Guardian

Happy Birthday Carlo. You're 20 now. It's gonna be an entirely new way life once you're out of your teen years. I may change too but together, we'll eternally remain the same.

That was last September 22. He's born under Virgo while I'm a Gemini. I'm only a slight believer of zodiacs based on constellations but I'm still curious of our compatibility! But in the first place we wouldn't have lasted seven months if we weren't compatible.

I'm sorry if I couldn't give you a real gift. I was broke down to a simple Hallmark card and a poem I wrote to thank you for being my Guardian.

G - ilded jewels of sparkles and glimmers
U - nified and fused to create a grand design
A - mongst these treasures, above all it shimmers
R - aveled warrior whom I covet to be mine

D - estined one day to be entrusted his accolade
I - nscribed in his soul is his undying will
A - myriad of enigmas amock him laid
N - ever ceasing to find his lover till

I love you Carlo.

Oh, and just for the record, here are the movies we've watched together since even before we came to be.

Memoirs of a Geisha - February 23, 2006
Tristan and Isolde - April 20, 2006
Silent Hill - May, 2006 (exact date forgotten)
Cars - June 17, 2006
See No Evil - July 8, 2006
Lady in the Water - July 15, 2006
Sukob - August 5, 2006
Click - September 2, 2006

Wikipedia has been my sole source of information to a point that I feel it's a waste of time to resort to Google and look for more detailed and accurate websites. I don't have the time and money either. After all, we still don't have internet at home.

What's in my Name?

Many people call me by my first name: Jiea (pronounced "Jee-yah"). I can remember Mom call me by my second name Jennifer. I liked at first and I even nicknamed myself "Jenny". But then it hardly clicked since I was more likely to be remembered as Jiea. Sure, there are also many other girls who have the same name as I do but they have the common spellings: Gia, Jia or even Jhia. I find it fuuny how pinoys love putting H's into their nicknames.

There's one good thing about my name too. So far I'm the only one I know named "Jiea". Since I can't find a suitable meaning for it since for it's just a made-up name (Jiea is an anagram of my Father's nickname "Ajie"), I've just resorted to finding the meaning of my second name no matter how sickly widespread it is.

Jennifer:
Gender: Feminine
Language: Cornish and English

Etymology:
Jennifer is the Cornish form of a Gwenhwyvar. Originally it meant “White Wave,” “White Lady,” or “Fair Smooth,” from “gwen” (white) and “hwyvar” (smooth). Guinevere is the Norman French version of the name.

History:
Gwenhwyvar, the Welsh name, was adopted and Frenchified to Guinevere by the Normans. The Cornish form, Jennifer, was little known outside of Cornwall (although it was found occasionally) until the twentieth century. A turning point may have been George Bernard Shaw’s play The Doctor’s Dilemma, written in 1905, which contained a character named Jennifer.

Another, more important break came in 1941 when David O. Selznick turned a promising young actress, Phyllis Isley Walker, into Jennifer Jones. He chose Jennifer because it was unusual, but not too fancy. In 1943 she won Best Actress for The Song of Bernadette.

The name took off in the forties and skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the favorite name for girls from 1970 to 1984 in the United States.

I guess I'll just stick to Jiea. I believe that everyone knows at least one Jennifer and I don't like the idea of having the same name with other people.

School and Shots

That's funny. I'm certain I changed my avatar from Sora in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories to a faded Yuna picture stolen from an Anime Arts site I forgot.

Anyhow, Midterms are a harlot except for Writing in the Discipline and Introduction to Mass Communication; the two of my favorite subjects. I'm undoubtedly worse than dead in Chemistry and Philippine Literature. Unsurprisingly I'm only a tad worried. All I have to do is do well during the Final period and make ends meet with my compensated grades. Oh well. Like I said two posts ago, I'm such a school schmendrick.

I thought Friendster also served as a good way to display my photographic endeavors until I remembered my defunct DeviantArt account. I used to submit nothing but poetry so it hardly clicked. Only my elementary best friend Eths had me watched. Now that's the trove for all my pictures. Sadly, it's kind of faulty right now so I can't open the main page itself.

Speaking of photography, Kuya Wine informed me of the best digital SLR camera there is. It's the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. It has an auto-focus lens and costs P250,000. What makes it so fuckin' expensive? It's bullet-proof; perfect for criminal investigation and documentaries.

Being an aspiring journalist, I can find that useful. Bur I've read that the best for reporters is still a compact camera, perfect for covert operations due to its quiet mechanism. This camera of mine remains indispensable and special. My dad gave it for my 18th birthday and together with it, we've produced such photographic masterpieces (at least I think so)! My camera by the way is a Kodak EasyShare C530.

Honesty

*Taken from my now defunct Friendster Blog The Nocturnal Sun*

July 14th, 2005

Just last night, my boyfriend and I had another argument again and this time, it was pretty fatal. Internally, I don't wanna talk or type about it but I'll try, just try.

