Must Love Dogs

In our house we like to get into the Christmas spirit early. And so do our dogs! The tree was put up just this morning. Blair, the younger of our 2 shih-tzus, being her ever so sneaky and mischievous self stole one of the red ribbons that were supposed to be hung on the tree. We figured she really liked the ribbon, so we put it in her hair. It suits her, doesn't it? Haha!

We've always had pet dogs at home so my siblings and I have grown up to be such big lovers of the animals. Right now, as mentioned, we have 2 shih-tzus. This little one with a ribbon in her hair is, as mentioned as well, Blair. Our other dog goes by the name Chuckie. He's a lot older than Blair. Earlier this month I was talking to ate Eden, our help, about how Chuckie had been around for all 3 of my graduations: Elementary, High School and now, just recently, College; that's how old he is. Nevertheless he remains to be a very healthy dog and we treat him like he was still a puppy. This is him in what I like to call his "Coverboy" shot haha!

Both Chuck and Blair (see what we did there haha) are very playful and mischievous. Each of them has his/her own little "tricks." But we've noticed Chuckie has been acting a little more mature since Blair came. He is the older dog, after all haha. I like to think it's because he's trying to set a good example for Blair. 

These 2 are spoiled I tell you! They sleep on our beds and all. To be honest, at home we treat them like they were humans more than dogs: we talk to them and they even watch TV with us sometimes. A day in the life of my family is not complete without a little show from these 2! So expect more posts about them here on my blog.      

xxx Nikki    

Growing Up

The only thing constant in life is change. I've been reminded so often of this proverb and have proven it for myself so many times. At this very point in my life so many changes are happening all at the same time, like the universe is deliberately telling me to grow up.

First, graduation and the slew of new that comes with it. Now that I'm out of school I'm looking for a job, while slowly learning to be more independent, just as I have to. Although I know I have a great support system backing me up while I start this whole "new chapter of my life" I feel and I know that what happens next and where I'll be in 5 years is entirely up to me. And I plan to make it good. Earlier this week I was thinking about possible work opportunities and trying to see where I think I fit best. Then I realized what would be best is if I kept my options open and considered all opportunities. I believe things have a way of working out and falling into place in the end after all. That's optimistic, idealistic me for ya haha! Pretty soon, when I find and land that job I'll be managing my own time and resources. With graduation as well comes the reality of not being able to see your friends as often as you used to. Some friends leave the country and some move out of their old dorms or condominiums where we used to hangout at a lot. It's all very sentimental.    

    

Next, my sister's recent marriage was the first in our immediate family, and now a baby--who would be my parents' first grandchild and me and my brother's first niece or nephew--is on the way! There hasn't been a baby in the family for a very long time, so all of this is really pretty special and, for lack of a better word, "life changing" for all of us. To add to that, now that my sister is starting her new life as well, I'm taking full responsibility of being the adult daughter after her who helps the parents. And as I've mentioned in my previous post, I'm in charge of organizing their Manila wedding next year. I'm so excited to see them all and meet my new baby niece or nephew! 

Third, since my grandmother passed away almost 2 years ago, their house has been too big for my grandfather and uncle. They've been looking for a new place this past couple of years and they've found one just recently which they will be moving into early next month. It's sad because their house is, not quite an ancestral home but it's where my mom and her siblings grew up, and so did we! We used to have parties there at Christmas and go into the big pantry to get ice candy whenever we'd visit our grandparents. The house has been ours for so long, so many things happened and so many memories made in it, it's just not easy at all to give it to someone else. But it's better than leaving the house unmaintained or something like it. If only it was easier for my mom or her siblings or us grandchildren to take the responsibility of managing and keeping the house. We'd do it in a heartbeat! We can't be the young children who go to their house to get candy, play and get gifts from Santa at Christmas anymore. Now we'll be the mature young adults who go to check on our grandfather and uncle. It's our turn to give them gifts (and candy haha). 

