Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day 03 - Of Scholarships and The Day I Got Published
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Day 02 - Of Showbiz Police Reporting and CommRes all over again
** Cross-posted from http://lfs.jmtuazon.net **
*Subtitled Of 75 pesos and the Will To Survive
Today was a pretty eventual day for me and Claire. Today we officially start to do two shifts of work--one for Police Beat in the morning/afternoon and one for the Research Department of the paper in the evening.
The day started off with a trip to the Quezon City Police District Station 10--erstwhile known as the Kamuning Police Station, the epitome of blood and gore when it comes to the kinds of crimes reported. The call time was at 9am but basing from the experience yesterday and Claire's stories from last week, I decided to be quite late. When I arrived, I learned that...
I was still freakin' early. I had to wait for Sir Marlon for another fifteen minutes or so pa, so I sat by the desk officer's--what else--desk and waited for Sir Marlon. Soon after all kinds of gruesomeness started coming into the station, most remarkable of which was this guy with a bruised (and take note bleeding) eye that sat beside me on the bench. I wanted to cringe and transfer seats but there were no other chairs around, so I just sat around praying Sir Marlon arrives soon or the earth'll swallow me right then and there.
When Sir Marlon arrived, he had a smirk on his face and asked why I wasn't in the Press Office, if I even know the place. Of course I told him I wasn't aware there was a press office because it was my first time there. He introduced me to another reporter-friend of his named Jet, who's a reporter for Abante. We proceeded to the intelligence section of the station to look at the blotter.
After our stint at the Police Station, we proceeded to our usual stop every day: Camp Karingal. We interviewed the Police Superintendent of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) about the recent robbery/theft case at RC Cola in Novaliches. The cops and the reporters were laughing at how some uniformed policemen broke into the office/factory (I wasn't able to clarify) of RC Cola and took lots of cash. Too bad they didn't know that they were being filmed on CCTV camera, so now the police is after them.
The PSupt. (oha, alam ko na mga abbreviations! =P) gave us another police record of a good case--something about Former Senator Tito Sotto reporting a theft incident over at his house in White Plains, Quezon City. The thief(s) took his wallet, his mason ring and his precious, precious iPhone. No wonder the old senator's fumed, people will find out he owns an illegal unit of the iPhone! LOLz.
After this Sir Marlon typed his Senator Sotto story (through his Sony VAIO mini-laptop-thingamajigger) and filed it online. It can now be found here. This was posted just a little over an hour after Sir Marlon sent it over the net (there was WiFi in the QCPD, would you believe?!). Aaaahhh, technology.
The stories we got today prompted us to think: why are we getting a lot of Police Stories involving famous celebrities this week? Are we to become the local version of Gossip Girl? Haha. Scratch that last part.
We then proceeded to the NUJP Headquarters to type the stories. But before going there, Claire and I had to eat our lunch first. It was 2pm and we haven't eaten a thing.
But, the problem of the day soon struck me in the face: I only had 75pesos today, how am I gonna squeeze that into the different expenses I have to endure for the next few hours or so? An idea came to mind, and I'm glad Claire agreed to my plan, so we dined at Jollibee for more variety (yesterday we ate at McDo). I ordered the ultimate grepa meal: the lumpiang shanghai with macaroni soup and drink for only 49 pesos! Hooray! I still had about 26 pesos to spare. That'd have to go to the fare going to the Inquirer office.
We returned to the NUJP HQ stomachs full, and we did our stories separately. Claire did the full story on the Sotto case, while I wrote the Ferriols one which was quite tough because I didn't know half the details. I had to keep asking Sir Marlon what happened so that I could finish the stories. Several camwhoring sessions and hours after, Sir Marlon edited our stories, gave us his comments, and off we went to the Inquirer Head Office!
The travel to the head office took about an hour. Good thing we didn't have to battle it out with the rush hour, lest we arrive at the office scathed and bruised. We barely knew the exact directions going to the head office from Morato, and I just swear we somehow got on the wrong jeepney on the way to the MRT. Thankfully, we both survived, arms, legs and all.
Upon arriving at the office Claire got her tuition check and we went straight to Sir Yambot who was so nice to escort us (actually, he does that everytime--escort us everywhere. Such a nice guy, Sir Yambot is. *sipsip* :P) to the Research Department, where Ma'am Miner, the Department Head, interviewed us for a short while and gave us our assignments.
Somehow, both Claire and I were shocked with Ma'am Miner's strictness. She asked us our definite times of arrival and departure to and from the office, because, she said, interns aren't allowed to have flexible time schedules. It was somehow a great departure from what we got used to in the field, where somehow anything goes, so long as you meet your deadline. So we told Ma'am Miner we'd stay at the office from 5pm til 9pm everyday, and she agreed. Then off we went to our assignments.
About two hours later and both Claire and I finished, so we submitted our papers to Ma'am Miner for evaluation. When she returned our papers, she asked Claire to look for a map of the island while she asked me to look for certain provisions on the writ of habeas data, and to follow strictly the Inquirer Stylebook. But along the side, she commented how she was naiinis because we did the job very quickly and very efficiently, and she even told me that I did a very comprehensive job, save for a few misses here and there. Wahoo!
Somehow, Claire and I loved doing our work in the Research Department. It's not as haggard as the Police Beat rounds and it feels like we've already done this a million times in school. But this is only the first day of the job, and it gets harder every day. Tomorrow we deal with phone calls to different schools to ask for their tuition rates. Haggard. That's a lotta school, just looking at my list.
At around 8pm, they told us to have dinner already. Because I didn't have money anymore, I just accompanied Claire to KFC to buy her food. I wasn't that hungry anyway, and home is just about an hour away. So we quickly got back to the office where Claire ate her food and I checked my bank account online. And guess what? I have freaking money on my account. Whatta loser.
At 9pm we said our goodbyes to Ma'am Miner and our co-workers who were Journ people as well, such as Ate Kate, Ate Cyril, Ate Iza(?) and Ate Shiatsu (Oh no I don't know how to spell her name!). Claire offered a ride but I told her I'd commute na lang, since I'm out of the way. On the way home I withdrew money from an ATM and ate my heart out at ChowKing. Boy, was I hungry.
