A Look Back to 20@'10!

I can't help describe how exactly 2010 fared for me. A lot of stuff happened, both good and bad, interesting twists and life-sized developments I never expect would happen to me. I'll see if I could run all down the events that made marked my 20th year of life so awesome @'10.

JANUARY
-The then seemingly-unending second term of the previous school year (2009-10) finally concluded. The students of CSB got to move on from a term that was marked by natural disasters, term extensions, wrongful decisions from the higher-ups, and a lot more than we could imagine.
-I discovered someone's true colors and I was pretty disappointed to what he/she has become.
-The long-awaited Montessorian reunion 8 years in the making finally materialized in the form of RECONNECTIONS.

FEBRUARY
-I applied to be a part of the RT30 Countdown (99.5RT's weekly chart show) as an intern which I got in eventually (On the same day I was applying for a similar job at their next door neighbor, Mellow 94.7).
-On the day of hearts, Jeco posted a very awesome pic showing me, MR, Dianne, Chamy, Yoko and him taken exactly a year ago. It was really sweet and awesome which inspired me to write a blog about it the same day.
-Knowing I won't be in school long, I tried for the third time applying to be a part of the school's frosh orientation program.

MARCH
-I went to a retreat with a bunch load of my friends and would be friends in Tagaytay. No tear-jerky sessions occurred throughout the whole ordeal but we forged new friendships and reinforced new ones (in memory of Dims). LOL
-It's not everyday you're friends with almost the whole batch of the SDA Chef's station. I owe that to Nikko and for his introduction of their signature dish: COFFEE JELLY. Piaya times baby!

APRIL
-This one's a shocker: I was let go from my internship in RT30. But my relationship with RT didn't end there because...
-I applied to be a part of RT's The Farm, a radio-training program. I got to meet some really awesome people indeed.


MAY
-The seemingly unending school year finally drew to a close and just when we thought we're only going to get 2 weeks of vacation, we finally had a whole month off!
-Something for a change, I took up the courage to meet my idol. It paid off.
-It's time for yearbook pictures and when I got to see my pictures, I wasn't satisfied with the results so I asked for a retake a month later.
-FOP time! I was shuffling between FARM training and orienting froshes for almost 2 weeks straight, it was nerve-wracking hehehe.
-The launch of The CSB Experience 4: The Final Experience.

JUNE
-Jenny from the Block passed away. :(
-I attended my last Mediamax orientation.
-The trip to Singapore finally pushed through and it was 5 days of pure awesomeness!
-I had my Frosh Nite experience re-lived when me and the rest of the Sessionistas reunited to welcome the new batch of Benildeans. (Mga di pa nagbabayad, bayaran niyo na ako :D)
-OMG, the pet project of The Farm was a huge success.
-Hours before heading off for OMG, I decided to pay a visit to Max FM, where I got to be DJ for an hour with Johnny Chase/Mondo while waiting for Quich Lorraine/Raine.
-I started The Pursuit.

JULY
-Graphika Manila, FINALLY! After three years of trying, fourth time was certainly a charm.
-Extra-ordinary did I manage myself into hopping for my class' Malarayat field trip due to extra-ordinary circumstances.
-I got word from an industry insider online about Max FM's pending format switch and I wasted no time visiting the booth for one last time.
-Kadugo!

AUGUST
-Me and a load of callers kept Raine company on her unexpectedly final day on the air and I got it on tape! YESSH!
-My ears turned red on the biggest mess I made but managed to clean it up.
-I bid my Teenage Dream goodbye as I turned 20 @ '10. Unfortunately, the planned 20@'10 reunion among my GS friends did not materialize. Too bad :(

SEPTEMBER
-September marked the day I officially marked my one term extension in school and at the same time, a critical period for me to pass every single subject I have for the second trimester.
-I was an orientor again for the 2nd term's FOP. But due to some misunderstandings, me and a few others ended up orienting not so-frosh students, but it was still fun because I really had a good time talking with members of the school's Deaf community.
-Got my wish into visiting the U92 booth in Silver City and met The Brewrats!
-I started to understand more and more about trade secrets that aren't secrets to everyone else.

OCTOBER
-I had a strong reaction with Studio 23's recent scheduling changes as of late when they had their signature US programs pushed to late night in favor of a daily nightime movie block on primetime. I ended up having a "creative argument" with 23's Program Manager Vince Rodriguez (who we share an unknown connection with Cheenee in more ways than one). Up til now, I still disprove of what they did in favor of airing two daily movie blocks. It's a betrayal to long-time viewers like me.
-I never thought I get to be heard on the air again but Oct. 28 proved me wrong. A reunion with my fellow Farmers, a concert happening at the Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, and meeting famous faces front and center....What more can I ask for?

NOVEMBER
-I started production for the pilot "episode" of my thesis film, An Almost Affair starring Demy Cruz, Shiena Labay, Sam San Jose and also starring Paw Castillo.

DECEMBER
-The cousins came home after living in the US for 9 long years thus the yearly Christmas celebration of the Sibucao clan was more than the usual this year.
-I got myself a sorta-new Nikon D40x which was owned originally by my sister's college friend. Only problem is that it doesn't have a USB cable for me to upload my pictures to a PC.
-I started another creative argument with another guy from ABS...This time with the channel head of MYX, Andre Allan Alvarez. LOL, bigtime na nga!

That's all folks!

The CSB Experience 4: Crash and Burn

Right now, I'm at this point where I am truly bummed. Stressed out as I keep on thinking I still have to give my all to whatever is left for this term while at the same time, I'm thinking of what will happen come the next trimester.

I'm at this point in my academic life na talagang nakakaramdam ako ng burn-out. Excited na rin kasi na mabigyang tuldok ang buhay eskuwela ko. For my journey has an end date, July 2011 but it could still change if for some reason I did something that will held me back for at least another term.

I don't want that to happen. The first time I failed a subject, I immediately retook it the following term while carrying over the one I'm supposed to take to the summer, my first Benildean summer to be specific. I want to finish in time, that's a goal I want to reach but things didn't turned out the way I hoped so I as forced to extended one more term.

Jeco and Ericson are about to end their respective journeys on February 2011. It made think of what will happen if I actually get to finish my run on time. Then again, I realized that these two took double, if not triple, the effort of completing the requirements to finish in time. If that means having the need to overload, they will do it. At least it paid off for them.

I could always have that option open but I don't want to rush things too much. I don't want to force myself on doing too much in less time. I could multitask but not to the point of selling my soul to the Smoke Monster (hahaha, LOST reference. Miss ko na sina Kate, Locke at Jaaack).

If I could ace my other remaining units this term, I'll be left with 10 more units to finish. Imagine back then, I have to take as much as 21 units for ever term and fast forward to now, it has all come down to this remaining 10.

I'm already feeling the pressure of finishing school as soon as I can. But I know I have friends and family who will always have my back. It pays off everything I worked hard for these past 3 and a half years.

I can assure to myself, and to you that I will not CRASH and BURN.

The CSB Experience 4: Internal Defense, Internal Struggles (The Conclusion)

Feeling so much of a haggard today brought by last night's internal defense. I got home late and I slept late. It's a good thing I only had 1 class today. At least I was able to find ample free time to make up for lost sleep.

Last night was just simply awesome for the fact that Proj1 is no longer gonna keep me from reaching the end of my life as a student (I'm hoping it'd be the same with BIZ1). Since I started The CSB Experience, I have always stated that I am fearful of any little thing that could hold me back from fully be done with school. Although there is still one trimester left for me to complete, I can't help but think that the end is near.

What happened at panel opened my eyes to stuff I thought I could never do. It made me wonder of the things I could possibly do as a profession once I venture off to the real world.

My video-hypernarrative thesis project, entitled "An Almost Affair" which focus on marital issues (fronted primarily by the issue of infidelity) which I sought to give a different take on the typical love story so as not to reinforce stereotypes typically seen on television dramas. In addition, I want my film to possess the look and feel of a soap opera to make it appealing to my intended target market.

After presenting my contents to my panelists, they commented that I seem to have a tendency on making stories that are too depressing and somehow, tragic. It's something I can't blame them for actually.

 Other than that, they suggest recasting all but one of my actors, replacing them with ones who looks and acts like my 20-something year old characters. One of them said that I'd be better off not marketing my project as a "mini-soap opera". I could still stick with the "look and feel part" but the format itself, I need to ditch altogether. They think it won't work, seeing the risks that I might face once I undergo my external defense several months from now.

I try to defend my stand on the matter but they keep on talking and commenting that I really didn't have much of a chance to explain further. It didn't help that my mind's psyched out but at least i was able to compose myself. They mentioned I have a liking towards using big words so they were discouraging me from using such as it might lead to complications.

In the end, I passed with flying colors but I have to keep in mind the things that I must change for the next few months. It's shame though that I won't be able to ultimately use the existing footage, especially the ones I shot in Vatel Restaurant. Me and my cast have put a lot of effort, energy, sweat and all that shiz so i could produce the footage I need to present for defense and I was hoping I could still use them beside continuing production next year.

This poses as a challenge for me to step up the plate as this is a project that will, as I mentioned time and again, make or break me and will prove crucial on the decision factor if I am going to end the school with a bang!

GO LANG NG GO!

The CSB Experience 4: Internal Defense, Internal Struggles (Gotta Pass 'Em All!)

Huhuhu, I feel like crying a bucket of tears today. In less than a few hours from now, I'll be defending my thesis project in front of panel and I really hope that the feedback would be positive.

I have heard of stories about people who failed there internal defense because they  weren't able to present all of their requirements to their panelists, others because they were late, while there those who simply failed to defend their projects effectively.

