i don't believe i have a monopoly on stupidity

but leaving a flat iron semi-on at the risk of burning down the entire house may just tip the scales in my favor.

i was at the end of one of my calls when i realized, i don't remember unplugging the damn thing. so i turned that thought over and over on my mind and went through everything i did before i left the house.

i remember plugging it on, turning the heat to the max. ironed my shirt (at least tried to) then my cellphone rang. my supervisor was calling. new schedules. apparently, i have to choose among the 3: an 11pm sched (sun-mon), 10pm sched or 12am sched (fri-sat). since i am a morning person, the only thing that would matter is the rest day. either way, the scheds are all tae for me. it's a good thing it's already may. i don't know how long i could last. i chose the 11pm - 8am sched since i have a sunday morning class at 9am. how to get there within an hour was a problem i was not able to think about until later. the last thing i remember was my supe telling me that it's nearly 7am and i'm still in the house. (i'm gonna be late, i know).

after that, i grabbed my shirt. removed the lint with a scotch tape because i sit beside zai who is OC about removing lint from black/dark clothes. after that, i grabbed my bag and went out. shit, there goes the iron.

at about a quarter to 9am, for some unknown reason i started to think about the iron. i don't really recall unplugging it. i sent an sms to my sister and my brother to go to the house and check the iron. but my sister is already in qc and my brother is in manila attending his class. bummer. my father is in sta. rosa, laguna. tough luck there.

my 2 siblings were sending me sms like, "you what?!!!" my brother sent me an sms saying "i can't concentrate on my review because *** *** how can you leave the damn thing on. somebody's house there just burned down a couple of days ago!. you have to go back." i thought of going back around lunch but of course by then it might be too late. i remember telling edel that if i burned down the house, i'm never gonna show my face on that place again. and she said, well there's nothing to go back to =) thanks for the comforting thought tita E.

i recall the time when my sister left the electric stove on. when i got home i went to the kitchen and wondered 'why the heck is it hot as hell in here?' then as i checked the stove, it was still on to the max and the coils are glowing fiery red. the house didn't burn down then but it looks like that house may not be so lucky this time. and i'm just the one to do it. ***sigh*** our neighbors will prolly flay me alive.

i had to go home (thanks marcy). on the way there, i passed through the fire station. counted the fiery red fire trucks. three. nothing seems to be amiss. everything's calm. so my place seems to be intact.

then as i stepped down from the jeep and walked to aurora, i heard the 'clang, clang' of the bell. since there was a fire about 5 houses away from our place last week, so the sound sent me into panic. but instead of running. i was literally frozen on my place. it was so damn hot outside but i felt like somebody just doused me with cold cold water. i felt my heart dropped down to my intestines and then felt like throwing it up. as i looked down the street, there was a fiery red truck parked just before the narrow street that leads down to the house i was staying in. and the only thing that went over my mind then was "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." i wondered whether i should go continue walking or call my dad. what the heck am i gonna tell my dad? and my landlady?! that i left my stupid iron on and burned down the entire house? oh dear...

i looked at all the people gathered on the street and felt everyone looking at me. of course i was right smack in the middle of the street and just staring dumbly at that red truck. i started walking towards it, i never bite my nails but i found myself biting three out of 2. all the way saying "oh shit" like it was some kind of mantra when i should be praying.

as i got nearer, i can smell the stink. it doesn't smell like a burning house. it smells like trash. as i edged closer to the truck. what do you know? a garbage truck. duh. no wonder there are so many people outside. oh shit. so i ran like hell to our street, banged the gates and took the stairs two at a time. when i opened the door, i can smell the burning banana leaves that have now turned to black. i use banana leaves instead of those commercial stuff they sell to make ironing clothes smoother (or whatever) and it smells nice too. not too mention hazardous when you leave the iron on. i unplugged the iron and switched the electricity off of the entire house. i don't remember turning the knob on the iron to a minimum, but it was on turned to the minimum level. i must've done it unconsciously as i answered the phone.so Someone UP there have not forgotten me. it was only past 9am but i feel like turning in and calling it a day. another incident like this and my heart will give out on me.

as i was going down the stairs, i met my landlady who exclaimed her surprise at seeing me. i told her i forgot something so i went back. little did she know...




