My youngest sister...April...was mugged last Saturday morning infront of her dormitory...

UST is one of the best schools in the country, but a lot of accidents already happened there...quite a few students already have died because they were simply being mugged. Although, I had a very lucky time when I was studying there coz I never got the chance of anyone stealing from me... except that one time in front of Engineering building when I saw someone snooping inside my messenger bag.

Anyway, I went frantic when i was told about it and I immediately went to her dorm berating the security personel there...I mean you pay a hefty amount monthly because you feel that any person living there will be guarded with a tighter security. The merefact that it happened infront of their property already speaks volume how pathetic their security system is.

Actually, UST also has to blame on the recent rise of mugged rate within their area. Their constant refusal to pay for additional street lighting is such a bad management decision, coz they can pretty much afford it...it means nothing to them, they don't realize that most of the students are already scared of staying late in the campus...unlike before and during my time in HS and college where everyone stays till 11pm... happily walking the streets of P.Noval and Asturias.

I really think those priest from UST should do something about it... I don't think paying for the street lights needs approval of the Pope.

This is a title of an episode from my favorite tv drama The OC, where the gang went to their first prom...

I watched an OC marathon last Saturday up till 12noon Sunday... when I say marathon, I meant from Season 1 to 3... basically everything OC...:P

I went nostalgic with my HS prom, George Lucas was a guest at this episode and when Seth (Adam Brody) asked him if he ever went to his prom... George Lucas said that he was at that time very busy sketching Ewoks and Chewbacca... but he regretted not going to his own prom.

Me... I only went to one prom, and that was when I was dating my first serious boyfriend, I was serious about him and vice versa, so I guess, as a teenager, that was already classified as a serious relationship.

But since I can't bring him to my prom, coz he's a senior in Ateneo. But he was kind enough to go with me to the mall to look for a dress, which I couldn't find one, then to another mall to look for a shoe to match my imaginary dress...hehehehehe...

I asked him to pick my Prom date from the guys friends I have in school that he already met, his first choice was Jason, but Jason is already taken... his next choice was Bart (my super dooper buddy), but he too is taken... so in the end...I asked him if I can just join my other dateless buddies...

So I did ended up sharing the table with my dateless buddies like Lisa, Michelle (my godsister who originally was asked by about 4 dozen guys, she couldn't decide on who to pick and in the end turned out to pick no one...so alas...she too is dateless), Ryan and two other guys from the Basketball team.

Although I was on the dancefloor almost every other song, coz it was the first time anyone in my school saw me wearing a dress (a mini-gown with I don't know whats in the dress and basically showing off my thin legs...even if I'm fat! hehehe!) But I spent most of my prom time with my good friend Moises (one of the hottest players from our HS Basketball Team), I was trying to hook him up with my friend Anna, but it didn't go well. But he was good natured, and kind enough to let bygones be bygones for us...

While the very cheezy song of David Pomeranz was playing in the background, Moises and I became closer after that night. I have always thought that he was fun to be with, witty and a natural prankster...although Aston is the most devilish amongst the team...

When my prom ended exactly at 2am... I went outside to chat with my friends Mavic and Dianne, when Mavic said "Oist Tana, is that Stephen?" and Dianne also said... "Putcha Tana, ang tiaga nun ah!" and as I was walking towards him with my friends, he was intently reading a novel by John Grisham, it took him about a few minutes to realized that I am standing beside him... when he did..."Oops, sorry...these darn books! Were you guys standing there for a long time?" and it was Dianne who said "Mejo, mahirap tumayo ng naka-hills ah... and we all started laughing.

He gave us all a ride home, coz he wanted to have a very early breakfast...so we drove to Antipolo for a nightcap then we took Dianne home in QC, then Mavic wanted to eat bulalo, so we all went to this restaurant near Dimasalang with our prom dress, and Stephen even if he didn't went to the prom was wearing a semi-formal clothes (khaki and long sleeves...very preppy!) we ordered 2 bulalo, coz I'm not really a fan of bulalo, but I did eat their other famous food...Isaw...