One by one, every student from my batch are being interrogated, spliced up and ripped open by these cruel panelists hoping that the days, the months and the hours spent on completing at least half of their respective projects have all paid off. I have to make sure that I was able to check on every end and every corner to make sure that I didn't leave anything unnoticed.

Right now, I still have to photocopy a couple of documents for panel, and provide a soft copy of all my raw files to them. I hope it all pays off.

If I get rejected by them (Sir Rene, Ms. Lai, and Ms. Karen), I swear I'm going to kill somebody! (LOLz)

I just have to remember what I always tell myself for motivation: Go lang ng go!

The CSB Experience 4: Almost There!!!!

Can I just say how freakin' happy I am right now? As in seriously, I never thought the day would finally come when I FINALLY have the opportunity to pre-enroll online for the very last time! Alas, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I have to put my excitement on hold til tomorrow.

Grrr...I just couldn't wait any more longer!

Parang kailan lang, pumasok ako sa CSB bilang isang freshman, isang frosh...At ngayon, bilang na ang mga araw ko bago ako lumabas dito bilang isang graduate. 1 term na lang ang natitira, out of 12.5 terms na kailangan kong tapusin. 10 units na kailangang kunin at matapos sa lalong madaling panahon.

I'm also worried because there's still no guarantee if the third trimester of the school year will be my last. There is still the question of whether I'm going to pass the classes I'm taking right now, especially my MMPROJ1. I fear I might not succeed on passing them all especially that I highly regard every term I've been in as a critical point, where one simple action could make-or-break my entire future.

I know I'm making a big deal out of it but it's true. I just want to finish college so badly so I could find myself a job and start make a living for myself. Lalo pa naman na nasa isip ko na malapit nang matapos ang paglalakbay na aking sinimulan. Isang deretsahan na lang at mararating ko na ang katapusan.

Kung hindi lang dahil may pending clearance pa ako sa Accounting Office, ma-eencode ko na sana iyung mga magagandang slots na puwede ko pa makuha. Ayoko nang tumagal, gusto ko na wakasin ito.

I'm almost there at the end of the road.

J.I.A.: Overnight

As much as I was homesick back then during my year-long stay in a foreign country, adjusting to new surroundings was a really difficult task. There are things that I have to get used to like speaking English all the time (at least we could still speak Filipino within the household), getting used to the colder-than-cold climate and unseasonably unpredictable weather, and yes...overcoming culture shock.

Eventually, somehow it all paid off. I was able to gain new friends and learned a lot of stuff along the way. There were a lot of firsts: My first Thanksgiving, my first Halloween, my first Kwanzaa, and among so many is my first sleepover at a friend's house.

It was a little around March or April 2002, spring was at its full blossom, the temperatures hovering between 44 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a new student in our class, Koji. He's been in with us for a good number of weeks already, it didn't really took long before all of us in the class got really close with him.

One time, I was having this idea of having a friend sleep-over at my apartment for some "getting-to-know-you" bondings. It was actually hard, asking someone about it, because I don't know how I could blurt it out. By some unexpected twist and I don't remember exactly now how it happened, I was able to get Koji convinced of having one of us sleep-over at the other's house. Although I was hoping he could sleep at my place, turns out I was the one who's going to his place for the overnight. Both our moms agreed to what the two of us cooked up and set the day of the sleepover at Friday.

On the day itself, I couldn't help myself feeling all excited. Maybe because then I was thinking "Yeah finally, I'd be able to do those things kids do on TV...SLEEPOVER!". My stuff were already prepped up and packed. I just need to get back home right away from school so I could get them and wait til Koji and his mom arrives to pick me up.

I was able to meet his mom, and she's a really nice and cool person. I thinking though that like Jonathan (our other classmate who lives just a couple blocks from my apartment), the Takagi's are just the two of them. Turns out Koji has siblings who weren't around at the time and his dad is out working.

They live in a quiet neighborhood near Hutchinson..seemingly a secluded and peaceful place, except for the occasional noise coming from the main thoroughfare. for the rest of the day, we played soccer at the front yard and we were joined by a neighbor's kid.

We had dinner that night where Mrs. Takagi cooked up some rice meals (note though I may not be a hundred percent accurate of what I'm writing here. I'm trying to dig up as much dirt in my mind as I can). As they were telling me stuff about themselves, I also share to them mine. It's a quite the cultural exchange I must say. I learned a lot of new stuff about Japanese culture and hopefully they learned a few stuff from mine.

Curiously, later when we were watching baseball (a game I will never seem to understand except for my bunso), Koji asked me this very odd question: Why do I act like an adult?. I was actually surprised he said that. He even expounded that the way I speak the way I see things, the way I know current event, it's something not typical for a kid my age.

Trying to be open-minded about it, I kinda explained to him it's something not uncommon considering that it all falls down with the way kids are raised in different countries. Back home, I don't engaged much on after-school extra-curricular activities (except for Fridays) and in addition, kids back home are always, in one way or another, in the know of current events.

It's very complicated, I pointed him out and the discussion ended on that note.

The following morning, I was pleasantly surprised what Mrs. Takagi prepared for breakfast. MILO: The Olympic Energy Drink! Turns out, Milo or the way they pronounce it, "Mi-roh" is also sold in Japan. They, in turn, were surprised as well on how I prep my own Milo drink. I poured a tablespoonful of Milo powder into my glass and poured water in it before stirring it.

That gave me an idea.

I showed them what my mom taught me on consuming Milo a different way. On a small plate of rice, I poured several teaspoonfuls of Milo powder on it and mixed them all up. The result: MILO RICE.

The sleepover was a big success and in effect, it became a learning experience not just for me but for Koji I guess as well. I don't know how he thought about it but I'm sure it made his day.

Such a highlight of my stay in the US is something I won't ever forget.

The Kabarkada Presence ("Studio 23 PRIMETIME!")

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If you guys already noticed, TV today is so different to what it used to be back then. English language-programming have mostly retreated to cable, evening newscast are now very tabloid-ish (matching irritating "broadcaster" voices), movie blocks are fast becoming a presence, children's programming and talk shows are now endangered genres on TV and I could go on and on with this.

Now this leads me to the purpose of writing this entry: TV has become a different person to many of us. Many TV programs today cater to a mass-majority of viewers or more popularly known as the "masa". Not that it's a bad thing but what is so negative about is the way TV is behaving nowadays in order to maintain its hold to viewers and to an extent, the advertisers whose money is the primary source of revenue to these industry bigwigs.

Sa madaling-salita, marami nagsasabi na "binobobo" ngayon ng mga TV networks ang mga manonood dahil sa kanilang mga pinapalabas. Instead of fulfilling the responsibility of developing an informed and educated society, they are doing the exact opposite. This is most especially true to the two major networks who, because of this ridiculous network war, have changed people's viewing patterns for the past 2 decades. A domino effect occurred with the smaller players becoming the victims of this "effect".

Among those affected by all of this is what I regarded as my "best TV friend", Studio 23.

I remember watching 23 as early as my grade 3 days when me and my family used to watch "Murphy Brown", "The Nanny", "Charmed", "Angel", and "Spin City" among others. Many foreign shows that used to air on ABS were carried over to that channel like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place". I was fascinated with network promos and ID's they used to air then, like the "Couch Potato Guy" which gave me the impression that it's a cable channel that was imported stateside. Eventually, I've come to learn that it is somehow related to my family's choice of station, ABS-CBN.

Growing up, our choices of viewing TV have become varied especially when started having cable in the house. But despite my childhood leanings to watch only cartoons, I found myself getting fascinated with the programs aired on 23. It's the station that introduced me to News Central, which used to air at 10pm which comes after a preceding US program. Napapanood ko siya lagi because of their slick theme music and graphics but it’s the on-air presence of Mari Kaimo that helped me become a viewer of the program throughout its years in existence (kahit di ko siya lagi napapanood consistently).

The local programs that were introduced midway gave the network a sense of identity as a Filipino station. They were able to fill up a void left vacant by GMA and ABS where the need to watching something other than the usual stuff they air become apparent. Shows like "F", "D-Tour", "Team Explorer", "Breakfast", "Sports TV", "Wazzup-Wazzup", and "Strangebrew" were just among the many that made their mark on many of us loyal 23 viewers.

I always hope that 23 would find a way to make that certain"oomph" to become more competitive as a network and not just be seen as a sister station to ABS because I don't think the bigger net is interested on giving support to its little sister.

Me and a lot of people have always been there for Studio 23 despite the changes it has faced throughout the years from the "Watch-U-Want" to the "Kabarkada Mo" eras, from  the time when many local shows were canceled back in 2007 to the time they introduced FUSE that same year to the introduction of Catch-Up TV last year.

Now came the biggest shocker ever in the history of the station: 23 started pushing away a lot of their signature US programs to graveyard timeslots while they extended the once-enjoyable and formerly weekly Barkada Nights as a 5-day local movie block. LBO returned to airing local movies but what's frustrating is they're airing just the same content of movies as to what BN have now been airing every night. Even the on-air announcer was starting to speak in Filipino instead of just English which makes him sound very awkward (although he used to adlib in Tagalog before when promoting several local shows in the past).

At first I thought it was a good idea, but then I started to worry a lot about the FUSE shows when they started to be placed on those late timeslots (9:30 to 12:30). I realized it's causing an inconvenience to existing viewers like me to catch them. People may not even be able to watch them on such late a time because of the need to wake up early the next day and whatnot.

23 issued a press statement on their FB fanpage citing their reason for the sudden changes in programming. Basically they need to grow as a network thus the justification of what they have done.

