My Christmas in Italy

Just got back from my Italy trip. It was tiring but an adventure nonetheless. Met a lot of new people along the way. Strangers at first but our common love for travelling and the fact that we are living (in Europe) away from the people we love made us friends right away. Specially at a time where you should be with family, Christmas.

Christmas wasn't all that bad. Aside from the drama of missing being away from my family and being torchured by seeing families during the season, I was having the time of my life.

I started in Rome. Stayed there for 5 days. In hindsight, I should have tried taking a train somewhere else since 5 days was too much for Rome. The highlight was seeing the Pope and attending the Christmas Eve mass INSIDE the St. Peter's Basilica. How awesome it that? Thanks to P, for getting me in. The experience was so surreal, words cannot explain. Also followed the Angels and Demons trail which made me feel like Robert Langdon. I Spent 2 days with the merchants of Venice and made an impromptu day trip to the land of  Romeo and Giulietta in fair Verona. I missed out on Pisa and Florence. I should do that next time.

Spent a few hours in Brussels. Checked out the peeing statue and had my hair cut. I have yet to taste Belgian chocolate and drink Belgian beer. Maybe next time.

Blog Traffic because of Veronika Decides to Die

I just noticed that people have been landing to my blog because of my post about Veronika Decides to Die. Sorry guys to disappoint you because I do NOT have any links to its OST.

Just like you, I am a fan of the book, SMG and the upcoming movie. Nothing more.

Roma

Im spending Christmas here in Rome. In a few hours I will be seated inside St. Peters Basilica for the Christmas Mass. I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to get that chance to be in His Holinesss presence. First it was Notre Dame in Paris, now this. It couldnt be any better than this. Though Im so sad that Ill be so far away from my family and loved ones this Christmas, Im still happy to be here. Only if I can be in two places at once, Id be the happiest ever.

Prayer Time

Just something to ponder on.

If we do not want to hear what God is saying to us through the people and situations in our life, we can so easily rationalise and reject the bearer’s frailty and in the process reject the Gospel as well - which is actually quite illogical. "A priest shouted at me in confession so I don’t go to church any more." It would be like rejecting democracy because of the corruption of a democratically elected official.

http://sacredspace.ie/livingspace/a1026g/

Christmas in Italy

Hello All,

I can't believe it. After hours of trial and error for the best cost of this Christmas trip... I just finished booking everything for my Christmas in Italy! Saved on a few but its still pretty expensive. Shoestring na 'to, sagad pa! Maybe, I wont just eat for the entire trip. Hahaha.

Just a glimpse of my itinerary, without the price of course.

16-Dec 1:15 PM 4:15 PM Flanders
21-Dec 6:35 PM 8:35 PM AD 1 Hostel
22-Dec AD 1 Hostel
23-Dec AD 1 Hostel
24-Dec Chianti Hostel
25-Dec Chianti Hostel
26-Dec Chianti Hostel
27-Dec 9:45 AM 10:50 AM Ostello de Venezia
28-Dec Ostello de Venezia
29-Dec 9:25 PM 10:55 PM Sleep Well
30-Dec 12:45 PM 2:15 PM

I'll be missing the Philippines so much during the holidays. Something to keep me busy. I'll be meeting Paolo and Fr. Danny during the trip to keep me company.

I'll be spending my New Years at Lille. I hope I get to find a nice party there. If not, I just hope I wont get homesick.

Patch

New place like home

Today I finally got my own place. Not to shabby but fits the bill.

Things I like about it
1) Its saves me a lot of money. Rent is 50% cheaper than what I budgeted
2) Its close to school. Literally, just walking distcance
3) I got my own place

I'm annoyed by my faucet at the moment. It drips. I have to have it checked by Mimi, the designated maintenance lady of the building. She might think I have something to do with it. I didn't break it, excuse me.

Had dinner with Iulia from Romania, my classmate who lives on another residence down the street. She's not for globalization/capitalization.

She showed me a shorter way to get to my place. If I knew about that, I wouldn't have walked a mile from the metro with my luggage awhile ago. Oh well. Did I mention it was drizzling when I moved in. Imagine me walking with all my luggage. Hassle. But all is good. I'm just glad I can finally settle down.