Truth be told, I'm actually pretty excited about all this. Or I think anxious is a better word for it. It's all very sentimental and I can't help but get emotional sometimes when I think about it. But we'll move on and settle into everything eventually.

x Nikki    

Catching Up 10/21/11

It was a good day. The evening was spent catching up with really good friends whom I've missed so terribly. After returning our togas, claiming pictures from graduation and requesting for transcripts, Pre and I met up with Micah to attend and support TeamComm's fund raiser, a screening of the film Senior Year. TeamComm is the official professional (meaning academic) organization for Communication Majors like us. Pre, Micah and I were all part of the org's executive board last year so we were more than happy and pretty excited to attend the event and support our friends, the organizers and current officers. (It was so surreal to see them doing the things we used to do when we were still officers, too. It was also inspiring in a way.)

Organizers and guests pose with the cast of the film.

Micah, Pre and I.

The film was great. I enjoyed watching it and I highly recommend you go see it too whenever you get the chance.

We had dinner in McDonald's after the screening. I can't tell you how nice it was to see our orgmates' lovely faces and talk and laugh with them again. It felt like home.♥

While in McDonald's I also got to meet up with a couple of my old pals, my good friends from High School, Sam and Berna. Berna goes to La Salle too so we used to run into each other in the corridors and sit for a quick chat on a bench in school when we had time. Sam, on the other hand, goes to UP Manila. We used to get together for lunch and stuff quite often until school got in the way and we sort of lost touch a little for a while. Both of them I haven't seen and sat down with for a good, long conversation in so long. So it was really nice that we got to talk, like old times, in McDonald's as well, even for a bit. Now we're already making plans for another night out...at the theatre! That's something we always do, watch plays haha!

Sam and Nikki. Berna took this! Photo with her to follow :)

On the way home I was thinking about how good it felt to finally be able to catch up with these friends of mine. I felt like such a lousy friend for not being able to get together and catch up with them more often in the last couple of years while I was in school. Catching up with them was one of the best feelings in the world! Like when you finally get some sun at the beach after not having been there for so long. I realized that now that I'm done with school and I have all the free time in the world until I find a job is the best time to catch up with my friends, especially those I kind of or might have lost touch with. And then I'll be better at keeping in touch with them! :)

You keep in touch, too!

x Nikki

Celebrate Good Times

Last Saturday, October 15 2011, was a very auspicious day for our family, as my aunt put it. It definitely was. And also a very emotional one for my parents, especially my mom...here's why.

My graduation was in the morning. It was the 162nd Commencement Exercises of our school and we were the 2nd batch of students to graduate during its centennial year. There were over a thousand of us. Graduation is probably the most awaited, most counted down day in every students' life after I don't know, prom maybe? haha! So I think it goes without saying that this particular one, our College graduation ceremony, was extra special and the most significant one of all (after the ones we had in pre-school, grade school and high school) since it marked not just our completion of just another level in the educational system but of all 15 or so years of our lives spent in school, learning and honing our skills and talents, with our teachers and other mentors helping mold us into the better people we are now. It also marked the start of a completely new chapter in our lives, that of us as grown-ups, as mature young adults ready to conquer the world and make our mark in it. And what better way to celebrate both this end and new beginning than receiving our diploma and Bachelor's Degree in the presence of each other, our friends and family, most importantly our parents.        

After more than a month of waiting, it was finally our turn to march down the stairs of PICC and walk up on stage to receive our diplomas from La Salle's Brother President, in our togas, while Pomp and Circumstance was playing. It was a very very proud moment for all of us.

I know it's small but if you look closely that's me on the stage
receiving my diploma from La Salle's Brother President.

With the girls and Peds. Of course we get a photo together!
College wouldn't have been the same without these friends of mine. 

With my thesismates Bianca and Jikay. We made it!

AB-CAM!

Now that I think about it, I realize this whole thing was more emotional for me than I thought in the days leading to it or even while I was in PICC on the day itself. I had an amazing time in college! I can honestly say I learned some of life's more important lessons there and that I really saw and felt myself grow in the almost 4 years I spent there. I met a lot of really great people and experienced a lot of amazing things as well. When I look back and see my friends and all that, I can't help but think how blessed I had been all this time and how I wouldn't have had it any other way.

