> Then there's the people. UP holds the largest variety: the geeks and nerds (of course), the fashionistas, socialites, fat gross people, goths, downright ugly kids, teens who don't wear undies, and gorgeous, one-of-a-kind people like me. The weirdest introduction I've heard so far from a classmate is this:

-_-: if you make me an angered specie you're gonna be an endangered specie! rawr.
o_O: er.. kuru?

> I thought it would be hard to win friends. But it really isn't. In UP, where thousands of people from different places in the archipelago unite in a piece of hundred-acre land, you're bound to meet someone with the same wavelength as yours. In my dormitory alone, I've met people from as far as Leyte, Davao, and Ilocos. Though I don't speak their language, we sure as hell understand each other through our ever-intellectual minds. And of course, I thank Manuel Quezon for making Tagalog the national language. Mwahuggz for you, mah man.

> Another thing in UP is that you're free to say practically anything you want and not give a damn. Hey, in our college orientation alone there's this rally that got me so exhilirated. Yeah i'm warfreak. You jealous?

Let me share to you a dialogue of me and one of my blockmates:

^_^: Hey bitch! Bat nga pala wala ka nung first meeting natin nung orientation? >_<: Kasi akala ko rally ung nasa labas e.
^_^: Rally? Bouvlacs (boblaks, sosi version) ka ba? Yun ung pila nung mga blocks!
>_<: E kasi... me mga hawak silang... plaque cards... at illustreyshon boards... ^_^: *rotfl*

Haha. So anong pinaglalaban ng mga taong me hawak na 'K-9', 'G-10', at 'F-2'? Tuition fee increase? Haha. Wala lang. So that's it. Now I call my blockmates bitches for the first time and they just laugh and say that's a good one. Ah, the perks of free speech.

> And last and certainly, undeniably and superlatively the least are the classes and the profs that abound the student's hectic schedules. Just like in high school, you get to meet all sorts of teachers: me 60 yrs old na buntis, me talsik laway(wag kang uupo sa harap), me promotor ng jugjug("uuy pareho silang science high school at course!" e anu naman?), me power and energy-savers ("Class, tinatamad akong magturo. We're giving ourselves a free time!". Yeah, right.) at syempre, me normal naman. But they're really, really rare. Pero ang kinaiinisan ko talagang teacher ay ang aking Kasaysayan 1 teacher, Mr. Hernandez-zwatsisneym.

15 mins into the class...
"Class, sorry i'm late, pumunta pa ko sa faculty center para blah blah blah..."

30 mins...
"So, this is... Kas 1 Class. But before I give the introdution, I want to tell you a story about *insert corny story here*" syempre tatawa ang klase. Prof yan e.

45 mins...
"Now before my introduction on the subject let's have the class attendance. Let's see... *Insert class attendance, kung saan tatanungin ni Mr. Hernandez-zwatsisneym kung present o absent ang student. As if makakasagot yung absent di ba. Tapos gagawa ng joke tungkol sa mga pangalan, e.g. 'Habon' gagawing 'sabon'. Pag wala nang maisip tatanungin niya ang year, course, high school, province, place of origin, skin tone at blood type.* Umabot ng 30 mins yung routine. Effective na pamatay-oras.

1 hr, 15 mins...
"*insert corny joke**insert corny joke**insert super corny joke**insert prof's experience in China**insert dreadful anecdote**insert common joke, yung tungkol sa banana*

1 hr, 30 mins...
"Oops, time na! I'll just give the introduction next time. Which reminds me. That next time I'm talking about would be next week. I'll be in Palawan for a seminar, so I'll be absent next time. In the meantime, get yourselves busy by reading *insert 300+ page book here* and *insert 20-page article here* and making a 5-page summary about it. Arial 11, single-spaced, computerized. Adieu!"

HUWAAAHHHT?! Hnlabo! T__T

So ayun, that's some experience I've had in my first few days as a UP student. This is quite a place full of repetitive culture-shocks. Well anyway, that's it. I'm gonna make a Part 2 if I would have time next week. In the meantime I'm gonna be reading the book and the article. But then again, maybe I'mma just do it later. Lazee!

"Remember this face, y'all, I'm gonna be famous!"

it got me home
11:56 PM

#50: FIFTY THINGS ABOUT MOI

Hey guys! We have three things to celebrate today. First off, it's my birthday! *applause.* I'm 17 years old now, and I feel older by the minute. In accordance to my coming-of-age I decided to change some aspects of my life. It's also in preparation for my upcoming entry to collegiate life in UP. My birthday adventure will be narrated in a later post, so there you go. Anyway, thanks for greeting me, you know who you are, y'all.

Another event to celebrate is this post. It's my fiftieth post! *polite applause* Wow, isn't that some great achievement. I started this blog November(?) last year. I've decided not to count the months that passed but rather the posts that were made. It's a better measure, isn't it.

