Glee: Short comments on the episodes
Episode 9: Special Education
Story about the Sectionals. Worse than last year, I must say.
Episode 10: A Very Glee Christmas
A very heart-warming episode. It made me feel what Christmas was all about.
Movies for the Christmas Break:
I watched the following movies during the Christmas Break:
1. Easy A - movie released this year, a twist on the usual chick flick, it gives us a deeper side to high school gossips, rebellion and fitting-in.
2. A Cinderella Story - 2004 movie about a modern re-telling of Cinderella
3. Serendipity - 2001 romantic-comedy about two people who left their destiny up to fate.
4. Ella Enchanted - 2004 film about a fairy-tale world of royalties and peasants, with Ella of Frell given the gift of obedience (always obeying ANY command) by fairy godmother Lucinda.
5. Enchanted - 2007 film, mix of fairy world and real world
6. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - 2010 film, Third installment of Stephanie Mayer's Twilight Saga, a love story between a vampire and a human, a girl willing to give up his life to become a vampire for her one true love.
7. Starship Troopers - 1997 film, Arachnids vs. humans
8. Miss You Like Crazy - 2010 film about love, twisted as it may seem
I'll be watching more movies in the coming days, such as The Proposal and the Narnia series.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Christmas Meet-ups
Movie with Roy and Jess:
I was able to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 during its opening day here in Manila. It was my first meeting with Roy Moore, our British friend, who's now living here in Manila for a charity and his Masters study at UP. Jess was also with us for the movie.
I did not watch nor read any of the first 6 books of Harry Potter. I didn't even read the 7th book. So when I watched the film, I was a bit clueless at times, although in all fairness, I was able to follow the story. The movie was quite okay, and with the fact that I can understand it as a stand-alone movie, I must say that it is well-made.
Christmas Dinner with Isa and Nikka:
Last December 11, I had another dinner with Nikka and Isa, this time, for our Christmas Dinner. Unlike the one last month, we decided to watch a movie first before eating. We watched the third installment of the Narnia series: "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Like HP, I wasn't able to watch the first two installments of the series. However, unlike HP, I was able to easily follow, without parts which I cannot fully understand. Perhaps it's becoming my habit to watch movies without their prequels.
We then ate at Sumo Sam, a Japanese restaurant. Quite expensive, but the food was heavenly. Perhaps what I liked best was their Green Tea. We then went to this ice cream place and ate 20 scoops of ice cream. After which, we went to Capone's, a bar owned by Isa's former professor.
Christmas Party with MaFia:
Perhaps for the first time this year, I joined in an activity with almost all of my Masters batchmates. We had a Christmas Dinner at Jet's House, along with AMF majors who weren't part of the Masters course. It was a happy night.
Christmas Breakfast with Singapore Friends:
Perhaps ranking high in my favorite days of the year would be December 18, the day after the MaFiA dinner, when I finally met with my Filipino Singapore friends. It has almost been a year since almost all of us met together.
Getting together this time proved to be a happy occasion. I missed hanging out with them. I practically lived and spent 4 months of my life with them. They were my family in Singapore. I just wish we can meet more often.
Monse and Jess, I meet all the time. Smile and Jhoana, living just across the street from school and yet we seldom meet. Gwen who studies in DLSU, living far from Ateneo, though we talk quite often. These girls were part of my Singapore family. Too bad Bonvin had a prior engagement the day before, and Wayne forgot about it.
Christmas Dinner with High School Barkada:
December 20 was another eventful day. For the first time, I agreed to meet on short notice. I met with Gian, Nikko and Aidz. I waited for more than an hour at Ateneo HS for Gian, who was coming in late from home. Although we were late, we somehow arrived at the same time as the other two, who came from work. We ate at New Bombay with some delicious meals.
I was able to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 during its opening day here in Manila. It was my first meeting with Roy Moore, our British friend, who's now living here in Manila for a charity and his Masters study at UP. Jess was also with us for the movie.
I did not watch nor read any of the first 6 books of Harry Potter. I didn't even read the 7th book. So when I watched the film, I was a bit clueless at times, although in all fairness, I was able to follow the story. The movie was quite okay, and with the fact that I can understand it as a stand-alone movie, I must say that it is well-made.
Christmas Dinner with Isa and Nikka:
Last December 11, I had another dinner with Nikka and Isa, this time, for our Christmas Dinner. Unlike the one last month, we decided to watch a movie first before eating. We watched the third installment of the Narnia series: "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Like HP, I wasn't able to watch the first two installments of the series. However, unlike HP, I was able to easily follow, without parts which I cannot fully understand. Perhaps it's becoming my habit to watch movies without their prequels.
We then ate at Sumo Sam, a Japanese restaurant. Quite expensive, but the food was heavenly. Perhaps what I liked best was their Green Tea. We then went to this ice cream place and ate 20 scoops of ice cream. After which, we went to Capone's, a bar owned by Isa's former professor.
Christmas Party with MaFia:
Perhaps for the first time this year, I joined in an activity with almost all of my Masters batchmates. We had a Christmas Dinner at Jet's House, along with AMF majors who weren't part of the Masters course. It was a happy night.
Christmas Breakfast with Singapore Friends:
Perhaps ranking high in my favorite days of the year would be December 18, the day after the MaFiA dinner, when I finally met with my Filipino Singapore friends. It has almost been a year since almost all of us met together.
Getting together this time proved to be a happy occasion. I missed hanging out with them. I practically lived and spent 4 months of my life with them. They were my family in Singapore. I just wish we can meet more often.
Monse and Jess, I meet all the time. Smile and Jhoana, living just across the street from school and yet we seldom meet. Gwen who studies in DLSU, living far from Ateneo, though we talk quite often. These girls were part of my Singapore family. Too bad Bonvin had a prior engagement the day before, and Wayne forgot about it.
Christmas Dinner with High School Barkada:
December 20 was another eventful day. For the first time, I agreed to meet on short notice. I met with Gian, Nikko and Aidz. I waited for more than an hour at Ateneo HS for Gian, who was coming in late from home. Although we were late, we somehow arrived at the same time as the other two, who came from work. We ate at New Bombay with some delicious meals.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Some Update
AMF Final Group Project: BDO Ops Risk
Last Friday, November 19, we finally got to meet with the company we're going to work with, Banco de Oro's Operational Risk Group. Jman, Toni and I were tasked to come-up with different models from different approaches given a set of data on operational risk of BDO.
Since Operational Risk is the last topic in our Risk Management course, we had to read in advance certain books and readings. We need to read Basel II (specifically the sections on Operational Risk), Operational Risk by Fabozzi et.al., and Operational Risk by Panjer et.al. So far, I have read one, and is halfway with the second one.
Perhaps the only startling thing about this project is that we're going to have to finish this in a matter of weeks (two to three weeks to be exact). We have to work doubly hard for this project.
Busy Schedule and Movie
Perhaps due to my busy schedule in school, and having weekly Saturday sessions in MTG - Makati Center, and add to that my new duties for MTG - DEECO Center, I haven't had much time to watch movies.
From my last blog post, I have only watched the movie, United 93. This movie features the 9/11 tragedy, specifically, United Airlines flight 93, wherein passengers of the said plane fought and tried to control the plane in order for it not to hit the remaining target, the White House, after three passenger planes each hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon.
During the tragedy, I was at home, watching TV. I remember it was 10 PM, when we were surfing through the channels. I saw something in CNN, and asked my dad to go back to it, and there we saw one of the twin towers with tons of smoke emanating from it. And all of a sudden, the second plane just hit the other tower. We saw the exact moment the second plane hit, up until the towers crumbled down.
Television:
Glee:
Episode 7: The Substitute
Gwyneth Paltrow was awesome! I didn't know she has a great voice! Although story-wise, there wasn't any much of an added-value. It simply was an episode of song numbers. And I must admit, that among the episodes with this kind of light-story, heavy-song numbers, this is the best one so far.
