Stand By Me

Judy Ann talks about the people who, for her, define the real meaning of true and lasting friendship.

It is a common misconception that it is hard to find real friends in showbiz. But Judy Ann disagrees. "Ang theory nga namin ni Ga (Ploning director Dante Nico Garcia), hindi naman mahirap maghanap ng kaibigan sa showbiz, baka hindi ka lang totoo kaya hindi na nakakahanap ng tao. Kung totoo ang pinapakita mo, magiging totoo din sila sa iyo."

But Judy Ann has also had her share of heartbreak caused by friends. A friend once betrayed her trust and left a scar that runs very deep, although she refused to go into details.

The actress is not innately a sociable person. "Ako kasi, hirap akong mag-approach sa mga tao. Hirap akong makibagay." she shares.

"Siguro I still have a little insecurity. Meron pang part of me that is a little shy. Hindi ako confident sa sarili ko."

In identifying a potential friend, Judai relies on her intuition, an ability that has proved valuable in an industry not really known for its sincerity and honesty. Her close friend, Biboy Arboleda, StarStudio Editor-in-Chief, explains how the actress developed her gift of seeing through people.

During her Mara Clara days, when Judai was still psychologically immature, she tended to trust people easily, explained Biboy. "The industry could be very cruel and she had her share of bad experiences, gaya ng niloko siya."

But Judai learned from these experiences. "And parang nahinang, yun nga yung intuition niya. Madali siyang makaramdam kapag tsinitsika lang siya or siniseryoso siya. Yes, it's a gift and a talent na innate sa kanya," he says.

Reel and real friends

Speaking of true friends, Judai feels lucky to have met so many people in the industry, people who are "real". She has established deep and lasting friendships with fellow celebrities. Here are some of them and what she loves about them:

1. Gladys Reyes

"We really did not get along well while we were doing Mara Clara. But nung nag-workshop kami para sa Sana Naman (1996), dun namin nailabas 'yung sama ng loob sa isa't-isa, which was towards the end of Mara Clara already. From then on, naging mag-best friends na kami. Pinoprotektahan niya ako sa lahat ng masamang nangyayari sa akin. Pag may problema ako o kaya siya, kami ang magkasama. Kahit hanggang ngayon, hindi kami madalas nagkikita, pero 'yung mga important moments sa buhay namin, nagte-text-an pa rin kami. Nandoon pa rin kami para sa isa't-isa. Si Gladys ang isa sa mga pinakatotoong taong makikilala mo sa industriya. Pinakamabait at pinakaprangkang tao at nakakatawa siya.

2. Beth Tamayo

I worked with her in Esperanza. Silang dalawa ni Kuya Jeff (Jeffrey Santos, Judai's brother) talaga ang magkabarkada sa simula't-sapul pa. And then basta nag-blend na lang kami hanggang ngayon. Nung pareho pa kaming single, kami ang magka-date saValentine's Day, Pasko at Bagong Taon. Pati sa culinary courses, kami rin. Kahit nung mag-asawa siya at magka-jowa na ako, magkasama pa rin kami. Isa sa mga taong hindi ko ini-expect na magiging best friend ko hanggang ngayon. Siya talaga ang tinatawagan ko kapag masayang masaya ako o malungkot na malungkot ako. At saka parang parehong-pareho kami ng guhit ng palad. Yung mga nararanasan niya dumarating din ako sa puntong ganon. Bago ko pa maranasan, naranasan na niya. At saka totoong totoo si Beth.

3. Mylene Dizon at Jolina Magdangal

Puwede ko silang pagsamahin kasi kami 'yung bumuo sa Gimik (1996-1999) days. Looking back on those memories, ang saya-saya. Until now, magkabarkada pa rin kami ni Mylene. Nagkikita pa rin kami. Nagsasabihan pa rin kami ng sikreto. Si Mylene, kailangan ko pa bang sabihin kung gaano siya katotoong tao? Hindi na, di ba? Makikita mo na 'yun, pagpasok pa lang ng kuwarto, mararamdaman mo na 'yon. Sa sobrang pagka-totoo niya, ikaw na mismo ang mag-iisip, 'Kaya ko ba ang babaeng ito?' Natakot ako sa kanya noong una.