So that concludes our 2nd day at work. It was a very tiring day and I have reasons to believe this'll go on for the next few weeks or so. But the good thing is, somehow, the haggardness of the Police Beat is balanced out by the fun workplace and workload at the Research Department. We get experience interviewing, looking for stories and writing them on the field, and we get knowledge on how to do effective research in the office. I guess this internship is turning out a little better than how I pictured it before I start, so yay! Hooray for 12-hour workdays. =))
I'm looking forward to reporting for work tomorrow. =D
Hours covered today: 7 1/2 hours on the field, 4 1/2 hours in the office (12 hours in all)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Day 01 - Of Renegade Child Stars
*Cross-posted from http://lfs.jmtuazon.net*
So today I get to start my internship. I woke up at the ungodly hour of 8am (it is if it's summer), and read a text from my co-intern Claire that we were scheduled to meet Marlon, our trainor, at Camp Karingal at 12nn. Thinking that 12nn is some few hours away, I decided to get some more sleep.
At 10am I got ready and packed my stuff: camera, recorder, extra batteries, planner, pens, notepad. Yes, I was extra prepared, like it was the first day of school all over again. Later I would learn that I wouldn't need over half of what I brought (lesson learned, so it'll be an easy pack tomorrow morning). First problem came to mind: I didn't know where Camp Karingal was.
So I fired up trusty Wikimapia.org and looked for Camp Karingal on the map. Sadly, it wasn't registered when I typed it on its search engine, so I looked for some information over Google and found out it was situated at Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. I looked for Sikatuna Village on the map and guess what--Camp Karingal was merely three blocks away from where I currently reside!
With that information in mind I grabbed a light snack by the nearest convenience store, called up a tricycle and headed to Camp Karingal. Little did I know that the trip wouldn't take more than 5 minutes, tops. It was 11:30 am.
Since I was dead early, I surveyed the area first. The camp was quite huge, and I found out that there were several settlers at the rear part of the camp. Reading a notice posted on the gate of the camp, I found out that these settlers homes' are to be demolished because the land was a property of the camp. Later on I would find out that Sir Marlon did a story on the demolition a few days back, and it stopped momentarily because of the promotion of a certain official (was it Gatdula? I couldn't remember).
12:00 came and there was no sight of my trainor, nor my co-intern Claire. I texted my trainor and he told me that he's on his way to the camp and that I should wait for him over at the CIDU (Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, I would later learn). I went over to the front desk and asked the policeman on duty where the CIDU is, and he politely pointed me to the right direction. At least some policemen are nice, I thought.
Vehicles of different media companies started arriving soon after, for god-knows-what event. A policeman sitting by the front door told one reporter that FG (Mike Arroyo) has been there earlier, to address policemen's problems about--get this--false teeth. So yeah, I thought, the First Gentleman definitely has a lot on his hands right now. I totally feel so safe and secure.
Anyhow, I went over to the CIDU where I waited for Sir Marlon and Claire. Several minutes have passed before they arrived. Sir Marlon gave me a mini-tour of the station, where, he says, the cases involving deaths are investigated. Ooh, sounds really interesting, in a morbid kind of way. He showed me the blotter and some other police documents. We went upstairs to talk to some officials but unfortunately, they were out for something that day.
A few moments later and Claire arrived, drenched because it was raining. Sir Marlon had gone off somewhere we didn't know, so we hung around the station for a while and watched TV. A few moments later Sir Marlon came, interview and quotes in hand, and we then proceeded to the NUJP Headquarters to type the stories (Sir Marlon is a member of the Board of Directors of the NUJP).
Anyway, after writing our stories in Sir Marlon's cutesy cutesy cellphone-notebook-PDA-tablet-I don't know what it's called (and I'm supposed to be the techie dude, huh?), he evaluated and edited them and hopefully, they'd come up in the papers tomorrow if the editors see fit.
Earlier in the day, Claire relayed to me that she wasn't getting enough hours during her coverage of the Police Beat last week (she started earlier than I), so we thought of transferring departments to get more hours, so we could finish by or ahead of the deadline (which is May 14). We texted Sir Yambot's secretary and she told us to call that afternoon. When we called, I got to talk to Mr. Yambot and he very nicely suggested we report at the Main Office after our beats to help in the Research Department. Wahoo! That was a very nice compromise for me and Claire, so we agreed. We'll report there tomorrow afternoon, after we write our beat stories.
So yeah, basically, we'll be working two shifts every day--Police Beat in the morning/afternoon and Research Department in the evening. I think that's fine with me, since I want to finish internship early. The only letdown is the travel--ugh, that's Makati, and it's so far. And I've somewhat grown a dislike for commuting. But I'd have to put up with it anyway.
So there. Hopefully there'll be no blood and gore tomorrow when we cover the Kamuning Police Station. We report at 9am, so I gotta go sleep early tonight. Buh-bye!
Hours covered today: 5 hoursWednesday, April 9, 2008
Victories and Frustrations (Last Sem's Thanks and No Thanks)
AY 2007-2008.
42 units of hell.
14 subjects (plus 2 CWTS classes and 1 PE) of pure torture.
9 months of workload.
1 helluva school year.
I'd like to re-echo a lot of sentiments flying around Multiply lately. That yes, Junior Year is THE year of ALL years. It's a make or break year. It's a crucial year. It's an important year. And most of all, it's a buwakananginang year.
I'd like to believe that the academic year that passed is a very monumental year for me. It's monumental kasi gusto kong patayuan ng monumento lahat ng humaggard sakin this sem. Wahahaha joke lang, ang corny ko na naman. Kidding aside, sobrang daming nakakaluhang moments ang nangyari sa taong ito. Pero sa kabila ng lahat ng lungkot at pighati, napakarami rin namang napakasayang nangyari. Tara, balikan natin silang lahat. Sariwain ang taong nakalipas... upang magabayan sa tatahaking hinaharap. Okay. Tunog retreat na ko dito. Sige. Les go!
