Boyfriend Appreciation Day

Today I'll try to make this a less sappy cheesy post though I have to admit I wanted to started this in old english with the line of How do I love thee let me count the ways.... I wanted to make this one since August 27 (when I saw the drafts today), and I'll finally write it as part of Nanowrimo. 

When I was randomly searching on how to deal with boyfriend arguments on the internet a few months ago I was not disappointed. When I typed "my boyfriend is" I got a list of suggestions, majority of them negative, and I found it a tad bit unfair to all the boyfriends in the world (though some may end up deserving the names they are called) to be described in such manner. Granted, I too, am guilty of writing down my thoughts when I am angry / sad but yet I never got around to sit and type about my life when I am happy, maybe because I was so into the moment of enjoying it, and I feel like its about time I actually sat down to write all the good vibes I want to send my boyfriend's way. If I can get the time to talk to him about my problems then I can also have the time to tell him when I am happy and appreciative of all the things he does. 

One of the things I liked about my boyfriend is how easy it is to get into a conversation with him. It doesn't matter what topic it is, he listens and adds his thoughts on the matter too. He makes me feel excited enough to make me want to tell him first whats the interesting thing that happened to my day, and unlike most guys he actually responds. He doesn't mind sharing what happened to his day too even the littlest details which makes me feel I was actually with him when it happened to him. 

Another thing which is probably why I love love him is how stable he is personality wise. Its like even when my own temper flares he doesn't go to immediately fight fire with fire and he doesn't mind talking all the issues out until we get to the root cause of the problem, unlike in the past where I'd get stuck in ignoring/quiet spells, cool-offs, and lets just break up over this fight thing (though I am guilty of it too). With him I can count that we are still in a relationship even if we were in a fight (and not get surprised that I'm already single because my ex told all our friends the next day at school we were already over). 

His independence and strength of character really amazes me too. To be self-supporting at such a young age, not afraid to take risks and go across countries, and to have the initiative to work to make things better considering the environment he grew up in... To me its really something. 

He makes me laugh. Damn witty this one. 

Our complimentary strengths and weak spots. 

How responsive he is. I mean he really listens to what you're saying and if there's something I am unhappy with like less time due to work, suddenly I feel like 'why is he around at this hour when he has work tomorrow?' or when conversations always get cut short, I know when he is making up for it when I get the full details the day after; and on the dangerous topic of why I hate his girl "best friend" who is a totally passive-aggressive, attention seeking, and in a need of a therapist kind of person, at the back of my head I know he has been making changes to accommodate competing interests, even if my appreciation for his efforts are lacking or sidetracked by the latest eyebrow raising thing that girl bff has done and what not.    

I have to end this short now that he is awake. Lol.

    

Quarterlife Crisis, a day chronicle.

Sad onigiri.

No one said law school was easy, but its reaching the point of me saying everyday 'kill me now' which was I ended up doing a few months before I left the working world. This isn't a whimsical, fly by the moment thing. Rather its the product of cumulative experiences from one semester to another.

I look back to one conversation I had with one of my favorite professors in law school. He described first years as the bright eyed, hopeful individuals who think that law school life is as shiny and bright as it is seen on TV. Years of Boston Legal, Estrada Impeachment Trial, and the Corona Impeachment Trial glamorized the profession to the level of Gossip Girl sensationalizing high school life. Then come their second year where they get the grades from the year before and see that life is not what it seems, become disappointed, see their numbers diminishing, and the general feeling of loss after seeing the class number literally halved. I'm on my third year now, some would say almost at the final stretch, so close, so close to reaching my goal or dooming my fate, asking myself once again do I really want to do this?

Political Science was marketed as the best undergraduate degree course back then. If you took it there's no other career track other than becoming a lawyer, otherwise you'd be stuck as a teacher, a researcher or a bank person, forever enduring the questions of why didn't you go to law school, questions which I endured when I was out there working. On one side half of the people I know in law school had PolSci degrees, but I think its more useful in practice if you had Accounting instead. At least you have the work cut out for you on subjects like Obligations and Contracts, Credit Transactions, and Corporation Law.

I am getting sidetracked.

Ah yes, the great halls of Malcolm Hall always looked pristine, imposing and tad bit intimidating before. Now sometimes I think of it as saddening. I wanted to call it home when I first entered but right now there are periods of revulsion. One professor refused to give me a grade because I cited another in our final paper and he found it insulting (due to a personal political feud). In the next year that professor made a guy kneel so that he would pass in the same subject that he refused to give me a grade in. Now he is a shoo in to be an Associate Justice in the Supreme Court. Now I wonder what it would take to win a case.

The year after that I found myself as an irregular student, going into fourth year and third classes, where the professors expect me to know the answers to subjects I have never taken before. Third year, still the odd man out especially with the re-blocking of the system. I feel like being the ultimate politician because I'm sure I've known entire batches by now. I'm happy to survive on a day to day existence.

Maybe I am suffering from the Facebook effect...
Every post on newsfeed shows all my friends getting married, spending summer in Paris, US, backpacking all over the ASEAN Countries, and here I am, here, getting by trying to keep my dignity intact against everyday onslaught of recitations, lack of sleep, and the generally different temperament of people in law school.

But at the end of the day even if Mom offered to ship me out of the country and not look back, i'm not quitting this until its finished. I don't want to wake up when I'm forty and realize how much I regret not finishing. Thanks love for reminding me that.

Bus Ride Logic

                                                                                                                                                  People's peculiar behavior in public transportation can be a point of observation. One of which is the tendency to flock towards the entry/exit points even if they do not plan on getting off the vehicle anytime soon. 

People in the trains or the bus would rather suffer the heat, the sardine like press against each other to be able to stand by the door, even if there is standing room available at the back. However in defense of those who keep on standing in front I shall argue for them on the basis of the following:

1. Air-conditioning is better at the doors. Really, notice that they even dedicate a vent just upon the entrance to shower you with cold air? During long trips the conditioning at the back wanes or totally becomes lost when the vehicle is stuck in traffic.
2. Thieves may corner you at the back. I was the unfortunate victim of one. I used to prefer window seats at the back because I have the place to myself with a clear view. Until one day a guy sat next to me (I was in the two-seater chair) and started eating into my space. When I was about to tell him off, he asked me to read his celphone and it contained commands to give him my bag and not to make a sound. I do not know what came over me but I suddenly stood up and said "Mama! Wag ka na nga magulo bababa na ako! (Mister stop fooling around this is my stop already. Stop the bus) Para!"  I was able to get off and for the first time in my life I was actually glad to see an MMDA personnel and run towards him. 
3. Aside from thieves there are perverts rampant there. One time our group was flashed with a penis by a guy standing, another time my classmate was groped. Being in the far back conditions your mind that you are isolated and cannot yell for help or something might happen to you first before help comes. 
4. When people start crowding towards the exit point of the Jeepney - everyone is trying to avoid to be seated next to the driver (not because he might smell bad) because he/she does not want to be the one passing the fare all the way to the front throughout the ride. Though it is very annoying when you have a lot of packages with you and people just wont give way. Or when youngsters sit on the edge and expect you to sit-walk to the driver to hand it for them when they wouldn't do it themselves (chalk it up to being mataray, I give these students a stern talking to, it is just so disrespectful! )

That being said I do not think of people's behavior on public transport as conscious actions, so most of the time I try not to mind the inconvenience it brings. It just fuels my desire to buy my own car after I graduate.