In 18 Days

18 years of education. From pre-school, to elementary, to high school, and finally college.

• In 18 days, all those years of studying will officially end, and my profession as a student will cease to exist. 
• In 18 days, I will march along with my fellow batchmates, receive my diploma and graduate with a degree of BS Computer Science with a Specialization in Interactive Multimedia.
• In 18 days, I bid goodbye to the second home I've had for the past 4 years.

My college life has not been the smoothest of roads; rather, it's been strewn with a series of bumps, potholes and forks that force me to slow down, swerve and make decisions that either way made me arrive at my destination. There may be some things to regret, but certainly not enough to outweigh the many good memories I've taken away from my journey.

At the beginning of my senior year in high school, I decided to apply for two colleges: the University of the Philippines, and Ateneo de Manila University. For these two schools, my first choice was BS Computer Science; a quota course for both universities. Come August 2007, I took the UPCAT and by September that same year, the ACET. January 2008 revealed the results of these entrance exams, and I found out that I passed for said course in UP Los Banos (my second choice campus after Diliman), and was accepted for said course in Ateneo. Why did I choose Ateneo? For the simple reason that it was closer to home. And so it was settled. I would be attending Ateneo, and would be the only one among my family to have ever attended there for college. The rest of my family went to UP Diliman.

During my 4 year stay, I was exposed to the highs and lows (which I already discussed in this post) of my life as a student. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But through it all, I survived and I can come out and say the following with the utmost pride:

• I am bisexual and am in a 3-year-and-counting relationship with my girlfriend Kai
• I halted my application for AIESEC to instead find an OJT locally, landing my eventual job as a QA Analyst at Anino Games
• I went through 3 semesters under a supposed terror-professor in the Philosophy department, Father David, and came out with surprisingly excellent marks (A, B, B+ for PH101, 102 and 104 respectively)
• I may have gotten several D's over the years, but they ARE still testimonies of a passing mark, even if at a minimum. (MA18B, HI165, PH103, TH141)
• I got a B+ in my Philippine History class, considering I suck at history.
• I shared my thesis work during several workshops over the past 3 months both in and out of campus, scoring a publication in the Philippine Computing Journal special issue in 2011.

Overall, it was an unforgettable experience, and sharing that with the people I've met within this campus is something I will never soon forget. So some little memos to these group of people:

• To my English Block, R16: After spending a whole year together as classmates, a second block with a bond generated that might just stand the test of time. The wackiness notwithstanding and the memories of RENT surely still fresh in our minds, I take away from our time together the silliness and spontaneity that resonates everyone's individuality that helped shape what we all became. Congratulations to us all!
• To my fellow CS coursemates: We shared the same pain, and fought a lot of the same battles. We struggled together and found sanctuary in each other's presence. We relied on each other, respected one another and got to learn more about one another. I thank you for the openness, and the unlimited power of acceptance from the shared experience we have as a batch. Thank you and congratulations, BS CS 2012!
• To my teachers and educators: It is to you all that deserves most of my gratitude. Just as much as I am aware that my effort is what makes my mark, it is your guidance and teaching that has given me the skills set and knowledge needed to pass. What I take away by the end of our contract as a student-teacher cohesion is the small friendships; the acknowledgement of each other's existence that surpass beyond the four walls that designate our place of learning. What I take away is the little conversations or even the swift greetings we exchange in those encounters. You all have given me much more than the curriculum had to offer, and that is to be a better person and for this, I thank you.
• To my ALLS family (yes, even the adopted kids): Senior year could not have been better spent anywhere else. ALLS ensured my survival these past months all throughout thesis work amidst everything else; it became a place of work and play at the same time. Inside the familiar rooms of F224 and eventually F206 housed individuals that I marked to be friends for life. Not just fellow classmates, but teachers as well. It was in my senior year where I experienced perhaps the most exhilaration with a select group of people that I always look forward to spending time with them, jumping in on random conversations and snatching food and drinks whenever available. ALLS has been the niche that nourished the perfect environment for bringing our thesis to fruition. Admittedly, it was because of this homey atmosphere that made me see thesis as more of a past-time than an actual requirement; that deadlines were to be treated as mere dates than things to be worried over excessively. ALLS has also given me plenty of opportunities to build my confidence for which I am most grateful.
• Finally, to my Block N: The laughs, cries, photos, games, parties, memories and experiences we had together from freshman 'til senior year may not have been consistent, but they were there through thick and thin and we were there for each other every step of the way, and I think this is exactly why we have these blocks; to support each other and give each other the extra boost when it's most needed. Those who were shy at the first encounter, as we've seen, have become so integrated to the group that we nearly forget they were evasive at all. So for all the cards dealt, the jokes and videos shared, the games played and the time spent, I thank you sincerely. 

