Awfully Pretty

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Okay, so this post is long overdue because of a VERY small problem with WordPress (and I didn’t see why it was happening, stupid me) and the start of college life. Anyway, I have tried my best to recount some of my experiences during my stay but I am only blogging about two of my favorite places :) You may get bored to death if I blog about everything I’ve been through. No, really. So I’m sorry if this is too short.

CALIFORNIA
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Oh gosh, I love this place. This was the first place I’ve ever been to and I really like it. It just feels so nice there (and cold!). As we were driving along, I saw the North American Square Enix building. It looks so awesome and for a while, I wanted to work there and become a game developer. I have always wanted to work for them or for Nintendo, also a great game company. I already wanted to go to lots of places but we arrived during nighttime so I had to rest up for the next day. We were going to…

DISNEYLAND! :)

Okay, you already knew that. Haha. But yes, it’s a really fun place to be in. It was my first time so I couldn’t help but feel like a kid again! We first went to Tomorrowland (my favorite part of Disneyland!) and then Fantasyland. I wanted to go in the Star Wars attractions and take part in the Jedi Training Academy, but never mind… I wasn’t allowed because of my health condition. Meh. I just went to the shops to look for stuff, I liked all the Star Wars merchandise and they even have Mickey Mouse Jedi plushies there! In Fantasyland, however, we had a chance to see all of the rides and attractions because it’s not very dangerous.

So after we finished Fantasyland, we moved on to Frontierland. And guess who we met along the way!

My mom and I were so lucky that we were the first ones in line to take a picture with him! After that, we went to look for more rides. I really wanted to get on the Big Thunder Mountain ride…

I did not get to go on that ride, so I went to the Haunted Mansion instead. It’s my favorite! I love the ghosts in there because it’s so realistic. Lol! We also went to Adventureland too and went to this one ride that travels through this river… I forgot its name. Lol. We went to more places but ended up being on Main Street again. So we just went in the new attraction called Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. I love it too, it’s very informative and, yes, realistic. It was a bit freaky at first because it really looked as if Abraham Lincoln was really alive! It’s moving and speaking and it even has mannerisms! So weird.

Then, when evening came, we were met by this scene at Main Street:

It’s a parade! It’s my first time to see all of the Disney stars on parade and it was so cute! Everyone was dancing and singing along with main stars Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy! Even the Princess and the Frog characters were there. It’s just so beautiful and colorful. It wasn’t that long, though. Too bad.

Then, the next day, we went to the Maritime Museum and the Queen Mary (yes, the luxury ship). I can’t post the pictures because the camera sucked. Hahaha. Anyway, there. My favorite place was the Maritime Museum. I love boats (but I hate being on them). I don’t like the warship displays, though. I wanted to go to more places but I can’t because we only stayed for two or three days, I think.

Ooh, and I went to the oldest operating McDonald’s before we left! It’s a bit sad, though. I was feeling at home already and then we were going to leave!

HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA
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This trip was kind of unplanned since we originally planned to go to another place. But then my uncle decided to take me and my niece to Hershey instead. :) It was so nice there and it wasn’t quite what I expected. At first, I thought that I was only going to see the factory where they make the chocolates. I never knew that it was a whole community for the workers and all that stuff. AND I didn’t know that it also had a theme park (yes, friends, I am very innocent)! So there. I didn’t get to go on the rides though because it was really cold. We went inside instead and toured the factory :)

Okay, so it wasn’t the actual factory. But it’s a recreation of the whole factory setting and still has the machines that show how the Hershey chocolates were made. They’re only for display purposes, though. They also had there the history of Hershey. It was so fun there and when the tour ended, they gave us FREE chocolates! My niece was soooo happy, but I wasn’t because I couldn’t eat chocolate. I ended up giving her everything I’ve got. Bummer.

After the factory tour, we went on the tram to see the whole Hershey community. And yes, we also got free chocolates because the tour guide told us the history of all the Hershey chocolates. He gave us samples of the chocolates he mentioned and we were free to get as many as we wanted :) I got all the white chocolates!

So first, we saw Milton Hershey’s home:

And then, the bank:

And my favorite: THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL! Our guide said that this school offers free education for the less fortunate but deserving students. He and his wife never had a child so they decided to help the needy attain the kind of upbringing that they deserved. The school has really interesting courses and uses Hershey products to teach the students. There was this one topic in the 2nd grade program where they learned how to do math using Hershey Kisses! They also get to visit the Dairy Farms and the Animal Center where they study agricultural and environmental education. And we were told that starting 9th grade, they would be able to choose a career path to specialize in and would be instructed in them. It’s so awesome. It’s also a big school too! I was very surprised when I saw just how big it is.

