another blog

Since mana man gyud ang blog project, muundang na ko ani akong blog...

PERO naa man ko laing blog... magupdate ko ana every once in a while.. taas man cguro na ang in a while.., hehehe

naa ra ang link sa URL sa akong bag.o nga blog:

http://danhenry03.blogspot.com/

THE LACTOSE CONTENT OF COMMERCIAL POWDERED MILK: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The study entitled "The Lactose Content of Commercial Powdered Milk: A Comparative Study" was excellently performed by three steadfast students of the University of the Philippines High School in Cebu. These three students are Mary Chris Bazarte, Dan Henry Montaño, Maria Ernestine Sacmar, and Neil Audrey Talolong.

Rationale of the study
Milk has been a nutritional food supplement common in various cultures. It contains minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates and acids, essential to our body needs. Examples of which are Vitamin D and K for bone health and iodine for thyroid function. Though there are other sources for these nutrients, milk is still s practical way to be healthy.

Milk intake is beneficial to humans, especially to infants. Since newborns lack the ability to chew large masses of food that can provide them good nutrition.

There have been numerous forms of milk. Powdered milk includes this sea of milk products. It is often used in baking and always made available in places where fresh milk is not visible.

Nowadays, numerous brands of commercialized powdered milk are rapidly being produced and advertised on televisions, radio, billboards, and other forms of advertisements. Yet, the consumers need to be assured that these milk brands are pure enough and can sustain the nutritional need of our body.

As part of these consumers, the researchers developed a study which can determine the percentage purity of the powdered milk. Specifically, it aims to determine the lactose content of these powdered milk. Lactose is used, since it is the only sugar naturally present in milk.

Research Design

The descriptive method of research was being used in this study. The study was concerned with the comparison of the lactose contents of ten brands of commercial powdered milk, the descriptive method of research was the most appropriate method to use.

Research Environment

Research Locale

The research experiments, which include the titration procedures, were conducted at the Chemistry Laboratory at the University of the Philippines High School in Cebu Campus. The said experiments were done in a span of four months, which is from July to October 2006.

Research Subjects

The research subjects in this study are the ten brands of commercial powdered milk namely:

1. Alacta

2. Alaska

3. Anchor

4. Bearbrand

5. Bonakid

6. Enfapro

7. Nestogen

8. Nido

9. Promil

10. U -Care 123

NOTE: If you want to know the results, try to look for our hardbound copy.

grasses of luxury

CEBU COUNTRY CLUB

Established in 1928, the Cebu Country Club is one of the best and most admired golf clubs in Cebu. Being the premier golf club in Cebu today, it represents the early developments of golf in Cebu and the Visayas. It takes the driver's seat in handling Cebu's tourism golf traffic after the loss of the famous Club Filipino de Cebu. This golf club is also the site of the PAL Interclub and some legs of the Philippine Golf Circuit.

The golf course has 18 holes covering about 6,481 yards. The green fees depend on the day of the week: PHP2,000 for weekdays and PHP3,500 for weekends and holidays. The caddy's fee is PHP250, golf cart rental is PHP1,500, and golf club rental is PHP300. Club members enjoy discounts on fees, while non-members pay the regular fees.

Cebu Country Club has an elegant clubhouse that is open to local and foreign guests. It boasts of complete facilities that help guarantee a satisfying stay for its guests. Its restaurant provides quality service and offers the best foods and delicacies of Cebu. Guests can relax and go sight-seeing on the tree houses, spend the night out at the bar, play on the badminton and tennis courts, bowl at the bowling alley, and take a refreshing dip at the swimming pool.

The club also has a barber shop, a pelota, and a pro shop that sells high-quality sports gadgets for the pros, as well as modern locker rooms. Security in the club is ensured by personnel who work 24/7 to ensure the safety of the club's patrons.