I have never once regretted choosing Ateneo as my college. I have met the most amazing people and garnered experience points that I will surely take with me once I receive my diploma. I have made friends I will keep for life, and learned much more about my passions and myself along the way. I will miss walking around the campus; I will miss the people I've grown used to seeing everyday, but I turn my back and take a step forward, knowing that they will all remain in my heart as living reminders that just as I need to move on, they will all continue moving on with me. Besides, there's always those surprise visits now and again!

I only hope that the impressions I have left on each and every one of them, however fleeting, have been as sincere, massive and memorable as they have on me as we eventually bid goodbye and begin the next chapter of our lives.

みんな、本当にありがとうございました！(Everyone, thank you very much!)

Naga Trip!

This entry is long overdue, so might as well lay it out now before Finals Week and final requirements start to settle in and make me panic and delay this post even further.

That being said, I will withhold any birthday greetings I've missed until the end of this post. You know, for coherence sake.

Anywho, this post details, at least to some extent, the events that took place in my trip to Naga last February 11-12 (Saturday and Sunday for those too lazy to check a calendar or remember). In summary it was a great experience!!! ....at the expense of setbacks along the way. So of course you need to know the facts, so I'll lay it down for you.

The day before (February 10) I was actually with Kai. As a change of pace from the usual itinerary, I suggested that we have dinner at a different restaurant. We settled with eating at Dencio's and sharing large sizzling plate of Krispy Sisig was a nice, simple way to spend the evening together. Of course, that entailed a long drive heading home, not to mention taking Kai home. Of course the parents asked where I was, considering I had early morning plans the following day and I haven't packed. Literally. xD Got home at around 11, did some speed packing, triple checking I had all the necessary equipment to demo our game to our audience the following day before hitting the sack for 4 hours.

Day 1: The day started early, having woken up at 2 in the morning to make last minute preparations, double checking my bag if I had everything before leaving with my mom to pick up Rina and get dropped off at McDonald's, Katipunan by around 3 in the morning. This was the time we'd be meeting with Ma'am Didith, our thesis adviser, who'd be picking us up. I realized that McDo didn't serve breakfast yet so Rina and I settled for ordering from the McCafe instead (she got black tea and a choco chip cookie, while I got peppermint tear and an ensaymada). So Ma'am Didith came, we ate our stuff before leaving to pick up Ma'am Jess at around quarter to 4. Traffic was scarce, as expected early in the day as we headed to NAIA 3 terminal. Our flight was scheduled for 6:40 in the morning, but it pays to be early.

This was my first time flying with Cebu Pacific. And surprisingly or not, the pressure got to my ears since I wasn't chewing on any candy to keep my ears unclogged. The consequence of that was even yawning didn't help pop my ears so I was semi-deaf even after we landed. We got to Naga at around 8-ish. The airport could have been better, but domestic flights are ones I don't expect too much from. Claiming baggage was self-service there, unlike ones that had conveyor belts and the like. But anywho, a shuttle from the hotel we were going to stay at for the evening (Crown Hotel) was already there waiting for us to take us to the main city. Once we got there, we checked in to our own rooms! It had aircon, a warm shower and free wifi! Simple hotel but with the right amenities. I was pleased. x)

So after we got settled in, we prepared to head off to our brother school, Ateneo de Naga University via two tricycles (Ma'am Didith and Rina in one, me and Ma'am Jess in the other). Since we were bringing our laptops and such it was too much of a squeeze to cram into just one, after all. What was funny about this trip was the tricycle Ma'am Jess and I took got ahead of the other, and so we got to the school first. We were dropped off just in front of the gates, and we saw them get dropped off across the street. What was funny was they didn't notice us at all and were looking in the other direction anticipating our arrival. My shouts fell on deaf ears until they finally noticed. Ma'am Jess and I laughed.