Episode 8: Furt
There wasn't any song number until the 16th minute of the show, when Sue's mom sang her number. The story was heavy, and it tackled something which other shows just try to evade: bullying.
Bullying is a known fact in High School. It happens all the time, to people perceived as weak, by people who find a weakness in themselves which they try to fight by putting-down others.
I'm glad that Glee tackled the topic in a very realistic manner. Sue, the principal, expelled Karofsky, but the Board of Trustees decided to revert it. It's a simple reality, that there's always no easy way out. There's no fair game in life. We saw Kurt leaving for Dalton Academy, where he feels safe.
The question now is: Will he come back?
The Amazing Race:
Go Nat and Kat! They may not be the strongest team, they had their dumb moments, getting lost all the time, but they surely have shown us that they are good racers.
BTW, I'm not liking the non-12 hour pitstops, and changing departure times to make them leave 5 minutes apart.
The Amazing Race Asia:
I hope we get BOTH Jess and Lani and Richard and Richard in the Finale. And hopefully, one of those two PH teams will win.
Episode tomorrow in South Korea, and it surely will be a Non-Elimination Episode. Hoping for the best.
Last Friday, November 19, we finally got to meet with the company we're going to work with, Banco de Oro's Operational Risk Group. Jman, Toni and I were tasked to come-up with different models from different approaches given a set of data on operational risk of BDO.
Since Operational Risk is the last topic in our Risk Management course, we had to read in advance certain books and readings. We need to read Basel II (specifically the sections on Operational Risk), Operational Risk by Fabozzi et.al., and Operational Risk by Panjer et.al. So far, I have read one, and is halfway with the second one.
Perhaps the only startling thing about this project is that we're going to have to finish this in a matter of weeks (two to three weeks to be exact). We have to work doubly hard for this project.
Busy Schedule and Movie
Perhaps due to my busy schedule in school, and having weekly Saturday sessions in MTG - Makati Center, and add to that my new duties for MTG - DEECO Center, I haven't had much time to watch movies.
From my last blog post, I have only watched the movie, United 93. This movie features the 9/11 tragedy, specifically, United Airlines flight 93, wherein passengers of the said plane fought and tried to control the plane in order for it not to hit the remaining target, the White House, after three passenger planes each hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon.
During the tragedy, I was at home, watching TV. I remember it was 10 PM, when we were surfing through the channels. I saw something in CNN, and asked my dad to go back to it, and there we saw one of the twin towers with tons of smoke emanating from it. And all of a sudden, the second plane just hit the other tower. We saw the exact moment the second plane hit, up until the towers crumbled down.
Television:
Glee:
Episode 7: The Substitute
Gwyneth Paltrow was awesome! I didn't know she has a great voice! Although story-wise, there wasn't any much of an added-value. It simply was an episode of song numbers. And I must admit, that among the episodes with this kind of light-story, heavy-song numbers, this is the best one so far.
Episode 8: Furt
There wasn't any song number until the 16th minute of the show, when Sue's mom sang her number. The story was heavy, and it tackled something which other shows just try to evade: bullying.
Bullying is a known fact in High School. It happens all the time, to people perceived as weak, by people who find a weakness in themselves which they try to fight by putting-down others.
I'm glad that Glee tackled the topic in a very realistic manner. Sue, the principal, expelled Karofsky, but the Board of Trustees decided to revert it. It's a simple reality, that there's always no easy way out. There's no fair game in life. We saw Kurt leaving for Dalton Academy, where he feels safe.
The question now is: Will he come back?
The Amazing Race:
Go Nat and Kat! They may not be the strongest team, they had their dumb moments, getting lost all the time, but they surely have shown us that they are good racers.
BTW, I'm not liking the non-12 hour pitstops, and changing departure times to make them leave 5 minutes apart.
The Amazing Race Asia:
I hope we get BOTH Jess and Lani and Richard and Richard in the Finale. And hopefully, one of those two PH teams will win.
Episode tomorrow in South Korea, and it surely will be a Non-Elimination Episode. Hoping for the best.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
First Week of School = Movies and Glee
Deviating from my usual blog posts, I decided to have sub-sections of my posts, for easier identification of the topic being discussed:
School:
First week of school was okay. This week, I volutneered for the LS Bookstore, for the last time in my life. The Bookstore volunteering has been part of my life whenever a regular semester starts, from the second semester of first year up to now. I met a lot of friends through the bookstore.
CS 268 - Modeling and Simulation - I might enjoy this class. Different from my programming classes before, I guess.
AMF 241 - Stochastic Calculus II - Continuation of AMF 240. Last of the hardcore Maths of AMF.
AMF 272 - Risk Management - Finally, the subject which is one of the core of Mathematical Finance courses (or so I believe)
MA 295J.6 - Advanced Operations Research - Thew new CHED rules require O.R. subjects in undergrad. As we didn't have one in the undergrad subjects, I believe that having this as an elective now is just the right move. And I am enjoying this class!
Movies:
As there's still not much to do, school just started this week, and our projects are just beginning to pile-up, I had the chance to watch more movies.
I watched disaster movies, again! This time focusing on volcanic eruptions. I watched Volcano starring Tommy Lee Jones, which was released a few months after Dante's Peak was released. It features a volcano suddenly appearing in downtown LA. The movie has quite a number of scientific loopholes which makes it somehow a failure compared to Dante's Peak.
Next are three BBC/Discovery Channel docu-drama on Volcanoes. The first one is Supervolcano which tackled the possibility of the Yellowstone Caldera erupting. It is believed that the volcano is erupting every 700,000 years. It is now about 640,000 years since the volcano erupted. And from my research, the caldera is swelling in the last few years (although it has decreased its movement in the past year). Will it ever erupt? We'll never know... yet.
The second docu-drama is Krakatoa: The Last Days. I have heard stories before about Krakatoa, an island-volcano in between the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. The whole island disintegrated after a VEI 8 (same level as Mt. Pintubo's eruption in 1991) explosion which lasted for days. The docu-drama featured just that, the last days of Krakatoa. Today, with continuous eruption, the volcano is once again alive, now known as Anak Krakatoa, or the Son of Krakatoa.
The third docu-drama I watched is Pompeii: The Last Day. The movie features the 19th century eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Naples, Italy. The whole city and a nearby city was wiped out. With the collpase of the bottom part of the mountain towards the sea, cities opposite the bay were also affected. The movie ends with a cryptic message, that now people have once again come close to the foot of the volcano, but this time, with the population up to 3.5 million people.
Perhaps the only movie that I watched in the past weeks which isn't a disaster movie is the movie Shelter. A friend of mine watched the movie, and I thought why not watch it as well. It's about a guy gifted with the artistic talent who's stuck in the suburbs as he turned down a scholarship from CalArts due to his family situation. They're not well-off, and he and her sister had been working in low-paying jobs to remain afloat. He meets his bestfriend's older brother, who serves as his inspiration to get out of the suburbs, and live a life of his own, without sacrificing his family.
Glee:
Episode 5: The Rocky Horror Show
I didn't like this episode that much. It's a tribute to Rocky Horror, and I haven't watched Rocky Horror. I don't know the story as well. I liked some of the performance, but story-wise, we don't get much from the characters.
Episode 6: Never Been Kissed
This is another emotional episode, I guess. We get to see more story, less performance, which in itself is okay. It is a stark difference from Episode 5. I believe that this episode is one of the good ones. We saw Coach Beiste's humanity when she cried, and uncovered a human side of her. We saw Kurt's struggles in being the only openly-gay student in McKinley HS. Kurt visited Dalton Academy, where he saw a huge difference in treatment of gays. In Dalton, there's a zero-tolerance policy, which makes gays an accepted member of the community. No bullying, no discriminaton. I believe that Kurt will finally get what he wants with Dalton.
