before school starts

I also thought about posting stats before I read the blog post of someone *coughpatcough*.
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Summer Activity 1: OJT
or otherwise known as Summer Internship Program for Outstanding Students. Neat, huh?
Highlights:
-worked on a Chemical Engineering concept almost alien to me
-gained a few good acquaintances
-ate processed food which is actually good (in taste)
-ate sardines with calamansi and asin for the first time
-had first tequila shot
-saw not one, not two, but THREE real, full-blown chemical plants, namely, Shell Tabangao, Malampaya and of course, JG Summit Petrochem
-rode a shuttle bus for the first time
-first real job
-first timecards
-first corporate presentation complete with supervisors grilling (me, not fish or meat)
-slept in own room with aircon
-lived with aircon for almost 24 hours
-lived in Batangas
-read two classics: Les Miserables (Hugo) and Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Twain); both books are political
-attended a party
-knew more about valves
-worked in a full-blown plant (obviously, I can't hide my joy)
-had a very wonderful (and beautiful) mentor
-ate Batangas goto--no rice, just soup with pig parts, and doubted cleanliness of food, also had cholesterol intake that should have been ingested in a year
-finally passed STAR Tollway
-scorned a hypothetical "Eva" for not cleaning house and causing havoc one Saturday night when we weren't in Batangas
-had wonderful time with Mils and Carlo, eventhough there was a need to give them space
-gossiped a lot about several people instead of working
-wore a hard hat and safety jacket and safety shoes
-bearated by HR person
-had fun, over-all

Summer Activity 2: (Almost) Boundless Bakasyon
-watched TV
-slept till noon
-awake till 2 am
-eating (understatement)
-partying (nephew Ian's birthday party, MSF scholars party and Grad Party)
This vacation was concluded when I started work. It was an almost boundless vacation because I thought I can have this summer to bum around and rest my weary brain for two months. But no. Worse, (or better) I had a lot of brain work because of Summer Activity 1.

Summer Activity 3: Baguio Cityyyy!
It was like going to Baguio for the first time. The last time I went to Baguio (also my first time) was when I was six years old. The only details I remember is that I saw Pres. FVR in the flesh for the first time (that was big for a child like me then, like the British seeing the Queen), the loud cannon sounds before the PMA graduation and that it was cold. But evrybody knows that it is cold in Baguio.
Highlights:
-holy week (Wed-Sun), so no meat for Friday
-ate fresh Broccoli
-ate strawberries
-endured 8 hours of travel (to and fro) in a packed vehicle
-visited Manaoag church for the first time
-watched 7th heaven marathon on studio 23
-went to Mines View, Camp John Hay, PMA, Strawberry Farm (in La Trinidad), Good Shepherd Convent (sweets!), Burnham Park
-boated in circles (and rotated) in Burnham Park (we looked silly)
-tried the 'Clean Comfort Room'
-climbed up a mountain road
-had lots of fun, especially because of bonding with family members

Had a very eventful summer. And happy that Summer Activity 2 did not extend as expected, but instead, had work. Thank God. :D

vacay

I received a rather long text message from Pat T. containing the word vacay and I decided to use it as the title for this post, as it is somewhat appropriate.

Got the tooth out. I was really scared to do that tooth extraction (ugh. baby.) because of the huge amount of pain I anticipated. I can't even sleep the night before as I imagine the screwed-up face of the dentist while hopelessly pulling out my tooth from the back of my mouth. I also imagined how the anaesthesia needle would poke my gums. On the big day, I was reluctant to take a bath and dress appropriately for the event. I can't even drag my feet out of the house. I sat staring at the mirror as I mentally convinced myself that I'm a man now and men don't usually get scared of tooth extractions. I decided not to wear white because I thought that there may be some voluminous bloodshed. I went to the dentist with Mama primarily because she had the money, and she was the one who knew the dentist (discount!). Unfortunately, the dentist who Mama knew wasn't there, and I had to settle for the other one. Fortunately, she was one of Kuya's Com/Lec friends (at church), and so there was this "I'm-not-a-dentist-but-merely-a-friend" atmosphere. And now the details. There was first an inspection. She pushed my tooth with a scary-looking apparatus. It did not hurt for reasons unknown. But still, it had an infection and needed to be pulled out. She brought out the Novocaine-like cream (it was some sort of -caine but it was not Novocaine) and put some on the parts of my mouth near the tooth. It was bitter but it made my mouth numb. Then, she brought out two clear containers of some liquid which I soon found out to be the main anaesthesia. I did not see her bring out the syringe nor put the liquid in it, but within seconds, she was poking the inside of my mouth. I felt a little sting but not very painful. When she was preparing for the second injection, I sat up and looked at what she's doing and she retracted the syringe so I won't see it. I felt like a baby but thought that generally, people are afraid of needles being poked on certain parts of their bodies. Then, without any pain at all, she did the second injection on my gums. We waited a bit for the anaesthesia to take effect, and she soon brought out the pliers-like tool. She had another tool which she used to poke my tooth, and eventually drill it (she was doing twisting motions with it). Then she clamped my tooth and moved it sideways until it came out. There was certainly a lot of blood, red and all, but NO PAIN. At least for the duration of the extraction. I went home happily with a pint of ice cream, and slept for four hours. The anaesthesia lasted for 4 more hours, and there was so little pain for the rest of the day. It was, as I remember, the painless, and therefore happiest, tooth extraction of my life.

So, for the next couple of days I did nothing but bum around the house, eating, watching TV, sleeping. I wondered if I got fat. I read Jane Eyre, but stopped because of boredom. The excitement seems to be a bit mellow compared with the last book I've read (and no, it's not Harry Potter).

Saturday came, and it was time for the outing. Janine and I decided to go by ourselves from Alabang since it would save us time, energy and most important of all, money. We met at Metropolis, and walked to the bus station, where luckily, there was a bus leaving for Lucena/San Pablo immediately. It took us two hours to get to San Pablo. We ate a bit at Chowking and went to the jeep station at the town proper. We paid 19.50 for the jeep ride but we were uncertain on where to get off exactly. We got off about 50 meters past Villa Sylvia. Swimming followed after 30 minutes. Food. Lambanog drinking. FR. Food. Nap. Swimming. Skits. Food. I'd say 7/10 over-all. 9/10 for the food, 6/10 for the swimming and 8/10 for the FR, minus 2 points since I did not get to sleep much but that is in great part, my fault. Went home with some of the guys, and rode the bus to Alabang with Frank. Anyways, congratulations to the new members of KEM. Congratulations especially to Jet Penuela who was a great applicant. :D

Anyhoo, the vacay continues. I just hope I get to work this summer, and I plan to do well.