Let's Celebrate - BioGenesis 2009

Okay, the first two weeks of school was pretty tiring. Haggard. ZOO113 (Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy) really tested my memory skills. BOT150 (Plant Ecology) Lab tested my priorities in life. BIO101 (Molecular Biology) challenged my 20-20 vision, thanks to the eye-straining and nerve wracking assignments. Most of all, I'm going to start with the second draft of my thesis.


But despite all these, we have to move on and look on the brighter sides. Besides, for two years, I'm getting used with the stressful environment of this holistic institution, the only institution where bright minds and ideas meet. Yabang eh no. Lol


Anyway, we had our acquaintance party, the BioGenesis yesterday and I really enjoyed it. Also, I'm glad that a LOT of freshies participated in the activities prepared by the seniors, and they really enjoyed it. Here are some pictures, courtesy of Mon Abpi.

I took this shot. :)

Lots and lots of balloons.

The creative committee. :)

The fresh meats are here!

Ate Macel and Kuya Modda - the emcees.

Gimmmmeee fooooooood!

Lost.... and FOREVER LOST. joke lang Kring! HAHAHA

HAHAHA. I love this!!! :)) Like father like daughter. Bastian-y smile.

GROUP 4!!! HAHAHAHA.

Go KWATROOOOOO!!!! :))))

Trip to Jerusalem... with a twist. Tae. Trip to hell na ata to. :))

The BioFresh 2009. Yak Yuri joiners. Hahahahhaa

Isa pang Yak. HAHAHAHA. DOGGGG SHOOOOOOWWWWWW!

Ate Sasha!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Bro!!!

BIOS POWER, You can't conquer, we're no losers, 'coz we're fighters!

---


Party's over. Let's get back to work.

Third First Bloc Encounter

Yesterday was UPMin's annual event, the Freshmen First Bloc Encounter. However, it was already their nth time to meet as one team... as one course. Pffft. This particular event was originally set on the FIRST day of school, last June 15. But due to the Madam Chancy's trip to Diliman, the event was moved a week after the scheduled date. Anyhow, that's not my point.

According to the Department Chair of BSES (Biological Science and Environmental Studies) there were at least 54 freshmen qualified on the BS Bio degree here in UPMin base on the UPCAT 2009 result. The department as well as the students DID NOT expect the number of students enrolled in our program. Usually, about 30 will confirm their enrolment. Last year, there were only 19 of them. In my time, we're almost 35.


Batch 2009 was different. VERY DIFFERENT.


They were only divided into two blocs. The total number of Bio freshies reached 42 (if I'm not mistaken). Funny thing was, there were only 10 boys regardless of their sexual preference. No offense. Hmmm. At least I and Anj were able to attend the first bloc encounter as the student facilitator. We were a bit worried since classes were not suspended on that day (talking about the prof's prerog...)


But anyway, we had fun on sharing our insights about the course, our experience for the last two years. Those experiences made us stronger and we eventually learn from our mistakes.


The Dark Past. Whatever.


Anyhow, I am quite annoyed with the internet connection. Damn it. I don't know. This is so annoying. Argh.


Enough of this. I still have to study Biochem. Last semester, I studied the same topic, memorizing all 20 natural amino acids (their complicated structures and the one letter and three letter nomenclature)... and then I woke up late, ONE HOUR LATE. And that was the start of my bittersweet demise. And this semester, the unlucky saga will not continue. Hindi na dapat.

...and the list goes on with reports and assignments on Plant Ecology, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy and Molecular Biology.



So much for this. Just updating this page of mine...


I'm still alive and I have still a life, just so you know.

----

Oh, I can already see C's, T's, A's and G's. Agggh.
I feel the adenine moving through my veins. Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break.


Makalipong ang assignment sa Molecular Bio. Hahaha

Weird First Week

For the past three days, professors in school were quite weird. Usually, during the first meeting of semester, they'll just distribute the course outline, submit our class cards to them and after a few minutes, we'll leave the classroom. This semester, however, everything was a little bit weird. After some discussions, the class were divided into four groups, and each will represent a "unique family". Then, the highlights of the activities were "dog shows"... if you know what I mean. ;)


It was quite weird. I thought the professors were, uhhmm, controlled by happy aliens. Kidding. Nakapapanibago. Lol.



