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Friday, June 30, 2006
2 Rants, A Rave and A Bigger Rant5:13pmIt slipped my mind that it was our barrio's fiesta last June 28-29. I was aware that there were some collections made by certain groups to raise funds for whatever the plan was. I was partly against this. These people would give one family a quote that they should give. Say 300 bucks. Wtf?! It could even pass as a minimum wage of an ordinary worker. Count all the houses around. Count the families who would give in to their tactics because they feel "ashamed" for not donating a big one. We have some sort of a carnival which might be running up until early next month. This is common in provinces. So, I am guessing that owners of the rides and the not-so-big-time-gambling-masters would be paying some amount to our officials. weeks before our fiesta was celebrated they were already operating. I guess, they had already paid something. And that something went in "good" hands. For me, it is not necessary if the fiesta would be big or not. We are just trying to make it grand to beat the other barrio. We are being too commercial. This is not the Maskarra or Pahiyas Festival. Everything was just a show off. ****************** So, part of our public school is being reconstructed. The newly operational classrooms need to be demolished. The fences, too, need to fall. Why? Road widening. Huh! After spending a hefty amount in hollow blocks, cement, labor and paint, those should go down. Bad plan and strategy. who's bright idea was it? Tsk. Tsk. Clear evidence of waste of government fund. ****************** It was my parents' weeding anniversary last, err, June 28? 29? I am not sure about the exact date. But I know it falls either of the two. My mom has been a widow for 10 years. Yes. She's still single. But I told myself before that if she plans to re-marry, I would allow her to. But I think that would not happen anymore since she's dedicated everything for us four. I wish I could've given this day to my mom more special and meaningful. ****************** I wish THEM luck. Whatever luck, good or bad. It's THEM.
posted by Arn  at 5:44 PM
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Monday, June 26, 2006
Gr8 T8steMusic: Order Taker - PNE 5:37pm
I am almost free from the aftertaste of my lunch earlier - shawarma. Though I already brushed my teeth, I could still smell its onion and taste the tomato. I could take the onion but the tomato makes me puke. I don't eat it raw. Wonderin' why I didn't remove it or asked the vendor to remove it? Well, tomatoes in shawarma are generally fine with me. Perhaps, it's my mood today. I am not excited to eat anything. Oh, I was excited about the extra chili sauce I asked. But those tomatoes busted it all. ****************** Friday night, mom was uber static with a new for us - she now knows how to text using a 5110i. Since my uncle is still in a search for a baby sister, my mom and my cousin are the one attending to his kids. An old mobile phone is left there for communication. My mom has difficulty in hearing things. My cousin has poor eyesight. Put them together: miscommunication. My uncle texted and was asking something to my mom. My mom was able to send a reply. She was taught before her younger brother, my uncle, left for office. The only problem in my mom's message was there were no spaces and some part of the message has unnecessary characters. She didn't know how to erase them. But she would be improving. My sister taught her that night also after hearing my mom's problem with word spaces and creating messages. ****************** Our lunch yesterday was inspired by this site. More than meat, I prefer veggies and internal organs of animals. There was this recipe for chicken gizzards. Usually, I see these chicken organs in congees and adobo. From the said site, I think three recipes for gizzards were featured. I tried to memorize how to make them as adobo. I got 3/4 kilos of gizzards. My mom was hesitant to cook it since she didn't know how. I tolf her that based from what I've read, it's just like the regular pork adobo wherein you have to bring them to boil. Just to be sure, she asked my brother to text someone from my lola's house and ask on how to cook it. If my mom wasn't doing the laundry, she might have tried to use the phone. Hihi. I was instructed to clean them thoroughly. And I did. But they really smell like sh#t. But I still cleaned them. I even eat intestines. And fact has it that excretions pass through here. So, gizzards are no big deal. I rubbed them with rock salt. Washed them. And waited for my mom to cook 'em. The only thing I remembered for the site where I got the idea was to put in kangkong (swamp cabbage?) And that was our sumptuous meal Sunday afternoon, mom and son style. ****************** I am now thinking to use a push cart whenever I shop for groceries. I had always used the hand carry basket. And for the wait of the things I put in, I think I really need to change cases. I am just stupid that I have this thought it mind that whenever I use a push cart in a supermarket, I must fill it even just half of it. No. I would have guts next Saturday to get one myself them zigzag my way through the stalls.
