Extra in Bourne Legacy

I was fortunate enough to be one of the extras in the Bourne Legacy shoot held yesterday~~^-^ I didn’t have any big roles though ~HAHA What is ambisyosa of me ne~ but the fact that I had seen stars like Rachel Weisz, Jeremy Renner as well as our Filipino pride John Arcilla and Valerie Bariou Bondoc and the fact that I was 1-meter away from them in certain circumstances of the shooting already made my day! #gettingtheirvibes LOL! The directors and asst. directors were quite wacky too, which made our lives easier coz we get to laugh at times when energy drops low due to exhaustion. Taking pictures of the artists, however, were prohibited so I got no souvenir pics or signatures from them.

Got a stamp to be recognized as one of the extras and not just an intruder. LMAO. Okay, #feelingera.com

I filled out a form before the shoot! Yeheeess. I was branded ARTIST for a moment. LMAO. #masfeelingera.com

They were still setting up while we were being designated in specific roles. HAHA! Kk, I had the role of an employee. We were many, I tell you! So it’ll be lucky of me if I get a scene in the movie. How I wish!!

Hours have passed...
Shooting.. Rehearsal.... Blah..

I rested for a while at 1AM and ate my late dinner! Just took a vanity shot to keep me sane. I just had to go online as well and check twitter and FB.

So I basically spent my day like that! From 3PM of the 22nd to 4AM of the 23rd. An Extra in an International Movie for a day wasn’t so bad. It was exhausting, but I think the experience is worth my time. I am not expecting to be seen in the movie but if God wills that my parts would not be edited out then that’d be great!

I desire.

To desire, as they say, is to wish earnestly for something. We long for things because we think or feel that it can satisfy our needs and wishes. It can be an object, an emotion, an achievement and whatnot. As a person, who doesn't aspire, desire? I bet no one... because as a human being, we naturally want to attain self-fulfillment. Hence, we do something about it in any way possible. :)

A few days ago, I received this

salmon pink rose

It's been roughly a year and 7 months since I last received a rose this beautiful. This is actually a kris kringle gift from a blockmate. I did some researching over the net and found out that salmon pink roses meant "to desire for something/someone". :D I truly love this gift for I had a couple of realizations again.

First, it led me to another self-check session! It's my way of knowing myself more -- knowing what I really want in life. ;)

I realize that I desire so much... too much, maybe. :D For instance, I want to become a pediatrician, an inspirational blogger, write my own book, perform on stage for a musical, and publish my own scientific journals as a biologist. I even have this thought of getting my hair blonde, changing my whole wardrobe with one-of-a-kind clothes and all that! I always think that miracles can happen like getting back my perfect vision of 20/20 I used to have, getting thin and even taller and becoming a model or better yet an ambassador of an organization. Personally, I always dream to marry a man that is worth my existence (obsession as it may be, I find Tegoshi Yuya potentially good as a hubby lah~ XD ) But seriously, I pray that I can have a family of my own, living our lives in prosperity and in happiness. :D I plan to build a house inspired by Koreanovelas like the one Hyun Bin had in Secret Garden...and eventually call it a home. :D I want to travel the world, and touch other people's lives as well. My desires as stated above can be outrageously witty or even out of my range; others... well, they can be achieved in God's time. ;)

Second, I shall desire not to seek people's attention, but to do good deeds and bring good news for His glory.

I can desire all I want, daydream like forevuh, but there will always be a limitation (i.e., we can't be the person we wish we could be if there were MORE EXCITING things set before us as written in God's will).

I told myself before that the moment I stepped into school, I was in for the wild ride! It's like I accepted a contract wherein I can be crashed into pieces if I flaunt, or reigned The Holy One if I do good. LOL! *crazy me starts here* But you get my point? It can be really stressful when you are pressured by the society you are in. Hence, I initially thought that I MUST DO GOOD; If not, then I'm out of this game.

I always felt that way before. I did things because I want others to think that I'm good -- someone who is intellectual, responsible and all that. But then, I realized that I WAS living a life of a puppet on string. During that time, my only wish was to stay on top... and if I fail to reach that "threshold potential" of success in order for me to get going, I'd be sad about it.