Hanging questions:
1. Will Kurt transfer?
My Answer: Perhaps. I have a feeling that Kurt might transfer, and instead of seeing McKinley HS, we might see both schools featured in the show. We saw how Kurt felt happy and how accepted he feels in Dalton.
2. If ever Kurt transfers, who will replace him?
My Answer: Sunshine Corazon? Another person from school as a stand-in? I really don't know. Rumor has it that Sunshine Corazon is staying with Vocal Adrenaline.
School:
First week of school was okay. This week, I volutneered for the LS Bookstore, for the last time in my life. The Bookstore volunteering has been part of my life whenever a regular semester starts, from the second semester of first year up to now. I met a lot of friends through the bookstore.
CS 268 - Modeling and Simulation - I might enjoy this class. Different from my programming classes before, I guess.
AMF 241 - Stochastic Calculus II - Continuation of AMF 240. Last of the hardcore Maths of AMF.
AMF 272 - Risk Management - Finally, the subject which is one of the core of Mathematical Finance courses (or so I believe)
MA 295J.6 - Advanced Operations Research - Thew new CHED rules require O.R. subjects in undergrad. As we didn't have one in the undergrad subjects, I believe that having this as an elective now is just the right move. And I am enjoying this class!
Movies:
As there's still not much to do, school just started this week, and our projects are just beginning to pile-up, I had the chance to watch more movies.
I watched disaster movies, again! This time focusing on volcanic eruptions. I watched Volcano starring Tommy Lee Jones, which was released a few months after Dante's Peak was released. It features a volcano suddenly appearing in downtown LA. The movie has quite a number of scientific loopholes which makes it somehow a failure compared to Dante's Peak.
Next are three BBC/Discovery Channel docu-drama on Volcanoes. The first one is Supervolcano which tackled the possibility of the Yellowstone Caldera erupting. It is believed that the volcano is erupting every 700,000 years. It is now about 640,000 years since the volcano erupted. And from my research, the caldera is swelling in the last few years (although it has decreased its movement in the past year). Will it ever erupt? We'll never know... yet.
The second docu-drama is Krakatoa: The Last Days. I have heard stories before about Krakatoa, an island-volcano in between the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. The whole island disintegrated after a VEI 8 (same level as Mt. Pintubo's eruption in 1991) explosion which lasted for days. The docu-drama featured just that, the last days of Krakatoa. Today, with continuous eruption, the volcano is once again alive, now known as Anak Krakatoa, or the Son of Krakatoa.
The third docu-drama I watched is Pompeii: The Last Day. The movie features the 19th century eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Naples, Italy. The whole city and a nearby city was wiped out. With the collpase of the bottom part of the mountain towards the sea, cities opposite the bay were also affected. The movie ends with a cryptic message, that now people have once again come close to the foot of the volcano, but this time, with the population up to 3.5 million people.
Perhaps the only movie that I watched in the past weeks which isn't a disaster movie is the movie Shelter. A friend of mine watched the movie, and I thought why not watch it as well. It's about a guy gifted with the artistic talent who's stuck in the suburbs as he turned down a scholarship from CalArts due to his family situation. They're not well-off, and he and her sister had been working in low-paying jobs to remain afloat. He meets his bestfriend's older brother, who serves as his inspiration to get out of the suburbs, and live a life of his own, without sacrificing his family.
Glee:
Episode 5: The Rocky Horror Show
I didn't like this episode that much. It's a tribute to Rocky Horror, and I haven't watched Rocky Horror. I don't know the story as well. I liked some of the performance, but story-wise, we don't get much from the characters.
Episode 6: Never Been Kissed
This is another emotional episode, I guess. We get to see more story, less performance, which in itself is okay. It is a stark difference from Episode 5. I believe that this episode is one of the good ones. We saw Coach Beiste's humanity when she cried, and uncovered a human side of her. We saw Kurt's struggles in being the only openly-gay student in McKinley HS. Kurt visited Dalton Academy, where he saw a huge difference in treatment of gays. In Dalton, there's a zero-tolerance policy, which makes gays an accepted member of the community. No bullying, no discriminaton. I believe that Kurt will finally get what he wants with Dalton.
Hanging questions:
1. Will Kurt transfer?
My Answer: Perhaps. I have a feeling that Kurt might transfer, and instead of seeing McKinley HS, we might see both schools featured in the show. We saw how Kurt felt happy and how accepted he feels in Dalton.
2. If ever Kurt transfers, who will replace him?
My Answer: Sunshine Corazon? Another person from school as a stand-in? I really don't know. Rumor has it that Sunshine Corazon is staying with Vocal Adrenaline.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Due Date
November 6, 2010
Today was a rather special day for me. I basically started the day late, teaching an MTG session in Makati. The topic my grade 5 kids had was Logic. I must say, they had difficulty grasping the topic, as it is not really the Math most students are used to. It's more of a combination of puzzles, riddles and simple logic.
Then came the fun part. I was supposed to end at 4:20, but I went overtime due to the game we had in class. Nikka was already waiting for me outside, in a taxi, as I told her to pick me up before going to Power Plant Mall. And she did wait for me, for about 5 or so minutes.
It was raining when I went out of MES, and so when we got to the mall, it was still raining. We saw Isa a few minutes later, and we decided to buy tickets immediately. We were debating on whether we watch Social Network for 2.5 hours, so we end exactly at 9, or we watch a shorter film, which starts earlier, so we have time after the moview to do some chit-chat. We chose the second option and instead watched Due Date with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead.
We then ate at this Korean Restaurant, Kaya. It's not too cheap, nor is it too expensive. The food was great!
We then lined up to buy popcorn and tacos. The clock hit 6:10, and we thought we're late. As we entered the moview theater, the lights were still on. We chose seats at the far back of the cinema so we can get a full view. But low and behold, as I went on to the first step, the lights went out, signalling that the movie is starting after a few more trailers. We were walking up the theater, barely seeing where we are stepping.
At first, I thought the movie is boring. The first half was dragging, and I just don't get the laughs from it. It basically featured two people who met, do not know each other. One seemed to get all the luck in the world, having a positive outlook, The other one seemed to be getting all the wrong things, with a negative outlook. So I thought the story will just be that. I had a negative feeling about the movie then.
But then came a part when all three of us broke into laughter. And from then on, it just went uphill, and we ended up enjoying the movie.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie experience is not the moview itself, but it is how the people in the cinema laughing in unison, whenever there was a comedic part of the film. And best of all, the man beside Isa was really laughing so hard, to the point that instead of laughing at what was happening in the film, we were laughing more on how the person was laughing. Not in any negative way, but when you hear that kind of laugh, you won't be able to help yourself but to laugh as well.
Anyway, after the movie, we had dessert, and talked more.
The whole meet-up with them was fun for me, as it is my only time this sem break to actually meet-up with my old friends. I'm glad to have done that.
Today was a rather special day for me. I basically started the day late, teaching an MTG session in Makati. The topic my grade 5 kids had was Logic. I must say, they had difficulty grasping the topic, as it is not really the Math most students are used to. It's more of a combination of puzzles, riddles and simple logic.
Then came the fun part. I was supposed to end at 4:20, but I went overtime due to the game we had in class. Nikka was already waiting for me outside, in a taxi, as I told her to pick me up before going to Power Plant Mall. And she did wait for me, for about 5 or so minutes.
It was raining when I went out of MES, and so when we got to the mall, it was still raining. We saw Isa a few minutes later, and we decided to buy tickets immediately. We were debating on whether we watch Social Network for 2.5 hours, so we end exactly at 9, or we watch a shorter film, which starts earlier, so we have time after the moview to do some chit-chat. We chose the second option and instead watched Due Date with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead.
