How much to go home?!

I have been in a crossroads for so so long.  The bond at work is over, there is nothing to tie me down.  I don't have any reason to be here. Then getting back to UP for a Masters Degree came which had me a reason to stay.  

Now, I am at a dilemma.  After this semester, I could go LOA and find work elsewhere.  I have been applying for work overseas.  Also I have been scouting for work back home.  But it seems, they are not ready for me yet.


Last night, while doing my job hunting, I came across a cadet engineer vacancy at Hawaiian-Philippine Company, Inc. in Silay City.  Silay is just next to our place going North.  And without thinking, I clicked the apply button.  Act of desperation.  Totally!


I know the risks.  It means saying goodbye to a salary that is substantial.  It means back to zero with my career. But in doing so, I could be coming home.  I am with my family and with my loved ones.  I going back to my life.


So how much should I risk in going home?  Home much in exchange for a chance back home?  How much to go home?

Masteral Is Fun

Today, together with Ryan and Eyna, we spent our Saturday at UP Campus assessing the quality of a stream by visual inspection.  We followed a stream starting from accross NEC then going towards the lagoon and then UP Checkpoint!  For the love of Jun Ba! (note sarcasm here!") and for the fear of failing...

maputik, ma-higad, madamo, malamok... naliligaw, tuliro, pawisan, mabaho.... these are things not shown in the pictures.. dahil kahit mahirap, masaya lang talaga ang masters..heheh!

The Results

Finally got my results.. hays..ang olats..need to improve stats.

Run To Eng’gfinity

As part (Yes, back to school once again!!! I'm currently taking my Masters in Environmental Engineering) and proud alumni of the UP Engineering, I would like to invite everyone to the

Enggfinity: The Centennial Engineering Run. 

Enggfinity: The Centennial Engineering Run

This RUN is open to all.

As the College of Engineering celebrates its CENTENNIAL YEAR, prepare to go the distance. The Engineering Student Council brings you Eng'gfinity: The Engineering Centennial Run on July 18, 2010.
Register at the ESC Office, Room 123, Melchor Hall (College of Engineering)..

100 years. INFINITE LIMITS.

RUN DETAILS:
EVENT TAKES PLACE RAIN OR SHINE!
-The Run is on July 18 2010(Sunday). It will start at 5:30 AM.

RACE CATEGORIES
2.2k Oval Challenge
5k
10k

Enggfinity Singlet

-Stage, Starting point and Finish Line of Race.Engineering Lawn (Melchor Hall)
-Promotional Booths and Onsite Registration also at the Engineering Lawn.
-The route will pass through the academic oval and branching streets including the University Avenue.
-Water Stations are located at the 1.5k/3k/5k mark.
-Prizes will be given to the Top Finishers for each Race Category

Registration Details:
You can get Registration Forms at the ESC Office or download it here by Wednesday June 16 2010.

Singlet Dimensions

REGISTRATION FEE:
Php350* for 10k and Php300* for 5k and 2.2k
(Race Kit includes Singlet^, Racebib, Route Map and Race Analysis)
*50 pesos Discount for UP Engg Students/Alumni/Faculty
*^Less Php100 if you do not want to avail of the singlet

Those who will register before JULY 6 2010 will have the official race singlet. Limited Singlets will be available for those who will register after JULY 6 2010. For online registration send your forms thru email to josegabriel.mercado@gmail.com.you can pay at the ESC office or bank deposit.

For Bank Deposit
Bank : Philippine National Bank (PNB)
Account Name : ENGINEERING STUDENT COUNCIL
Account Number: 39168900016

Present your Deposit Slips upon claiming of race kits with your waiver of liability.

For more info, you can contact
Jose Gabriel E. Mercado
09064012332
josegabriel.mercado@gmail.com
or check the Frequently Asked Questions.


See you guys at the finish line!

