said yes but I totally forgot about it. I'm not even sure if he got his ID already.

COMPLIMENT?
I got innumerable yet the same comment that week from my family, friends and acquaintances. Ang payat mo! (You look thin!) I admit that I had problems with my eating habits. Well it started way back during Christmas break, but it got worse when classes resumed. My regular weight is 100lbs. End of Christmas break, I was 95 lbs. And just this week, my weight's 92lbs. I didn't expect my weight lost to manifest this soon. But not to worry, I started eating again this week. Hence, no more flat tummy for me.

THE BIG DAY!
I've been mentioning about this in my previous entries. It was my Lolo and Lola's BIG DAY! They celebrated their 75th Birthday (not anniversary) together. It was held at Makati Park last January 23. A total of 250 guests! All the ladies were pretty in their cocktail dresses while the gentlemen looked dashing in their barongs. I'll soon upload the pictures and videos or our presentations that day. One is my duet with Marga; the other is my family's dance number.

Baby Eli sporting a barong. He was extra adorable that night.

~*~

Jan 23 shout out!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRAE! I love you, girlfriend.

~*~

Starts-eating-again ~ Rica Gran

Project 02

Week 2 wasn't as crazy as my first week. I had a handful but manageable things-to-do under my checklist for this week. Thank God. Though I wasn't spared from all the drama, at least I got a healthy dose of it. I smiled more that I cried. Yey!!!

Thesis and my Thesis Partner
We have less that two weeks to finish our first draft and our Chapter 3-5 is still non-existent. Miracles do happen, right? Will get through this, I just know.

Photobooth with Annie

This is Annie, one of my best girl pals and my thesis partner. It's actually good to have a partner (who's different from you) to balance out everything that is unstable about you.
I talk a lot, she talks a lot more (kidding). She's very pretty... wait, I'm pretty as well. :P I'm unorganized and a certified crammer, she's little miss OC who also crams like me! With all these differences we have, one thing's definite, I super duper love her.
My aunt posted this on her FB account, "A good antidote to denial is to go to a safe and truthful friend who knows your situation."
Thank you for being my reality-checker and for just always being there for me. Thank you also for going to NSO the other day to collect data for our thesis. I love you supergirl!

Family
It's been a while since I last ate dinner together with my parents. I always eat alone. It was never an issue on my part since I know that we all have things to do on our own. However, I do look forward to eating dinner with the whole family. And just last Thursday night, after shopping for the January 23 party, Mama asked Papa to treat us to dinner. I can't recall the stories why we were all laughing hard. What I do know is that I'm really happy I got to spend quality time with them. I love you Mama and Papa! Let's do this more often, please. :)

Thank you Mama Gel for praying for me. I know that you never stopped caring especially when you heard about the news. I really appreciate it. Stay pretty and I love you!

Mama Gel, me and Mama Risa

Unisan
- FGDs are draining.
- My foster family is really nice.
- Walking along the beach is fun when low tide.
- I now know how to throw stones on water.
- I'm learning to appreciate long bus trips - escapism.
- I shall go back to Unisan, alone! If you want to come, just tell me. :D

Friends
I started accepting all the love I can get from my friends who sincerely love me. Sorry for pushing you away and thank you for just being there for me. :)

To you (whoever you are), I rarely fight back when people do me wrong. But it's different when you start attacking my friends. I used to care about you, but not anymore. Get a life!


Waiting for a miracle ~ Rica Gran