Well, I can say from the looks of the jeepney drivers there... they were a bit stunned seeing us in a our prom dress, with Marivic's Imeldific jewelries, and my very high stilleto glittering shoes... one driver even asked..."San kayo galing miss, taga UST ba kayo?" and we all smiled and replied "Opo, taga UST po. Galing kaming Prom, pauwi na...di masarap kasi yung food mas masarap dito kay Aling Ining." and they were all smiling and Aling Ining's daughter Myra was laughing with us.

Since Marivic lives within the area, she knows the people who eats there all the time... they were waving goodbye to us when we left and boarded Stephen's car, one jeepney driver even shouted "Balik kayo!" and of course, we often do, because we are always hungry and good food are sometimes can only be found at places like those with good home cook meals.

My senior prom was spent going out with Stephen before he flew to California to study in UCLA... he wanted to broaden his horizon because he too one day wants to become a public official like his grandfather, uncle and some of his cousins.

We went to Tagaytay for a picnic, Sonya's garden was still a private home for my Tita Daisy and her sister Tita Sonya, but we spent an afternoon there eating fresh vegatables picked from their garden, before we headed to Talisay for a boating trip.

It was a fun day, but getting gloomy by the minute as the sun is almost setting in the horizon... I knew I won't see him again... sure, he'll be coming home but this things never stay the same.

When we got home, he had one last suprise for me... in my room was a huge Paddington Bear where he was holding a box...inside it is a necklace with a pendant of a dog. He said he knows I don't like getting expensive gifts, but this will be the last time...and he wants to leave things on a happy note.

And true enough... I never saw him again.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss my bunny Stephen... :) When the time comes that we do meet again, I know that I'll have a big smile on my face.

I was in Highschool when one of the most gruesome crime happened in the US...a schoolkid and a beauty titlist winner JonBenet Ramsey was murdered...she was only 6.

I've read it in all US tabloids, magazines and it was written in a lot of unsolved crime books...



This happened in 1996....it took 10 years to find the man responsible who killed the poor girl...and they found him thousands of miles from home...

John Karr was arrested in Thailand, and almost admitting instantly that he is responsible for the death of JonBenet.

Karr said in the interview that the death of JonBenet was unintentional, because he was in love with the child coz she was a beauty queen... (I swear he's so sick...people like him deserve to go straight to hell)...

He will return to Colorado, and will be charged with first degree murder, sexual assault and kidnapping.

Last Saturday, one of my closest friends in the universe arrived from an over-delayed flight from New York...

Anna and her husband took a flight from JFK to Paris, from Paris her husband boarded a plane to Malaysia while she stayed there for another 3 hours.

If you read my blog, she was the one who gave me the PSP Giga, but I lost it...so she wasn't talking to me for about 2 minutes... hehehehe... then she got over the initial shock, she called me again in my mobile saying "Don't worry sport, thats only a thing...no worries...I am not mad" and thats the magic word.... :)

To prove that she isn't really mad, she called me a few days ago to say that she is coming home and she's asking what I want from NY? Hmmm...apart from an apple from the Big Apple, I asked her to buy me a DS games... in which she did (thanks alot!) but just last thursday, she asked me if I am "down" with a DS Lite..."yep, I like that... my DS is the old one with a bulky body, which I am planning to sell anytime soon..." and she replied..."yeah, everyone here in the store is complaining why DS Lite came a bit too soon... so, would you want me to buy you one?" and as the suprise question wears off, I told her... "What? Are you serious???" and her words were "Yep sweetie, going once, twice..." and of course, who am I to disagree... "Sure, why not :) thanks ha..." and thats it...(Sir Nick asked for the SuperMario 64)... the DS Lite came with 2 other games that I love, GrandTheft Auto and Star Wars Revenge of the Sith...


