On the Look for a SUMMER GETAWAY!

Every year me and my college barkada need (need is actually an understatement) to have a summer getaway. As a young professionals in our chosen fields, summer is always something we look forward to because it the time of the year where we unwind, relax and get away from all the stress in our lives.

SUMMER is THE ULTIMATE ESCAPE FROM REALITY. >> this for me is what summer means. its when i get to travel to another place, try on a new swimsuit, ride the airplane or the bus and just be my friends and LIVE THE GOOD LIFE. Being a young professional, unwinding gives me the fuel to go on with life and make me a "new person" everytime i go back to work.

So this is my ordeal, this summer we planned an out-of-the-country getaway. Ayi, my college superfriend has an employee rate in one of the hotels in Bali, Indonesia and we thought it was a good idea to grab that opportunity. We were all excited by the fact that we get to go out of the Philippines, but knew we had to battle one more problem and that is getting an airfare. We askd travel agents we knew and discovered that the airfare would cost us $500.00 Oh no! and that's still exclusive of terminal fee and local taxes. From then on we doubted the plan. However, there was a brink of hope when we heard that there is a travel expo happening in SM convention center. So, we went there and look for packages that can bring us to out destination. Sadly, different agencies quoted us with the same amount of airfare and it really disappointed us.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, we decided we had to change plans and stick to the Philippines first before travelling out of the country. We decided we'll try Caramoan city in Camarines Sur. This is where my search began.

I have seen pictures of Caramoan but i do not have a slight idea of where it was and how far it was. I did some research and found a very good site with all the works and tips for people who wants to travel to Caramoan City. I'll post the link here because it has been a really great help for me. I have not yet tested it but who knows i might be in Caramoan this summer.:)
Here is the link: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/e1d28/15698e/9/.

The author was moymoydtraveler. He posted tips about the place like transportation, accomodations, places to visit and eat in Caramoan. As for a traveller like me, i found it really helpful and easy to read. So for those of you who wants to go to Caramoan, i recommend you this site.:)

BTW, thanks moymoy for the tips!:) I'll post my Caramoan adventure here if ever I'll be able to pull this off.:)

I also found this site http://caramoan-paradise.blogspot.com/2008/12/caramoan-adventure-cwc-wakeboarding.html.

The site is owned by Myra Roces and it offers group tour packages. The packages is really affordable plus the site is very user friendly and informative.:)

Thanks also myra, and im hoping to get in touch with you soon for our trip!!:)

What January 30 means!?!:)

What my birthday mean?

You are always surrounded by a circle of friends. You are friendly and fun to be with. Although you occasionally disappoint them by being stubborn, but over all, they love your qualities.

On Love, You want to have full control of your love and that's not a nice way to treat your partner. You take your time in saying yes to his wedding proposal or if you are a man, you will not propose anyone until you are certainly confident which might take ages.

My strengths:While outwardly witty and humorous, in reality they are rather serious, discreet and discerning.

My weakness:They make misjudgments and are sometimes proud and haughty.

Best job:Self-employed.

Most of the meanings are true for me. its really amazing that a simple application like that can actually state who you are as a person>:)

What's in a NAME?

My name is Jhoanna.

For some reason, I did not like my name when I was a little kid. I always thought it was very hard for some to pronounce and even remember. I also had an idea that people always forget my name becuase it was a three syllable word JHO-WA-NNA. it was kinda hard for some to remember names with three syllables and i wanted my name to be a two syllable word but it was not what i had. Some of my friends have shorter names, which means TWO SYLLABLE WORD.

This meant that they were always remembered by people and by those they dont even know. I did not like the feeling at all. At times i felt invisible and worst, i felt unlovable. Many would think that its just a name but for me it reflects how we are seen or remembered by people. If people do not remember your name it is the same with you as a person --forgotten.
As a teacher by profession, it has always been my policy that my students remember my name. This is due to the fact that students can really have some "good words" when describing their professors. So, for them to remember my name I sometimes include it in my exams.*wink* Although this is a good strategy for students to remember me, it is inevitable that some of them still forgets my name. Actually, i have been given different names already, some are funny some are really out of to his world.
i appreciate students who remember my name and it is also my goal to remember all their names inspite of the difficulty of matching faces and names. There is always a sense of fulfillment in my part when i remember their names even if they are already my former students. There is also the same feeling of fulfillment when my former students remember my name. It is a constant reminder that in some ways i might have really touched their lives. That in the journey of our lives we have seen and been part of that life.
I have always wanted my name to be remembered. Luckily, I got that from my profession and my students.
Now, I have learned to love the name that i have. I have also loved the person that owns that name.
**Speaking of names, here's what my name says about me.*(from www.blogthings.com)

Your name says that you are mostly:
Talented but unmotivated

Your name also says you are:
Independent but distant

Moral but jealous

Ambitious but stubborn

be comfortable with your own skin

**its been months since i wrote here. i have my reasons and some of it are because of work, no internet connection, no interesting topic to write.but really when i come to think of it, the only reason i dont usualy blog is because i am not confident in how i write and with my thoughts. When i get the courage to write, insecurities stop me from doing so because i am so afraid of judgments.

