I may be actually cheating on this one because my messages will be to more than five people. Nevertheless, I categorized it into five different groups. Oh, and you might wonder why this post is sort of birthday related, it is because today is my birthday.

To God, I thank you for giving me 24 wonderful years. Thank you for blessing me with a really good family. Thank you for giving me a chance to meet with interesting people. Some are now my close friends, some are wise mentors and teachers, some are acquaintances. All have their own unique stories that inspires me in several aspects of my life. I thank you for always being there for me even though I may go astray. You've always had my back every time whether I was trying to reach a certain grade or when I needed to pull an all-nighter to finish a paper – like right now. I thank you for everything you have done for me.

To my family, I thank you for supporting me all these years. To my parents, I love you even though I  may not show it now cause I'm getting older. I am truly blessed to be loved by you. I thank you because you have given me everything I need that includes my very expensive education. To my brother, thank you for spending time with me, playing all sorts of games, commuting home together and all sort of crazy things we do. Thank you also for my awesome bag. To my grandparents, uncles, and aunts, thank you for always giving me things, having fun together, and of course, constantly feeding me. To my cousins, thank you for always respecting me. Thanks for all the fun times we had growing up.

To my close friends, thank you for always putting up with me. Thank you for always accommodating my silliness and my over-thinking moments. Thank you for giving me advice when I needed them. Thanks for all the memories and the conversations we had. To my Philippines friends thanks for staying in contact with me even though the time difference makes it really hard. Here's to more memories and more conversations in the coming years.

To my mentors, professors, and teachers, I thank you for all the life lessons you have imparted to me. They all make me who I am today. Thank you for the many conversations we had and for the pieces of advice you give me. Thank you for continually guiding me and teaching me. Thank you for believing in me and for recognizing that I have potential to be someone great. Thank you.

To the kuyas, ates, manangs, yayas, and drivers that cared for me in one way or another, I thank you for taking good care of me. Thank you for teaching me the most valuable lesson of humility. Thank you putting up with me throughout my childhood. I hope one day I may be able to see most of you again that I may return the favor.

To my acquaintances (those who friended me on facebook, even though we're not that close), thank you for making my life more awesome. I do hope to know most of you more. To my Xavier School classmates before, I really wished I was more outgoing back then so that I may get to know you guys more. There are times when I really missed the company and the camaraderie. To my MGCNL schoolmates, I hope you enjoy your stay in the school because it really is a great school. I discovered myself and my skills and talents in this school and I hope you discover yours. To my not-so-close Ateneo and UofT friends, don't take it personally when I do not want to hang out. I'm just not much of a party person, but I hope someday we'll still hang around. Plus, it really takes a while for me to warm up around people and get a conversation going. The fact that I still do not want to drive to get around and that places are far apart does not help at all. If you do not fall into any of the categories above, I'm sure you've impacted my life one way or another and I thank you for that. If you feel you deserve a category, let me know and I'll probably make one just for you.

I know I cheated, there were technically six groups, but just give it to me, it was after all my birthday.

 

 

What is bright?

Isn't it funny how time changes the way we think of the future? Before when someone said future, I think of flying cars and everything made of chrome. Today, I think part of me think that the future will look more of a post-apocalyptic movie. But I honestly think that my future is bright. I think that I will get a job after I graduate. Ideally, I want a job that allows me to travel to places (especially back to the Philippines) and that allows me to earn in dollars. Is there such a job? Someone hire me please.

What are Math and Computer?

Call me Asian, but I really like Math. I like the thrill I get when I am able to solve some problem. I think I like Math because it is also very objective. There is only one answer. On the other hand, Math can be like art. Although there could only be one answer, there isn't only one way to get there. I do not mean to sound arrogant but I got an A+ (91/100) for my calculus class.

Call me geeky, but I really like Computer class too. My computer teacher was awesome. He taught us how to code in HTML and Javascript. And now that I'm in university taking up Communication, Culture, and Information Technology, I'm learning a lot of computer skills. I learned how to code CSS and a little bit of PHP too. Who does not like computer anyway, everybody use it everyday.

What are France, Greece, Italy, Peru, and somewhere in Africa?

What is the list below?

1. I am an idealist.

2. I am an over-achiever.

3. I am very resourceful and creative.

4. I have/had asthma – do not know if I still get attacks.

5. I love comic books, mostly Marvel.

6. I love video games.

7. I love to swim – it is the only sport I'm good at.

8. I am on the computer most of the time.

9. I can cook, hopefully become a great one someday.

10. I love to travel.

What is Skyfall?