Itong nakaraang taon na yata ang naging sadomasochist (Ching, 2008 or should it be Tuazon, 2008? :P) year ko. Kasi ba naman, mga kinuha kong mga prof at mga subjects pamatay talaga ng brain cells at paniguradong duguan ng ilong ang magaganap. Chua, Arao, Lanuza, BJ101, CWTS sa ComSci, at marami pang iba. Parang... nung nagsabog si God ng common sense sa pamimili ng subject, nasa loob ako ng enlistment room nag-eenlist ng mga subjects na yan kaya wala akong nasalo ni isang katiting. Hehe. =)) Marami namang better and easier alternatives, but no, pinili kong tahakin ang "road less traveled," ika nga.
At kung tutuusin, hindi naman ako nabigo. Maraming tagumpay ang nakamit dahil sa pagsisikap. Maraming pagsubok ang nalampasan. Maraming adhikain ang napagtagumpayan. Kahit marami ring pagkabigo, lampas-lampas kung maungusan ng mga pagkapanalo at tagumpay ang mga ito. (O sige, pababa nang pababa, palalim nang palalim ang tagalog, keri?)
Ito rin ang taong sumubok nang matindi sa aking ideolohiya. Marahil alam nyo naman ang nangyari. Sa mga taong nainis dahil sa nangyari, patawad, sinasabi ko lamang ang aking opinyon. Sa mga taong di na'ko nais makasama dahil sa ginawa ko, okay lang... kung 'di naman tayo magkakasundo sa simpleng opinyon, ano pa ang halaga nang piliting magkasundo sa bagay na alam naman nating magkaiba tayo ng pananaw. Basta, hanga ako sa tapang at dedikasyon ninyo sa pinaglalaban nyo, at nirerespeto ko kayo dahil don.
Ito rin ang taong sumuong ako sa politikal na arena sa UP sa pagtakbo ko bilang Journ Rep (na natalo naman, hehe, pero okay lang). Masaya akong nakakilala ng mga bagong kaibigan dahil sa tunguhing ito. At alam kong may dahilan kung bakit hindi ako nailagak sa puwesto. May iba pa namang paraan ng paglilingkod sa kolehiyo, hindi lang sa pamamagitan ng konseho. Don't worry, ipagpapatuloy natin ang serbisyo... Abangan. Chos.
Sa taong nakalipas, maraming tuwa at sayang naidulot hindi lamang ng mga kaganapan sa buong taon, kundi dahil na rin sa mga taong ginawang interesante at makabuluhan ang aking ikatlong taon sa kolehiyo. Sige, ro-roll call muna ko. Pasensya sa makakalimutan, my memory can only go so far. Regaluhan mo ko ng MemoPlus Gold para maalala kita. Hehe. =P
To my Deza babies, IA and Elsie, this year's been the first year we really got to know each other. Marami na ko nasabi sa inyo. I think you know what my heart will say naman. It was nice knowing you two.
Kay Mark Ching, na sobrang galing mag-layout: kudos sa Kule at sa 121 days, pati na rin sa Socio125. I know we had a falling out this sem and I apologize for my actions, and I'm glad we were able to iron things out.
Kina Paul, Hannah, Kumi, Pat at Dyan, mga seatmates sa J151 na forever reserved seating, thanks for making 830 classes on Tuesdays and Fridays worth waking up to dahil sa walang-hanggang tawanan at pag-iingay natin habang iniintay si Ma'am Jaz.
Kay Hannahbelles, for being my super classmate nung first sem. Nawindang ako sayo gurl. Haha. Kamusta na ba ang tanaw natin jan? System-wide pa rin ba ang lovelife mo? Na-lost din ako na di naman kita classmate kahit sa isang subject this sem. Hannah-withdrawal lang, for more. =))
Kay Paul na kasabwat ni Hannah sa pang-aalaska sa'kin tuwing J123, na sobrang ikinapipikon ko naman (na sobrang pinagtatawanan nyo naman ni Hannah ang pagkapikon ko). Salamat sa grand revelation na mali pala ang akala kong ikaw. Hahahahahaha grabehan lang. =))
Kay Kumi, na this year ko lang ren nalaman na hindi ikaw ang akala kong ikaw, salamat sa haggard at ngarag days na even though pressured na eh forever nakangiti ka lang sa tabi, parang baliw lang. Hahaha joke. Salamat sa lahat ng patawang kwento at mga bomboy juicy stories about the CHK girls mo, chos! Stay Bomboy!!! Salamat din sa CL115 accompaniments (o diba, kanta tayo!) at sa J111 haggardness na sobrang may koalisyon na tayo don, and don't forget our STEADY relationship, keri? Na forever lang tayong tumitig sa flagpoles sa music na pinagtitinginan na tayo ng mga tao. Wahahahahaha. =P
Kay Pat, na this year ko lang rin naging ka-close kasi starstruck pa ko sa kanya last year, salamat naging close tayo. Di ko makakalimutan one time, di pa naman tayo ganun ka-close, pero nang papasok ako as J151 classroom at nasa may BC dept ka, mega-sigaw ka ng "Hi JM!" on the top of your lungs. Ngiti naman ako na kinikilig. Yihee!! Starstruck talaga ako sayo hon. Shet ka. Bat ba tayo naging friends. Wala na tuloy kwenta autograph mo. Wahehehehehehe. =P
At kay Dyan, forever classmate, na for four straight sems ko nang classmate (minus one sa memory mo dahil di mo matandaan ang ating J101 Teodoro baby days, which led to you-know-what wahahaha), salamat sa Happy Times, Lonely Times, Haggard Times at Lablayp Times. Maraming rebelasyon ang taong to, no, neng? Hahahaha. Shet. Shift na kasi ang interests sa ibang college! Chos. No, seriously, you've been my parausan ever since, in the wholesome sense of the word (hahahaha alam kong maraming mag-iisip nang kung ano-ano jan!!!). Sobrang daming kwento, sobrang daming rants, pero sobrang saya kasama kahit ano, kahit walang pera, kahit alas syete pa yan nang umaga at pareho pa tayong walang tulog. Hahahaha. Shetz. I go for lubus-lubusin na natin to at maging kalasmeyts pa rin tayo for the next two sems. Game?
