what i should’ve taken in college

I found this quiz on Boss Erwin’s site. Like him, I took ECE in college without having any real interest in the field. Electronics and Communications Engineering sounded flashy. It had a very selective quota, and everybody said it was hard which made it an attractive challenge. If I’d known any better, I would’ve chosen a course that better reflected my personality. But I don’t completely regret my life choices, because if I didn’t make them, I wouldn’t be where I am now – and right now I’m really enjoying myself.

QUIZ RESULTS

cris mendez benefit concert ticket

thanks to everyone who attended.

Studio23 UAAP 2007 Cheerdance Videos

Because I can’t get enough of the win, here are more videos of the UP Pep’s championship routine. These have way better shots than that of the previous post. In fact, I couldn’t help feeling an overwhelming pride after watching these clips, even if I’ve seen part of it live on TV. Cheerleading is hard stuff. They should make it an Olympic sport, like synchronized swimming. I kid you not.

Part 1: An Explosive Start

Part 2: A Strong Finish

let’s go, UP!!!

olats sa men’s basketball pero champion naman sa cheerdance. i’d say it’s a fair trade.

congrats to the UP Pep Squad. thanks for giving iskos and iskas something to look forward to every year in the UAAP. woo-hoo!

EDIT:

as promised, here’s a clip of the win in Araneta c/o coreen010. enjoy!

college wars

this brightened up my otherwise depressing day – a shirt from UP Diliman’s College of Engineering which reads:

So what kung UNO ka? ENG’g ka BA?

LOL. ok, so i’m sure that will raise a lot of eyebrows. but hey, everyone’s entitled to a few occasions of juvenile behavior, iskos and iskas included. i come from EEE, or the dreaded Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. it prides itself in having the highest mortality rate (students kicked out). there is a saying around the department that:

“There are only two universities in the Philippines: UP and others.
Within UP, there are only two colleges: Engineering and others.
And within Engineering, there are only two departments: EEE and others.“

yabang, di ba? well it’s just elitist crap and should not be considered seriously, because we all know it’s false. but the mortality rate? i’m afraid that’s true, and if you’re a student you get reminded of it every sem when you see less of your friends, some having been forced to shift to other courses or axed outright. i’ve had some failing marks myself during college, my battle cry being “there’s honor in 5.0, but none in dropping”. at least, i tried. as for UNOs, off the top of my head i can recall two (CS12 and EEE31), but there’s probably a few more. weird thing is that they’re all major subjects.

so, anyway, would i like to get that shirt? hell, yeah! it’s a small consuelo de bobo for those of us who were denied a decent social life during our college years.

to be a cunning linguist

i miss being a student. most of my dreams, in fact, is about me going back to school (although in these dreams, something inevitably goes wrong like i forget my scheduled classes, or some such fiasco).

i’ve been searching for a program lately that would allow me to take another degree online, like UP’s Open University, or PUP’s equivalent. but the courses offered right now are too limited and i’m not so sure if i’d qualify in the programs that they do have. plus, in UP’s case, the recent tuition hike just about kills it.

i was about to shelve the idea when i got to talk to my officemate, Ric. it turns out he’s taking Spanish classes at the Instituto Cervantes in Manila. he said it only cost him around P2,500 for the months-long sessions. hmmm… sounds OK, doesn’t it? Ric claimed that his payment covers the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced classes. although, when i looked up their website it seems they charge that much per module, and not for the whole course (which is more plausible). there’s approximately 20 modules which makes the total P50,000 for the complete course. however, stretch that over a two-year period and it feels relatively cheap. i have to make more inquiries.

the Instituto Cervantes is located in T.M. Kalaw, though, which is at least 1 hour from me by train, and i’m sorry but i’m NOT a fan of Manila. an alternative for me would be German classes at the Goethe Institut in Gilmore, QC. that’s less than 30mins away from my place (2 short jeepney rides, unless they moved without me knowing). tuition fee is at P3,600 per module.

Ric said he also tried to inquire about Alliance Francais’ rates, but got intimidated when the woman he spoke to on the phone went all French on him. which, of course, sounded alien, so he panicked and dropped the phone. hahaha.

high school reunion

“i know we all really miss each other…”

as if it was a statement of fact. actually, no, i do not obsess about seeing them during my waking hours.

the mailing list became flooded with echoes of their sentiment, and a feverish call for a reunion was set. of course, i already know what i’ll be doing during that time – sitting at home and reading a good book. much more preferable than the superficial chatter that comes with most high school reunions, where one will either feel like a God or standing two-foot small.

i do not like looking back at high school. i am not fond of remembering how the boys used to make fun of this naive girl or that, or how the prettiest girls would cast out the losers, or how the rich kids would laugh at some people for being “baduy”. puberty is not as exciting as they make it out to be. if i could have skipped it, i would.

true, there are some things that made it worth the while. for example, becoming good friends with ate jacqueline, getting to know karen, aileen, and a few others, the great camaraderie we had while i was a COC, and maybe even Math, English and History. i did learn a lot, and some teachers were nice.

but not my classmates. just the thought of being with them makes me feel like the scrawny 13-year old that i was, wanting to hide in a shell. in awe of everything, but misunderstood by everyone.