June (real name withheld for reasons of privacy and confidentiality), a tour guide of Mr. Samuel Darza in the golf club, said that the topography of the golf course is very different from other golf courses. He speaks highly of the club's services, describing them as satisfying. He also said that the 18 holes of the golf course cover a land area that extends from Banilad, Cebu City, up to Mandaue City in the north. As far as security is concerned, June feels that the club is a safe place and has no security problem because, despite the club's large size, security personnel roam and patrol all sides of the field. Further, June said that the club regularly upgrades its facilities; hence, the club's facilities are on a par with the latest and the best.

In addition to its local clients, the club also has frequent visits from foreign guests, many of whom find the club a perfect place for relaxation and for enjoying life's pleasures. Though, most of the club members are usually retired white-collar employees of private companies.

Every Cebuano and non-Cebuano who tees off on the greens of Cebu Country Club would definitely find that, owing to the club's elegant facilities and efficient service, Cebu Country Club undoubtedly helps portray Cebu as a place rich with natural and man-made structures.

http://3cities.uphighschoolcebu.edu.ph/countryclubhistory.php

Grasses of Luxury: More than the Usual

Established in 1928, the Cebu Country Club is one of the best and most admired golf clubs in Cebu. In fact, this golf club is the premier golf club in Cebu today. It represents the early developments of golf in Cebu and the Visayas. It is taking the driver's seat in handling the tourism golf traffic of Cebu after the loss of the famous Club Filipino de Cebu. This golf club is also the site of the PAL Interclub and some legs of the Philippine Golf Circuit. It has 18 holes, about 6,481 yards all in all. The green fees depend on what day is the usage. On weekdays, the fee is Php2 000, while on weekends and holidays, the fee is Php3 500. The caddy's fee is Php250; the golf cart rental is Php1500; while the golf club rental is Php300.

The Cebu Country Club is an elegant clubhouse that is open to all guests and tourists. With its complete facilities, this golf club caters guests and tourists in the best way that it really guarantees a stay of complete satisfaction. It has a restaurant which has waiters and waitresses that provide quality service and offers the best foods and delicacies of Cebu, tree houses that provide relaxation and sight – seeing sites, a bar in that guests can spend the night out, a tennis court and a badminton court for the sporty ones, a bowling alley for the bowlers and a swimming pool for guests to cool off on. It also has a barber shop which the guests can go to if they want to get a shave or a haircut, a pelota and a pro shop which offer the best sport gadgets for the pros. This golf club also has modern locker rooms for both sexes so that security can be retained. It has many security personnel which are on guard for 24 hours, so security here is not a problem.

According to Mr. June, not his real and full name because of his privacy purposes, a tour guide of Mr. Samuel Darza in the golf club, said that the topography of the golf course is very different compared to the usual ones that we see. He said that one will be satisfied with his or her stay here because the services really are very good. He also said that the 18 holes of the golf course cover a land area that extends from Banilad, Cebu City up to Mandaue City in the north. In the security of the golf club, he also stressed that there is no problem with this because even if the golf course is very large, the security personnel can still roam and patrol all sides of the field. According to him, the facilities of the golf club are a little more than the usual because they are updated every time there is a need to upgrade. He also said that the rates of the golf club may vary on a specific day, depending on the decisions of the administration because benefits will be given by members compared to the non-members. He said that fewer fees will be charged for members while more fees for the non-members. Foreigners are also very evident here in this golf club because according to some of them, this place is a place to relax and to enjoy the goodness of life. He then said to us that the common members of the golf club are usually retired private official secretaries and managers of companies because relaxation and consumer satisfaction is strictly observed.

According to other members and guests of this clubhouse, they all have a positive feeling towards it, making it a reason for nonmembers to sign up and enjoy the pleasures this elegant golf club can offer.

The Cebu Country Club has indeed reached the hearts of every Cebuano who seeks satisfaction here in Cebu. From its elegant facilities, to its efficient customer service, this clubhouse has dominated the definition of “game with luxury” in Cebu. Though this, people will surely enjoy the green grasses that represent Cebu as a place rich with both natural and man-made structures. People from all parts of the world, golfers or non-golfers, will surely enjoy the gifts of life that these grasses of luxury can offer.

So, whenever you plan to go to Cebu, do not forget to check out the Cebu Country Club because it is way more than the usual.

