I have arrived

Yesterday, I was officially done with the first semester of my last year in college. I handed over my thesis to my Professor, still unfinished but enough to get me a grade for 199. I don’t know if I would get a high grade but hopefully yes because I’ve worked hard for it. Now it’s sembreak and this would be the last sem-break I’ll have. I’m going to graduate soon. But what is in store for me after, that I do not know. All I know is this sem-break is going to be crucial. I have to make things work, I have to achieve things, I have to discipline myself in a short amount of time.

What does the future hold for me? Everyone I’m sure has asked themselves this question at one point of their lives. There are so many possibilities that could happen. I could work after graduation, I could study, I could leave the country. Until now I still don’t know what to do. Or maybe that’s why this sem-break is crucial because what I will do with the little time I have is what may define my future.

But what if the future just stopped. And I just died. I’m sure it’s sad that the last thing I thought of before I die is my future. That’s how life is. We know, but we never really know.

EURO SUMMIT 2013

19 days to go! Time flies so fast.

NLEX Chronicles

It’s the beginning of the end of my vacation because I have summer classes but let me recount how my Easter Sunday fared. I was not competing with my little sisters for the Easter egg hunt nor were they; we spent our afternoon in NLEX stuck in traffic. To heighten the agony we had to keep watch of my father so he won’t fall asleep again while driving, that incident at SCTEX gave us a near death experience last year on the timely first day of November.

My little sister, Patricia and I were seated in front and we resorted to all of the noise inducing tactics which include singing to the album of Black Eyed Peas’ The Beginning, amusing her by taking a video of us, my father driving and the endless scenic fields in the expressway, and teaching her how to eat the clouds warning her that she can’t stop until night.

After a stopover at an unsurprisingly crowded Shell station (I don’t know where exactly but it has a Nike and Adidas factory outlet in it), she eventually fell asleep and I was left witnessing the sun’s descent amidst the endless line of vehicles.

No matter how monotonous that sounds each car passing has some story to tell, I began immersing myself on what’s happening to the car in my right and eventually brought myself to list the things that appealed and appalled my senses during that excruciating traffic.

1. I saw Real Steel playing in a Victory Liner bus which reminds me of how fast it is to pirate film nowadays.
2. Even provincial bus can be cramped. It is understandable because of Holy Week but it’s painful to see people standing the whole travel time which was worsened by the heavy traffic that prolonged their agony even more. This bus by the way was also the bus in number 1.
3. Anne Curtis. This woman is omnipresent. TV, Billboards, and even at the rear of buses. It would have been more interesting though if the bus I saw her ad with was the same as 1 and 2.
4. Old cars still driven in the express way. I saw a struggling Mitsubishi L300 which emitted smoke that literally covered its whole back. Car owners should just dump their old toys. If they truly love others and themselves they won’t risk lives by travelling with cars in the verge of breaking down.
5. We passed by some 20 plus car accidents; majority of it was caused by number 4. _­
6. Over speeding at SCTEX including ours. “Speed radars” should be more formidable. I did not see any from those speeding cars in trouble of getting caught by the police. Imagine American films and the classic chase of police and over speeding cars.
7. Overloaded Tamaraw FX with a female driver. Kudos to the driver who wasn’t even wearing seatbelt. She did a great job by violating probably two to three RAs in the process.
8. Saw 1 UP, 2 Ateneo and 1 Alpha (insert Greek letter here for I’m not sure of what I saw) Kappa car stickers.
9. A billboard of Mall of Asia Arena opening soon (for more info visit www.mallofasia-arena.com). The billboard is strikingly too foreign. Maybe they can change its name because it’s not that appealing to have Mall and Arena at the same time as a name of a potentially large structure.

I want to include the Starbucks drive-thru near (or at) Mindanao Avenue and the humungous countdown display on the traffic lights somewhere before getting to Balara (again I’m not sure with the place, I wasn’t paying much attention) but it’s outside NLEX.  After four and a half hours of travel time from Tarlac to Manila plus one and a half hour of stopover, we finally arrived home at 9.30 pm.