4. Sharon Cuneta

Kapag nakikita ko siya, nasa-starstruck pa rin ako. Ito palang si Ate Sharon ang pinaka-simpleng taong makikilala mo sa mundo ng showbiz. Simpleng bagay lang ang makapagpapaligaya sa kanya. Simpleng kumusta sa text. May ate akong nasusumbungan. Napakatotoo ng advice niya sa akin, mapa-career or personal life, andyan talaga siya.

At saka ang text niya, hindi matatawaran 'yan, three or four pages at lahat ng text niya sa akin, naka-save so I can re-read them. I'm so blessed that I have her to guide me all throughout this year, to pacify me, to encourage me. Napakatalino niya na sa sobrang talino niya at sobrang daming pinagdaanan, makikinig ka talaga. Ang turingan namin, magkapatid talaga.

5. Movie directors

In fairness, lahat ng direktor na nakakatrabaho ko, lahat nagiging good friends ko. Kumbaga lahat sila, dumadagdag na sa ugat ng puso ko kasi masyado akong na-attach sa kanila. Hindi ako makakapagpakita ng kaplastikan sa mga direktor ko kasi mata pa lang, alam na nila. Alam nila pag galit ako, napaka-transparent ko kasing tao. Sa mga direktor ko na-realize na hindi ko lang talaga sila basta direktor. Sila 'yung mga taong nagbigay ng enough time for me to discover that I could still dig deep when it comes to acting. Walang nakakalabas nun maliban sa iilan.

6. Ryan Agoncillo

We started as friends. Nagkahingahan muna kami ng sama ng loob from experiences, kasama na yung past relationships. Naging magkaibigan muna kami niyan. Lumalabas kami para gumimik at nag-uusap lang. Hanggang sa na-realize na lang namin, 'Ay hindi ko kayang hindi kita makita ng isang araw.' I'm very lucky to have Ryan. He's my neutralizer. Ngayon ko pa lang napag-tagni-tagni. He was able to fix a lot of relationships, and bring out the best in me. Nakakapanibago ang feeling na may isang taong umaayos o tumutulong mag-ayos ng lahat. 'Dun ko na-feel nung time na 'yon na mahaba ang buhok ko dahil may isang lalaking dumepensa sa akin. Ang tagal ko hinintay 'yon. Resigned na ako na walang dadating na knight in shining armor. Ako lang nag-de-defend sa sarili ko. 'Nung time na 'yon, Ryan helped me realize na may mga bagay talagang dapat panindigan, may mga bagay na dapat kang gawin para maramdaman ng tao, na pag di mo ginawa, nakakatawa ka na, walang maniniwala sa 'yo.

Ryan made me realize na di lahat ng lalake, lolokohin ka. He showed me that life always has to be looked at in two ways. You look at the positive way, and the negative things that might happen if you do this. Napaka-honest din niya. After the Lord at nanay ko, si Ryan na siguro yung pinaka-honest na tao. He'll be honest with you, even if it means masasaktan ka, but he will still explain things to you and pacify you.

7. Alfie Lorenzo

I've been with Tito Alfie 15 years. Ang utang na loob, di na matatawaran. Masakit lang na pag may ibang tao na nakikisali sa issue. Yung di namin pagkakaintindihan last year, I said sorry kung nakaramdam siya ng pambabastos. I explained things to him. I appreciate everything he's done and is doing for me.

Taken from StarStudio Magazine: Judy Ann Santos Special Edition

Sandstone

a SEDIMENTARY ROCK made up of sand grains with sizes between 0.06 mm and 1 mm, and a variety of other minerals and materials cementing the grains together. CALCITE is a common cement, and silica (as QUARTZ) cements sands to produce a hard sandstone often referred to as an orthoquartzite (to tell it apart from the metamorphic rock, quartzite). Brown and red sandstones usually have an iron-rich cement such as LIMONITE or haematite. Other minerals which may be present include FELDSPAR and MICA.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Sandstone (sometimes known as arenite) is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and white. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions.

Some sandstones are resistant to weathering, yet are easy to work. This makes sandstone a common building and paving material. However, some that have been used in the past, such as the Collyhurst sandstone used in North West England, have been found less resistant, necessitating repair and replacement in older buildings. Because of the hardness of the individual grains, uniformity of grain size and friability of their structure, some types of sandstone are excellent materials from which to make grindstones, for sharpening blades and other implements. Non-friable sandstone can be used to make grindstones for grinding grain, e.g., gritstone.

Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Fine-grained aquifers, such as sandstones, are more apt to filter out pollutants from the surface than are rocks with cracks and crevices, such as limestone or other rocks fractured by seismic activity.

Taken from Wikipedia

Quartz

one of the most common rock-forming minerals, SiO₂, which is found in many different kinds of rock. It also forms some semi-precious stones, e.g. amethyst and agate.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO₂.

There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Especially in Europe and the Middle East, varieties of quartz have been since antiquity the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings.

Taken from Wikipedia

Bacteriophage or Phage

a virus that attacks and infects a BACTERIUM.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

_____________________________________________________________

A bacteriophage (from 'bacteria' and Greek φᾰγεῖν phagein "to eat") is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. Bacteriophages are among the most common organisms on Earth. The term is commonly used in its shortened form, phage.

Typically, bacteriophages consist of an outer protein capsid enclosing genetic material. The genetic material can be ssRNA, dsRNA, ssDNA, or dsDNA ('ss-' or 'ds-' prefix denotes single-strand or double-strand) long with either circular or linear arrangement. Bacteriophages are much smaller than the bacteria they destroy.

Phages are estimated to be the most widely distributed and diverse entities in the biosphere. Phages are ubiquitous and can be found in all reservoirs populated by bacterial hosts, such as soil or the intestines of animals. One of the densest natural sources for phages and other viruses is sea water, where up to 9×10⁸ virions per milliliter have been found in microbial mats at the surface, and up to 70% of marine bacteria may be infected by phages. They have been used for over 60 years as an alternative to antibiotics in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. They are seen as a possible therapy against multi drug resistant strains of many bacteria.

Taken from Wikipedia

Dark Nebulae

clouds of thick gas and dust common throughout the MILKY WAY and other GALAXIES.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

______________

A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from the background emission or reflection nebula (e.g., the Horsehead Nebula) or that it blocks out background stars (e.g., the Coalsack Nebula). The extinction of the light is caused by interstellar dust grains located in the coldest, densest parts of larger molecular clouds. Clusters and large complexes of dark nebulae are associated with Giant Molecular Clouds. Isolated small dark nebulae are called Bok globules. Like other interstellar dust/material, things it obscures are only visible using radio waves in radio astronomy.

Dark clouds appear so because of submicrometre-sized dust particles, coated with frozen carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which effectively block the passage of light at visible wavelengths. Also present are molecular hydrogen, atomic helium, C¹⁸O, CS, NH₃ (ammonia), H₂CO (formaldehyde), c-C₃H₂ (cyclopropenylidene) and a molecular ion N₂H⁺ (diazenylium), all of which are relatively transparent. These clouds are the spawning grounds of stars and planets, and understanding their development is essential to understanding star formation.

The form of such dark clouds is very irregular: they have no clearly defined outer boundaries and sometimes take on convoluted serpentine shapes. The largest dark nebulae are visible to the naked eye, appearing as dark patches against the brighter background of the Milky Way.

In the inner regions of dark nebulae important events take place, such as the formation of stars and masers.

Taken from Wikipedia

Calcium Carbonate

a common chemical compound in nature with the formula CaCo3. In the form of calcite, it is an abundant MINERAL in rocks especially LIMESTONE, CHALK and MARBLE. It is used by man in the manufacture of cement and fertilizer.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

_________________________________________

Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO₃. It is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime, and is usually the principal cause of hard water. It is commonly used medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but excessive consumption can be hazardous.

Taken from Wikipedia

Calcium

a metallic substance with the symbol Ca which is common in nature being found in both plants and animals. It is essential for the normal growth and development of animals, being found in bones, teeth, blood and nerves.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

____________________________________________________________

Calcium (pronounced /ˈkælsiəm/, KAL-see-əm) is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust. Calcium is also the fifth most abundant dissolved ion in seawater by both molarity and mass, after sodium, chloride, magnesium, and sulfate.

Calcium is essential for living organisms, particularly in cell physiology, where movement of the calcium ion Ca²⁺ into and out of the cytoplasm functions as a signal for many cellular processes. As a major material used in mineralization of bones and shells, calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals.

Taken from Wikipedia