Cebu Country Club-gutib,metoda,montaño,zambrano

WHY I WANT TO BE A CWTS OFFICER

This is what I wrote as a requirement for application to be a CWTS officer. It didn't reach 1000 words because this was a draft. The true hard copy was passed as a requirement and the soft copy got deleted when our computer was reformatted.

I am supposed to write a thousand-word essay that will discuss my reasons for wanting to be a CWTS officer. I will do that, of course, but I will also summarize my entire essay into just three words. DUC IN ALTUM. Go deep.

The full verse is in Luke 5:4 “Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” It is what Jesus Christ told his disciples in Lake Gennesaret. They were in the part where the fish was supposed to be abundant. They tried all night but they still weren’t getting any. Jesus told them to go a deeper part of the water. Simon Peter protested at first because they were tired. When they finally went deeper, they caught so may fish that their nets broke.

Father Lan Guiao, SDB, the rector at the Don Bosco Technology Center, taught that to all the Bosconians. We should never settle if we know that we are capable of so much more. We should try a little harder, go a little farther than what we think we can do. We are all to aim for big things using our God-given talents wisely. I do realize that my goals may be too high at times, but I insist on keeping them anyway. I will not settle.

Of course, all UPians, myself included, know that settling for second best is not an option. We all know the importance of maintaining out standing as “iskolars ng bayan”, so we all study hard in order to get good grades. There is a bigger world where all our book learning would serve us in good stead. I intend to start with my community – more specifically, the CWTS.

In my research, I came upon the description of the program. The Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) refers to programs or activities contributory to the general welfare and the betterment of life for the members of the community of the enhancement of its facilities, especially those devoted to improving health, education, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation and morals of the citizenry. (http://www.upd.edu.ph/`our/nstp/index.html)

I am glad that there is a program that trains young individuals to be responsible and productive citizens. I hope to be a part of that, not just as a participant, but as an officer.

Third year high school has been fun in terms of non-academics. Academically, though, our lessons were (expectedly) harder compared to the lessons that we had in our first and second years of high school. I count it one of my blessings that I did not get a card grade below 80, especially since it is the primary prerequisite of being an officer in the Civic Welfare Training Service. Having attained the feat, I would not waste my chance of being one of the CWTS officers. I would grab my opportunity that God gave to me and all my fellow hopefuls.

That is not my primary reason of joining the CWTS officers, though. I want to join because I want to be a leader. I never wanted to be a leader before because I thought it was a tiring and thankless task. A greater reason for my choosing to stay in the background was my fear. I did not have the courage to lead my fellow classmates. I just settled with being a member. Now I want to prove to everyone, especially to myself, that I really have what it takes to be a leader. I’m hoping it is not too late for me to start.

The CWTS is also a good vehicle for character building. It cultivates discipline, responsibility, and diligence, among others. These are the traits that I definitely think I need.

I want to have discipline. Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, said that “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments”. I have my goals, and I want to turn them into accomplishments – I just need to develop a little more discipline. Case in point: I sometimes have a problem of controlling myself from playing computer games. With discipline, I would be able to control and manage my time more efficiently. I look forward to having a lot of spare time to use for studying and other important tasks. I also hope to save more money in the bank to be used for some future rainy day.

Responsibility is not one of the traits that I practice everyday. Sometimes, I let laziness get in the way of my fulfilling my responsibilities. I know that this is not good, especially since I am in my third year and soon be graduating. I’m sure that senior year would be the toughest yet, and I would need to be the most responsible I can be if I am to face the challenges that are in store for me. It doesn’t stop there – there’s also the matter of going to college. Tough college life would not let me get away with shirking my responsibilities. It still doesn’t stop there. Developing a strong sense of responsibility now would go a long way when I face real life.

Diligence, I know too well, is hard to get but I still want to have it anyway. That would mean no more procrastinating and delaying tasks I want to and should achieve. That would go a long way when I am beset with obstacles that I’m sure life would be full of.

Armed with all that, plus faith that I would be able to achieve my goals if I would only be willing to cast my nets a little deeper, I’m sure I would be on my way to becoming a good citizen. I want to be a credit to my family, to my school, and to my community. I believe I can do that, and I want to start now.

gonzalez...