Well, thats Anna... she loves buying me and my friends stuffs, not because she can afford it but she knows that Lily, Bea and I love recieving gifts, and its the one thing that she and Emma likes doing...its like if you question them why they keep on giving gifts to the three of us, Emma would go on saying "are you nuts!!!, why not?!" and thats it... they have given me from Bazooka bubblegums to a necklace with my name Apple on it, which was Emma's last identical gift to all of us, she gave that to us Valentines day of 2004...with a simple note of "Valentines is a day for someone you love...I can't think of not spending this day without you"...that was our last Valentines dinner together, coz Emma spent 2005 with her fiance Marcus.

So far, Anna is my main spoiler apart from my bestfriend Tatie and TJ...

Here's a sample of the things Anna has given me so far:
- bazooka bubblegum lunch pack (when I was 8, she gave me and clarrize)
- sharebear... (the only carebear that I like)
- GI Joe's (she would took the excess GI Joe's toys of her brother, so she would give it to me)
- Matchbox cars (again, courtesy of her brother)
- a cassette tape of my then favorite boyband "Menudo" (hehehehe!)
- a movie poster of Neverending story 1 (which I don't know where it is right now)
- a pellet gun... (apart from my dad's gift...so I tortured our yaya then when I was still a spoiled brat... I would fire the pellet gun to my yaya's buttom and thats it..) Yep!!! I was a mean kid...
- Loads of stationaries... from kerrokeropi (Did I get the name right?) to weird Japanese characters
- Ballpens of all sizes (one of her mom's business is a corporate giveaway stuffs...)
- My first walkman... (That was her 13th birthday gift, then that was the same Christmas my grandma Ining gave me one as well...)
- A big FIDO DIDO balloon...(FIDO DIDO craze)
- alot of Benetton and Burberry bags (coz she was an exchange student in Exeter, when she keeps on buying stuffs all over England)
- Discman (when she found out that I lost mine on my 19th birthday, she gave me a new one)
- Friendship bracelet made from a twig of an olive tree... she had it made by another friend
- The weirdest souvenir from Baguio (where in a man is inside the barrell, and once you take it off you see its wheeney...) hehehe
- After a rough year last year, she wanted us to have a great start for 2006, so she gave me a PSP, she gave Lily a spa trip, and gave Bea a donation check under her name to any charity of her choice.
- This year, since she knows that I am moving to an unknown place, starting over with new people, new surroundings, she wanted me to have something that I would always remember her by, she gave me a copy of the Neophoto of me, her and Emma (during our last shopping trip 2005), well, the DS Lite is just a bonus.

Thats about it... Anna is one generous friend, and I hate seeing people take advantage of these...often times, she let her good natured heart see past these flaws from people. Twice she had been a victim of her own kindness, and her only solution was to cry over the matter and move on. That's how her character is...and thats what I admired most about her.

There's loads of perks working overtime...you get more money every payday...the occassional free from the accounting department...and of course, the liberty in setting your computer speaker to it's highest level as if your office is your own home...

But of course, when you are working late...there are a few other things to consider...especially when you have a certain ESP... hehehe...

I started hearing voices when I was a kid, my mother always thought that my imaginary friends are quite a few for my age... and thinking it was just a phase, she never really asked me who those imaginary friends are.

But up until I was in highschool I kept hearing them, in the school halls, the girls lavatory, the science labs and even when im just reading quietly in the school library. When my grandfather died, I stopped hearing them.

They say the dead tries as much to comfort those love ones they left behind, and that exactly what happened during my grandfather's burial. I saw a faint shadow behind my grandmother's, its head resting on her shoulders, after which, she stopped crying...like as if a wave of calmness washed over her.

I have been working here for almost 3 years (indeed, a record breaking number)... and I have a few stories that is sometimes quite freaky...

Story no. 1:

Our office building has a "Nginig" history, among its most favorite destination, the 11th floor and the Elevator B.

