#4th-year

[armorhues]

Ritwal

Sabi ko gagawa ako ng postmortem for the sem that was, pero para sa ibang mga klaseng kinuha ko, parang ang bigat pala sa loob kong gawin yun. Pero kasi, ritwal na ito at ayoko siyang i-break. So eto. Photojourn Siguro medyo mouthful na ang naicomment ko dito: it was blah. Sayang na hindi ko ito nakuha last sem, because based on what the Multiply friends say here it seemed like a great class. I'm not saying TG isn't good; I just wish there was...more. Malas lang namin na natapat na marami siyang projects this sem kaya hindi niya rin kami natutukan. Which means that you'll never hear me say "Don't take this class." Kasi kahit ganun, iba pa rin siya magturo. No frills, no bullshit, as is, where is. Intro to Radio Prod I know the Broad majors will disagree, pero masaya akong natapat sa isang prof na hindi naninigaw, nananakot o namemressure pag prod na. (Masyado nang haggard ang sem para dagdagan pa niya noh.) Kaya naman napaka-fun ng klaseng ito, pero marami ka ring matututunan, at hindi yun dahil sa mga teorya't lektyur na pagdadaanan mo sa umpisa. Group effort talaga ito, at bawat isa may silbi. Minsan pa nga nakadepende sa talent mo ang kalalabasan ng grade mo. Dito narealize ko din na hindi talaga ako director material. More like talent material, pwede pa. *chuckle* Intro to CommRes (v.1) At talagang may v.1 ha! Hehe. Hindi siya madaling subject. Hindi rin chever lang ang prof. Mag-isip pa lang ng topic, hindi na madali. Living in constant plagiarism paranoia can really get into you, pero somehow it makes you more OC. haRhaRhelL is hell, pero I must say masayang tumingin-tingin sa mga thesis (kamusta naman ang seeing the silver lining in the clouds). Hindi talaga siya madaling subject. Nakakaloka lang na we lived in a matrices sa subject niya, pero naappreciate ko din nang kailangan nang i-paragraph form ang mga problems, objectives, RRL, chever. Nasabi ko na bang hindi siya madaling subject? Pero isa kasi siyang necessary evil that you can't avoid. Sana lang ang comres v.2 ko ay maging fun. For a change. The Newsroom Iba talaga 'tong klase na 'to. Walang ranggo: lahat kami editors. Walang pahinga: umaaverage kami ng 5 papers a week ang workload (although nung huli, kumonti man, bumigat naman). Walang patawad: bawat articles na pinapasulat sa amin, ifaflash for the whole class to see para maworkshop ng lahat (teh horror!). Walang kawala: Deadline kung deadline (pwera kung may excuse slip, at strict siya dito ha!). Sa finals, nasa rules na pag hindi nakatapos ay kailangang magbigay ng letter to defend kung bakit nagkaganon. Kaya nakakaoverwhelm kasi ang bait bait bait talaga niya as a person. Enjoy ang pagiging prangka niya, pero mas enjoy na marami ka talagang matututunan sa kanya. Kaya siguro hindi ko rin mablame na marami sa mga nagdaan sa kanya ang willing na magdaan ulit sa kanya. At isa na ako dun. TV Journ Eh, maeecho ko lng ang iba't ibang comment at blog posts na nasabi na. Haha. So sa ibang entry na lang kasi mahaba pa yung mga hindi pa nasasabi. ^___^

[armorhues]

Fear Forecast

Bev asked: "So what happens when April arrives?" Ah, but she has employment (and Italy) to distract her and the rest of April '08 kids. But I fear June. By then, a lot of them will have left (and maybe "distracted" as well). The places will stay, but the people associated with those places will not. By then, the occupants of the unofficial table will the smaller group of young 'uns who have no theses to think about. And because they are fewer than the rest, more outsiders will have the chance to hang out in that table to kill and to dethrone. By then, the multiply posts of the April '08 kids will be rants about about The Season 4 of Their Lives. Or maybe they won't post at all, because they're too "distracted." No more posts about dreams, school rivalries, malls, online games, sem-enders, IBS-ing, camwhorring, Harry Potter smiles, or just being bored. And by then, I have no choice but to painfully witness everything. I fear June because I fear these things might come true. And if they did, then I'll end up feeling, for lack of a term, lonely. That's not a good thought for a future so near.