It painfully disappoints me that they have to resort to nearly dismantling the very core of what 23 has long been known for in order to "grow as a network". 23 unlike the other remaining English-speaking networks on free TV have the capability to help promote the use of English to their core audience (the youth demo), even to audiences they don't normally target. I've seen a lot of comments back then on their FB and Multiply accounts from people who claimed they learned the country's second language from the station but now, all I'm reading are people fond of typing "jejemonic" text who all like KO One. Viewer maturity is also something that 23 was able to achieve with their core audience so I'm hoping that they do same to the new viewers who just discovered the channel.

Last Saturday October 9 2010, Studio 23's program manager Vince Rodriguez, arranged a meeting with me on ABS to talk about the network when I made him known about my issues about the changes I made vocal on Twitter. I was lcuky that my childhood friend, Cheenee, was an intern for the station thus she knows who Sir Vince is.

The meeting was meaningful on my part because I was able to see the perspective of people like Sir Vince who relies on their blood, sweat and tears to run a television network every day. I do understand that with the penetration of cable among other things, it's becoming difficult for nets like 23 to capture the niche market. With the emergence of TV5 as a major network, the TV landscape continues to shake up, for better and for worse. Then there's the question of advertisers as well. He explained to me that 23 has long been on the bubble so it was really a tough call on how they could keep the station up and running on the long-term.

In return, I also shared with him my perspective and frustration as a viewer and as a member of 23's long-time core audience. I do favor the development of local programming in the channel but I'm still not sold of their moves of many of their shows to late night because of Barkada Nights. I also told him the need to promote English to their viewers especially to their younger viewers who are watching animated shows aired in the morning (pati na iyung mga Nick shows na isinawika na sa wikang pambansa). It's not something that they should be doing but it is something that they must (because TV is a powerful medium especially to the younger folk). Even on their sole newscast, it needs not to be tabloid-ish but they should deliver news that DO matter to us.

Sir Vince told me of their long-term plans for 23, many of which are strictly confidential so I could not really share them with you. But what I can say that they are coming up with ways to have the newer viewers be exposed to English among others (and here's to hoping they DO air the Nick shows in their original English audio for the sake of their younger viewers). I also hope that they do what they can to bring back the shows that defined them for 15 years and bring them back on the timeslots that they deserve to be placed at, especially now that they are due to air the final seasons of Smallville and Lost. Both deserve to be given a proper send-off.

 The good thing about 23 is that they do listen to our feedback as viewers, thanks to the likes of one Leo Katigbak who made it possible for him to communicate with us viewers and exchange our views and opinions that would contribute for the over-all improvement of the network in general.

Even though we've been talking over iced tea and apple fritter in Starbucks for nearly 2 hours, I still have a lot to ask about 23 with Sir Vince although by then he had to leave to attend some urgent matters. It was really nice knowing him, a part of an industry that I've been dreaming to be a part of.

I'll continue to be a supporter and a loyal viewer of Studio 23 even if because of those horrific scheduling changes they did to my favorite shows I may not be able to catch them. I'm crossing my fingers that they will prove to those who stayed with them that they never forgot who they are to us, our kabarkadas

The CSB Experience 4: The Final Second First Day (And Everything Else)

I know I should have done this 3 weeks ago when the term already started but things got a little out of control and I ended up lacking the time needed to write a very good entry for The CSB Experience.

Well if you ask me, this term have been "productive", given that I have the benefit of time (academically) to focus on nearly every class that I have this time. Most of my classes are set in the morning which gives me the opportunity to make the time useful prepping for PROJ1, finding an image that "moves" me for GRAPDES, putting some a liter of fixer for my film negative in BWPHOTO.

On the other hand, I'm glad i finally have the whole weekend off for me to capitalize on studying the 101's of marketing for BIZ1. Even if it means having to learn how to hit the books again, I'm all for it. And besides, I love wearing corporate every Monday. Who wouldn't? Hahaha...

Before I leave school for good, there's still a couple of things that I still want to do in CSB, things that I haven't. For example, I still haven't tried out whatever's cooking over at the Solomon Guesthouse. I have noooo idea where it is but I'm making sure I could at least see it before it's too late. And just last week, me and several friends from school had lunch for the first time at the much-fabled Chicken-Chicken, near AKIC. We went there thanks to CSB's very own innovative e-CAR (another first!).

Another interesting thing to note, is that I'm seeing people I haven't seen in a long while, many of them from my old FILIP13 class. Those I've seen so far were Mhelay (almost done with FMD), Ron and Donn (serving food at Chef'S Station in Main).

Worth mentioning is Mr. Santiago who's as lively as ever and Miss Portia who I occasionally see somewhere at the 9th, 10th and 11th floors. (Last term it was Sir Rizali, Sir Dangat, Ms. Perez among other ex-profs).

Surprise moment of the term right now, seeing Franzi for the first time in 45 years. He was in a hurry when I saw him leaving SDA so we haven't really had time to catch up with what's been going on. I guess he's been LOA this past year? Just didn't notice.

The challenge for me now is that I have to make good of what I set as my goals from way back. PROJ is going to make or break me as my stay in CSB is at stake here. If I fail, I'll stay longer, but if I pass all the way the home stretch, I'll be done with school sooner.

JULY-AUGUST 2011 IS THE DATE TO BEAT!

So wish me well and I wish you well. This is our time, our experience, our spotlight*!


*LOL on the Ad Astra reference.

The CSB Experience 4: Walk-In (The Final First Term-Ender)

The first term started out fine and ended fine for me this year, which is quite odd because usually, the term would start sucky and ends up being suckier than ever. LOL hehehe.

Well anyway, the term is coming to an end and yes indeed, it is that time again when all of the students gather in all the three major campuses of CSB to get their course cards. I for one am excited on how I fare this year. In fact, it was quite a productive term for me, having to do stuff that I love and do stuff that I get to love.

As what my friend would always say, this is so "f**king awesome"! Indeed it is.

Another reason why I like the turn-out of this term is that I finally entered the big TWO-OH/Beinte/Twenty. Lots of people greeted me on my special day last week (August 31) and I was really flattered. In fact, I even received the best gift I ever had, a special greet from a very special someone.

:KILIG!!:

Weh it's true. I know I'm out of her league by this point but still, it really made me smile to think about it.

In addition to that, I manage to see what I think I saw whot I thought I saw two days ago (September 9). Barney is the name and I look up to him as one of my lifetime role models. He is one of the many reasons I took up my course, one of the many reasons why I pursued CSB as my college of choice, one of the many reasons why I wanted to be a good designer.

You and I may know him but he may not necessarily know us. But nonetheless, he inspires a lot of people without even trying. He's in for bigger and better things and I wish him well.

Although I don't want to exactly follow in his footsteps, I do certainly want to live by his example and wisdom. I want to get out and prove myself that I can do what I can do. For the last two trimesters, I'm going to out-prove as I make it through the most difficult stage that a college student would have to endure: thesis work.

I'm supposed to graduate this year but I have to extended a term more to accomodate 3 units for this term and push back my thesis for the last two. This will give me chance to take a breather for a moment and prepare for what could be the biggest fight yet in the four years that I have been as a college boy.

I'm itching to graduate and I'm itching to find my place in this world.

PEACE!

The Last Day of a Teenage Life

The clock is slowly ticking, the sands in the hourglass going pass one more day, and the PC-generated e-clock is telling me the 30th of August is near. To some, it is just an ordinary day, a civil holiday at the least in the Philippines. But for someone like me, it is more than just a civil holiday, it is the last day of my teenage life.

Yes peeps, I'll spend the last 24 hours making the most of what is left of me being a teen.

Scary thought that afterwards, I'll be hitting the big 2--0, BEINTE or what I've been branding this since I started my birthday countdown last July, 20@10. I'll age a year more, a year more wiser, a year more experienced, and so on.

So what I've been up to for the last 10 years? Nothing much except maybe had some of the most wackiest things to ever happen in my life during that period. I could list it all down if I could but so far...:

1)Wore my first pair of eyeglasses
2)Went and lived abroad for a year
3)Became a school athlete
4)Participated in a musical recital
5)Went "gala" all by myself which led me to places like MOA, to Paragon Plaza to the Philamlife Theater in U.N. Avenue.
6)Went to a school trip to Mount Banahaw being the only high school freshman in a batch of seniors.
7)Traveled to Singapore alone
8)Was dance partners with his Grade 6 crush for a charity event
9)Knocked out but ended up winning a medal in a competition anyway.
10)Became an intern of a radio station

Crazy huh? The list goes on and on and I could not remember them all.

I always fear that I'll reach that point in life that the end of my life is drawing near as I don't know if there is life after death. Being a devout (but not necessarily a really zealous) Catholic, it's hard for me to accept that everything has an end date but I know there's a reason so I have to suck it up and face it.

Like what my kuya said to me 10 years ago, "live life to the fullest".

I need to live a life well lived, I need to make sure that I lived a life that fulfilled my purpose on earth. Because after all, we only have "ONE LIFE TO LIVE".

I think I've already gone far from being this kid who loves to read history books and being a geo-know-it-all to someone who still loves to read anything  historic and still somewhat of a "know-it-all". It really helps that I am with people who continue to support me, to love me, and see me as what I am and what I will continue to shape up to be what I am in this lifetime.

As I enter my 20's, everything will change. May it be for better or otherwise, I'll face it, I'll conquer it.

20 at '10 baby!

10 Things to Wish for This 20@10

The following are the things which I wish I could have when I turn 20@10. Simple well-wishing lang on the first 5 as I don't want to expect to get this much material stuff. The latter half is a little something that I wish to do when I turn 20, since I they aren't that impossible to materialize as long as I push myself to it. Mangarap ba? :D

1. A Nikon dSLR D40

2. A Mac laptop

3. A New cellphone FM-radio and Wi-Fi capabilities

4. A new bag that can Handle my demands

5. A bicycle

6. Go to Enchanted Kingdom

7. Join a Fun Run

8. Go on a hiking trip

9. Achieve a fit and healthy body with a set of six-pack abs :))

10. Graduate from school


As the saying goes: "Dreams really do come true if you believe...".