On the brighter side, the activities of this day reminded me of high school.

Memories.
Nostalgia.

Drunkard

I am a drinker.
Yes, I am a HEAVY drinker…

a heavy drinker of COKE to be precise…

Everyday I drink coke. Coke has been my best friend since mom introduced me to this famous carbonated drink. Whenever I’m happy, sad, angry, disappointed and excited, coke is always beside me. When I was young, the elders will scold me because I opt to drink coke than water. They always remind me to drink water after a glass of coke. But I didn’t care, thinking it was only a superstitious belief. When I’m thirsty, I crave for coke, but when the thirst didn’t dissipate, that’s the time that I will drink water.


Okay, I have to admit that I’m already dependent with coke.
I’m addicted to caffeine.
Okay, I love coffee, but it did not have any “fizzing-sizzling” effects on my throat.
I love the feeling as it makes its way to my throat and finally to my stomach.


I know coke is bad. It contains a lot of sugar and it’s an acid, phosphoric acid to be precise. Its pH level is around 3. It contains lots of calories (unless if it’s diet coke) and sugar (even if it’s “sugar free”, it STILL contains sugar). Too much coke or sugar can cause diabetes. I’m quite scared of that fact since my lola’s sister is diabetic. Ouch.

The same predicament goes with smokers.


It’s not easy to quit. I can somehow relate to their resentments. It takes time to do it.
C’mon.

If you demand a smoker to quit smoking, it’s like you’re demanding him to kill himself, to commit suicide … so as “cokers”.


Teehee. ;)

Still Holding On

Surprisingly, I managed to finish the grueling enrolment process today. I thought na susulitin ‘ko ang four days. Phew =)

Yes final na talaga 'tung schedule ko.

Anyway, I think I’m lucky. After endless hours of waiting, standing, running, walking, jeep-ing, HH-ing around the campus, I am finally enrolled and I’m already a junior student of BS Bio. Can you believe that? I mean it’s was like, time runs so fast. Two years ago, I entered the campus of UPMin and I was all alone, thinking if I will survive on this kind of environment and situation. New school, new environment, new teachers and new set of classmates… and the only thing that came on my mind at that time was this: Are my classmates friendly? At first I envy my high school classmates because most of them went to the same school together, like in San Pedro and Ateneo de Davao and had the same courses like Nursing and Accountancy. I thought that I would regret this decision I made back in my senior year in high school. I took the road less traveled.



Seriously.




Then, after two years, here I am writing this entry and I’m still in awe. Two years seemed like two months. I’m indeed a survivor of this challenge. I have ACTUALLY experienced funny experiences that made my first two years in UP a memorable one.

I have invited by certain fraternities to attend orientations about their group. But I didn’t join because, wala lang.

Because of the unique system of UP, I actually gained friends from different courses and different year levels in UPMin (palibasa the population of UPMin isn’t that big, almost a thousand students).

I have slept many times inside the classroom. The most intense was during reporting in Nat Sci 2, my professor sat beside me to listen to the report. And I was on his left side, dozing, as if he wasn’t there.

I haven’t slept for more than 24 hours, thanks to that shitty Genetics report.
For the first time in my life, I flunked a subject and have to retake it this semester.
Nakabasag na ako ng separatory funnel during the synthesis of tert-butyl in our Organic Chem Lab last year. And it cost around 3,600 pesos.

What else?



Naaah.


So now, I am about to enter the second half of my college life.

This means more stressful activities, field trips, more sleepless nights and I think I’ll get used to the pungent smell of formalin, thanks to ZOO113 (Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy). Even if I didn’t enroll myself to BIO 200a (Outline), I’ll just start with my thesis and have continuous updates from my adviser. Lots of sacrifices should be considered. Despite all these, it would still be memorable. Ten to fifteen years from now, I’ll look back through the old times, probably browsing those wacky pictures and reading this blog. Ahhh, reminiscing those good old days…


Okay I can already feel the tension. So let’s jump and savor the last week of freedom.

This is it, all I need is to focus on my acads and I have to consider a LOT of things.


I hope I will graduate on time.
Peste. Ako pa.

