get to know stacey

UPCAT is finally over.

2005-08-07T16:24:00.000+08:00

For those who don't know, UPCAT is the University of the Philippines College Admission Test. I had been looking forward to taking the UPCAT ever since the school year started. It's not that I am excited to take the test. I just want to get it over with. A lot of people said that the test is hard and the high cut-off mark made it even harder. They also said that getting into UP was just a dream and was not likely to come true. At first, I was scared and really nervous, but later on, I said to myself that if it was really that hard, how come UP has thousands of students right now? If one had to be really lucky to get in, then I will try my luck. I will not be intimidated by the tens of thousands of students who took the exam. I finally took the UPCAT today and it wasn't as bad as they said. I cannot tell whether I did well or not. All I know is that I did my best and have no regrets.=)

Lessons in Life

2005-08-06T02:01:00.000+08:00

If your father is a poor man, it is your fate but, if your father-in-law is a poor man, it's your stupidity.
....................................................
I was born intelligent - education ruined me.
....................................................
Practice makes perfect..... But nobody's perfect..... so why practice? .
...................................................
If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
....................................................
Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak. ....................................................
How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?
...................................................
Money is not everything. There's Mastercard & Visa.
....................................................
Behind every successful man, there is a woman And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.
...................................................
Success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.
....................................................
Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.
....................................................
"Your future depends on your dreams" So go to sleep
....................................................
"Hard work never killed anybody" But why take the risk
....................................................
"Work fascinates me" I can look at it for hours
....................................................
The more you learn, the more you know, The more you know, the more you forget The more you forget, the less you know So... why learn.
....................................................
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station..... What more can I say.....

Coffee and more coffee

2005-08-06T01:51:00.000+08:00

Is Coffee a Healthy Drink?

The history of coffee
Coffee is one of the most widely-drank beverages in the world. Do you how people discovered this caffeine-rich drink? Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia when a herder observed his goats became hyperactive after eating the berries of a particular bush. He then tried it himself and felt the same effect. Monks tried this too and realized that this fruit kept them awake for their prayers. They then started gathering and drying the berries to be transported to other monasteries. Coffee was transported to the Arabian Peninsula and was first cultivated in Yemen. The Turks got hold of coffee and became the first to roast the beans in an open fire. They crushed the beans and boiled them in water. They were the first people to use coffee as a drink. Coffee was brought to Europe by Venetian trade merchants. It later became an object of harsh criticism form the Catholic Church. The Europeans asked the pope to ban the drink, but the pope was already a coffee drinker and blessed it as a truly Christian drink. Coffee houses then spread throughout Europe. In the 1700s coffee found its way to America. Eventually, it spread around the world.

The benefits of drinking coffee
Coffee has often been regarded as a health villain, but there are many scientific research that show the many benefits that coffee has to offer. Coffee can lower risks of developing liver disorders. Coffee showed significance in lowering the risk of cirrhosis. (a chronic disease of the liver in which fibrous tissues replace normal tissues.) In an animal study, taking in coffee reduces the risk of liver cancer. The basis of this lies in the component of coffee called chlorogenic acid. Studies show that people who drink more than one cup of coffee a day has 0.58 chance of getting liver cancer compared to the 0.71 chance of people who drink less than one cup of coffee a day. Many people think that green tea delivers the most antioxidants among all beverages. Recent studies, however, show that coffee delivers more antioxidants than green tea. In fact, it contains four times antioxidants than green tea. Green coffee beans contain 1000 antioxidants and brewing can add 300 more. Antioxidants kill molecules known as “free radicals.” These molecules are electrically unstable that steals an electron from a stable molecule, thus creating a new “free radical” creating a chain reaction of cellular destruction. This cellular destruction can result to premature aging, cardiovascular diseases, cataracts, cancer, and other health problems. Another important benefit of coffee is the reduction of risk of colon cancer. Colon cancer is a disease where cancerous cells grow in the walls of the colon. A polyp called adenomatous polyp projects from the colon wall. As it grows larger, it becomes a malignant tumor. The time that this process takes place varies. It may take very little time or as long as a decade or so. A powerful antioxidant, found almost exclusively in coffee, called methylpyridinum helps boost blood enzymes. This is believed to protect against colon cancer. The compound methylpyridinum is formed in the roasting process of a certain chemical found naturally in coffee beans. Coffee is capable of improving one’s performance and endurance in prolonged, exhausting exercises. It also improves one’s athletic performance by enhancing concentration, reducing fatigue, and heightening alertness. These are possible because of caffeine’s effect on brain receptors, enabling better energy uptake.

Aside from the benefits mentioned above, coffee still has a lot more to offer us. For instance, coffee helps reduce asthma symptoms by 25% because of the compound theophylline that acts as a bronchodilator. (a drug that eases breathing by widening and relaxing the air passages to the lungs). Drinking coffee regularly can reduce the risk of development of kidney stones. People who have a regular intake of coffee are 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Drinking coffee can also reduce the risk of getting Type II or “adult-onset” Diabetes. Males who drink six or more cups of coffee are 54% less likely to get that type of diabetes, while women are 29% less likely. Coffee is proved to stop headache, boost one’s mood, and prevent cavities. It can even offset damage caused by smoking and too much alcohol intake. A big breakthrough about coffee is that it can help some people lose weight because it can increase the number of calories one burn per hour by about 4%.
So much for the benefits of coffee, let us now look at the few bad effects of taking in too much coffee.

