Hehehe…The most surprising of all surprises indeed. No doubt unbelievable and above all, it was completely out of the blue. Last Friday was course card distribution day, finally the last day of the long extended first term of the school year. It’s the day when the jury’s out on whose subjects they pass and/or fail, where dreams are shattered and miracles happen for a reason.
As for me, it was the end of struggles and challenges for the time being as well as the end of hardships followed by a long-deserved rest period (of two days that is). I’m just so darn glad that this trimester is over for good! Ha!
As per the usual, I went to school that day to get a hold of my course cards which seals my fate on all the subjects I had for the term. The lowest grade was a 1.5 from 3danim1. It’s not the lowest I had for a passing grade ever but nonetheless I had the most trouble learning. It’s basic 3D animation really with a degree in Maya 101 (ehem “7.0” ehem “2008”) but the result of 3 weeks with no professor and a hard-to-understand replacement took a toll with me becoming almost clueless on how to use Maya.
Believe me, I could only learn a thing if the subject in question is easy to pick up (getting a hand with computer programs and all that jazz). It’s something that I’ve only been successful to a couple of subjects, Cadvis1 and Webdev1. Cadvis1 requires us to use Autodesk Architecture Desktop a.k.a. Autocad. It’s basically 3D Animation meets Technical Drawing/Drafting made easier. On the other hand, Webdev1 gives us the lowdown with basics of creating a functioning website using 3 programs: Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Compared to 3danim1, I manage to get a grade of 3.0 and 2.5 for Wedev1 and Cadvis1 respectively.
Who knew one plate could lead to a drastic cut on my final grade? That’s exactly what happened when I saw my final grade from Cnctpho. The panel who critiqued my take on rape as the theme for my finals gave me a reasonably good grade but it did not equate to a higher FG. I was short one more pre-finals plate, a plate on monochromatic photographs. I was simply cut short of time as well as extremely busy with my other classes that I had no choice but not to go through with the shoot. I could have join in with those who were still doing their shots but things happened (budget, etc) thus I decided to just let it be (having passed all but one plate already for the subject). I got a 2.0 for my FG, a 50% drop from my midterm grade of 2.5.
Well, that alone dashed my hopes of getting into the dean’s list even (although I shouldn’t be surprise since I already knew my fate in 3danim1 before I got my course card for that subject).
One class I know I’m safe is Vidprd1. Not only was Sir Dodos the best prof around but the subject itself I know I could go without fail. The class is all about Basic Scriptwriting and we were required to produce scripts of our own stories for both midterms and finals. The latter however had to made through “mediamorphosis”, a method of which we adapt an existing story from another medium into another. Mine is my own take of the legend of Mt Mayon where I set the story in a “pseudo-contemporary” setting infused with humanized characteristics and slices of comedy compared to the source material. I had a 3.0 for an FG in this class. The only thing my prof hated was the title of my script: “Ang magandang si Daragang Magayon” hehehe!
The surprising moment on that day was when I picked up my garde for 2danim1. Sir Chino gave me an unbelievable grade of 4.0 (the highest passing grade in the La Salle system). To be completely honest, I was expecting maybe a 2.5 or a 3.0 as I never deemed my own works to be as par as my other classmates who seemed to be more at ease in drawing.
I love drawing and all that but my skills in that area is a continuing work in progress. I may lack the discipline of a good artist but I put good amount of effort to produce the best that I could give. I continue to take criticisms thrown into me in heart as I know they could help me mold me into the artist that I want to be. As I am already satisfied with passing 2danim1 with flying colors, I consider the 4.0 for my FG as an added bonus.
Tomorrow will be the start of another term with another full-loaded schedule. Most of my subjects are in the afternoon and evening (2:45-5:45pm and 6-9pm) with one class from 8-11am Fridays. Many of them are already follow-up majors from last term with the addition of Author1.
With the coming of the second trimester, I have more or less three more terms before graduation. Wish me luck!
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