Life is an unbroken succession of false situations. -

Thornton Wilder

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. - Douglas Adams

i haven't really blogged in a very long time. primary reason was i've been busy trying to solve the puzzles available to me in the enigma before it ended on April 3. what a sad for me. for the past few weeks i was in penultimate panic mode until it was formally announced by the keepers that they have agreed to have scarecrow host the new site and we can continue with our craziness there. so for the last month, i've only solved a measly 4 puzzles. my plan of solving one to 2 puzzles in a day from march 3 until the game ends on the 3rd of april was nothing but A plan. for some reason, my march was crammed with so many trips.

just last march 16, i went to baguio with my good friend love to attend her bf's graduation. i've only been to baguio once. to be honest, i wasn't really impressed with it the first time. so i never really understood what the big deal about baguio was. from the distance as we were about to enter baguio, i remember thinking how scary it looks. the houses look like mausoleums from afar. for the baguio folks, it must be ordinary but i don't think i can live in a house where just right behind it is a very steep drop off.

ok so i dig the cool climate etc etc but neither burnham nor mines view impressed me. however, the ube from good shepherd really impressed (with emphasis on really) me. i was drooling for days even when i've returned to naga and content of the jar had been long gone. that ube brings heaven to the taste buds. i also loved the abundant flora i found there. my mother would've taken home an entire load of flower filled pots had she been able to. she would've bought loads of broccoli too.

as for burnham, i wasn't really too keen on being on board that boat. i have a phobia of boarding really small boats. so i didn't get to appreciate it much. unless it's as big as the super ferry, you'd have to really tie me up before you can get me to board it. i won't go peacefully. as for mines view, i remember thinking what the heck is everyone staring at? it was quite foggy and staring at some mountain filled with holes is not my kind of past time. sorry. but i enjoyed eating the maize with butter and such. ahhh heaven. so i guess now you know what i enjoyed doing most while i was in baguio =)

my second trip was mostly spent inside the fort del pilar grounds. we left on a sunday, march 16. my classmate from the ole U was graduating from the PMA. we left cubao at 7am and arrived around 1:30pm. took a cab to the grounds and waited for pres inside nakar hall where we were billeted. as soon as we opened the doors of nakar, you can smell how old that house was. it's the kind of smell old wooden houses have. don't know how to describe it. it assails your nostrils and makes you feel like you've just step into one of those old haunted house movies. on my first trip to baguio, we stayed at teacher's camp at the claro m recto hall. it was old and made of wood. and it felt like a house in a horror movie. it didn't help that my cousin was telling us tales about the haunted houses of baguio while we were on the road. so i was so creeped out, i didn't drink so much fluid in the afternoon so i won't have to go down and pee in the middle of the night because the bathroom was downstairs. and it was a very distant downstairs, at least it was to me. and it was so bloody dark at night (some streets doesn't seem to have street lamps) and cold. perfect for ghost haunting.

on my second day (march 17) we watched the silent drill on the borromeo field. so called silent because the cadets march or follow the beat of the drum and nothing else (something to that effect). anyways, i wasn't really paying that much attention because we were too far from the grandstand (it was full by the time we arrived). we only started to really watch it when they started making the clock formation and of course at the last part when they danced to some upbeat tune. later on we went to burnham and our lady of Fatima grotto. this time with pres' siblings and some of his highschool mates.

since joash's sister knew one of the nuns who was currently staying there, we were able to get past the gate and got a tour of the place. to say that the inside was beautiful would be an understatement. i wish i have the right word to describe it but that place really took my breath away. it's serves as a retreat house. there was a statue of the resurrection. a circular rock formation surrounded ( i think) with water. it's some sort of a replica of what igorot elders use. Sr. Nene said that the igorot elders sit inside it when they are making some big decisions. i don't know what it's called. but it was one of the things that stand out in that place which was about 100 years old. then there's the labyrinth, the path of which is made up of white pebbles. at the center of it is another rock seat (just for one person unlike the other one) where you can ponder after you've made your way through the labyrinth. inside the formation house is a small chapel. the fog comes in early in the morning and in the afternoon. it was so serene and really beautiful. but what really grabbed me the most was the place of adoration of the blessed sacrament. the monstrance is housed in a miniature kubo (nipa hut) that can be opened by prolly pushing some unseen button on the low seat nearest to it. the door of the nipa hut slowly slides open and the monstrance with the blessed sacrament (lit behind by a yellow light) is displayed. the left side wall is adorned by depictions (i think) of the stations of the cross. at the center is christ nailed on the cross and he is dressed like an igorot native. it was late in the afternoon and the fog has started to roll in form the windows. it was so peaceful and quiet and for moment, i thought of my mother; that wherever she is she would be in a place as beautiful and peaceful as this. and as i left the room, i hoped that i can have the serenity of this place too.

