Monday, May 24, 2010

Freshmeat

You seem very enthusiastic about your academics, and you always have some intellectual and witty stuff to say. I've been a constant reader of your blog, and your point of view impacts on me immensely. I'm about to take BS Bio this coming semester and I'm pretty psyched up and nervous. I would just like to inquire about your first year in UP. I want to be prepared for what's ahead of me, kasi. Do you have any recommendations for incoming freshies like me? How did you survive, and what do you recommend to keep up, or better yet, make good grades? - blaizewolfex
Hello there!

It was three years ago when I first entered UP. Oh god, I still can't believe it that it was already three years ago! Anyway, to be honest I got really scared and intimidated by those loquacious upperclass men of ours. It was really different, given by the fact that I studied in a private institution ran by nuns for almost thirteen years. For one week, everything was awkward. Contrary to popular beliefs (LOL), I am not used to seeing new people. I got even jealous with my high school classmates because almost all of them took either BS Nursing in San Pedro College or BS Accountancy in Ateneo de Davao University - same old faces with a bit of modifications in the environment. Out of 210 students in our batch in high school, only 5 of us took BS Biology in which three of them are currently studying in Ateneo, one in DLSU and one in UP (that's me).

I thought the freshmeat's, ehem, freshmen's life was hard but I quickly adapted to my new environment. Luckily, all of my classmates were brilliant. I gained new friends and even understood a bit of their own culture (most of them originated from different parts of the country). Also the upperclass men were accomodating. And then I just realized that my life here in UP is more awesome compared to my high school classmates despite the nearest mall is about an hour away. If they are getting used of seeing the same cars, buses and buildings in their school, I on the other hand is getting used of seeing cows and goats grazing on the grassland.

Every UP student has its own declension. You see, to acquire knowledge isn't just focused on getting constant high grades, it's the challenges that everyone has to undergo! Remember that mistakes are inevitable. What separates a person from others is the improvement made after a mistake is realized. When you fail in an exam, reevaluate yourself. Did I study well? Have I reviewed the subject thoroughly weeks before the exam? You had to have a personal assessment. It will help you a lot.

Also, you have to set your goals straight. If you want to achieve something, you have to persevere. Avoid distractions like the INTERNET, DVD and the likes. Don't worry, you'll gonna have some time for your leisure once you finish all those things related to acads. Also, do not CRAM. Cramming never helps, swear.

Lastly, when the going gets tough, get TOUGHER. Life in UP is really challenging, I tell you. At first it would be hard for you but after a month or two, you'll get used to it.

Hope this helps! :)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Future Tense[s]

After watching four episodes of Scrubs (First Season), I just realized that this is the job that I really wanted, to become a medical doctor. Despite its comical approach, I still appreciate it. Life after medicine is a million times harder than studying it for four years. You don’t have to deal with the cadaver anymore, it’s gonna be a real thing. You have to be alert when dealing with your patients. The scenario will be totally different once you set your feet inside the emergency room. Everything is chaotic. Everything is challenging. Every second wasted is also equal to a life wasted, a life that should have been saved.

Watching these medical drama series like House MD, Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs really inspires me to take medicine after graduating college.

But after that, I still want to take Doctorate studies in Molecular Medicine or Molecular Physics. You know, it feels so great when you have a nameplate something like this:
Dr. Renz Marione M. Bulseco, MD, PhD

Friday, May 14, 2010

Of Blogging

Blogger, Livejournal, Tumblr, Wordpress… it doesn’t really matter.

A blog is like a diary. You write all the things about your daily experiences -mundane or extraordinary, your goals, your wishes, book and movie reviews and everything under the sun. Only that in blogging, you are willing to share this to random people over the internet.

Your primary goal, whether you like it or not, is to create an audience that will read about a piece of your life. They can freely send comments, suggestions or even constructive criticisms. Now here’s the real thing: You can not control the number of people reading your site. It’s really fun, actually. You meet new people online and talk about your interests.

Blogging is also a perfect stress reliever. There are some instances wherein the only way to release your anger is to write and publish it. You have the freedom to choose whether to be sarcastic or to be straightforward. But, things get worse when a small group from your audience emerges. They judge you base from your posts. Bashing is rampant nowadays. Bullies have the power to become anonymous, much like wearing an invisibility cloak. We can’t undo this kind of notion, but I guess we always have to remember that the realm of internet is easily misinterpreted. You know, like emoticons. They do not really denote or dictate the real emotion. I may type this emoticon :) but the truth is I’m not really smiling. The realm of internet is always deceiving.

Always remember that a person’s posts do not really actuate his true personality.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Freshmen Orientation Blues

I went to school to facilitate the Freshmen Orientation here in UP Mindanao. So the program went well although there were some minor technical glitches during the presentation of different facilities of the school.