As I grew, I accepted the fact that I cannot have all the things I long for. :) All I have now on Earth will be gone when I reunite with Him, so I have set my mind to do things or deeds that can nourish my soul. :) I now think that my life on Earth must be used efficiently for the glory of God. I feel that the spotlight must not be put upon me. Rather, my life shall be utilized in order for others to see The Light who is Him. :D

Sharing you my thoughts is the best way for me to start anew. :) This Yuletide season, may we continue to set our goals right! It's never too late, so there! Have a merry holiday, everyone!

December: Shall Recover!

If you were a relative, you'd know how devastating my November was to me. It's like a month long of instability, indecisiveness, and literal mourning -- not only for me, but for my whole extended family. It's not easy to move on, and I know that there will be times that even if I try to make myself busy with academics, the moment I sit and just think freely, the thoughts of the recent past would flashback out of nowhere. It's not the typical sadness someone can get from heartbreaks nor in teenage dramas; it's more of [protected] a life and death kind of thing. Life can be taken like a breeze, y'know? So swift that you can't even catch up! The catch in this "drama of my life" is that it's not just one event, not two, but three.

If you're a recent reader, you'd know a couple of unfortunate news about my offline life. I haven't spilled all the beans yet actually, coz I bet no one would want to get negative vibes. But even if I don't want to make it a big deal, like sharing it all over the world like a boss through blogging, I just can't let the "unhealthy" vibes eat me up.

It's funny how easy-go-lucky I can be especially in school-- just LOLing most of the time with my blockmates and all. But when I get time for myself, alone... WOW That'd be another story -- a totally opposite story! I think I also have the problem, ne? coz I can't really open up with closed friends when it comes to personal matters. It's weird of me that I can ACTUALLY talk about it more here in this blog than with people I know personally, don't you think? Hmm. I guess it's part of my personality not to let others see how weak I can get when it comes to things or people I cherish the most :')

So for the times I get to be emotional and a little weird, THANK YOU READERS! You may not notice but every comment you make -- the stories you share, the quotable statements, advices, and even the silliest jokes you type... they all make sense to me. They make me feel better! If I can just really extend the tightest hug to each of you, you know?
[/protected]
ANYWAYS, As the title says,

I shall recover this December!

SM North EDSA, The Block Christmas Tree

It will be a good Healing Month for me. I must not let the past hinder me from enjoying life to the fullest and making this place better with my existence, ne? XD I know it's gonna be tough, but with God, with my family, and my friends (online or offline), I hope I won't forget to stand up! Please pray for my fast recovery. I want to regain the optimism, the hope, and the love. :)

Forever Young

Got a new phone under my dad's name -- Samsung Galaxy Young. I like how Young was put at the end of the phone's brand name. I'm using a SMART sim for this phone, and hopefully this phone will be used especially for acad-related stuff like PDFs and research. HAHA I know, I'm such a weirdo(?) XD

It was my first day of classes yesterday. Apparently, only 1 out of 3 professors showed up and we only spent 15 minutes for that subject. Sometimes I think, I should've not gone to school on a first day because more often than not there'll be no such thing as "classes" anyway. :D Nevertheless, seeing my blockmates was good! Whenever I see my friends, I can't help but smile. IT's as if the mood that I got from the past mishaps turned into a more optimistic one. That's what I like about being busy and getting things to work on -- I can distract myself away from bad vibes.

Here I am alone again at home. My parents usually eat breakfast at Mcdonald's on Saturdays, and they take food to go for me to eat! :D Ciao for now.

Saturated

A lot of things to think about... a lot of things that bug me.. Distractions are everywhere. I'm thinking too much , eh? Maybe. I just hope... [protected] I can surpass all my endeavors for the 2 weeks.I hope I won't take finals anymore! Please help me Lord, God [/protected]

The Crossing...Train Rides

Odd as it seems, I find train rides relaxing. One would engage himself in a very tough battle going inside it at first, especially when it's crowded with people; nevertheless, when almost everyone would have gotten off,  I find the impression of trains mild and serene as if it's giving me space -- that "space" I need to breathe in, breathe out... stay calm and sane...away from the unsettled pace of the people that have bounded me initially. Kudos to Monumento Station for being the main get-off of the masses BTW! :D