As we entered the campus, the guard was asking us where we were headed, and the conversation went something like this:

Guard: Saan po sila? [Where are you going?]
Ma'am Didith: Sa workshop po. [To the workshop]
Me: -spots a flyer of said workshop and points at it- This one.
Ma'am Didith: Ah, dito po. [Ah, here.]
Guard: Aattend po kayo? [Will you be attending?]
Ma'am Didith: No we're presenting.
Guard: Aaah! Sige po, tuloy lang po kayo. [Ah! Okay, you may proceed.] :D

Well, all you need to know was that it was a funny conversation. We navigated our way to the venue of the workshop that led us through the campus' restaurant to the amphitheater where we settled down. We surprisingly started on time, commencing with a series of talks among the four of us, with reasonable breaks in between. When lunch time rolled around, we shared a table with the Computer Studies head Dr. Allan Sioson and Ateneo de Naga University's president, Father Jun Viray. After lunch, Ma'am Didith suggested that I demo'ed our game to Father Jun. I did so, and was pleasantly surprised at the feedback. It was not surprisingly fun, after all. And so the rest of the afternoon came with more talks, until it ended with mine, resulting in grabbing volunteers from the audience. Who knew that the big O notation helped stimulate CS students? xD

The day ended with an early dinner at Bob Marlin, where there was a spread of Crispy Pata, Blue Marlin, Pusit, Laing, Bicol Express, Garlic and Plain Rice, and an array of drinks among the four of us, Sir Allan and other students and faculty from the school. It was a nice experience and one definitely worth the trip!

Day 2: Our day of departure. We had a complimentary breakfast at the affiliate restaurant to the hotel early in the morning at around 6. We were set to be driven back to the airport for our flight, only to find out that the bad weather subsequently cancelled the flights. Of course, rescheduling it to the following day was a definite NO because (1) we had plans for the latter half of the day, (2) there was no way we'd be able to last since there was classes the next day.

So what did we end up doing? We rented a cab that would drive us all the way back to Manila, resulting in one of the best impromptu road trips I've ever been on! It was full of random quips and story telling, jokes and overall matters-of-fact that just ended up in dozens of laughs strewn all over the place. Of course, considering the long hours that had to be put behind us, we did have to stop some time for lunch, so while passing Gumaca, we stopped by Jollibee to order some food for take out, which we nommed and eventually survived on, stacking on top of the several stop-overs. Overall, it accumulated to an 8-hour drive on the road until we finally touched down in Ateneo de Manila. We made it with some hours to spare before the event we wanted to catch up to, but it was well worth the trip. :D

Finals Week

I've been meaning to make an update on my Naga trip over the past few weeks but school has been immensely stressful, considering it's the last stretch. And considering the amount of detail I wanted to put into that, I'll have to put that on hold and impart a quick little update post right now just to reassure everyone that I'm still alive and kicking.

So first thing to update on is the fact that we have a new puppy! Her name's Clarquay (pronounced Clarky), and my mom and sister got her when they went to Clark last weekend while I was in Naga. She's so cute and small and fluffy and fat. xD

As my sister terms it, it was an "insane impulse buy" on the part of my mom. Even I wonder why she went and finally got a puppy. She's wanted a house dog for some time.

But oh well. Hooray for that, I suppose.

In other news, we've reached the final stretch of our thesis! Final defense is done, and the final preparations all done! I went to UP Shopping Center last Thursday to have our thesis bound, and we submitted it last Friday. Job well done and an accomplishment for the ages. Below are some pictures, a glimpse of our book bound thesis paper.

Other requirements we did involved designing some nice posters to use for the upcoming Interlinks event. Don't bother asking me what it is 'cause I can't describe it for the death of me. But anyway, I spent last night designing a poster for it, since we needed to have a tarpaulin made. So here's what we have for our thesis (right-click and view in new tab/window to view full size)! It's 30" wide x 80" high, but it has everything someone needs to know about our work over this past school year. I decided to make it detailed to a point, but not bombarding the reader with walls of texts to keep them engaged and interested. I'm actually surprised that I have an eye for some design, but perhaps that's where my brain leans towards for my lack of pure logical thought. Hahaha. But kidding aside, I'm proud of this, and I can't wait to see it printed out and on its stand during the event come March 2! x)

So I guess that'll be it for now. Last week of classes, so final stretch! Stay tuned for my Naga trip post. :D

Thesis Progress

Well, that aside, one of the reasons I've been evasive during the first few days of the month was because I was with my girlfriend. She slept over for three days primarily because she was stressed with work (yeah she works now~) and just needed cuddle time. One of the most memorable weekends of my life... minus the whole "I'm feeling sick" tidbit.