Sa On The Rocks Team, congrats satinnn!!! I'm sure matataas ang mga nakuha nyong grades this sem. Talagang hinaggard naten ang subject na to. Ultimo titigan ang isang picture nang tatlong oras kinarir naten. Mamimiss ko ang videoke sessions natin sa classroom pag iniiwan tayo ni ma'am, at syempre ang lovelife ni Shepot na naka-move on na! Sa Wakas! Wahehehehe jok lang. I go for let's Crescent Moon da second time around! :P
To Anj, na ngayon lang din tayo naging close pero wala lang... katuwa ang mga YM convos natin tuwing madaling araw na kung san-san nauuwi, lalo na sa P night/morning nating tatlo ni Kumiko. Hahahaha. ANPORGETABOLSSS!!! Pero ssshhhhh... walang laglagan ah? May image tayo. Kayo LLR. Wholesome ako, Technology. =))
At kay Chato... na sa YM ko pa lang nakakausap at nakikita, na never ko pa nakaka-eyeball in real life, salamat sa ganit0hng pakikipag-usap na powtek hinawuh mow sakehn, na sabi ko ke kumiko mang-di-disown ako ng mga taong ganyan magsalita pero oke lang ikaw, hehe. Salamat sa pagbuhay mo ng adiksyon ko, no? Taenang skins yan. Bili na tayo!!! =P
To Micah, ang newly-found friend na forever naman nating naririnig ang pangalan ng isa't-isa, more like I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You ang drama, pero syempre hindi Love ang lebel. haha! Salamat sa 122 haggard at ngarag days natin dahil ke Sir Arao, at salamat sa lahat ng mga words of advice at words of wisdom mula sayo. =)
To Ayrie the nonconforming sado-masochist lucky bitch (lahat yan Tuazon, 2008), pucha. Never pa tayo nagiging classmates. Last sem lang tayo nag-meet, of all circumstances sa ganung situation pa, but no. I feel like I've known you all my life. Chos! Haha. Salamat sa lahat ng kabangagan mo grabe ka, na lagi mo kong hinahawahan... sa mga kwento mong walang katapusan, at sa mga kakulitan mong minsan ang sarap mo nang kutusan. Jowk lang! Alam kong iba na ang meaning ng smiley na >:D< sayo, punyemas. Hahahaha. Hindi ko makakalimutan yon. Pucha, maging classmates naman tayo for once!!! =P
To my CommRes101 groupmates, salamat sa lahat ng haggard days nating magkakasama... at sa mataas na grade na nakuha natin! Haha. Everything's so worth it, except for a few mishaps that we encountered along the way. Salamat Ja sa pagpapatuloy mo samin sa iyong haws sa Celery St., Valle Verde 5, at sa pagpapakain mo ng masasarap na pagkain na ngayon lang namin natikman! Chos. Haha. Salamat sa inyong lahaaattt... sobrang na-tats ako, inaamin ko, nang binasa ko ang peer evaluation nyo. Haayyyzzz... halabshoo guys! Let's never do that again. Hahahahaha.
To my CWTS Group, alam kong di ako masyadong "belong" sa atin little clique bilang di ako taga-CS, but you made me feel very welcome. Salamat sa lahat ng kulitan and asaran sessions natin, never ko yun makakalimutan. Study hard ah!!!
And lastly, to my greatest pain and achievement this sem, to my Balitambayan Cast and Crew, sobrang, sobrang... hmpf... pfftttttt... *hikbi*... *hinga hinga*... *sob, sob*... haaayyy... speechless ako.
Bago ako magpasalamat... maglalabas lang ako ng saloobin. Alam naman siguro nating lahat kung gaano ako nangarag dahil sa subject na ito. Hindi ko nga sya major pero sobrang panahon ang ginugol ko dito, kahit nga majors ko di tatapat sa effort na binigay ko sa class na to. Bawat araw na gigising ako BJ101 agad ang papasok sa utak ko. Iisipin ko kung saan ang shoot, kaninong camera, sinong reporter, anong anggulo, sinong iinterviewhin, lahat. Alam kong maraming mga panahong nastress at nagalit ako sa ilang mga tao, patawad. Pare-pareho tayong nangarag at lumuha dahil sa subject na to... at sa dulo, maganda naman ang nagawa nating produkto. Pero sa totoo lang, di ko matanggap ang markang nakuha ko... sabihin na nating mayabang ako at nagbubuhat ng bangko, pero sa tingin ko talaga mas mataas na marka pa ang dapat na nakuha ko... kung sa effort at effort man din lang, alam naman nating lahat ang ginugol nating panahon para dito. Por Gadseyks, di nga pwede mag-overnight dito sa apartment bilang me mga nagrereview na law students dito, pero dahil wala na talaga, sige dito na lang... maraming sakripisyo, maraming binitawan... ilang GIGS worth of Torrent ang binurao ko ke Joaqs, daan-daan o libo-libong perang nagastos, panahong nagugol naman sana para sa ibang bagay... pero ang kinauwian, parang hindi nasuklian ang effort na binigay ko sa markang nakuha ko. Okay fine, for the first parts of the sem, medyo lax ako sa BJ, pero nagsubmit naman ako ng requirements (save for a negligibile one), at nagpaparticipate naman ako minsan... pero ewan ba. Nakakalungkot lang talaga...
Anyway... para kay Nel, na sobrang naging constant companion ko talaga sa BJ na yan, salamat sa pagiging isang magaling na News Director, isang maaasahang kaibigan, isang great listener, isang great decision-maker, isang great leader. Sobrang hindi ko talaga alam ang gagawin ko sa BJ kung wala ka Nel, kung alam mo lang. Sa mga panahon gusto ko nang magpakalbo sa sobrang dami ng stress at frustration, you keep me balanced and all. Naks. Teka baka magselos na si Papa Ryan nyan. Basta, sobrang thankful ako sayo kasi you helped me pull through this one... super thank you Nel, you are one great soul.