Classes got cancelled for tomorrow. I'll do some shopping for my new space. Some things on my list. A water filter, some hangers, detergent, air freshener, bedsheets, pillow, sticky tape, water boiler, few snacks, and some things to make this place more like home.

Until then.

Patch

First few days in Lille

Hello All,

I'm finally in Lille. Been here for the past 5 days already actually. It's been crazy. Been walking a lot. There are two major things that I need done ASAP. First, that I get enrolled. Second, that I find a house.

So far enrollment is a FAIL. Apparently you need to schedule an inscription appointment online. The slots for these not that much. So I'm still waiting for my turn. Maybe next week I get to do it. Please!!!

As for the lodging, good thing a fellow GEB student told me that I need not be enrolled to apply for a CROUS residence. Voila. I was able to get one today. But before that even happened, I was already panicking that I looked for a place outside the residences. I found one. Out of desperation. At least for the next two weeks. The place was actually nice, I visited it and talked with the landlord and told them my intention to start moving in tomorrow. But now, since I've got CROUS, I wouldn't be needing the private lodging. Although the private one will definitely be much bigger, its going to be very far. The CROUS - Galois residence wont be as big but its closer to the school. And did I mention way cheaper. That means, more travelling money for me!

I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow.

Patch

Paris Leg

Hi Everyone,

I Arrived in Paris at around 1pm of November 4, 2009. It was a long flight from Manila-Abu Dhabi-Paris. Wasn't able to rest much. Plane rides aren't really that comfortable to say the least. Stopped over at Abu Dhabi for a few hours. Had time to Skype with my parents for the very first time. Also read the 'black book' my officemates from NLS gave me during my despedida party. Thanks guys! I really appreciate your kind notes and warm wished for this new chapter in my life.

I prepared a few French phrases before landing to help me communicate better. Like, where the bus station is, etc. To no avail, I never got to use them that day. I was too shy to speak French. I ended up speaking in English. Good thing, they understood.

I stayed at my cousin Lea's studio for a few days. Luca, her friend picked me up from the bus stop at Gare de Lyon. Luca's Italian, funny and nice. We had a few after-work drinks the day after. I met some of Lea's friends too. Aside from Luca, the Italian, I met two of her Filipino friends Ginger and and Mack a Polish guy who loves the Philippines so much after spending just a few years there.

While waiting for JP to arrive, I toured by myself. Learned how the metro system works (not to difficult to learn, just like NYC metro). When JP finally came, we transferred to a hostel. There we met some interesting people. Our first roommates were Canadian girls. They we're fun and friendly. We went out for some drinks a just few minutes after we arrived. We bar hopped or pub crawled our way through rue Mouffetard. Awesome street lined with pubs, bars and restos. I particularly liked a bar called the Fifth Bar. It had a nice underground room where this unplugged band was playing. Thanks to the Canadians, we got some free drinks. We saved around 14 euros worth of drinks that night.

JP and I toured around Paris. We went to some museums. The Musee de Orsay to look at Van Gough's portrait and Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, Medussa, Victory, and Venus of Milo. The joined a free Paris walking tour also. Something I highly recommend to everyone who visits Paris. Apparently they do have free walking tours in other countries where SANDEMAN operate. It's completely free. They just work for tips. The tour was fun, with lots of trivia. Just prepare your legs because you'll go for a long walk. Around 5km. Well paced.

We wen't bar crawling again. We invited Melissa, a girl from LA who's living the same hostel as we were staying in, to join us. At the bar crawl we met some Australians, Austrians a New Yorker and a Canadian. The Australians were lightweights, one of them threw up at the 3rd bar. We were partying until 2am and we missed the metro back to our hostel. We ended up walking because taking a taxi will be too expensive. From Champs Elysee we walked back to the Latin Quarter. 5km walk again in an hour. You can imagine how tired our legs were. Though it was so late in the evening or should I say too early in the morning, we were safe and got back in one piece.

