Afternoon out after a long time.

Yesterday, I decided to go out of home to relax in a different place as well as to beat the scorching summer HEAT in our home. Originally, I was supposed to go out alone. Yeah I'm an ambivalent person, and I'm proud to say that. But, one of my best friends from grade school Raphael reminded me about having our next meet up when I have free time to burn. So yeah, we pushed through with the plan.

I went early to SM North EDSA to enjoy a nice coffee drink at Starbucks as I waited for him to finish his classes. Then at around 2pm, he arrived and we went on to do a lot of things. We played 2 hours worth of NBA 2K13 at Cyberzone. Then we went next door to TriNoma to eat at Sbarro. Along the way, we did a ton of catching up to do and tell stories about what has been happening with our own lives, the NBA, racing, anime, tech, as well as look back to the memories when we were still classmates and the past reunions afterwards. We spent the whole afternoon as well into the night before we went home by taking a diversionary route to Cubao via the MRT since the terminal along TriNoma was packed up to the max since it was rush hour, before we took the ride back home and went our own ways.

It was nice seeing him again, after a very long time. We had great memories together as classmates as well as great friends afterwards. Though it would have been better if our friend Dominique who's now in Ireland return home. So come home soon homie! We're gonna have a good one when you come back here in the Philippines. So thanks for the time and we'll see each other again soon.

A break from it all.
K-Smoove

19 YEARS STRONG!

So yeah, another year ends in my journey. April 30 has come again on the calendar sheets, and I usher in a brand new year of this journey called LIFE.

As the title states, I'm already 19 years old starting today. Well, this April 30 was a bit different than in previous years. In the past couple of years, I threw parties for all my close PEEPS. However, this year I spent my whole day with my entire family. Since I'm saving my party money for the NBA game this October here in the Philippines. Because my team, the Houston Rockets will be playing in that game against the Indiana Pacers.

We went to SM North EDSA to have my birthday lunch at Shakey's. Well, I didn't ask for their birthday choir which they do on birthdays of people who dine on all their branches nationwide. Afterwards, we went buying a few clothing. Then before we went back home for the rest of the day. We bought some desserts like pastillas, brownies and ice cream to enjoy for the rest of the day. It's a shame though I wasn't able to take photos along the way since our camera has been lost and we can't find it along our home for the past month. Though I didn't get to spend it with other people in person, it was worth spending time with my family on my day. Add to that, I got a nice birthday win from the Houston Rockets as they won Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Playoffs 105-103 to keep their season alive. I was watching the game until halftime, but I had to bail out since we had to go on that trip for lunch. At least, they got the win and no brooms were sweeping on my birthday.

I'll take this moment to thank those who remembered my birthday with all the greetings and best wishes on Facebook & Twitter, as well as those who texted my phone for their well wishes. You all have played a part in my life and I'm always thankful to each and every one of you. One thing that made my day is that I was greeted by my "crush" as well as a good old friend of mine. It truly made my day even special. Sorry I can't throw a party this year because like I said earlier, I'm saving for the game. I hope I can throw one next year as I finish the mission which is to graduate.

Of course, I'll thank my family for always being there for me in my life from the start until the very end. Finally, I thank God that I made it through another year of my life, and I'll always look up to you every step in my life. I'm hopeful that this year will be filled with a lot of blessings.

Danke! Merci! Thank You! Salamat!
19 years on, I still got a lot to prove.
K-Smoove

My homies for life.

Yesterday, I spent time with the MERALCO PEEPS on the birthday of one of our own, Gelo. Where for the last three years has been the "unofficial" reunion party of the entire troupe. However, unlike previous years. Not every one was there as most of the troupe were having jobs during the summer time. It all happened in the afternoon at Dulcinea in Tomas Morato as we joined the other guests from his Thomasian friends (we're both in UST, but on different programs), and his family.

We spent time catching up with what's happening with our lives. Even to the point, we rant on each other including how I'm always left out of the picture or the other things we pick on with someone from our troupe. It proves that sometimes, people never change. Even with all that's been happening in our own lives since we took our own paths in college, the feeling is still the same. I got to admit, I was mostly silent for most of the afternoon. Because, I don't have much stories to tell I have to say. Still, I'm always thankful to have them as company.

Photo ©Aldrin Dayauon

It was only for a short amount of time though as we never went way further into the night since we went our separate ways into the night. It made me think about next year when I hope to bring them in on my birthday and do something about it. I won't do it this year though since like I've been saying time and time again. I'm saving up on the ticket for the Rockets-Pacers pre-season game this October.

So once again, I'll thank the birthday dude Gelo for having us over again on his birthday this year. As well as to the MERALCO PEEPS who were there: Aldrin (the "orginizer" as he created the event page on Facebook), JL, Quinn, Edison, Nur, Josh, Philip, Airam, Jolly and Siops. I hope to see you guys again soon as well as the other MERALCO PEEPS who weren't with us yesterday.

Thankful for these great men.
K-Smoove

They may be on tour, but we found a way to have some fun.

