Swimming lessons: second to the last session

Two weeks from now, I'll be having my presentation for our laboratory meeting. waaah! So there, expect a lack of post in the days to come because I really need to prepare for that. But as for now, I would like to take the moment to just be happy. And speaking of happiness, one thing that really makes me happy is swimming.

A Day Well Spent

Started my day by going to church this morning. It felt good to be able to attend mass again. There's always something special about it. After mass, me and a friend went to Zara. Their Sale was still up, and the prices have gotten lower and lower! Nice. But I didn't buy anything because last Sunday I already bought a white trench coat that's on sale (in preparation for the coming autumn and winter seasons). The price was 100+thousand won but I got it for only 59 thousand won. How's that? Surely, it's a super win win! This time I just looked around and checked some items. Actually I love doing that - just looking around even though I'm not going to buy anything because it gives me a mental note on the things that I like so that next time it'll be easier to pick up my favorite item/s.  Well, it's a girl thing. I think it's what most girls do. Then after the "looking around" session, we had lunch in Burger King and I'm kind of loving their burgers already! Yummy! Having a full stomach means having a lot of energy. And this energy would be used in our downtown shops exploration. This part of downtown consists of shops after shops after shops. Shops are just everywhere!

Blessed

This week has been a tough one, emotionally. But at the end of the day, amidst all the problems and challenges, it's nice to know that my life is still full of blessings. I'm very grateful to God for He has always been there for me. Even if there were times that I feel so down and alone, I know that He has never left me. He never give up on me.

Yesterday was the moment I'd been dreading since Tuesday. The whole time, I was anxious about the mistake I did in the experiment and on how professor will react. So there, the worst-case scenario was already playing in my mind. But at the same, I was also praying and hoping that everything would go smoothly. The senior told me that professor would have a discussion regarding the experiment. And the moment came, I told him about my mistake, but surprisingly I didn't get that mad reaction I was imagining he would make. The discussion continued smoothly. And after that, it's like Woah! Amazing! Thank you God! God has once again answered my prayer. It has happened to me many times before - having a problem and getting saved from it. And it's all because God, by His grace, has always saved me and helped me overcome all of them. I am not a preacher but I just want to say, to express into words how GOD is working in my life. And I want to share this verses from the Bible, Matthew 6:25-33

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.   

and this song

Thoughts on My Birthday to Come

Even though my birthday is still several months away, I'm already thinking of how I'll celebrate it. It will be a special one because I'll be turning 25. An article I've read, Your 25th Birthday: An Important Halfway Point, perfectly explains the reason why the 25th birthday is different from our previous birthdays.

"By the 25th birthday most people expect to have accomplished something with their lives. There's only five more years until that big three-O and the average person usually hopes that they are well on their way by their 25th year. They'll have settled into a place of their own, a job and may even be starting a family all ready. Some new twenty-five year olds might be thinking that they want their party to be a little more grown-up, a little more sensible around this time."                                                   

Yes, being 25 entails one to live the life of a matured individual, matured in a sense that one has already accomplished or will soon-to-be accomplishing something in life. If I'm going to compare my life in the examples in the article, 

1. they'll have settled into a place of their own  Me: not yet. Well, I'm even living temporarily in a far off place.
2. have a job Me: I don't have a job. I'm back to being a student.
3. may even be starting a family already Me: nope, I still have to look for my prince. 

So there, I'm kind of in the opposite side of the coin. But my mind right now is thinking of ways on how I'll celebrate that special day in my life. First option - partyin' in the G2 club. Since my birthday is going to be on a Wednesday, I'll be lucky because it means free drinks in G2. But is that type of celebration fitted to celebrate my 25 years of existence? Well, I don't think so. Second option - go somewhere else and do the Eat, Pray, and Love thing. Surely that is a better one. It's more like what matured individuals would do. And now, since my birthday is still far, I have the much needed time to decide on what place to go and to plan my EPL trip. =)           