I together with my colleagues (in USC) were talking about something when suddenly a mother sat beside us and interrupted our conversation. Talking about being rude. So anyway, these were the exact words:

"Alam niyo ba, yung mga anak ko galing sa (insert name of local school here) at nakapagtataka talaga mga speakers niyo. Diba UP dapat super magagaling ang mga speakers! Dapat they should have an eye contact sa amin. Eh napapansin ko eh parang hindi masyado interested ang mga tao rito... Nakakahiya [sic] kasi sa mga students eh lahat ng mga students dito mga honor students!"

So we explained our side.

Even the BEST speakers in the world have their own flaws too. What you are trying to insinuate is impossible Ma'am. Also, in fairness to the facilitators they were not boring. As you can see this morning, a lot of parents and a few students raised their questions regarding the lifestyle in UP. It is clearly evident that majority of the audience were interested. Speaking of eye contact, I can really say that they are talking to the AUDIENCE and not in front of their PowerPoint Presentation. They are professionals and they're already used to this kind of things.

Apparently she got pwned by our answers. Still, she keeps on blabbing the same thing and we just stopped talking to her.

There were two questions in my mind at that time, but I opted not to ask her because I think it's very rude despite her approach to us.

Are you a UP graduate? (or worse, are you even a high school graduate?)
Do you have an expertise in the field of speech communication?

Even if she answered YES to both questions, she's still wrong. First, she was rude. She didn't even bother to say "excuse me" before she raised her 'concern'. Second she wasn't listening to us at all. So it was useless to defend our side, knowing that she won't listen. I know for a fact that the two aforementioned questions were rude but she was insulting us.

I do NOT have any problems when people want to raise their concerns, questions and suggestions to us. It's just the way she approached us was really wrong. If her approach was nice, then I won't be writing this for sure.

PS: Tangina lang, kaya naiinis talaga ako kasi nagugutooooom na ako tapos gagaguhin ka pa. JIRITS.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

An Old Brat

I have already enough of this old brat. It looks like the dirty, rich old man is mad about Jobert Sucaldito's comments about a certain segment of Willie of ForTune which includes contestants who already graduated in college having a general weighted average between 75-79%. Sucaldito claimed that this show is an insult to the contestant's dignity. Revillame on the other hand defended the show, claiming that everyone's free to join regardless of your race, gender preference and 'intelligence'.

Revillame eventually got mad and threw tantrums (well, not the typical tantrums of the child, but you'll eventually get my point) on one episode of the show. He even 'demanded' the management that if they do not remove Jobert Sucaldito, he will resign and leave Wowowee for good.

But the question is, will Revillame really leave the show because of some misunderstanding?

Well let's look to some of the points:

One, Willie is really a money maker. It's like he's one of the major stock holders of the broadcasting company even if technically, he's not really a stock holder.

Two, Willie is arrogant. He thinks he's a BIG loss if he opts to leave the noontime show.

Three, the ABS-CBN management will beg Willie to come back to the show and the drama unfolds. Come on, it feels so great when your boss kneels in front of you, pleading you to come back to the show, and without a doubt offer you a higher talent fee.

So you might ask why I made a 'rant' post about Willie, eh? I have one simple answer for that: I really abhor Willie. I do not like the way he treats his contestants, as if they're only just a bunch of brainless twerps.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Live Like We're Dying



It's already the fourth month since the introduction of my sea cucumbers to the pen. So as early as 0730, I swam into the 6,000 sq meter pond and I was shocked of what I saw: mass grave.
I was really, really surprised to see some dead sea cucumbers. It was really gruesome. In each pens, I saw four or five dead sea cucumbers and it looks like they were victims of a suicide bombing. Yeah, I think you have already surmised it right, their guts were open. Some of them were flat but all of their GI tract were missing. I first thought my sea cucumbers were attacked by those nasty crabs.



Since it was daytime, the recovery rate is lower since majority of them have already burrowed in the pond substrate. Just so you know, Holothuria scabra are nocturnal species. I still picked them even if they looked sick (or worse, dying).

I went back to land together with my research associate and did some measurements. I asked him whether my sea cucumbers were attacked by the predators and he said that the sea cucumbers in his pond, which is located a few meters from mine have also suffered the same predicament. They have this grayish discoloration on both of its ventral and dorsal side and secrete this slimy mucus from its anus and/or mouth.

According to the RA, this is probably caused by sudden changes in salinity and water temperature of the pond due to the abnormal weather. SEE? Because of El Niño, my thesis experiment has been compromised. I had the first sign of it last March 21, when one of the sea cucumbers eviscerated. You know, when sea cucumbers are subjected to stress, they vomit their own gut.

I will send this report to my thesis adviser later and wait for some possible actions to answer this serious quandary of mine. :(