We then ate at this Korean Restaurant, Kaya. It's not too cheap, nor is it too expensive. The food was great!
We then lined up to buy popcorn and tacos. The clock hit 6:10, and we thought we're late. As we entered the moview theater, the lights were still on. We chose seats at the far back of the cinema so we can get a full view. But low and behold, as I went on to the first step, the lights went out, signalling that the movie is starting after a few more trailers. We were walking up the theater, barely seeing where we are stepping.
At first, I thought the movie is boring. The first half was dragging, and I just don't get the laughs from it. It basically featured two people who met, do not know each other. One seemed to get all the luck in the world, having a positive outlook, The other one seemed to be getting all the wrong things, with a negative outlook. So I thought the story will just be that. I had a negative feeling about the movie then.
But then came a part when all three of us broke into laughter. And from then on, it just went uphill, and we ended up enjoying the movie.
Perhaps the highlight of the movie experience is not the moview itself, but it is how the people in the cinema laughing in unison, whenever there was a comedic part of the film. And best of all, the man beside Isa was really laughing so hard, to the point that instead of laughing at what was happening in the film, we were laughing more on how the person was laughing. Not in any negative way, but when you hear that kind of laugh, you won't be able to help yourself but to laugh as well.
Anyway, after the movie, we had dessert, and talked more.
The whole meet-up with them was fun for me, as it is my only time this sem break to actually meet-up with my old friends. I'm glad to have done that.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Are You a Foreign Student?
So yesterday, November 4, was the designated day for our enrollment, the last time I'm ever going to do this in Ateneo (unless I crazily decide to take another graduate course).
Everything was smooth-sailing. I thought of taking snapshots of the process, as it is going to be my last. So when I entered the SS Conference Rooms 1 and 2 to get my grades and registration form, I forgot to take a snapshot. Why? I really don't know. Haha. I guess I just forgot.
We were given these slips of paper, one showing our basic information, and another informing us of the Graduate AISIS (More like IVLE for registration purposes). We're getting this... even though we're already graduating in March. The use of this will just be for viewing grades, at least for us graduating AMF majors.
My grades were okay, not high, not too low. I guess it's okay, although I must say, "I could have done better". I guess this will be one of the factors that will push me to work hard and give my all this last semester. Hopefully, I can really deliver this time.
Moving on, after SS Conference Rooms 1 and 2, we were told to go up to SS Conference Rooms 3 and 4 for the Enlistment Proper. One of the checkers, who "checked" my reg form, asked me "Are you a foreign student?". I guess it's part of their standard procedure, but then I still said no, and asked her why she though I am a foreign student. What startled me is her reply: "Oh, I thought you are kasi you have an accent." I didn't know that I had an accent. Maybe she heard me wrong, or maybe I really had one and was just unaware of it.
And hence I got my schedule: Classes only during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Yey!
9:30-10:30 CS 268 - Computer Modeling - Teknomo
10:30-11:30 AMF 241 - Stochastic Calculus II - Marasigan
13:30-14:30 AMF 272 - Risk Management - Cabral and De Lara-Tuprio
14:30-15:30 MA 295J.6 - Advanced Operations Research - Mina and Ruiz
I hope this semester will be a good one. I really do. I want to end this senester with a blast. I said this last year, same time, before the start of the last semester of my undergraduate course. This time, I want this to come true.
May God bless us all.
Everything was smooth-sailing. I thought of taking snapshots of the process, as it is going to be my last. So when I entered the SS Conference Rooms 1 and 2 to get my grades and registration form, I forgot to take a snapshot. Why? I really don't know. Haha. I guess I just forgot.
We were given these slips of paper, one showing our basic information, and another informing us of the Graduate AISIS (More like IVLE for registration purposes). We're getting this... even though we're already graduating in March. The use of this will just be for viewing grades, at least for us graduating AMF majors.
My grades were okay, not high, not too low. I guess it's okay, although I must say, "I could have done better". I guess this will be one of the factors that will push me to work hard and give my all this last semester. Hopefully, I can really deliver this time.
Moving on, after SS Conference Rooms 1 and 2, we were told to go up to SS Conference Rooms 3 and 4 for the Enlistment Proper. One of the checkers, who "checked" my reg form, asked me "Are you a foreign student?". I guess it's part of their standard procedure, but then I still said no, and asked her why she though I am a foreign student. What startled me is her reply: "Oh, I thought you are kasi you have an accent." I didn't know that I had an accent. Maybe she heard me wrong, or maybe I really had one and was just unaware of it.
And hence I got my schedule: Classes only during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Yey!
9:30-10:30 CS 268 - Computer Modeling - Teknomo
10:30-11:30 AMF 241 - Stochastic Calculus II - Marasigan
13:30-14:30 AMF 272 - Risk Management - Cabral and De Lara-Tuprio
14:30-15:30 MA 295J.6 - Advanced Operations Research - Mina and Ruiz
I hope this semester will be a good one. I really do. I want to end this senester with a blast. I said this last year, same time, before the start of the last semester of my undergraduate course. This time, I want this to come true.
May God bless us all.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sem Break
When the semestral break comes, bum time, DVD Marathons and pig-out sessions are the usual things students do. Semestral breaks, happening after the First Semester, give students time to relax, enjoy life, give the mind a rest after 18 straight weeks of study (for Ateneo students).
As this is my last "sem break", I would want it to be a special one. Semestral Break started October 17, 2010, and will end on November 7, 2010. A pretty short one as it is usually 4 weeks of vacation for us.
To date, I have stayed all-day at home only for one day (October 28, 2010). I have been going out, fixing documents I need, going to places such as Tagaytay City for the MTG International Mathematics Educators Conference (as a registration person, not a participant).
Now going to the fun part. I have watched movies, again! I downloaded some via torrent, and watched others from TV. In one night, I watched thriller movies Final Destination 3 and The Final Destination (aka Final Destination 4). As I have watched the first two movies of the same name when I was younger, I decided to watch these movies in time for Halloween. Here in the Philippines, it is not a common thing to actually celebrate and party during the Halloween season. We instead spend October 31, November 1 and/or November 2 in cemeteries, visiting our dead loved ones, paying respects to them. It is a Philippine tradition we call "Undas".
From Horror, I decided to watch light movies, including Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Grown-Ups. The former talks about Cats (Meows group) and Dogs (Paws group) working together to stop "evil cat" Kitty Galore. She was a former Meows agent. In one of her field works, she fell into a tub of hair-removal cream, losing all her hair. Without hair, her human caretakers didn't recognize her and got rid of her. She seeked revenge on dogs and humans, and later on, even on her fellow cats.
On TV, I also watched Shooter and iRobot. I can't say I liked these movies, but they're so-so. Not my type of movies, I guess.
And just today, I watched two disaster films, Locusts and Prinaha 3D. I just seem to not get over disaster films. As their titles connote, the films are about animals/insects affecting humans, by eating their food and/or eating humans themselves alive.
As this is my last "sem break", I would want it to be a special one. Semestral Break started October 17, 2010, and will end on November 7, 2010. A pretty short one as it is usually 4 weeks of vacation for us.
To date, I have stayed all-day at home only for one day (October 28, 2010). I have been going out, fixing documents I need, going to places such as Tagaytay City for the MTG International Mathematics Educators Conference (as a registration person, not a participant).
Now going to the fun part. I have watched movies, again! I downloaded some via torrent, and watched others from TV. In one night, I watched thriller movies Final Destination 3 and The Final Destination (aka Final Destination 4). As I have watched the first two movies of the same name when I was younger, I decided to watch these movies in time for Halloween. Here in the Philippines, it is not a common thing to actually celebrate and party during the Halloween season. We instead spend October 31, November 1 and/or November 2 in cemeteries, visiting our dead loved ones, paying respects to them. It is a Philippine tradition we call "Undas".
