Rachel's Brown N(ote/ut)book

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Trivial Trivia

Believe it or not, this site was developed using only Notepad. Hail handcoding!

The scribbler

Rachel Grace Hermosura is a 21-year old Journalism student from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She has been blogging for 4 years and currently maintains this website. For a lengthier and more substantive profile, click here.

The Markers

Start (S)Talking
    LiveJournal
    Multiply
    Facebook
    Friendster
    Flickr

Getting Org-anized
    UP MCO
    DZUP Radio Circle
    UP Green Minds

SchooLove
    UP Diliman
    College of Mass Communication
    Peyups.com

On the record

What else can upstage the number of words on this n(ut/ote)book? Why, words of course! It paints a thousand words, right?

...Okay, I now officially suck at comedy. Photography? I really can't say much. Maybe I should let the pictures do the talking. And, P.S., click on the thumbnails to see the full image. :)

Rach's world
Family: It all begins here.
As was previously written, I am the youngest daughter of Charlie and Delilah and grew up with my kuya Charleson, now married to the lovely ate Ann Adeva, and Diana Jean, whom I call DJ (without the ate) despite our three year age gap. Although they're no longer together, Mom and Dad never fails to express their support in any way they can. Pity I don't have pictures with my Dad, but I suppose photographic memory will suffice this time, no?

TOMBSTONING. OR NOT. (From left: DJ, me, Mom and kuya.)

TRES MARIAS. (From left: Mom, Rach and DJ)

For whatever it's worth, DJ and I are keeping our mouths shut.

THE YOUNGER GENERATION. DJ, me, my sister-in-law Ann and kuya

High school: Getting there.
I spent my high school years in St. Mary's Academy of Caloocan City (formerly known as Our Lady of Grace Academy). Those were crazy four years spent in an all-girls batch (the school went officially and totally co-ed as soon as Batch 2004 left), but of course I did have fun. I struggled with social skills for a while though, and I found myself in the arms of the best "accidental" barkada we called TAME. Accidental, because it wasn't a conscious decision for us to start a group---well, at least in the beginning. Here are the people that are surely worth keeping.

THE LAST DAYS. With my classmates and kabarkadas, this picture was taken on our last days in campus before we graduated. (Clockwise from lower left: Ann, Pamela, Elouise, Patricia, Daren, Dette, me, Anna and Zoleil.

Yabang pose with fellow yearbook staffers. Clockwise from left: Pamela, Carmie, Elouise, Ann, me and Daren.

How young we looked then! My fellow TAMErs Ann, Daren and Dette.

MORE OF THE LAST DAYS. TAME's last photo-op in our blue uniforms. (Top: Carmie and Pam. Middle row: Zoleil, Dette and Elouise. Bottom: Me, Daren and Ann.

FOR THE LOVE OF STUDIO PICS. Taken weeks after graduation, we really planned on the white outfits to go with the picture effect! (Clockwise from top left: Leil, Ann, Dette, Elouise, Pam, me, Carmie and Daren)

College: The next level
"Ayoko dito, gusto ko sa UP!" I told my mom when she drove me around Ateneo to convince me to study there. I was around 7-8 years old then, and true enough, I found myself many years later in the premier state university of the country, the University of the Philippines.

The first year gave me a bit of a shock. Suddenly you're not one of the smartest because there are others waaaaay smarter than you are. Suddenly you have to deal with girls AND boys as your classmates. Suddenly you encounter things, scenarios and ideas that a Catholic, all-girls secondary education did not prepare you for. But I quickly got over the shock, and went on to make friends and join organizations. Here are the people that are definitely worth keeping even beyond the crazy life in UP.

With Betsy, first UP friend and my blockmate in Comparative Lit.

ONE LAST DINNER. Despedida dinner for Jerick with Journ and MCO friends who graduated in 2008. (Clockwise from left: Jerick, Nelly, Kim, Ivy, Ynna, Flau, Doreen, Nen, Nel, Ryan, Thedd, Adie, me, Ely and Reuben)

STRIKING A POSE. With fellow MCOers Kea, Ivy, Pat, Tongs, Jihad, Jerson and Barry.

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE. With my bestfriend Adie and my thesis partner Nel.