10 Days to Go!

The CSB Experience 4: The Characters of "An Almost Affair"

I'll be posting a casting call real soon but for now, here's the lowdown on what the story is about and the characters dictated by love, passion, devotion and betrayal.

An Almost Affair

A story about love challenged, a story about views in contrasts, a story about relationships rekindled, a story about trying to forget the past in order to move on to the future.

At a time when family dynamics is in the middle of a major overhaul in modern-times, a recently-married couple sits in the dilemma of going either against or along the flow. A husband who tries to be supportive to his wife whom he encourage to do what she wants to do in life thinking that settling downy and start a family can wait.

The wife however is the complete opposite, who despite having a very promising future ahead of her, decides that being a housewife and a mother is what she wants to do as she tries to be the perfect wife to her husband: loving, caring, loyal, and everything else. Despite their differences, their love for each other have helped on keeping their marriage an almost unbreakable bond...until she came.

A brief encounter with another woman led to events that served as challenges to the husband and wife. The "other woman" is a co-worker of the husband whom he barely notices until the day they crossed paths. The husband saw in her something that his wife isn't, things that he wants to see in her and yet doesn't. He and the other woman became very close to each other, but unknown to the husband, the woman hides a past that continues to haunt her.

The wife feels the pressure of trying to please her husband, thinking his is slowly slipping away from her.

What follows after is a tale of decisions leading to events that will either break the bond the holds the husband and wife forever or give them a reason to find the will to trust each other again.


Character characteristics are as follows (No final names for the characters just yet):

1. "Husband" = In his mid-to late 20's. Married for three-four years. Liberal-minded. Does not expect to form a family just yet and encourages his wife to become a career-woman. He led a crappy life before meeting the "wife". Knows how to drive.

2. "Wife" = In her mid-to late 20's. Married for 3-4 years. Highly educated with a promising career ahead of her but gives it all up to become a devoted housewife and mother.

3. "Kerida" = Late 20's to early 30's. Liberated working girl. Shares a lot of things in common the husband. She has a mysterious past that continues to haunt her despite her efforts to move on.

Instrumental characters:

1. "Magnanakaw"
2. "Little Boy"
3. "Little Girl"

*This will be an interative photo-based web comic where visitors have the power to dictate the events of the story by voting what will happen next after every chapter's cliffhanger. Chapters will be updated every 1-2 weeks until it leads up to the final story arc. Past issues can be viewed on an archive webpage.

The entirety fo the project will be unraveled later on. :D

The CSB Experience 4: Fear Itself, Proj is Real

Supposedly, if I have taken MMAOJT in the summer, I would have been taking MMAPROJ1 this term. But unfortunately, circumstances forced me to take long break from proceding with my thesis and at least put focus on my OJT first.

Proj1 is the second stage for my thesis. The first is getting into the planning stage via MSCIETY. This is where you start production on your project based on your chosen topic and medium. In my case, I'm making an interactive web comic with a topic that addresses marriage-related problems. The tentative title of the project is "An Almost Affair", based on a 20-page manuscript I wrote as my finals work for VIDPRD1.

In Msciety alone, I took me half a dozen topic revisions and several changes in medium to finally have one approved across the board. The hitch? I won't be making illustrated panels but will instead make use of photographic stills as panels for my comics. The web comic will be more than 30 "pages" long so I'm planning on dividing it to 10 "chapters" of 3 or so.

 I still have to make my storyboard though as early as now before I formally take my Proj1 class next term as well as start assessing the story itself. It's fortunate that my basis of the whole project, titled "Ang Pagmamahal", is still stacked up in my room. Hehehe...

Nonetheless, there's still a reason for me to fear Proj1. No preparation is enough for me if in the end my fate lies at the hands of panelists that can either make or break you. Just yesterday, I found out my friend didn't make the cut and was forced to repeat everything from scratch. It made me more fearful and careful on what to expect on the second trimester.

As if it's not bad enough, this whole "tri-media" thing is driving me crazy. Why couldn't I have thought of something more simpler, more easy to do? I blame not just myself for ever conceiving such an idea and for my old Msciety professor, Ms Javier who makes the process all the more confusing.

So okay, here's what I'm planning for "An Almost Affair". I'm hoping of making use of shooting exteriors outside school, and I need at least several locations to do the shots: A house, an office, a cafe (hopefully outdoor), a neighborhood street, a cemetery and a mall/palengke.

Casting models is also a priority. Basically, I need three models to portray the story's three major characters. Supporting characters will be needed depending on each "chapter".

A lot of details though is needed to further explain what I intend to do so I'm putting the discussion further on my next blog. Here's to hoping I could survive this next storm.

The CSB Experience 4: The August Blues

This month have been a bit rocky at the start for me when things got out of hand but I managed somehow to fix it to some degree. I've been thinking at the time of doing the ultimate sacrifice but at the last minute, decided to see what happens next.

It didn't took long before everything I worked for in the past couple of weeks all went to waste. What occurred definitely hit a nerve and I was in this state of sadness and loneliness. I began to think about the things I want to do in my life, the things that I want to be a part with, the things that I wanna be with and the things that I want to learn from the very best.

And then there's the thought of graduating. It's so close yet so far. I can't even give a sure guarantee that I'll manage to weatehr the storm once I'm in thesis mode. The medium hat I'll be doing seems okay but because of that dang tr-media thing that TPTB wants to impose on us, I'm forced to put a spin on that medium so as to appease my advisors. Boo....

I wrote this on my Facebook not to long ago when I was inspired by that mountain hiking trip I participated last weekend:

"College is like a mountain: From the bottom, you have to climb up until you reach the very top..."

I feel a bit burned out already after more than 3 years in CSB but it doesn't discouraged me from going further to reach my goal. Whatever blockades I face, I know I could overcome them if I have the will and strength to live the life that I want to live.

The real world is harsh, the powers that be can be ruthless, the promise of youth is drained when you're sucked into this vortex of no return. I get it, I've seen it but I've yet to experience it. I see friends already dealing with it, having to resort to being around with a guy who wears a black shirt and they never seem to want to let go of him.

But I know I can get through it, I know the odds are against me but I don't care. Even it means losing everythng I worked hard for, every hope and dreams that gets stashed away. They can never take away my continuing will to dream, to look on the brighter side of things. Critiscism are what shapes me into what I am, what I will, what I want to be.

They see my qualities as my greatest weaknesses, but I say that these are my sources of strength. I could blab about this all day but I stand by my principles, if you call them principles that is.

I'll strive when I'm down, I'll shout for joy when I'm yelled at, I'll smile when I am scorned, and I will walk when I get screwed.

The blues are hitting me like crazy but that's what I get when I feel the need to make myself happy now that in a few weeks, I'll be celebrating 20@10.

:)

The CSB Experience 4: The Malarayat Fieldwork

I'm starting to think that going out new and different places have become a sort of my thing. I always crave for that certain level of adventure and excitement as I step on new unexplored lands.

Never did I expect that last weekend would bring that level on a higher notch than I would have imagined otherwise.

Last Saturday, August 14. I managed to hitch a ride with Ren and Rachel and caught up with the rest of our classmates in Natsca2 for our Batangas fieldwork. Earlier that day, the three of us had to attend an equally important seminar, the practicum seminar workshop conducted by the CPO.  Important in the sense that it's a requirement for sstudents undergoing their OJT's to attend to such.

Fortunately, luck was on our side and the next thing I knew, I was in my hotel room at the Mt. Malarayat Gold and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas at 8pm in the evening.

We have to get up real early the day after since me and the rest of the Natsca2 sections were supposed to go bird-watching at the mountains before climbing the summit planting tree-lets/seedlings.

We left at around 6am and started our trekking around more or less, a quarter before the hour of 7.  On the first leg of the trek, we stopped by a certain point to catch some birds flying. Using binoculars (or binocs as how eco-people would say), i was able to see some birds although I have no idea what type, variety or kind of bird we saw although Philippine hornbill birds have been the most commonly sighted bird for others in the group.

We spent about 3 hours trekking 8 kilometers of dirt, plants, and rocks up in the mountains, passing by poachers (yes, poachers), rural folk, and locally-domesticated horses and their horse poop.

The moment we reached the summit, I was amazed by what I saw. It's like we're in a freakin' Lord of the Rings. Can;t desrcibe it in full detail but you can imagine Frodo passing by this area hehehe. Not soon after, we got ourselves wet and dirty planting seedlings on poked holes on the ground and on the mountain side. I actually have to climb one to plant several plants over there.

I would have gotten myself tired by that time already but obviously, I just reached my peak as I breathe the fresh poopy air touching my face as I gazed upon the mountaintop.

But it quickly got drained out when we spent 2.5 hours going down the mountain. By the time we reached the foot, that's when I felt a sudden drop of energy.

Nonetheless, trekking a mountain indeed was an exciting experience. It made me think of doing it again for the sake of keeping the spirit of adventure alive.

This is one trip that I will never forget. This surely equate the fun that I have 7 years ago with Banahaw.

Woot woot!

The CSB Experience 4: Graphique Manille

What happens when after so many unsuccessful and unfortunate attempts to do a certain thing you finally got it right? Eternal happiness? Well, maybe...At least that's what I felt after finally being able to attend to this year's Graphika Manila.