At sa buong BJ Class, sobrang pasasalamat ko coz I got to meet a lot of new friends in you all. Pasensya na kung madalas nyo ko nakikitang galit or inis ah... stressed lang kasi sa dami ng trabaho. Pero on a normal day sobrang friendly ko naman... diba? DIBA???!! AMININ NYO!!! POWTEK UNO BINIGAY KO SA INYONG LAHAAATTT!!! Haha. Nagwala eh no. Pero yun. Naiiyak naman ako sa mga ginawa natin this sem... at natutuwa dahil kayo ang mga kasama ko dun. Uy, remember our McFloat days at McFloat envy ni Nel? Hahaha. Tuwing iinom ako ng float, kayo maaalala ko... shet, andrama ko na. Ohmegads. eto na ang sinasabi ni Nel na lab letter... sabi ko di ako gagawa eh. Pero pramis, mamimiss ko kayo... I remember, nung last day ng editing, nung kame na lang dalawa ni Nel, nasabi ko na lang... "Aww, patapos na... Mamimiss ko ang BJ" na sobrang pinagtawanan ako ni Nel dahil ang senti ko nang panahong yon, pero nangingilid na talaga ang luha ko nang mga panahong yon... mamimiss ko kayong lahat... sorry sa lahat ng shortcomings ko ah, at sorry kung nakakainis ako most of the time... i'm really sorry guys...
Haaayyy... at syempre kung may mga pinasalamatan, meron namang di dapat pasalamatan...
No Thanks sa mga prof na sobrang mangarag.
No Thanks sa mga prof na hindi nangangarag sa simula, pero putangina sa dulo babawi ng pangangarag.
No Thanks sa lahat ng mga ditz at sabaw moments, dahil nawawala sa direksyon ang mga gawain.
No Thanks sa mga kaklaseng bigla na lang mang-iiwan sa ere.
No Thanks sa mga kasamahang hindi willing mag-contribute.
No Thanks sa mga groupmates na mahilig mangako, kaya mahilig din mamako ng pangako.
No Thanks sa mga classmates na hindi ko malaman kung nang-aasar lang o ayaw talaga magpa-contact. Kainis.
And lastly, no thanks sa mga taong makakapal ang mukha na grabehan lang magbuhat ng bangko kahit wala namang ginawa.
Yun lang. Shet. I'm so glad this sem is over. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! SORRY SA MGA NAKALIMUTAN KO!!! =P
42 units of hell.
14 subjects (plus 2 CWTS classes and 1 PE) of pure torture.
9 months of workload.
1 helluva school year.
I'd like to re-echo a lot of sentiments flying around Multiply lately. That yes, Junior Year is THE year of ALL years. It's a make or break year. It's a crucial year. It's an important year. And most of all, it's a buwakananginang year.
I'd like to believe that the academic year that passed is a very monumental year for me. It's monumental kasi gusto kong patayuan ng monumento lahat ng humaggard sakin this sem. Wahahaha joke lang, ang corny ko na naman. Kidding aside, sobrang daming nakakaluhang moments ang nangyari sa taong ito. Pero sa kabila ng lahat ng lungkot at pighati, napakarami rin namang napakasayang nangyari. Tara, balikan natin silang lahat. Sariwain ang taong nakalipas... upang magabayan sa tatahaking hinaharap. Okay. Tunog retreat na ko dito. Sige. Les go!
Itong nakaraang taon na yata ang naging sadomasochist (Ching, 2008 or should it be Tuazon, 2008? :P) year ko. Kasi ba naman, mga kinuha kong mga prof at mga subjects pamatay talaga ng brain cells at paniguradong duguan ng ilong ang magaganap. Chua, Arao, Lanuza, BJ101, CWTS sa ComSci, at marami pang iba. Parang... nung nagsabog si God ng common sense sa pamimili ng subject, nasa loob ako ng enlistment room nag-eenlist ng mga subjects na yan kaya wala akong nasalo ni isang katiting. Hehe. =)) Marami namang better and easier alternatives, but no, pinili kong tahakin ang "road less traveled," ika nga.
At kung tutuusin, hindi naman ako nabigo. Maraming tagumpay ang nakamit dahil sa pagsisikap. Maraming pagsubok ang nalampasan. Maraming adhikain ang napagtagumpayan. Kahit marami ring pagkabigo, lampas-lampas kung maungusan ng mga pagkapanalo at tagumpay ang mga ito. (O sige, pababa nang pababa, palalim nang palalim ang tagalog, keri?)
Ito rin ang taong sumubok nang matindi sa aking ideolohiya. Marahil alam nyo naman ang nangyari. Sa mga taong nainis dahil sa nangyari, patawad, sinasabi ko lamang ang aking opinyon. Sa mga taong di na'ko nais makasama dahil sa ginawa ko, okay lang... kung 'di naman tayo magkakasundo sa simpleng opinyon, ano pa ang halaga nang piliting magkasundo sa bagay na alam naman nating magkaiba tayo ng pananaw. Basta, hanga ako sa tapang at dedikasyon ninyo sa pinaglalaban nyo, at nirerespeto ko kayo dahil don.
Ito rin ang taong sumuong ako sa politikal na arena sa UP sa pagtakbo ko bilang Journ Rep (na natalo naman, hehe, pero okay lang). Masaya akong nakakilala ng mga bagong kaibigan dahil sa tunguhing ito. At alam kong may dahilan kung bakit hindi ako nailagak sa puwesto. May iba pa namang paraan ng paglilingkod sa kolehiyo, hindi lang sa pamamagitan ng konseho. Don't worry, ipagpapatuloy natin ang serbisyo... Abangan. Chos.
Sa taong nakalipas, maraming tuwa at sayang naidulot hindi lamang ng mga kaganapan sa buong taon, kundi dahil na rin sa mga taong ginawang interesante at makabuluhan ang aking ikatlong taon sa kolehiyo. Sige, ro-roll call muna ko. Pasensya sa makakalimutan, my memory can only go so far. Regaluhan mo ko ng MemoPlus Gold para maalala kita. Hehe. =P
To my Deza babies, IA and Elsie, this year's been the first year we really got to know each other. Marami na ko nasabi sa inyo. I think you know what my heart will say naman. It was nice knowing you two.
