Optimism Prime

I personally do not like when I'm doing the same thing over and over again. This is primarily the reason why I don't want a job that requires you to sit in front of the computer, doing the same thing over and over again. I'd rather quit the job than to suffer the psychological ordeal.

Now this lead to answer the question as to why I prefer doing a LOT of things than focusing on just one work (given that those things that I really do are my interests).

People around me might notice that I play several important roles in every organizations I joined. First, there's the council, then my second family, BioS (Biological Society) and then, Himati. They think that I'm suffering from their specific demands. They think that I can't handle the three organizations simultaneously. They do not believe that I have this potential to straighten things up. You know guys, I still sleep, at least 6 hrs a day. My academic standing isn't compromised as of this moment. Sometimes I'm pressured to do all those things.

But do you want to know my secret?

Time Management.

It's not really a secret or talent. It takes time to learn this old magic trick. You see, three years studying in UP (or any institutions you're currently enrolled in) is already enough to muster self-discipline and time management. Frankly I have a hard time to manage all those stress when I was still a freshman. Little by little, I learned how to balance academics and extra-curricular activities.

It's just a matter of dealing such things that are important to you.

Know your priorities.

Set you goals.

Accept defeat.

Make your winning moments as one of your inspirations.

Let us temporarily forget those leisure activities such as watching movies at the cinema, shopping and et cetera. We can still visit them if time permits. The world won't end soon. Don't worry.

And always remember that a smile on your face, despite the stress will make your day complete. I guarantee that you will have a happy disposition in life.

Lastly, one should exude optimism to attain success.

Evolutionary speaking,

You know class, ideally it doesn’t really matter if you have a car or other luxuries in life. Do you think a man will look better if he owns a brand new car? It doesn’t make any sense! Your physical attributes (personality included, for a good reason) are one of your best assets in which you can ever present to the multitude. Earth has already been here in our solar system for at least 4.6 billion years. The first microorganisms appeared 2 billion years later, and then the complex evolutionary process occurred gradually until such time that it molded several genera and families base on the capability of the organisms to adapt on certain climatic conditions.

Nature will naturally select those who have the greatest number of advantageous traits. Those who do not have advantageous traits will soon disappear since traits will not be passed on to the next generation. Moreover, it will create a stable gene pool given at the right environmental condition.

But then again, we humans are so intelligent that we actually seek for practicality. We do not think of the possible detrimental effects to the future generations base on the way we choose our own lifetime partners. It may sound superficial to you, but think of it this way: If we continue to choose luxuries of life over the person per se, time will come that the next generation will have less advantageous traits and might lead to an event that we do not wish to happen.

—-

These are some of the things that I wish to discuss if ever I teach Evolutionary Biology in the near future.

It's great to be a kid again.

We decided to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D. I was really excited because it was my first time to experience 3D cinema. Even if it's a bit expensive (Php 250, with free large popcorn or hotdog), it was still worth it. No, don't get me wrong, I won't spoil you about what really happened between Andy and his toys. I will just tell you something about what I felt after watching the third installment of Pixar's most successful animated movie.

The story was again simple, like the previous installments. Despite its simplicity, the movie never fails to convey its message to the audience. The three Toy Story films may share some similar plot lines in having the constant fear of being discarded and unwanted when one turns old, or to obsess with the thought of being forgotten and unappreciated, and almost always comes with a distance to conquer.

The movie involves several themes such as facing consequences of inevitable hopelessness, which will affect most of the audience since they already know how much they care for the characters, friendship and courage. It tackles certain things on how someone turned into a bitter soul due to rejection, tremendous loss and abandonment. Although the light hearted moments balance all of these dark elements in the movie.

While waiting in the line, I heard a lot of kids saying that it was the best movie ever. I was really touched. I was only five years old when the first installment came out. I remembered that I used to say that same statement. It made me feel young again.

Moving on is really hard, but we have to accept that not all things are permanent.

Intimidating

There is a thick barrier between the upperclassmen and the freshmen. As you might have noticed, freshies are like flocks of birds. They work as a group, they walk as a group, they eat as a group and they study as a group. Now, let’s take a closer look between these two groups.

On the younger side, freshies tend to ignore their own upperclassmen. One reason is that, the upperclassmen are intimidating. Another thing is, they have this superiority complex. On the older side, upperclassmen tend to ignore the freshies because they are too sosyal for their taste or too maarte.

Mutualism at its best, not.

Three years ago, when I was still a freshie, I would always smile to some upperclassmen or say “Hi Ate/Kuya” shyly. It’s a bit rewarding if they smile back to you. Now that I’m already a senior, I can really tell that the feeling is very rewarding when some freshies (especially in your own course) smile and/or greet you, say along the pathway or in the corridor. You can easily tell whether a freshie is polite of pa-FC (feeling close).

I was really disappointed when I called some of the Bio freshies and they ignored me.

Oh well, I guess they are all different compared to the lower batches I’ve met for the past two years.

Just so you know,

Sex education isn't about teaching the youngsters to have sex, but rather it's a way to properly orient them about it - its importance and its consequence. It is appropriate for a child to know that he came from his mother's uterus, a special place where the development of the fetus takes place. I find it disturbing when a child thought that he came from a special powder requested by his parents or worse, when he thought that he used to be a clay and his parents molded his body through divine intervention and cooked him in a giant oven. A puerile way of thinking.

The problem isn't about implementing sex education to the curriculum, it is the responsibility of how experts explain it to the young ones.

I just want to ask one question about the church's side: If you think that sex education is liberated, can you give us a few examples of 'conservative' sex?

Now tell me.

Please enlighten me.

Built (not) To Last

...and the worse things have finally occurred. When I went to my sampling site a few hours ago to monitor my sea cucumbers, the pond water was really warm, so warm that it was already considered a hostile environment. I together with Ma'am Ruth's RA (Research Assistant) recorded a short underwater video because she wanted to see the current condition of the pond.

The underwater condition was really different compared to my previous visit. It was really murky, which made the monitoring more difficult. While searching for my pens, he told me that in the 27th of May, they recorded the highest water temperature ever... at 42 degrees Celsius! We directly went to my pens and sad to say, we didn't find even a single Holothuria scabra. We surmised that all of them have died due to the extreme pond conditions.

We already did everything the best we could just to maintain the right temperature of water. We have already increased the frequency of pumping fresh salt water from the sea which resulted to an increased electric bill by up to 300%.

All of our efforts didn't pay.

So now, I have to tell my adviser about this tomorrow. I still have the data since January. I have so many possible solutions running in my mind about this predicament of mine. My data have been in jeopardy for months because of El Niño. My babies can no longer tolerate the intense heat of the pond.

And I expect major revisions starting from the objectives of my study. Major overhaul.
Don't get me wrong, I am not panicking right now.

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! :)

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