A (Pinoy) Love Story

Call it weird (and mushy?!), but I was really stunned after watching it for the first time.

Alam mo ang babae, parang bulaklak yan e. Huwag mong pipitasin kung sisirain mo lang.

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What do you think?

Birthday: A Rebirth

Right now, I’m spending the last minutes of being a 20-year old and it’s also my last birthday as an undergraduate (hopefully) too. For years, it has always been the same thing. I rarely celebrate my birthday in school or college because it usually falls on a day with a very strong typhoon, a SONA day, or sometimes a Wednesday or weekend! Isn’t that amazing or too much for a coincidence?

So what’s my birthday wish? Whilst I have a birthday wishlist, there are only 2 things that I really want for now. Actually, they are pretty simple but just hard to find for they are presents that money cannot buy..

Happiness and Peace of Mind.

Once I get to attain these 2 simple things, it’s definitely a perfect rebirth for me.

No Classes Tomorrow - Confirmed!

NOT! As of this time, there’s still no official announcement posted on any of the UPD websites about the suspension of classes tomorrow due to the SONA. It’s somewhat weird because it always goes back to the question: where’s the accuracy for such situations or announcements?

I guess UP really needs a more effective way of publicizing events and announcements. UP needs a Twitterer/Powncer/Online Announcer! C’mon! Twitter is so easy to use that you just need to fill in a 140 character-limited text field and the followers get to receive the updates via web, IM, or even through SMS! Although Twitter is a third-party web service and is not within the scope of the university’s web services, there is consistency and accuracy here because what you see on the web or IM is also the same via SMS!

Well, if you have not tried Twitter yet, you better register now!

UPDATE: The announcement is now posted on the UPD website, however…

..and you wonder why people are still confused as of the moment.

Pisay, the Movie

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Good thing there’s a trailer.

After watching the preview, I felt like reminiscing the times in high school, the moments of feeling the ups and downs. And as usual, there’s also the feeling that we could have exerted more effort but it’s already too late. I guess I would have to agree that “there was too much time spent on love and computer games”. Haha!

The movie portrays the Pisay high school experience which definitely makes an eye-opener not only to the public but also to the later batches of Pisay students who had no idea what 1980s was like.

So are you still clueless where and when to go to watch the movie? Here’s a summary of the Cinemalaya Pisay sched made by a friend of mine:

21 Jul/Sat 03:30 PM Venue 1 – CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo
22 Jul/Sun 09:00 PM Venue 4 – CCP MKP Hall / Bulwagang Alagad Ng Sining
24 Jul/Tue 09:00 PM Venue 1 – CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo
25 Jul/Wed 09:00 PM Venue 2 – CCP Little Theatre / Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino
26 Jul/Thu 06:15 PM Venue 5 – CCP Tanghalang Huseng Batute
27 Jul/Fri 10:00 AM Venue 1 – CCP Main Theatre / Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo
28 Jul/Sat 03:30 PM Venue 2 – CCP Little Theatre / Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino

So what are you waiting for? Let’s go!

Why Pisay?

While waiting for my confirmation email on the PSHS Alumni Homecoming, I was looking over this video my friend sent me:

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Fabulous! As expected, there were a lot of changes since my last visit on the campus. I noticed that the video featured computer-equipped libraries but I was not able to see the computers in the library footage. And there’s also free internet access? Wow! Actually, if I remember correctly in one of my visits, a student inquired on WiFi access in the computer lab. So does that mean there’s WiFi in the front lobby? Coolness indeed! I just wonder if the internet connection’s fast and secure. *grins*

Also, I think I saw students playing basketball on the oval and not on the basketball court where I used to hangout during long breaks (and don’t forget the pingpong tables!). For me, the Pisay environment was like a “mini UP” – without the UP jeeps. Haha!

Lastly, I’m really curious on the state of the Ubuntu Linux installations deployed on their dorms and if they also offer Vista and Mac OS X on their computer labs.

PSHS Alumni Homecoming 2007

I got this announcement from my Pisay03 YahooGroups (through 3 hops of email forwards):

Dear fellow PSHS Alumni,

RE: ON-LINE pre-registration for the Alumni Homecoming September 1, 2007

To enable us to provide a very organized and enjoyable Alumni Homecoming on September 1, 2007 we have created an ON-LINE pre-registration at www.pisay82.org . What are the advantages of registering on-line?

a) No need to line up to register when you arrive
b) You are reserved a free ticket for food and drinks up to 7 pm (tickets not claimed on or before 7 pm will be provided to walk-in alumni) Presently we are preparing for only 600 possible attendees to the homecoming hence only 600 free tickets for food and drinks have so far been allotted.
c) Presently we are still preparing a reward or raffle ticket package for early registrants (ex. Buy one and get one free raffle ticket)
d) Early registration allows the organizers to estimate the number and the profile of attendees and therefore prepare better re. music, food, drinks, décor and other accommodations.
e) Souvenirs, important announcements, newsletters, postcards and other PSHS homecoming materials may now be mailed, e-mailed or even texted to you.