Bad effects of drinking too much coffee
Coffee has two main bad effects: 1) Coffee makes us unable to sleep well. 2) Coffee gives us tense muscles and an increased heart rate.

Our brain releases a compound called adenosine. Adenosine clings to receptors and slow downs the activities in our brain. Caffeine, that is found in coffee, tea, and carbonated drinks, tightens the blood vessels in the brain so that not much oxygen can into the bloodstream. At the same time, it also blocks the process of releasing adenosine to slow down brain activities, keeping us wide awake. There remains a problem with this. Prolonging brain activity can increase the number of adenosine produced, thus making one feel drowsy. By doing this, the balance between staying awake and the need to sleep is destroyed. The destruction of the balance can make something go wrong in the adenosine system, making one end up with insomnia.
Caffeine is also capable of fooling the adenosine receptors by looking exactly like the compound. It then completely takes over where the receptors normally cling. The receptors will then have a hard time in performing their duties. The brain, on the other hand, will remain in activity since the adenosine receptors are unable to perform their tasks well. The constant activity in the brain will alert the pituitary gland. (a small oval in the brain that controls growth, metabolism, even maturity). This gland will think there is an emergency and will then release adrenaline. Adrenaline is the hormone that increases blood pressure. Because of the release of adrenaline, one gets cold hands, tense muscles, and an increase in heart rate.
People have been saying a lot about the good and bad effects of coffee, to the point that it has become quite confusing. Which is it really- healthy or harmful? As of today, nobody can really answer this question. It all depends on one’s condition. According to studies, it is okay to drink around 2-3 cups of coffee a day; however, people with heart problems are advised against drinking coffee since it can cause palpitations, and jitters. Pregnant women are also prevented from drinking coffee because caffeine easily passes through the placenta to the developing fetus and is also transferred through breast milk. Fetuses are unable to detoxify caffeine. People with mental illnesses, insomnia, and anxiety are also not allowed to drink coffee.

Can you imagine the world without coffee? What will happen to Starbucks, Figaro, Gloria Jean’s Coffee, and all the other coffee shops that sell freshly brewed coffee for around one hundred pesos a cup? Life will simply be incomplete without this caffeine-rich drink. There is no scientific proof that coffee is really bad. Everything has its good and bad effects. The good basically cancels out the bad and vice versa. We just have to control our consumption. Always remember that too much of anything is bad, be it drinks, food, medicine, work, or fun.

too much caffeine, too much worries

2005-08-06T01:20:00.000+08:00

It's already 1:20 a.m. and I am still wide awake. It must be because i drank coffee at around 8 o'clock p.m. It's weird. I used to drink coffee at around 9 p.m., but the caffeine never affected me and I could sleep 2 hours later. Now, it has already been 5 hours since I last drank coffee but I don't feel sleepy at all. Actually, i think that the reason i can't sleep is because of the many things that is going on in my head right now. I am thinking about the UPCAT, the yearbook, the pingpong tournament, and about the big change that I underwent. This school year, I have changed a lot. I don't even know who I am now. I don't know what i want. All I know is what others want me to be. I am no longer as carefree as before. I am often troubled by something and is in a bad mood more often than before. I became quite irritable and tend to get mad about trivial things. I feel that people rely on me too much. Very big responsibilities are placed on my shoulders all of a sudden thatt i didn't have time to adjust. I am not talking about student council affairs. What I am referring to is the expectations of people of me. People are so used to seeing me problem-free that they forgot that I am also human and have my problems. They think that my life is so perfect that they make me worry about their problems too. I feel so pressured and stressed out this way that I am not in the fit condition to study. its not that I am not willign to help but at least others should consider my condition before relying too much on me. if they need something from me, i will be willing to lend them a helping hand. If they have problems, I will hear them out. if they are sad, i will be their crying shoulder, but I can't do these all the time. I also have my own worries that I have to deal with, and right now, i am not really coping very well. I hope that this is just a short stage of my life and will soon pass. I cant live like this forever. It is too tiresome.

2005-06-01T21:07:00.000+08:00

me and chris tiu during the ajss sportsfest

the people i will miss

2005-05-26T10:52:00.000+08:00

i will miss honey, aka corndog, my forever LRT mate. we always meet up at v mapa station and goto katipunan together.
i will miss my lunch break pals, honey, sharm, paula, pearl, kaira, clarissa, ainna, sasha, via, nikolai, doray, meklot, cybill
i will miss my other LRT mates: yas, mark, eric, justin, ice
i will miss my card playmates( almost everyone mentioned above. hehe)
i will miss my english class seatmates: chicki and angeli
i will miss my philo class seatmates:kyna and john c
i will miss the HOT EAGLES
i will miss the grad comittee( all of the members)

i will miss berbi and kim bunag who headed our play practices
i will miss the early birds(the ones who always come early)- cheska, sharm, miguel, via, ainna, john c, meklot, cybill, sharm, monse, michelle, kat, nico, nikolai
i will miss contact lens and straight circle pare
i will miss all the dormers
i will miss the people who sit in front of us in math class: tj, lens, neil, casey
i will miss SIR WAXX and all the OAA staff
i will miss Father Ben Nebres
i will miss Father Nemesio Que
***** if i still don't stop, this list will go on and on.........
let me make things easier......
I will miss everyone in AJSS !!!!!!!!!!