With UP MCO's Executive Board 08-09. From left: research and academic training team director Kay, executive secretary Ela, special events director Barry, human resources director Cherrie, chairperson Dreo, me and business affairs director Nel.

MChOrale: More than just UP MCO's singing arm
It was in November 2006 when the college was abuzz with news of the 1st Carolfest. For the love of singing and in the hopes of getting the P 3,000 cash prize, a handful of MCOers (including yours truly) formed MChOrale to join the contest. Finishing third, we vowed to return with a vengeance. After learning a few lessons from the previous contest and adding a few tricks in its sleeve, MChOrale emerged first in the 2nd CMC Carolfest in December 2007 and represented the College in the University-wide Carolfest and won third place.

Why a place in this Gallery? Because being part of MChOrale is one of the highs of my college life. Not only did it quell the thirst for a choir experience in UP (I was part of the school choir in high school), it gave me confidence in myself and gave me the chance to sing ~~solo~~ in the University Theater. Plus, it makes my Decembers oh so exciting and great. :)

'SA BANSA IAALAY.' MChOrale singing the unofficial college theme song 'Tahanan Mo' in the 2nd CMC Carolfest.

FINALLY, NUMBER 1. An MChOale photo-op after finishing 1st Place in the 2nd CMC Carolfest.

THE CHRISTMAS 'RAKET'. Also in 2007, MChOrale also joined a chorale contest hosted by Sonshine Radio just to take a chance at the P 10,000 cash prize. To the group's surprise, MChOrale made it in the finals. So much for a 'raket.' :)

JUST GRIN AND BEAR IT. Members of MChOrale flashing the widest grin possible in front of the unseen audience at the University Theater during the University-wide Carolfest. Meanwhile, Nel has her back turned as she gives last minute instructions to the group.

CMC REPRESENT! Admittedly, the intensity of shameless college pride in MChOrale's performance is what made the group stand out in the University-wide Carolfest. Want further proof? Search for the videos of the contest available in Youtube and see the performances of all the participants for yourself.

Rach's ~~pathetic~~ attempts at photojournalism
Final Project: Los Ba�os
In an effort to look for inspiration for our final projects in Photojournalism class, my orgmates and I ended up going to Los Ba�os, Laguna, particularly in Makiling Botanical Garden and Laguna Bay. And boy, were we so in for a feast for our eyes and lenses. (Full album posted here.)

TREES CAVING IN. My orgmate Flau takes in the sights and the surroundings at the Makiling Botanical Garden.

A RUSH OF WATER ON THE ROCKS. Photo taken in one of the bodies of water found at the Makiling Botanical Garden.

SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLENDID? The Laguna Bay glistens---with clusters of water lilies and all---as a fisherman sits by the bayside.

FISHING AIN'T THAT EASY. A local fisherman waits on the bayside of Laguna Bay under the hot sun, taking a chance to catch a fish or two.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE. A net to contain the catch and a container of worms to bait are just some of the things the fisherfolk at the Laguna Bay arm themselves with.

Internship Coverage: Labor Day 2008
May 1, 2008: A team of Inquirer.net beat reporters and interns (including yours truly) was deployed to Liwasang Bonifacio and Mendiola to cover the Labor Day rallies staged by different militant groups. I went with justice beat reporter Tetch Torres and walked from Liwasang Bonifacio to Mendiola to interview activist leaders, write an article, and take pictures and videos to be uploaded on real-time on Inquirer.net. Here are some of the photos I took using my old Motorola phone, while other pictures and those taken with the company's digital camera are posted here.

PAINTING THE TOWN RED. Members of the Alliance of Progressive Labor march their way towards Liwasang Bonifacio where the first part of their Labor Day protest will be held.

LIKE A SCHOOL OF FISH IN THE SEA. The police shields scattered yet queued in the grounds of Mendiola.

TREADING ON GUARDED GROUND. A policeman examines the police shields and barricades a few hours before the second wave of protesters marched towards Mendiola.

'AYAN NA, AYAN NA, AYAN NA ANG SAMBAYANAN!' Armed with nothing but streamers, the rallyists find their way to Mendiola blocked by barricades of chicken wires and police shields. No conflict took place between the police and the rallyists.

FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE. Photographers stand behind the statue of Don Chino Roces as they took pictures of the fast-approaching militant groups. The rallyists did not go past the barricades and held their program just a few meters away from the fences.