bitterSWEET

These past few days I have been bitter and SWEET.

No all-caps effect for "bitter" because I wanted it to be overcome by sweet memories. 

Bitter. 

Why?

Well, there was a time that a sad thought came to my mind. The world seem to be unfair. Which is a contradiction to one of my beliefs in life: LIFE IS FAIR.

The story of this bitter moment started when I felt jealous. How come this one person got to get all the help he needed to finish his tasks? But when it comes to me, I got to get all the struggles of optimizing everything ALONE. Sometimes, it hurts to know that people who work really hard are being tested my fate ALL the time. 

But then again, I realized that having this bitter attitude for a long time won't get me any further. And so I woke up early today to start my own experiments in the laboratory with a happy heart. I have already thrown away all the bitter feelings I have. I just wish that this person will realize and appreciate everything what everyone has done to help.

SWEET.

Why?

It is not everyday that someone does special things to make you feel special and appreciated. I am really happy that I got to know this one person whom I admire and respect so much. Thank you for making me feel extra special last Monday, December 3. Indeed, 3 is a very good number and date for meet-ups. I cannot thank you enough for all the tokens and poem you have given me. I hope to find the meaning you wanted me to discover with all these stuffs (notebooks, ring, mask, map, mermaid). 

Most especially, thank you for sharing your adventures. 

Thank you for the friendship. 

Thank you for all the encouragement. 

Thank you for always believing in me.

Thank you for everything.

From everything that had happened, I can truly say that though life may not always be wonderful; it is an experience full of wonder.

Never will life be all bitter-tasting nor all sweet-tasting.

Life will always be bittersweet.

Life is fair.

Sheba :D

Two - FourEVER

August 25, 2012.

This marks my 24th year of existence here on Earth.

I am very thankful to celebrate this special day with the people closest to my heart. They even prepared a surprise party for me. If I just knew that it would be this BIG, I will not opt to wear slippers coming to the venue. Moral lesson: If it's gonna be your birthday, wear something that is extra special. :D

Also, they have prepared a tarpaulin for me. Can you imagine the look on my face when I saw this?!!! Oh, nooooo.

I let the tarpaulin pass because I enjoyed the balloons! They are all over the place. It felt like I'm in a children's party. My sister, Jeca, told me that my cousins were responsible for the "incorporation" of air inside these balloons. One of my Tita also told me na inumaga na sila for the balloons. <so sweet!>. Grabe ang team work, guys! Good job!

THE CAKE. Can you call it a birthday party without a cake? 
This part of the party was handled by my one and only mama.
I am SUPERWOMAN! wohoo.

FOOD, that would be for my Tita Chuchie. I super love her watermelon carvings. Amazing. It seemed that the event was much special because of the presence if these rose-watermelons!

 I am also happy that some of my friends came to celebrate with me.

Thank you for the team Effort!
Thank you. Thank you.
I cannot thank you guys enough!

Until the next swimming-videoke unlimited and X-Factor competition (Grand Prize: P100.00)! I am so happy and very thankful that you guys were my family. There are a lot of things that happen in our individual lives, yet we still make time to come together and celebrate as one.

I am a little sad because my brother, Aaron was not there. Same goes for  Dimple, Ate Love, Ate Ann, Delmae, Twet, and Poch.

Again, from the bottom of my heart...

SALAMAAAAT! :D

Surprises never fail to make my heart jump all over!

To Forever,

Sheba

Awesome Sites

It's a Sunday and I am here in the lab looking after my enzyme being freeze dried. That only means that I am here in the lab doing nothing...but to wait. Thus, I started to browse the world wide web for some entertainment. Most often than not, I open my facebook, yahoomail, twitter, and tumblr accounts whenever I surf the internet. However, this time.. I was bored. 

And so, I gooooogled "cool websites".

I saw this:

http://www.coolsiteoftheday.com/

I fell in love with it and so I "bookmarked" it. From this site, I was linked to and was able to experience short movies from:

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/

Like they say, "The Greatest Stories Being Told".