[armorhues]

Sembreak doom

Kahapon nawalan kami ng dialtone for the third time. Sabi ko baka pangitain na ito na dapat mag-abstain sa multiply. Es muss ein! Kaso meron na ulit kanina. Boy, was I not meant to part with Multiply all along. Mwehehehe.

Good news: makakapagpractice na ako ulit magdrive after almost two years! Sa Thursday or Friday daw, pero may chaperone dahil ang huli kong drive ay two weeks after nabangga ko yung kotse dati. (Boo for that stupid accident.) Bad news: may balak magdeclutter ang nanay ko sa undas. Think Mrs. Weasley waging (household chores) war in the House of Black. Ermengarde, I'm off to sembreak doom.

This one's supposed to be under wraps. Oh well. So akala ko na ang huling linggo ng sembreak ay magiging extension ng buhay baboy at pag-aambisyon kong gawin ang mga sembreak dreams ko (i.e., ayusin ang readings, i-declutter ang mga bag ko at mga data CDs namin, mag-HP/DVD marathon, makapagdrive muli after almost two years, tumulong sa iced tea chever sa bahay). Pero inuna ko yung huli. Wrong. Tinanong ko si Mom kung may chever ba sa weekend at tutulong ako. At kanina nga nangyari ang pangingikbak. Ngayon puro kalyo na ang palms ko, ngalay ang buong right arm ko, nagsusumigaw sa sakit ang maskels ko mula sa mga braso papuntang likod ko, at pinarurusahan ko ang kanang kamay ko sa bawat pagpitik ko sa keyboard ngayon. Ang hirap magtakip ng 144++ bottles with bare arms, 'kala niyo ba. At nanghina na rin ako after magbuhat ng ilang boxes of bottles. Nakakalito rin ang measurements. Para akong nag-N.E.W.T.S. pero mass production ang potion na gagawin ko. O baka talagang matagal lang akong hindi nakatulong dahil busy sa school (walang aangal). Bukas pahinga muna. Pero sa Tuesday at Wednesday, ako na lang mag-isa gagawa, from boiling the tea to packing. Ilang bottles? 288 daw. Lagot. *gulp*

Tatlo ang dahilan bakit hindi ko feel na maga-RA (pala) ako sa enrollment. Una, dahil contrary to what she said she'd do, hindi nagtetext sa akin si Ate Raqs about the task ahead. Two, kasi walang bayad, hehehe. Three, dahil mabait sa akin ang CRS. Ito ang tanging regular sem na lahat ng ineenlistan kong gusto ko ay nakukuha ko. First run: 30 units enlisted. 21 units nakuha ko. Second run: 21 units enlisted. 21 units nakuha ko. So kamusta naman ang RA perk na priority ka sa CRS? WALA LANG. Hangin. HANGIN!!!

Habang remote-happy ako last week, napatigil ako sa Life Guide care of Universitv. Pang-fun lang dahil boring pa ang primetime. Anyway, ang segment nila ay tungkol sa Moving On. At nat(a/u)wa ako sa narinig ko (paraphrased by me): "Ang moving on, parang thesis yan: hindi mo siya gustong gawin, pero kailangan mong tapusin." Winner!

[armorhues]

Bakit kaya ang hirap paniwalaan....

