Lunch Date with Dad

Last week, my dad and I went out to lunch at SM San Lazaro. It was to accompany him to buy a lapel mic for his new work. Since we both love food, we ended up picking a random restaurant and, of course, eating. :)

We had pasta and pizza at A Veneto Napoli Ristorante, and it was great seeing him eat happily after the half a year worth of treatments. :)

He got sick early last year and was finally cleared before Christmas. He finished the last of his medicine on January 2 of this year. God is good. :)

I'm so happy he's doing great again. :)

Freaky Nature

On Sunday, typhoon Koppu (local name Lando) made ​​itself
known as it made ​​landfall in Casiguran, Aurora. Although
I'm one of the fortunate people who live far away from the
eye of the storm, the typhoon was so massive (500 km in
diameter) that by the time it made ​​landfall, we were at signal
number 2 or 3 here in Manila. The wind was terrible
Saturday afternoon, but was even more so came dawn
of Sunday, and it was also extremely cold.

It has been two days already, but Koppu is still on land, slowly
creeping eerily slow in an Upward path of Destruction. It is
expected to be off land by Wednesday, and out of our country's
area of responsibility by Saturday. It's one straight week of
nothing but dark skies and rain, especially for those living in
the northern parts of the Philippines. I have family out there.
two in Baguio, and more than a handful of them in La Union.
We're praying that everything would go well and that they
would be alright.  Yes, everything will be alright.

A couple of hours ago, however, something happened that made
​​most of us feel queasy. There was an earthquake in Mindoro.  It 
was a magnitude 5.4 shaker, and we felt it here in Manila at an
intensity 4.5. I thought was just woozy because of hunger since
I've been  making sense or articles and typing my thesis  all
evening and I forgot to eat. I ate at around 4 pm and that was it,
until I felt dizzy. I sat back and wondered what I can eat
downstairs without having to cook anything because my parents
are already asleep and I did not want to wake them with smells
of things being fried or grilled. So I decided to get up, and try
not to trip on my way down the stairs. When I was halfway
down, the woozy feeling went away suddenly. I dismissed it
as my body anticipating food, so I went ahead and continued
climbing down. In a few minutes, I made ​​myself a nice  
cheese (medium cheddar), lettuce, and tomato sandwich. I ate
it up in mere minutes, and was back to my paperwork
in no time at all. 

An hour later, I decided to open Twitter and post my thoughts
on the music I was listening to, and saw the long  conversation
by my friends on an earthquake that supposedly happened the
same time I felt dizzy. So, it really was an earthquake.
Mother Nature is on the warpath again, it seems.

Well, we're all looking out for aftershocks. We have to remain 
vigilant. I already informed my dad of it earlier, and he called one of
his best friends in Mindoro to check if he and his family are doing
okay. It seems they are. Thank God.

As for me, ah, looks like it will be Another all-nighter. 

This paper is not going to write Itself, after all.

Memorable Moments with Friends

Saturday, August 29, 2015, was my graduate school's last day of lecture.
It was a day filled with final exams and research presentations. It was
especially stressful for me since I had 2 exams and 1 presentation, spanning
all 3 subjects that day.

Still, it was amazing for me since I wasn't expecting that my classmates and
and friends in university celebrate my birthday. It was one day late (My
birthday was August 28), but it was just as special as if it happened on the
date itself. I felt warm, fuzzy, and all kinds of wonderful when I got home
late in the evening.

I'm grateful that they have become a part of my life.