Shirts and Headphones

To further commemorate my new laptop dubbed Jarvis, here's my first "official" picture taken with his trusty internal webcam, sponsored by Acer Crystal Eye. What's so special about this particular picture, you ask? Two things, so technically speaking, the peace sign I'm making has its double meanings.

The first is to chronicle the lilac polo t-shirt I got as a souvenir from my Auntie Lynda, who was visiting from Los Angeles for a few weeks here in Manila. This particular shade of purple reminds me fondly of a shirt that one of my favorite college professors often wore (shout-out to Ma'am Jess!). And considering Kai's favorite color is purple, it helps to have one that's easier on the eyes. I'm starting to see a pattern inthe polo t-shirts I acquire; they're all pastel or dark.  

The second is to chronicle (and put into perspective), one of my more personal but very much worth it purchases to date: an Elephant Masterpiece Headphone from Data Blitz!


Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
Impedance: 60ohms
Sensitivity: 115dB
Max Input Power: 5mW
Technical Specs:
Audio: 40 mm handmade drivers
Don't worry if the technical stuff confuses you. The sound is awesome and is pretty well priced at Php595. Pretty good too since it's collapsible into a nice neat soft case that comes with it. And the cord is durable, so it's sure to last.

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

Last First Day

Ironic as the title of the entry sounds, it's *knocks on wood* the last first day of my college life, and I'm hoping that it will be a nice step forward to completing my college education.

Since it's Tuesday, I have an uber long break (7.5 hours to be exact) between my first two early morning classes, so it's a good time for both lunch and an early dinner, thesis work and reading time in between. I elected returning to Father David for my final Philosophy class, for the reason that I already have some idea of his teaching style. Notwithstanding, he claims to be more strict this time around but fingers crossed that he does lax a bit through the course of the already constrained time we have. Besides that, I also have my first and last Theology class in Filipino taught by the infamous Bobby Guev, who actually turns out to be very engaging despite the semi-nosebleed Filipino usage. xD

Another thing to note is that today is the birthday of my favorite chef: Gordon Ramsay! Hooray~ I wish I could say it's a cause for celebration but it would seem short-lived until I can get into the groove of things, especially once I've attended all my classes. For now, I'll end this entry here and feast on some good ol' Lechon Kawali for lunch. OuO

Happy Teacher's Day~

So today is World Teacher's Day.

My academic upbringing, until now, has me meeting numerous individuals designated as teachers, allotting a lot of their time and effort to impart their knowledge onto us students. But something that's interesting is my little ability to be a different kind of teacher's pet.

Growing up from elementary through to college, I had a knack of befriending them outside the classroom. From frequent acknowledgments passing them by in school, to small talks about random topics, it's a real treat knowing that they're more than just teachers; they're people like us so getting to know them just a little bit more outside their facade as educators.

So here's to all the teachers who've touched my life. I'm grateful for all of you, helping me to become the kind of person I am today~

An Overall Good Day

So today was a rather pleasant day, minus the overcast grey skies and light rains that greeted me exactly when I was walking around going places. Today was a day I took Kai out to lunch at Teriyaki Boy then dessert at Cerealicious; one of the few dates we have where I actually offered to pay for all things edible. Not that I minded since I was itching to get things back on track after the few misunderstandings we've had over the past few days. Plus she looked gorgeous so I ain't complaining. x)

What I would complain on was the service during lunch. It's almost quite nostalgic really that whenever bad service befalls me when I'm out with Kai, my temper is as quick to burn as my dad's whenever an order was forgotten or it was just plain wrong. Then again, that's the trouble when your server doesn't write the damn order down on paper. First it was assumed we were having it for take-out, then one of our sushi orders was wrong (Futo Maki instead of Tekka Maki). Since Kai's aware of my short temper I told her to deal with the servers so I wouldn't blow my top. But ugh. Jeez.

Then Cerealicious. Sweet, yummy, good. As simple as that. You can never have enough good cereal with snow milk like that.

And then afterwards, we parted ways and I made my way back to school with plenty of time to spare for my 3pm class. While waiting outside my classroom, I noticed that the lights were off, which was strange considering I recalled that there was supposed to be a class prior to mine. Peeking inside, I saw some things on the table and wondered if it was my teacher's (I'd later find out that said teacher was actually sleeping in there xD).

