Long weekend

When I heard that there's gonna be a long weekend starting August 27, I nearly jumped out of my seat literally. I was so happy to finally have time to unwind and relax after a term that's to be considered the most exhausting and work loaded of all the terms I've had in my college life. But before I enjoy that long weekend, I had to go through finals week, passing requirements and thesis defense first. And I'm happy to say that I survived, well barely at least.

Monday and Tuesday, we still had regular class, but those were the last days. Wednesday was the official start of finals week. I had my finals on Organic Chemistry then. Later that day, me and my thesis mates had to do our executive summary, so I juggled reviewing for Physics and doing my part. After taking the exam on Physics the next day, me and my thesis mates had to prepare for our Thesis defense the following day. Thesis defense went incredibly well though. We survived it! All the hard work and sleepless nights finally paid off :) After that, we had to have a thesis celebration. We went to Glorietta to see Crazy Stupid Love. It was wonderful! :)

Here we are being busy before defense :)

Me and my thesis mates Syd and Nix after defense. Look at the smiles on our faces! Priceless :)

Me and Nix eating at MCDO hahaha :)

Me and my thesis mates at Time Zone after the movie :)

Well after that, Nix drove me home. I got home at around 9:30pm. Then I had to review for Embryology finals the next day and do our synthesis paper for the same subject. Had no sleep. The next day, my sister went home to Bataan earlier than me. After I took the test and finished my requirements, I finally went home to Bataan. Yey! :)

I had to go to church for practice for our Anniversary the next day. Talk about exhausting! But it was well worth it because the 25th Silver anniversary of our church was a definite success! It was held in Crown Royale Hotel in Balanga and the venue was big :) I went there at around 1pm to get perked up. We also had last minute practices and adjustments. The celebration started at 3pm and ended at 7pm. There were minor difficulties and hassles but it went well. We were graced by the presence of Rev. Ligaya Javier, and she was the speaker. Her preaching was awesome and I think God's word was delivered well. We also had Pastor Sonny Carlos and Pastora Sonia. The praise and worship and presentation also went well. The highlight was the finale :)

Faith, Ate Judy, Tin and Me before the program started :)

Praise and Worship

Reverend Ligaya Javier's preaching.

Youth presentation.

Recognition of some of the church's seniors.

Passing-the-candle-on ceremony.

Victory praise and worship :)

Here are some of the pictures after the whole celebration. Vain! :)

Picture with Pastor Sonny :)

Family Portrait :)

All in all, the celebration was epic! :) I'm so blessed to be a part of the JRM Bataan Family. I hope we reach 50 years! :)

After that, Monday, we decided to have a post celebration. Kuya Mel asked us of we wanted to go to Morong at the beach. Though we're tired, we decided to go! To have fun and unwind :) I took this rare chance for a photo op :) We traveled for about 2 hours, but the bonding and the trip was well worth it! I really enjoyed. It was really nice to have fun even for a change, and also to unwind and de-stress! The weather was perfect for me. It wasn't too hot nor too cold, and the waves were awesome :) I had fun though I had body pain after. Hahaha. The pain was worth it :)

The road to the beach :)

Buying buko at Bagac :)

Having fun? :)

This is my friend Faith. Took the chance to take this shot because of the lighting. it was beautiful. And this is the raw shot :)

Took shots of my sister. The beach was beautiful :)

My sister being dragged to the beach :)

Jump shot! :)

Mom and her friends :)

Hanging out on the beach :)

Soaking my feet in the sand. Warm, fuzzy :)

I'm missing someone so bad. I wish you were there with me :(

This was the greatest long weekend ever. What a nice way to unwind and have fun. Back to reality now! :)

:)

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.
- Captain Corelli's Mandolin. "Love is the beauty of the soul." --St. Augustine

"Grounded for so long, now it’s time for me to fly.."

I was browsing some sites and editing my blog just a few minutes ago when suddenly I heard a song that really made me stop what I'm doing and listen. It's music video came on TV and it's Pia Toscano's new single "This Time". It's a really catchy song, I got LSS easily. Then I clicked a new tab and searched for it, and now I'm listening to it. It's 3 minutes of more than just cool beats and rhyming words; it's a song of self-worth and encouragement.


