I just wanted everyone to know I'm still alive. I realized that my LJ has been alive for almost five years and I haven't updated about anything in... almost a year. :| This Christmas, I hope I can change that. Anyway...

How's everyone on my flist? I hope you all are okay. :)

Taken from nefariouscory:

"YEAR IN REVIEW: Take the first sentence (or two) from the first post of each month of 2007. That's your year in review."

January - First entry of the year. I'd do a post reminiscing about 2006 and mentioning my resolutions for 2007, but I got lazy and it's 5:10 in the morning.

February - I just realized that I'm graduating in one month. And I don't know if I should be ecstatic or frightened.

March - I'm sitting here, unable to believe the fact that I am done with high school.

April - This is where I TRY to make a decent LJ update. Oh well, let's see what I can do when it's almost one in the morning and I'm sleep-deprived.

May - (Oh wow, I didn't update AT ALL. O_o)

June - Before I go off writing one of those "end of the summer before college" entries, I
just want to post a list of things I intend to accomplish during my last week of summer.

July - (Amazing. No updates again. xD)

August - (And here is when I continue to neglect my LJ. -_-)

September - So, wow. I can't believe I'm getting the urge to update at 1:43 in the morning.

October - Why, oh why do I always get the urge to update whenever I'm about to cram
something?

November - Er, yeah. So mocca_fix_gold and I have decided to get one of those
things called fic LJs - athousandplaces.

December - My friend Alia, who has been exposed to my Remus/Tonks mania, got her sister to make me some fanart for my birthday

Conclusion? I totally fail at blogging and LJ. Haha. Next year, I resolve to lead a more interesting life and quit being SUCH A LAZY BUTTHEAD with my updates. xD

My friend Alia, who has been exposed to my Remus/Tonks mania, got her sister to make me some fanart for my birthday. I kind of forgot about it until Alia IMed me earlier to send me the picture, which made me squee and just be all sorts of happy. :D

( Remus and Tonks from a scene in my first ever R/T fic, Moonbows )

This was a collaboration by Aileen, who did the drawing, and Audrey, who did the coloring.

Much <3 to Alia for requesting it for me, and Aileen and Audrey for doing such a marvelous job! :)

I hope you guys like their work!

Taken from skidiot:

Go to Wikipedia's main page at Wikipedia.org. Click on Random Article. This is the name of your band. Click on it again. This is the name of your album. Finally, click 15 more times. This is the track list for the album.

Band Name: Type 354 Radars
Album: Trinidad, California
Songs:
El Periquillo Sarniento (The Mangy Parrot)
KFSH-FM
Charlie Creed-Miles
2001 Individual Speedway European Championship
Buckhorn, Missouri
Bettendorf, Germany
Madrid, Surigao del Sur
Zazie dans le métro
Fro Adu
1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics
Neal Boortz controversies
Parlin Library
Radicofani
Digital Effects
United States Senate Committee on Cuban Relations

...Is it just me, or am I wrong in thinking that this album will totally FLOP? XD Anyway, my band name sounds all techno-y. And most of our songs are about places, so yay, apparently I'm a well-traveled person. ;)

Er, yeah. So mocca_fix_gold and I have decided to get one of those things called fic LJs - athousandplaces. We needed a place to dump all the stuff we've written and pimp them to be able to share them someplace other than FanFiction.Net. There's nothing in there so far but an introductory post, though. As soon as I finish writing the sequel/Tonks's POV to A Stiff Drink, I'll be posting it there. And... I guess you'll be able to find our attempts at writing - both fan fiction (Remus/Tonks, Ted/Andromeda, other Harry Potter and X-Men stuff) and original stuff/poetry - that we deem somewhat decent. Once we get around to archiving them, at least. XD So if you're bored and/or curious, please drop by and tell us what you think! :)

Swiped from sherlock_hound's Multiply. Because I needed yet another meme/survey to distract me from finishing my fan fic. ;)

( If I were a... )

Okay, now to finish my fic for Meta. I've made progress from 10 words to 1,070! Go me! I seriously hope I get this finished in time. I've got a lot of doubts about it, seeing as my prompts are more difficult this time around. Plus, I'm just not good at humor. Then again, like mocca_fix_gold says, that's why it's called a fic challenge. XD <3 to her for rocking so much as a beta and encouraging me just when I was about to give up altogether!