Meine Familie (sniff)

Hallo! Ich bin Harry Potter. Das ist die Foto von der Familie von meinem besten Freund, Ron Weasley und meiner Frau, Ginny. Das Foto war von Rons dreizehnten Geburgstag. Er ist in der Mitte. Er trägt ein oranges Unterhdem und einen beigen Pullover. Er hat schon meine beste Freundin Hermione Granger heiratet. Sie haben zwei Kinder, Rose und Hugo. Auf der linken Seite von Ron ist seine Mutter, Frau Molly Weasley. Ich liebe sie, weil sie wie meine Mutter ist. Sie trägt eine grüne Haube, ein kariertes braunes Jackett und eine Handtasche. Herr Arthur Weasley ist Rechts von Ron. Ich liebe ihn auch, weil er wie ein Vater zu mir ist. Er trägt ein rotes Polohemd, eine karierte braune Weste und ein schwarzes Jackett. Der Mann ganz rechts von Onkel Arthur ist Percy Weasley. Er trägt  ein kastanienbraunes Polohemd, ein kariertes beiges Jackett und noch ein goldenes Jackett. Die Zwillinge hinter Ron und Tante Molly sind Fred und George Weasley. Fred trägt eine karierte Weste und einen braunen Pullover. Leider ist er letzte 1998 an der Schlacht aus Hogwarts gestorben. Alles ist gut, jetzt ist Voldemort gestorben. George trägt ein schwarzes Jackett. Das Mädchen zwischen Ron und Percy und mit einem kastanienbraunen Jackett, das ist Ginny. Wir haben zwei Söhne, James Sirius und Albus Severus und eine Tochter, Lily Luna. Bill und Charlie Weasley die andere Brüder von Ron waren nicht da, weil sie zum Arbeit waren. 

That’s what I say it’s not what I mean (This is not a post Valentine s**t)

Es war ein perfekter Tag. Es war im Sommer von Juni. Die Sonne war heiter und für eine Weile habe ich die Zeit still stehen gedacht. Wir waren an dem Hügel neben dem Meer. Es war der erste Tage von unserem Urlaub. Du hast einen weißen zweiteiligeren Badeanzug, während ich meine kurze Lieblingshose und weißes Unterhemd getragen habe. Wir sind unter dem himmlischen Himmel und der Sonne gelaufen. Wir sind an den Feldern gelaufen und wir haben ein Picknick gemacht. Du hast den Roman, Pride and Prejudice, von Jane Austen gelesen, während ich ins Meer geschwommen bin. Ich bin züruckgekehrt und ich habe dein Lächeln von deinem Gesicht gesehen. Das Gesicht liebe ich. Ich habe dich geküsst. Ich habe deine Stirn, deine Nase und dann deine Backen geküsst. Ich habe deine Hände gehalten und ‚‚ich liebe dich” gesagt. Du hast mit einem Lächeln geantwortet. Wir haben zum ersten Mal geküsst.  Ich werde den Moment nicht vergessen. Noch nie. Es war der beste Tag von meinem Leben.

Auf den Moment war ich sicher, will ich dich zu heiraten. Wenn wir Kinder waren, haben wir früher hier gespielt. Aber jetzt bauen wir eine Tiefere und dauerhafte Beziehung. Ich soll mit dir aufwachsen. Ich will dich am Morgen und Abendrot sehen. Ich möchte dein Lächeln jeder Tag sehen. Ich muss dich machen, glücklich zu sein. Ich will dir alles geben, weil ich dich liebe. Ich liebe dich, weil du mir Frieden, Lieben und Glück gegeben hat.

Wenn ich mit den vieren Jahreszeit vergleiche, bist du der Sommer, der die Wärme gibt. Du bist der Winter, der die Kühle gibt. Du bist der Frühling, der die Farben in meinem Leben gibt. Du bist der Herbst,  der die Melancholie gibt.