During my first day at work... I went about to my elevator destination which was elevator B... the elevator indicated it came from the basement parking, which I saw two corporate looking individual...one male, one female. Because the building's weird elevator, it will state where everyone is going...and it says 6... and I was doing a quick thinking that maybe they are employees as well within the company. I smiled to acknowledge their presence... and the girl replied by asking "First day mo?" and I smiled again and replied "Yes". And when the elevator stopped on its destination, I was the first one to leave and while I was waiting for them (thinking that they are just behind me...) I was astounded when I saw no one in the elevator, and I sort of panicked and asked the receptionist Abby if she saw anyone else with me on the elevator... and when she said "Wala!" (No!) I went straight inside the office and went quiet...

Story No. 2:

There are a few of the board offices here that is already unoccupied, since majority of them has been already occupying their own offices in their own floors.

Although, every time I stay late in the office, I would constantly hear voices around me...well, being clairvoyant and all... but the thing that interest me so much is the fact that I hear them calling my name.

Even when my ipod is on, and I would sing as loud as I can, I would hear their voice, as if they are inches away from where I am.

The weirdest part of it was when I was staying in the Meeting Room 1 and there were the 2 accounting girls who were also staying overnight for their entirely different kind of workload...and while they were taking a 15 minute break, I went up to go to the pantry, I took the long direction (meaning from where I am, I took another route) just to stay away from one of the BOD's room... but lo and behold, a few seconds since I left the Meeting room, I felt that someone was beside me already. So I turned my ipod on full blast (cos really, I don't like hearing things) and then, to my utter fascination and suprise...the ipod went dead... and to think that it has been charging in the Imac before I left the room... another second has passed.... I was hearing one distinctive voice, a sound of a man saying my name... so faint, I wouldn't have had heard it if theres people in the room...

So I kept on walking towards the pantry, and I got the feeling there were people inside... coz it was dark and already 3am... the moment I opened the door, I felt that there were eyes looking at me, probably angry or pissed looking eyes because I disturbed them from their sleep or rest... as I said "excuse me, I really need to drink alot of water" and so I left thinking that the voice that I am hearing would already been gone...

By the time that I stopped by the BOD's room next to the meeting room, I heard clashes of things...literally!!! like theres someone inside the room... So being the weirdo that I am... I tried opening the door, but it was locked. I looked inside (it was pretty dark) I saw nothing, but a voice beside me called my name again and this time I felt it quite near to my ear...

My blood went rushing towards my head, that I thought it would explode from the weirdness of it all. As I let go of the door, I saw Lisa (my officemate) sleeping soundly in the floor outside the meeting room...and I was thinking, lucky her.... she can't hear a thing.

So the next time you would think of working late...think again...

Well...apart from being the richest couple in the entire universe (Forbes estimated an asset of over $60billion)... they are the founding directors of the self-named Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose main concern is to find cure for MALARIA thus giving hope to mankind when they feel they are left with none.

According to TIME Magazine, they are responsible for providing more than a third of the world's research funding for malaria. The most effective drug to treat the disease, naturally occurring artemisinin, is in devastatingly short supply. But last month Gates-funded scientists announced that they had created the technology to manufacture artemisinic acid synthetically. Within five years, the cost of a lifesaving supply is expected to drop from $2.40 to 25 cents. Lead researcher Jay Keasling says it would not have been possible without a $43 million Gates grant. "I had companies call me and say, 'This is great, but we can't give you any money. We can't make a profit on this,'" he says.

The Foundation has an endowment of $29 billion, thus far making them the richest non-profit organization too. But I think, the most significant value that Foundation is giving to the rest of the world is that they believe that all life should be treated equally, and that they have changed how world should view the impossible especially with medical research and science.

"It is the most important foundation in the world" according to former US President Jimmy Carter. And he is right.

The famous couple had made such an impact that they are not only seen as the world's richest... they have in time became the most admired and most respected influential people in the world... their compassion towards the poor and dedication in helping find cure to the impossible is simply amazing.