posted by Arn at 6:07 PM
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Friday, June 23, 2006
A Week's Appraisal5:04pmI was sleepless last night. Althroughout my work week, I must say that I had been experiencing a whole lot of fun. I am elated to be exact. For weird reasons, I am now finding myself talking and joking around whic I didn't do before. (Perhaps, this is my way of destressing myself or protecting myself from some adjustments that I need to take. Perhaps, I am more comfortable now with my teammates. Perhaps, I just want everyone to be happy in our environment.) Yep. I had been noisy. Story telling. Laughing. I know it's hard to hear oneself if your headset's on you. The office setting also makes every uttered word sound so loud because there are no cushions to absorb sound (Science!). I am anticipating a bad news this week. But I've been praying that there would be nill. I always have this thought of getting the best first, worst after. Or sometimes, the other way around. I've been so happy go lucky this week which I don't know why. I was thinking about the news that I was a candidate for an account transfer. This should not be a big deal since that happened a year ago. But I learned about that just yesterday. I wondered how would I take it to think that I wouldn't want to leave my home account and I wouldn't settle for separated rest days. I might have resigned perhaps. Or consulted a friend or frowned for a week or two going to work. It's crazy to be bugged by it. But I am crazy and was bugged by it. If that happened, I might question myself again for my worth which could be self destructing. I guess, the only not so good thing for me this week was Jollibee's kiddie meal. I was disappointed at the Marvin the Martian toy. He was just printed in paper (He was in the pinball background. The whole set was a book organizer.). So, I picked the calendar, with Tweety and Sylvester, instead. So much for that, I could say that this week has been good. I got a toy. I bought myself new pairs of socks. I am wearing shorts today in the office. No rains whenever I travel. I saw my crush today at 8:05am after some time. I have a spare SVC for the MRT. And I have some savings from last payday. Hmm, now I am thinking if I should buy balut before going home. I hope this time manong would not switch it to penoy.
posted by Arn at 6:25 PM
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
I Can Feel It
5:06pm
I had a craving for balut last Friday. And as part of my weekend ritual or should I say end of my work week, to cap off the day/night, I settle for a sip of its juice, a scoop of its egg yolk, unfertilized duckling savoured with a spicy vinegar. The bus terminal offers nice-looking street foods. But I could only take balut. The rest seems odd to me by the way they are served and most specially, their servers. Anyway, I bought three. That's thirty bucks. Manong vendor put it inside a transparent plastic then added another plastic with salt in it. I regularly buy from him, I must say. Sometimes, it's him or his wife who's watching over their boiled eggs on top of a big, container overloaded with peanuts. At home, done from my dinner, I picked one from those eggs. I was excited. Kinda like an energizer to me or something. But no. Not an aphrodisiac. I noticed from that one I chose was that letter "S" on it's more pointed tip. I slammed the egg on our chair to make a small crack so I could sip the warm juice. But to my disappointment. It was not balut. I got a penoy instead. No choice but to eat it. My mom was sleeping and I didn't want to leave that penoy almost open. So, I scooped the half-solid egg yolk just to discover that me being-so-against to-eating-penoy-sickness was still there. I usually get dizzy, for weird reasons, after eating penoy. ' There. Last Friday was not so good. ****************** Saturday was the usual. Grocery day for me. I was a bit lazy checking our grocery bag from last week. I was even more lazy to fix myself so I could drop by the supermarket. It was a bit cloudy and I didn't want mud on my feet in case it rains. But of course, I had no choice but to get there and do some groceries. I usually spend more time looking at those kitchen utensils in one part of the supermarket. Soon, I want to buy another metal thing for cooking rice, some measuring cups, new spoons and forks. I also looked at the plates and mugs. They are finebut a bit pricey. I know they are much cheaper somewhere. The first item that went in my grocery basket was a bathroom deodorizer. From last time, it cost around P17. Now, it almost 20 bucks. I think I had a lemon-scented one before. I told myself to try the other scents. So, I browsed through each one of them. Of course, they have sizing and housing and wrapping. I kept on sniffing on each one of them. I read the notice that inhalation would cause dizziness, irritation and all. But I wanted to get the one that could be the most fragrant. I settled from strawberry. Then, moved to the other part of the grocery finishing my list. While browsing, I noticed that I was feeling a bit off. I was not feeling so well to the point that I want to vomit. Then I figured, must have been the deodorizer sniffing I did a while ago. Dumb me. ****************** I overheard thesetwo conversations from my neighbors. Scene #1: Woman around her 40's (talking to her 2 (?) year old granddaughter: Sabihin mo k*k* mo maangot. (Say your *bleep* smells awful.) Mother of the 2 (?) year old girl (niece of this 40 something woman) : Ano ba naman yang tinuturo mo? (What are you teaching her?) Woman around her 40's: Mild lang yun. (It's just mild.) Scene #2: I was walking along our pathway going to work. It was around 7am. Regular day for me and for the school kids. School boy aged around 8 talking to a girl aged around 7: Ganun talaga yun. School girl aged around 7: Yung isa kinakagat yung isang aso. Tapos, yung isa naman, tumatahol lang. School boy: Nagba-ba-bye. Galing ng friendship nila, no?
