My Dorm Life in a Nutshell

I have officially moved out from the small townhouse I have been living in for the past four years. Back in freshman year, I hated my room because it was so small and so hot (no air-con!). But later on, I had slowly learned to love my tiny abode in Katipunan. Back in freshman year,  I did my best to make my room as homey as possible. Ate Therese and I used to do DVD marathons together especially when classes were cancelled due to typhoons!  When I was in junior year, I moved to another room in my dorm. It was more spacious so I was able to put more furniture!

It was hard to pack up all my college mementos and other little trinkets. It was like breaking up with somebody you've spent time with for the past 48 months. I will especially miss my ever dependable study table, which I've sometimes converted into my dining table/dresser/tambakan for everything. I will also miss the people I have lived with like Ate Therese, Ate Jov, Ate Kaye, Rissa, Dessa, and Erika. One highlight during our stay in the townhouse was when we went to ABS-CBN for Ate Jov's Game KNB? application in 2007. We had so many good memories!

ACTM Year-End Party

Last night, the Association for Communications Technology Management (ACTM) had its year-end party at Fiamma Bar in Makati. For the past four years, I have never attended any party by ACTM because I was always busy with something else. So the party last night was my first and last ACTM party as an Ateneo student. There was a mini fashion show during the party. That night, Mina and I couldn't enter the dorm because the gate was already locked so we spent the night in Jollibee in Katipunan.

Provident Block Party

It all started as a joke. We told our blockmate, Bingkoy, that we will have our block party at his home's rooftop in Provident Village when finals week is over. We even joked in passing about making the party a fundraiser for Bingkoy, who was one of the victims of Typhoon Ondoy last October. Come finals week, we were surprised that Bingkoy took our joke seriously. He told us that the party would be happening at his house the Saturday after our last day in school. I do not usually like to go to drinking parties but I didn't want to miss this because I know that after college, I won't be seeing my friends so often anymore. It was definitely an epic night!

The Final Week

My final week in Ateneo. My final week as a student. I have torn down most of the numbers on my wall representing the number of weeks left before the end of college. I could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My study table was at its messiest. I was cramming my final exams like I always do. Meanwhile, my bed became a tambakan for all my things. I hardly slept in my bed because I always fell asleep on my desk while studying.

Pre- and post-thesis defense. We didn't care about our grades anymore. We just wanted everything to be over. 

We were all on celebratory mood at Frutti Froyo after our thesis defense.

Team Mode

Team Mode was one of the four winning teams during the preliminary round of the 2010 ACTM Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Competition. We did a marketing proposal for Bo's Coffee and also came up with a concrete output for our plans last month.

For the final round, our task was to produce a 30-second TV commercial for Dentiste, an incoming toothpaste brand. Our video was good but we didn't do so well in the final pitch so we didn't win. But still, it was a great honor to participate in this competition. 

LS 125 Final Defense

One subject that I enjoyed the most this final semester in college is LS 125 Strategic Management. We did a corporate strategic audit on Greenwich Pizza for the entire semester. We analyzed the industry trends, its competitors and other industry data. This morning, we had our final oral defense at the SOM Building. We had two panelists, a guy from McKinsey Consulting and Mr. Tanchoco, the Management Engineering Program Director. Scary!!! After our successful defense, we celebrated by eating Greenwich Pizza, of course. 

Laser Tag Fun

Last January 15, the Student Affairs Office treated me and other student deputies for some laser tag fun. It was such a perfect reward for us deputies who have been issuing temporary IDs, answering phone calls, and doing some errands for the office for a long time. I have been a volunteer for the past three years.

We headed to the Activity Center Wing of Market Market at Fort Bonifacio where LazerXtreme is located. The staff gave us laser tag vests with a gun attached to it. They were color-coded according to teams. Then we were ushered to this cool, spaceship-liked room for some instructions before finally entering the laser tag room. For about 20 minutes, we were chasing and tagging each other all over the dim room. It was a lot of fun hiding behind the obstacle walls. After the game, we were treated dinner at KFC. Plus, we were given free tickets to watch Sherlock Holmes! This is something I would definitely miss once I finish college!

Ten Weeks To Go

Several weeks ago, I started my countdown to the end of college! Just to give you a little update before my family and I leave for the U.S. for our Christmas and New Year vacation... there are 10 more weeks to go! Yahooooo!

Countdown

The countdown to the end of college starts right now! I am super excited to end my agony! I can't wait to start working and earning my own money! One boring afternoon, I invented this wacky idea of posting the number of weeks left (before the end of college) on my dorm room including some reminders to myself.