Graphika Manila, like the one I attended last June in Singapore, is a highly-anticipated international multimedia event: A gathering of students, professionals, designers, and new media art enthusiasts. But unlike CG Overdrive, GM is a one-day event. More than just a one-day event to be exact, it serves as the opening kick-off for this year's Manila Design Week.

There have been attempts by me to get the chance on going to this event since second year college. The first time, GM was in conflict with my NSTP1 class, with both being on a Saturday so I was forced to sell my ticket to someone who needs it the most.

The second time, I thought nothing would go wrong this time until the day before the event, I made a fool of myself getting victimized by the Budol-Budol gang syndicate (on the day RT30 made its debut on 99.5RT).

(Note: By coincidence, it's been a year since that happened, on August 14)

Maybe this time, third time's a charm although I wouldn't have count on it because of circumstances occurred early this month. But it's a good thing that I made it past that episode and went to GM without a hitch.

A lot of people were there in attendance at the event's venue, the SMX Convention Center. I manage to arrive there atr the nick of time just when the first set of speakers have started their session that morning. I don't want to elaborate further so here's the rundown on what occured:

1. Arnold and Cynthia Arre=Husband and wife team who were "best known for their individual works". Cynthia is best known as the cover artists for the greatest hits album of the E-Heads while her hubby is behind some popular Pinoy graphic novels which I've yet to get avail of myself.

2.  Phunk Studio=Several guys from SIngapore who were behind the production of several OBB's of some programs for MTV Asia. 2 of them were present. I wasn;t able to hear much of them when I went out to go to the restroom but happened to have see by chance Jeo, Alyssa and Clarizze along the way.

3. Underground Logic=It;s a production house who were behind some successful ad campaigns for which they were responsible for breathing life into their ads. Among them was the Pepsi 2010 campaign, the Nissin Cup Noodles campaign (the Japanese-inspired one), the ad campaign for Sunsilk (featuring Marian Rivera, Nikki Gil and Maja Salvador), among others.

4. Danny Yount=The guy who not only was involved in creating the intros for Ironman 2 and The Invasion but also behind the conceptualization and awesome production of the several show opening credits (Six Feet Under and Pushing Daisies) and promos for Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel in the US. Exciting as his portfolio is though, his discussion on how he made some of his work began to bore a few however.

5. Tara McPherson=The only international female speaker in GM according to the hosts. She's quite the psychedlc artist with a style that she calls her own. Many of the works she showed us contains a common thing, women and carved out hearts. Don't asky me why but more ore less that's how she define her style. One thing I learned from her is that to become a better artist, you need to continually build up your portfolio. Did I mentioned she looks a bit like Lady Gaga (but to a lesser extent).

6.  Rocketsheep Post=This year's fan-favorite. Rocketsheep Post's leading man showed us the Pinoy way of making movie magic through the use of "Jejeworks" (?) and "Dayamation" but at the same time stressed the importance of planning things out while making big-budget projects like this one ongoing movie project that has been under production since my high school days. The movie stars Rhian Ramos and hopefully, they get to finish the movie soon before I get my first job after college.

It was a fun experience and no doubt that, it turned things for the better, for my sake.

Until next year!

Thoughts of Moving On to It!

Yes, my Multiply account is still active it's just that I haven't been blogging for a while now because of time spent in doing stuff for school. The only "blogging" I get to do is typing whatever's on my mind as my status for FB, Twitter and Plurk.Lazy right?

Well, I've been thinking about continuing writing my original posts on Facebook instead of writing it on Multiply. One reason is that for the past year or two, I've noticed a significant drop of viewership in jbata5.multiply.com and it's not just mine, but to others as well. If in 2007, the in thing was Multiply, then today it's Facebook that's taking the central spotlight.

If I remember it right, Dianne signed up on FB a few years after she made a vow to me that she's fine using Multiply when I invited her then to join Facebook (I signed up on FB around January 2007 then on Multiply on March that same year).

Since starting The J-Blog Files in 2007 (which was originally intended to exist as a way to reply on a Multiply link Dianne put up on her YM status), I've written over 550 entries with some still unpublished. I think I've reached the point of getting a bit burned out sharing whatever it is that I want to share to the rest of the world: My life, my feel good moments, my misfortunes in life, and whatever it is that I want to write about.

What's worse is that no one's reading what I'm posting here anymore unless Multiply gets itself a tagging function similar to FB's. In addition, Multiply as a whole have degenerated into an online marketplace for people trying to sell items on the net, with ads eating up a good chunk of space on my page alone. The essence of what the site was intended seemed to have lost its way, like how Friendster was before it went downhill.

As much as I want to end my misery and quit Multiply for good, there's still a reason for me to hang on. For one, it has become my refuge of putting my inner thoughts that I don't want other people to read on Facebook (except for the occasional poetry that I get to type on FB), second I've been thinking of putting a certain end date writing blog entries for The J-Blog Files on the same manner how I started doing it anyway.

Come to think of it, my first ever post on Multiply is titled "Just Before Graduation". I wrote it just mere hours before I headed out to school to march on the day of my high school graduation. If ever I do get to finish college on my projected end date, July 2011...That's where I want to put my final entry under jbata5.multiply.com. I'm already thinking of my final blog's title as something like "After I Graduated", hours after I graduate from school altogether.

Cool right?

It's also a nice way to see how far I've come from the grammatical error-filled posts to the somehow sane writings that I manage to put up on the site.

Putting an end date does not signify the end of The J-Blog Files however. In fact, I hope that this could eb the start of a new beginning as I still want to write to reflect my life's adventures as I head out to the real world. The J-Blog Files helped me find who I am to myself, who I am to others. It will continue to be as I struggle to the woes of life and enjoy the bliss that comes after it.

Besides, I still have to continue writing The CSB Experience, and the remaining chapters on my long delayed fiction stories: Paglisan and When She Left Me.

So for now, enjoy yourselves as I put the "J" to the word "Blog"!

Countdown starts July 31st

The CSB Experience 4: Midterms Halo

Once again once more, it's that time of the trimester again when people stay up late finishing term papers, finishing projects that never seem to get done, and eyebags are the in-thing among Manila's youth elite.

Yes people, it is that thing we call midterms and the week in which it resides that students oftentimes  come to acknowledge as the "midterms hellweek".

For a school which more or less have 14 weeks allotted to a single trimester, finishing earlier than those who follow the more traditional semestral system does not necessarily mean we don't have our fair share of problems that all college students share. What's unique to CSB and probably those who also follow the trimestral school system is the fact that time is always of the essence.

Midterms in CSB comes around on the 7th week of the trimester and students are given notice of what they will expect when that time comes. In the case of MMA students, it's easier said than done. Most of our classes require us to pass projects instead of written exams during the midterms and the finals, with some giving us a notice of what we should produced as early as the 3rd or 4th week while others give a heads up as late as the 5th or 6th week.

As mentioned before, "time" is definitely of the essence for many of us. More so that "time" is the branded enemy of MMAers. Imagine the weight of completing several projects at the same time, up to the point of actually doing them simultaneously.

Students don't have the luxury of "time" where they could finish those tasks all in one sweep if given a long length of grace period to do them. It's hard to beat a deadline if we have a few dozen other "deadlines" to worry about as well.

Despite the hatred, I know that the purpose of such is to determine our performance over the course of the term and that a significant percentage of our final grade comes fro whatever grade we get on it. The short amount of time given to accomplish projects also serves as our "training ground" to be hands on and be good on managing time. These are valid reasons why midterms even do exist but the cost that it brings are far greater: pressure, breakdowns, stress, insomnia. A lot of bad things actually do happen during this time.

The only means to survive this phase is to remember that finals is no different yet very much a  make-or-break for all of us. Knowing that we could manage this difficulty makes our life in college even more exciting.

After nearly four years in college, I know what I'm saying. Midterms can be a downer, but it can be our greatest helper as well.

The CSB Experience 4: Look Around AKIC

 Kanina I was looking for Carol at AKIC to sign my papers for OJT. Her last text was to look for her at Chef's Station-AKIC. I was there, feeling OP in a sea of people donning suits, ties, leather shoes and high heels.

I sensed something was wrong so I checked her last message again. Then I had the urge to change seats, and when I do, I actually turned around see who I was looking for. Heheh, how silly I am not to have noticed it before. :D

It only means one thing: Miss ko na mag-AKIC.

The CSB Experience 4: A Case of Mistaken Identity

 

Whoah, talk about having to mistake a person for someone else. Certainly it's scary that it will happen to you if not for the simple failure of identifying someone correcgtly.

Last Saturday, I was getting ready for my graduation pictorial when I come across a fellow student whom I instantly presumed as someone I know personally. To be wholy honest, I haven't seen him (a student of Interior Design) for quite a long while. I think the last time I saw him was way over a year ago when we bumped into each other at the SDA accounting office.

Naturally, I was happy that I see him again. Just as the make-up artist was done putting make-up on my face, I went ahead and talked to him.

"Uy, tagal na ah?"

"Huh?"

"Di mo ako naalala?"

"Uhm, sa'n ba tayo classmates?

"Sa [Cathwor]..."

"Ano iyung name mo?"

"James, di ba ikaw si..."

"Ah hindi hindi...Baka nagkakamali ka lang.."

"Wait...(looking at the person closely), ay sorry! Kala ko ikaw iyung kaibigan ko. Talagang magkamukha kasi kayo talaga eh".

"Okay lang"

"Uhm, ano ba iyung course mo?"

"CDA"

"Ah....Iyung friend ko InD eh. Pasensya na talaga, ha?"

"Ayus lang iyon hehehe"

 

Surprise surprise: It wasn't him after all. Well, what an embarassing moment it was hehehe. But even so, I can;t deny that he looks so much like him, a lot identical to the real thing. So when I checked my friend's Facebook profile, he looks like exactly the guy I met at the pictorial, except to the hair though.