He said I was being too tactless and sarcastic. Well I have been for a long time now even before I gained conscience. I either instinctively or unthinkingly hurt people with the words that come out of my mouth on their own. I promised myself once that I'll renew this but all attempts were already failures right before they've even begun. What futility. Henceforth, I can't help but think that I'm actually created this way: To have an uncontrollable mouth. Sometimes I really can't help it.

Tactless isn't the word I choose to describe this tactlessness but brutal honesty. I've been an honest kid both unconsciously and willingly. I am a firm believer of the saying "Honesty is the best policy" and honesty is the one value that I wish to have my entire life revolve around. Never mind anything else other than our Creator. I guess I already have this word programmed in my mind. To be honest anytime, anywhere and to anyone and even to almost anything.

There's only one person whom I've actually never been fully honest with: Myself.

*Post ends here*

Yeah, The Nocturnal Sun. Actually my first ever blog. It was alive for less than a month and merely four posts until I've discovered blogger. Friendster blogs reek anyway.

School Schmendrick

I hate studying but I love learning.

Midterm exams are a pain. Paying for the partial tuition fee is an even bigger pain. Twist told me that he normally just dilly-dallies during the Prelim exams. The pressure kicks in during the Midterm. Prelim, Midterm or even the Final exams, I just never was the studier (if there is such a word). Besides, many business veterans have told me that you utilize only 30% of what you've learned in College. The other 70% is wasted on general education that have been reiterated since High School. Sweet. Even the educational system of the Philippines is fucked up.

Although I love Journalism, I'm still slightly hesitant in taking the course itself up. I know many successful journalists never had formal training in the field. Oh well. I guess having the diploma can still be in an advantage. Nowadays, you can hardly find a job without one. I've been long considering working for a call center but the night shifts create an impasse on school. I have to prioritize school for the very reason that I want to graduate and have a degree. It never was my dream to be in the dean's list. For all I care, employers are more particular about how active you are than how smart you are.

Yeah, I have the cajones (not literally, mind you) to call myself smart. I just hate studying. After all, as my dear friend Monica would tell me: "Iba ang matalino sa masipag mag-aral."

Tomb Raided

Last Wednesday, I've done another feat in the field of videogaming. I've finally finished Tomb Raider Legend, the latest Tomb Raider game in the series and the first not under the production of Core, TR's original designers. It is now under Crystal Dynamics. Following its ancestors, the leading character is still Lara Croft, undoubtedly the most succesful videogame heroine of all time. She was even awarded as the best Game Mascot by Electronic Gaming Monthly (or GamePro?) Still Lara Croft has undergone many slight facelifts. In her very first back in the Sega Saturn and the PSOne, she had neck-length hair and her build was still pretty much bulky.

Tomb Raider Legend [TRL] is probably the best and most realistic TR game there is. Under the management of Core, the games were emphasized more on exploration and adventure and very little shooting action. Most annoying of them all were the jerky controls. It felt like tugging a nail out of wood. TRL has a more realistic touch and Lara's equipped with a full-body convenience. A PLS [Personal Light System], a modern long-range grapple that replaces the standard hook with a powerful on/off magnet, a pair of binoculars and a PDA. Plus Lara is more fluid and versatile in motion now. She can jump from ledge to ledge with tasteful precision and she's much more graceful now.

If only I had the chance to play Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. It was the final TR game that was developed by Core and the first to have such liquid controls. Too bad my PlayStation2 then wasn't formatted and was highly picky on CDs. The storyline's interesting too! Lara Croft is being stalled for a crime she didn't commit and she had to be a fugitive, traversing Paris to clear her name and find clues to a certain relic.

Although I've finished TRL in Normal Mode (Hard mode should be renamed to Insane mode) and haven't collected all treasures and outfits yet, I'm already kinda bored with the game.

A current obsession: Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus

And I might as well add this up. I feel I should blog for a couple more months before I begin another Soul Searching post.

Your Aura is Orange

You're a bit of a loner, but you're never lonely. You know how to entertain yourself. Whether you're trying an extreme sport or a new weird food, you always live on the edge. The purpose of your life: testing limits - both physical and mental... and then telling people about it. Famous oranges include: Timothy Leary, David Blaine, Tony Hawk, Carey Hart Careers for you to try: Snowboarder, Circus Performer, Undercover Agent

What Color Is Your Aura?

Your Power Color Is Orange

You live in the fast lane. You love action, risk, and competition. You're spontaneous, enthusiastic, and persuasive. But you're also easily bored - and love to rebel against structures. You resent rules ... as well as people's attempts to control you!

What's Your Power Color?

Maybe I should make Orange another favorite color of mine among Red, Black and Purple.

Grand entrances are always impractical. That's what makes them grand.
-Lara Croft after opening a colossal entrance behind a waterfall in Ghana, Tomb Raider Legend