I do not recall when I watched Skyfall. It was probably a month or so after it first came to theaters. I absolutely loved the film. Let's face it, every guy out there wished that they could be James Bond. I love this poster because it speak well of his history and his roots. The movie was like a rollercoaster ride that had a lot of high and low points with shocking twists and turns. The movie kept me at the edge of my seat. If you have not watched this film yet, I recommend that you watch it. Now I'm really curious to see what happens next. In the meantime, I might just pick up the Young Bond series or one of the original novels... or not, since it will take me a while to finish a single book anyway.

What is politics?

And I do not mean the dictionary meaning of politics – for, of, or relating to the people. I want to rid the world of today's view of politics which is basically the act of politicizing everything. Not saying that there aren't any good politicians out there, but I think the world would be better without politics. This includes all forms of politics like organization politics, office politics, or the like. Honestly, I do not like talking about it, thus I do not know anything about it. And so if you are the few people who are going to tell me to shut up because I do not know the topic I'm arguing for, just chill and remember that this is just an opinion.

Who are Deadpool, Cyclops, Iceman, Spider-man, and Nathan Drake?

Deadpool is an interesting character. He's probably my favorite of all because I like the unconventional. He is an anti-hero, neither a villain nor a hero, and his character is the only comic book character I know who breaks the fourth wall. He recognizes that he is just a comic book character and he interacts with the readers. Sometimes he does the most annoying things and at other times he asks the most profound life questions.

Cyclops is the character that I personally can relate to the most. He is the original leader of the X-men and the idealist of all the X-men. He represents me the most. I see myself as a leader at certain points in my life and I'm proud of it. I am also the most idealistic person I know. It's a funny blend between realistic and fantasy that produces the best kind of idealism.

Iceman is the character that I want to be. He is the coolest (no pun intended) among the X-men. He's always portrayed as the young one even if he's part of the original five X-men and he's the type of person who takes things easy and who is very easy-going. For the life of me I could never just go with the flow. Everything I do has to be planned, but ironically I never follow through the plan.

Spider-man is probably my cop-out answer just because he's the most relates well with everyone who has been through hardships – which is everyone. Father, mother dies. Grandfather dies because he did not stop the bad guy. Every girl he's with had the risk of being in danger. All while being a teenager/young adult. But reading Marvel's Civil War, he was the character that had the best life lesson/quote for me. Let me get back to you when I find it.

Nathan Drake. If there's one person who taught me to live life on the edge, it would be this guy. Not in the comic book, but in the Uncharted video game series, he is the guy that never gives up no matter what the odds are. Certainly, this character had made me feel like going to places and starting my own world adventure.

 

What is Jollibee Chickenjoy?

I miss this juicy-licious, crispy-licious Jollibee Chickenjoy. I miss hearing the crunch of the crispy chicken skin while savoring the moist perfectly cooked chicken meat. On top of that I miss the gravy that you dip the meat into or that you pour all over your hot steaming rice. I wish I could have some of this food on a -7°C day like today. Funny cause yesterday I read something about Jollibee opening in Singapore. Then today I heard that the Singaporeans are un-accepting of it. Here's one article talking about it: COMMENT: Xenophobia and the Jollibee backlash. Jollibee is awesome. It is probably the first place I will go to when I get back to the Philippines. I will order a 2pc. Chickenjoy Meal, a 2pc. Burger Steak (burger covered in mushroom gravy sauce), a serving of Jollibee Spaghetti, a serving of Jollibee Palabok (thin rice noodles in a savory sauce mixed with meat and vegetables), a ton of Peach Mango Pie, and two maybe three Choco Cone Twirl (soft served ice cream in a cone dipped in chocolate syrup which hardens after a while). Yup, this will be my ideal fast food meal back in my home land. Who's with me?

What is the list below?

 Strength

1.  Thinking outside the box. - I'm creative and I'm innovative. I love solving problems and puzzles that requires unconventional thinking. I like being an active thinker. I like creating things that people have not made before. I like mixing things up and mashing techniques and principles.

2. Designing. - This is sort of related to the first point. I like designing things that will solve a problem or make something even more efficient. I think I have a strong and clean design aesthetic and it probably shows in my work. You can check out my work in my portfolio site: on Wordpress.

3. Mathematics. - I love math and statistics. I like the feeling you get when you are able to solve a complex math problem or able to prove equations or geometric principles. I love math, but I am not very quick at it. I try and take my time to see whether my answer is correct. But I love numbers and it is really a part of me – whether measuring the inches of a document for symmetry or whether calculating the probably of winning a 6 digit lotto.