Swiped from a lot of people on my flist:

( I should be doing some actual writing instead of answering memes, but oh well... XD )

I apologize if I was rather redundant in that meme. Haha. Anyway, now to try and get some writing done. Which, knowing me, I'm going to put off once again. Siiiigh.

Somehow, the whole "Man of the Year" thing just had me LOLing. XD

You Should Be a Teacher

You are patient, optimistic, and good at explaining things. You work well with all types of people, and you are a good role model. Success and positive outcomes are extremely important to you. You are both a good leader and instructor. People look up to and depend on you. You do best when you: - Can see the results of your work - Are able to teach someone a new skill You would also be a good nurse or non fiction writer.

...Assuming I ever grow up, lol! And I only picked the circles because they were pretty and they had orange in them. The second thing I picked had me as an artist/journalist, though. Hmm. But a non-fiction writer? I wonder how I'd pull that off, seeing as my life is incredibly boring. Hahaha. XD

crazy4this_girl's latest entry had me thinking.

I normally joke about how I hate being older than most of my friends - I'm the oldest in the _whitefeet the first one in my senior class who became legal, and I'm the oldest freshman in the UP College of Education. This isn't because I repeated a grade or anything - I took seventh grade while most of my peers in high school only went through sixth (here, some schools have seventh grade while others don't). And I usually love seeing people's surprised reactions when I tell them I'm turning 19 - heck, they don't believe it 'cause I look like I'm 16. Which is why they'd never let me into an R-18 movie or a bar. But that's besides the point.

I'm turning 19 in less than a month, and I only realized how lucky I am to even be teased by my friends that I'm growing older. crazy4this_girl's schoolmate, who was in third year high school, died of dengue fever today. Although I don't know who he was, it makes me sad to think about the things he'll never get to experience - prom, graduation, getting into the university of his choice, having a family, achieving his dreams, and just living. And when I think about how he's the same age as my little brothers, I can't help but feel guilty and relieved that they're okay, that they're here to try and grab the computer away from me, and to ask for my advice on things such as girls, gays, and grades. Still, it isn't fair.

Almost a week ago, there was a blast in a popular shopping mall in Makati City. I'm sure everyone and their mother (at least, in the Philippines) has heard of this. Some sick person (assuming it's a bomb, and not an accident) planted a bomb near the children's clothes and toys part of the mall, and it exploded at 1:30 in the afternoon, collapsing escalators, bridges, trapping people under debris, and obliterating almost two floors (I think) of the mall. It's not the reported damage of about Php.100M that gets to me - it's the stories of the 11 people who died that day, and the 100+ others who were injured.

There was the story of the guy who was just buying Chinese takeout for his family and friends, because they were celebrating his new job as a seaman going to Germany and he was leaving the next day. There was also the seventeen-year-old nursing student who just happened to be passing by the mall. And the three friends who went out for lunch to celebrate the pay raise that one of them had. All of them died that afternoon when they least expected it and probably didn't deserve it, their families' dreams shattered by shrapnel and debris coming from that explosion.

And to think that my mom usually eats lunch with her friends at that mall. Words can't express how relieved I was when I called her up in her office and heard that she was fine.

I know that life is really short, and that when it's your time to go, it's your time to go - regardless of whether you're prepared to or not. Still, nothing saddens me more than those who die unexpectedly, especially with their lives ahead of them and the dreams and loved ones they've left behind. I'm suddenly reminded of my former principal's mother - she was just out to buy bread, then all of a sudden, she got run over. There are things that are so unbelievable and shocking when you first hear them, you think they're a joke - oh, I just wish how everything that's been happening recently was just a joke.

Anyway, I'm sorry if I wrote such a depressing entry - I just wanted to let it all out and to give myself a reminder that every heartbeat, every breath, and every second that I continue to live is a gift - and how lucky I am to be alive and how I have a duty to make something worthwhile of my life.

Out of boredom and curiosity, I took this "Ultimate Colin Firth Fan Quiz", just to see how much I still remembered after being obsessed with him some two years ago. Surprisingly, I got 34/40. Which totally amuses me, because I thought I did abysmally - I mean, I didn't even know which of his movies the Earl of Spencer had a cameo in!

Score 26 – 37: Very good. You know a lot about the lovely Mr Firth, but come on – try harder and you can be a true obsessive!