That aside, good news! My partner Jason and I got a notice regarding our paper submission to the Philippine Computing Science Congress (PCSC) 2012, and got accepted into the conference for a POSTER presentation! screenshot of email below if you didn't believe me. xD

The rest of the email details the specifications of the poster, then we realized "A0 size? How are we making that?! DDDD:" Sadly we don't have any programs for that so we decided to ask one of our friends to go InDesign on it with the content we gave her. When she sent it over, I realized that there wasn't much in it, so wondered if I could still find some program to work with. And lo and behold, my other laptop had Microsoft Expression Design 4! And so I revamped our poster! Click on the image below for the full view. Alternatively, right-click and open the link in a new tab (not open the image, you won't be able to read a thing) :D So you guys have an idea about what I've been working on this past school year.

In other news, I'll be jumping on a plane this weekend to go to Naga to present our thesis for a workshop in one of our affiliate schools, Ateneo de Naga University. But before we leave, Jason and I have our final defense on Friday to worry over.

Final stretch of senior year, fingers crossed!

All Nighters

Since it's been almost 10 days since my last post I think this deserves a picture to brighten it up a little. So believe you'll find a picture I snapped with Saeki some hours ago during the onset of my paper-writing cramming session. As usual, the class of Philosophy, when you're under someone like Father Luis David is no easy feat. As much as I have every right to say "I'm used to it" or "there's not need to panic" I still find myself procrastinating until the day before to cram everything in. And much like previous experiences with needing to output a hefty amount of pages as was the case last year, I panicked.

But thankfully I came home early enough to start, and finished just a few minutes ago, so I'm waiting for everything to print itself before I can hit the sack and wake up 2 hours later to hand the damn thing in. In some aspect of all this, I don't mind pooling in the effort. I mean yes, I could have given much more (I only went 2 pages beyond the minimum) but decided not to. Why? Because my mind has been on migraine-high these past two days I'm not understanding why. Dx

In any case, the end goal is nearly there. 3 more weeks of academics! Here's hoping I don't fuck anything else up along the way -knocks on wood- else I sacrifice my being able to graduate on time. Fucking hell, don't let that be the case. (><)

I've got a mock defense to prepare for later today so here's hoping it goes well. Jason and I are pretty much done with everything, so all that's left is to revise the paper and prepare for the final defense and we're home-free! Fingers crossed we get accepted into PCSC; it's always nice to be getting another publication and adding more stuff to my accumulating resume. xD

So with that, I bid you all good morning!

Dates, Recovery and Workshops

So to kick off this blog, I want to start off simple by saying I've been plagued with a bad case of the colds and cough duo for the past few days, which explained my semi-sloth behavior in coming up with the sense of typing up a post for my blog. And so here I am, still recovering, but engaged in much activity in the early days of the new year doing things of the social and academic fancies.

So I believe safe to start off with the more exciting story of spending time with my girlfriend~ Now, one of the movies Kai and I have been wanting to watch this year was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Personally I love the whole franchise because I've actually read some of the Doyle classics when I was still in the mood of reading. Much more so when I watched the first movie back in 2009. Now, This particular movie franchise took my interest in mostly due to the starring roles of Holmes and Watson portrayed by the awesome Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law respectively. Clearly my new favorite pair of detectives nowadays.

You can find the trailer of this movie below, though of course the release date varies across the world. Here in the Philippines it came out just last Sunday, but all the same, the movie is a must watch. Funny thing about the pre-screening. The movie was rated PG-13, and the ticket lady out front asked us how old we were. As if we looked remotely close to 13. Well as far as compliments go, that's by far most acceptable for me, and in my responding 18, realized that I'm, in fact, 3 years older than what I say. SO I'M NOT USED TO IT YET LOL.