From Horror, I decided to watch light movies, including Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Grown-Ups. The former talks about Cats (Meows group) and Dogs (Paws group) working together to stop "evil cat" Kitty Galore. She was a former Meows agent. In one of her field works, she fell into a tub of hair-removal cream, losing all her hair. Without hair, her human caretakers didn't recognize her and got rid of her. She seeked revenge on dogs and humans, and later on, even on her fellow cats.
On TV, I also watched Shooter and iRobot. I can't say I liked these movies, but they're so-so. Not my type of movies, I guess.
And just today, I watched two disaster films, Locusts and Prinaha 3D. I just seem to not get over disaster films. As their titles connote, the films are about animals/insects affecting humans, by eating their food and/or eating humans themselves alive.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A Very Special Day
Whenever someone celebrates his/her birthday, he/she is actually starting the next year of his life. Say as I celebrate my 21st birthday, I'm actually starting my 22nd year of life.
This day is special.
1st Reason: Today is the last day of my last first semester in Ateneo (unless I get a higher post-graduate degree). I had my last exam for the semester for AMF 290 earlier today, at 9 AM, and passed the group project for the same class.
2nd Reason: Since today is the last exam day, then today also marks the first day of the 3-week semestral break. It's a time to unwind, relax and enjoy life without worrying about school.
3rd Reason: Today marks the end of my 21st year of existence. Some people say that I am about to start my 21st year of life, which is a misnomer, as explained above. But anyway, I'm happy for life, happy for my family, happy for my friends.
I'm ready to face and start the 22nd year of my life, going legal in terms of age for the US. I'm ready for new challenges awaiting me.
Thank you, Lord.
This day is special.
1st Reason: Today is the last day of my last first semester in Ateneo (unless I get a higher post-graduate degree). I had my last exam for the semester for AMF 290 earlier today, at 9 AM, and passed the group project for the same class.
2nd Reason: Since today is the last exam day, then today also marks the first day of the 3-week semestral break. It's a time to unwind, relax and enjoy life without worrying about school.
3rd Reason: Today marks the end of my 21st year of existence. Some people say that I am about to start my 21st year of life, which is a misnomer, as explained above. But anyway, I'm happy for life, happy for my family, happy for my friends.
I'm ready to face and start the 22nd year of my life, going legal in terms of age for the US. I'm ready for new challenges awaiting me.
Thank you, Lord.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Watching Glee
Episode 1: Audition
Sunshine Corazon and Sam Evans introduced, with former Glee member Matt Rutherford transferring out. We see Sunshine Corazon transferring to another school, joining Vocal Adrenaline and Sam Evans still unsure as to whether joining Glee Club will be good.
Episode 2: Britney/Britanny
Britanny S. Pierce finally gets noticed. We see a new dimension from her character. Paying tribute to pop icon Britney Spears, the show lacked story, and instead focused on Britney songs being performed.
On the one hand, making Britney appear as a sex-driven craze makes me think this episode didn't pay tribute to Britney the way they should have. On the other hand, looking deeper, with those fantasies of Britney arising after being put down by anaesthesia means that in our generation, Britney is defitely embedded to the core of our existence. She has, and will always be, part of this generation's history.
Episode 3: Grilled Cheesus
I thought this episode will be offensive and blasphemous. I thought I wouldn't like this episode at all. I even delayed watching it for three days as I was not feeling right about Jesus' name being changed to Cheesus to create the effect they want.
After finally watching the episode, I can safely say, that this episode is one of, if not, my favorite episode(s) in Glee. I somehow can relate to the personal communication with God, and the questioning on my personal beliefs and faith.
When I was in Singapore, I met friends who asked me questions about my religion. Being a Catholic all throughout my life, I thought I can easily answer their questions. They were non-Catholic Christians, and they posed questions which aren;t offensive, but really made me think hard about my religion. I was stumped with some of their questions. I didn't even know the answer to simple core truths of my religion. My Muslim friend also asked me about Catholicism, and I found just how similar and yet different Islam and Catholicism are.
Episode 4: Duets
I liked this episode as the theatrical parts and story were both present. As what I've mentioned as a comment in another web review, this episode exposed us to a lot of realities in High School. Fitting in, insecurities, friendships (and the lack of it), loneliness, strength and courage to move on and take chances once again. All from Sam, Kurt and Quinn.
I think the duets were great, with Santana and Mercedes as the best duet in my honest opinion. As for the rest:
Rachel/Finn - not so good. I don't get why it's offensive though.
Sam/Quinn - kinda ordinary, but their blending was really good.
Mike/Tina - I wish they can actually let Mike sing a song, maybe a song where his voice fits.
Sunshine Corazon and Sam Evans introduced, with former Glee member Matt Rutherford transferring out. We see Sunshine Corazon transferring to another school, joining Vocal Adrenaline and Sam Evans still unsure as to whether joining Glee Club will be good.
Episode 2: Britney/Britanny
Britanny S. Pierce finally gets noticed. We see a new dimension from her character. Paying tribute to pop icon Britney Spears, the show lacked story, and instead focused on Britney songs being performed.
On the one hand, making Britney appear as a sex-driven craze makes me think this episode didn't pay tribute to Britney the way they should have. On the other hand, looking deeper, with those fantasies of Britney arising after being put down by anaesthesia means that in our generation, Britney is defitely embedded to the core of our existence. She has, and will always be, part of this generation's history.
Episode 3: Grilled Cheesus
I thought this episode will be offensive and blasphemous. I thought I wouldn't like this episode at all. I even delayed watching it for three days as I was not feeling right about Jesus' name being changed to Cheesus to create the effect they want.
After finally watching the episode, I can safely say, that this episode is one of, if not, my favorite episode(s) in Glee. I somehow can relate to the personal communication with God, and the questioning on my personal beliefs and faith.
When I was in Singapore, I met friends who asked me questions about my religion. Being a Catholic all throughout my life, I thought I can easily answer their questions. They were non-Catholic Christians, and they posed questions which aren;t offensive, but really made me think hard about my religion. I was stumped with some of their questions. I didn't even know the answer to simple core truths of my religion. My Muslim friend also asked me about Catholicism, and I found just how similar and yet different Islam and Catholicism are.
Episode 4: Duets
I liked this episode as the theatrical parts and story were both present. As what I've mentioned as a comment in another web review, this episode exposed us to a lot of realities in High School. Fitting in, insecurities, friendships (and the lack of it), loneliness, strength and courage to move on and take chances once again. All from Sam, Kurt and Quinn.
I think the duets were great, with Santana and Mercedes as the best duet in my honest opinion. As for the rest:
Rachel/Finn - not so good. I don't get why it's offensive though.
Sam/Quinn - kinda ordinary, but their blending was really good.
Mike/Tina - I wish they can actually let Mike sing a song, maybe a song where his voice fits.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September: They just keep coming
They day after my last post, I watched the movie Hulk, starring Eric Bana, which deals with the Marvel hero/villain the Hulk. The monster comes out when the human-form gets angry or intense emotions. This resulted from the genes of his father (when his father infected himself with a mutant gene), and being irradiated from the lab explosion, which served as the trigger for the gene to mutate.
September 9, 2010
While waiting for Jess and Rod, then joining myself, Jman, Hector, Earvin and Aaron for lunch, I sat down on the bench under the Batibot Tree. When they managed to catch up, I stood up, crossed Fr. Masterson Drive, and a few steps more, found myself feeling something on my right neck, which I immediately took out with my left hand, throwing it to the ground. It was a caterpillar, or higad in Filipino.