posted by Arn at 5:11 PM
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Thursday, June 15, 2006
When it rains, it ("drama") pours
5:21pm
Rain was pouring hard last night. Good thing I was already home. Bad thing was the drainage and drips of water from the ceiling. Since my sister's house was built beside ours, water flow has been bad. The drainage was blocked. Now, we are rich with stagnant water that might house pesky mosquitoes' larva. Moreover, my mom's room's ceiling got, how'd you call this... drips of water allover when it's raining. I hope you get to imagine that. I think when my sister's house was still being constructed, some workers sat up there and later on created holes on the roof. We only found out that they, my mom and my sibs, would be experiencing sleepless nights because of water leaks. Last night before going to sleep, I saw that water was already beginning to drip. My mom was tired. So, I just put newspapers and containers allover the place. We are really planning to replace those roofs. I think we need about three. I am not leaving in a perfect house. Damn. Anyway, when I was to check again if water drips would be worse, my mom was already awake and fixed the things that might get wet. So, I just went back to my room and moved my things. Yes, there's also one hole somewhere up there. And if I stay lying on my matress like I used to, I would wake up the next day wet. I think water would hit my left chest. Then, I had these thoughts in mind about my mom. How she wanted a perfect house, a squeeky clean one. How she wants to fix things around the house. I recalled how she would drop by my school on her lunchbreak at work just to copy notes from my classmates when I was absent back in elementary days. Those times that she would bring our packed snacks to school if we forgot it at home. Those times that she would wash our clothes 3 o'clock in the morning because there was zero drop of water every afternoon. How she would squeeze in some time to attend PTA meetings, pay the bills, have a project computerized, stay in line on enrolments, all those sacrifices that up until today she does unconditionally. *sob*sob* This is so mellow. I these motivates me to be a little more nice towards others, to think that everything could still be done in a good way, to be selfless, to do things for a loved one expecting nothing in return. I am making a promise to myself that we would have a better house than the one that is available today. I already conditioned myself not to grow old there. I want our own, from our own pockets. (If you do not know, we are living with my dad's first family. We are second but legal.) I just want to unburden my mom even for a day or two. (In short, there's no way for me to complain how unperfect things surrounding me are. My mom got away with them. So, why can't I?)
