Yearbook Writeup

I asked a friend to do my yearbook writeup and she wrote this. Seriously, Megan? Do you really want me to cry every time I open our yearbook?


"It’s her eyes you’ll notice first. They’ll gaze at you with their sweet, sweet iridescent glow — chocolate in the night, honey under the light. But as captivating as those eyes might seem, there’s more to this girl than their alluring gleam.

Cai — creative, colorful, and compassionate. A true artist, whether it’s a paintbrush in her hand, a pen, or a badminton racket. With a Midas Touch of some sort, she can turn the most unsightly thing into art. Dive into the oceans painted before her, and soar across the sky sewn above her. See what it’s like to be perpetually inspired by the world. The true beauty of her eyes isn’t in their lustrous glow — it’s in the way they manage to find magic in everything and everyone they see.

It remains a mystery, however, how the one thing she remains incessantly blind to is her own self. Drawing strength from the happiness and encouragement of everyone she holds dear, you’ll have to remind this girl a few couple of times that she is more than enough, she is more than enough —you are more than enough, Cai. And if you’re really convincing, she might just start believing you on the hundredth try.

One day, though, Cai will finally open her eyes, and see herself for the first time — with confidence and dignity. She’ll see the compassion that tended to a handful, the beauty that captivated hundreds, and the talent that inspired thousands. And when that day comes — when the artist finally realizes that she, too, is an exquisite piece of art — she’ll be an unstoppable force not to be reckoned with. Because an artist inspired is one thing, but an artist inspired by her own self is another."

Let's talk about Faith

You won't find faith or hope down a telescope

You won't find heart and soul in the stars

You can break everything, down to chemicals

But you can't explain a love like ours.

- Science and Faith // Coldplay

Hello, I am having a mild epiphany of some sort right now, so allow me to share with you seedlings of my brain process. I am about to share with you tidbits of my religion and Faith. These beliefs may have drastically changed throughout the years, so I may have posted some similar stuff before that may not apply to me now.

Background check and disclaimer: I used to be a Catholic my entire life, then stopped believing halfway through college, and now I am a Christian. I am not baptized as one, nor am I an expert in His Word, but I consider myself one and I am only about to embark on a journey that will help me explore more about Him. Maybe next time I could talk about this came to be, but I'll save that for a separate occasion. Today, I want to talk about my idea of God and why I still need a religion - particularly Christianity.

I was actually in the middle of doing thesis when I decided to take a sanity break to write a letter to *coughs* someone because he texted me that he was going to go to church today. I am so happy right now. So happy to the point that I actually want to revive my blog again just to share this. So here goes.

This semester, I am taking STS - Science and Technology in Society. Recently we've been discussing Science and how one of its goals is to explain nature. We've also been discussing Science and its "conflict" with religion, specifically the Catholic church. My faith has nothing to do with the conflict of science and religion, and that's something I want to study objectively.

What I am more concerned about is science and nature. I think it's absolutely amazing how science is able to quantify all these things working together in nature. It stuns me how science is able to explain different phenomenon occurring in nature - how it all makes so much sense to the smallest detail. I love how scientific thinking means being logical - because what other way is there to explain all these things in nature? It all just makes sense. But here's the thing. The more I study and learn about how science could explain nature in order to know the truth, the more I believe in God. This has nothing to do with science being unable to explain extraordinary phenomenon. In other words, science gives me a reason to be more amazed at how perfectly the universe holds itself together, and there has to be something that keeps all these things intact. That something is not "out there" holding the universe in his hand. To me, He is the universe.  He is nature. He is every little phenomenon. He is the works. He is everything science can and cannot explain. He is the constant not only behind the nature of how things work, but He is in all things that work. AMAZING.

I feel like human languages are just limited, so we don't really have words to explain or refer to Him. Well, maybe if we go back to history, religions had a say into how we refer to God as "He" and imagine him as a person or as a "something", but no words could literally explain God because He is greater than anything and everything. Even I have a difficult time trying to articulate my thoughts on this.

I could care less about religion, given I already know and acknowledge that God exists, but I still choose to become a Christian and study His Word. I have two main reasons for choosing to have a religion: First, I do not have an outlet for praising Him (note my perception of God in the paragraphs above) because it simply blows my mind how everything works and falls into place, and how vast and detailed everything is in the universe. I don't know, I cannot absorb everything, and the universe just has so much in it. Christianity is a medium for me to show how amazed I am about all these things. Second and more importantly, Christianity gives me the promise that God loves me back. I love how Science makes me love and get to know God more, but Christianity tells me that God loves me back. Can you imagine that? The universe loves you back. How wonderful is that?! And I believe it! I actually believe it! I have God with me, I have God in me - I have the universe. I have everything. How absolutely beautiful a thought, how great and amazing a feeling.