Anyway, while waiting, I finally got a text message from the ADSA concerning the parking violation appeal I had submitted some two weeks ago since I apparently parked in a reserved parking slot. Luckily, it was approved! But I was warned that should I ever get another parking violation I'd have to pay the fine. No biggie. Knowing what caused my initial downfall I'm sure not to make a repeat of it anymore so life was good. ~u~

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.

Quotes - 04

My days in ALLS are never without laughter. Recently from my previous CS professor concerning some food being passed around, tone very much like a Pokemon trainer. xD

"Jason, return!" - Ma'am Jess, July 6, 2011 

Philo Reading

This first semester of my senior year in college rekindled my reading skills. Most of my core subjects (inclusive of Theology, Philosophy, History and Economics) require me to read some sort of material that ranged from excerpts from books, articles and sometimes actual books in the case of Philosophy.

I'm taking Sir Principe for Philosophy 103 this semester (Philosophy of Religion) and as we're his only M-W-F class he asked us to read 4 novels instead of just one. But hey that's less readings and more story so I'm down with that. Now we have a quiz this coming Wednesday on the first two chapters of the book and I'm currently moving along Chapter 2 with ease.

What's particularly interesting is that while it talks about an apparition and all (which I assume is the central message of the story) there are constant descriptions of sex (which are thankfully not explicit descriptions) that I don't really mind. I wonder why. :/

FREEDOM!!!

^____________________^

Had my Philo orals this afternoon with my groupmates and we're doooooooooone!!! ^o^ ^o^ ^o^ We even got to take a picture with Fr. David. xDD

3rd year is over, and 4th year here I come~
Next to worry about is the grades T^T

Anyway, today today!! A special birthday!!!
One of my favorites, Tenimyu Seigaku 1st Cast's Tezuka Kunimitsu, Takigawa Eiji!!!

Last Class Day

Friday was a stressful day. But it was a nice one too. This was one of the reasons I made the effort to come to school for my first class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except for when I had to miss class for important reasons such as bereavement or sickness). It was a moment of goodbyes, but also one of good memories. I may not have had the opportunity to come to know all of my classmates in my Theology 131 class very well, but under Sir Herman Rochester for a semester was probably one of my best choices. I learned a lot, though it didn't really reflect much on the test results but I don't think that matters much.

I enjoy doing things like this. Class pictures never fail to leave a smile on your face for whatever reason. ^____^

Monday's the schedule of our final exam, and I while that may officially be the end of our time together, it was a good run. Thank you for everything. ^___^ I'm happy to have met new friends, and I'm happy to have learned more about myself.

Quotes - 03

引用符－０３。（いにょうふ－０３）In'yō fu - 03. trans. Quotes - 03.

This time around, a few quotes from my Theology professor earlier today concerning how sad it is when 'children' our age are still treated like children.

"I mean at 20, you can kill yourself!" - Sir Rochester, January 7, 2011

Quotes - 02

引用符－０２。（いにょうふ－０２）In'yō fu - 02. trans. Quotes - 02.

Again from my Philosophy professor during our Saturday make-up class concerning deus ex machina:

"The god comes out of the machine, says Abrakadabra and everything is good! We can all go and have a hamburger." - Fr. David, December 18, 2010

Quotes - 01

引用符－０１。（いにょうふ－０１）In'yō fu - 01. trans. Quotes - 01.

A little new thing I'd like to add to my blog just because. Note that these quotes may not be direct quotes but the gist is there somewhere. ﾟﾟﾟﾟﾟ-y(^｡^)｡o0○

From my Philosophy professor, on how crossing a street isn't as safe as the law tries to enforce it:

"I mean, if I didn't put my hand up and showed my angry face, the car wouldn't have stopped." - Fr. David, December 16, 2010

He was actually pretty serious when he was sharing this to us during class, hence you cue the laughter.

What I Learned in Class

私は何のクラスで学んだこと。（わたしはなにのくらすでまなんだこと）Watashi wa nani no kurasu de mananda koto. trans. What I Learned in Class.

So today my CS162b or Systems Programming lab class is (meaning I'm in class as I type this) meeting, and I'm finally sitting through a class under the 'great' Doc Mana; so as early as now, I, along with the rest of my classmates, have gotten a few good laughs about facts that just sound funny coming from Doc Mana.

Case in point:
More (Motif) vs. Less (Lesstif)

The verdict: Less is greater than More

The difference is best found on the command prompt, or so I understand. But the logic from a commoner's point of view is just hilarious. xD