So, why am i writing now? simple: being comfortable with your own skin

what made me change my mind? let's just say true friends does things without having a single idea that they have done something significant in your life, and for that im thankful for my friends:)

me and three of my high school barkada were in a yahoo messenger conference. the conversation was the usual "kamustahan" and that "kamustahan" went into a more serious talk mostly about work, being yourself and being happy.

i wont go into details but the conversation made me realize that people differ, jobs differ and coping on life differs. there are certain people that cope through friends, laughter, going out and partying while some people tend to overthink things.

i am both. i sometimes feel that i need to go out and hang out with my friends when things dont go my way or when i feel stressed out. after a night out i feel good and ready to face the world again.

but there are times i overthink things. i think so much about what others may say about me,what's wrong with me and why do i have to be me.

coping with the stress of work and daily life is HARD. Nothing in this world is easy its just a MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE. sometimes work is not really the main problem of every stress we experience, sometimes the problem lies with us.

It is very important for a person to fully discover oneself. things that make you happy, sad, angry and crazy. your favorite things, colors you love, movies you want, books you die for.. things that no other person can discover but yourself. this for me is SELF LOVE. only you can love yourself the way you want to be loved and cared for, when you finally find this, love will come pouring in. that's the only time people surrounding you would also pour their love on you. you will exude an aura of joy and love and having friends and being loved will be effortless. being comfortable with one's skin is SELF LOVE. when you cannot love yourself no other person can do it for you. loving oneself is the first part of understading how love works, becuase if you cant love yourself how can you be sble to love others?

when you feel frustrated, depressed or unloved, stop and think again.. PEOPLE ACTUALLY LOVE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE, YOU JUST DONT LOVE YOURSELF THAT MUCH.

being comfortable with one's own skin is really difficult, there will be times you'll doubt yourself of things you are capable of doing. insecurities will come crawling in on you and bad comments may make their way on your ears. but come to think of it its your own skin, who else will be comfortable with it?:P

My College Telltales Part 2

*continuation*
8. Baraha days sa UM

Tuwing umaga nun Filipino time nauso samen nila kc ung paglalaro ng black and white at kung anu anu pang sugal sa cards. Ndi na kame pumapasok nun para lang maglaro. Kasa kasama namen nun sila Eden, Jakie, atbp di ko na maalala. Si KC masyado naaliw kakaklaro, inaliw din siya ng teacher namen sa Filipino. ahahah PEACE MAN!!!!

9. R.I.P Ms Belma
Dahil sa inaliw si KC ng Filipino teacher namen. Ayun sinumpa niya kasama ni Yam na sana madeads na siya dahil binagsak sila. Ang Nangyare: MAY NASAGASAAN NG JEEP.Patay!

10. Hits sa Airport
May mga panahon noon nung college na wala na ata kameng ibang trip kundi ang humits. Minsan nang maagtripan namen, ndi kame pumasok sa class ni Nikki at KC para tumambay sa airport pagkatapos humits. Ang eksena:

KC: Game Ka Na BA?
Jojai: Game Na Ba Ako?
Nikki: (Tawa)

Sabay sabay: HAHAHAHAHHAHA!!

Ngaun ko lang narealize na nid naman nakakatawa ung pinagusapan namen, ewan ko kung bakit tawang tawa kame nun.

11. Hits sa POLIGOV
May mahaba kameng break nun bago kame magpoligov. So wala kameng magawa kundi maghits kaya ang nangyare pagpasok namen sa class wala kameng maintindihan. Ang malala pa dun asa front row kameng tatlo nila KC at Nikki. at slowmo kung kumilos nun si KC. why not?