Within that intimate, personal space I get from the almost vacant train, I find a moment of stillness. I rarely get calm these days, you see. Reality/Life nowadays is giving me a hard time, but I'm trying... not to feel down nor frustrated. I know I've been always a happy bee! An optimist! But there will always be a limit to everything, so I'm encouraging myself to drive the happy hormones out and just be.. well, happy!  :p

I will never blame academics for this though, coz maybe it's just really part of the routine of being a typical college student -- we need to get stressed so we won't be at ease all the time. After all, the Actual Life (away from the books, more on reality bites) has more to offer than the amount of stress we get from cramming the readings, almost not hitting the sack every night, and getting the pens and brains ready to battle out the revolting examinations! ;)

The usual Berso Sa Metro quotes situated at the top sides of the train are one of the unique things I get from riding the train. They make me reflect the moment I read them, and they are really effective especially when I'm in the middle of anxiety. God knows when I need some words of motivation, words from The Almighty!  :]

On another note,  life , as they say, can be compared to train rides. There are a couple of stations where you can get on and off, go for shorter or longer paths depending on your choice and then decide when to stop and get off the train. You can even decide if you want to go back, or just move on and go to the next station. We, likewise, get to be on different stages in our lives wherein each stage serves a mixed platter of blessings and difficulties. It's up to us now on how we'd take the platter! ;)

Questions: How do you get over life difficulties? Are you happy and contented with the way you are living now? || Do you ride trains? Do you feel the same when you get on a train (that feeling of calmness when it's almost unoccupied by people)?

Carefree Sunday

This is yet the most relaxing weekend of my entire third year college life probably because I have no exams to worry about for the coming week. My carefree attitude is also a factor here though, since I really had enough of the stress lately that all I wanna do is just be "rebellious" for the moment and JUST BE AWAY from all these stress-inducing activites AKA Acads. Who's with me? :cool:

So I had Mcdonald's for breakfast! :D My parents often go to Mcdo on weekends. When I was in high school, we usually go out every morning just to eat our fave breakfast meals from Mcdo! Now that I'm in college, I prefer to sleep rather than get up early for breakfast, so they usually bring home my fave Sausage McMuffin with Egg and fries!  Then we headed to Church for Mass.... I bought this beautiful rosary-bracelet personally made by the priest awhile ago. I'm very much into these bracelets. They are really purdy and I feel like I'm always protected when I have tangible stuff like this with me.

Here's my attempt to look like a weirdo doing the kitten's paw pose! I'm wearing the bracelet! ^^~

Ala-Siete y Media

Kung mapapansin niyo, di ako mag-iingles ngayon; Feel ko lang kasi talaga mag-Filipino. Parang ayaw ko muna mag-isip ng kung papaano ko isasummarize ang pinakaimportanteng mga kaganapan sa buhay ko gamit ang wikang Ingles. Ano naman ang kwento ng blog title ko? Ayun, "7:30 o Ala-Siete y Media" -- pinakasignificant na oras ngayong araw na'to -- day and night time!

7:30 AM. Late ako ng 30 minutes sa 7AM class ko kanina, sayang tuloy yung additional 2 points for our 1st exam na binigay ng prof namin sa Ecolab. Oh well, that's life! Masaya narin ako since napasa at qualified pa akong maexempt for finals sa subject na yun, as of now. xD So ano na ba pinagkaabalahan ko ngayon? SAME OLD SAME OLD ang sagot ko diyan! Acads pa rin ang nagbibigay kulay sa mundo ko. Third year na ako ngayon, at mas feel ko na ang pagiging BS Biology Major ko. More on papers kami lately -- scientific reports, oral reports, atbp. :D Ang saya-saya. Minsan. :))

Syempre, di magpapatalo ang laki ng eye-bags ko sa dami ng gawain ko bilang estudyante. Mapapa-"grabe only!" ka talaga sa dami! Buti nalang may twitter na pwede kong paglabasan ng stress. :D Di lang 'yan, meron din akong mga pinapanood na Asian Dramas para madivert ang atensyon ko paminsan-minsan. Just to keep me sane! Heartstrings (Kdrama) at Sunao ni Narenakute (Jdorama) ang recent na nasa dramalist ko! Okay silang dalawa. Yung former, typical romance-comedy. Fave ko ang chemistry nila Shin Hye at Yong Hwa kaya approve sa akin ang Kdrama na 'yan! Yung latter naman, kasisimula ko palang panoorin yan. Friendship made through Twitter naman ang concept nila. :D