Try harder? The first time I saw Pride and Prejudice, I watched all six hours of it straight. And I used to memorize the dialogue to Bridget Jones's Diary, after watching it almost every day. I guess this reveals how scarily obsessed I can get about something, LOL! Come to think of it, Colin's got a bunch of new movies out that I'm kind of interested in seeing. If ever they do come out here. Anyway, I guess the point of this entry is that I can't believe I still managed to get a sort of high score on that quiz, even if I haven't been obsessed with Colin for the longest time.

Anyway, I just had a thought - Mr. Darcy reminds me of Remus Lupin. Even just a bit. You know, what will them being the strong, silent types. Brooding. Noble. Reserved. In other words, totally hot. But we won't get into that. ;)

Ugh. I think the break (which I have yet to update on) is reducing my brain to mush. Anyway, it's almost kimivalkyrie's birthday! Happy birthday, Kimi! I had a lot of fun last night - thanks for throwing such a nice party, even if you're not a debut kind of girl." I loved the duck adobo, the salad with some wasabi, and I found the sour mango thing with green tea ice cream to be... interesting. XD It's ironic how I'm greeting you in an entry mentioning Colin Firth - I remember how you thought my obsession with him was quite sickening, to the point that you actually vomited. LOL. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your day! *hugs*

Dumbledore is gay.

O_O

Why has this never occurred to me? At least, here's a good reason why he's a manipulative old coot. He's just bitter that Grindelwald didn't want him back, so he took it out on Voldemort and his war. Yes, I'm still bitter about Remus and Tonks dying.

That is all.

Because sembreak is about putting off the more productive things you should be doing (like cleaning your room) simply because you have time to slack off, here's a meme that mocca_fix_gold and spitzjb tagged me to do quite some time ago. Eep.

( Eight Things (I assume) You Didn't Know About Me )

And another meme:

*Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...

*They have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!

*Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same
1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. (It is harder than you think.)

( This was harder than I thought! O_o )

Nothing like the break to let me un-neglect my LJ. XD

I want to change my username. O_o

Why? I guess I feel like I've grown a lot since the four years I first started this LJ, and, well... my username's just a bit odd. Hmm.

But what would I change it into? That, I don't know. LOL.

Also, I'd have to buy a rename token thing. Rar.

Anyway, a more meaningful update will come later. It's times like these that I really should get to sleep.

---

Oh, and because I really should get around to doing it, I just wanted to say that I've FINALLY finished my challenge fic for metamorfic_moon!!! 9000+ words. That's more than I thought I could be capable of, lol! All those hours of staring at a blank screen, eating chocolate, listening to inspiring songs, and whining to mocca_fix_gold have paid off! I'm quite nervous about it, but I'm happy with how it turned out. It can be found here. . If anyone is interested in reading it and leaving their comments, I'd be really grateful! :)

I just had my last class of the semester today. And I just realized that... I haven't cut a single class at all. I mean, sure. I've been late on purpose because I felt like there was no use in going to class anyway (especially if your prof spent forty-five minutes just checking the attendance), but somehow, I still ended up with no absences. I feel like such a loser, LOL.

Anyway, I'll post a more nostalgic update later on. I've got time to do that now! O_o Well, after I finish some last-minute things that I'm putting off. As usual. Cheers! :D

Taken from bratanimus!

Halloween Meme

_stillframe_ dresses up as derangedemotion

alleyca tries to pick up Phantom Hitchhikers

comeon_eileen puts apples in your razorblades

derangedemotion runs around screaming for hours until abruptly silenced by lrleij_bc, wielding a sharpened steak (rare)

fatigue_princes creates an unholy monstrosity from mocca_fix_gold, retrosnap and alleyca

kimivalkyrie gives you a toothbrush

lrleij_bc TPs sherlock_hound

mirai_kazuko carves retrosnap's effigy in the medium of socks

mocca_fix_gold eats seikochan's spicy, spicy brains.

retrosnap devours the entire neighbourhood's cutlery

seikochan TPs your Bank Manager's lunchbox

sherlock_hound summons the undead armies of mocca_fix_gold to steal your candy

sky_rocket shows up with burning torches, pitchforks and dip

spitzjb calls kimivalkyrie to let them know the psycho killer's in the front seat

LJ Name

Haha, Halloween. I haven't gone trick-or-treating in the LONGEST time, and I miss it. It's one of the things we must do during the break, _whitefeet! And it's so near, I can taste it. Just ONE more class tomorrow, and I'm free! Yay! :D