12.Spanish Class
Sa instituto cervantes kame nagkaklase noon. May ilan mga memorable experiences ako noon at eto un:

Angelie: "Senora, Senora, el Bano!"
Roda: "Hijo de Puta" (ayun napalabas ni senora)
Nagmakarunny nose si senora, naglagay siya ng tissue sa loob ng ilong nya.
Nang may makatabe kame ni Nikki na mabahong classmate namen.
Nang lage kameng nagdadala ng mani sa class nila Nikki.
Naging teacher namen si Luis na may butas ang pants sa may puwet.
At nang kinanta ni Nikki ung alma mater nila nung highschool na may spanish pronunciation ang "foundation"

13. AKIC Elevator
Nasa 12th floor ata kame nun kakatapos lang ng klase. nagaantay kame nun sa elevator kasi ayaw namen mag hagdan.Parating na ung elevator, eto na bubukas na. TADA!!!!!!!! May isang matabang nakaPE na nakasideview na sa elevator. Di naman ako natatawa nun eh, kaso etong si KC biglang naghatak at sinabe: "Tara, hagdan nalang tau! Sino ba namang di matatawa dun.

hindi pa dun natapos ang ang bangungot namen sa lalakeng un. Naglalakad kame ni Kc sa may table tennis area nang may naspotan kameng matabang naksandal na natutulog laylay na ung ulo. At ndi kame nag kamali sya nga ulit. Laftrip!

14. MERALCO Adventure
kaya nga bang ndi adivsable na ndi magbayad ng kuryente on time. Bakit? Para maiwasan ang paghahabol sa office ng Meralco at pagkaputol ng kuryente. Pagdating namen sa cityland, ayun walang kuryente, so mega takbo kame sa may malate para habulin ung meralco office. Eh ndi namen alam kung san un so sumakay kame taxi at pagdating dun close shop na. So ang ending ng beauty ni Nikki? Black beauty. Wla siyang kuryente magdamag. AHAHHAHAHAHA!!:P

15. One on One Inuman
red horse times namen ni Niki sa pad nya sa cityland nun,nagmagkalasingan na kanya kanyang drama sa fone ang arte namen nun. Si Nikki nasa may balcony ako nasa may CR. ynot?

My college telltales:)

Tatlong taon na rin ang lumipas simula ng magtapos ako sa kolehiyo. Marami nang nagbago sa buhay pero may isang bagay na hanggang ngaun ay ndi pa nagbabago. Yun ay ang CSB, 3 taon akong naging estudyante ng paaralang un at ngaun bumibilang na ng pangalawang taon ko doon bilang guro. Kahit na maraming taon na ang lumipas napakasariwa pa din ng mga alaala ko ng mga kalokohan, laughtrip, sad tri, tsismis, awayan at kung ano ano pang trip nung college. Maraming mainstay sa buhay college ko at ilan sa mga ito ay hanggang ngaun kasama ko pa rin sa paglalakbay ko sa buhay. Sa tingin ko ito ang isa sa mga araw na nais kong alalahanin ang BUHAY College.

1. 1st day ng CSB life ko:
ORIENTATION:
Cast: KC Co, Rod Tan, Nicki Cabrera, Rachelle Ann Go

Orientation day noon, wala akong kilala nagkataon na nakatabi ko ang isang babaeng sobrang bibo na daldal ng daldal sa orientor namen, kung tama ang pagkakalala ko si Ate Kaye un. Una kong nakatabe ung babaeng un sabe ko grabe sa pagkahyper to lahat na ata kinakausap. Di naman naglaon nalaman ko din ang pangalan nya, (nakita ko kasing sinulat nya sa nametag) siya si KC Co, o Kathreeen Claire Co. Unang araw palang nang pagkakakilala namen eh hagalpak na agad ang tawa ko sakanya. kasi ba naman nagchichinese siya kasi katabe namen si Rachelle Ann Go (hindi siya ung singer kapangalan lang.) Dahil dun naging magkaibigan na kame. Sa tabe nya naman ay may isang neneng payat, na napag-alaman namen na Nicki ang pangalan, Nicolette Franchesca V. Cabrera sa totoong pangalan. Sa tabe naman nya ay si Rod Tan. Kame ung mga unang magkakausap nun nung orientation. For the record, akala nameng tatlo lalake ang ROD TAN. Pero nang tumawa na, aba, MOTHER PALA.:) peace.

Dun nagsimula na tuwing bago magklase eh nagkikita kita muna kame sa wendy's bago pumasok sa class.


