Unlike the several graduations I had in the past, yesterday’s was certainly the least emotional.  You can blame it on the camwhoring we were all guilty of or the two remaining electives I need to complete within the next 3 weeks. The sadness just wasn’t there this time around.  Talking to a couple of people made me sad a tad bit but it was completely dissimilar to what transpired in DC during the eve of my departure. That night saw the worst of me. Today, I was talking to a friend and she surprisingly (and certainly interestingly) remarked that I no longer seemed as happy as I did back when we started. It honestly caught me off guard. It was a completely surprising observation.  But I admitted that there was some truth to it. Even the past two weeks or so, I know I managed to fuck up some things which were perfectly working out well.  Though I feel some level of guilt, it is quite unusual that I’m feeling like I couldn’t care less anymore. I’m just waiting for August 12. I am not going to have a more interesting life there, certainly not. But there was just… Nevermind.

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It feels great when your hard work pays off. The ceremony yesterday gave me two reasons to at least feel better about all the hard work and lack of sleep the past couple of weeks. Though there’s really no other option, the award for outstanding thesis and the numerous praises for the video I made I guess were more than enough a compensation.   Perhaps the award gives me a better sense of achievement.  That pile of readings and the paper whose pages grew by the day served as my lovechild for the past 3 months or so.

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I realized how easily I can get attached to people. Talking to another friend last night made me realize that even after meeting some of them just a few weeks back, I do have the tendency to already feel some level of sadness towards the idea of not seeing them again.

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I thought it was fun acting like Zoolander yesterday and mimicking his blue steel look. I got a new haircut just hours before the ceremony so I had a big ego going there. lol.

1. I’d like to think that I’m generally not mean, but if there’s really one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s the stench that emanates from, well, smelly people. I need not identify who they are for the sake of not having to state the obvious.

2. Proposals to seek alternative forms of energy as the price of oil continues to skyrocket point out to the use of corn as a potent source. Yet issues arise with regard to possible scarcity if this particular commodity is used. It is a valid point. I’d like to think it is part of social responsibility. Therefore, any proposal to push through with this plan for the sake of profitability and with utter disregard for possible starvation is just plain ridiculous.

3. I’m slowly realizing, late is at might be, that no matter how difficult something is, it still becomes enjoyable as long as our interest lies in it. The level of difficulty is surpassed by the amount of effort we put into it. Because our heart is in it.

4. I wish comforting someone to easily get over the grief of losing a family member is as simple as regular people enjoying the beautiful positive words of a considerably comforting song.

5. And he says, “Dad, I love you. Can you hear me? I promise I’ll be good. So don’t worry about me and [our] family. You’ll always be with me wherever I go.” It sounded as if it came from a kid. Perhaps grief and sadness reminds us humans that no matter how old or tough we seem, when things like this strike us, we are indeed still kids- vulnerable to the forces of the world to which we don’t have control.

1. Sundays are generally boring. Not only is it because there’s considerably few emails that get sent but also it is a time when no one is around. Well, except for Starbucks peeps.

2. I am a bad movie critic. I’ve gone from being positive to being, well, neutral, after seeing the movie ‘The Oxford Murders’ to which I initially had a good though until I read some reviews post-watching (therefore the neutral stance to balance things out).

3. Usually, I don’t believe in alms-giving because I think it might promote abuse or tolerance of the practice. However, in the Philippines, I think I am more inclined to give to the kids that roam the roads than to the (white/black) old men here. Case in point: the regular beggar in Starbucks who asks for $2 to buy diapers for his daughter.

4. I feel repressed not being able to sing whenever, wherever I want to. Instead I do silent performances. Whenever, wherever. At least it makes me believe I can reach all the notes with utter perfection.

5. Maybe I spend too much time doing worthless things. I always, always lack the time to finish reading the Financial Times and start reading one of the books that’s lined up on my desk.

6. Delivery service here sucks. I consistently miss my copies of FT twice a week. Mondays/Tuesday and Fridays. My weekend FT comes on Sundays. Strange.

7. Fortune cookies from Panda Express are getting my hopes up about landing a good job. Yesterday’s says “Your dearest wish will come true” and today’s says “A thrilling time is in your immediate future”. Coincidentally related? I fuckin’ hope not.

8. I need to keep my posts grande. As in the coffee sizes in Starbucks, which I apparently decided to use to sort of categorize my entries. A friend of mine complained that my posts are too long. Just as a venti coffee is too much for some people. I intended for this post to be tall, but it’s gone grande now.

*RT = Random Thoughts

I might be sooo behind in seeing this video but it just doesn’t matter. This has got to be one of the most hilarious things I have ever. ever seen. Ever.

This video was apparently shot for entertainment purposes.