And the third event to celebrate is my gorgeousness, intensified further by the flourish that old age had blessed upon my features. *applause, rabid now.*

To commemorate these three occasions I have decided to let you in on some tidbits and facts of my living existence. Well, at least those that I remember now. Indulge! Here's 50 things about moi:

50. I’m a Gemini and a Horse, zodiacally speaking.

49. My worst (or best) LSS is Sexyback by Justin Timberlake. It went on for a week now, and still counting.

48. I hate my nose. And I hate my fat ab.

47. The first complex word that I knew is ‘chlorophyll’. It earned me the title of best speller in my prep year.

46. I’ve never been to Enchanted Kingdom. And I go OP when people talk about it.

45. I correct my English teacher’s spelling and grammar when I was in grade 4.

44. I drank milk out of a formula bottle until Grade 2.

43. I want to be called Cutie. But nobody calls me Cutie. Everyone calls me Habon. Or Bitch.

42. Speaking of which, I’ve heard every variation possible of my surname: Sabon, Hapon, Jabon, Baboon, Habbie, Jabbang, Haboner, Habonie Baby, Habonera, and most recently, Habitch.

41. My favorite expression is ‘bitch’, followed by ‘epek’.

40. I have a mannerism of blowing air through my mouth. I can’t describe it. You’ll just know when you see me do it.

39. I’ve been exposed to television five times.

38. I joined an acting workshop when I was 7. I should’ve been Noli in Bayani (in ABS CBN) if mom hadn’t thought first of my education.

37. I want a Dance Revo machine, a Dance Maniax machine and an Ab King Pro for my exercise regimen.

36. All my 7 cellphones had been lost, snatched, or hold-upped. I’m not kidding.

35. I have a recurring dream of being chased by zombies/ murderers/ vampires/ detectives/ aliens/ girls/ etc. I’m always being chased about. Was it because of my charm? I wonder.

34. I love green if it’s on a shirt; I love blue otherwise.

33. I am sanguine. Meaning, I’m passionate and emphatic, blah blah.

32. I was once a leader in my elementary days of an organization named DMC. That’s Demons and Mammons Club.

31. In an alternate life I think of myself as a struggling photographer, starving for the job I like doing best. But in this life I am a journalist. But still struggling and starving.

30. I can draw, dance, sing, act, write, and love. Taray!

29. I want to be rich. I need to be rich.

28. The phrase (I think) “Aigo no Fuumi” goes into my mind from time to time. I don’t know what the hell it means. It’s like Japanese or something. Isn’t that weird?

27. I am the family’s black sheep.

26. My primal fear is frogs. I literally vomited my intestines the moment I learned that it’s what I’ve been eating in the province all the time. And yes, it tastes like chicken.

25. I once had a huge fistfight with a classmate during a Values Education class. Haha. The irony.

24. I love the number 7. I hate 6.

23. I once planned to write to Wish Ko Lang to help Ka Saleng, the 89 year-old plastic balloon vendor in my elementary school. I just don’t know where to send it to.

22. I am obsessive-compulsive. My mind cannot be put to rest until I do things in my right hand what I did first with my left hand, or unless I write words stroke per stroke in my thoughts.

21. I’ve attempted to run away from home three times. But that’s just to see if my parents would stop me. They didn’t.

20. My ultra wish is to be God. My super wish is to be the president of the Philippines. My wish is to become an editor-in-chief. Starring in movies is just a thought.

19. Money always slips out of my hands. I’m a terrible treasurer.

18. I’m a bitch wit the househelp. My yayas give up after a month or so because of my tantrums. Well that’s in the past. I’m good now.

17. And I am a good liar.

16. I hate losing.

15. I’m an old soul. I love classic songs.

14. I have a soft spot for kids.

13. I’m stupid at Math. So I hate it. Screw you Math!

12. My favorite teacher is Ms. Gray, the teacher who taught me to write poems.

11. I have a super secret invisible friend named Kendall.

10. My first drawing is a red-and-orange apple something. Basta it looks like some fruit.

9. Once in nursery I got bored of getting perfect scores in the tests that I got some answers wrong on purpose.

8. I once found a nest of little hatchlings and kept them in the garden. I nurtured them until they were eaten by the stray cat. I hated, no- loathed her since then.

7. I love books. My favorite authors are Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King.

6. My favorite riddle is: What is born together with a baby’s birth? … a parent.

5. I still believe in the supernatural and that one day someone would give me superpowers. I think shape-shifting’s cool.

4. My favorite toy is a tamagochi I stole from my cousin. I dunno if I liked the fact that it was stolen rather than the toy itself.

3. I am in nature a nocturnal person. I sleep at 4 am and wake up at 12 pm.

2. One memorable quote is; “People do not fear darkness. They fear what’s in it.”

1. I’M ONE-OF-A-KIND ME! (Now THAT’s informative.)

it got me home
8:02 PM

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