Okay, back to trying to cram this paper now... ~.~

Why, oh why do I always get the urge to update whenever I'm about to cram something? O_o It must be an effect of being a college student for an entire semester. Seriously, though - I still can't believe that I'm about to have my last two classes for the semester today... except for that one class on Monday, where I have to go to UP at 4-5:30 in the afternoon, just for ONE class. Sigh. Oh well, it's a small price to pay for not having to take any finals (unless you count the one for Scrabble and the option to take it for Geog1, if I'm not satisfied with my class standing)... XD

***

I've thought about some things to ramble on, but the thing at the top of my list is the whole controversy that Desperate Housewives stirred up with its prejudiced remark against Filipinos, about Philippine medical schools in particular. Some of you are aware of this, I think, but for those who aren't, here is a link to the news story. I was in my creative writing class when my professor received a text message about it, and for the most part, while everyone muttered their disapproval, it didn't really sink in for me.

I don't usually watch Desperate Housewives, but after reading some outraged reactions on people's blogs and seeing stuff on it in the news, I agree that the remark was totally unnecessary and uncalled for. Even if I personally wouldn't choose to take nursing or some related medical field just to get out of the country (remember my entry from back then?), it isn't fair to just make some remark like that, just because the Desperate Housewives writers and producers thought it'd be okay to do so, since they assumed one knows where the Philippines is anyway, and it'd be a nice, witty line. A lot of countries hire their nurses from the Philippines, because we're known for our hospitality and how we care for people - one reason why we're currently experiencing brain drain. Even doctors are studying to be nurses! I come from a family full of doctors and nurses who are trying to make their living there in the USA. Don't these people realize how much these students from "some medical school in the Philippines" sacrifice, just to get a decent living? Just... ugh. Sometimes, the insensitivity of some people really irritates me. *sighs*

Another example comes to mind. Last Wednesday, my dad picked me up from school and we stopped over at the bank so he could withdraw money. He took longer than usual, and I thought it was weird, how he kept looking over his shoulder towards the car with a frown on his face. A while later, he stormed back to the car and started ranting about how this American guy kept making obnoxious remarks about the people in front of him in the line. Apparently, he was in a hurry to get to the airport, and he was talking on his phone, saying that it wasn't his fault that these morons didn't know how to operate the machine and were taking so long. He probably assumed no one could understand him, speaking in English and all. My dad was in front of him in the line, and as he turned and finished getting his money, he says he swore the American tried to trip him. My dad said that if I weren't in the car, he would've let the American know just who he thought the moron was.

It took some time for me to calm him down and reassure him, but inside, I was furious. What was he doing in a country full of "morons," anyway? If he was in that much of a hurry, he could've either gone to another ATM or asked the people in front of him - in a polite way - to let him go first. I know this isn't worth getting all upset about too much, but the whole Desperate Housewives issue just made me think about it all the more. *sighs again*

***

In other news, I uploaded my first Remus/Tonks fic on Fanfiction.net! It's up here. I'd appreciate it if anyone could leave their comments, seeing as I'm quite nervous about it because I'm new to the R/T world and such. Basically, I'll writing a series of one-shots (?) on certain events in Remus and Tonks's lives, where a color of the rainbow will be a dominant theme in each segment. I've just about worked out what those events will be and what the colors will mean for them, so yay! I'll be writing six more parts, and with the upcoming break, I hope that's doable. Gah.

Also, there's the fic jumble I signed up for over at metamorfic_moon - I like my prompts, except I'm having trouble thinking of where to fit the giant squid into the idea I have for my fic. Oh well, I hope I'll figure it out eventually. It just feels so good to be productive and to write again. :)

***

Anyway, I should get back and start being productive on my actual schoolwork. ;_; Honestly, I can't wait for the sem break to come.

Swiped from seikochan

* Go to Career Cruising (www.careercruising.com)
* Put in Username: romeohs and Password: bulldogs.
* Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
* Post the top results.
* Italicize any careers you've had.
* Bold careers you are interested in.
* Strike out what you don't want.

