it’s about time i close this blog and start writing in another one. i’m not writing about running simply because i’m not running anymore. i’m no longer the running addict i once was, and while it was a great time, it’s over… at least for now 🙂

also i’ve realised that i’ve posted a lot of stuff that i should’ve made private in the first place, so i’m writing in a new one to save face hehe.

my new journal is at ________.wordpress.com, good luck finding it 🙂

So I was about to sleep but the rush of this evening’s 5km run (among other things) is keeping me awake.

The Nike Run Club has started today, with two distances and six pace groups to run with. Having stopped running since I got here, I settled for the shorter distance – 5km – with the slowest pace group. Imagine my horror when I got there, and the slowest group said “7:00 min/km”! Nooo! I’ve always been a slow runner and comfortable with a 7:30, so to kick it up a notch proved to be a challenge. I just wanted to run this fully, with no walk breaks, even if I’ll be last.

Well. I ran the whole distance within the 7:00 pace! Haha but as soon as I heard the Garmin beep for the 5th km, I slowed down and walked. Good timing since it was a steep uphill and I didn’t wanna run all the way up. Better yet, I wasn’t the last runner! Woot!

I definitely had fun, even though my running buddies were a lot older than I am. It really is a lot easier to run with a group, mainly because they push you when you feel like slowing down or giving up. Maybe I’ll go back next time just for the heck of it 🙂

almost 5 months now. i’m a month into my summer vacation, it’s 18 days before christmas, and i’m getting used to getting around in my bike.

i’m loving marinating my food – beef and pork, to be specific. learning how to prepare my own food has taught me a lot about… patience and perseverance and the art of saving money! and also about how people are starving everyday while i get to eat what i want, when i want. it’s only now that i eat the onions and garlic, usually i just ignore them in my dish.

i’m slowly getting the hang of melbourne traffic movement, thanks to biking around in the city. i love the rush! okay i don’t ride fast, usually around 14-15 kph, but the wind here is always strong anyway. i love the burning sensation in my quads whenever i pedal faster along Royal Parade, and the speed whenever the road goes downhill. cars respect riders. bike lanes are almost always present. the only things required by law are helmets, bike chains, white headlights, and red taillights. it’s safe to park your ride almost anywhere – ‘almost’ because some jackasses pull off the seat posts and quick-release tyres from bikes that are parked in dodgy places. but otherwise you can ride in the city and not worry about your safety, which is the main thing.

i am frickin bored. i need a frickin job. a part-time, anything, just as long as i earn from it! lalala

i cannot wait for my sydney + brisbane trip this christmas! yehey!

fun day today! =)

spent the afternoon with valerie

got a call from cai

got a call from david

currently chatting with tita heidi (who’s in germany)

getting a call from jai later on 🙂

this is fuunnnn

i found it funny that a classmate told me this – “you do have a slight american accent, but i’m not sure…”

well that’s because of countless american cartoons, tv shows and movies i’ve watched ever since childhood. i suppose if i start listening to australian radio and tv, in a few years i could probably develop that accent too…

Aww. :”>

That’s a couple obviously still in love after all these years!

Beethoven

Borodin

Brahms

Chopin

Dvorak

Gershwin

Glinka

Haydn

Lizst

Mozart

Strauss

Rachmaninoff

Ravel

Schubert

Tchaikovsky

Vivaldi

If there’s one thing you probably don’t know about me, it’s that I listen to classical music quite often. I’m not familiar with all of the composers, but my favourites are right up there. I took voice and piano lessons as a kid, and although I never pursued them, the interest is still there. Classical music helps me relax, think, and more recently, study.

This is all because of my college friend Memem, from whom I learned to appreciate the tv series Nodame Cantabile 🙂

So after our Planning Theory class, our first assessment was handed back to us, already marked and with comments on the feedback sheet. My classmate Ivan comes over, ecstatic.Thus the conversation:

Ivan: How did you do?

Me: (looking at his feedback sheet) Not bad, almost the same as you did. You?

Ivan: (looking at my feedback sheet) I can’t believe we got such high scores.

Me: Is it? I mean, it’s not that high.

Ivan: Yes, it is! Now I can be more lazy in this class!

Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!! 

***

I’m not too happy about my mark. I could’ve done better, but I guess it’s okay because it was only the first assessment. I can always do better on the second one – hopefully the lecturer will notice an improvement.

It might be too early to make this assumption, but I’m guessing the grading system here is lower compared to the one in PH. Why else would my classmates be happy about a grade that, in Philippine standards, is clearly just average?

So I looked into the academic grading systems of Philippines, Australia, Alberta (Canada) and the US…

This is a grade of, let’s say, 79, looks like:

Philippines: fail. / Australia: DI (Distinction, or 2nd class honours). / Alberta: B 

…and I concur with the majority of my Twitter friends, that because of the high academic grading system in the Philippines, it’s either Filipinos are more intelligent and/or more masipag than the rest of the world. Naks.

Time to celebrate a little. After all, I deserve that DI mark!

i am NOT excited for this year’s christmas. although my cousin in brisbane invited me over, i don’t want to spend so much just for the trip. but then again, spending $200+ for the trip might just be worth it. idunno, whatever.

so i need alternatives in case i’m not leaving melbourne for the holidays. 😦

eww emo post.