posted by Arn at 5:55 PM
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
First Day High (Inspired by the tv commercial/ music video of the same title by Kamikazee) 5pmMedyo maaga ko kaninang gumising kasi nga holiday kahapon, Lunes. Tantya ko na na magdadagsaan ang luluwas pa-Maynila ngayong Martes. Bago pa mag- 6:30 am, eh nakalabas na ko sa bahay namin. 4:40am ako nagpa-alarm. Pero bumangon ako ng alas 5. Pag naligo talaga ako bago matulog, eh nahihimbing ako at tinatamad akong bumangon. Paglabas ko ng gate sa dinadaanan kong public school ay napansin ko ang magkapatid na babae't lalaki sa may gilid. Mukhang mas matanda yung lalaki. Iniisip ko kung bagong lipat lang sila samin kasi nun ko lang sila nakita. Yung lalaki, eh 4th year high school na sa eskwelahang pinagtapusan ko ng high school. Yung babae naman, eh dun sa pinagtapusan ko ng elementary. Pano ko nalaman na 4th year na yun? Kasi may patch kami sa taas ng bulsa ng polo na nakalagay yung initials ng school tapos may dash at kung anong year ka na. Yung babae, di ko naaninaw kung anong year na. Bago pa ko tumawid, nauna nang sumakay yung kuya sa jeep. Sinabihan nya yung kapatid nya ng, "O, ano? Kaya mo na?" sabay sakay sa unahan. Naiwang nag-aabang ng sasakyan yung babae. Naisip ko kung ba't di pa sinabay nung kuya kasi on the way naman yung school ng babae sa sinakyan nyang jeep. Mas una pa nga yung school ng babae kasi isang baranggay lang ang layo at wala pang 10 minutes ang biyahe samantalang yung sa lalaki naman ay nasa bayan pa na mga 20 minutos siguro ang biyahe. Naisip ko na baka ngayon lang magko-commute yung babae. Baka 1st year high school siguro. Mas matindi dito, naisip ko na ganun din ako. Ayoko na "bumubuntot" at "binubuntutan" ng kapatid ko. Babae din kasi ang sumunod sakin. Minsan ngang paluwas kami, nauna na din akong sumakay. Kasi naman namimili pa ng sasakyan yung kapatid ko. Pero pag karaniwang magkasabay kami, eh naaasiwa ako. Ganun din siguro yung nakita kong magkapatid kanina. First day of school kasi ng karamihang high school at college students. Siguro kailangan din nung babae ng kahit kaunting moral support. Para kasing nakakaawa kanina na bigla na lang siyang iniwan ng kuya nya. Tapos, kung first time nyang mag-commute ng mag-isa syempre mananantya pa yun ng sakayan, babaan, pagbabayad. Idagdag mo pa pag first day mo sa school tapos 1st year ka pa. Pero sa kabilang banda, baka gusto lang din nyang maging independent yung kapatid nya. O, maranasan nito kung ano ang karaniwang nararanasan ng lahat. Everyone goes through it, ika nga. Sa pagtawid ko papuntang sakayan, nangiti na lang ako kasi akung-ako yun.
posted by Arn at 5:16 PM
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Monday, June 12, 2006
Gambling, Freedom and TV 4:25pmI could barely remember the time when I won something in gambling or in a raffle promo. Yesterday morning, my godson's mom dropped by our house asking me to bet or make my pick among the list. If you happen to enjoy basketball and gambling, you would understand me. So, it is called "ending" here. "Ending:" from the last two digits of the final/official score of a said game. Last night, it was 95 - 87. So, the "ending" winning combination is 5 -7 since the winning combo should start with the "ending" of the score of the winning team. And yes. It was my number. I won! I was actually watching a talk show in another channel when I switched the tv to PBA. I was also curious about the scores. But I wasn't expecting since I have no luck in any form of gambling. Luckily, the I didn't have to wait some time since the game has just ended. And the final score was flashed. Hmm, 95 - 87. I couldn't remember my number. I just knew that I figured if I was the one who won. Among the other number in the playing card, I chose 5 - 7 partly for the heck of picking one. More importantly, to symbolize something. No, not a name of a person but a place. I am not the usual excited winner who would jump or scream or tell someone loudly that I won. I roam around the house thinking if I should go to her house and pick the prize money or just sit there in front of the tv figuring out if I really was the winner. It felt weird walking and thinking about a not so serious thing. After a few minutes, here comes the news. She knocked at our door telling me I won. I just smiled and asked here if the playing card was completed but it ain't. Instead of having a bigger prize, I got I think less than 700. See, I couldn't even remember how much it was. I gave her 150 bucks as tip. The rest I kept for this week's personal allowance. Actually, I had a choice not to give any since she already had her share from all the she's collected. It was just a tradition to give that. I was actually worried for my weekly alowance was borrowed to me. Just half of it. From my 1000 bucks, it was trimmed down to half because it was borrowed. And this gambled money was just right in time to fill in my allowance. So, there. By the way, it only cost me P10 to have a slot in the playing card. And it was, I think, during my high school days since I won an "ending" which caused me P2 to bet. ****************** Today is Independence Day here in the Philippines. I am at work. It is double pay. There was a bus company offering free ride. Unfortunately, it could not take me to work since it would not go outside the province. But MRT has free rides althroughout the day. At least for today, freedom from excessive transpo fares. Well, just for some. ****************** I was excited about the new ABS-CBN show, "U Can Dance." I like the hosts. The set was okay. Too bad that they have a too noisy audience who screams everytime the dancer/s would do a move. I also think that there was something wrong with the dance groups that they pick from around the metro. I don't understand the choice of costume and the hair color. But "Shall We Dance?" looks classier. ****************** To add on something from the boob tube, I do not know if it is just me who sees Captain Barbell's plot as mere Smallville rip off.