Also, I checked out the latest ideas worth sharing at TED:

http://www.ted.com/

I watched a video of Terry Moore explaining why the letter "x" was designated as the unknown in almost everything. Such a trivia! Check it out for yourself at: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/terry_moore_why_is_x_the_unknown.html

I also watched, for the nth time, the video of Steve Job's in Stanford's commencement activity. Check it out and be inspired:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Lastly, I met Neil Pasricha and his blog on 1000 Awesome things:

http://1000awesomethings.com/the-top-1000/

Whoah, that's a long list for an hour of net surf!!!

I am a internet buddy today.

I hope to be able to inspire people with the simple things I do.

What if I have my own version of 1000 awesome things?

Let's see. ;) As Steve Job's says, stay foolish! 

-Sheba

#livelife

Once Upon A Time

ONCE UPON A TIME...

Every fairy tale I heard, and every fairy tale I shared started with this set of words. Words that find its way to the deepest part on every person's childhood.

These past few days, I was into watching a series suggested by some friends. Once Upon A Time or OUAT (o-wat) as my teacher would call it. It is a deconstructed fairy tale to which pave the way for me to realize something... something I used to believe... something that gave me the inspiration to dream...

OUAT is the kind of series I would want to recommend to all hopeless romantics out there! However, not one episode should be missed to fully appreciate the importance and beauty of each character... I mean, EACH character involved. The story does not just highlight the main characters but it also shares the story of everyone in it. Yes, everyone. Even the story of the "bad" guys like the evil queen. Also, OUAT does not present history in a chronological order. One should be observant enough to be able to appreciate the delicate details incorporated in each episode.

People say that everything happens for a reason. OUAT gives justice to the saying. It was able to share how choices and decisions that were made led to the current situations and state of a person, or a fairy tale character for that matter. In OUAT series, you will be able to know the story of not just the famous princesses, but also of the people around them.

I may have invested a whole lot of time watching the episodes but I was happy to discover that indeed, fairy tales do happen. OUAT showed me that what happens in fairy tales also happens in the real life. It's just that I was not able to realize it because my idea of fairy tales were clouded by tiaras, long gowns, castles, magic, fairies, and prince charmings. The only thing that differs between the real life and fairy tales is that real life does not just end after having a happy ending. The story extends far beyond, even allowing the start of a new fairy tale. Real life cannot be summed up to just one fairy tale; however, it is a colorful combination of fairy tale stories that existed. 

I hope that we will be able to realize our own fairy tale.

And be thankful about it.

I do not know if my once upon a time already started, but I hope and pray to  find my one true love and have a good story to tell... A story wherein life lessons can be learned and love can certainly be felt. And I hope that someday I will have the chance to share my fairy tale to the world, and inspire the world to believe... again.

'til next time!

Fairy tale fan,

Sheba :')

Surigao Adventure

IT IS ALWAYS NICE TO EXPLORE YOUR COUNTRY.

I started my "official" travel adventures after graduating from college. It has always been a dream to see places and enjoy the perks that it has to offer. Just lately, together with some good friends, we went to Surigao del Sur for a summer-is-ending treat. It was a blast. When I was scanning the photos we took, I realized how lucky I am to be in these wonderful places. Thus, I would like to share the happiness I had with the rest of the world and of course, at the same time, promote our country. 


Indeed, IT IS MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES! Though I have not been to other countries YET, I know within myself that the happiness of travel in my own country is sufficient enough to say that I am lucky these places are not that far for me to reach.

SURIGAO TRAVEL

May 2012

01. Enchanted River

Fish feeding along with an enchanting song background.

02. Tinuy-an Falls

03. Island Hopping

(Boslon, Hiyor-Hiyoran, Naked, and Hagonoy Islands)

04. Bogac Spring

05. Sibadan Fish Cage

06. Doll House

07. Lolong (Biggest Salt Crocodile in Captivity)

Agusan Side-Trip

We took a tour offered by Sir John of Bayan ni Juan.