All for the love of HP

All for the love of Harry Potter, I woke up at 5:45am last Sunday, hurriedly prepared, and went to CGV Cinema in downtown together with my friends to watch the last film installment, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2. It's my first time to experience watching a movie at 7:30 in the morning. Yes, 7:30am! Yeah I know it's crazy! But well, good thing we got a 3000won discount. Not bad after all. We watched in IMAX 3D and it's amazing! First time to try the 3D thing and although it's more expensive than the usual 2D, I must say it's worth every penny. Now for the movie, as I've said in my previous post, A Bittersweet Ending,  it is a wonderful finale. And to the author and to all the cast & crew of the HP films, Thank you for giving us a gift that has been part of our lives since we were kids. We grew up with it and now after ten years, even though it has come to an end, Harry Potter still lives on in us!

haven't seen a big HP poster but this one will do

Him

I feel so down. So a great way to liven up my gloomy life is to think about that one guy who has been my ultimate ideal man since my first day in the university, and who still is up to now. My Marco. Actually he doesn't know it. We're not even close. We've met before but I doubt he still remembers me. It's as if we weren't meant to be. And even though there are some issues surrounding him, it doesn't matter. I still hope someday, somehow, we'll meet again, get to know each other, be friends, and who knows what will happen next? nah! But seriously, I really want to be friends with him. I admire this guy.

Since a girl can dream, here's mine. ♥

*Marco's pictures are from his fb account. Stalker much? I know right. Hehe.

Back to square one

Last night, I wrote my game plan to success (in the laboratory), but now I'm back to square one. I did a major, major mistake last week while doing my experiment and now my senior knows it. gah! We had a very long and serious discussion this morning. I know it's my fault. I should have done this, I should have done that. Once again, I disappoint them. Once again, I disappoint myself. The whole afternoon I was preparing myself on what is to come - Professor, in all his anger, will be talking to me or will probably even scold me. Maybe his lines will be, "It's been how many months? You've been here for five months already! But still, you still commit so many mistakes! What's happening with you?"  blah, blah, blah, blah. And since it's my mistake, I'll be saying sorry over and over again and wishing deep in my heart that I'll just disappear in that instant. But Professor hasn't talked to me yet, maybe senior hasn't told him yet. So okay, this spells AGONY being prolonged.

On a lighter note, my swimming lessons is the one leveling up. A swimming stroke was taught this afternoon, the one which I see swimmers do during competitions, the freestyle stroke! Okay, so since we are in the beginner's class, the substitute instructor (wah i miss our real instructor!) taught us the basics, the alternate rotation of arms. It's difficult but I'm determined to learn. Yey, very much excited for the next session on Thursday! =)

I wanna be like this!

On Top of the Game

I'm supposed to be sleeping now because my call time for tomorrow is 8:30am. But then, I need to put this thought into writing. I currently need to evaluate my performance, my attitude (well the whole me) in the laboratory. I need to level up. I've been in the lowest, deepest, roughest situation before and now, I want to experience how to be on top of the game! I want to be a competitive, assertive, and critical researcher. But the problem is, whenever I'm working with my senior, I tend to feel inferior and nervous, leading to clumsiness and making mistakes, and ultimately resulting to poor lab performance. Ah, I hate it! I hate it when I do that. I hate it when I disappoint my senior and my professor. I hate it when I disappoint other people. All I want to do is to do the right thing. I want to be good at what I'm doing and just ignore the pressure. I want to work with passion...just like before.

So here's the plan:

1. Be confident. Confidence is the key! Always make sure to be confident in front of professor and senior, and add to that all the other people you encounter. Avoid feeling nervous because when nervousness comes in the way, everything will surely become complicated.
2. Be prepared. There's no other way of gaining confidence than being prepared. Before starting an experiment, it's a must to have a proper background of what it is all about. Read books, articles, and other stuff related to the topic.
3. Be inquisitive. Never hesitate to ask some questions. The more questions asked, the more answers given, the higher the possibility of better understanding the experiment.

Hoping for the best. C'mon! Aja!

A Bittersweet Ending

IT ENDS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is a wonderful finale for a one-of-a-kind movie series that has been part of our generation. It has been part of our lives for 10 years and we grew up with it. Harry Potter is EPIC!

Torn between...

