Today was so much fun. We only had two exams today so we were dismissed pretty early, at around 9:30. We went wild. We kept chasing each other around the school and shouting and singing on top of our lungs. Sounds a little immature, but hey, people usually go wild during the first day of their vacations.

We've got two new people in our barkada. One is a girl named KC, a friend from last year. Since we started hanging out with different crowds during the middle of seventh grade, we didn't talk much till now. The other girl is Mary Kay. I don't really like her that much cause she's a bit like Rachel, sorta bitchy. But at least she doesn't drink or smoke, and she gets good grades. I don't really like hanging out with people who drink/smoke. I dunno, I feel really uncomfortable around them. And at the risk of sounding like Martin II, I'm afraid to tell them "Hey, that's not good." So it's like, oh well, let them do what they want, I don't give a damn.

I just came from Stephen's place. It feels so good to see them again! I thought they'd forgotten about me already because I haven't heard from them in two weeks. But according to Stephen, he calls me up every night but he says my sister goes, "Oh, Lauryn's busy." I'd better ask her about that later. Anyway, first night of Christmas vacation--any vacation for that matter--means pizza and junk food night. We ate pizza at Stephen's place and then Chris arrived and said he had pizza in his place. So we went to his house and devoured his pizza. Anyway, I gave Stephen and Alex's presents (I left Chris' present at home) and I was wondering why they didn't open them yet. Then I remembered: it's rude for Filipinos if they open the gift in front of the giver because it means they're materialistic or something. Honestly, I think it's a stupid tradition. What's the point in giving a gift if the receiver will feel guilty for being materialistic anwyway? I find it rude when people don't open their gifts in front of me. It only means that they're not enthusiastic about it. I complained about this to my mom and she told me my beliefs are so Western. I'm not sure if she meant that in a good way or a bad way, but let's face reality. Some of the Filipino traditions are dumb.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, I already got one today. Annie gave me her gift, and she said she didn't mind if I opened it in front of her (I did). It's a blue, hooded tee which is about a size or two bigger than me but I don't care. It's really cute. I feel a bit guilty for not getting her anything. With the exception of my birthday, I always feel guilty when I don't have anything to give in turn for someone who gave me something.

I can't wait till I move to Stephen's school! Stephen said that one of his friends, Matt, was dying to meet me already. We were gonna meet up with him next week but then they had to forget it because I'm going to the mountains with my family. But to be honest, I'm not too keen on hanging out with Stephen in school. He's a chick boy and all the girly-girls like him, and I'm not sure I'd be able to talk to him properly with all those girls swooning over him. I'd probably spend most of the time rolling my eyes and puking. Maybe I'll just make some friends of my own. If Matt and I become close, I'd probably just hang out with him. Only problem is, he'll be a junior next year. I'll have to make friends with someone from my batch. I wish Alex and Chris would move to his school too; it would be so fun if we all went to the same school.

I'm listening to Celebrity Skin right now. Now I know why Casey loves Hole so much.

Jeff gave me his school picture. He looks real cute.

Even if I say Casey is great, I don't agree in all of his opinions especially on abortion but then that's his opinion. There's one thing that Martin and I agree on: abortion sucks. It doesn't matter if the fetus is only two days old or what. The fact is, life begins when the sperm and the egg meets (ooh, sex ed). So you're still commiting murder. In fact, I think it's worse than murder because the fetus is totally helpless to fight back or anything. Anyway, bottom line is, don't do it.

I hate it when two of my friends are fighting, and then I'm caught in the middle. See, Michelle is mad at Angelica for some reason, and Kristel is mad at Denilou, another good friend of mine. We're even making code names for them so we can talk about them even when they're around and they won't know. I feel so guilty for doing that. I wish they'd just tell Angelica and Denilou that they're mad at them. It's good to be honest even if the truth hurts; at least the person knows what you feel about him/her and therefore gives him/her the chance to change or apologize for whatever she/he has done. Not that I'm comparing or anything, but I feel more comfortable with my neighborhood friends because we're totally honest about each other. With Michelle and my barkada in school, I feel a little bit uncomfortable around them. I mean, what if they made up a code name for me or they're mad at me and I don't even know it? I really hate it when people are dishonest about what they feel for me.

I have to take a shower. I sweated gallons because of Dance Revolution and I feel a little stinky.