...na sa ganito kalaki at kahirap na trabaho eh ganito lang ang nakukuha ng empleyado? ...na kayang maging halang at hangal ang ibang tao dahil sa halalan? ...na kaya kong matulog nang mas maaga sa hatinggabi? ...na tine-"testing" pa rin ang homepage ng MassComm hanggang ngayon? ...na kahit parang sampung taon na ang nakakaraan eh kasama pa rin sa Top 20 ng Myx ang Backstreet Boys at si Britney Spears? ...na hindi ako napagalitan ng nanay ko kahit nagkamali ako sa "pagluluto" at hindi ko napakain yung aso? ...na keri lang naman pag gumagamit ako ng calamansi soap, pero nagkakarashes ang kamay na nilublob ko sa pinigang katas ng calamansi? What, sensitive ako sa acid? ...na kahit sembreak pa rin eh WALA NA AKONG ORAS para mag-TV o mag-HP marathon (pero mag-Internet meron)? ...na apat na araw na lang at enrollment na? At dagdagan mo pa ng konti, pasukan na? At dagdagan mo pa ng tuluyan, pasko na? ...na may Comm140 na naman sa sched ko samantalang pumasa naman ako kay Ma'am Jo? ...na wala pa rin kaming grade kay Tata Gil? O sadyang naligaw ang grade namin sa kanya? ...na mabait sa akin ang CRS ngayon? Higit tatlong taon niya akong pinagmalupitan, pero ngayon tila lahat ng capricho ko binibigay niya? Napakatino ng sked na binigay niya oh, look.

Time Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday 08:30 AM - 10:00 AM Anthro 181 MHR  J 117 TRU  Anthro 181 MHR  J 151 FRU  10:00 AM - 11:30 AM J 199 MHU  J 117 TRU  J 199 MHU  J 151 FRU  11:30 AM - 01:00 PM         01:00 PM - 04:00 PM   Comm 140 TWX  Comm Res 101 HWX  J 109 FWX 

[armorhues]

The R.A. Chronicles # 1

So kahit wala akong texts about RA-ing during the 2-week sembreak, tuloy na tuloy pa rin pala ang pagiging R.A. ko sa Journ Dept, something to thank for kaya mabait sa akin si CRS. Woooooooo! :)

Isang malaking BOO nga lang na late ako ng 30 minutes. Eh kasi... nagbrownout the night, er, morning before. Tas umuulan pa. Sarap matulog. ~_~ And apparently, ito rin ang nasa isip ni Mom na siyang maghahatid sa akin to Diliman. Pero keri lang kasi mga graduating pa lang naman today, ergo, wala masyadong tao. Dead air na nga sa Dept by 3pm.

Isa ring malaking BOO dahil wala pa ring grades for J123. Although I already texted Sir Nartea and nagpromise siyang he'll turnover the cards na by tomorrow, nakaka-freak out lang dahil ang tingin sa akin ng College Sec eh probie ako. Say NO to Probiedom.

At ang pinakamalaking BOO goes to some people...er, isang tao nga lang pala siya, ehehe...na nakakuha ng super undeserved grade for J196 - TVJourn. Yeah fine, so I'm bitter that way, pero nanggagalaiti talaga ako dahil dun. Biatch. >.<"

Anyhoo, isang malaking CHECK na, including Prof. Jo Santos, maraming nakasuot kanina ng bagong MCO shirt. Kamusta naman ang pagmomodel-modelan ni M'Jo sa tuwing makakakitang may MCOer siyang kapareho ng suot. Bohahahaha. :O

At ang pinakamalaking CHECK goes to the FREE Pinoy Times (2nd ed.) for the Journ majors (available while supplies last, btw). Sabi nga ni Symbols, "I didn't say you 'buy' it," so go lang sa paggrepa ng librong Php200 for 250pp. Ambilis nangaubos ang stocks, bilang libre nga siya at bilang Pinoy Times yun, one of the factors why the pardoned president got jailed in the first place.

Pero bago nun, the first phone call I had to answer in the Dept was from Mrs. Apostol herself (at least that's how she introduced herself) dahil magdadala daw siya ng mga libro. Siyempre nangatog naman ako na si Eggie pala ang kausap ko, woo. Maya-maya, may mga nagkakarga na ng mga freebies. Woo.