A: I belong to a class by the name of IV-Gonzalez in UP High School in Cebu.

B: Yeah you belong to Gonzalez, so what?

A: Well, let’s just see how interesting our class is.

It has been a tradition in UP High that the top 5 students in the third year level will be placed in one section, the pilot section. This year, Gonzalez is the pilot section because Tan was the pilot section in the previous year. You would conclude from what I said that this section would be a very studious section. But I am sorry to prove you wrong, Gonzalez in general is just like any other section in UP. Gonzalez is also comprised of happy-go-lucky people. I myself am very happy-go-lucky.

Our class is very cooperative. Whenever a long test in physics will come, there will always be groups that would answer the problems in the book together. This is to exchange our ideas and to expand our understanding of every physics concept. This is a way to confirm if what we understand about the topic would be correct.

Like India, our class is a melting pot of social groups. We have the responsible group, the outgoing group, the carefree group, and all other groups that one can think of. One student could be a part of more than one group.

The responsible group:

This group consists of the people who prioritize their studies very much. They are also the people who really do their responsibilities in a very reasonable time. When an examination is near, you can expect them opening their notes and review what they have learned. I am not letting this mean something negative. (It is one of the things that I regret of not doing.) In the end, when their efforts would bear fruit they would receive the greatest awards in graduation.

The outgoing group:

This group consists of the people who have a ton of confidence. They are the ones who are very friendly. They are the ones who bond with their friends very much. If one has a problem, friends will surely come to comfort and to lend a helping hand to let them stand. For them, their friends are their jewels.

The carefree group:

This group consists of the people who cram when deadlines come. I am truly a member of this group. Being carefree does not necessarily mean being lazy. (I am not being defensive!) For us, the deadline is the best appetizer to do our responsibilities. We do our responsibilities when the deadline is so near. When a deadline is still far, we are very relaxed. Even in problematic times, we still relax every once in a while. For me, a break once in a while can lead a long way. It is because when you are stressed and still continue to work, your output would not be so good. The output of a break-filled process is good considering the lesser time of work.

There are a way lot more group categories in the class. We are all distinct. We are all different. We are all unique. In spite of these, we melded together and formed one of the best classes in UP. Being a member of the class is something that I am truly proud of.

Cebu Country Club Expedition

We are joining the Cyberfair 2007 by Intel. The fourth year students were divided into 20 separate groups. I belonged to group 5 of 4-Gonzalez. The group was comprised of Paul Andrew Gutib, John Albert Metoda, Dan Henry Montaño, and Ralph Anthony Zambrano. The group was made of 4 boys, 4 boys who really enjoy computer gaming. Think of the thing that we could do to put off the project? (hehe..) We named our group as the golpgrup. (The reason for this is very obvious!)

Our group was assigned to 3 places for our cyberfair project. These were Cebu Golf and Country Club, Cebu Country Club, and Alta Vista Golf and Country Club. As we received our assigned places to research about, an idea came to me. It said that researching these said places would mean expenses, great expenses! The three are all golf courses in Cebu. Think about it, golf is an expensive sport. Going to extravagant places like those would really need expenditure.

To start our research, our group looked for the contact numbers of these establishments in the internet. John Albert, our official telephone spokesperson, called up Alta Vista, but they didn’t allow us. (I do not know how Eldee’s group was permitted in Alta Vista.) So that means we have 2 places left. We looked for Cebu Golf and Country Club. But to no avail, we couldn’t find Cebu Golf and Country Club. (I think Cebu Country Club and CEbu Golf and Country Club are just one place.). That leaves us one place – Cebu Country Club. At last, Albert contacted the place. We knew that a certain Mr. Samuel Darza is the manager of the organization. Now we can write a letter to ask permission to include their establishment.

Time passed (including the semestral break), and still we haven’t gone to CCC.