Kay Mark Ching, na sobrang galing mag-layout: kudos sa Kule at sa 121 days, pati na rin sa Socio125. I know we had a falling out this sem and I apologize for my actions, and I'm glad we were able to iron things out.
Kina Paul, Hannah, Kumi, Pat at Dyan, mga seatmates sa J151 na forever reserved seating, thanks for making 830 classes on Tuesdays and Fridays worth waking up to dahil sa walang-hanggang tawanan at pag-iingay natin habang iniintay si Ma'am Jaz.
Kay Hannahbelles, for being my super classmate nung first sem. Nawindang ako sayo gurl. Haha. Kamusta na ba ang tanaw natin jan? System-wide pa rin ba ang lovelife mo? Na-lost din ako na di naman kita classmate kahit sa isang subject this sem. Hannah-withdrawal lang, for more. =))
Kay Paul na kasabwat ni Hannah sa pang-aalaska sa'kin tuwing J123, na sobrang ikinapipikon ko naman (na sobrang pinagtatawanan nyo naman ni Hannah ang pagkapikon ko). Salamat sa grand revelation na mali pala ang akala kong ikaw. Hahahahahaha grabehan lang. =))
Kay Kumi, na this year ko lang ren nalaman na hindi ikaw ang akala kong ikaw, salamat sa haggard at ngarag days na even though pressured na eh forever nakangiti ka lang sa tabi, parang baliw lang. Hahaha joke. Salamat sa lahat ng patawang kwento at mga bomboy juicy stories about the CHK girls mo, chos! Stay Bomboy!!! Salamat din sa CL115 accompaniments (o diba, kanta tayo!) at sa J111 haggardness na sobrang may koalisyon na tayo don, and don't forget our STEADY relationship, keri? Na forever lang tayong tumitig sa flagpoles sa music na pinagtitinginan na tayo ng mga tao. Wahahahahaha. =P
Kay Pat, na this year ko lang rin naging ka-close kasi starstruck pa ko sa kanya last year, salamat naging close tayo. Di ko makakalimutan one time, di pa naman tayo ganun ka-close, pero nang papasok ako as J151 classroom at nasa may BC dept ka, mega-sigaw ka ng "Hi JM!" on the top of your lungs. Ngiti naman ako na kinikilig. Yihee!! Starstruck talaga ako sayo hon. Shet ka. Bat ba tayo naging friends. Wala na tuloy kwenta autograph mo. Wahehehehehehe. =P
At kay Dyan, forever classmate, na for four straight sems ko nang classmate (minus one sa memory mo dahil di mo matandaan ang ating J101 Teodoro baby days, which led to you-know-what wahahaha), salamat sa Happy Times, Lonely Times, Haggard Times at Lablayp Times. Maraming rebelasyon ang taong to, no, neng? Hahahaha. Shet. Shift na kasi ang interests sa ibang college! Chos. No, seriously, you've been my parausan ever since, in the wholesome sense of the word (hahahaha alam kong maraming mag-iisip nang kung ano-ano jan!!!). Sobrang daming kwento, sobrang daming rants, pero sobrang saya kasama kahit ano, kahit walang pera, kahit alas syete pa yan nang umaga at pareho pa tayong walang tulog. Hahahaha. Shetz. I go for lubus-lubusin na natin to at maging kalasmeyts pa rin tayo for the next two sems. Game?
Sa On The Rocks Team, congrats satinnn!!! I'm sure matataas ang mga nakuha nyong grades this sem. Talagang hinaggard naten ang subject na to. Ultimo titigan ang isang picture nang tatlong oras kinarir naten. Mamimiss ko ang videoke sessions natin sa classroom pag iniiwan tayo ni ma'am, at syempre ang lovelife ni Shepot na naka-move on na! Sa Wakas! Wahehehehe jok lang. I go for let's Crescent Moon da second time around! :P
To Anj, na ngayon lang din tayo naging close pero wala lang... katuwa ang mga YM convos natin tuwing madaling araw na kung san-san nauuwi, lalo na sa P night/morning nating tatlo ni Kumiko. Hahahaha. ANPORGETABOLSSS!!! Pero ssshhhhh... walang laglagan ah? May image tayo. Kayo LLR. Wholesome ako, Technology. =))
At kay Chato... na sa YM ko pa lang nakakausap at nakikita, na never ko pa nakaka-eyeball in real life, salamat sa ganit0hng pakikipag-usap na powtek hinawuh mow sakehn, na sabi ko ke kumiko mang-di-disown ako ng mga taong ganyan magsalita pero oke lang ikaw, hehe. Salamat sa pagbuhay mo ng adiksyon ko, no? Taenang skins yan. Bili na tayo!!! =P
To Micah, ang newly-found friend na forever naman nating naririnig ang pangalan ng isa't-isa, more like I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You ang drama, pero syempre hindi Love ang lebel. haha! Salamat sa 122 haggard at ngarag days natin dahil ke Sir Arao, at salamat sa lahat ng mga words of advice at words of wisdom mula sayo. =)
To Ayrie the nonconforming sado-masochist lucky bitch (lahat yan Tuazon, 2008), pucha. Never pa tayo nagiging classmates. Last sem lang tayo nag-meet, of all circumstances sa ganung situation pa, but no. I feel like I've known you all my life. Chos! Haha. Salamat sa lahat ng kabangagan mo grabe ka, na lagi mo kong hinahawahan... sa mga kwento mong walang katapusan, at sa mga kakulitan mong minsan ang sarap mo nang kutusan. Jowk lang! Alam kong iba na ang meaning ng smiley na >:D< sayo, punyemas. Hahahaha. Hindi ko makakalimutan yon. Pucha, maging classmates naman tayo for once!!! =P
To my CommRes101 groupmates, salamat sa lahat ng haggard days nating magkakasama... at sa mataas na grade na nakuha natin! Haha. Everything's so worth it, except for a few mishaps that we encountered along the way. Salamat Ja sa pagpapatuloy mo samin sa iyong haws sa Celery St., Valle Verde 5, at sa pagpapakain mo ng masasarap na pagkain na ngayon lang namin natikman! Chos. Haha. Salamat sa inyong lahaaattt... sobrang na-tats ako, inaamin ko, nang binasa ko ang peer evaluation nyo. Haayyyzzz... halabshoo guys! Let's never do that again. Hahahahaha.