Caterpillars are generally known to leave hairs or stings on the path to which they walked on. Coming in contact with skin, this results to irritation, immense itching and redness. As a person who's quite allergic to a lot of things, I was afraid that it may worsen. I went to the infirmary to ask for immediate assistance.
As of now, there are still rashes on my arms and right side of the neck. Caladryl lotion and anti-histamine meds helped a lot in making the itch go away, and healing the inflammation.
September 14, 2010
I just had a report today for Dr. David's class. I don't know how it went, but I'm glad that one requirement is half-over. I just hope that in the end, there will still be a decent result for me and my partner.
September 9, 2010
While waiting for Jess and Rod, then joining myself, Jman, Hector, Earvin and Aaron for lunch, I sat down on the bench under the Batibot Tree. When they managed to catch up, I stood up, crossed Fr. Masterson Drive, and a few steps more, found myself feeling something on my right neck, which I immediately took out with my left hand, throwing it to the ground. It was a caterpillar, or higad in Filipino.
Caterpillars are generally known to leave hairs or stings on the path to which they walked on. Coming in contact with skin, this results to irritation, immense itching and redness. As a person who's quite allergic to a lot of things, I was afraid that it may worsen. I went to the infirmary to ask for immediate assistance.
As of now, there are still rashes on my arms and right side of the neck. Caladryl lotion and anti-histamine meds helped a lot in making the itch go away, and healing the inflammation.
September 14, 2010
I just had a report today for Dr. David's class. I don't know how it went, but I'm glad that one requirement is half-over. I just hope that in the end, there will still be a decent result for me and my partner.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Four
I recently watched three Fantastic Four movies, two movies which were shown in the last decade, Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and a 1994 "ashcan copy" movie version The Fantastic Four.
This week, I also watched a fourth film, The Time Traveller's Wife, which is a story about a time traveller and his life, and how he managed to visit a girl from her young age, who later on became his wife. The story, in a sense, asks us about out own lives, on how we face our ultimate end. It's somehow touching to see how Henry seems to be conflicted on accepting what is to come, when he sees the number 5 during his daughter's party. It's a movie that will make us think.
So what's with the number four? Nothing much. Except that on a personal note, there were four events which happened to the Philippines or to me and my family specifically which are worth mentioning.
1. The Manila Hostage Crisis - 25 were held hostaged, mostly Hong Kong citizen tourists, some mainland Chinese toursits, Filipino photographers and drivers, by a former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza. He instructed the driver to bring the bus to Quirino Grand Stand, where it stayed until the crisis ended at almost 9PM. Eight people died, Mendoza was killed, and nine others were injured.
2. Maria Venus Raj and Miss Universe 2010 - Maria Venus Raj, the controversial, almost-dethroned Bb. Pilipinas - Universe 2010, made it to the finals as the 4th Runner Up, the first time the Philippines made it back to the top 5 since the turn of the millenium. The last one who made it to the top 5 was Miriam Quiambao in Miss Universe 1999, where she placed as the First Runner Up. Maria Venus Raj's "major major" answer during the Q&A may have cost her the crown, but nonetheless, her placement is already a good thing for Filipinos.
3. Grandmom's 85th Birthday Celebration - My Grandmom from the mother side, Mama Lola as we forndly call her, celebrated her 85th birthday last Saturday. The whole Carbonel Clan was almost complete, with all my grandmom's children except for Sister Vangie who can't go to Manila as she is a contemplative nun, present during the said occasion. Ten out of eleven children present. All 11 of her grandchildren were also present. Celebrating a woman's 85th birthday is quite rare already, and hence it's a momentous occasion for all of us.
4. "Return of the Comeback" - As Smile fondly says, my sister finally came back to Manila! After her 36-day vacation (plus 2 days travel), she's finally back.
This week is filled with mixed emotions. Sadness was felt the whole day last Monday, a mix of happiness and sadness for Maria Venus Raj's win, and on a personal note, happiness for me and my family for the last two events.
I hope next week will be a good one as well.
This week, I also watched a fourth film, The Time Traveller's Wife, which is a story about a time traveller and his life, and how he managed to visit a girl from her young age, who later on became his wife. The story, in a sense, asks us about out own lives, on how we face our ultimate end. It's somehow touching to see how Henry seems to be conflicted on accepting what is to come, when he sees the number 5 during his daughter's party. It's a movie that will make us think.
So what's with the number four? Nothing much. Except that on a personal note, there were four events which happened to the Philippines or to me and my family specifically which are worth mentioning.
1. The Manila Hostage Crisis - 25 were held hostaged, mostly Hong Kong citizen tourists, some mainland Chinese toursits, Filipino photographers and drivers, by a former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza. He instructed the driver to bring the bus to Quirino Grand Stand, where it stayed until the crisis ended at almost 9PM. Eight people died, Mendoza was killed, and nine others were injured.
2. Maria Venus Raj and Miss Universe 2010 - Maria Venus Raj, the controversial, almost-dethroned Bb. Pilipinas - Universe 2010, made it to the finals as the 4th Runner Up, the first time the Philippines made it back to the top 5 since the turn of the millenium. The last one who made it to the top 5 was Miriam Quiambao in Miss Universe 1999, where she placed as the First Runner Up. Maria Venus Raj's "major major" answer during the Q&A may have cost her the crown, but nonetheless, her placement is already a good thing for Filipinos.
3. Grandmom's 85th Birthday Celebration - My Grandmom from the mother side, Mama Lola as we forndly call her, celebrated her 85th birthday last Saturday. The whole Carbonel Clan was almost complete, with all my grandmom's children except for Sister Vangie who can't go to Manila as she is a contemplative nun, present during the said occasion. Ten out of eleven children present. All 11 of her grandchildren were also present. Celebrating a woman's 85th birthday is quite rare already, and hence it's a momentous occasion for all of us.
4. "Return of the Comeback" - As Smile fondly says, my sister finally came back to Manila! After her 36-day vacation (plus 2 days travel), she's finally back.
This week is filled with mixed emotions. Sadness was felt the whole day last Monday, a mix of happiness and sadness for Maria Venus Raj's win, and on a personal note, happiness for me and my family for the last two events.
I hope next week will be a good one as well.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Getting Back on track
I haven't spent much time studying. I know I should, as I am still a student, but somehow, I am feeling the battery that is school. Now in my fifth year of continuous study, it seems as if my mind is telling me to give it a rest, and try to do something else. And with my newly found love for Movies, my mind is just getting the rest it needs.
Just this week, I managed to watch 8 movies. Last Monday, before my 830 AM class, I watched 28 Days Later, a story on an epidemic which spread all throughout England. Last Wednesday, right after my 830-930 class, I watched Step Up 3D at Gateway with my friend Darren, who thankfully had discounts for movies through Citibank purchases. I had to go back to Ateneo right after to catch my make-up 2:30-3:30 class. That same day, I managed to squeeze in watching Planet of the Apes (morning, before 8:30 class), Godzilla (after dinner), and The Happening (right after Godzilla). Good thing that we didn't have class last Thursday.
Yesterday, I finally got to watch City of Ember and How to Train your Dragon, two wonderful films. The former deals with a city built way underground, in an effort to save humanity from the world. People were supposed to stay there for 200 years, and after which, should follow instructions hidden in a time-sealed box, passed on to each mayor of the city. But when the box was lost, so was the possibility of getting out, until the generator giving light to the city started to have big problems, causing blackouts. The box, which was left hidden in the Mayfleet care, was found by a kid. And the journey goes on.
The latter is a movie on a Viking village and their problems with dragons. Hiccup, the lead character, somehow differs physically from the regular vikings. Beneath the frail structure is actually that kindness to dragons, making him not able to kill one, and ends up befriending it, and hence, training the dragon. The fierce night fury dragon has lost half it's tail, and Hiccup, furnished different tails for it. In the end, Hiccup loses his left foot, mirroring that of the dragon losing half its tail.