My parents were extra happy since I was the last child they had been sending to school in the last 3 to 4 years. Haha! This is their achievement more than it is mine, and I dedicate that diploma and degree to them. I don't think I have to get into detail for anyone to understand just how much they've done and helped me (and my siblings) get to where we are now, and how even after school they continue to motivate and inspire us. I would have loved to graduate with more than just a diploma for them, but seeing how happy and proud they are even without those extra stuff makes me happier and more content. And it just motivates me even more to do more to make them proud and provide for them just as they have provided for me.        

Drama aside, after the morning program in PICC, we celebrated over lunch. It was a very small and intimate party, with just family from both my mom and dad's sides and Via, a really good, close childhood friend of mine.

my two lolos :)

family from dad's side

and mom's side

and us :)

with Via. We practically grew up together!

I haven't had a chance to celebrate with friends yet. I couldn't celebrate on the evening of graduation day and stay up late because I had to get up early the following day to go to CamSur to watch and support the DLSU Dragonboat Team at the CamSur Dragonboat Fest. Wooohoo!! We took the earliest flight out of Manila so we could catch up on the last day of the competition. Besides that, though, there was one other reason I had to get up early the following day...

At 3 A.M. Manila time, my sister got married in the U.S. ♥ On their side of the world, in a small chapel on the mountains of Tennessee, it was October 15, 3 P.M. when she walked down the aisle. She was wearing a simple white dress with a red ribbon on the waist and a bouquet of red roses. Red and white was the theme of the wedding. Red is believed to be for good luck, a nod to the Korean roots of her fiance--now hubby! We couldn't be there for the wedding, but our relatives from Ohio and L.A., my dads' sisters, cousins and aunt, flew in to TN for it and our cousin Katrina stood in for me as Maid of Honor.

Although we couldn't be there physically, we surely weren't going to miss it for the world! Thank God for Skype! My uncle set up his phone and called us so that we were there as well to witness the whole ceremony. We got to talk to everyone right before it started, including my sister! We saw for ourselves how happy and giddy she was, just as our relatives who were there told us. You know how at weddings people say it's the bride's dream come true? Well now, after having seen my own sister as a bride, I think I believe that's true. And thank God for Skype, really. I mean, it was more than amazing that we got to witness her dream come true, thousands of miles away.

the blushing bride spoke to us before the ceremony.

I thought my mom was going to cry! But she didn't, she just got a little teary-eyed. I guess she's saving it for their wedding here in Manila next year. Yes, they're going to get married here, too! And I have been tasked to organize it, something I'm very excited about. My sister would never get married without us :)

I think I might cry with my mom at that wedding, too haha. I was so moved while watching Kim Kardashian's Fairy Tale Wedding just earlier this evening on E! I was almost going to cry. It got me thinking about my own sister's wedding here next year and got me more excited about it. I haven't met her husband in person yet, but I have had the chance to talk to him online quite a few times already and like the rest of my family I support my sister on this. He's a very good man, my sister is in good hands. While I still wish we all could have been at their wedding in Tennessee, I just can't wait to see them both next year!

In Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kris Jenner always says how happy she is that their family just keeps growing. I understand that now. Our own family is just starting to grow, I can't wait for what's going to happen next. I welcome my new brother-in-law and am looking forward to welcoming a little niece or nephew in the near future. This is all so exciting!

My uncle who was at the wedding sent us some beautiful photos.

Classic.

They say we all look alike haha

how fun is our family haha!

the wonderful, happy couple :) congratulations!!
They're going to have Asian-looking kids with Southern accents hihi

So that was our auspicious and emotional weekend. I hope yours wasn't pretty bad either. :)

Till the next story!

xx Nikki 

Pegs and Togas

Counting down the days till we march down PICC to Pomp and Circumstance; just 2 to go now! This past week has been busy with preparations and everything else needed to be done before "the big day." 

Yesterday, Wednesday, was the day we got our togas and attended Baccalaureate mass, other pre-grad activities and posed for our class pictures wearing them as well as rehearsed the general flow of the program for Saturday.