Die Another Day

Apparently last night I have to sleep early since the day before yesterday I only had three hours of sleep, thanks to my summer sickness. But because of curiosity, I decided to watch another Korean flick, A Moment To Remember starring Son Ye-jin and Jung-woo Sung. Heck, I finished watching the movie around two thirty in the morning, tears poured and flowed like the river rapids of the north from my tired eyes. Damn you Koreans, ba’t ganon mga drama movies niyo? Ambigat sa dibdib! Even though I didn’t have a wife suffering from the deadly Alzheimer’s, bumigay pa rin ako. Potek.



And now I am really tired. Hope it won’t rain tomorrow, for tomorrow’s another day.


Because today, my day sucked a little bit, but at least we won the case (you know what I mean, the waiver thing). Six grueling hours of waiting for the final decision is not a joke.


It sucks when you fall in line for almost an hour and kung turn mo na, bigla lang sasabihin sa iyo ‘to, “tomorrow morning nalang, it’s already time”.

Ay, horsecrap.

So yeah, I will go to school before 8 and right now, I’ll visit my own dream land and hopefully the beautiful Son Ye-Jin is there.


Drools.

What the heck.

Series of Unfortunate Events

Today is one of the most tiring days of my life. It was my fault in the first place. I only had less than three hours of sleep. Apparently, my body won’t let me sleep if it’s not the right time. Uggh. Usually, when I go to bed around three thirty in the morning, I only have the chance to enter dreamland around five thirty. Bullcrap.

There were a lot of things that made my day weary and tiring.

First: “Why should I sign that waiver? Diba hindi na kami nag-aallow? You ask Ma’am Duy nalang to confirm this ha?”

Anak ng tae. For one hour, I thought I will spend an extra year because of this predicament. Damn. For one hour, everything went black. JOKE LANG. OA. But seriously, I went back-and-forth to CSM then to the Dorm then back to CSM just to confirm this news. Luckily, things went straight and the first problem was settled. While talking to Mon and Lyle, Cha approached me and told me bad news.

Oh-oh.


Second: “Huy pumunta ako kanina sa office ni Noggy and I think I didn’t hear your name…ewan ko lang kung nakinig ako hindi, pero parang wala…”


Kigwa. But really, thanks Cha. Then again, the dark cloud enveloped me and everything went black, again. Anxiety shrouded me and I was walking on an unlit path, the path of uncertainty. That’s the reason why I didn’t receive an SMS message from them last Saturday. Tsktsk. I have already passed all requirements, my standing was good. Weird. So I have no choice but to visit Noggy’s office. Oh yeah, I also have to buy those freakin’ plastic petri dish. At least I will be cleared and proceed with the next step of enrolment. On Noggy’s office, the problem was immediately solved; nalimutan lang talaga ako ni Atty. Joy. Sigh. At last, I have received the certificate ng order to enroll. I only have to finalize my subjects tomorrow. But the subjects were giving me headaches.



Three: “Forbidden to enlist. Please see the Office of College Secretary!!!”


Here’s the thing. The world had undergone millions of technological advancements over the past five years. And thus, we have to suffer its consequences. Punyeta, sa sobrang high tech, hindi ako makapagenlist sa Fil1, kahit hindi siya nagcacause ng conflict sa schedule ko AND may slots pa siya. Tae. Even the Dept. Chair can’t enlist us. So he suggested to see the OCS and phewwww, it was a miracle. Nakapagenlist na ako sa Chem160 and Fil1. I thought underload ako. Waaa. At least 20 units ako this semester.



Hay ewan. Sana the committee will allow us to take CHEM160 and BIO101 together. Pffft.

I’ll call the saints.
I’ll pray.


Theme song for the day:

Idalangin mo sa Maykapal… may bukas pa.


With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing (Oo, para makaenroll this first semester. Potek)

Oh by the way, this is my weird schedule. Weird. 20 units. Basta… Weird.

Movie Review: Tae Guk Gi (Brotherhood of War)

I wish this was all just a dream. I want to wake up in my bed, and over breakfast, I'd tell you that I had a strange dream. Then I would go to school, and you and mom would go to work.

Tae Guk Gi (Brotherhood of War) is a Korean movie which focuses on the struggles and conflicts between the two brothers who were pulled by the Korean anti-communist government to fight against the Communist people of North. This is actually the fifth Korean movie that I have watched since the hype of Korean drama in the local television after The Classic, My Little Bride, My Sassy Girl and Windstruck. Actually, I was quite curious with this movie since Banban plurked about this Korean flick last night. Because I didn’t have anything to do last night, I give it a try (luckily, someone uploaded the movie in YouTube).