Graduation is in the Air

Yesterday, we had our block pictorial for the batch yearbook. I still can't believe that graduation is just seven months away. I got these photos from our block's resident photographer, Mark Tiu. This is my beloved block since freshman year, Block R1. 

Meanwhile, these are my JTA blockmates for two semesters.  

This was my college block during our freshmen orientation seminar back in 2006. How time flies!

Discovering Manila

It has been three years since I moved here in Manila but I have never taken the initiative to check out the cultural sights in the city. If I were in a different city or country, I would have immediately checked out whatever there is to see since day one no matter how small or mundane they may be. But here in Manila, I never had the interest to go sightseeing.

When our Computer Science professor asked our class to visit the National Museum as part of our assignment, it made me realized how ignorant I am of my own country's historical sights. From the outside, the building does not look so bad compared to most of the unmaintained structures in the city. 

Afterwards, we decided to go to Binondo, the Chinatown in Manila. We dropped by the shop selling Lord Stow's Egg Tart. It's been ages since I last tasted this. For lunch, we went to President Teahouse. They serve the yummiest dimsum!

ASD Team Building

Last May 30 to 31, the ADSA Student Deputies had a team building activity in Las Haciendas, Batangas. It was a perfect R&R together with the staff and deputies of the Student Affairs Office and the InTact Core Team. We stayed in very cozy bamboo huts. I loved the drapes and Japanese lanterns as well as the bed cushion.

After lunch, the whole gang went trekking. We all trekked until we got to Ambon-Ambon Falls. The long walk and slippery rocks were all worth it!

As proud student deputies, we managed to form the letters ASD, which stands for Adsa Student Deputies.

Later in the afternoon, we took a dip in the pool. I am definitely gonna miss my ASD Family when I graduate soon.

No Longer a Teen

I can't believe that I am no longer a teenager. For my birthday this year, I didn't have any concrete plans but as always, God has this unique way of surprising me. May 1 was Labor Day so we didn't have any class. Gui and I went to Sizzling Pepper Steak just beside my boarding house.

Over lunch, Gui randomly asked me if I wanted to go clubbing in Embassy with some of our friends that night. I do not really fancy going to clubs because I hate the smell of cigarette on my hair. But I decided to go this time because the following day is a Saturday and I have a reason to celebrate..I am turning 20!

JTA Sem is Over

JTA Sem is finally over! Thank you to Mark for documenting most of the nakakaloka and momentous events throughout this crazy semester. While waiting for our Marketing oral defense outside the SOM office building, stress was still all over our faces.

After our successful oral defense, we went to Matteo Ricci Study Hall and celebrated over a box of pizza from Yellow Cab! After lunch, the guys suggested we play guitar hero just in front of Ateneo. I was so tired, but I nevertheless joined the group because everybody was in a celebratory mood!

Almost There

The end is near. Not the end of the world silly! But the end of JTA semester. Yahooo! In two weeks time, all these shall be over---the stress, intrigues and chaos! This semester taught me one very important lesson: looks can be very deceiving. For instance, the sweetest girl in class can be the most horrible freeloader or rudest scandalmonger! Oh my gosh, I hope this is just a bad dream.

Stress Mates

Lately, all I have been dwelling on is STRESS!!! Here are my dearest stress mates: 

1. JUNKFOOD. Hence, the weight gain. 10 pounds and counting...Shit!!!
2. COFFEE. I average about 2 to 3 cups a day. Hence, the hyperacidity. Burp!!!

3. FRIENDS. My friends and I were consulting to Sir Pilar about our paper in this picture! Look at the blackboard behind our professor...numbers everywhere!!! OMG!!!

I'm Drowning

Help! I'm drowning in STRESS!

First, my crazy four-hour FINANCE class every Saturday is definitely a weekend killer! All the problem solving is eating up my brain cells!!! I've always been fond of Math or any subject that deals with numbers, but I can't stand 4 straight hours of this class starting as early as 8:00am every Saturday!

Moving on, I used to think that MARKETING is a breeze. But with a terror teacher like ours, I'm not sure if I still feel the same way. My groupmates and I are currently doing a marketing plan for Magnolia Chocolait and we haven't got a decent grade ever since the start of the semester.

The most adorable professor this semester is definitely Sir Pilar, our professor in our OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT class. Our lessons in OpMan are not really difficult but they are tedious, usually involving very long solutions. Plus, it also has a written component like Marketing. So every other week, there is always a paper due for us, alternating between Marketing and OpMan! Torture!!!

This semester, I promised myself that I would make an effort to learn about MULTIMEDIA like Photoshop and Flash. But as much as I try to read my notes and listen to our professor, I still don't get it. Poor me.