Such a mishap that could happen to everybody. Here's to hoping it won't happen again to me.

 

:D

The Pursuit 2 (June Assessment)

It's been a month but I feel like I'm still stuck from the before I started this plan. Although not much major factors but my trip to Singapore a week ago kinda had me stopped working out for less than a week, then it was only on June 26 that I manage myself to get back to the gym again.

Something to consider is getting the right motivation to actually work out. I notice that when I feel tired or sleepy while commuting back home, my body is urging me to take a nap by the time I get home which should not be the case. Getting a good sweat doing work-outs could actually help unwind the body. I managed to do that on several times on days that I get home early from school.

One problem though is I never get to record my gains so it's hard for me to monitor if on how far I'm doing. I decided that getting myself a notebook to use as a workout log to record what I do is the best way to keep myself updated. I'm also using it as a food journal to write all the stuff I'm eating. This way I know that what I eat and drink affects my body in one way or another.

Speaking of food, I think I'm getting good on this department. Not counting what I ate during my Singapore trip, I manage not to eat too much in a day. I'm also reducing my rice consumption especially at home. If in school, I guess a scoop of rice won't exactly hurt. I also manage to incorporate oatmeal into my regular food intake so that for the whole morning, I won't feel full.

One tiny problem is my urge to get a sweet fix. The only remedy I could think off is buying a peace of fruit (i.e. banana) for most days of the week. But every once in a while, in order to satisfy my sweet cravings, a turon or a granola bar a week should do the trick.

Oh well, there's still a lot of work to do to achieve this goal. I still have 2 months left before the deadline.

To be able to do this more efficiently, I'm planning on enrolling again to Eclipse 24/7 in Mabini. This time, I'm hoping I could find a partner so that I could be able to go there anytime. Back then, I made use of their offpeak promo because it's what I could afford. However, I enrolled there on a bad time because it coincided at a time when school demanded more of my time and I failed manage to make do with both. So I'm hoping for a fresh start in Eclipse as early as now.

Seriously though, Php1280 is no joke for a partner rate. It's fortunate that I manage to save enough money to last me a good two months. Just had to be smart enough to save enough money to do this every month.

As long as I take the effort on making the step, I know I could still manage to achieve my goal despite the odds.

The CSB Experience 4: The Great Singapore Adventure

In a matter of hours now, I'll be leaving a country I called home for five days, a land of wonders surrounded by a body of water, a place where nosebleeding happens, at least for me.

To say it in a few words, this whole trip was worth the experience of being out of the country after so long a time and explore uncharted territory with a sense of adventure.

Of course, one reason why I went there in the first is to attend the annual CG Overdrive where students, enthusiasts and professionals in the field of animation, graphics, etc gather for the purpose of sharing to the rest of the world the latest in the aforementioned fields, the secrets of striving for gold, among others.

Another reason is that I want to widen my horizons, not just academic-wise but in terms of seeing things in a  different light. Being someone who's favorite past-time is wandering around the streets of Metropolitan Manila from north to south and vice versa, I find it riveting on trying to explore through train, bus or simply walking the majesty that is Singapore.

Even though I only managed to check out only a third of the city-state, I made most of what I have in front of me to make it all worthwhile. I couldn't exactly say I'm someone with a perfect sense of direction but still, getting lost sometimes is all part of the fun. I ended up going places like Orchard, Esplanade, the old Little India quarter, the strip malls found in almost every block and the thrift shops thats sells "3 for $10" (although I neded up buying 18 for $10). There was also a time that I was mistaken for either a Singapore local by a few tourists and they ask me to help them on how to use the state's train ticketing system.

The Great Singapore Adventure would not be complete if without the help and guidance of the organizers from CGO headed by Mr. Daniel Koh and the people of G4 Station, the place that me and several other schoolmates from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde stayed for nearly a week. Without them, we wouldn't be here in the first place, one for the trust we gave to the CGO organizers, for never letting us down despite the ups and downs especially during last year's global bird flu brouhaha. Second for the patience, the friendliness, and, if ever there is such a word, the cheeriness of the G4 employees that made staying in their hostel a home-like experience (but not to the point of making it OUR home for life of course haha!)

I want to thank them from the further reaches of my heart for everything.

As we say in Filipino: "Hanggang sa uulitin!" ["Until it happens again!"]

The CSB Experience 4: Frosh Night Relived, Re-Experienced

 

Frosh Solidarity NIght 2007

Frosh Solidarity Night 2010

 

Last night was an event to remember, one that I could never forget. It was the annual Frosh Solidarity Night and everybody who's anybody were there to enjoy this highlight for the 2010 Frosh Week.

I myself never expected that I would be a part of this year's FSN. Miss Lanie from the Department of Student Life (the former the Office of Student Behavior) asked for members of the FOP Sessionistas to regroup for another round of kantahan in front of a live audience. Thus, I was able to reconnect with a lot of my co-Sessionistas like Marco, Harold, Abegail, Christine, RJ, Earl and a newcomer, Kim. Wacky and Gaby had to pull out because they're also involved with FSN through other means. Eugene was also in conflict with his schedule so he wasn't available as well.

No biggie, we all had fun, right? I even crossed paths again with Axe Girl Model #2, from Jeco's Sexy 360 event, who was there in promotion for Axe Twist.

On the same day, I've finally met one of the ID110 Pexers who were previously active in ther CSB subforums at Pinoy Exchange during the run-in before the the start of the school year, Neil. I'm happy that I was able to share whatever I could to make the most of their tenure as Benildean.

But as with others, they should also learn the ups and downs of campus life themselves in order to survive and thrive in this crazy life that we call college.

Speaking of college life, when I started my first year in CSB, I had a lot fo dreams, many of which I wasn't able to fulfill (i.e. join the TKD varsity, join the Pep Squad, join the student press corps, etc.) however what I managed to fulfill somehow made me feel that all the efforts I pulled in to do whatever I can to make my college life worthwhile had paid off. I was able to become a Frosh Orientor, meet a lot of new friends, I was able to sing (despite some small minor mishaps hehe), my OJT is being a part of the best radio team in the world, meeting my idol who inspired me to reach for the stars among others.

Reminiscing the events of June 1, 2007 when the then 107 froshes had their own FSN at the CSB theater, we had a lot of fun, singing along with featured acts like Kjwan, Itchyworms, and Callalily. Some of us made some TUGZ TUGZ onstage while some get to show their stuff walking on the runway.

I couldn't believe that three years later, I get to relive the moment, and get re-experienced.

The CSB Experience 4: Thoughts Before Jetting Off

 

Hey guys! I still can't get over this feeling I'm having for a while now. I'm anxious, nervous, and excited on leaving the country to spend five days spreading the love in Singapore. As I've said previously in my past Singapore-related blog that I'm excitred to fly off again after 7 years.

Let's just say that my family isn't that much rich to spend holidays on Hong Kong Disneyland or Universal Studios Florida. My parents are the ones who get to fly off often as it is a part of their jobs as government civil servants. I'm just lucky that I get to convince them to allow me to go abroad for a few days after last year's mishap of a canceled trip no thanks to the AH1N1 scare.

Here's to hoping nothing unfortunate happens today. In my case, not forgetting the single most important item for the trip. I have this hsitory of forgetting to bring certain things ahead of an important out-of-town trip and I end up getting a sinking feeling of regret for forgetting to do so. Right now, I'm bringing the following items necessary:

1. Pieces of clothing (Pants, Shorts, Shirts, Underwear)

2. Canned and "cupped" foods

3. Hygiene products (shaving cream, razor, toothpaste, shampoo, bar and laundry soap, etc)

4. Socks

5. Slippers

6. Reading materials (A Pugad Baboy book, and two Beerkada books)

7. Portable radio with headphones and emergency batteries

8. Camera and Battery Charger

9. Cellphone (my own phone and my mom's phone with international roaming)

10. Pocket Money

11. Travel and other Important Documents (Passport, G4 reservation copy, CGO registration email, etc)

Did I miss anything?

I don't know what Singapore has in store for me but I'll make sure to make most of my trip and go home and make my school, my family, and my country proud. (Wow, serious!)

 

OMG, It's a PaRTy!

The weeks we spent preparing for this grand event were all worth it. We never knew the turn-out for The Farm's "OMG, IT'S OVER!: It's the Last Day of Summer Party" would be this huge. In a matter of hours, Manor Superclub in Eastwood City was jam-packed full with people right around

The CSB Experience 4: Switched A-Numbers

The first week of the school year has passed and the ID110 frosh seemed to have settled well within their new home for the next few years. Not much in the school has changed but what's noticeable were the preparations for De La Salle Philippines' centennial celebration kicking off this June 16.

What's obvious a change though was upon entering the premises of the School of Design and Arts I noticed that all the labs and the classrooms now bears new room numbers.

"Odd..." is how I reacted. Usually some offices and facilities in the campus would move to new locations every few terms but not to the extent of changing the room numbers assigned to these new locations. In this case, looks like most if not all the rooms here have changed room numbers.

I have yet to explore all the floors but so far, in the 10th floor...the former comlab that was A1008 is now a classroom bearing the room number "A1011". Right next, the sound lab used to be known as A1014 is now A1012.

I don't know how much of the change would affect old students to the extent that confusion would wreck havoc in the long term but so far so good, not much negative reaction were reported as of this writing.

But I just have to remember some key room numbers: A916, A908, A1014, A1013 and A1008.

The CSB Experience 4: Live Jenny in our Hearts, FOREVER!