(photos from my friend Peter Geronimo):

we're the 2nd batch of Communication Arts centennial graduates

It was an eventful day. By the end of it everyone was exhausted from all the walking around school, moving from program to program, venue to venue. But I'd say getting our togas, wearing them and having our photos taken in them and being recognized for our academic and extra-curricular activities (no awards for me, though) and realizing how close we are to the big day and how all our hard work is finally paying off made it all worth it and fulfilling.  

Now the day before that, Tuesday, was the day I went dress and shoes hunting/shopping with my good friend, thesis mate, and fellow graduate Bianca. We spent almost the whole day walking around Makati looking for the perfect outfits for Saturday. I'm not a fashion blogger but allow me the occasional mention of my outfits here in my blog, too haha! 

I'm a fan of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge; I look up to her poise, style, and manners. I want to be like her when I grow up--no, not a princess necessarily, just a really well-mannered, poised young lady with a good head on her shoulders ;) I think it's very refreshing to see someone like her in the spotlight this day and age. And it's about time someone brought classic back. 

Anyway, so for the event of my graduation, Princess Catherine is my style inspiration! I was looking for a dress and a pair of shoes I think she might wear herself. Such peg is based on the photos I have seen of her in events and on write-ups about her "classic" style which I have read. At the end of Tuesday, I got a royal blue colored dress and simple, classic nude pumps. Two staples in the Duchess' wardrobe as well, it seems. 

That's all I'll say for now about that, let's save the details for another post about GRAD DAY! But can I just say, in true Kate fashion I re-used a dress, too! For yesterday, Wednesday's pre-grad activities, I used the same dress I wore at the Lasallian Excellence Awards night of the Council of Student Organizations last March ;)

pre-grad activities

LEA Night last March

Within the day we found out that only us from the College of Liberal Arts had those green "Graduate" sashes. It was very nice and thoughtful of the Dean and CLA heads to prepare them for us :)

TTFN!

xx Nikki

Imagine

Well imagine that, I have finally come round to fixing this (new) "little corner of the world" of mine. While this isn't my only corner--see, I'm your typical internet dependent teen/young adult. I have accounts in Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter--I plan to update this one very often. I do, or did, blog in Tumblr, but not as much as I plan to do so here. There's just something different and nice about having a separate space solely for blogging/writing. Tumblr's fun and all, and I like it, but I think I'll save that for my reblogging needs. So here's my first of many posts on this page of mine which, at the moment, I have entitled "Infinite" inspired by the book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." And I guess "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," too. Layout-wise, though, I'm not done yet. It's all a work in progress and I'd like to keep it that way :)

This has been in the works for a while now. And for about a couple of weeks already I have been feeling a very strong urge to write. But I couldn't find the energy or inspiration to do so until this afternoon, when I was reminded that today, October 9, was John Lennon's birthday. Apart from the fact that I am a fan of the Beatles, I can't really explain what else inspired me when I remembered this. Let's just say it's something along the lines of "you say you want a revolution, well, you know, we all wanna change the world." More than 20 years since his death, people still remember John Lennon and how he actually did change the world through his music and his own peaceful revolution. Speaking of changing the world, another man comes into mind: Steve Jobs. Not unlike John Lennon, I'm pretty sure people will still remember Steve Jobs as well 20 years from now.

I'm inspired. Like John and Steve, I want to change the world as well. Or at least make my own significant contribution in it. How exactly I'm going to do that I do not know yet. But I will figure it out! And as cliche as this sounds, no matter how small that contribution is, I will make it. I'm finding this sudden surge of inspiration very timely as I will be graduating in 5 days! Right now, more than ever, I feel like the world is my oyster. I can not wait to get out there and experience and do it all, make my dreams come true and hopefully inspire more people along the way.              

In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm kind of an optimist. Serendipity, dreams and making them come true, fate, law of attraction, right timing, etc...I believe in all these things. I still have my low moments, though, but I try as much as possible to always look at the bright side of things. In this blog I'd like to share more of that and the things that inspire me and make me feel infinite, and then hopefully, I inspire you too!

Happy Birthday, John Lennon! ☮

(image borrowed, no copyright infringement intended)

x Nikki