1. Social Worker
2. Addictions Counselor (this is ironic, considering how obsessive I can get)
3. Clergy (in high school, I took a career aptitude test, and it said I'd make a good priest O_o)
4. Psychologist
5. Sport Psychology Consultant
6. Rehabilitation Counselor
7. Mediator (what does this profession entail, exactly?)
8. Criminologist (this would sound cool, if I wasn't scared of dead people)
9. Child and Youth Worker
10. Anthropologist
11. Adoption Counselor
12. Professor (Eee, Remus!)
13. Probation / Parole Officer (Huh.)
14. Marriage and Family Therapist
15. Community Worker

There were 40 other choices, but I was too lazy to comment on everything. Lol. Apparently, a lot of careers in the counseling field match my interests. Hmm. Out of my majors this semester, my favorite subject is EDCO101 (Introduction to Guidance) - so is that an indication of anything? Haha.

Anyway, pre-enlistment's tomorrow, and I have a general idea of what classes to take, but I still don't know what to get for my PE. My current PE is Scrabble (yes, Scrabble) - and it's actually harder than a lot of people think. I learned that one key to winning is placing loads of two and three-letter words (would you believe that words such as "zo" and "za" actually exist? Or the only acceptable three letter words beginning with a "Q" are "qua," "qat," and "qis"?). I won five games already, so I passed! Woo!

mocca_fix_gold and I are thinking of taking up PanPil17 (Pop Culture in Philippine Literature) - because the professor is apparently hot. Yes, can you blame us? We need inspiration, and it's such a sad thing when my only male prof this semester might be gay, and he loves to broadcast to the class his predictions about your non-existent love life and how he thinks you should try out for the local version of American Idol. ...More on this in the future, when I make my End of the Semester entry (let's hope I get around to doing it).

Sem break is so close. As in, one week close. And God-willing, I won't have any finals, so after October 6, I won't have to go to school anymore until early November! *dances* Yay, more time to devote to catching up on fan fiction and writing stuff, especially for the metamorfic_moon fic jumble I signed up for. Gulp. Let's see how I do, as a first timer! And I really can't wait to have a chance to hang out with the White Feet and my high school friends... it doesn't seem like four months have passed since school began. Wow.

Oh! And while buying _stillframe_'s birthday gift last night, I saw this and it immediately reminded me of Tonks. Which was why I had to buy it, and it is now currently attached to my phone.



Okay, time to try and get some work done. Wish me luck. =-/

swiped from _jedi_knight_

Your home is a Futuristic Magnate's Manor Your kitchen is someplace you never go, because you "have people for that." There's a Chocolatessen, which is rapidly becoming your favorite room of the house. Having one is also becoming a trend among your wealthy neighbors. Your master bedroom is the size of a small barn, with carpet thick enough to reach your ankles. Your study has hardback editions of every classic ever written, plus a special edition of Rich Dad, Poor Dad with the parts you ghost-authored highlighted. One of your garages holds your collection of ferraris, and is measured in acreage. Your home also includes a guest wing and private quarters for your servants. Your guests enjoy your animatronic replica of the cantina at Mos Eisley. Outside is your hedge maze and gardens, meticulously tended by a team of world-class botanists. And, you have a pet -- a doberman pincer named "Warren". Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream House!

Oh, really? I hope that's actually plausible in the future. I wonder what job I'll have or who I have to marry in order to get a house that big, LOL. Anyway, just a quick distraction before I go off and ... try to study. Apparently, this week is Hell Week in UP Diliman, yet I am perfectly calm and going on with my usual procrastinating. Hmm. My professor in EDCO101 (Introduction to Guidance) said that there are really some people who work better at the last minute, so why change them if that's the way they get things done? At least they get things done! Haha. XD

Yay, I'm getting better at this updating thing! Although it's a curious thing, how I only decide to update when I've got an entire crapload of requirements to finish... most of which are due tomorrow. But I'll manage - I always do! I saw this nifty saying in an icon that perfectly describes my attitude - "Procrastinators save the world... tomorrow!" Woo! =D

Anyway, I was in the bookstore last week, buying some stuff for my visual aids, when my brother pointed this out to me in the cashier:

( Lupin's (name) on a comic book! )

Yes, I really think it's such a sweet thing for my brother to keep track of my obsessions and to always be on the lookout for little reminders to further stoke my obsessive tendencies. <3 Obviously, I don't think that comic has anything to do with Remus, but it has his last name! And that makes for a happy Reez. *squee*

Hmm. I guess I'm in an update-y mood, 'cause I'm energized by my new layout and awesome icons! Let's see how long this lasts. I can think of a thousand things that I should be rambling about, but I figure this is enough for now. I hope all of you guys are having a great weekend! =)