Early February, we went to CCC to interview Mr. Darza or any reliable personnel and to take pictures. But sadly, Mr. Darza wasn’t there to approve our permission. So the lobby guard took the letter and said that he will just give it to Mr. Darza (our contact numbers were written in the letter). We received a text message that we were now allowed to go there. When we went there, we weren’t allowed to get in because there was a time allotted for us. But we didn’t know about it. Because of our disappointment, we sour-graped the place (e.g. “The outside was really ugly!” and “We hope your establishment will be burned!”). Actually, the outside was really ugly. Fortunately, there was no class in February 14. We went to CCC. At long last, we were allowed to go inside.

One maintenance personnel was assigned to be our tour guide. We went inside the lobby. There was a miniature design of the whole of CCC. He explained to us that CCC was really big since the entrance is in Banilad and the tip was already Mandaue. It was really big! After, we went to see what we really aimed to view, the golf course. The interior was an exact opposite of the exterior. The grasses there were very nicely grown. A variety of grasses were planted there to give the golf course a very green appearance. Then our tour guide led us to one of the lakes there. In the middle, an island was artificially made for added beauty. It was really beautiful. We didn’t go to the other holes because it was pretty much the same.

It didn’t matter that our tour guide was just a maintenance personnel because he really knew every path there. He led us to the places that were not obviously there. He led us to the swimming pool and the golf cart parking area by going through the plants.

That was a brief summary of our expedition to the Cebu Country Club.

l(a

l(a

l(a

le
af
fa
ll

s)
one
l

iness

ee cummings


Edward Estlin Cummings was a controversial poet during his time. He opted to write his name all in lower case letters and without using periods (i.e. ee cummings). For him, punctuation marks and any capitalization whatsoever means something else in his poetry. He is a recognized poet due the the unusual layout of his poems. His reason could be that he has some special purposes for making his poem unique. The layout of his poems could represent something that Cummings wanted to mean.

In the poem l(a, you could look at its construction and decipher what Cummings wanted to say. When you omit the line breaks, you would end up with this: l(a leaf falls)oneliness, and when you omit the phrase in the parentheses, a familiar word is recognized – LONELINESS.

One explanation of this poem could be that the phrase is inside the parentheses is an case of loneliness. It is already known that any plant or tree really has a lot of leaves. Whatever species a plant is, its leaves would be in groups or in bunches. When one leaf falls, it would be removed from its group. The fallen leaf's state would be loneliness.

The group of leaves represents a community and each leaf represents one individual within the community. When a leaf falls, it departs from its community or it is taken away from the community by a force. One example of a departure is when a family member (e.g. a mother) goes abroad in order to gain more money for her family. That leaf would really feel lonely because of the withdrawal from her family. An example of a forced departure is death. When a person dies, he is taken away from his family. And if there is really an after life, he would definitely feel lonely due to his state of removal from his loved ones (I am currently in deep self-reflection if I really believe that there is an after life).

Indeed, the analysis of this poem is really hard because Cummings would give special meanings to the style of his poetry. One has to dig deep to find the inner meaning of his works.

As what I have already said, the phrase ‘a leaf falls’ is an example of loneliness. There must be a reason the Cummings used this as a case of loneliness. I wonder what it could be. Since Cummings is fond of using the ambiguity of the letter ‘L’ in the typewriter, maybe he also played with the 2 definition of the word ‘leaves’. Leaves could be the plural form of leaf or a singular present tense of the word leave. Cummings might have used this in his poem of have a multiple function. Poetry really is beautiful because of the hidden messages.

If you look at the layout of the poem, you may be able to see this:

A half-arrow may be drawn on the poem's layout.

An explanation of this is simple. As what I have stated above, a person may be withdrawn from the community. A person when humiliated maybe turned away by the community. This leaf would fall down. This diagram could explain what happens to a person when humiliated (a leaf falling down).

You could see that in the upper part, 'l(a' is the form of the person when he is still on the top. 'iness' is the form of the person when humiliated. The wider 'iness' shows the disintegration of the dignity of the person.

A poem can be interpreted in numerous ways. I found Cummings’ poem really beautiful because of its multiple purposes of each elements of his poem. I can’t believe that a poem that short contains a lot of meaning.

march 9, 2007

It was March 19, 2007. It was a fine day in school. All was well. School was still school, and lessons were still lessons.

