Huzzah! *does a little victory dance*

I got a more than satisfactory grade in my exam in Kas 2 last Friday. The number of items in the test was ninety but the total score was dropped down to eighty. I got eighty-five. Isn't that great? I felt embarrassed and yet very proud at the same time. I felt my face flush with happiness while I clutched my corrected answer sheet and saw how few the red X-shaped marks were on the item numbers.

After the checking, we had a game to get bonus points for the exam. The winning group gets to have additional ten points and the losers would get five points if their score is more than ten. Sadly, our group didn't win and so we got five points. And my grade became ninety over eighty!

I only wish that I could be equally proud of my grades in my other subjects. It's not that I'm doing badly, it's just that I don't perform as well in the others.

Cheers!

We celebrated Ingrid's 18th birthday at Trinoma yesterday. The Dos por Dos gang (composed of: Me as the mafiosi and Ingrid, Katsan, Chrissy, Aira Louie, Jamie, Ate Erika and Celly as the members) would have been complete if Celly was able to come. Normally I, being the mafiosi, would reprimand her for not coming but I didn't want to argue with anybody since it was Ingrid's birthday.

Fish & Co.

After watching Dulaang UP's production of Orosman at Zafira, Ingrid sped off to Trinoma to secure her reservation at Fish & Co. and Katsan and I went to Philcoa to get Chrissy. The three of us then went to Trinoma and found Aira happily chatting with Ingrid at Fish & Co. Jamie closely followed and we ordered our dishes together. After a short while, Louie followed and then ordered hers. When Ingrid left after Ate Erika called to tell her that she was already in Trinoma, our waiter and two of his colleagues suddenly  emerged from the kitchens with a large birthday brownie on a plate and a tambourine.

"Hey, everybody, guess what? It's Ingrid's birthday today!" a waiter exclaimed as another one rattled his tambourine. The three blue-and-yellow clad Fish & Co. employees had big smiles plastered on their faces when they approached our table. There was only one thing missing in that very jovial albeit a little embarrassing scene. The birthday celebrant.

"Um...Ingrid's not here," I said with an apologetic smile as I indicated to a space between Aira and me. My currently present gang members agreed with similar expressions. The situation would have been funny if we didn't see the waiters' faces fall for a split second and then crack embarrassed smiles.

"Maybe a take two later?" our waiter said as the other ones dispersed. With his smile still on, he reached out to get Louie's menu and wooden fish-shaped place mat. Chrissy covered her mouth and bowed her head to suppress her laugh. I saw Katsan rest her head on her hand with a discreet smile. When he finally left, our table burst into laughter. I genuinely felt sorry for them, but at the same time I couldn't help laughing at the goofy incident. Even the patrons from the other tables had slightly embarrassed expressions too.

When Ingrid returned with Ate Erika, we recounted the incident in between peals of sniggers.

"Oh no," Ingrid said. Her face flitted from amusement to worry. The three waiters returned not long after with renewed vigor. Though we didn't understand their song that much (which was more like "I don't know what I've been told" chant of the U.S. Marines), we  thoroughly enjoyed it because the waiters looked very sincere and some of the patrons also looked happy for Ingrid.

"Calories!" remarked Ingrid as the birthday brownie was set down in front of her. Everyone laughed and urged her to make a wish. And the birthday brownie was fresh from the oven and was soft and moist and very, very chocolatey. Just perfect for Ingrid's birthday.

A belated Happy Valentine's/Singles' Appreciation/Friendship/OTP Day to everyone!

*sigh* I wasn't able to greet everyone yesterday since I wasn't able to get online last night.

...

I didn't know that slices of cucumbers work very well on swollen eyes! XD

Last night, my friends and I attended a concert at the Sunken Garden in UP. I was lured by the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, who was going to perform with popular rock band Urbandub. I wouldn't miss the opportunity of hearing my two favorite genres together. Also, Sandwich, a very popular rock band, is celebrating ten years in the music industry and the band was going to launch its latest album, S Marks the Spot, during the concert.

The concert started at roughly 18:00.  A small crowd was just starting to gather and so my friends and I decided to take a stroll and buy some snacks at the surrounding concession stands and then return to the concert. During a performance of an up-and-coming band, Ingrid told me about the Jumping Jologs, pointing to the banner-toting kids who were seated on the shoulders of their fellow J.J.'s. They were outsiders who take the term 'rocking out' to the extreme.

"Avoid [them]," Ingrid warned us. But I was too happy and caught up in the concert to take it seriously.