We planned to go on the Sacre Coeur walkig tour but it got cancelled because the group didn't meet quota. We just did our own walking tour instead. Walking the streets of Montparnase gave us time to check the French portrait artists at the plaza. The view from the Sacre Coeur was breathtaking. What I liked more was the mini concert by the steps. Everyone was in a good mood. Similar to Bom Bom's at Boracay. Really steady, feel good music at sundown. To top it all off, we we're drinking a bottle of Heineken. It's just so weird that we're drinking in front of a Church. After Sacre Coeur we wend down to check out the famous Moulin Rouge.

We went to Versailles with Melissa, since she had nothing better to do that day. We took a 30 minute train there. The place was so big. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Talk about a cribs. The farm house of Marie Antoinette was cute also. They're like little hobbit houses. They really must have been living it to have those as her 'play houses'. That night we met up with JP's officemate Jason and walked up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe. It was Armistice Day that day and we were lucky to catch some ceremony for it beneath the arc.

We pretty much covered a lot during this trip. After spending hours walking the streets, climbing up stairs, taking pictures. I must say that this trip was well spent and worth every aching muscle in my body.

Patch

Life in Europe

Hello everyone,

In my intention to keep in touch and update you with my experiences here in europe, I decided to write blog posts instead of emailing each one of you. I hope you keep in touch too by leaving in some comments or emailing me at patchdulay@gmail.com

Patch

Grandfather Bartolome

I just realized now how I wish my grandfather was still alive. I never had the chances to appreciate his life until now. You see, he died when I was around 13 years old. When I was young I never got the chance to know him then. Because I was young. Now, how I wish he was alive. My friend C whose father knew my grandfather said that I am very much like my grandfather, and my father. Now I wonder why she said so. But from the little memory I have of my grandfather, I must admit that yes, I think we're alike. I'm just sad he's not around anymore for me to verify that fact. I don't even know what he was like when he was living. How he was with his friends and all. How he was a father. A person. I really wish he was still alive, especially now that I am older and more interested to know my past. I am my father's son. But am I my grandfather's grandson worthy to carry his name?

My exit has begun

So it is set, I am leaving for France on the 4th of November. I barely have a month to prepare myself to leave. Seems like the time will never be enough and nothing can ever prepare me fully to what I'm going to leave behind. It's 3am. I just came from a despedida my officemates organized for me. Although I accidentally foiled their plans to surprise me, I must say I still got surprised. Never has anyone organized a surprise party for me and I have always wondered how that would feel like when it does happen up until last night. Thanks for the love you guys. You will really give me a hard time not missing you when I am in France.

The begining of the end has started. With a few weeks left to spare, I'm still trying to figure out how I can say goodbye to everyone who means a lot to me. Again, we don't have much time. Just thinking about it makes me feel sad. I never expected that leaving would be this difficult.

Even though a year to two wont seem long. It's the idea of not being able to see the people you love when you wish. It sucks. I think that this thought makes it all the more difficult to leave. But there is no other way but to deal with this. In order to fulfill my dreams of studying and experiencing living abroad, leaving the people you love comes with the package. It bites but you got to do what you got to do, right?

1000 strong

My campaign has reached 1000 supporters this month! Well, not really 1000 supporters but unique pageviews. But nevertheless I'm still celebrating that this blog is now 1000 supporters/pageviews strong from when it started.

I haven't been writing the past month. It's been a whirlwind of a month actually. Mainly because of my grad school applications. I haven't really talked about what happened to my applications on this blog after may similar post months ago.

I applied to the University of Science and Technology Lille last month and got accepted. Though I really planned on studying in 2010 and not 2009, I pursued USTL anyway since they're willing to adjust and let me go to France in October. The program starts in september, but since I already have a strong IT background, I can opt not to take the intro IT courses. By the way, I got accepeted to their Global E-Business Masters program. They have a french translation of the program, but i forget. So I decide on pursuing this once I got news that i got accepted, leaving my other options behind. The price was right and the location was perfect. I just have to mention that Lille is in the center of Paris, London, Brussels and Amserdam. Winner, right! And since I'm the first and only Filipino in for the GEB program, it was really much of a low brainer for me to decide to go for USTL. Though the school and the program is not as popular as lets say Oxford or Harvard, it's still and international education and an education is what you make out of it, right?