posted by Arn at 5:00 PM
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Friday, June 09, 2006
Ciao (This not only means goodbye but hello) 5pmOut of nowhere after waking up this morning, the thought of my former teammates popped in my head. As I was taking coffee, I was thinking about posting something about them, which coincidentally may be applicable to my teammates, Sheng's and Benj's. situation. Unfortunately, the things that I could've posted already slipped my mind after shower. It was flashed down. I don't have internet at home. If I do, I might be late for work. I hope I could still recall what's with me earlier this day. From my past teammates, I think I am not that much updated about their what-have-beens and what-have-yous. Whether we like it or not, we are all busy. And even a ym message would cause a few minutes. Plus access here is horrible. It feels the same way in college. How I miss the company or just their mere presence. We didn't really have to like each other. But the thought that they're there attending their shift is a relief that the "family" is still complete. Every departure brings wander. Then, you become sad, affected. Then, you go on with life as an employee and as a person. I think just the physical presence affirms that there's still someone there who's going to back you up, who's going to greet you, who's going to chat with you, who's going to ask you questions, who's going to annoy you, who's going to make your day or otherwise, who's going to be a teammate - the sense of it. Ever wandered that? Even in class when someone's shifting a course or dropping a class or taking a leave of absence? I surely miss Melina's craving for good taste of food. Her intelligent talks. I miss Lea's way of saying, "Alright." Trish's "L as in Love, W as in water and her special scent and cheer ups." Mitch's complaint about her toothache or cold aircon. Gill's inquiry if she's jologs by tapping her feet to Salbakuta's music. Zig's sleeping habits. Jun's serious talks and the not so ones. Nina's favor for a bag of chicharon. Aisah's bored image on her afternoon shift. Ryan's stories about airsoft. Joanne's Mr. Chips dipped in her stories. Candy's thug tone. Al's curiosity about one's life. Jog's infectious smile. Pio's wake up call when someone's sleeping and all his kiddie comments. Anne's quietness. Don's sudden spurt of talk since he doesn't do that often and to everyone. I miss every inch of "philam" life and atmosphere. But we are fine. I think just by spending time with them, we have been better. And this keeps us through from continuous changes.
