How Days Become On Summer Breaks

I was a worn-out college kid--I was only in first year when I found my planner fully booked on activities day by day from June to March. I am aware that I lacked proper sleep since I stayed up doing what-have-I's. I am lazy taking in vitamins, that's why bottles of nutrients get stocked up on my share of the drawers in my grandmother's house where I reside during school days.

And finally, when our first school year break came, I was a bit relieved to see few pages of it cleared out with nothing more to do than to think of going to my summer job and, yeah, budget how to spend "wisely" what I have earned.

This is my summer. And these are what I did.

Blog. Just like what I am doing now. It eases my nostalgia for writing which I haven't done in quite a while and recently neglected because the course I am taking in barely needs it. Or so I thought.

Read a good book. Pick up a science book or some novels, or the Bible. Just freshening up on my knowledge.

Learn something new. I'm trying to learn how to edit on Adobe Photoshop. It's one thing I really, really wanted to do. Plus, I've started learning to cook better. It's one thing I used to hate doing.

Got a summer job. I learned to get along with people. I earned money on my own sweat. I can even save up for tuition fee on my next year to lessen for my parents' expenses. At least I helped out.

And when vacation is over, there is a satisfying feeling of having accomplished things that'll contribute to your skills.

Dinner Experiments

I have been away from home the past months. I live in a house where I am not allowed to cook meals. Why? They fear I might burn down the house. My freedom of cooking only happens when I am in our real home. The refrigerator's contents do not escape my cooking experiments.

Yes, I am not good at cooking. And yes, I mentioned "experiments". But don't worry, everything's edible. With the aid of my mom's recipes and a few I found from the internet, I was able to produce (believe me if I say), sumptuous dinner.

Dinner 1: Teriyaki rice, marinated pork, buttered vegetables, fried onion rings and cream sauce.

Actually, I cooked it for my dad for dinner after coming home from Manila. I was trying to make him avoid eating more than a cup of rice since he was a diabetic. So I made sure I already measured a cup of the teriyaki rice. I marinated the pork with soy sauce, ketchup and a few spoons of teriyaki sauce. I added buttered vegetables and onion rings as side dishes.

And my dad's reaction? Of course he wanted to ask for more rice. He couldn't resist. Why not? It's the staple food of Filipinos.

Dinner 2: Chicken Yadah and Cheesy Onion Soup

Why did I call it Chicken Yadah? Obviously it's a chicken, and yadah? Well, I just don't know how it's really called and since I just used random ingredients in cooking it, I ended up using that word to describe it.

I deep-fried breaded chicken fillet; sauted garlic, onions, bell peppers and carrots and the fried chicken fillet; added oyster and teriyaki sauce and that's it. It has a sweetened taste just enough for my diabetic dad.

The Cheesy Onion Soup's name tells it all. I sauted large white onions, maybe one or two of it in a large soup pan. Then I dissolved the cream soup base powder in hot water and poured it in. Waited for it to simmer and bring to a boil and then grated cheese. But I think it would have tasted better with Parmesan or any melted cheesy.

Eat and run! Happy tummy! :)

PUP on the Verge of Privatization

Acta non verba was the plight of the famed "Iskolar ng Bayan". Was the tuition fee increase, from eleven to twelve, to a big jump to two hundred per unit, reasonable enough to be accepted by the student body?

Student leaders were outraged. Our rights to cheaper education, as they say, is being violated. Probably, the only way to be heard of by the administration was to start a "scene" -- chairs being thrown from the highest floors of the building to the ground floor, burning the mountains of chairs like a huge bonfires. It was a tourist attraction for the students and outsiders as well.

"Imagine wearing an ID bearing the complete name of your university in huge fonts, like Times New Roman, sized 40 and people asking if you were from the university burning school facilities. It's embarrassing." interrupted by one of classmates as he sat down while we were reviewing for the day's remedial exam. Our attention took a detour on what is happening meters away from the our building at Pureza.

Yes, we are becoming victims of discrimination and are judged by people who are not aware what our university is really going through.

I am not one of those who are against the Guevarra administration, neither am I on the side of the student activists who claim they are fighting for our rights. It may have been wrong to take actions within their hands, but I asked myself whenever I reminisce on the educational issues we face today, would they have listened if these wouldn't have happened?

Yes, the students have won the battle for now. And I am sure, they will continue doing so. The battle of "Iskolar ng Bayan" is still raging on.