Weakness

1. Athletics. - Don't let my large arms fool you. I was never really good at any sport. The only sport I really like is swimming. I feel one with the water. It is also the reason I got large chest area and arms in the first place. Funny, cause my mom forced me to swim to develop my lungs because I have asthma.

2. English. - I try to really be good at writing in English, but I'm sure I will have a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. I do not read books, thus my vocabulary and comprehension is probably low too. The only medium/media you'll see me read is/are comic books. <- I can't even tell which pair of subject-verb agreement I should use. Comment below and tell me which pair is right.

3. Finishing things I start. - I am really bad at finishing what I start if it is not for academics. I start a million things at once and never finish them. This is probably the fifth or sixth time I attempted at creating a regular blog. Whether it is reading the Bible regularly or fulfilling my new year's resolution, I will most probably fail at it. Hopefully, not this blog.

What is National Bookstore?

You can leave my dad at a hardware store. You can leave my mom at the grocery. You can leave my brother at a sports complex. But me, you can leave me at the office supply store. That's right, any office supply store. If you read my previous posts, you'll know that I love collecting notebooks. I also like creating art works and crafts so the office supply store is the ideal place for me.

National Book Store in the Philippines is the ideal place for me because it carries a lot of art supplies, school supplies, office supplies, as well as –duh– books. I do not read books, but they also carry graphic novels which I can lose myself in for hours and hours. The best part is that everything in National Book Store is cheap. Well, cheaper than everything here in Canada. Plus, I can find anything that I would probably need to create things that I want. It is kind of a mix between Staples and Michael's for the Americans out there. To me the bookstore is like an open canvas that someone gave me all the materials to create a masterpiece.

What is the list below?

1. Empty Apartment - Yellowcard

2. 21 Guns - Green Day

3. The Four Seasons: Spring - Vivaldi

4. Burn - Usher

5. Now Comes the Night - Rob Thomas

6. The Promise - Final Fantasy XIII

7. Lost in the Echo - Linkin Park

8. Ikot ng Mundo - Bamboo

9. I Just Can't Wait to be King - Aaron Carter
Don't judge, I'm a Disney kid.

10. This is Home - Switchfoot

What are these picture?

 I know I cheated by placing two pictures, but these two pictures are sort of inseperable. These are the wedding pictures of my grandparents. On the left is the picture of my mother's parents while on the right is a picture of my father's parents. I will forever cherish these photos. Although my father's parents are not on this earth anymore, I will forever remember the stories my parents told me about my grandfather taking good care of me. And I really wished that I could have met my grandmother. But I am still very fortunate to have my grandparents on my mother's side. I love them and miss them so much. I wish that I can see them this year. I miss spending time with them and just being with them. I miss all of them.

What is my 3.5 CGPA?

I am proud of this especially because this particular year I took 7 courses in one semester that included Calculus and Chemistry. People kept calling me insane and yet I survived that semester and blew everyone away when I got this. Hopefully I can maintain a 3.5 GPA this year cause this certificate is awesome. I wished there were more to just this certificate, even just a slice of pizza will suffice.

What is the list below?

Likes:

1. I like anything Marvel and Disney.
2. I like playing video games.
3. I like eating junk food, especially sweets.
4. I like exploring nature.
5. I like typography and photography.
6. I like Mathematics.
7. I like swimming in the pool or on the beach.
8. I like watching reality tv shows.
9. I like songs with meaningful lyrics.
10. I like to cook.

 Dislikes:

1. I do not like raw tomatoes.
2. I do not like working out.
3. I do not like spicy food.
4. I do not like people smoking.
5. I do not like suspense, thriller, and horror stuff.
6. I do not like riding roller coasters with loops and corkscrews.
7. I do not like surprises.
8. I do not like reading long stuff.
9. I do not like clubbing.
10. I do not like feeling homesick.

Comment below if you would want me to explain a particular like or dislike.

What are biting my nails and scratching my wounds?

 I do not think that I am always aware whenever I do these. Honestly, I have not used a nail cutter in years. Maybe I'm just always nervous. Maybe I just have an oral fixation as theorized by Sigmund Freud. Come to think of it, I really like eating and chewing gum and just biting on anything for no apparent reason. For the scratching of wounds, I don't know. I think when I was a kid I did not like the dark marks after the wound scabs, but it is ironic since the more i scratch it, the more it gets bigger and darker. Oh well, I should stop.