In the afternoon of that day, section Gonzalez had physics for the first period, while section Tan had research for theirs. After those subjects, the fourth years had the next period, CWTS.

CWTS is pretty much like the CAT but way a lot less harsh. We had the usual things to do. We had the usual inspection, and we had the usual drills. But since we have to give a little treat to the retirees, all of the fourth years have to be in the pass-in review.

The pass-in review is a march that we will give the retirees. It needs marching skills of all the fourth year students. The marching has to be perfect so that we can give them our best performance because that is something that they will remember us for. In order to achieve this perfection, we really have to practice, constant correct practice. Everything has to be perfect.

The marching is perfect when there is no sound during the marching, the legs must be parallel to the ground, and the most important aspect of all, synchronization. Once again, practice is really needed.

We started to practice on March 2, marching was terrible (I’m just being honest). But the thought of perfection is in arm’s reach. March 9 was only the second time that we have practiced. As I was saying, the marching was terrible. There was a loud sound when they were marching. To eliminate the sound during marching, the marcher has to land his foot on the ground with the tip on the foot and gently lower rest of the foot. I have trust in all of us that there would be that elimination of that sound.

I, being one of the CWTS officers, would strive really hard so that the sound would be gone because we were once like that when marching. I don’t know why others don’t look like they are serious of the pass-in review. I can’t see sincerity in their faces. I don’t know if they really understand the purpose of it. Some don’t look like they are trying their best to perfect this (if you are guilty, please try a little bit harder). All of the cadets were asked to march to see if there was synchronization, but there was none. Some were too fast, some were too slow. What bothered me was the sound they produced while marching. This took much of their energy.

(Moving back to the happenings on March 9) In the middle of the practice, all were to carry chairs to the Arts and Sciences building because HSAT (High School Admission Test) would be held there the next day. This added to their fatigue.

After practice was over, the officers had to dismiss the cadets. Richard Rey Caminade called up platoon Babaytan for formation. They came late. The summon (humanay) has to be complied within 15 seconds only. The platoon came for 46 seconds. Of course, an incompliance of an order would result to punishment. That is the agreement (THIS IS REALLY THE AGREEMENT). Usually, the punishment is the pumping (a.k.a. bombers). The number of bombers is the time that the platoon consumed to form their formation minus the time of compliance (15 seconds). That is 46 – 15. Babaytan had to perform 31 bombers for their punishment. An additional of 5 bombers were given because when their commanding officer asked them if they wanted more, only one answered. That answer was ‘yes’.

Now I ask you, was Richard being harsh or was he just doing his task? For me, he was doing both.

You see, 36 bombers are really tiresome. Thinking that they were also from a tiring practice and also from a chair-transporting task, the fatigue that the platoon had was really great.

BUT think also about the time they consumed just to be in formation. Isn’t 46 seconds too far from 15 seconds? If I was the commanding officer there, I would feel a little disrespected because the platoon didn’t comply with orders right away. It would be natural that Richard would become angry. And if you look at the agreement (incompliance of an order would result to punishment), the 31 bombers were the consequence for the mishap. The additional 5 bombers, it was also to be complied with because one answered yes. Platoon members are in the idea of all for one and one for all. A mistake of one is a mistake of all. When the one who wanted more answered yes, it would follow that all would receive the same. Just like one lesson of the Practical Law class, dura lex sed lex, the law is hard but it is the law. Think of it, was their punishment proper?

For me, Babaytan shouldn’t have been late so that the disaster wouldn’t have had happened. It is unfair in Richard’s part because his fault was the only side that was heard. By Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, one is touched when it touches. Since Babaytan had a fault, that fault would come back to them.

It may look like I am on Richard’s side, but I am really in the neutral side because both parties had done something wrong.

Now I ask you again, was Richard being harsh or was he just doing his task?

friendship..

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."
-- Bernard Meltzer

There are about 6.6 billion people in the world today. What is the probability that 3 certain individuals would meet and know each other and become friends? It is so little that it seems impossible.