Please lang mga dear Pisay Alumni wag nang pasaway dahil dina orig ang ganyan, magbago ka na and REGISTER NOW at www.pisay82.org ! As of 1400 hours Philippine time, July 10, 2007, 25 tickets have already been reserved.

Maraming Salamat!

HOMECOMING ORGANIZERS: 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007.

Perhaps, I’d be able to receive the announcements first-hand thru simple RSS next time.

UP LISSA - Revitalized!

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Yes folks! That’s the UP Library and Information Science Students’ Association (UP LISSA) being revitalized this year! Obviously, that’s the org I was talking about on my previous post. The 1st General Assembly was just held last week and it “rocked” with lots of new members!

Well, I guess you better stay tuned for we’ve got lots of surprises. Haha!

Oh, by the way, I think I played like Will Traveler in the UP LISSA video – no trace of my face!

Fully-Loaded

Fully-loaded. It’s the term used by my friend to another who has only 6 units left, a thesis proposal course for the first semester and a thesis proper for the second semester. Being in such a situation is great for you have a lot of time savoring every minute of the semester, every second of your last year to be an undergraduate student. But as expected, it’s not always that easy.

The last year usually entails a lot of hardships one needs to endure. So how’s my case? It’s just a matter of 15 units that includes requirements ranging from topic presentations to research papers and projects. Whilst I primarily focus on my acads, I also have a job and have just joined another org making the record – 2 organizations before I graduate (hopefully).

I can still remember when my Psych 101 instructor told us to line up in the order of the average hours of sleep per day and I was on one end of the line – 3 hours of sleep per day. My classmates were actually shocked after knowing it. Well, on the other end was a range of 10-14 hours – not bad but I wonder what his class schedule was. Obviously, I’m always on the go with coffee on one hand and a set of books, readings, and the computer keyboard on the other. Coffee is usually included on a geek’s menu but if you think of it through the sociological imagination (from Socio 101), it connects everyone – politically, economically, and socially.

But one does not live on coffee alone for time management needs to be learned as well. Talking about time budgeting and I was still able to join one org? Haha! Actually, the membership application to it was easy. No need for sigsheets or going over an application period just like in my other org, UP ACM. However, in every organization, it’s sometimes hard to empower people. Based on my experiences, I had only encountered a handful of people who really “walk the talk”. It might be very disappointing but it’s challenging and I love challenges

So with all of these things filling up my mind, there was actually a time when I forgot all the homeworks for the day. Good thing I have halfday schedules – only 2 subjects at the most. In fact, it was the first time for me to experience such a situation. So how did I coped with it? Through an organizer and keyboard, I was able to put all of my deadlines, requirements, and stuffs on iCal. It was a breeze typing it on iCal while automatically synchronizing everything to my .Mac account. Coolness!

How about you? How do you manage yours?

Pizza Hut’s Poor Service

Sometimes we should expect the unexpected.

After the Sunday mass (actually it’s already our 2nd one for the day), we headed over to Pizza Hut at Ever Commonwealth for late lunch. It’s not really that late for it’s just around 1230pm and our usual lunch time’s around 1030-1130am. This works along with our daily routine of a 5am breakfast and a 5pm dinner. Are those times too early?

Going back to our experience, we ordered for a Fettucine, BBQ Ribs (with rice), a salad, and some meal of chicken with rice (i forgot its name) – a total of 4 meals. For the 2 kids with us, we ordered slices of pizza from their takeout service instead. So how was the service?

Whilst it’s not my first time to eat there, I guess the service this time was very disappointing. The speed was very slow that I was able to find and buy some things from the supermarket where the counter lines were long for some reason. I returned to our table and 2 of our orders (BBQ ribs and chicken meal) were not served yet. It was almost half-an-hour when I decided to answer their feedback form. After some time, if I was not mistaken, the manager approached our table and informed us that there were some problems with regard to our orders. He told us that we can have soup as some sort of compensation. Or maybe he just noticed that I was already answering the form. Duh, he really should!

And that’s the soup along with their feedback form. Try to zoom or click the image to see for yourself. I was the only one that requested for it because I had no choice – my stomach’s growling like crazy. When I was almost halfway on my soup, the order was still not on our tables! A crew then approached us carrying with her a plate with 4 pieces of garlic bread.

Yes, you’re right! It’s another compensation again! The last one was actually 4 lollipops. Well, it looks like there’ll be another pizza chain on my blacklist. I would actually be impressed if our orders (our delayed meals at least) were considered as free. There was no excuse for the number of customers because the place was not really that filled.

Oh well, it only means that we should always expect the unexpected. What do you think?