Il bambino del faro conclusione

We were asked to conclude the novel of Carlo Lucarelli, Il bambino del faro. Here’s my conclusion of the story:

Era come se il mio corpo fosse dominato da qualcosa di molto potente e dispotico. Mossi lentamente verso il mare. Sentii il vento sulla mia pelle. Il tempo quella notte era perfetto. Il mare era fermo. Ero l’unico che sembrava muoversi, come se tutte le creature guardassero me. Tutto era fermo.

Lentamente, l’acqua raggiunse i miei ginocchi, la mia cintola.

“Questa è la mia isola. Sempre.” Una voce disse.

Tremai.

La voce mi gelò. Era tale da spaventare qualsiasi persona. Chi era?

Tutto il mio corpo entrò nell’acqua. Non potevo lottare perchè qualcosa o qualcuno mi stava dominando. Mi sentii  intirizzito. Persi il mio fiato. Era un silenzio totale.

Pezzi di memorie giocavano nella mia testa.

Un bambino stava mangiando un ghiacciolo mentre tirava le pietre alla cima del faro. Guardava la bellezza dell’isola. L’ammirava sempre. Era la sua compagna, il suo rifugio dal mondo che non era perfetto. Per lui, l’isola e il faro erano un altro mondo che era perfetto. Il suo mondo.

Era triste e inquieto. Aveva una famiglia incompleta. Sua madre non amava più suo padre. Litigavano. Sua madre voleva il divorzio. Era solo.

“Questa è la mia isola. Sempre.”

Il bambino saltò dalla cima del faro e morì. Le sue ceneri furono gettate a mare.

Durò quasi due minuti. Chiusi gli occhi. Non vidi niente. Forse alla fine di tutto troverò la pace.

“Questa è la mia isola. Sempre.” Queste parole furono le ultime che udii da questo mondo.

È la tua, sempre.

 

Mein Weinachten Urlaub

Mein Urlaub war ein bisschen langweilig. Meine Familie und ich sind zu Hause geblieben aber am letzte 28. Dezember sind wir nach Tarlac gefahren und für ein Nacht geblieben. Wir haben meine Großmutter besucht und Geschenke gegeben.

Ich bin in mein Zimmer meistens geblieben.  Ich habe Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory und How I Met Your Mother ferngesehen. Ich habe den Roman bei José Saramago, der ein brasilianischer Autor ist, gelesen. Ich habe viel Tiramisu gegessen. Ich habe das Fahren mit meinem freund geübt. Ich habe viele Geschenke vor Weihnachten für die Weihnachtsfeier von meinem Vater verpackt.

Unsere Verwandten haben unser Haus am Weihnachtsabend besucht. Meine Schwestern waren glücklich, weil sie mit anderen Kindern gespielt haben. Wir haben viele Salate, Spaghetti, Käse, Kuchen, Tiramisu, Schinken und Lengua gegessen aber ich habe nicht gekocht, weil ich nicht kann.

Leider war ich krank letztes Neujahr. Ich habe Halsschmerzen und Erkältungen gekriegt. Ich habe zu Sylvester geschlafen aber ich bin vor  24 Uhr aufgewacht. Ich habe ein graues T-Shirt und eine blaue kurze Hose getragen. Ich habe ein rotes T-Shirt mit Punkten nicht getragen.  Meine Schwestern und ich haben zu Hause geschrien, Trompete geblasen und wir sind gesprungen. Wir haben viele Salate, Schweineberaten, Spaghetti, Tiramisu, Hähnchen und Obst gegessen und ich habe weißen Wein getrunken. Meine Familie ist nach Enchanted Kingdom am Neujahr gefahren. Ich bin nicht mitgekommen weil ich noch krank war. Ich habe geschlafen und einen italienischen Roman Io non ho paura (I am not scared) für meinen italienischen Unterricht gelesen.

Mein imaginär Urlaub

Meine Familie und ich sind nach Venedig und Rom geflogen. Wir sind drei Tage lang im Venedig und zwei Tage lang im Rom geblieben. Wir haben im Hotel Danielli übernachtet und wir haben ein luxuriöses Abendessen gegessen. Am nächsten Tag sind wir eine Gondel geritten. Das wetter war perfekt! Es war ein bisschen sonnig. Wir haben die St. Mark’s Basilica und Piazza San Marco besucht. Dann haben wir den Zug nach Rom genommen. Es gibt viele Leute!