But as you see, I have them. The inseparable three(because we are classmates for four years) are namely: Paul Andrew Cinco Gutib, Gian Carlo Casinto Labadia, and Dan Henry Yee Montaño. We may not seem to be the hanging out type of friends, but we are indeed friends.

Our friendship started during the first year of high school in section Bartlett. The thing that we had in common was our fondness of playing computer games. It started with an RPG games without graphics. It was Shimlar. It is a little bit weird because Shimlar wasn't that exciting.

By the time we were second year students (the three of us were in section Palma), we played another game. This one was exciting because there was already graphics in it. It is an MMORPG. Our server was Chaos. At that time, Chaos had a lot of players. Averagely, there were ten thousand players logged in when we play but now there are just about three thousand. Everyday, we went to Surf n' Play just to play Ragnarok. But we got a little bit bankrupt because it was a Pay-to-Play game. That means, we had to buy load for us to play it. 50 pesos is just worth 8 hours of the game. Just image, I spent about 2000 pesos for the whole duration of playing (that is load + computer rental). Other than playing computer games, we also liked to play chess. Palma 2005 was the chess capital of UP at that time. Almost all boys of the batch played chess every lunch and every dismissal.

Then we became third year students (the three of us were still in the same section, Sison). At the start, we played a version of Ragnarok. It was a version wherein no top-up (buying load) was needed. Plus, there were experience and item drop multipliers. Leveling-up was now a piece of cake. We would play every Wednesday because third years are dismissed early every Wednesday. There came another game named DotA (Defense of the Ancients) introduced to us by Robert and Byron. We would be in an internet café after classes playing DotA.

Now that we are in the fourth and last year of high school (and again, we are still classmates- in section Gonzalez), computer gaming after classes is a thing of the past for us. In spite of that, we are still friends. The usual lunch at the canteen is still present (we had that since first year). We still are friends.

Through the years, we stood as friends from start to finish. Isn’t that incredible?

The three of us are filled with flaws. All of us are imperfect. Even if that is true, we still consider we other as friends.

love is both an act of will and of the heart...

Dan Henry Montaño was the type of person who plays practical jokes on people. He would tease his classmate for him to achieve laughter. But that Dan Henry was long gone. A new one was shaped.

During the enrollment for school year 2006-2007 of UP High School in Cebu, the students in fourth year section Gonzalez already started to choose where they want to sit. Naturally, close friends wanted to sit beside each other. But one chose a seat just to irritate someone. Together with a friend, the “irritant” planned to annoy that someone. The prank was started.

The irritant started to tease that someone everyday. But both got closer to each other. Both got to know each other. The irritant still continued to tease but significantly lesser than the start of the school year. Eventually, something magical happened.

Love is said to be indefinable. It is said to be something that only the people who are in love that truly know what love feels like. It is said that it is an ethereal bond that joins a man and a woman. Love may be all those but it is something that everyone has his or her own definition.

Love for me is something that encourages a person to improve himself or herself. Though it contradicts what Shakespeare says in one of his sonnets that states “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds”, some people would still agree with me. As what you might have discovered, I was the irritant. I want to change because I fell in love with the girl of my life (do not react!).Yes, it is true. And I am not ashamed to let the world know. I am sure that there are plenty of others out there who are like that.

But when one wants the other to change, that is not love. It is because when one falls in love, that someone already has accepted you for who you are, the whole you. And demanding for a change is just an action of that person to mould his/her “loved” one into his/her dream somebody. But if a person wants you to change in order to make you into a better person, then that is just fine. (As want I have already stated in my other posts, this is just my opinion. You don’t necessarily have to agree with it.)

The website http://www.dictionary.com defines will as power of choosing one's own actions. It also defines heart as the center of emotion. For my opinion, love is an act of both the will and the heart. Falling for someone needs a decision whether to let it continue or let it cease. In falling in love, one has to choose one of those things. One has to weigh things and not just let emotions take over. Because when emotions are made to choose, one may end up in a bad situation (e.g. stop schooling). When both will and heart are used by both sides, the resultant relationship that they would have would be true and sincere. And the love that they share is intimate.