Check them out at: 

https://www.facebook.com/bayan.n.juanadventure

Travel will ALWAYS be fun...

Most especially if you are with a set of wonderful people who knows how to appreciate the good things in life.

Next blog stop, PALAWAN baby!
Surely, I will travel the world big time.


See you there!
Sheba




P.S. Photos are from Mac's cam.

JUMP-SHOTS

30 April 2012

And because I am in my lab haven...

And because I am connected to the world wide web...

And because I have so much time to spare...

And because my next sampling time is 3am (and it's only 10pm) ...

And because I saw my jump shot pictures...

Thus, this came up. ;)

I realized how much I am a fan of JUMP SHOTS. uh-huh, indeed!

And I guess, It gets better (and better and better) every time.

I'll start off with my super vintage novice-jumpshot:

Poch, Me, Sheila, Cacai at Gumasa, Sarangani Province

And then, here comes the akward ones...

Me. Yep, that's me. Awkward, huh?

Joseph, Aix and Me at UPLB

Me, Owen and Charles at Peak 2, Mt. Makiling, Laguna

The improved ones (definitely hard-earned):

Me, Dimple, Aix, James at Rizal's Home, Calamba, Laguna

Lake Pandin, Laguna with NCPC Family

Glamorous! With cacai at Gumasa, Sarangani Province

After like a thousand tries, the jump was finally captured.
Grand Central Station, EK.

With Dimple at UPLB

Look at those frog-like legs! lol. With Merl and Flo at Maxima, IGACOS

With Poch at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Last and definitely the best, my jump shot at our country's highest point.

No kidding! At an altitude of 9,692 ft. I conquered Mt. Apo, and I AM PROUD OF IT!

And I did it! Just look at the clouds! :D

Til my next jump shot,

Sheba ;)

The Secrets of Photo 51

This blog can't wait for tomorrow.

I need to write this down.

B form of the DNA

My heart was broken into pieces after watching a documentary called "The Secrets of Photo 51". I was so disappointed with DNA structure "discoverers" James Watson and Francis Crick. Now, I see them as DNA structure data thieves. They have been the pillars of molecular and genetic studies yet, the discovery of the DNA structure was the greatest injustice in the field of science. 

With the documentary, I met a woman named Rosalind Franklin. I have no idea who she was (though she is the one who discovered the structure of a virus). She is the unsung heroine behind the discovery of the DNA structure. 

As a researcher, the painstaking hard work and loooooong hours in the lab is never an issue. I know that it is part of the job if I wanted to contribute to the body of knowledge and hopefully, contribute for the betterment of mankind. Recognition is but a small bonus after the great feeling of fulfillment whenever there is a successful experiment. Much disappointment was felt by me when one colleague actually commented "Great researchers never reveal their sources" after expressing my thoughts regarding this matter.

Please watch and share the documentary to everyone you know.

I do not know why it is taking so long to upload the file...

If you are interested, tweet me @itchieduque and i will be very happy to send you a copy. For real.

Researcher at heart,

Sheba

SAVE HUMANITY

PLEASE watch this video to enlighten oneself to as to what has been happening in Uganda. It may be far from the Philippines but still, we would not want people to suffer injustices. It will only take not more than 30 minutes to know who Joseph Kony is. 

It is sad to know that things like these still happen in order to maintain power. SAD. But I am happy that there are still people who cares. 

I like the way how they used the internet to tell the world that we need to do something. Please share this with people that you know. Share on fb, tweet, post this in tumblr or your blogsite. 

Please help make a difference.
Who are you to end a war? I mean, who are you not to?


It is better to live in this world with a cause. And now I am digging up my heart as to what will be my advocacy. I am and will continue to live by my life's purpose: SERVE and INFLUENCE. 


Press on guys!