Wednesday, October 25, 2006

i'm still alive!

Sem break didn't start until last munday when I submitted the final exam for IL. But, by saturday, when Sir Gascon shocked us that the second part of the exam would be 5 sets of take-home essays, I was already on my sem break mode. I sneaked past the homework to watch The Banquet with Mariel- who had been the nicest person I got to know last sem (no bola involved)!

By munday, after passing the take home exam, I bumped into Chrissie at Jollibee. We made some chit chat then I flew to SS again to finalize my advisement- only to find that ate Mel was on leave. So poor me waited at the foyer for my 2pm GA at ACED. Luckily, Ron (my IL classmate), and AJ and Joan (Celadon peeps) were there for some more chitchat. Then the GA. I found out that I wouldn't be able to join the Tarlac thing. Boo. Joel told me initially that I can go but I would have to share a room and sleep at the floor. I was okay with that arrangement but they decided that only one volunteer can go. Anyway, volunteers were a happy bunch when left alone thinking about the fund raising project. After the GA, I ran to the train to hurry to Ken's. HS people were there for movies and chitchats.

Munday was kind of a The Alchemist day. It seemed like the world was actually talking to me. I got quite freaked out that night thinking about what happened during the day. All the chitchats seem to point to the same direction. It really freaked me out, to say the least. The universe was saying I'm headed for the end I'm gearing for- which I terribly want- while showing me things I would definitely lose. Anyway, the more important thing is that the sem is over. I just hope I did okay with all the courses. I couldn't help but blame free loaders who happened to be some of my groupmates- ibang level na katamaran talaga! I'm thankful though that I got to meet wonderful people along with them.

...

About The Banquet. Each scene in the movie was wallpaper-like quality, as how Mariel put it- but the storyline was too expected. Only the pictures and costumes were great. It was kind of like the asian version of Elizabeth, except that the Banquet has all the kung-fu people flying everywhere and the confrontation between that characters' real motives in the second-to-the-last scene. Also, Ziyi wasn't able to convey the tension and confusion happening inside her; that at the last scene her revelation of her confusion was a bit of a stupid shock. Also, plotting and calculations by all those sneaky noblemen weren't built up properly- the audience burst into laughter when this was shown.

The more important question is, why the hell did they have to kill the empress at the end? Was it supposed to be poetic that her killer wasn't revealed?! It was awkward unlike the really poetic jump of Ziyi in Crouching Tiger. Well, that's just me.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

milenyo, sumpain ka!

Suddenly, The Imminent Parousia seemed not so imminent anymore. After the awful storm hit, us last Wednesday, we had a major blackout lasting for four days. It was, at the beginning at least, a source of inexplicable joy. Our report, which seemed seriously behind our target schedule of completion, was moved to next week. The game- that was ultimately lost to Uste yesterday- was moved to Saturday (?). And, all the hill people were rejoicing for classes cancelled.

Et erunt signa in sol et luna et stellis. Et Pressura Gentium prae confusione sonitus maris-suddenly, the song seems not so nice at all.

Oh, the joy. It didn't last though. The major power outage disrupted all the work I had lined up for the weekend. Ugh. Classes were cancelled for two days- and it was Friday that I was supposed to go to ACED to once again attempt a successful copying of pictures for a class presentation about the NGO. Instead of following my sched, I- in desperation and uneasiness for having no bath for two days- went to a Ken's to plead for a bath on Friday- super thanks to that; then, got to taste the new rice burger at Mcdo Binondo with Ka; then, at Ka's to exploit electricity, which was apparently abundant in that area of Manila. She even gave me a reading flashlight- yey for that! Water came late Friday afternoon. Friday night was spent alone in bed defiantly squinting my eyes to read the books I borrowed for our draft paper on Ancestral Domains, which apparently need not just a make-over but a liposuction, altogether- which sucks. Also, an entertaining book on Tokyo trials- that the author purports to be mere victor's justice- and he is (or was) an American! So, Friday was productive... in a way.

Saturday, still a day for cursing Meralco, witnessed me going to school in the morning. The not so surprising jungle-ish campus was a bit depressing. What was a shock was that they didn't cancel classes despite the uprooted trees and broken branches everywhere. The class was okay- and classmates were surprisingly "orderly". I saw Tiff and her sister at the MRT Cubao station. It was a bit awkward though, with all my books and big bag. We didn't have a proper chitchat. We parted before riding the train- damn those male and female areas! Anyway, the lunch at an Indian restaurant was a bit of an experience for the Ka, Ken, and me. The ultra flavors overwhelmed and rendered us musing about nonsensical things. Saturday night was a time to rest, skipping the dinner thing with Celadon birthday peeps at Promenade- it seemed like fun but I was too tired.

Sunday was time to go to the Lib. But in all my five years, I never knew it was only open for half of Sundays! I necessarily blamed Pau for that (kidding!), but she reminded me how stupid I was. Anyway, I had lunch at McDo Katips. After a brief rice burger meal (again), I resumed reading the Tokyo trial thing. Joy, who was neighbor and a dear childhood friend, came "poof-ing" from my back. I was a bit reluctant to turn around after hearing "toting" (my childhood nickname) twice, half-expecting that some unfortunate kid had to bear that too-much-for-entertainment nickname. But it was Joy! The post grad med student waiting for the bar exams next year! We had a brief chitchat. It was cool! She had not frequented their home for the last few months! And there she was, still looking younger than I am- despite her being 5 years my senior!

I transferred to gateway to continue by epic reading crusade; I ended up landing in CBTL only to meet agitated eyes- looking at a nerdy me carrying that large book. Oh! I also bumped into an MIS batch mate, whose name I couldn't remember. I must admit, it was a bit unsettling. She was being perfunctorily friendly, which was nice and weird with any other person. I endured reading legal terms until 830pm. Ugh. I was almost drained. The coffee made my fake ulcer act up later that night. I had to eat a lot of bread- and lukewarm water!!! Anyway, I survived that semi-ordeal.

So, I guess the weekend didn't pass without some goodies. I even got to realize that my over dependence on electricity and cold water don't actually help productivity. And, studying outside made me develop a skill for real concentration!

...

I'm supposed to be doing a presentation and preparing for an orals exam for Thursday, but I guess that little update didn't hurt. Agh! I'm probably the last person to insist on nerdy virtues, but I really like what I'm learning- thus the hard work. I won't back down despite all these choo-choos going on.