July 30, 2004
slacker
HISTORY: Eeek! Nooo! Aside from not having written a reflection paper on GMA's SONA, I also missed a ten-point quiz, went completely bonkers (i.e. was completely wrong) on another, and didn't quite make the grade on some others. I realized that I could not get an A on this subject any longer, but must still struggle to capture that B+.
THEOLOGY: Seriously, I don't even know why I'm here. Not that I'm completely lost; I just feel like a grade-school student struggling to keep up on my CLE class. Although my long test was relatively okay, the fact remains that I have not been very diligent in reading the assigned chapters. It's time to change that.
PHILOSOPHY: Last year, Philosophy was my favorite non-Math subject (Statistics being that Math subject). I enjoyed the teacher, I enjoyed the lessons, I enjoyed the whole thinking process. But this year, not quite. I feel that I'm not really absorbing everything. The lesson is just too abstract, and even though the teacher is a wonderful man, I find his teaching technique difficult to grasp. Add to that the fact that I have not read in depth any of the things discussed in class.
ACTUARIAL and FINANCIAL MATH: These are my two Math electives. I think I'm OK on both counts. My Actuarial tests have not yet been returned, but I feel good about them. It's a certainty that Risk Theory is easier than the Actuarial classes we had last year. Those lessons then were killers. ;) In Financial Math, Doc Mara still teaches well. There have been no tests yet, but hopefully, despite my apprehensions against money matters, I'll be doing just fine.
COMPLEX ANALYSIS: It's complex, but: Garces teaches with flair and style, and manages to incorporate his brilliance in the process; the lessons are quite interesting, with all the i's and all; and it's a much more manageable subject than Advanced Calculus. My first long test is high, my second long test is probably low, and the next long test is coming up. Definitely one of the more wonderful subjects this semester.
Now that was quite a list, wasn't it? It was more negative in nature than positive. Having assessed myself, I am now prepared to be a new man. Less time surfing, more time studying. Less time on the virtual, more time on the real. It's morphin' time.
July 29, 2004
questions
When is a friend more than a friend?
When is a friend not a friend?
The weight of the world is upon my shoulders once again. Thank God Atlas still has the strength to lift some of this weight up.
July 27, 2004
dangerous foods
I have received and heard news, however, which may require me to stop this unhealthy sort of eating. My parents have warned me of this in the past, but I paid them no heed, thinking that the benefits would offset the consequences. But I may have to rethink that again.
My friend e-mailed me this two nights ago:
Instant Noodles Lovers
Dear all,
This is what I heard from a fellow colleague. Her nephew, who was studying in UK for about one and a half years, likes to eat cup-a-noodle. And guess what!
His doctor has found that there is a layer of wax lining the walls of his stomach. Seems that instant noodles that comes with foam containers contain an edible layer of wax. However, regular consumptions make it hard for our livers to clear the toxic.
This person died [emphasis theirs] when he went for an operation to try to remove the layer. Please do not boil the noodles in the container. Transfer to a glass bowl before you put the hot water. [emphasis theirs]
Well, this creeped me out. I should have known about this, getting all sorts of warnings from my friends and family, but I really just chose to ignore it. Well, this e-mail made me think twice about opening that cup-a-noodle again.
May this be a warning to all, as well.
July 25, 2004
the good side of it
So what is this good side? The write-ups, for one. A Yearbook write-up is like a Friendster testimonial, only more general and more formal in nature. In 15 lines of text, you have to describe yourself in the best way that you can. Five people went out of their way to create a write-up for me, and these I tried to compile into a single, coherent whole. The task was daunting, of course, with all the editing, cutting, pasting, and revising needed to make your write-up as unique and as easy-to-read as possible.
Here's the final output:
Kerwin does not like mornings. He snarls, he frowns and he utters totally indecipherable words all in a span of a minute within waking time. To the curious, this is because he values a good night's sleep above all other life processes, even over healthy eating and regular breathing.
At times other than mornings, though, Kerwin appears to be an ordinary nerdy-type kind of guy. He walks in campus wearing the same Adidas bag, the same orange ID strap, and the same blue-gray shoes. He excels in Math, but he's also quite a personal handyman for English and Philosophy, getting A's with supernatural ease. Amazingly, all these he manages on a diet of pancit canton, sliced bread and corned beef (See? Healthy eating.).
What Kerwin does not show in appearance, he reveals in substance. As a person, he is steadfastly loyal. Given the chance, he can be the bestest friend one can ever have. He listens when you need him to listen, he talks when you need him to talk. Those who remain true to him know this.
And those who remain true know that 15 lines of text just aren't enough.
Whether I have given justice to what my friends have written and whether or not I have given justice to who I really am remain to be seen. As for now, I'd like to thank Jeland, Tsikee, Joey, Sam and Lady for taking time out to describe someone as incomprehensible as I am. Thanks, guys.
all for the sake of imposed memories
Sigh. Is it so obvious that I was harassed from all that they were asking from me? And to add to that the guilt that I felt upon inflicting my negativity to other innocent people.
First Victim: Ben. I asked Ben to create a Photoshop collage for me. I went to his house and invaded his privacy just to "guide" him throughout the entire process. At around 1 AM, he was done. But it seemed that I had a lack of college pictures. So I asked the
Second Victim: Sam to search some pictures in her computer. She found some and uploaded all 6 MB of it. It took 30 minutes. Sam had not had any sleep for the past few days, and this would have been a perfect time for her to sleep. But unfortunately, I had her waiting for the uploading to complete. Bad. When it was over, Ben and I downloaded the pictures, which took all of 30 minutes. Ben was also sleepy at this point. When the collage was done, someone had to flatten it into JPEG (another requirement from Aegis), and unbeknownst to me, the
Third Victim: Katsan was waiting all this time to do just that. It was around 230 AM by this time. Some problem occurred while downloading and uploading the files, so that added to the agitation of the entire Scooby Gang. At long last, it was over. That was what I thought then.
The day after, I had my 1x1 ID pictures taken in Kodak Katipunan, just in front of Ateneo. Since I had class at 230 to 430, and thinking that Kodak would close at 300, I asked the
Fourth Victim: Mark to get the pictures for me. That in itself would have been OK, but unfortunately, while Mark was just a street-crossing away from Kodak, a heavy downpour of rain stopped him dead on his tracks. He remained in the guardhouse, wondering what in hell should he do now that he's stuck and didn't have an umbrella. Unbeknownst to me (again), he asked Ben for help. Ben, who was wearing a pretty formal outfit for a career talk he co-headed, rushed to the guardhouse with an umbrella. The rain was so hard and the wind so unpredictable that the umbrella failed to protect him. By the time I returned to the org room, Mark and Ben were both there, wet and depressed.
I tried my darndest to make up for the negativity I have imposed on these people. I wish I could do more. Sigh. All these for the sake of imposed memories.
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