What are notebooks?

 Yes, I collect notebooks and most of them are empty. I have blank paged, ruled paged, and even graphing paged notebooks. Some are made of recycled paper, some are made of acid-free paper. Some are ring-bound, some are cloth bound. I don't really know why I collect them. All I know is that before I buy one, I usually have a purpose of buying it. I like drawing, sketching, doodling, and writing. So I usually have dedicated notebooks for a certain purpose. For example, my graphing notebook is where I draw the layout of my dream home. Another example is my ruled notebooks are where I collect my favorite quotes, lyrics, or ideas. And of course, the blank ones are usually for my sketches, doodles, and just for writing my name over and over. My uncle gave me an expensive notebook a while back. It was a Moleskine notebook, but until today I have not been able to fill it. Actually I only wrote the quote I try to live by (Day 2 of this challenge) on the first page. I am still not sure what to write in it, but one day, hopefully, I will be able to fill all these notebooks with wisdom and experience for my children to read and for them to be inspired.

What is this picture?

Here you go. This is the screenshot of my desktop. I know it is a bit messy, but most of the files and folders on my desktop are the ones I go to the most. It was even messier before I cleaned it up. The desktop wallpaper is awesome though. It really reminds me to keep developing myself and learning new things today so that I will be good at those things in the future. One thing that I really want to be an expert at is calligraphy and typography. Hopefully by the end of this year I will learn all there is to it.

What is steak and mango shake?

I absolutely love steak and mango shake, not necessarily together. I remember growing up I love going to the House of Minis which is a steak house my family usually go to for certain occasions. I would always ask my dad and mom if we could go there for my birthday just so I can order the T-bone steak along with a cup of cream of mushroom soup. I love steak so much that I would get two servings of it. As for the mango shake, it is the best drink there is. Philippine ripe mangoes are the sweetest and the creamiest in the world. It tastes like heaven. The mouth-watering slice of a mango just cools you under the hot sun. What more, when you blend it with crushed ice. It is absolutely the best chiller drink that you can get in the Philippines. I wish I could have a mango shake right now even if it is already freezing here in Canada.

What is

 "Basta't meron kang plano 
May kasama
Konting kulay
Sarap ng buhay

Lahat gumagaan
Anumang pangarap
Kahit gaano man kahirap
Konting sikap maaabot mo 'yan
Anumang pagsubok sa buhay
'Pag meron kang plano get a little peace of mind
Basta merong plano sa buhay
Malalampasan mo" 

by Bamboo Mañalac?

Translation:

As long as you have a plan

With someone

With a little bit of color

Life becomes better

Everything feels lighter

Whatever your aspiration

No matter how difficult

With a bit of hard work, you will reach it

Whatever your problems in life

If you have a plan (get a little peace of mind)

As long as you have a plan in life

You will get though it

 

I feel hopeful. I really do. I think that even though I have a lot of work to do and even though I have a few problems in life, I feel that I can overcome all of them as long as I have a plan. 

Bamboo Mañalac is one of my favorite Filipino artist. He writes very clever lyrics. This particular song is actually for a life insurance commercial, but the lyrics of the song is very universal. I think the best part of this song is when he inserted the line "get a little peace of mind" between the Tagalog words. Genius. 

What is this picture?

 

This is a picture of my notes from my Natural Hazards Class. Everyone says my handwriting is very neat. I just like typography a lot and ever since I was young I liked writing my name over and over in different typefaces and styles. Check out my typography drawings on this part of my portfolio: Typography.

What is Marvel's Nova Vol.5 #1?

Nova Vol.5 #1 came out on February 20, but I only purchased it today. My friend - my only huge Marvel fan friend - recommended it to me. I bought it tonight and as my mother went grocery shopping, I waited in the car reading the comic book under the car light. I was not able to finish it before she got back to the car. When I got home I decided to reread it. My initial thoughts were that I did not know who this guy was and what he's been through. Luckily,  this was a new volume and I could start reading as if it was just a new character. I love the drawings and the ink work. The drawings were not too cartoon-y but not too realistic either. The color artist did an amazing job depicting space, earth, and the characters to make them look real. But I think what captivated me the most was the story plot they are proposing. This particular Nova is about a kid named Sam Alexander. His dad was the original Nova, but he's getting older and weaker. The father tells Sam stories of space and his mission as a Guardian of the Galaxy. Little did Sam know that these stories were real and that he's about to embark on a similar adventure.