I love the line "Grounded for so long, now it’s time for me to fly..". I can relate to it now. I have been grounded for so long and I feel like my life is a just a plain routine. Feels like my life is boring, no excitement, no thrill. And personally, it's tiring to do routines. Hopefully this song will keep me going. Thanks Pia Toscano for your beautiful song and those encouraging lyrics! I shall "fly..." this time! :)

This Time

by Pia Toscano

Well I'm mad as hell
I ain't gon' take it no more
My bag is packed up at the back of your door
'Cause I don't know who I am no more
You won the battle but you lost the war
I've been in denial, now I'm living the truth
Been down for a while, now I'm standing up to you

This time, this time I'm gonna do it my away
This time, I'm finding out the hard away
This time, I'm gonna go back to the girl I was on the night you found me
No more, closing back the real me
Just wait, in a minute you'll see
This time, is in time, it's my time
Getting back to the real me

Don't try to stop me with the words you say
'Cause I'm sick and tired of the games you play
I'm gonna free myself, gonna make a change
And like a butterfly, I'mma spread my wings
Been crying for too long, now I'm drying my eyes
Grounded for so long, now it's time for me to fly

Psalm 13

¹ How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
   and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
   How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 ³ Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
   and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
   my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the LORD’s praise,
   for he has been good to me.

That Ray of Light..

"Someone's Watching Over Me"
sang by Hilary Duff & featured in the movie "Raise your Voice"


Found myself today
Oh I found myself and ran away
Something pulled me back
The voice of reason I forgot I had
All I know is you're not here to say
What you always used to say
But it's written in the sky tonight

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
Someone's watching over me

Seen that ray of light
And it's shining on my destiny
Shining all the time
And I wont be afraid
To follow everywhere it's taking me
All I know is yesterday is gone
And right now I belong
To this moment to my dreams

It doesn't matter what people say
And it doesn't matter how long it takes
Believe in yourself and you'll fly high
And it only matters how true you are
Be true to yourself and follow your heart

So I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even if it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
That I won't give up
No I won't break down
Sooner than it seems life turns around
And I will be strong
Even when it all goes wrong
When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe
That someone's watching over
Someone's watching over
Someone's watching over me


I just recently watched "Raise your Voice" - a movie starring Hilary Duff, where she is an aspiring singer who loves composing songs and singing in choir and loves her family. She is particularly close to her brother. She applied to a summer music program in L.A but her father is in disapproval. Her brother made an application for her and sent in and she got accepted in the program, but something tragic happened, she and her brother met a car accident and her brother didn't survive. She lost the inspiration to sing and compose songs, but her mother convinced her to go the music program w/o them telling her father. She then found inspiration there, courage and love. She became strong. The song depicted that. It was a beautiful movie and I particularly love the song "Someone's watching over me". I still feel that presence that tells me to push through every problem and struggle I have now. I can't believe how hard it is for me to find inspiration even if God's there already. 


Things are going by so fast without me noticing. College has been great, even if it's been full of struggles. And there are those times I feel so alone in one corner, empty and broken. But God made me realize that He's up there watching over me no matter what happens. He will never ever leave me nor forsake me. He loves me like that.


Maybe God has a brighter plan for me. I'm just experiencing the beginning of struggles and hardships now, and I believe there will be more to come along the way. But I believe in God. I just hope I believe in "me" as well.

...Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, God You are higher than any other...

Senior Year

Oh yes! I'm a college senior. But the stress and all the problems are piled up on me right now. The thought of graduation is really bothering me. I'm a semester late, yes, because of my epic errors. And it's really sad to think that almost all my other blockmates are nearly graduating. Also, this term has evidently been the most stressful one; to think that I had all my hard subjects compiled and taken together this term. Thesis, practicum, Organic Chemistry, Physics and oh, Embryology. What was I thinking? But I need to take all of them and pass them to be frank if I want to finish undergraduate studies next semester. Oh yes. This is suicide.

However, I'm almost finished with my practicum! Just 8 hours more. Already finished 142 hours. So happy! :)
But, I still have to present my case to my adviser, and pass a paper. Whoa.
Here's a gif of my PGH experience :)

It was so cool to interact with the patients and their watchers. It was also so nice to present to the Resident Doctors, even if my anxiety level went too high haha.

On another note, me and my thesis mates are now gathering data for our research. It's really hard to find participants come to think of it. There aren't a lot of homosexuals who have been bullied. Some are not willing to be interviewed. Thank God for people who are willing :) Last Monday, we went to SM Megamall to interview a participant. And we all were wearing stripes. I swear we didn't talk about it. haha. It was fun yet tiring though.

I need to de-stress!

Out with the old, IN WITH THE NEW

I have decided to make a new blog! and here it is! It's clean, simple, that's why it's entitled "SIMPLICIVILLE". I'm out with the old. My last blog "WHEN MY HEART SPEAKS" was poorly updated and for me is childish cause it's full on senseless posts. So yes, this is officially my new and hopefully improved blog! I will try my very best to post sensible things and things that really matter so that people can and will take time to browse and read it. Yeah, that's all for now. Back to studying.

Hannah out! :)