‘Narinig ko sa UP’-lessons from the online ‘tambayan’

By Cate de Leon
Philippine Daily Inquirer

“OVERHEARD AT...” ONLINE groups are sprouting in the Internet, particularly for schools and universities. UP students created their own Overheard group on Facebook, with a Filipino title that aptly represents UP culture.

The group was started by Christian Rillera, a Political Science graduate of UP Diliman now taking up Law at Ateneo. Created last February 19, the group now has over 12,000 members.

From these “Overheard” groups, we see the unique character—and humor—of each university, sometimes so unique that outsiders can’t get the jokes.

But if you read closely, there are lessons to be learned from browsing through UP’s Overheard site.

Lesson 1. Survive

It is a must for students to acquire basic survival skills at UP. Like how to tell the jeepney driver to stop at one’s destination. This rather unfortunate girl couldn’t get down and missed her stop because she kept telling the driver: “Mama, stop!”

Lesson 2. No sleeping in class

A certain Asian Civilizations professor suddenly went “Shhhh...” mid-lecture and pointed at the students who were snoozing at the back. He gestured for the rest to quietly tiptoe out of the room—and then he dismissed the class.

Lesson 3. Believe in a God

No matter how liberal UP students may seem to be, they still need God. As a certain dormer’s to-do list put it:

English 12—Read photocopied readings!

Math 55—Homework

Humanities 1—Online conference with group mates.

Engineering Science 11—Pray!

A certain Philosophy professor was also quoted: “I’ve chosen to believe there is a God because it’s strategic. If it’s true that there is no God but I believe there is, nothing’s going to happen to me. But if I don’t believe and it just so happens there is a God, patay ako.”

Lesson 4. Study

Don’t be overly confident about your brains and abilities just because you go to one of the top universities. As one student said:

“In Math class, our professor had a frown as he distributed our exam papers, with most of us having failed the exams. One classmate rushed into class, late. He was wearing the famous ‘I think, therefore I am from UP’ T-shirt. Before he could sit, our professor walked up to him, handed him his failed exam and said: ‘Mr. ____, this is your exam. May I request you to go home and change your shirt? Lalong umiinit ang ulo ko!’”

Lesson 5. Be discreet

Never ever talk about your professors in public. The same goes for plans to cut class and all other manifestations of laziness.

Computer Science students were checking out who was assigned to handle one of their higher Math classes. One student started to pray out loud: “Sana hindi si _______! Sana hindi si ______!” as she checked the list of classes posted on the bulletin board. Then she shouted and cursed. When she then turned around, there was the professor before her, a huge grin on his face.

Also, there were these two classmates who saw each other from across the street. One was feeling lazy and told the other aloud that he had no plans of going to class that day, because the venue had been moved to a farther building on campus. He even tried to convince his classmate to cut classes as well, saying: “Wala ding papasok dun!”

Suddenly, from behind the lazy student came the professor’s voice: “Nandito kaya ako!?”

Christian, the site creator, also shared how he once got into a jeepney to get to his Math class and absently told his classmate: “Wala namang kwenta pumasok ng maaga eh, lagi namang late si Sir.”

When they got to the Math Building, he saw his professor alight from the same jeepney. Later in class, his professor went: “O ayan Mr. Rillera ha. Maaga ako ngayon. Baka kung anu-ano pa ang sabihin mo tungkol sa akin sa jeep.”

However, some professors are simply quotable, their pronouncements too good not to be repeated.

Prof. Solita Monsod, more popularly known as Mareng Winnie, began the first day of her Economics 11 class by saying: “Anyone who calls me Mareng Winnie in this class gets a 5.0.”

Then there was the student who told his professor, “Sir, ’yung buhok niyo po magulo.” The professor replied, “Bakit kay Edward Cullen pwede, sa prof niyo hindi?”

Another student was worried because he didn’t get his parents to sign what he needed for class. His professor said: “Bahala ka. Ikaw, i-forge mo. Basta ba hindi ka idedemanda ng nanay mo eh.”