I am a child of God.
I am a child of the universe.
I have the universe in me.

 I want to give it to you, too.

Cock is Life

It's 3:19 am, and I still haven't taken a shower from today's dose of vitamin b...adminton. It just occurred to me that I haven't posted anything since I started playing badminton again last year. If you follow me elsewhere, especially on Instagram, you've probably seen my unending stream of badminton posts. Yup, I'm back in the game, y'all.

This sport used to be my life back in grade school and high school. I stopped for quite a while in college because I didn't know anyone here and all that shit. It's quite a long story, actually, but the point is I am playing again, and I have never been this happy my whole college life.

I play at least 2-4 times a week no matter how heavy my academic requirements are. If you love something, there is always time for it. I am a firm believer of that saying. 

I wanted to write more about UP BadAss, but I'm sleepy and I'll probably write about it some other time. As for now, here are some photos. Hihi. 

High school photos that would make you go WHY

Last night, our Seniors group (AC Batch 2011) was very much alive. Someone just posted an old funny photo, and then everyone else started doing the same thing. I have never felt so nostalgic over high school before. I always used to think that high school was a total mess after I've experienced how amazing college life was (and still is), but last night I realized high school life was actually pretty amazing, too. 

This post isn't about high school though. It's about my senior year self. What the heck was I thinking? Or better yet, what the heck was I doing?!

Here's a photo of my lying down on the stage of St. Anne's Hall. Why? I have no idea.

Here's a photo of my lying down on the field during a football game. Why? I don't know.

Here's a picture of me backstage with Cheska showing my butt off. Why? I don't know.

Here's a picture of me doing whatever the heck I was doing. Why?

WHY?

WHYYYYY?

WHYYYYYYYYY?

I never dance in public. Well, not anymore, and not unless I'm drunk, at the very least. I don't know what I was doing here, but I'm pretty sure I was dancing.

I was also very resourceful.

WHY, CAI, WHY?

Lettering updates

A lot of people have been asking me why I haven't been active on The Write Type's instagram recently. There are a lot of reasons I was able to retrieve from reasons.com. Haha. First, I've been enjoying roaming around the streets and venturing into places I've never even known existed here in Manila. I've been going to a lot of gigs quite recently, just for a little change of scenery. Second, I lost all my calligraphy nibs after I did my demo in an event. I've gotten over it, I think. Don't worry. Third, I've been more into fountain pens recently, so I've taken a short break from pointed pens and flexible nibs. Lastly, I don't write things for the purpose of posting. I write because I want to. I post because I want to. But I don't write because I want to post. They are two separate events that don't lead one into another. 

Anyway, last year, I met this bubbly freshie from Arki during block handling. We became friends online, and she probably saw photos of my mail. She asked me how I got penpals and told me that she wanted to write too, and she even asked me to be her penpal. Throughout the school year, we'd exchange small handwritten notes and letters and we kind of lost track towards the end of the school year. We saw each other again just last week and she gave me another letter. So tonight, I wrote her back. Here's the envelope. 

This year, I am also part of UAPSA's ExeComm. We had a tambayan cleanup today, and I wanted to do a little revamp and make use of the walls we have, so I made a weekly announcement/schedule board. People nowadays rely on the internet for updates and communication. We are slowly missing out on human touch interaction. It is my goal to strike a balance between the two and I wish to encourage members to visit the tambayan through posting announcements and reminders there. 

That is all for this post. Don't forget to follow @thewritetype on Instagram! 

What I've been up to in the past 24 hours

Because I got to Petron 3 hours early for UAPSA X-Comm's meeting, I decided to blog about random photos from my phone in the last 24 hours. I don't know why. I just felt like I had the need to update my blog again. 

I am currently here seated at one of Moonleaf Petron's most cozy nooks. God, have I missed Moonleaf. I used to hang out in their branch outside My Place (my old dorm) all the time. When I transferred to my condo, they also closed. Coincidence? I guess not! Haha, kidding aside, it's my firs time here and I really like the place. They even sell Ang Bandang Shirley albums. Their wifi's pretty fast, too. Finally got my Lychee-Jasmine-with-pearls-no-sugar fix! I've been craving for this!

Yesterday, I also tried making graham balls coated with Oreo bits. Omnomnom! I actually have a few with me because I'll be giving them to my friends later. I impulsively went to the grocery yesterday early in the morning because I felt this sudden urge to make desserts. I don't even know how to bake. I can't cook, and I'm really clumsy in the kitchen. It's probably my grown-up instincts telling me I gotta start somewhere! HAHA! Oreo graham balls it is, then! 

That's all for now, and I'll try to keep updating this blog while I don't have classes yet. 

Latest creation