We also went to the spots where his farmland used to be and all that stuff. It was hard to take a picture, though, because the tram at that time wasn’t stopping and all the pictures were blurry. :(

Anyway, after the tour, we got chocolates again! And this time, I couldn’t resist myself and grabbed some Kisses, stuffed them into my mouth, and acted like I was allowed to eat them. Yeah.

So after hours of walking around the community and trying out all the fun stuff, it was time to say bye-bye to Hershey Town, “The Sweetest Place on Earth”. It was really an enjoyable experience and I thought we were going to come back (my uncle told us so!) but we didn’t get to :(

Tagged: · Tuesday, June 22, 2010 · 7 Comments »

Go back in time

I don’t know what’s gotten into me this morning. When I woke up, I suddenly remembered my old blogs and old blog buddies. I wanted to see them again. At first, I really thought it was impossible because a lot of those websites are down now. And I switched blogging platforms a lot (I’ve been to DiaryLand, CuteNews, Nucleus, WordPress, etc.) so I really didn’t know how to see them again. But thanks to this awesome website, the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, I got to see a lot of my favorite blogs again. And yes, I saw the old Awfully Pretty. Lol, I was such a kid back then. :) It’s cool, give it a try. Who knows, you might just see some funny stuff from the past. :D

Gah, a short entry today. I will be blogging about my stay in New York (and maybe my stay in LA too?) and I will post pictures when I get them uploaded! This is all for now.

So, how are you guys doing? I hope you’re also enjoying your summer!

Tagged: · Wednesday, April 14, 2010 · 17 Comments »

Vacation mode on

Now the real vacation really starts for me. The first week of my summer break was just a warm-up. This summer break is different for me because it is my first time to travel abroad, and I must say that I’m enjoying every moment here in California. It’s pretty cold but I’m getting used to it :)

Actually, I never thought that I would have this much fun in LA. I just didn’t know what to expect here though my dad told me a lot of stories about his experiences. But wow, I love it here! The people are so nice and our family friend’s place is like in the middle of all the great sights. And it’s so clean! Everything just feels so homey. Ooh, and I went to Disneyland :D I know that it’s a big place but I didn’t expect that a whole day wouldn’t be enough for me to explore everything! It’s okay though because we’re coming back in May to try everything. Lol, sorry if I sound very excited, I just like unleashing the kid in me. Haha. I also went to a lot of other great places but my dad said that to really appreciate California, a two-days stay is not enough. :( Oh well, I’ll just visit the other places in May.

So, tomorrow I’ll be leaving for New Jersey. I miss my relatives. I’m excited to see them, especially my nephew. I hope he still remembers me.

Tagged: · Wednesday, March 31, 2010 · 10 Comments »

A SEN10R no more

I will graduate on Sunday. I am happy, of course. I’ll move on to another stage of my life and I am quite excited. But despite all this eagerness to go to college, the chorale is something I can’t bear to leave behind. I can’t believe that I won’t be seeing them again next year. Though I don’t have any award this graduation, having three of my best choir friends pass the school choir is worth more than a gazillion awards. I am very, very proud of them. I will miss being called their ate. I wish to see them and the other undergrads someday (okay, seniors, you come too. Haha). Reunion, please? :(

Tagged: · Friday, March 19, 2010 · 9 Comments »

Just like the old days

I don’t know if some of you know or remember, but 80s/early 90s kids like my siblings always have fond memories of playing games on the Family Computer (also called NES). It’s going to be hard to believe, but we have it again. A Chinese friend gave it to us and everyone’s actually having fun with all the old games, even my parents (I never even knew that my dad was a Super Mario expert before, lol)! My favorite right now is Battle City:

I am also starting to like Lode Runner, even if I still can’t get past stage 2. I’m sorry, I’m new to this stuff okay? XD

It’s so fascinating how old games were so simple. It’s a nice break from all the complicated games nowadays. Some of our modern gamers judge games mostly based on graphics and not on the gameplay, so it’s nice to go back to basics and experience great computer games without all those intricate CGI graphics. For the first time, I played just for the sake of pure enjoyment.

If only I could do the same for school. :)

Have you experienced the NES too? What was your favorite game?

Tagged: · Thursday, March 11, 2010 · 10 Comments »

Seriously surviving

How is everyone doing? I know all of us have been very busy for the past few months but I do hope everyone’s okay! We shouldn’t die from the intense stuff being thrown at us. Life is good, life is good. Well, it has been to me, I guess. All of the stuff I have worked for has paid off big time. I have been able to defend our thesis and it was a great feeling knowing how to answer all of the panelists’ questions! Actually, they didn’t ask much because they didn’t know what to ask us.