Anyway, moving on. After out fun viewing of the movie that nearly lasted 3 hours, we drove off to Quezon Memorial Circle to happily find one of my absolutely FAVORITE Japanese restaurants open for dinner service. New Kamameshi House has been a place of dining for me and my family for as long as I can remember. We used to go there frequently to celebrate achievements and what not (graduations and the sort) to savor the magic tastes of their signature Tori Kamameshi Rice. It was absolute heaven to have eaten a kettle of it, and well worth the wait and money. 
Immediately following this date, we move on to today. Earlier this morning after I took Kai home I attended a morning workshop that was organized by my thesis adviser, where she asked my partner Jason and I to give a talk on our thesis to the visitors from all over who came. It is for a fact that I was still feeling sick but I didn't want to let anyone down and not show up, so I went despite my sickness - which was more phlegm in the throat kind more than a cold, which ruined my voice and hence a bad idea - and ended up doing most of the talking as I later realized.
Well, regardless of that fact it was a fun talk, though it was rather sad that we weren't able to demonstrate our game to them, which would have been cool. But I do hope we got our point across. I'm actually looking forward to my Naga trip in February now after this. More stuff to include to my resume, haha!!
So that's about it. I've got some readings to do but I'm sleepy so I'm on the fence with what to do. xD Ah well. 
Carpe diem.

Welcome 2012!

NOW! Welcome 2012~~

So since I woke up ever so early for reasons I don't understand myself, I decided to update my blog to kick off the New Year with some sense of good standing. Hopefully by the end of February I'll be scott-free with school burdens and expecting to march during graduation towards the end of March (and so the pun arises xD). TWO MORE MONTHS OF SLAVING TO THE ACADEME!

Well, I can't say it's a total wreck to have to do that. After all, my entire college life has been met with its highs and lows (which isn't to say my life outside school has been peachy). From the fun to be had in first year with a class production of Rent, to the epicness of a rocking Jap 1 summer class, the failures of a bogus and unfair treatment History class, met with the triumphs of placing second in the Futsal competition, coupled with the breezy time of Electronics in second year, to the audacity and stress of juggling the so-called terror professor of Philosophy and less-than-engaging Rizal class in third year, to thesis and final stresses of fourth year before graduation.

Yup, any and all causalities met along the way have been given the treatment of kings; ironed out and left behind as a trail of remembrance. Now we remember what is and what will be. In this case, there's the happy thoughts of doing a FUN thesis instead of one that drags you down. I think that's the point of it all, really.The fact that thesis has been a fun excursion up until now is thankfully because the topic at hand (a game, in essence), makes the journey to making it and developing it to more fruition is worthwhile.

And so the best trick is to make the MOST of what's to come, despite the stress the other subjects bring. Of course, this is me thinking not so much of the midterms for a CS subject I should be panicking about that are to commence tomorrow evening (maybe I'll worry about that this afternoon or tomorrow with the rest?), or any other deadlines or what's to come in the following 7 weeks of academic life that remains.

Here's knocking on wood that I don't do anything regretful for the next 2 months and give what efforts I can expend to better my chances of getting that last push to get the passing marks for all 19 units' worth of this semester to be eligible for graduation on time.

Christmas Break!

So today was the first official day of Christmas break!!!

These next two weeks will be devoted to parties and Christmas celebrations, but of course it didn't come cheap. Two days ago I finished the draft for our thesis paper, making sure that it's done well before Friday so I can use Thursday to relax. Of course, that meant that I had myself an early celebration by going out on a date with Kai that afternoon!

So last Thursday she and I went to Eastwood to have lunch and watch a movie. We originally wanted to watch Tintin, but they weren't showing it in their cinemas so we settled for watching Immortals instead. Admittedly, I was so tired from the night before that I nodded off during the dialogues, but I was perked awake by the fight scenes. Hehe. Lots of gory blood and epic fight sequences, and hot guys to boot. Hahahaha!

Tomorrow the family will be holding an exchange gift tomorrow night in lieu of the annual Christmas Eve celebration since we'll be going to Boracay for the holidays. I happily have my gift wrapped and ready to be given. ^o^/

On Tuesday I'll be meeting with my blockmates to have a Christmas block party. Surprisingly enough, the boys were the one who did the planning this time around, which was in itself a surprise. Let's see what happens out of it. Hahaha.