on our third day (march 18), was the Graduation day of the PMA Baghawi class.
Bagong Halaw ng Lahi. by my third day, i've come to accept that rides were a little scarce there. so we walked most of the time which is ok. we needed the exercise. we walked to the grandstand and got there at about 9:30AM. security was tight. we had to pass through 3 "check points." my bag and every compartment was opened. they even opened my toiletry bag and the female security was prolly surprised with my "baons." the grandstand was already full. i learned later from pres that as early as 5 am while they were doing their drills, some people were already camped out there on the grandstand. damn. since that day had to be one of the unfortunate days when God reminds me i'm a girl. that didn't really help me with my mood. after an hour or so i decided to go out of the grandstand and just stay out since the miasma of perfumes, colognes, sweat and what-have-you's is starting to make me dizzy. since i've been known (by my siblings at least) to have fainting episodes when i have one of those days. my siblings were sending me SMS several times to find out if i'm still standing (duh!). i am not a wimp (at least not all the time). i decided fresh air will do me good. i even managed to find a five hundred peso bill on the stairs. lucky me.

after some time, pres and his sis managed to finagle some seats for us. and as the hours passed, more and more people were crammed on the stands. the guest of honor, PGMA finally arrived at past 2PM and finally the ceremony begun. their graduation ceremony was over in less than 2 hours. the wait was so much longer =) as soon as the picture taking was over, love and i went back to nakar since i wasn't feeling too well. i laid down on the bed and almost fell asleep.

on our last day, we spent most of it touring the PMA grounds which meant more walking. pres processed his clearance papers. so love and i explored the grounds. we posed and posed with every statue, tree, flower, armored tank, etc etc that we could find. my bus left baguio at around 11pm and then went straight to work the next day.

and then just last friday, i found myself on a trip to bicol. i was suppose to leave thursday night. but i went home late after attending bulet's post birthday blow out. i was not able to catch my bus which left at 8:30pm. then on saturday my friend and i went to sabang to be beach bums for a day. then we decided to stay over night at one of the new resorts there.

i visited my mom, went to buyo to catch up with the rest of my relatives. i was feeling nostalgic. or prolly just getting old.

April 4
on my four day restday, i had originally planned to spend that time solving my puzzles but i never even got to log on and solve one. pc and saltwater just don't match. and now the game has ended. i was able to solve one a few hours before it shut down. i finished it at 165 out of 200 something and i'm still stuck with over 30 puzzles. i was trying to get even, when after i click on submit i got the 404. that was 2:44am cst on my avaya. i was so deflated after that. i went to the monument to finish the puzzle. but apparently i have to start from scratch so i can get to the puzzles i was solving before the original site shut down.

at past 5pm, rain, gwen and i walked to jg to get our APE's done. it was the fastest APE i've gone through in my 4 years here. i was able to get everything done within an hour. i did not experience any horrifying slash traumatic moments as my blood was being drawn out. of course i had to ask the koya who was going to draw the blood how long he's been doing this. "new grad po". (tae, dale ako). i had to bit my lip to stop an expletive from coming out.

me: kuya isang tusok lang ha
nurse: oo ba. saan ka lagi kinukunan ng dugo
me: kanan (he proceeded to untie the rubber band from my left arm, pero di niya mapalabas yung ugat)
nurse: dun na lang ulit sa kaliwa tinitingnan ko lang
me: tae (yan di na nakapagpigil)
(pagkatapos tusukin ako ng karayom at habang hihugutan ako ng dugo)
nurse: masakit ba?
me: (kunyari nahulog sa upuan at hinimatay)
nurse: yan tapos na. di naman masakit di ba.
me: sige ako tutusok sayo kuya.

and then i went to the female doctor who checked on my reflexes. after she hit my right knee with the mini hammer, for some reason i started laughing and could not stop. so maybe i need a neuro exam too to check my brainwaves.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. - Martin Luther King Jr.