I found the stories of these two movies quite amusing and actually fun and thrilling to watch. Today, I watched the Dark City, which somehow resembles that of the City of Ember, with a darker tone.
In the end though, I have to start dealing with my Acads, and focus on them. I have to stop watching movies everyday, and instead use my time studying.
Just this week, I managed to watch 8 movies. Last Monday, before my 830 AM class, I watched 28 Days Later, a story on an epidemic which spread all throughout England. Last Wednesday, right after my 830-930 class, I watched Step Up 3D at Gateway with my friend Darren, who thankfully had discounts for movies through Citibank purchases. I had to go back to Ateneo right after to catch my make-up 2:30-3:30 class. That same day, I managed to squeeze in watching Planet of the Apes (morning, before 8:30 class), Godzilla (after dinner), and The Happening (right after Godzilla). Good thing that we didn't have class last Thursday.
Yesterday, I finally got to watch City of Ember and How to Train your Dragon, two wonderful films. The former deals with a city built way underground, in an effort to save humanity from the world. People were supposed to stay there for 200 years, and after which, should follow instructions hidden in a time-sealed box, passed on to each mayor of the city. But when the box was lost, so was the possibility of getting out, until the generator giving light to the city started to have big problems, causing blackouts. The box, which was left hidden in the Mayfleet care, was found by a kid. And the journey goes on.
The latter is a movie on a Viking village and their problems with dragons. Hiccup, the lead character, somehow differs physically from the regular vikings. Beneath the frail structure is actually that kindness to dragons, making him not able to kill one, and ends up befriending it, and hence, training the dragon. The fierce night fury dragon has lost half it's tail, and Hiccup, furnished different tails for it. In the end, Hiccup loses his left foot, mirroring that of the dragon losing half its tail.
I found the stories of these two movies quite amusing and actually fun and thrilling to watch. Today, I watched the Dark City, which somehow resembles that of the City of Ember, with a darker tone.
In the end though, I have to start dealing with my Acads, and focus on them. I have to stop watching movies everyday, and instead use my time studying.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Thinking
In the recent days, I have been obsessing on Disaster movies, science fiction movies on global warming, and natural calamities. I have watched TV miniseries 10.5 and its sequel 10.5: Apocalypse, as well as CBS miniseries Category 6: Day of Destruction and Category 7: The End of the World. These movies which contemplates and depict the future of the Earth really interests me. Even when I was young, this has already been my favorite movie genre. It's exciting and at the same time, intriguing, to watch shows which show what might happen to the Earth. It's fun to actually learn on the one hand, or criticize the dumbness of the situation on the other.
Aside from these, I have spent time watching philosophical movies. In my last blog entry, I mentioned that it was Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., which entailed a lot of thinking, due perhaps to the lines. Aside from this movie, I watched the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy movies Before Sunrise and its sequel 9 years later, Before Sunset. The latter really made me think about my past experiences on living abroad, meeting people, and possibly, meeting them again in the near future. Will it be ever possible for me to meet up with those people I met from all over the world? Or will this remain a dream unfulfilled? I hope that it's the former that will happen to me.
As I had enough time before my MWF class, I watched another Ethan Hawke movie, Daybreakers, which deals with the future of humanity, turned into vampires. I'm expecting to watch another movie from this genre within the week, the movie 28 Days Later.
Speaking of disasters, I happened to watch a "disaster" movie, in the sense that the movie was literally a disaster. Jawbreaker is a chick flick infused with horror. Maybe for many it is a thriller, but to me, it simply lacked anything which interests me as a viewer. It's just not my thing, I guess.
I have been watching a lot of movies recently, just to pass time when I arrive very early in school. I can't do much when I'm there anyway. And besides, most movies I watch do make me think about my current situation, and what could happen to me in the future, which no one really can predict. But one thing's for sure, I'll be watching more movies this week,. including How to Train Your Dragon.
***
My sister's going home in less than 2 weeks!
Aside from these, I have spent time watching philosophical movies. In my last blog entry, I mentioned that it was Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., which entailed a lot of thinking, due perhaps to the lines. Aside from this movie, I watched the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy movies Before Sunrise and its sequel 9 years later, Before Sunset. The latter really made me think about my past experiences on living abroad, meeting people, and possibly, meeting them again in the near future. Will it be ever possible for me to meet up with those people I met from all over the world? Or will this remain a dream unfulfilled? I hope that it's the former that will happen to me.
As I had enough time before my MWF class, I watched another Ethan Hawke movie, Daybreakers, which deals with the future of humanity, turned into vampires. I'm expecting to watch another movie from this genre within the week, the movie 28 Days Later.
Speaking of disasters, I happened to watch a "disaster" movie, in the sense that the movie was literally a disaster. Jawbreaker is a chick flick infused with horror. Maybe for many it is a thriller, but to me, it simply lacked anything which interests me as a viewer. It's just not my thing, I guess.
I have been watching a lot of movies recently, just to pass time when I arrive very early in school. I can't do much when I'm there anyway. And besides, most movies I watch do make me think about my current situation, and what could happen to me in the future, which no one really can predict. But one thing's for sure, I'll be watching more movies this week,. including How to Train Your Dragon.
***
My sister's going home in less than 2 weeks!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Just keeping track
For this year, I have not watched much movies in the theater. Apparently, I have not been going to the movies much, although compared to last year, I have surpassed my record of 4 movies in a year. As of yesterday, I have watched 5 movies: Robert Downey Jr.-starrer Iron Man 2, Robin Hood starring Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchett, Toy Story 3, Christopher Nolan's Leonardo Di Caprio-starrer Inception and Angelina Jolie-starrer Salt.
Aside from these movies, I have had the chance to watch movies by downloading them: Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Young Victoria, The Princess and the Frog, 500 Days of Summer, Population 436, The Human Centipede (First Sequence). Just today, I watched Sherlock Holmes before my class started.
Recently though, I have been spending time in reading a manga entitled "S.A.: Special A", which deals with the lives of seven students of Hakusen Academy, who are attending an elite class, from an elite school. The seven students are separate from rest, having a separate place where they stay, "study" or hang out, having different uniforms from the rest. I've downloaded the Special A Anime Series, a 24-episode anime version of the manga, and finished watching it already. Spell addict!
Aside from these movies, I have had the chance to watch movies by downloading them: Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Young Victoria, The Princess and the Frog, 500 Days of Summer, Population 436, The Human Centipede (First Sequence). Just today, I watched Sherlock Holmes before my class started.
Recently though, I have been spending time in reading a manga entitled "S.A.: Special A", which deals with the lives of seven students of Hakusen Academy, who are attending an elite class, from an elite school. The seven students are separate from rest, having a separate place where they stay, "study" or hang out, having different uniforms from the rest. I've downloaded the Special A Anime Series, a 24-episode anime version of the manga, and finished watching it already. Spell addict!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Just a little more
My sister is currently on her way to the United States for a 38-day long trip. A real vacation, which she truly deserves. In 14 hours, she will be landing in Vancouver for a short stop-over.
Ever since first year (June 2006), me and my coursemates have not had a real vacation, During summer, we get to go to school for 6 weeks, leaving us with 2 weeks before and after the said summer term as our "vacation". Somehow, we're getting the feeling of getting tired with studying.
The 6 week summer semester of my Master's course has been long gone, and I am now 5 weeks into my first semester. Just 11 more weeks and this semester is once again over. Oh how longing am I for this break. Having classes for 6 times a week, even if only for short hours each day, is not good for me. I lose time going to and from the school, as I live far from my uni.
We will soon be starting with projects for banks. I don't know who my final groupmates will be, but I surely am happy with who I am with now. Having worked with them before, I'm sure we can do well for our upcoming projects.