For this break I've got some things I need to do: write a PCSC paper with my thesis-partner, read some books for Philo class, and prepare for Theo midterms and Game Design LT. So much for a break. But then again, that's what cramming is for! xD

ALLS Christmas Dinner

So last night was a most interesting party! I celebrated a Christmas Party with my ALLS (Ateneo Laboratory for the Learning Sciences) family at school at Narnia! Okay, it wasn't really Narnia, but it was the epic house of my thesis adviser. It was great heading there with my fellow friends and teachers; the journey to and from, and the food!

^o^/

Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun.

Thesis is almost done too, so last stretch this last week of class next week.

Catching Up

Lately for school there's the usual lectures, assigned readings and homeworks. Not surprisingly, I'm tossed back into the world of coding that I realize my logic is not as refined as I had made it towards the end of last year (then again, I've slowly stopped coding unless required, like for thesis). But needless to say, I've gotten back into the swing of Java for one of our classes, and C in another. To suit my needs, I've armed my little netbook (named Agri) with the necessary programs (Eclipse, Dev C++ and Visual C# Express Edition+XNA Game Studio to be specific). That way my programming becomes portable, and I can actually work on thesis with the little guy.

Speaking of thesis, I'm currently starting on the art assets for Stage 2 (3/4 stages), which should take less time to design and prepare for the game. Implementing it will take a bit more time considering inclusion of a timer and what not. So this should be an interesting development. Hopefully Jason and I can get things rolling.

In other news, Kai introduced me to a dating game catered to our tastes. The theme? Prince of Tennis. Not surprisingly, it makes us go 'kyaa' xD. Should be fun where this goes. At least it's an excuse to start playing with my DS again once in a while.

Close to the End

I want to take this time updating you all on last few requirements for school. We're down to the last week, the finals week of my 1st semester of senior year, and I'm somehow not pressured as I should be. Considering that the stress comes in the latter four days of the week (Tuesday-Friday) with 2 exams, 2 orals and 1 defense, I suppose out of all that I can say that "at least I can sleep soundly knowing my thesis is on track".

Collectively, it may only hold 3 units out of my entire college life, but that might spell the difference between graduating on time or not. So to consider it just as important since it's a year-long process of research and development, a cumulative of what we learned and what we'll leave behind.

So here's to a good end to the semester!

Fail Coffee

Earlier today I was early for my 7:30 class; so early that I decided to get myself some coffee from vending machine, a rarity. I decided to get a Cafe Mocha since the description slayed me with a coffee + chocolate, no sugar somewhere in the mix. After I ascended three floors, settled myself down while waiting for the classrooms to be opened, I sipped on the substance, hoping that I'll keep me awake since I was sleep deprived from last night's series of events that ended up with me only getting roughly 1 1/2 hours of sleep.

Funnily enough, as soon as I finished my coffee  I slumped into a power nap.

NOT HELPFUL AT ALL.  =.=

Anyway, that aside, today I got to continue working on paper revisions for our thesis. I'm hoping to get them done before Friday so our adviser has time to read and make any suggestions before we submit it as a final requirement for the semester. It's fulfilling knowing we're on track with several of the non-Affective thesis groups in terms of getting everything in in time.

To cap off the day, I found out that I wasn't failing my enemy Philippine History; in fact, our professor even encouraged me that he I could get a B on the final exam if I put my best foot forward. Hope I don't let him down! After that, I accompanied Lev to help her learn how to put on and remove contact lenses since she acquired some two pairs from the Internet. It was funny watching Lev fumble with the soft lenses and constantly mutter how 'scary' the how prospect of sticking your finger into your eye was, but in the end she got it in and I think that's what's important!

Will be meeting with Kai tomorrow to spend the day to de-stress from the fast approaching Finals week. Last stretch and we're home free!

Random Quips

Today was an interesting day. We (me and Jason, as well as TC and Rina) were interviewed for the Mind Museum set to open on the 15th of December later this year to talk about our ongoing thesis projects. It should be a lot of fun if and when I decide to grace the area of Taguig.

Anyway, the random quip I was mentioning for purposes of a title of this particular entry centers around the outfit that I chose to wear today:

JoyceR: Trish I like your outfit!
Me: Thank you~
JoyceR: Mukha kang Japanese street singer! [You look like a Japanese street singer!]
Jason: ACTUALLY... Yeah.
Me: Okaaaay xD
Jason: But you know, Japanese street singers are actually good.