Mein Vater hat ein Auto gemietet und wir haben die berühmte Stadt besucht. Wir haben im stau gestanden und wir sind falsch gefahren. Wir haben das Colosseum besucht. Ich habe viele Fotos gemacht und wie haben wiele Bucher eingekauft. Am nächsten Tag haben wir Museen besucht. Ich habe ein billiges Restaurant gesucht aber nicht gefunden. Ander ganzen Nacht sind wir nach Manila geflogen.

It’s time to wake up, Juan!

Our country has already had enough lawyers, accountants and nurses. Many nurses have been stagnant after acquiring a degree because of insufficient jobs for them which leads them to applying to jobs that do not utilize their skills and knowledge. Each year, more or less than 5,000 take the bar exams, which is unsurprising in a nation where lawyers are treated as rock stars. In my high school batch, many took Accounting as their undergraduate course, but few opted to choose the sciences despite being in a science high school. The fact is there are too many of these professions in our country but only few are encouraged and take the path to be scientists.

When I was in kindergarten my dream was to become an astronaut. I was fascinated to their weird-looking suit and the night sky. As I advanced to grade school it wasn’t Science but English that became my favorite subject. Come high school I hated the sciences. I remember falling asleep in my Biology class because of my old, monotone voiced professor; I despised the Chemistry class because I cannot perfect the balancing of equations. The only momentous moment I got was making an impressive blueprint of the General Theory of Relativity because I got caught by my professor cutting class. Even Technical Research class which is essential for investigatory projects was never met with gusto; I passed the subject solely with the help of my group mates. When asked to choose from Journalism, Statistics and Nat Sci as an elective for my junior and senior year I chose Journalism and got the Associate Editor post in our school paper. Maybe I was just busy with the school paper or maybe I was just stubborn enough to be different from most of my batch mates.

To cut the long story short I am now in the Humanities, far from being too preoccupied on seeking solutions to a scientific problem and come up with a novel conclusion that could land me to the elite Nobel Prize winners for science someday.

However, my passion for science was rekindled when I set foot in UP. For my math, science and technology course I took Engineering Sciences 10, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology 1 and Physics 10. These courses focused on the applications of science which was lacking on my theory based high school classes. Apart from the traditional theories taught in Physics, I learned new and interesting topics such as Complexity Science (as if Science itself isn’t complex) which can be summarized by “the whole is not a simple sum of its parts”. Now, it is also an ease for me to differentiate Special from General Theory of Relativity. How amazing it is to know that we are only separated on a maximum of six degrees and that a scientist in UP is making teleportation possible excited me even more. I can only imagine what science can bring in the future.

It’s time for Filipinos to cultivate research culture and scientific mindset. Developed countries like Germany and Japan rely greatly on science and technology to maintain their economic status. It is high time that the government put larger funds on research and education in the Philippines. More research equates more contributions in the field of science and technology which also equates to more investors investing in our country. And if money doesn’t matter at all what pride of Filipinos being in the ranks of Newton and Einstein in the field of science can bring. The mere contribution of knowledge of a Filipino to the world should not be underestimated (or in our case, underfunded), for this we could spark relevance in this vast, wide and expanding universe.

Das sind meine Bücher

Last August 5, my MBB1 seatmate informed me that the Biblioteca Pablo K. Botor, the Department of European Languages library, was giving out old French, German, Spanish and Italian (a sole one) books.

After that class, I immediately went to the lib and didn’t miss the rare opportunity. After all, it is difficult to find books written in foreign languages in our local bookstores, with the exception for Spanish of course.

I got myself five German books, although I am still at A1 level, these would be helpful for me in the future. These are the books I acquired:

Über Grund und Wesen der Kunst by Rudulf Krämer-Badoni
Straße des lachenden Kamels by Ben Lucien Burman
Schrei Nach Frieden by Econ Verlag Düsseldorf and Wien
Deutscher Bundestag
Alberto Denti di Pirano: Ippolita Roman.