While checking some posts on the CSB subforums at Pinoy Exchange, I came across a post there saying that Jenny From The Taft had passed away. Several news coming into my facebook feed also confirmed what I feared is true. My reaction: Shocked, surprised, bewildered, saddened. It's hard to believe that what many Benildeans, Lasallians and Scholasticans consider an institution in Taft Avenue, Manila.

For those who don't Jenny, he (is he a she?) is a beggar who roams around Taft Avenue and is befriend by a generation of students coming from several Taft-based schools. His origins remain a mystery many, some believing she had siblings who studied in Ateneo, others say she came from Laguna but got lost and eventually ended up in Manila. When she isn't in Taft, she is most likely roaming around Moonwalk doing odd jobs there.

Many are amazed of her incredible knowledge of the comings and going of every school in that side of Taft, he knows every school's pre-enrollment, enlistment, school holidays, everything! They say that he even knows the day of your graduation. She cares about the students, even sharing them an umbrella with him. We return the favor by chatting with him and giving him alms. It's a mortal sin that when you don't give him alms, Jenny will punish you by kissing you smack into your face! LOL

It saddens me that the friend of every Lasallian, the brother/sister of every Benildean, and the gossiper of every Scholastican no longer lives in the land of the living but we know that he/she is now in a better place.

As I write this, there's an ongoing wake happening right now at his place in Bacoor, Cavite. Anyone interested on attending and say their goodbye to Jenny can go to his tribute fanpage in Facebook to see the details.

Wherever he may be, he will always remain in our heart, FOREVER!

The CSB Experience 4: Majulah Singapura Sigurado!

The past couple of weeks I've been doing some double checking over some small details in preparation for my upcoming trip to Singapore. I'm just so excited that finally, I'm going out of the country for the first time in 8 years and I'm crossing my fingers that nothing will jinx my trip to happiness!

Right now, I'm looking at some final details with regards to transport and hotel accomdation. Lance informed me not too long ago that he and some peeps booked a reservation for 8 at a hostel and they need just one more to share the cost altogether. It's an opportunity that I have to take knowing that for the past few days, me and my mom have been searching for good hotels with value-for-value rates. There's a couple of good ones but according to some online hotel booking websites, there's no room available. There are those with good locations but have quite a bad reputation, if you know what I mean. There's even a hotel that despite the good online reviews it got from some past visitors, we were concerned on some reviews saying that this certain place serves as a haven for prostitutes where they lurk at night.

Sure enough, I'm also in the look-out for some good shops that sell second-hand dSLR cameras that are Calle Hidalgo-cheap and not SM Megamall-cheap. The laptop and I-Pod nano will have to wait as I'm hell-bent on buying one before I could take my photography electives in my final two trimesters.

Ha, Singapore...I will love you if you love me back. Just bend me into your will!

The CSB Experience 4: The First Day

As summer draws to a close, the school year opens with much anticipation that it won't suck the way last year was for the Benildean student body. For some, it is the start of another year of academic pressure and long nights staring in front of the computer while for others, it's a make-or-break call as they start spending the first of their final days in the academe.

Senior year, here I come.

Looking back, it's hard to imagine that 4 years ago, I was merely starting out as a little boy fresh out of high school, trying to adjust commuting between home and school, and taking chances by signing up on one too many student orgs while trying to tame my DV1 blockmates as we wait for a class to start inside Room M506.

Fast forward to now, a new generation of froshes are taking center-stage as upperclassmen watch them over repeating history over and over again. I was lucky not being caught up on the freshmen frenzy as I only had one class for the entirety of the first day of school, NATSCA2/Environmental Factors in Design, at 6pm.

For the first three days of the school week, I basically have a 3-hour class set in the evening while the remaining 2 have one set in the afternoon and in the morning respectively. Despite the seemingly-not-so-hectic looking schedule I got for the first trimester, I expect hell to break loose as midterms fever kicks in in less than 7 weeks.

One thing that I should consider doing is time-management. As last term had already proven, whatever free time you have can only be spent doing projects nonstop given the limited resources I have to produce works and giving my full commitment on each and every one of whatever material is given to me.

But because this is already my senior year, I should really give my all on making sure that I finish the journey I started from the moment I first stepped into the halls of the College last May 28, 2007 until I walk out of the school graduating in 2011. I can't give assurance that by the end of the current school (SY 2010-2011), I'm finally let loose.

But no matter what, I will end what I started and from there, I will start anew.

The Pursuit

The coming school year is a make-or-break year for me. Not only is there the possibility that I might graduate in three trimesters' time, I also have to make use of time to finally achieve my goals I have long set yet never tried to achieved years ago. Among them is trying to make myself fit and healthy.

This is one goal that I had ups and downs doing since the moment I first stepped into the neighborhood gym near our house way back July 2005. Yep it's been that long although I was never consistent although one achievement that I had made when I was starting out was when I manage to pull my weight down from 160lbs to a manageable 145lbs and I was able to maintain it up until college.

It was only last year when I noticed that I'm starting gaining weight and all of a sudden 3 months later, I was heavy at 162lbs. Although I don't now what happened, I never really made nnoticed any change in my appearance but people around me keep on making comments of how much "fatter" I have grown. These comments affected me in the way that I really should refocus the way I want to see myself in the future: feeling young inside and out, healthy, vibrant and fit.

It's one thing to say that I want to be fit, it's another thing to actually do it. As mentioned earlier, I have a problem with being consistent that's why I made it a point on not rushing things too much and do it one step at a time. At the same time, I have to revisit some goals that I was able to achieve yet failed to maintain. What worked for me while I was starting out were:

1. No buying candies, or any form of junk food.
2. No soda unless I was served.
3. Order Iced tea.

Eventually, one thing led to another and I ended up messing up what I've started.

Other gray areas that I really need to focus on is my food and sweet cravings. Sweets is something that I can't afford not to have and eating is something of a bad vice that may be half as bad as drinking or smoking but is still an evil vice that I must control.

Controlling the way I eat and stick to a solid eating plan is a way for me to finally rid myself of the belly fat occupying my midsection for so many years. As a rule, I should be eating more of the healthy stuff while lessening the excess stuff  thus I have to reduce my consumption of rice especially when I have my dinner. What I've been doing for quite a while now is incorporating oatmeal into my usual eating habits while I snack on bananas while I'm in school.

The important thing is to make my stomach think as if it's full so I won't have to deal with getting cravings as much.

One half of the plan is sticking to a work-out plan that I should consistent with all throughout. Gray areas include my lack of motivation and my sudden mentality of finding an excuse not to go to the gym. For this term, I have the benefit of time to do this so I shouldn't be worried much about not finding enough time.

My initial goal is to see results by August 31, 2010, which is my 20th birthday. My end goal is to see if I'm still consistent past August 31, 2011 when I turn 21 and which by then I would be graduating from college.

The pursuit for a lifestyle change will start tomorrow May 31. I know there will be bumps in the road but I'm all the more ready to face them. 

I'll be keeping a record of what I'll do so pray that I succeed in this endeavor.

Kaya sana parang Flash Forward ito na nagkatotoo eventually.

The Summer Experience 3: That Frosh RhyThmic Productivity

I must say, this summer had been the most productive for me in terms of actually doing something outside of my usual summer bumness at this time of the year (redundant use of words, I know). No matter how short my actual summer vacation has been, I could safely say that I really made most of the 20+ days of academic freedom I have as I was able to widen my horizons, broaden my scope and limitations, and last but not least, met and made a lot of friends.

Top of my list is being a part of this year's Frosh Orientation Program where my goal since day 1 was to give myself a "sense of fulfillment" and as "my way to give back to the school". Sounds corny but it's true. And boy did I make the right choice. Now I wonder how I would react once my face is seen by the next batch of students in the school come Monday for laughing out loud! Sessionista forever! :))

Second and most certainly as important as the first, me being part of 99.5RT's The Farm has been quite the tremendous experience. It's certainly made me realize of how far I could go to realizing what I want to do after graduation. Although there's no guarantee that I'll be able to continue my working relationship with station once The Farm airs its final curtain in June, the past-half year being in RT is enough for me to be satisfied.

But of course, we're planning two big events before we call it quits, one is a final adieu to the summer before the start of the school year, "OMG IT'S OVER!" to be held in June 11 at Manor Superclub in Eastwood City while another is something we're still in the process of putting it together so better watch out for it.

As I close off this series chronicling my summer experience, I look forward to what the year has in store for what could be my final "CSB Experience".

Goodbye, Adieu, Adios, and Paalam to THE SUMMER EXPERIENCE 3!

The Summer Experience 3: 'Pag NagStarbucks Ka, Sosyal Ka!

Ano nga ab ang mayroon sa Starbucks kung kaya't maraming naaliw na tumambay doon? Dahil ba sa napaka-accomdating nilang mga service crew? Sa serbisyo na madalas ay inaabuso ng mga customer? O di kaya kinikilala ito bilang isang status symbol para sa mga taong sosyal at piling sosyal.

Una kong naransana na mag-Starbucks nung 11 years pa lang ako at namamasyal ang pamilya ko sa grabe-sa-sobrang-lamig na New York nung December 2001. Naalala ko pa nga ang naging unang order ko doon: isang mocha frapp. At talaga namang iyun pa ang inorder ko kahit malamig ang panahon doon!

Di rin naglaon, dumating ang Starbucks sa Pilipinas at biglang naging isang popular a cafe-chain ito sa buong bansa. Since nung unang bisita ko sa Starbucks, iilan pa lang ang mga beses na talagang may binili ako doon. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, first time kong bumili ng isang maiinom sa Starbucks-Tore Lorenzo sa may Taft nung first year college ako. Di nagtagal, nagorder naman ako nung isang beses sa Starbuck-Trinoma nang makakai't maiinom.