So yeah. your call readers. xD

Post-Defense

Yesterday was a stressful day. Besides it being the last day of the month - not that that's a bad thing -, Jason and I scheduled our second thesis defense to present recent developments, inclusive of our prototype. It was a happy time, and I must say it went well! Happy time~

TODAY, it's a special day today~ Happy birthday to Tenimyu Seigaku 2nd cast, Fuji Syuusuke, Aiba Hiroki today! Not really sure if it's some form of celebration, but I'll be meeting with Kai and her mom later in TriNoma for lunch and watch Glee 3D concert~ 

Writing Fever

So this little entry comes rather late for the simple fact that the very reason I'm typing up an entry this late into the night is because I've spent practically the whole day in front of a laptop typing away. Whether it's constructing words and sentences, backspacing or alt-tabbing to switch between windows to check sources, I can say that I spent a good portion of my day dedicated to getting thesis work done, which is actually saying something.

Between me and my partner Jason, I handle more of the paper content and coherence, as well as the art assets for the game, leaving most of the programming in his capable hands. I'll agree he tends to spazz out from time to time in agitation at failing to understand why his theory to get a method isn't working, but he gets the job done so there's not much for me to complain about. The guy's pretty smart in the programming department (the better among the two of us for sure), so I can count on him to get things done. It's all a matter of cracking the whip whenever necessary, especially when deadlines are looming.

Since he and I are one of the groups among the Affective thesis groups that are on par with the rest of the groups, I'm pretty confident that we can get our prototype working for our upcoming defense at the end of the week. Considering I've just sent the draft of our paper to our adviser crosses out one agenda off my writing list. Thankfully one less thing to worry about for the time being.

The other writing assignment I'm stressing over concerns the script for our game in our Game Design class. The deadline's on Wednesday and ideas are flying around in my head. Since I have the day planned out for tomorrow I figure I could get to work on that when I get home and just do things gradually from there. It's a fun and tedious task but at least I get to apply what I do for a hobby (roleplay~) with this assignment.

So after all that, I surprisingly come up with a lengthy post, which is a rarity among many of my blog entries. I'd add random smilies across the board but my eyes are closing and telling me to get some sleep if I want to even wake up to go to class tomorrow. So I bid you all goodnight~

At the New ALLS

Hello friends!

I forgot to blog last week about the relocation of our lab! :D It's still in the process of being redecorated and stuff but in the long run it's much more spacious! :D You can tell too that my place is by the window, right across the door. xD Fail. Will upload another picture later of the other side of the room later when I get home. :3 EDIT: Added a new picture below!

The Arrival of the 'Ber'

So September has arrived!

I think I wanted to kick this off with pictures from yesterday, because I was too preoccupied to make an entry. Maybe it was because I was procrastinating worrying over my orals today. xD

So a little background. Our adisier came back from her trip abroad and brought home this box of Giant Chocolate Pocky!!! And if anyone's wondering, the headband I have over my forehead is the instrument we're using for our thesis, and I was testing it out during this time. XD

 Mmmm, a big stick of Pocky = more chocolatey. ~u~ I'm happy.

Relocation

So today we found out that our beloved ALLS venue will be relocating to another room in Faura. More space, thank goodness. ~u~ We'll be moving as soon as we can to kick out the MIS people in F206 (hehehe). But I'm looking forward to the new more spacious area. Yei~ Note that ALLS is a little niche for us thesis-making folk. It's our little home while in school. x)

Brainfingers

So earlier today my thesis partner and I had a scheduled Skype meeting with Dr. Andrew Junker, one of the leading researchers with the Brainfingers software that we're utilizing for our thesis. It was quite the interesting meeting since we had projectors flashed everywhere.

We learned a lot and have plans of playing around with the software a bit more and start tinkering with the game code for our thesis. Happy for that. x)

In other news, I got a parking violation ticket earlier today for parking in one of the supposed DSWS Carpool slots. -.- Ugh. Damn it all. I'm handing in my letter of appeal tomorrow.

Archer and Thesis

So yesterday my thesis partner Jason pulled out a few souvenirs he got during his JTA in Japan. I immediately took interest in this figurine of Archer from the anime Fate Stay Night and he told me I could have it if no one's taken it by the time I left after lunch. And no one did so booyah!

In other news, we received the go signal from our adviser to schedule our proposal defense!! 8DD Finally! That game design document will be the death of me. Next on the agenda is the art components for the game. But after I relax.