                            NEED                                                                      WANT 

            

Dress up: The Korean Way

Hello WORLD! I made a second blog Dress up: The Korean Way dedicated entirely for Korean fashion. So if you want to know their style or just simply curious of what they are wearing, you're all free to visit and have a look. Enjoy! =)

Lazy Sunday

It's a Sunday and it feels good to just lie here in my bed. All I want is to relax and to free my mind of stressful thoughts about my laboratory experiment and other personal matters. They're always giving me headache! Anyway, so to distress myself I browse the sites of my favorite fashion bloggers. They're all so so so stylish! And I just wonder how they're able to pull off any outfit in a very fashionable way. Another thing, I happen to see a pair of amazing sandals last weekend in Zara. I really wanted to have it but of course my budget doesn't permit me (first things first, need to allot a huge amount of money for my dormitory this coming semester, gaaah!). Actually it's the type of thing that you simply want to have, that you simply want to own because there's something special about it although I know I'll only be wearing it on special occasions or during parties.  And if ever I'll have it, it'll be my first ever super high-heeled sandal (4 inches).

Zara

Under the deep, blue sea, err, swimming pool

source of the pic is here

I just had my first session of swimming lessons this afternoon and I never expected I would enjoy it because last week, when we checked the pool area and the people, I felt so nervous I nearly wanted to back-out. They all looked like professional swimmers. Their moves/strokes were smooth and I was kind of scared, thinking I'm no good compared to them. But then, since I already paid (I thought the fee is for the use of pool only, but it turned it is required to attend swimming lessons), I decided to just go and give it a try.  And now, I must say I'm so happy I stick with it. Although the instructor (by the way, he's cute!) was speaking only in Korean, it's good that he's also showing some demo. What to do's-and-what not to do's. And I'm also lucky I have a Korean swimmate who can speak English. When the instructor was done and before we do the steps on our own, she patiently explained to me and my friend what we should do. So there, it's a first day high! What we learned for today: (since we arrived late, I suppose they're already finished with the breathing/bubbling exercise) kicking and moving in the water without kicking hard, it's like just relaxing your body and just letting yourself move in the water. After our one-hour swimming lessons, we tried the spa pool and it's really very invigorating! It feels like someone is massaging your whole body! Love it! Then we tried the sauna. Whoa it's so hot but it also feels good. Definitely had a great day! =)

On being a foreigner: Experiencing things here in Korea that I wouldn't normally do in the Philippines

It’s Friday, Friday

Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend

That song was actually playing in my mind this morning. Friday once again! Yey! I'm one happy human being! And since it's Friday night now, I am able to sit here in my bed and forget (in the meantime) my lab tasks/problems and of course, do what I am doing now, blogging!

Living in a foreign country has positive and negative effects but all in all, it's a very enriching experience. For one, I am able to do things here in Korea which I wouldn't normally do in the Philippines. Yes, one advantage of being a foreigner is that you'll be able to do whatever you like (as long as you're not breaking the law, of course) without getting those serious-"What the heck are you thinking?"-looks from other people (well sometimes you still get it though, but they understand it because you're different from them). So I just want to share such experiences:

• walking barefoot in the streets of North gate and in the KNU grounds on our way back to the dorm. we conquered the KNU grounds barefooted!
• singing in norebang/norebooth/videoke (even if I'm not gifted in the vocals department)
• dancing in the club (G2! w/ free drinks every wed!♥)
• drinking different kinds of alcohol in just one sitting (beer, soju, mekju, magkoli, wine)
• walking under the sun w/out umbrella (but since it's already blazing hot here, i am now starting to bring one)
• working in the lab for 12hrs(even experienced staying up to 18hrs)
• wearing dresses and shorts without worrying how other people will react(they don't mind since it's just common to see people here dressed fashionably)
• swimming in a one-piece bathing suit (which i'll be experiencing tomorrow, courage pls?)

Those are definitely one of the best and memorable experiences that I will treasure in my lifetime. And I'm hoping to to add more. And I leave you with this (you might have heard it already but it'll also serve as a reminder): Live your dream! Live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it!  =)

Okay, so I'm a little bit sleepy now. Tomorrow is the big day! I'll be taking the plunge and try swimming again. Good luck to me!

Right infront of me

So the picture above is what's right in front of me now. gaaah paperwork/journal reading/journal making/journal editing! It's not easy to do all those things, and when it's always like that everyday, all you want to do is to finish it, but then you just get stuck, and it seems like it's already never ending. But tonight is the night, I must finish it now.

AJA! Fighting!

And God, please help me po. Amen.=)