Before I forget what made my day

Among other things, there was really one incident that made my day today. I was in Robinson's Galleria and I went in Bench to kill some time. I was looking through some clothes and when I saw something I liked, I asked the sales lady to show me where I can find more of those. So she started going through the stock quite frantically since it was kind of hidden behind other clothes. Until she found what I was looking for and showed it to me. Typical customer I was comparing the different designs until I noticed that all she was doing was pointing to the price but not uttering a single word. She gave out a little gasp of air, as if she was trying to say something when I realized something was different. So I asked, innocently if she can speak. Then she pointed to her ear and showed her special ID. Apparently she is differently abled. Couldn't hear much and couldn't speak. I smiled, laughed a bit and told her I thought that she had some sore throat that's why she couldn't speak. We both just smiled at each other. It was a pleasant surprise to encounter someone like her today (kudos to bench for giving them the opportunity to have a job at their stores). I'll be honest, my heart melted for her. Got me more thankful for all the blessings God has showered me all my life. And gracious for God has made things possible for differently abled people like her. I wasn't really planning on buying... I was just window shopping. I ended up leaving. Felt pretty guilty after that... I should have bought the piece.

So before I forget. Let me write it down.

Movies imititating life imitating movies

I sometimes feel that I don't feel anything at all. Odd as it may seem for an idealistic person like me. I do feel numb at times with the things going on around me. Maybe it's because of my fear to go against the current or speak my mind that I just do nothing at all, and to do that I desensitize myself of the things that make me tick. I just want to conform and just live life like everyone else. Be normal. It becomes tiring to be extraordinary or at least hope to be one every waking day.

I've have been watching movies I missed ever since I got introduced to the world of downloading torrents last week. Yes, just last week. I watched Dead Poets Society yesterday and Garden State just now. DPS talks to about how we should suck the marrow of life but not choke on it. Carpe Diem. Garden State proposes a more melancholy approach toward the same issue. I've always wondered why people rave about this movie so I download it to see for myself. It's speaks to the broken-ness in all of us. Specially us who are in our quarter-lives. Lost and numb in the world. It's so tragic how we can allow ourselves to not feel at all. why? Because we're tired of battling through life. The infinite abyss (reference from GS). This metaphor about our lives is what life is all about. And what we plan to do with it. Will you discover it and see it unfold or just let it lay there in its darkness. These movies has reminded me about how idealistic and how tired I am at the same time to chase my dreams making me go for it even more. Why, because i choose life and all the surprises hurts and quirks it brings. I am actually scared to be found empty inside and let the lithium (another GS reference) take over my system.

Six Flags Roller Coasters

When I went to LA last October i went to six flags and rode almost all the roller coasters there. Just wanted to share some of the coaster I rode. Mindblowing and totally awesome!

Tatsu: Highest, Longest, Lying roller coaster in the world. Got really scared with this coaster. Specially while ascending at the start.

Goliath: On of the tallest ones in the US. The first drop goes straight to this black tunnel. The coaster is like a shot straight down to hell.

Superman Escape: From 0 to 100MPH, 'nuff said. Fighter jet?

Viper: The best during its glory days during the early 90's. Hehehe.

OrgForward.com 2.0

Check out the new OrgForward.com website. Made some major changes with the site design early this year. I'm going for a more blog type feel to it. I'm using Wordpress as my base system and found a nice template design perfect for OrgForward. Tweaked some stuff with the code and the CSS. Really hope that launching the 2.0 version of the site this school year will be a success. Partnered with EntrepBuff for some video contant. Still partnering with Dare It Forward and Starfish magazine.

I miss New York

I miss New York. I feel that there is so much to be discovered in that city. Though, I've only been there for five amazing days, I feel that it has already won me over. Just finished watching Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, a movie set around the streets of the Big Apple, and yes it brought me wanting New York more (just like any other show about this place). How I wish to be there this moment. Or maybe not... I don't think I can stand the cold. :(

Unique New York. Unique New York. Unique New York. Unique New York.