And so the album launch/tenth year anniversary celebration of Sandwich came. The band was on a larger, separate stage to the left of the one where the other bands performed. Of course there were a lot of people. My friends and I were completely surrounded by sweating, jumping, rocking fans (and of course it definitely didn't help that almost all of them were male). Very warm and humid air, highly enthusiastic fans and partial loss of personal space I could take. But very warm and humid air, panicked fans, complete loss of personal space, Sandwich and  the migration of the J.J's I definitely couldn't.

The seemingly possessed Jumping Jologs pushed their way to get to the center of the crowd. It would have been all right if they were the only people attending the concert. But no, they pushed their way and there were waves of people who were being violently shoved or were angrily shoving the J.J.'s back. The concert was completely forgotten as I, greatly panicked, tried to look for Ingrid and Katsan and saw Ingrid's outstretched arm among the throng of people. As I screamed her name, someone shook his head and said, "Don't try to go there anymore. It's too dangerous." Her hand disappeared. Wishing for their safety, I faced front again to look for Meg. But in the few seconds that passed when I tried to reach for Ingrid's hand, Meg disappeared too.

While Sandwich started their exclusive 45-minute performance, the Jumping Jologs continued their possessed dance. While some people tried to fend off the J.J.'s, I was carried off to the frays of the crowd until I managed to escape. With aching feet and nausea slowly creeping, I stumbled away from the concert. When I finally got to the concession stands, I checked my phone if Ingrid or Katsan or Meg contacted me. With I sigh of relief, I got a message from Ingrid, telling me that she and Katsan safely made it out and that they were near the University Student Council booth. The only problem is, I temporarily lost my sense of direction from the commotion that happened. Ingrid called when I didn't immediately reply. We met and fiercely hugged each other in relief in front of the Pizza Hut stand, where we previously bought our snacks. We then headed to the USC booth, where Katsan was. Ingrid informed me that Katsan lost her phone and that Meg was right in front of the stage and could not get out. We avoided the crowd for a while until Katsan's mum contacted Ingrid. She said that she was already in UP and that she came to take Katsan home.

After Ingrid and I bade Katsan goodbye, we returned to look for Meg. When Sandwich finally ended, Ingrid got a message from Meg. She said that she got to shake hands with Raimund Marasigan, the vocalist of Sandwich. Of course, we were ecstatic. Ingrid then set out to look for Meg, who finally managed to get out. The crowd grew smaller as the 'lesser' stage was occupied by 6cylcemind. The Sandwich stage was getting cleared up for the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. Not long after, Meg finally got to the empty stall where we were situated.

The bands continued to play while the three of us sat on the ground, waiting for Urbandub and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. When they finally came, we rejoiced and decided to return to the crowd, which is now more calm.

When Urbandub and the orchestra finally strutted their stuff, I was left breathless. The rock music and the classical accompaniment seamlessly blended into such achingly beautiful music. I had goose pimples during the whole performance. They played only four songs, but it was more than enough for me. When they finally finished, we ignored the following bands and went home. We got what we came there for anyway.

My jaw dropped in disbelief when I found out about the news concerning the upcoming Toei production of La Rose de Versailles. How can they do this to us, the fans of that beloved series? My heart is aching for the movie. If you want to read the Anime Corporation tidbit, here's the link: Le Rose de Versailles movie.

Taken from Yahoo! News:

Blue roses to go on sale in Japan



Mon Feb 4, 1:50 AM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - Think that red roses are predictable? In Japan, gift-givers soon will also have the option of blue roses.

The Japanese company that created the world's first genetically modified blue roses said Monday it will start selling them next year.

Suntory Ltd., also a major whisky distiller, hopes to sell several hundred thousand blue roses a year, company spokesman Kazumasa Nishizaki said.

"As its price may be a bit high, we are targeting demand for luxurious cut flowers, such as for gifts," he said. The exact price and commercial name for the blue rose have not been decided.

The company is also growing the rose experimentally in Australia and the United States to get approval for sales, but no timing has been set for commercial launches in the two countries.

Suntory in 2004 unveiled the world's first genetically modified blue rose after 14 years of study which also involved Australian researchers.

It created the flowers by implanting the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in pansies. The pigment does not exist naturally in roses.

Comment:

I just have to get me one of those! Though I have to save a lot of money. :(

Ugh. Right now, I don't have any effing idea what to write for my part in our group paper for Kasaysayan 1. And The deadline's at 1900 hours. Damn. I've found some information on the role of the military in the success of the EDSA Revolution, but they're just too damn long.

Well maybe I'm just being lazy.

Gotta get back to work now.