Speaking of freebies, free din ang snacks for RAs. Busog pa din, kahit na sabihin ni Pikachu na the food sucked, haha. Palubag-loob man or not, I won't say no to free food, so isa pang CHECK for that. ^___^

So what did I accomplish today aside from giving directions and checklists? Lesseee... -I faxed for Amon Ra, hehe. -May fax tutorials na rin ako c/o Ate Raqs. -Na-perfect ko na ang phone greeting sa Dept. -Naging chismis, rant and rave absorber for everyone who passed by the Dept. -Naging tanungan ng mga future shifters (gahd, ang paranoid nila about making it, asking about passing essay exam grades and stuff, but I guess I can't blame them).

Yun.

At mamaya, hahanapin ko na ang mga notes ko about the flow of the electronic enlistment thing para hindi na ako mangangatog pag may nagtanong sa akin ng:

"So, what's next?" o_o*

PSA #4: Sa lahat po ng Journ majors:

Kunin niyo na po ang mga turned over papers niyo in the pigeonholes. The Chair is threatening to throw 'em all out by Thursday. Yikes!

[armorhues]

The R.A. Chronicles # 2

Day 2 of R.A.-ing at the Journ Dept. Target: the freshies "at ang mga tanders na hindi pa gagraduate." Did someone actually say "ouch"? Apparently, competitive ang mga freshies as a whole. Nasa CMC na ako ng 6:45, at may lima na akong nabilang na freshies lurking sa bukana pa lamang. Wooo.

And for that, the morning shift was crazier than yesterday (duh). The turnover of checklists were so quick; ilang beses kong napapunta yung iba sa admin to get theirs, only to find out later na nasa akin pala. BOO.

Pero kung gaano kabilis dumami ang mga tao sa umaga, ganoon din kabilis silang nalimas sa hapon. Mas maaga ang dead air today: 2 PM. Paisa-isa na lang dumadating, and ergo more time for chismis absorbent care of the tanders na wala nang gagawing iba kundi magchismis din.

Dalawang tao rin ang nairaos naming makakuha ng J199, thank goodness. Sila lang mga hindi nakakuha ng J199 ang maaring mapagbigyan sa mga closed classes, pero The Rule of The Chair stays: no more Journ prerogs. (Hmmm, makes me wonder paano yung mga walang J121. Tanong ko bukas.)

Dealing with people today was generally okay today, but I have to say that today really tested my limits. For one thing, maya-maya ang lapit ng mga bata, asking the same question and therefore I had to answer them my usual lines a million times. Which I understand naman because a lot of people are really clueless about the new system. Good thing inaral ko na ang flowchart by heart. ♥

At uyy, hindi ako nagtataray talaga because there's no reason to (duh, ang kwela ko kaya, really). Kaso there was someone who kept insisting tapos na siya sa preadvising when in fact he was actually talking about the preenlistment survey. Duhrr, lahat ng taga-CMC nagdadaan muna sa preadvising before everything else! Out of irritation, nasabi ko tuloy, "Hindi ka pa ba nakakapag-enrol dati?!"

For that statement ALONE, mean si Rach. Meeeeaaannnnie.

Oh, that's what I called teh chair today, btw. *chuckle* But it was all for a laugh. Sabi kasi niya she'll sign the probie forms na raw and she's expecting na marami daw yun (insert evil chuckle here). So sabi ko sa kanya, "Meeeeaaaaannnn!" Tumawa lang siya.

Anyway, dahil maaga ang dead air, naasikaso ko na rin ang sarili kong enrollment. Na-clear ko na ang supposedly and allegedly probie status ko. *confetti* Assessed na rin ako at bayaran na lang ang kulang. Sabi ko naman kay Ate Raquel na baka sa Thursday ko na iyon asikasuhin, because we're expecting bigger crowds for the days to come.

Oh, and phone calls! From looking-for-(insert faculty/Ate Raqs here) to merienda-orders to enlistment inquiries, I've answered them all with grace, thank goodness. I'm not really a phone person, you know.