Still another student was secretly reading manga in class when he realized his professor was right behind him. He nervously turned around, prepared to be reprimanded. Without taking his eyes off the monitor, his professor went: “Patay na pala si Jiraiya no? Kawawa naman.”

A clincher: A speech communication professor was wrapping up her discussion. “So class, let us refrain from being redundant whenever we speak.” She paused. “Ok?” She looked to the left. “Am I clear?” Then to the right. “Do you understand?”

Lesson 6. Know why you’re in school

No matter the fun and hilarious college life, we must all remember that our primary reason for going to school is to learn. As English 30 professor Rhodora Ancheta put it: “Don’t mind my arm fats jiggling when I write. Mind what I write!”

The Oblation

The Oblation at UP Diliman

To any alumni of the University of the Philippines in any campus in the country, the Oblation is one symbol, one could get attached or identify himself with the Alma Mater.  The nakedness of the man speaks about symbolic sacrifice to the country and the whole of humanity.  Aside from nationalism and patriotism, it speaks about freedom of expression, a characteristic evident in each campus through fashion, self expression, the arts, etc. and even in protest actions. 

1) The Oblation at UP Visayas Miag-ao Campus 2) The Oblation at UP Visayas Iloilo Campus

A masterpiece of the great sculptor, Guillermo Tolentino, The Oblation was commissioned by the first President of the University of the Philippines, President Rafael Palma.  Palma ordered to translate the second stanza of Jose Rizal's "Mi Ultimo Adios" or "Last Farewell" into a monument which has now become the landmark of any University of the Philippines Campus.

Rizal's "Last Farewell", Second Stanza

*Spanish (original)*

En campos de batalla,
luchando con delirio,
Otros te dan sus vidas,
sin duda, sin pesar,
El sitio nada importa:
cipres, laurel o lirio,
Cadalso o campo abierto,
combate o cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden
la patria y el hogar.
- Jose Rizal

*English*

In barricades imbattled;
fighting with delirium,
others donate you their lives
without doubts, without gloom,
The site doesn't matter;
cypress, laurel or lily;
gibbet or open field,
combat or cruel martyrdom,
are equal if demanded
by country and home.
- /Translated by Nick Joaquin/ -

The Oblation at UP Los Baños

"The completely nude figure of a young man with outstretched arms and open hands, with tilted head, closed eyes and parted lips murmuring a prayer, with breast forward in the act of offering himself, is my interpretation of that sublime stanza."

Above is the exact word's of Tolentino regarding his masterpiece.  Originally, the figure was purely nude.  The fig leaf or the katakataka leaf was added upon the suggestion of President Jorge Bocobo. Katakataka plants, which grows anywhere with any part of it, symbolizes how deeprooted patriotism should be, similar to our heroes. The height of the statue is 3.5 m representing the 350 years of Spanish reign.

The original oblation is now located in the 3^rd Floor of the University Library in UP Diliman.

Cancellation Blues

I spent the afternoon at UP... now I have sore feet for walking around in heels.

I have to cancel my seminar class because it was intended for those having their thesis. Cancelling it was supposedly easy. I only have to have 3 people's signature before going to the registration's office.

But of the many things that would happen, I get the three copies of the form to be signed in disarray. The two bottom copies were similar to a thermal paper, that if disarrange, the mark will not be seen in the other paper. So after going all through the procedures, it was later realized by the personnel from the graduate office that one of the forms have no 3 signatures. So I would repeat the whole thing going back to the people for their most precious marks. I surely gave myself a hard time. And what was more embarrassing was that I have a classmate with me who has to deal with it too... tsk tsk!!! I surely was a pain today...

But we finished today...and will be working on getting our P1500 refund.

Exam Jitters.

I have never worried on an exam this much since I took the board exams. It is a make it or break it in the program. Graduate school isn’t college anymore. You fail a subject you drop the program, unlike in college that you could just have retake. There is no room for mistakes in the program. Mistakes are for the youth and we are considered people of maturity.