7:30 PM. Pauwi na ako ng bahay nang umulan ng malakas! at napansin ko lang, di ko masyado mahal ang kulay pink at violet. xD Purple bag, key strap, umbrella. Pati suot ko purple. Tapos yung interior lining ng bag ko ay pink. Pink din most ng cases na makikita sa bag ko -- pencil case, kikay kit, wallet, at dalawang de-zipper na lalagyan (1-pang LRT/MRT cards at 2- lalagyan ng earphones atbp. na pkailangan ma-isolate sa iba kong gamit). AKO NA. Oo, ako na talaga. :))

Bago pala ako umuwi, nanood pa kami ng Babae sa Septic Tank starring Eugene Domingo. Sa cinemas na namin siya napanood, so madaming cut scenes. Sayang, 170 php bayad namin, pero parang di worth it dahil di naman buo yung napanood namin. Naubusan kasi kami ng tickets sa CCP at UPD for Cinemalaya Movies a couple of weeks ago.  :)

So ayun, 7:30 AM at 7:30 PM, naisip ko lang siya pagkadating ko ng bahay. Ano kaya meron kung bakit ang "significant" ng 7:30 sa araw na'to? Baka nung past life ko, importante din ang mga oras na yan. HAHA (Okay, ang gulo ko na. Sabaw)

END.

Junior Year: First Week!

Before anything else, let me share to you my schedule for this semester. I'm officially a Junior in college! Thinking about it, four years of pre-med is fast enough that the next thing I'd do is to be in Medicine after a couple of years more. :D So there, I have three majors, Hum2 for my GE subject, and Physics.

I was pretty occupied for my first week of classes not really because of academics but because of our preparation for our, UP Manila Biorhythm, performance in Robinson's Place Manila in celebration of Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th birthday. :D It was held last night at Midtown Atrium. I've been part of UPM Biorhythm for a year but it really feels like a family whenever I'm with them. It's like the craziest org I've joined because of the people I'm with! :D For acads, we only had first day orientations; nonetheless, I expect more things to happen in the coming days. It's Junior year anyway, so I really do expect more in this battle. :))

Here are a couple of pictures of Juris, in purple, and I while waiting for our dresses. I used Skinfood's Tomato Jelly Lip Tint #3 again in here. I reviewed this a couple of days ago if you remember. :D

On another note, it was my dad's birthday last June 17. we had a gathering at home and the table was full of scrumptious dishes! My fave dessert, of course, was served -- Mango Bravo from Conti's.

The Surplus Shopping!

MicroBlogging Mode: I shopped for tops today and was successful in buying three tops for a price of Php999.00. It seems pricey for some but for me this is a good buy already! :)) It's hard to see clothes that you really like that are not so expensive. :) So there, just sharing the three tops I got! All from Surplus Shop. :D

Escaping Reality

REALITY -- I guess this is that one word that worries me a lot. :) It's vague in the sense that life is very much a game. You get to be happy for a moment, then all of a sudden you'd be under the rain. You think you are "getting there", being successful and all... but then you realize it's only a pinch of what you can really get from this world. You get to fight in a battle thinking that you are prepared enough to face everything, then you get stabbed in the back without you knowing. No warning signs; and I guess that is something about reality that we can't totally erase. However, I know all of us have wished to at least escape reality for a moment. We have our ways on doing it and for me, that is when I watch Asian Dramas. :)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="K-Dramas I've recently watched. :)"][/caption]

It really helps a lot especially when I need encouraging words of wisdom about life or scenes that I know I can relate my life with. Well, there are also those times I'd just love to get all giddy and smittened! :D I've talked about how I couldn't resist a day without watching even a single episode of a drama, right? Though I want to share it all, I bet this online diary would eventually be a review blog once I do that, so I'm "controlling" myself not to get into reviewing 'em. :D  But then again IMHO, Jdoramas are really on top of the list when it comes to learning life principles or even re-learning them. :)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Top 4 Jdoramas that had an impact on me :)"][/caption]

Maybe some of you may disagree with me about this "escaping reality" thing, because I honestly sometimes would wish I didn't get this far in making too much escape from the real world. Sometimes we people can get really attached to the fake worlds we make that there's a tendency not to decipher which world is which anymore. I'm guilty of that! :D But I regret nothing... because for me, it's part of molding myself.