But the most heartbreaking call came from someone who asked if she passed yesterday's shifting essay exam. Eh the caller was not one of them. And she actually cried, telling me na it's goodbye UP na and all. Kung ikaw ang kausap niya, ikaw na nakapasa sa shifting exam years ago, ang hirap niyang pakalmahin at sabihang it's so not the end of your world. Sighness. Out of 21 who did the exam kasi, only 6 passed. *shock*

I had lunch with Reuben and Nel kanina. 5 minutes to 1PM, pinepressure ko na sila to get a move on so I could go back to the Dept. Tumawa at nang-IBS lang sila. Adik na daw ako sa R.A.-ing. Ewan. Day 2 pa lang naman ah.

But I'm gearing up for tomorrow dahil maraming tao bukas. Tumataginting na 151 people ang nasa listahan for tomorrow (although yung iba dun yung mga graduating na, but wth) so wish ko lang magawa ko ng maayos ang trabaho ko bukas. ^____^

[armorhues]

The R.A. Chronicles # 3

So medyo kebs na lang muna kung sawa na kayo sa daily blogging of R.A.-ing ha? Hehehe. Day 3 of R.A.-ing in the Journ Department. Target: juniors, graduate students (whom I usually referred to Ate Raquel) and graduating students. Hmmm. Food was great and very filling. *burp* Answered less calls today (or maybe some were taken care of na). Only a handful of professors turned up too. Meanwhile, rhe shiftee dramas for today reduced and became mind-boggling instead: A group of kids asked if they could actually appeal to The Chair. *sigh* A guy asked kung baka waitlisted naman siya. *huh?* A guy asked for a retake kasi wala daw nagsabi sa kanya kung kailan, so he missed the exam. *shakes head* Anyway, I must say na na-surpass ng juniors ang competitiveness ng freshies, numbers-wise. By 8am the lines were longer (and rowdier) compared to the other dates. But then again, this has to be Journ's biggest batch ever. But the poor kids had to endure some morning kabitchessahan (say "awwww"). Dahil walang ibang adviser nung una, wala siyang choice kundi i-accommodate ang juniors, na ginawa naman niya as quick as possible. Yun nga lang, nung hindi na niya kinaya at kami naman ang binitchesahan niya, kami na mismo ang mga nagpa-repel sa kung sinuman ang gustong gumambala sa kanya. Kamusta naman. Before you know it, wala na halos dumadating by 10:45. Today however became my most entertaining after lunch so far while the Form 5As and checklists became stale. Sa kakahintay ng mga pinetition nila, ginawang tambayan ng mga juniors ang Dept. It was fun hearing their rant, rave, kwento and joke mix, so I left most of the talking to them. And because the mahiwagang-counter-sa-bungad-ng-Department became their venue of catharsis, they have christened me "the bartender". Funny how almost a month ago, I was among the people bitching to the S.A.s in the counter about the harshness of acads, too. But can we really blame them for bitching about the enlistment? Not really. By this time, hundreds na ang nag-aagawan for the limited slots. The sophomores will have to tough it out tomorrow. Sigh. Online or manual, any changes to the enrollment scheme certainly can't solve the lack of classes due to the lack of professors. But please don't get me started on that. Anyhoo, since less people were coming in, I finally managed to mix the 5As with the checklists to make things easier tomorrow. So say hello to a speedy checklist turnover as I gear up for tomorrow's (almost) final stretch.

[armorhues]

The Laguna Trip

So there, my pics for the final photo-journ project care of Makiling Botanical and Laguna Bay. Wee. Walang ginawang post-prod sa mga litratong ito except for optimizing them for the Web. Kasi kung yung talagang yung raw file ang ipopost ko dito, baka abutin tayo ng siyam-siyam dahil MB ang file size nung mga yun. Right. Enjoy and ask for permission if you have to grab some. P.S. Favorite ko talaga yung unang pic. Si Flau nga pala yung tao dun. ♥