To my CWTS Group, alam kong di ako masyadong "belong" sa atin little clique bilang di ako taga-CS, but you made me feel very welcome. Salamat sa lahat ng kulitan and asaran sessions natin, never ko yun makakalimutan. Study hard ah!!!
And lastly, to my greatest pain and achievement this sem, to my Balitambayan Cast and Crew, sobrang, sobrang... hmpf... pfftttttt... *hikbi*... *hinga hinga*... *sob, sob*... haaayyy... speechless ako.
Bago ako magpasalamat... maglalabas lang ako ng saloobin. Alam naman siguro nating lahat kung gaano ako nangarag dahil sa subject na ito. Hindi ko nga sya major pero sobrang panahon ang ginugol ko dito, kahit nga majors ko di tatapat sa effort na binigay ko sa class na to. Bawat araw na gigising ako BJ101 agad ang papasok sa utak ko. Iisipin ko kung saan ang shoot, kaninong camera, sinong reporter, anong anggulo, sinong iinterviewhin, lahat. Alam kong maraming mga panahong nastress at nagalit ako sa ilang mga tao, patawad. Pare-pareho tayong nangarag at lumuha dahil sa subject na to... at sa dulo, maganda naman ang nagawa nating produkto. Pero sa totoo lang, di ko matanggap ang markang nakuha ko... sabihin na nating mayabang ako at nagbubuhat ng bangko, pero sa tingin ko talaga mas mataas na marka pa ang dapat na nakuha ko... kung sa effort at effort man din lang, alam naman nating lahat ang ginugol nating panahon para dito. Por Gadseyks, di nga pwede mag-overnight dito sa apartment bilang me mga nagrereview na law students dito, pero dahil wala na talaga, sige dito na lang... maraming sakripisyo, maraming binitawan... ilang GIGS worth of Torrent ang binurao ko ke Joaqs, daan-daan o libo-libong perang nagastos, panahong nagugol naman sana para sa ibang bagay... pero ang kinauwian, parang hindi nasuklian ang effort na binigay ko sa markang nakuha ko. Okay fine, for the first parts of the sem, medyo lax ako sa BJ, pero nagsubmit naman ako ng requirements (save for a negligibile one), at nagpaparticipate naman ako minsan... pero ewan ba. Nakakalungkot lang talaga...
Anyway... para kay Nel, na sobrang naging constant companion ko talaga sa BJ na yan, salamat sa pagiging isang magaling na News Director, isang maaasahang kaibigan, isang great listener, isang great decision-maker, isang great leader. Sobrang hindi ko talaga alam ang gagawin ko sa BJ kung wala ka Nel, kung alam mo lang. Sa mga panahon gusto ko nang magpakalbo sa sobrang dami ng stress at frustration, you keep me balanced and all. Naks. Teka baka magselos na si Papa Ryan nyan. Basta, sobrang thankful ako sayo kasi you helped me pull through this one... super thank you Nel, you are one great soul.
At sa buong BJ Class, sobrang pasasalamat ko coz I got to meet a lot of new friends in you all. Pasensya na kung madalas nyo ko nakikitang galit or inis ah... stressed lang kasi sa dami ng trabaho. Pero on a normal day sobrang friendly ko naman... diba? DIBA???!! AMININ NYO!!! POWTEK UNO BINIGAY KO SA INYONG LAHAAATTT!!! Haha. Nagwala eh no. Pero yun. Naiiyak naman ako sa mga ginawa natin this sem... at natutuwa dahil kayo ang mga kasama ko dun. Uy, remember our McFloat days at McFloat envy ni Nel? Hahaha. Tuwing iinom ako ng float, kayo maaalala ko... shet, andrama ko na. Ohmegads. eto na ang sinasabi ni Nel na lab letter... sabi ko di ako gagawa eh. Pero pramis, mamimiss ko kayo... I remember, nung last day ng editing, nung kame na lang dalawa ni Nel, nasabi ko na lang... "Aww, patapos na... Mamimiss ko ang BJ" na sobrang pinagtawanan ako ni Nel dahil ang senti ko nang panahong yon, pero nangingilid na talaga ang luha ko nang mga panahong yon... mamimiss ko kayong lahat... sorry sa lahat ng shortcomings ko ah, at sorry kung nakakainis ako most of the time... i'm really sorry guys...
Haaayyy... at syempre kung may mga pinasalamatan, meron namang di dapat pasalamatan...
No Thanks sa mga prof na sobrang mangarag.
No Thanks sa mga prof na hindi nangangarag sa simula, pero putangina sa dulo babawi ng pangangarag.
No Thanks sa lahat ng mga ditz at sabaw moments, dahil nawawala sa direksyon ang mga gawain.
No Thanks sa mga kaklaseng bigla na lang mang-iiwan sa ere.
No Thanks sa mga kasamahang hindi willing mag-contribute.
No Thanks sa mga groupmates na mahilig mangako, kaya mahilig din mamako ng pangako.
No Thanks sa mga classmates na hindi ko malaman kung nang-aasar lang o ayaw talaga magpa-contact. Kainis.
And lastly, no thanks sa mga taong makakapal ang mukha na grabehan lang magbuhat ng bangko kahit wala namang ginawa.
Yun lang. Shet. I'm so glad this sem is over. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! SORRY SA MGA NAKALIMUTAN KO!!! =P
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Okay. Powtek. Gusto ko na rin neto.
image courtesy of http://proudskin.multiply.com
UGGGHHHH CHAAATTTTOOOO KASALANAN MO TALAGA TOOOO!!! Shetz. Ang ganda ng design. Tapos lalagay ko pa yung Apple Sticker sa ginta. Shet shet shet naglalaway ako nang bonggang bongga.