25 things i won't forget about the AJSS

2005-05-25T23:10:00.000+08:00

the LRT ride to Katipunan everyday
the P6.00 tricycle rides
the group bonding sessions before classes start
"Once on this Island" and the "Chronicle of a Death Foretold"
the English play( Hervacio Tubulan , Pink Folder)
the philosophy lessons on destiny, task, and the human being a conscious crosspoint
the movie "Twelve Angry Men"
Ms. Queena Lee Chua ("nice work guys, ang galing!")
matrices, gauss-jordan, linear programming, fundamental counting principles, combination, permtation, "Stand and Deliver", 3 math quizzes, recreational problems, petals around the rose, class discussions, the book authored by ms chua
genetics, biodiversity, immortality, the xanthostemon, tarsier, the colorblind story of Dr. Lagunzad
bio debate where we werent even able to put up a fight
bio field trip
chem experiments
the ice cream making session
the mass spectrometer
computer camp - the web programming and 3d animation, the chocolate mallows, the YM sessions even if we were sitted just next to each other
group dynamics (Grad committee)
The HOT EAGLES- tj, neilsen, lens, celine, chicki, danica, france, and casey
sportsfest- agawan buko, cheering competition, basketball and volleyball( playing cards is now also an official sport!)=)
the cafeteria( i love gyudon, sizzling pork, chicken strips, and most esp. the P15.00 juice)
the escaler hall -where all of us first gathered together, where eng A held play practices, and where we graduated; it eventually became the hang-out place a few days before our graduation
the SEC, Kostka hall, Faura hall, covered courts, rizal mini theatre, and the rizal library
the pajama party
the grad practices
the graduation

2005-05-25T14:29:00.000+08:00

38th AJSS graduation

2005-05-24T19:33:00.000+08:00

the 38th AJSS, 72 friends, 44 schools, 5 weeks, i family, forever, deja la , already there

2005-05-24T19:31:00.000+08:00

me and my "twin" calvin

2005-05-24T19:30:00.000+08:00

my family

Go the Distance

2005-05-24T13:45:00.000+08:00

I have often dreamed, of a far off place
Where a hero’s welcome, would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying, this is where I’m meant to be
I’ll be there someday, I can go the distance
I will find my way, if I can be strong
I know ev’ry mile, will be worth my while
When I go the distance, I’ll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate
Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you
And a thousand years, would be worth the wait
It might take a lifetime, but somehow I’ll see it through
And I won’t look back, I can go the distance
And I’ll stay on track, no, I won’t accept defeat
It’s an uphill slope, but I won’t lose hope
Till I go the distance, and my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero’s strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star, I will go the distance
I will search the world, I will face its’ harms
I don’t care how far, I can go the distance
Till I find my hero’s welcome, waiting in your arms
I will search the world, I will face it’s harms
Till I find my hero’s welcome, waiting in your arms

At the Beginning

2005-05-24T13:37:00.000+08:00

We were strangers, starting out on a journey

Never dreaming, what we’d have to go through

Now here we are,

I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you

Unexpected, what you did to my heart

When I lost hope, you were there to remind me

This is the start

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is throughI

n the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

We were strangers on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand,

unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

Knew there was somebody, somewhere

A new love in the dark

Now I know my dream will live onI’ve been waiting so long

Nothing’s gonna tear us apart

And life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning

I’ll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

YeahLife is a road that I wanna keep going on

Love is a river, I wanna keep going

Starting out on a journey

Life is a road that I wanna keep going

Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

to all my ajss friends

2005-05-24T12:02:00.000+08:00

hey my fellow ajssers! first of all, i would like to thank all of you for making this summer very memorable. i will never forget the times that we spent together. the bonding before classes start, the play practices, the ajss night, the grad practice, and most especially the graduation. i will surely miss you guys. all of you mean so much to me. you made me have 71 more friends and be a part of one big very happy family. wish you all the best. good luck in your future endeavors. success is never final, failure is never fatal, so strive hard, aim high, and success will come your way... congartulations to all!!!!!!!!!!!!

hello there!

2005-05-24T10:14:00.000+08:00

hi peeps, welcome to my blog. by the way, i am stacey janine and i am from the philippines. feel free to visit my blog anytime. through this blog, you can get to know me more. i will occasionally be posting messages, thoughts, even journals so look out for them. thanks for viewing my blog. your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. you can further reach me through my email sjtcme89@yahoo.com.