I only have a week to go and this is what I call the seniors’ survival week. If I get through this week without any problem, then I can say that I officially survived high school. It would be a great bonus if I pass all my subjects with flying colors, but I guess average grades would be okay as long as they are “okay” enough for me. I’m really nervous because after this I wouldn’t have a chance to redeem myself anymore. I must do everything I can to pass!

Last Tuesday was my sister’s recognition day at the University of the Philippines. She is just so smart and good in everything! I want to experience recognition days too when I get to college. That way, I can prove to myself that I can make my family proud during my stay in the university. Wow, drama. But seriously. I have already promised to myself that I’d do whatever it takes to excel in college. I already decided to go and apply for scholarships. Before, scholarships weren’t my thing just because a lot of people are applying for those things and I really didn’t consider myself as one of the qualified people in the batch. But who knows, I MIGHT get it and I MIGHT be able to maintain all my grades. I am already off to a good start because I was one of the top applicants in DLSU, so if I go and study there I might have an edge already.

*sigh* I’m having delusions again. Help me :|

Tagged: · Thursday, February 25, 2010 · 7 Comments »

Minimalism

Just a short entry about my computer.

I was getting tired of my desktop’s look because it just looked so cluttered. It was so messy that it distracts me whenever I write. So after browsing Minimal Mac and other minimalist-themed sites, I tried to de-clutter my desktop and remove icons or photos that might distract me. Here, my friends, is the result.

Before

After

I know I still have a loooong way to go but I think it already looks kinda good (for a first timer, at least). What do you guys think?

OFF-TOPIC: I have a Tumblr account again. Tumblarity, be gone forever!

Tagged: · Wednesday, January 27, 2010 · 17 Comments »

Protected: What I want to do

Tagged: · Saturday, January 23, 2010 · Enter your password to view comments.

What a week.

I just can’t believe this. This week has been very eventful for me. I go to school at 6 AM and go home 7 PM because of the music show rehearsals. I’m also doing our thesis and some other stuff. Actually, my life would be this busy until March. I don’t mind doing all the school stuff because I know that I’m going to graduate and summer will come very soon. So what happened this week?

Last Monday, the Japanese girls came to our school. They were so cute! We had two in our class and they were so nice. It was a little hard to talk to them though because we had to talk slowly in broken English for them to understand us. But they were so nice, I became friends with them and one of them went to Spanish class with me. It’s a good thing that we all know Japanese culture to some extent because of anime; it was how we became friends. I wish I adopted a Japanese girl too, but oh well. They went home yesterday. I hope I get to see some of the pictures my classmates took so that I could post them here. They’re so cute, I swear.

Oh, and we also won the Math interclass competition yesterday! It was fun because our class was so united. Everyone was cooperative and ready. And I’m proud because I got to answer all the questions that the quizmaster asked us. What’s more, we beat the smartest sections in the batch. Yay! Too bad our adviser wasn’t there, but it’s okay, she’s proud of us too. I hope.

The fantastic FourTwo after winning the Math interclass competition

AND I passed the Ateneo College Entrance Test (ACET)! I did not get in the Computer Science Honors Program (a degree only for the top 15% of the ACET passers) but I got into my second choice, which was Computer Engineering. I don’t really have the intention of studying in Ateneo, but seeing the test results made me really happy. I’m excited to go to college! Got to work harder :)

Tagged: · Saturday, January 16, 2010 · 9 Comments »

Happy new year indeed!

Yes, yes, yes! I passed the DLSUCET! All my hard work seriously paid off. DLSU is my dream school and I’m just so happy that I got accepted. I’m going to be an accountant. Heck yeah. What a way to kick off 2010! I’m excited to receive the letter and whatever documents that would come knocking at my door. Yay! Forgive me, because tonight I’m a proud one! *parties like crazy*

Besides that, though, nothing’s new. I’m bored and my brain keeps on telling me that Monday is just two days away. I still haven’t started working on my project (who gives projects in the middle of a vacation?) and my thesis. It’s just so complicated. Getting accepted in my dream school made me a bit more determined to get high grades and graduate, but a part of me is still on vacation mode. But believe me, I’m trying! :) Wake up, brain. Thanks. Bye.

Ooh! I have a Formspring now, thanks to ate Gel. So if you have any question, go ahead and ask! Don’t worry, I answer random questions too. Yeah.

Tagged: · Saturday, January 2, 2010 · 12 Comments »

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