So I always have that reality check in my system, so not to confuse myself of where I am now. :) I know in myself I've changed alot. I am influenced by the society I am in and my addiction to this world of Asian TV Shows. :D  Whatever words I learn either from this society or from the shows I watch that in my opinion are worthy of learning, I adapt. I carry them over as life principles in the end. :)

I'm not that grade school Sandra anymore who had this all goody-goody image nor that person who's gotten high grades and all when I was in high school. I've grown to expect not only the best but also the worst things that can come to my life. Although in truth, no one can really escape reality, of course there would be those times that we can't really help but make a world out of our ideals.

But how much we try to get away, in the end we'll come to a realization that there's no such thing as a real escape from it. We can only face life for real and be ready for what may come. Although there is no assurance of being successful in the end, at least we can say we did something! :)

So how about you? What's your way of "escaping" reality?

Fieldwork in Ilocos

A couple of weeks ago, my batchmates and I went to Ilocos Norte for our fieldwork in Bio115 (Taxonomy of Higher Plants). We were tasked to visit various biomes of the province and get a couple of specimens to be preserved as our herbarium specimens (project). It really sounded as if it's all about study, work, and get tanned under the sun, but then I was definitely wrong about that assumption! :D Not only did we learn more about nature, but my batchmates and I also got the opportunity to bond to make up for that toxic college life. I guess this served as a complementary to make up for the summer vacation we were deprived to have. LOL!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Batchmates and I had dinner first at KFC at 6PM"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Day 1: Botanical Garden of Northwestern University in Ilocos"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption=""DormGirls" at Momaay's Crib! :))"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Day 2: Had a tour of Diff. Biomes; Taking a Lil Rest with Bea and Jeuz"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Saw the Bangui Windmills (Energy Source) as well!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Toured known places in Ilocos for Day 3 as a "reward"(?) :))"][/caption]

Definitely one of the best memories I've had for summer class! One more thing is the surprise of our batchmates during our 2nd night for us, three girls, Liezel, Anya and I! We have our birthdays on 3 consecutive days of May (May 1-3). We weren't expecting anything at all. I was actually already asleep that time and yet they woke me up, called Liezel and Anya as well, who were outside because they were being "entertained" by my batchmates I guess so that they won't get suspicious or something. We were all awake in the middle of dawn! :))

They even ordered pizzas and colas for us to eat. They're the best college batchmates ever! :) #trulyblessed.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Look how surprised they were and how "bangag" I was that time after they've woken me up! :))"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Birthday Pizza with Happy Bday Initials. :)"][/caption]

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's to your moms! I hope you had a great day celebrating it together with your beloved mothers. We ate lunch at Yellow Cab after attending Mass. It was a simple celebration with only the three of us left at home -- my mom, dad and I. My two sisters are now married and are living with their own families already. We regretted not bringing our own radio at YC though since t'was Pacquiao's fight during that time. XD  Nonetheless, we're so happy knowing that he won after we've eaten our scrumptious lunch! :)) Since it was raining really hard that time, we decided to just have a continuation of our celebration this weekend, and hopefully by that time we can go places! :D

I know I've been missing in blogging action since the middle of April. There are just a lot of things to do in the offline world that I have somehow lost my way in the blogging world. I just want to grab this moment to thank you all for the greetings you've sent me last May 3 in celebration of my 19th birthday. I feel so blessed and loved by you guys. I can't help but smile when I see your greetings in facebook, twitter, or even personal messages. It's my first time to keep track of the facebook wall posts I get for my birthday and I'm really happy to see the continuous flow of greetings for a day or two in my profile! THANK YOU SO MUCH. ♥

I've been living this life for 19 years now and I must say it's an accomplishment to live it in the best way I can. Right now, I know I have more to experience in this world. I don't know how many lifetimes I've lived but I'm grateful that somehow I've managed to really experience my life being the Sandra I am today. Expressive much? But seriously, I am very  happy to live a life surrounded by people who I would cherish through a lifetime. Love y'all!  :]

On another note, just want to share you what I'm drinking now. A Serenitea Wintermelon! The other two are for my sister. She has a craving for milk teas right now, eh? :))