Lastly, we are taking PHILOSOPHY this semester, the first out of the four required Philosophy classes before graduation. I hate how abstract the readings for this subject seem to be. Oh thesis statements, please give me a break!!!

Bracing for a Killer Semester

In a matter of days, I will be starting my 1st JTA Semester, which is a special academic calendar for students like me, under the John Gokongwei School of Management, who would be spending a semester abroad. I am pretty sure that this will be a killer semester because I need to complete a 15-unit load in the next 12 weeks (normally it is 18 weeks) that involves "killer" subjects such as FIN 102: Financial Planning, PH 101: Philosophy of the Human Person, CS 175: Introduction to Multimedia, MKT 101: Introduction to Marketing, POM 102: Fundamentals of Production and Operations Management.

JTA stands for Junior Term Abroad. It is a program of Ateneo de Manila’s John Gokongwei School of Management that gives students the opportunity to study abroad for one term. My parents were not initially supportive of my plan to study abroad because of the burdensome expenses. After all, my expensive tuition fee in Ateneo, is already a heavy weight on their shoulders. As selfish as this may sound, I still tried to convince my parents to allow me to go abroad last January during the application period because I have waited for this opportunity since freshman year.

Back in 2006, I initially got admitted in Ateneo for the course, Bachelor of Arts in Management Economics (MeCo) under the School of Social Sciences (SOSS). But after I learned that the Junior Term Abroad (JTA) Program was exclusively for the students of the School of Management (SOM), I shifted majors. My final choice was the course, Bachelor of Science in Management Major in Communications Technology Management (ComTech). 

Now that I am in my junior year, I did not pass up this opportunity. I applied like many other students in my batch. The Dean screened our applications and ranked us according to our academic performance, leadership capabilities and extra curricular activities. Gladly, I got the 64th spot out of the 200+ applicants. When I heard that the Dean was offering financial aid scholarships worth $2000, I decided to give it a shot. I had a spine-chilling one-on-one interview with our Dean. It was one of the scariest interviews I've ever had. But it was all worth it after he informed me that I got the scholarship! Whew! 

My initial choice was Sogang University in Seoul, Korea with a tuition-waived slot. The estimated cost of living was between $3,550 and $5,250. But when a slot for a low-cost Japanese university opened up, I changed my mind. Now, I got the tuition-waived slot for Akita International University in Akita, Japan. The Office of International Programs (OIP) estimated the cost of living to be between $3,000 and $4,000. 

I am very excited to study and live in Japan because I have never been to the Land of the Rising Sun. Moreover, my excitement stems from my past frustration post-high school and pre-college when I missed out on my chance to study and live in Japan for six months under the Hijas de Jesus Sisters' Shotoku Program. Back then, my parents were not so keen with the idea of me postponing college for one year in order to participate in a cultural exchange program. This time around, after I told them about the financial aid I received as well as the prestige of the JTA program, they eventually gave in!

God is indeed so good because he did not stop showering me with blessings even after that. One day, the Dean gave me a surprise call and told me that he nominated me to receive the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) scholarship and that it has been granted. The Japanese independent administrative institution would give me a monthly living allowance worth $800 plus extra money for pre-departure miscellaneous expenses. Alleluia!!

Batangas: Kawayan Cove

My blockmates and I drove to Kawayan Cove to enjoy the Bamboo Beach, a 650-meter crescent of white sand and sparkling blue water, considered as the best swimming beach in Nasugbu, Batangas. We had a yummy lunch buffet in the same resort. There was nobody else but us!

Throughout the afternoon, we just relaxed, played some games and fooled around like kids.

After dinner, the drinking began. The guys were creative enough to come up with a makeshift beer bong. Haha!

Tagaytay: Block R1 Outing

Last April 1 to 3, my blockmates and I went to Tagaytay and Batangas for a much needed R&R. We stopped at Laguna to have lunch at Chowking and to stretch our muscles as well. As usual, I ordered my favorite Halo-Halo from Chowking! 

We stayed at Den's place at "The Woodlands" located at Tagaytay Highlands. I loved her family's two-storey, three-bedroom log cabin especially its high ceiling, which provided more ventilation and allowed natural light to come in freely.

That afternoon, we headed to the clubhouse to break some sweat. We played squash and basketball. And yes, some of us played in our flip flops! Haha! Before heading back, we took one last group photo of our stinky, sweaty selves at the entrance of the clubhouse.

After we freshened up, we headed back to the clubhouse to have dinner at this small restaurant that doubled as a karaoke place. It was really nice to have the place to ourselves.