Perhpas the only real vacation I had was when I went on exchange in Singapore in the first half of 2009. More than a year has passed since my stay in Singapore. I somehow miss the people I met there, my friends who I have not been able to talk to recently, to the Filipino staying in Singapore, and to the Filipinos who had the same journey with me. I miss the times when we were just carefree, staying up late in the TV rooms, watching movies together, and worrying about nothing.
I have graduated once, and I hopefully will graduate again come March 2011. I hope to meet with you guys again.
To my coursemates, just a few more weeks, and we'll be done with our first semester.
Ever since first year (June 2006), me and my coursemates have not had a real vacation, During summer, we get to go to school for 6 weeks, leaving us with 2 weeks before and after the said summer term as our "vacation". Somehow, we're getting the feeling of getting tired with studying.
The 6 week summer semester of my Master's course has been long gone, and I am now 5 weeks into my first semester. Just 11 more weeks and this semester is once again over. Oh how longing am I for this break. Having classes for 6 times a week, even if only for short hours each day, is not good for me. I lose time going to and from the school, as I live far from my uni.
We will soon be starting with projects for banks. I don't know who my final groupmates will be, but I surely am happy with who I am with now. Having worked with them before, I'm sure we can do well for our upcoming projects.
Perhpas the only real vacation I had was when I went on exchange in Singapore in the first half of 2009. More than a year has passed since my stay in Singapore. I somehow miss the people I met there, my friends who I have not been able to talk to recently, to the Filipino staying in Singapore, and to the Filipinos who had the same journey with me. I miss the times when we were just carefree, staying up late in the TV rooms, watching movies together, and worrying about nothing.
I have graduated once, and I hopefully will graduate again come March 2011. I hope to meet with you guys again.
To my coursemates, just a few more weeks, and we'll be done with our first semester.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
AI9 Top 12 Review
So here's my ranking of the top 12:
1. Siobhan - she was really hot, amazing vocals, and the girl to beat
2. Didi - I never liked her, but now I did. Didi, one great girl. Love her song tonight.
3. Crystal - I want her to ditch the guitar. Now na. I believe that she has the greatest voice, but she has to unleash more of it.
4. Aaron - Among the teens, he was the best, and I think he has the feelings right for the song, which he showed to the audience.
5. Paige - I simply enjoyed her performance. With her sickness, she pulled it off.
6. Katie - She did pretty well. I felt her.
7. Lee - I still can't get over the pitch sometimes. I am getting the liking of people to, practically due to the roughness of his voice.
8. Lacey - Repetitive. I wish she just did something else than sit. I'm always on the edge with her voice.
9. Michael - Too smug of a performance? His voice is okay, but not that good. Didn't like his performance.
10. Casey - He's lost. He smiles a lot. Pa-cute. But it didn't work out.
11. Tim - I like how he changed the song but I have to be honest, it wasn't good.
12. Andrew - It was a mess. Michael did way better with his moving around the stage. Andrew is a clutter of Micheal's smugness and Casey's pa-cute.
This is based on performance. But taking into account the people's sympathy and all that, my prediction:
Bottom 3: Andrew, Michael, Lacey, with Lacey getting the boot.
I hope it's Andrew though. I hope to be wrong with Lacey, coz I love this girl.
1. Siobhan - she was really hot, amazing vocals, and the girl to beat
2. Didi - I never liked her, but now I did. Didi, one great girl. Love her song tonight.
3. Crystal - I want her to ditch the guitar. Now na. I believe that she has the greatest voice, but she has to unleash more of it.
4. Aaron - Among the teens, he was the best, and I think he has the feelings right for the song, which he showed to the audience.
5. Paige - I simply enjoyed her performance. With her sickness, she pulled it off.
6. Katie - She did pretty well. I felt her.
7. Lee - I still can't get over the pitch sometimes. I am getting the liking of people to, practically due to the roughness of his voice.
8. Lacey - Repetitive. I wish she just did something else than sit. I'm always on the edge with her voice.
9. Michael - Too smug of a performance? His voice is okay, but not that good. Didn't like his performance.
10. Casey - He's lost. He smiles a lot. Pa-cute. But it didn't work out.
11. Tim - I like how he changed the song but I have to be honest, it wasn't good.
12. Andrew - It was a mess. Michael did way better with his moving around the stage. Andrew is a clutter of Micheal's smugness and Casey's pa-cute.
This is based on performance. But taking into account the people's sympathy and all that, my prediction:
Bottom 3: Andrew, Michael, Lacey, with Lacey getting the boot.
I hope it's Andrew though. I hope to be wrong with Lacey, coz I love this girl.
Monday, March 15, 2010
So this is how it feels like to be a bum
Fifteen days after my final oral exam, I find myself doing nothing but stare into the mess of papers and books in front of me. My four years of undergraduate study is finally over, and I can throw away the clutter of readings and notes. Not all of them though.
I'm not doing much. I have caught up with the American Idol shows I've missed, with 7 Grey's Anatomy episodes, and with the last 5 episodes of Glee I failed to watch. I have written two of 5 letters which I am asked to write (I still need to buy that token for my benefactor!)
Looking back in my eight years at the Ateneo, I see a lot of changes and transformations that has happened to me. From being the transfer student from Lourdes School of Quezon City, to the graduating Applied Math major in Math Finance student, I can safely say, that I have grown a lot in those eight years. Interestingly, my graduation from High School and my graduation from the University fell on the same day. March 26, 2006 was my High School graduation. March 26, 2010 will be my College graduation.
I have decided to push through with my Master's program, about ten days ago.. I realized that going for the fifth year will really be helpful in the career path I will be undertaking. An additional year, and I'll have another degree. Taking an extra year will somehow level my education with that of the rest of world. I have heard many professors saying that the world looks at the Philippines as lacking a year or two in education, and sometimes, even when one has finished a master's degree in the Philippines, the student will be asked to take another master's degree, when pursuing a higher degree.
So if this is the case, why take the AMF fifth year still? I feel that it will be advantageous to take the fifth year, whether it is for work, or for futher studies. In working, having a master's degree gives one an advantage over applicants without the degree. In wanting to study further, most likely pursuing a higher degree abroad, having the fifth year somehow levels our education with that of the rest of the world.
God bless all graduates of batch 2010, and I hope that to all of us who are pursuiing this fifth year, that we will be able to make the most of our extra year.
I'm not doing much. I have caught up with the American Idol shows I've missed, with 7 Grey's Anatomy episodes, and with the last 5 episodes of Glee I failed to watch. I have written two of 5 letters which I am asked to write (I still need to buy that token for my benefactor!)
Looking back in my eight years at the Ateneo, I see a lot of changes and transformations that has happened to me. From being the transfer student from Lourdes School of Quezon City, to the graduating Applied Math major in Math Finance student, I can safely say, that I have grown a lot in those eight years. Interestingly, my graduation from High School and my graduation from the University fell on the same day. March 26, 2006 was my High School graduation. March 26, 2010 will be my College graduation.
I have decided to push through with my Master's program, about ten days ago.. I realized that going for the fifth year will really be helpful in the career path I will be undertaking. An additional year, and I'll have another degree. Taking an extra year will somehow level my education with that of the rest of world. I have heard many professors saying that the world looks at the Philippines as lacking a year or two in education, and sometimes, even when one has finished a master's degree in the Philippines, the student will be asked to take another master's degree, when pursuing a higher degree.
So if this is the case, why take the AMF fifth year still? I feel that it will be advantageous to take the fifth year, whether it is for work, or for futher studies. In working, having a master's degree gives one an advantage over applicants without the degree. In wanting to study further, most likely pursuing a higher degree abroad, having the fifth year somehow levels our education with that of the rest of the world.
God bless all graduates of batch 2010, and I hope that to all of us who are pursuiing this fifth year, that we will be able to make the most of our extra year.
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