Labis kong di naiintindihan ang kulturang laganap sa mga Starbuck cafes na ito.  Noong bumisita ang tiyahin ko galing San Francisco, CA kamakailan, dinalaw namin siya sa iba't ibang lugar sa Maynila. Minsan, nung ihahatid namin siya sa tutuluyan niyang bahay sa Cavite, naisipan namin na tumigil sa isang Starbucks branch malapit sa Coastal Road. Inisip ko nung panahon na iyon na masubukan ko minsan na bumili galing doon para aking maiintindihan ang kaguluhan dala ng banyagang mananakop na ito.

Nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon na gawin iyon nung kami ay namasyal sa Greenbelt sa Makati. Dahil sa sobrang init ng araw, inisip ko na bumili na inuming pampalamig sa isang Starbucks cafe sa malapit. Once na nasa loob ako, nag-order ako ng isang mocha frapp at isang sugar-coated na donut.

Tinanong ako ng cashier guy: "Here or to go?", ang sagot ko: "Uhm...Excuse me?". Kaniyang kinilaro: "Take out po sir?", aking sinagot ay "Ah, yes please.". Hiningi niya sa'kin ang aking pangalan. Binigay ko tapos sabi niya antayin ko ang order ko sa isang sulok. Hinintay ko nga tapos may tumawag sa aking pangalan, at kanyang sinasabi na hawak na niya ang aking order.

Ang saya ko dahil na-survive ko ang ka-sosyalan ng Starbucks. Iyun nga lang may kamahalan ang aking mga nabili pero buti dami kong dalang pera nung panahong iyon.

Isang linggo ang lumipas, inisip ko na bumili nang magiging pang-almusal ko habang ginagawa ko ang OJT ko sa isang opisina sa Makati. Buti may nadatnan akong Starbucks na malapit kaya doon ako dumiretso. At nung isang beses din ay bumili rin ako ng pagkain at inumin galing Starbucks sa isang mall. Sa dalawang kapihan ay ginamit ko ang vocabulary na uso doon at mukhang okay naman ang kinalabasan.

Pareho ay masyadong matakaw sa aking bulsa, iyon nga lang pero ayos lang dahil kahit papaano ay nasubukan ko na magStarbucks na walang alinlangan. Siguro kahit hindi na rin mawawala ang pagiging status symbol nito sa mga sosyal at pilit maging sosyal dito sa Pilipinas, hindi maikakaila na mayroong kakaiba ang establishment na ito na talagang nagpapahumaling sa bawat nilalang na dumadaan dito.

The Summer Experience 3: An Escort in a Sagala for 2011!

Every May, every town and city in the Philippine are set in a festive mood where they celebrate feast days for saints, for good harvests, and a trademark for this particular month, flowers. But what they had in common is that they always have a procession of beautiful ladies escorted with men clad in barongs as they walk in a major road for every townsfolk to see. This is what we call here as a "sagala".

My mom like to tell us stories how back when she was younger, her cousins are always getting approached to be their "Queen" for the annual Catholic procession of Santacruzan and/or the more secular Flores de Mayo. How fun it is for the ladies to look at their best wearing beautifully-designed Filipiniana dresses and how lucky it must have been for guys to escort such lasses.

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago when my family went to Fort Santiago and witnessed an actual sagala that was about to begin (actually the first time I wacthed a sagala was last year). The escorts look stunning on their barong get-ups while the "queens" are jaw-dropping pretty with their very beautiful gowns.

I took some pictures off of them from my mom's digicam and was amazed with the output. It made me think: What if I could be an escort for next year's May sagala?

I know it's much of a far-fetch dream but hey, this past year I had a lot of similar thoughts and ideas coming into reality. The only way I could make this one come true if I could actually make myself "escort-material". And no, when I mean "escort", I MEAN "escort" (and not the locally-twisted we had in our vocabulary).



I have the charm and I have the grace to accompany a fine-looking lady as she walks along the road, and all that's missing is getting the right stature for me to get in one of them. Hehehehe, talaga bang nagyabang? Joke! LOL!

Well, if ever I am to pursue this, I should definitely make this happen. For this thought to come true, I have to make and be that change.

:)

The Summer Experience 3: A Working Vacation

When I was conceiving the idea of writing an umbrella series of blogs for summer as an extension of my still-continuing blog series about my continuing college life, it was under the assumption that I won't exactly going to have a normal summer vacation in my college years.

Up to now, its purpose of existence remains largely the same, save for last year when I had my first and so far only normal vacation with no academic strings attached. But this year, well let's just say that I'm sorta-kinda-vacationing-while-working-and-studying at the same time.

Gets?

Since the end of junior year, I've kept myself occupied with a couple of school-related activities. One was participating on CSB's frosh orientation program (which I recently found out that I'll be in the sec committee instead of logistics) which I want to join since my freshman year but circumstances prevented me on joining until now. The other is being part of 99.5RT's The Farm where I've recently transferred my internship from RT30, the station's flagship chart show.

Working while in the middle of a month-long vacation doesn't seem to be all that bad, at least not yet. As far as I know, the next few days will be critical as me and the rest of the FOP guys will be orienting freshmen in preparation of the new school year while on the other side f the spectrum, members of The Farm are busy planning this really big thing next month. Can't say the exact details just yet but we hope we get the green-light to do this.

People are asking me why I try to make things tedious for me, why I'm making myself so busy when I should be resting. Because I want to engage myself on things that could shape me as a person. It's a learning experience that will teach me a lot of things, getting prepared with the harsh reality that is life as well as passing the torch of wisdom to the new crop of naive students coming into the school very soon.

Here's to wishing I could have a decent summer vacation next year, that is if by then I'll be done with school. Cheers to that!

The Summer Experience: A First-Time Voter's Experience, 1 Year and 5 Days Later

The latest news as I was writing this is that the Commission on Elections extended the voting period until 8pm tonight. This should just be enough time to accommodate late-comers to practice their right to vote. There are also reports of defective precinct count optical scan machines or what people here would like to call in short as "Pi-Kos".

But one hellish nightmare experienced by many of those who went to polling precincts as early as 7am would have to be the lack of coordination and systematic logistics from the many election volunteers stationed and the epic failure that are the "clustered precincts".

As a first-time voter, I was expecting that people would find it hard adjusting to the modernized system of voting but turns out it's the system of "clustered precincts" that had people scratch their heads.

The public school right next door  to our house serves as a precinct for about thousands of voting residents in our barangay. Voters are assigned to different sections to better manage the number of voters coming in at one time. But with the clustered system, the more than 20 sections where merged into five groups, each assigned to vote in a particular voting area found within the school. A "numbering system" was used to helped organize the voters.

Most of what I said in the last paragraph weren't exactly made known to many until today. Imagine the chaos starting from 7am where confusion and heated arguments were filling up the halls as people don't know where they are supposed to go. Here's the major problems I found while inside the school:

1. The list of voters were posted in the school hallways instead of outside for incoming voters to see and make sure that their names are in the list.

2. Senior citizens weren't aware that they will be provided with an "express lane"

3. They were too much election volunteers in the area at one time ma, many of them wearing red and  weren't doing anything but sit around and smoking inside flammable classrooms.

4. The volunteers apparently are making problems for themselves and the voters by their lack of clear coordination and communications.

5. The volunteers are also trying to vote as well but they should have done so at a later time as courtesy for the other voters (because they DID signed up to monitor the elections and not do nothing)

6. Voter confusion stemmed from having people sent to "boarding areas" where they are supposed to be given a piece of paper containing numbers and wait til they are called according to their assigned numbers. Unfortunately in one boarding area, volunteers just let a throng of people to come inside in large numbers only to end up being crowded in a not so spacious room while the volunteer assigned to us kept on moving around passing out numbers instead of  staying one place like the door entrance and have those numbers distributed to people at the point of entry. Imagine I was voter 111 out of 200 people in one voting area alone as of 11am (By the way I'm in 14a).

As for the optical scan machines, the school was given 5 units. One unit had a short-term technical problem because a voter kinda touched a button of the machine. Good thing there was enough tech support to sort things out fast.

The voting process became a lot faster when the school eventually ditched the numbering system and just had us simply line-up until we reached the voting area. Lucky I was able to see my name on the voter's list with my mom since we were asked which number (by order of our surnames) we were assigned to. I was later given a ballot and an election secrecy folder. I sat on a chair near the windows so I could feel the wind coming in and get enough light for me to read the names of my chosen candidates.

Out of the oh-so-many-names I have to choose from to fill in as my choices for various government positions, I only chose 7 names: one for President, another for vice-president, 2 for senators, 1 for Valenzuela City mayor, 1 for vice-mayor, and  1 for Congressional District 1 Representative. I abstained from voting anyone running for the city council due to a lack of awareness of who they are to me as a citizen of the city, and from voting one out of 187 party-list groups vying a seat in Congress because they're just too many of them.

I never understood of the whole party-list system especially on the notion of how exactly do they represent members of the marginalized/underrepresented sectors. And think about it: 187 party-list groups vying for 57 seats with their names filed under "Party-List" occupying more than two-thirds of one side of the ballot alone.

The actual voting process with my ballot being swallowed by the optical scan machine took only a mere 5 minutes, a pint out of the 4.5 hours I have to endure while waiting for my turn just to vote. Fortunately we are here in Arko that the PCOS machine didn't cause any chaos among the populace but it was merely the lack of coordination coming from the election volunteers as I've mentioned earlier.

Now as voting period is at its final few hours until the 20th hour, the only thing that the nation has to wait now is the counting of ballots which should be a lot quicker now. The election commission expects the final results to be out by one week instead of 1 and a half months peple had to wait when we were still doing manual counting.

I just hope that everything will go smoothly.

GO PHILIPPINES!