You know, I ain’t a big fan of war movies because one, I hate seeing people dying through the shrapnel of grenades and the piercing noise of tankers and bullets. Two, I hate the sound of explosions. And three, it’s actually a foreign movie. Sometimes, I get a little bit confused on the movie because I am more focused with the subtitles.


But in the end, I was deeply touched by this movie. There are actually lots of things that I really liked about this flick. Tae Guk Gi has similarities with The Classic, a Korean movie since they have the same style at the beginning of the movie, more of starting on the protagonist’s old character then stumbles with things that reminded on their past, the leather shoes for instance in this movie. The movie proceeds with the story behind the leather shoes, all those happy memories with his brother and family before the war of the two opposing forces of Korea broke out. The movie deals with lots of sacrifices of the older brother to his younger sibling and it really touched my heart. Oh by the way, the OST of this movie was really good since it really matched the mood of the movie. The cinematography of this movie was good and visual effects were realistic. Despite on dodging bullets, decapitated heads and blood spurting from the soldier’s body, it was really wonderful and compelling. Above all, I just realized that even if I had a hard time to catch with the subtitles, I still feel the strong emotions from the movie. This flick has the ability to catch every one’s heart. Even if I only understand Kansameda, Ahn-young, Araso and the likes, I can still feel the pains and sufferings of the two brothers.


There was this certain scene on the movie where I almost cried. It was the scene where the younger brother found finally the grave of his older brother and was even talking to the bones of his brother. It’s a sad scene… a really sad scene. *Sigh



I’ll give 4.5 out of 5 stars for this movie but since the rating of 4.5 is impossible on this site, let’s just round off and make it a perfect five!!!



Here’s the trailer so you might have an idea what the movie ‘looks’ like. Lol. BTW, the movie was released around 2004 and won numerous awards in Korea.




and here's the OST

Start of Something New

School is imminent and I'm really excited. You know why?


Well aside from seeing my crush, chitchat with my friends and eventually drowning myself with those hardcore major subjects in Biology, I’ll be getting a brand new ‘activity cycle’. For the past few months, I tried to keep myself busy by indulging on books written by my favorite authors, photoshopping, blogging and web designing. In that way, I won’t be bored on a certain period of time since I am spontaneous. I am also getting tired on listening with the same headlines over and over again, from the anomalies of the government (Con-Asshole), the never-ending saga of Hayden and Katrina, the A(H1N1) Virus and the freaky weather that made some locals confused, whether classes in primary and secondary schools are suspended or not.


I don’t have a choice. Nakababaliw kaya kung pabalik-balik ang mga ginagawa mo. Nakababagot. Shoot.


Today, my latest read was Deception Point by Dan Brown. I already read this book almost four years ago though I just borrowed it from my friend. I think I didn’t finish reading it last time since I have to return it. I already forgot some significant parts and details of this novel. That’s why I bought it the moment I saw it on NBS. Phew. Only one copy left. Same story applies on Michael Crichton’s State of Fear.


And now, I’m broke. I want to buy Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and The Anansi Boys. And oh! I want to buy Robert Ludlum’s Covert-One Series (The Hades Factor, The Cassandra Compact, The Paris Option, The Altman Code, The Lazarus Vendetta, The Moscow Vector, The Arctic Event and The Infinity Affair). Oh! Dan Brown will be having a new novel this year. It will be released this September 15. Interestingly, this novel is going to be the third Robert Langdon book written by Dan Brown.

Okay, I got bored last night and I made something for Tumblr. LSS!

Tumblrific

I have joined Tumblr three days ago and I must say that I really enjoyed that site. I just post/publish anything under the sun. I'm getting weird lately. Kahit ano nalang lumalabas sa utak ko. Well I think Tumblr is the best remedy for this predicament.


Lemme share some cute images from my Tumblr.

I LOVE THIS. Loooool

Courtesy of Nate's sister. Beautiful. The fury of Mother Nature.

WOOHOO! My favorite monster, Domokun! :))

Thesaurus, the geeky dinosaur.

Want more?

Follow me, stalker! http://themarinegeek.tumblr.com

See you on Tumblr!!!