Karev's words of wisdom

"Maybe we need to get a little messed up so that we can step up" - Alex Karev talking about the significance of trauma

Love the Grey's Writers, thank you for writing such beautiful material that speaks about the ups and downs of life.

I don't get to write anymore...

Not that I consider myself as a writer. I try. Hahaha. Defensive. Anyway, it's been a roller coaster ride for me the past months mainly because of my Fulbright scholarship apps. I'm finally passing my application this coming Monday and the rest I leave it up to God's grace. I did what I can, now it's time for destiny to decide my fate. Speaking of destiny, Jai Ho is such a catchy song and Slumdog Millionaire is a must watch movie. I like how they were able to have a real nice storyline and still show the different facets of India in the process. Makes me wonder why our own Filipino movies are stuck with love stories of JLC (John Lloyd Cruz). I watched the JLC and Sarah movie 'You Changed My Life', by the way. I watched both movies, actually, Part 1 and 2. Ha! Maybe that's why they make it. Because they sell. But, I think Filipino producers should consider doing other movies for a change. We have great talents. Filipino's have so much potential.

That's what we do. That's our job.

I quoted something from Grey's Anatomy before. Here I go again with something worth pondering.

"You're unmotivated. You're careless, selfish, distracted. And pretty much the people in this hospital I would least trust with my life. But that's how it's supposed to be. You're interns, you're babies. And you are all lucky to be here. We're all lucky because we can save lives. Everyday we get to save lives. That's what we do. That's our job. And it's not something a lot of people get to do."(And then, Dr. Steven's continues by teaching them how they can learn from their mistake and improve as doctors)

Sometimes it's hard to bank on people who don't show appreciation for what they do. Or how lucky they even are to be on that spot. But sometimes, you have to go one and hope that they learn along the way and be the person you invested on, and more-- in the first place.

Veronika Decides to Die (2009)

A good read. Looking forward to watching this. Sarah Michelle Gellar pa!

"Sarah Michelle Gellar portraits with emotion the Veronika I had always imagined." - Paulo Coelho

Contemplating over Fulbright

I don't know if I should even attempt to apply for this scholarship. I heard the tough competition for this and the usual candidates they look for. What's keeping me from pursuing this is the fact that I might not give a compelling application and its just a waste of time for me and those who would do my recommendation letters. I don't think I'm the person they're looking for although I know (in my heart) I'm scholarship material. But who knows, right? It really doesn't hurt to try. I need to get going if I want to apply for this.

2,500 USD for OrgForward.com

I'm will enter OrgForward.com to the I Will Teach You To Be Rich Scholarship for Social Innovation. It won't hurt if I try. I hope my application is compelling enough for me to deserve the scholarship.

On overcoming adversity

I just finished watching Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray story. We talked about that movie in passing at B's place while waiting for the January 1 sun to rise. So it made me revisit that movie over at surfthechannel.com since I barely remember how it went. All I know was that she was homeless and she got a scholarship to Harvard. So when I watched it over again, it was like seeing it for the first time.

It is a very moving story about overcoming the worst obstacles life throws on us. Liz's story was so real. She still lives, by the way, at 28 years old. She didn't live decades ago, her story is as real as today. She grew up in the Bronx and crawled her way to an education. It really is possible to have a 360 degree turn in your life. You just need to believe and don't let anyone shoot you down.

"Don't look at the people around you who are doing things and think that they are made of something more than you. They learn some stuff and they're putting it to use and they're probably willing to work really hard for it but they're not made of anything different than you are, don't get psyched out" - Liz Murry

Watch this video about her.



Watch the movie.


Part 1: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/n9H5oTR52VM/
Part 2: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/gQ7JfpkNeY4/
Part 3: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/01RlTSGDWTY/
Part 4: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/a3YPBXVFDcU/
Part 5: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Qy_8KQt6ZVk/
Part 6: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/uqN3K29xPjU/
Part 7: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/9xGOyqK9pYY/
Part 8: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Yb6JgxbU4x4/