2. Wendy's Meet up
Tulad ng sinabe ko un na nga nagkikita kita muna kame sa wendy's nun nila KC, Nicki, Rod, CJ at Carl (meron pang iba pero di ko na maalala kung sino sila heheh) para sabay sabay kame papasok. (grabe sooooo highschool). Ang blooper lang na naalala ko nun eh nung hinahanap namen ung Computer Lab, at ndi namen makita. grupo grupo pa kame nun kaya anjologs talaga.

3. Elevetaor Chase
Break ata nun may hinabol kame ni Nicki na lalake.. mula third floor hanggang fourth floor hanggang sumakay siya sa elevator, ang gwapo kasi.. turned out the guy was a girl.. MALIIIII!!!!:)

4. Madison
Isa sa popular tambayan ay ang dorm ni Nicki noon. Inom, addikan, tambayan, gawaan ng project o kung anuman. May isang beses na may inuman pero ndi naman talaga ako kasali nun na sobrang nagkalasingan na nalaglag daw sa hagdan si soky. heheh.

Meron din nang magtago si Faye sa likod ng aircon para humits...

Ang gorilla drama namen ni Soky, KC, at Nicki habang nanonood ng tennis sa Rizal. hanep overlooking kasi eh.

Ang dance showdown namen nila KC at Nicki sa mga nagtetennis pa din tuwing break time.

Nang muntikan nang manakawan si Nicki sa kama nya.. (alam mo na un Nicki!)

Nang mainis si nikki nang biglang nagdatingan ang L1W sa dorm nya ng walang pasabe.

5. Carl vs. CJ
*pasensya na sa dalawang sangkot. highlight kasi talaga ng college life ko to.

AESTHET time ng biglang may dalawang babaeng nagaway.
Ang drama: Si KC nanghamon na hawakan daw ni CJ ang tenga ni Carl kung matapang siya.
Bigla nalang sa likod namen....

Nagtulakan si Carl at CJ, nagsigawan... Si jammy syempre umawat, hinawakan si Carl sa braso at pinaupo *take note: Forced paupo un, in short walang nagawa si Carl kundi umupo*, isa pang highlight si Jiv, umupo at nanood while saying Grow Up!, kameng tatlo nila kc at nikki ni ndi sumubok mangawat, at ang pinakaHIGHLIGHT sa lahat, SI SIR AESTHET WALNG NAGAWA KUNDI MAGSABE NG GUYS!!!!:P

6. PE class
Nagmagsayaw kame nila Nicki, Kc at CJ ng I will survive para sa dance class. Kagulo lang kame nun.

7. Providence Tower
Past time namen noon nila KC at Nikki ang magpunta sa providence para magvideoke. Dun nauso ang pagkanta namen ng Lakas Tama ng parang walang bukas, dun ko nadiscover na alam ni Nikki ung Till death do us part ng White Lion, nang magkaroon ng kalove team si nikki with Chudie dahil sa kantang Another used to be, dun din nahasa ang acting skills namen ni KC nang magkunware kaming nagwawala at nagaaway sa loob ng videoke room at may nagcheck out sameng guard sa sobrang galing ng pagarte namen.

*to be continued*

My newest ADDICTION

I'm very fond of playing simple games in the internet. Before i always played SIMS, Diner dash and those other sort of games. Then came the latest and my newest addiction, thanks to my friend Lani who introduced me to this site.

y8.com is a site full of games ranging from easy to difficult ones. The games are in flash format so it downloads really fast and only has a short time to play. Although the games are for limited time only, some of the games are really fun and exciting. PLus the games are free, if you might get lucky there are games that are downloadable.:)

Here are some of my fave games:

1. Hotdog BushThis was the first game I ever played in y8.com. The plot of the game is that George Doubya Bush was kicked out of the White House so he ended up selling hotdogs instead. When playing you just need to serve the customers whatever they would like to have. It might sound so easy at first but wait till you get to the other levels. There are additional snacks, drinks and condiments to make the game a little more thrilling. There also another surprise there when you think you've finished everything.:)
Hot Dog Bush



Click here to play this game

2. Burger Tycoon

Couldnt find a picture for the game. But this is really one of the best games available in y8. The concept is that you have to manage a fast food business but the challenging part is that you need to also manage the cattle, the farm and even the heardquarters. The gane is like SIMS but in a different setting. Really fun and realistic. You'll learn so much about the fast food business by playing this game.
Burger Tycoon



Click here to play this game

3. Fever Frenzy

Fever frenzy is a doctor pretend game. You have to treat all patients in a given time. This game is under the mouse skills category. Really exciting and challenging.

Fever Frenzy



Click here to play this game

There are so many other games for your amusement just check out the site below and play your lives out.:)

www.y8.com