posted by Arn at 5:46 PM
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Oh, man! (Nah. Corny.) 06.06.06 Tue
5:36pm
Weird date. (Or rather scary?) Anyway, I feel kind of relieved. I am not divulging anything what happened yesterday. My whole day was ruined because of that. But it pushed me to pray one after the other. Most of my prayers are granted especially if I would sacrifice something that is so attached to me. Yes. I promised God something. But now I know I must not lounge around with a very high spirit. I am giving myself until next week to recover. By this, two things I learned for the nth time: Everything changes in a blink of an eye and; God is good. ****************** I bangged one of my water bottle containers on the station wall here as I walked my way to get some water. This was a Christmas gift of a friend almost two years ago. I need a replacement. Actually, I have one at home. And it is the free iced tea shaker from Nestea. ****************** I am once again worried about my career path. How exciting is that, eh? Mid-life crisis at its best. Well, hopefully that best is just lying around something waiting for me to swipe it with my foot. Who knows? I always envy people I know who have been going to their offices wearing fancy clothes. (When I say fancy, it covers those ironed long-sleeved shorts, polished leather shoes, glossy neckties, nice belts, and of course I would include that gelled hair) Probably because I could not wear them. Not my style. But I'd love to see myself wearing one once in a while. I think I've posted this issue somewhere here. Also, last last weeks episode of the tv program, Y Speak, centered about a career in call center (Is there?). One of the arguements that Fr. Tito Caluag pointed but was never expounded due to lack of time was the change in social values (something to that sort). Like how everyone around the call center employee changes to adapt to his/her time. In my place, most people would hail me when they learn that I am working in a call center. Why? Mainly because I do my job speaking in English. They would brand me as magaling, mahusay, madaling mapasok, everything synonymous to these terms. But when I'm in the city, it's the other way around. Some would think that most newly graduates end up here. Some say that because of lack of opportunities to work in one's chosen company or organization, lack of options, lack of direction. Who doesn't want to work in the most comfortable atmosphere and attire? Who wouldn't want a cut above the rest salary? Who doesn't want to be in a youthful crowd? And who doesn't want to have a job? On my way to work today, I was seated across my schoolmate/ former neighbor inside the fx taxi. I think he was two years my junior. He was an honor student. I assumed that he was already working since he's sporting some nice formal clothing. Then, I began to look at myself. I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and slippers. I have a sling bag, an earring and a long hair. Kinda like college, which I couldn't get over with, honestly. I didn't feel lesser than him. But I thought of the things that I love to do best to earn a living or just for the ehck of it. I wanted to push myself just some more until I realize the things coming my way which I do not recognize but others do. No plans? I have. I plan to get me some gadgets. Then, enrol in a computer school. I want to learn more about flash, html, photoshop, etc. I just told myself that learning and developing oneself do not end after school. Everyone can make a big shift. In the first place, there's more to life than worries. ****************** Enough Dosage06.07 Wed
3:57pmMusic: These Words - Natasha Bedingfield At the start of this work week, I have been dozing off after 12noon. That is good since I lack enough sleep. I usually have 5 and a half hours loving my bed all through the night and that's it. I take power nap here. And it takes sometimes more than just a nap because I could here myself snoring. By snoring, I know that I am tired. Another good thing is that almost everyone takes their siesta anytime within their shift. I think I might be doing this often. I am limiting myself from browsing non-work related stuff. Well, I would not stop. I am regulating. Like right now. I am just listening to somebody else's mp3s. And I could not access the browser I use for non-work related sites. Without access to it, how can I post some entries? See. I need them. And I am beginning to feel sleepy again. But before that, here's a picture from my teammate's, Goldi, birthday celebration. Only three of us made it. Unfortunately, those who wanted beer weren't here due to the heavy rain.  There's me, Igl, Liza and Goldi. I thought that there would be some "pour our the good times" since I was ready even just for a bottle or two. Hehe. But I kept telling them that I am not drinking. Ok now. Sieta. I just had a full meal. :D And yeah. I got the 7th installment of the cd I asked my teammate, Cynthia, to burn for me. This means a long night for me for I would be listening to the songs. I miss school
5:02pmMusic: Candy Shop - 50 Cent When I was about to be in a deep slumber, here goes my proxy availability. I know I have to take advantage of it before it becomes loaded again by users. This morning was the third day of school since it started at the beginning of the week. How I miss school as I see these elementary kids in their usual get up with all those heavy back packs and lunch boxes. Suddenly, all these school projects flashed in my mind. I remember cooking beef steak during our home economics class in 6th grade. Until now, I still don't understand why the hell each group would starve their members until the rest of the faculty has taken some from the cooked project. I myself had to wait for a freakin' 35 minutes I think before I finally blessed my packed rice with beef steak. I purposely didn't bring anything to pair with rice for my meal because I know that my group would have enough for our lunch but it ain't. I hope by this time this trend has stopped. I mean, we paid for it and all that would eat were leftovers. Come on. I also remembered being part of a science play in high school. No majors roles for me. I didn't even had a dialogue. But we placed second among three competing groups. Also, I was part of the group who represented our class in group singing during the history week. I was never a singer but I was in. Because I was a class officer that time. Haha! And they lack members. I practiced with them hours before the contest proper. And I was sick that time. We didn't win, though. There. I think I just wanted to share.
posted by Arn at 5:23 PM
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