Shet ka chato!!! Arrrrgggghhhh...
Kaso... 800 sya kasi malaki yung laptop ko. 500 lang sana kung 13" lang si Joaqs. But no. Jumbohala sya eh. Shemay. Mag-iipon, MAG-IIPON!!!
Chato I hate you. But hate is not the opposite of love, it's indifference. So if I hate you, that means I still care. (Kumowt bigla?! =)))
I HATE YOU CHATOOO!!!
Shet ka chato!!! Arrrrgggghhhh...
Kaso... 800 sya kasi malaki yung laptop ko. 500 lang sana kung 13" lang si Joaqs. But no. Jumbohala sya eh. Shemay. Mag-iipon, MAG-IIPON!!!
Chato I hate you. But hate is not the opposite of love, it's indifference. So if I hate you, that means I still care. (Kumowt bigla?! =)))
I HATE YOU CHATOOO!!!
SINONG ME APPLE LOGO STICKERS??!
HAGGARD NA BUHAY TOH. Kasalanan to ni Chato eh. Binuhay nya ang matagal nang patay kong addiciton sa Windows Skins. Powtek. Kaya napahalughog ako ng net (I go for "halughog" ang tagalog counterpart ng google, magkatunog diba? Okay. COPYRIGHT YAN!!! Tuazon, 2008) para maghanap ng mga eeskins... at powtek i hit teh jackpot ika nga. super mukha nang mac si joaqs, from the loading screen, to the login screen, down to the dock... ang kulang na lang talaga eh yung mga supercalifragilisticexpialidocious na visual effects sa mac, na nahihirapan pa kong hanapin.
at syempre, para kumpletuhin ang transformation, powtek kelangan ipagmayabang. kelangan ko ng apple istikerrrs para idiket sa likod ni joaqs! dahil si joaqs ay hindi na compaq presario, isa na syang ComMac Presario!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ANG KORNEEE KOOOO =))
Babu. Stickers ko ah?!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Caffeine Rush
She sat comfortably by the sofa chair. With her four fingers, she carefully took a sip of her favorite drink, pinkies pointing outward. Caramel Macchiato. Nice. She lingered on and tried to people watch. A guy, probably by his mid-thirties, clad in lavender long sleeves and a tie that screams red sunset, is reading a newspaper right across her table. Some fangirls-wannabe were chitchatting at the table beside her. She put on her earphones and tried to channel out the coffeehouse noise.
She took another sip. Sweet, yet bitter. Just the way I want it. Trickles of sweat started dripping down her forehead. Memories of the night that passed by flashed by her eyes, as if she was transported to another world. No, that wasn't right. It definitely is not.
She took another sip. She saw the pictures once again. Vivid as they have always been. The memories won't leave her alone. Stressful, defnitely stressful. She took yet another sip. Ow! Her tongue got burned. Ow, ow ow ow! She tried to retain her composure while secretly hiding her pain inside.
She dashed by the condiments counter to get a glass of cold water to soothe her burning tongue. Cold... it was definitely cold. Dark, yet the memories are all clear. Vignettes, pictures... moving. She couldn't take them off her mind.
She went back to her seat and donned her earphones once again. She took another sip. This time, the coffee tasted strong. It was more bitter than it had usually been. Cold, and lingering. Lingering cold... I knew I shouldn't have. She took another sip. She remembered battling with her senses, trying hard not to fall for anything other than what she could handle. But she didn't win. She plunged into it. It was nice at first... but turned sour right after. She took another sip. The taste of caramel was no longer there.
Slowly, her heart started to race. The whirr of the espresso machine made no significant contribution. Thump, thump, thump. She took another sip of her coffee. It didn't taste like anything at all. She was sweating... real hard. The room started to feel really hot, yet cold sweat ran down her cheeks... she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe...
She took another sip of her coffee. It tasted really sour. She spat it back to her cup. Her vision was starting to get blurry. Cold, and scary... I didn't know what to do. I had no choice. Black... and dreary... and miserable. Her hands started to shake. She started to get restless. Heart thumping like crazy. She moved in and about her seat. She looked at every direction. She was going crazy. Going really crazy. She couldn't take it anymore. She can't do it anymore.
The door of the coffeehouse opened. She died in her seat. Her coffee was still half-full... or is it half-empty?
She took another sip. Sweet, yet bitter. Just the way I want it. Trickles of sweat started dripping down her forehead. Memories of the night that passed by flashed by her eyes, as if she was transported to another world. No, that wasn't right. It definitely is not.
She took another sip. She saw the pictures once again. Vivid as they have always been. The memories won't leave her alone. Stressful, defnitely stressful. She took yet another sip. Ow! Her tongue got burned. Ow, ow ow ow! She tried to retain her composure while secretly hiding her pain inside.
She dashed by the condiments counter to get a glass of cold water to soothe her burning tongue. Cold... it was definitely cold. Dark, yet the memories are all clear. Vignettes, pictures... moving. She couldn't take them off her mind.
She went back to her seat and donned her earphones once again. She took another sip. This time, the coffee tasted strong. It was more bitter than it had usually been. Cold, and lingering. Lingering cold... I knew I shouldn't have. She took another sip. She remembered battling with her senses, trying hard not to fall for anything other than what she could handle. But she didn't win. She plunged into it. It was nice at first... but turned sour right after. She took another sip. The taste of caramel was no longer there.
Slowly, her heart started to race. The whirr of the espresso machine made no significant contribution. Thump, thump, thump. She took another sip of her coffee. It didn't taste like anything at all. She was sweating... real hard. The room started to feel really hot, yet cold sweat ran down her cheeks... she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe...
She took another sip of her coffee. It tasted really sour. She spat it back to her cup. Her vision was starting to get blurry. Cold, and scary... I didn't know what to do. I had no choice. Black... and dreary... and miserable. Her hands started to shake. She started to get restless. Heart thumping like crazy. She moved in and about her seat. She looked at every direction. She was going crazy. Going really crazy. She couldn't take it anymore. She can't do it anymore.
The door of the coffeehouse opened. She died in her seat. Her coffee was still half-full... or is it half-empty?
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