On a cloudy Thursday afternoon, while most of my blockmates are out of the country and having their tour around the Land of the Morning Calm, I thought that it was a perfect day to do something big, because of the circumstances brought about by these events. I decided to throw my "victory party" on that day together with my blockmates who like me were unable to come to the tour up north. It was a "victory party", because of my recent successes, and it was a better way for me to say THANK YOU for all their support and prayers in my recent endeavor. It was also a great opportunity to have some fun and celebrate, even if we're not a part of the tour.

We're not complete on this photo, since not all of us who were left behind showed up.

Also a special appearance by our Stat prof.

Photo ©Karl Carandang

On the menu for the day was a 18'' Hawaiian Yellow Cab Pizza, as well as Coke and Mountain Dew. Which all I paid for, as well as the cups for the drinks.

Photos ©Karl Carandang

So yeah, we celebrated over good music, great bonding time, and nice food. It was indeed fun for all of us, and I'm happy to have a great time with these fellas over here. I even raffled off the Moonleaf Planner I won at the last contest. Even though the time we spent on this was kinda short, it proves that we can celebrate and have a good time even if we're not with the rest on tour.

Sorry, I can't help but to show these photos of some of the people special to me. Hehe!

Photos ©Karl Carandang

I'm not sure if this will ever happen again in my lifetime as a Thomasian student, but I would like to thank my blockmates Gui, Trixia, Marx, Nicole, Amethy, Carms, Marrick, Era, Cza and Abi as well as my good friend Tony and of course our Stat Prof Sir Robert Arenas for the opportunity to spend this great time together last Thursday.

So as I write this blog entry, well they're on their way back to the Philippines, and my "interesting" week comes to an end. Interesting in a sense, how would the school week go with most of people in my class gone on tour. Well, it lived up to what I expected of this week, and it's back to reality for all of us next week, and one last contest for me to end the month with a BANG!

Thankful and Blessed. Who says we can't have some fun?

K-Smoove

The busiest month has arrived. Because saying it's the "love month" is too mainstream.

One month in 2013 is in the books, now the month February has arrived. Well, it's the love month as most people would say because of Valentine's Day coming up a few days from now, but in this blog entry, saying that it's the love month is too mainstream. I say, that February will be the busiest month for me.

I rant about it all the time every time this time of the year comes, because Valentine's Day for me is "JUST ANOTHER DAY in my LIFE." Well because, I got no special someone to spend it with. Others may not agree with what I say, but that's how I see things on that day. Ask me a Valentine's Day question and I will not answer. It's my personal choice of doing this every year. So when that day arrives, expect no flowers nor chocolates coming out from me as well as me making a move on a lady, well because I'm not into giving gifts because I don't have enough money with me most of the time. Maybe one day, I could say that it's really the love month, but now it's just too mainstream in my view.

So that's enough of the love talk, like the title says, February will be the busiest month for me. That's because I got a lot of things to do. I'll be joining competitions once again this year, not one, not two, but three! A week from now, we're off to Baguio to compete for a quiz bee as a team (it's also a consolation for me to get some cold weather since I'm not joining my classmates and batchmates who will go to Seoul, South Korea this month) and some of my friends who will also compete in other contests will join along, then a week later we'll be competing again in UP for a Ecotourism quiz bee, it will also be the last time our team over the past year will compete together since both my teammates are graduating this March. Then finally, it's The Big One!, as I will compete at the end of the month in the UFTE Quiz Bee at The Fort. With all of that, I'm now into intense training and preparation every after class until the end of the month to prepare myself for these things. I'm hoping for the best in all the competitions I'll be joining this month. I made this and got some inspiration from shirt designs and slogans of adidas.

Photo ©Karl Carandang

Aside from the competitions I'll be joing this month, I'll also get busy with school work, because there are a lot of requirments to be passed, as well as work on different activities like quizzes, seatworks, assignments, among others. Even projects where I'm the captain, I need to step up my game a notch. It is going to be tough, yet it will be a rewarding experience when it all ends soon.

It was also tough to see one of my great mentors leave before the semester came to an end, well because that mentor was great in their craft, at the same time being an inspiration not only to me, but also to all of the students that this mentor has touched over the years. That lead me to ask the question, "Why do the great mentors leave so early?" I have a lot of mentors throughout my entire life, however there are some who leave their mark and I remember very well of them than others. There are some who can relate to the students, some who have great minds and a lot of wisdom, and some who gave a lot of faith in you over the years. For that mentor, I wish all the best in their future endeavors and I hope to see you soon.

Anyway, this month is also All-Star month as the 2013 NBA All-Star Game comes to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. This will be the second time in my lifetime, that I'll see a All-Star game play out in Houston, home of my favorite team the Houston Rockets. I cannot wait to see James Harden play in his first all-star game after a breakout season with the Rockets after the trade from the Thunder before the season began, also a note on Chandler Parsons who will also make an impact in the Rising Stars Challenge.

Well, you can call the month of February anyway you want, but we should remember to make each day count. Time is flying fast these days.

Blessed and loaded for the win!

K-Smoove