this time yesterday.. naglalakbay na kami papunta sa venue... last time nakita ko ang sarili ko sa salamin, ang nasabi ko nalang ay "nawa". di pa rin ako makapaniwalang nagkacelebration ako.
"blurple" ang motif ng thingy... so ayun. surprisingly, di ako nagobject sa isusuot ko. siguro dahil "if you must submit yourself to torture, there is no lesser evil." or baka dahil hindi na rin ako masyadong apprehensive sa mga ganun. pero di ko lang siya natiis, naenjoy ko siya.

pagdating sa venue, aba, may dalawang guys na na andun. gulat naman daw ako. nang makita ako ng family friend namin na magreretouch sakin throughout the event, di niya daw type yung makeup ko, so off we went to the other side of the venue.. pagtingin ko uli sa salamin, gard, hindi na ako yun! kung hindi na ako yung before nun, mas lalong hindi ako yung pangalawa! binalikan ko sila.. dahil may dumating nang additional, pinapasok na sila.. kaso, habang may dumarating, tong mga friends ko, naging parang welcome committee, ayaw umupo! hahaii.. pagkarating ng mga "dansahs".. sa wakas, umupo na rin sila..

nang marami-rami na ang mga tao.. mejo "pinatago" uli ako. change costume. yung katakot na gown na. this is it. wala nang atrasan ito. umpisa na ng "torture". pumasok na kami.. wow. iba ang feeling ng di makatingin sa mga tao. haha, joke!

infairness, ambilis ng mga pangyayari. nagdasal, nagpicture taking, kumain(?). tas ang sabi, "ok, 5 mins sayaw na".. parang, wow naman.. penge naman po ng time para makakain ng matino.. unfortunately, wala na talaga. so labas muna. buti nalang talaga adik mga dansahs at mejo di ko naramdaman ang kaba. so yun, pumasok na kami. di pa rin ako makatingin sa mga tao, much less sa mga kasama ko. tas ayun, natapos namin. surprising, considering 3 times lang kami nagpraktis.XD

after nun, video presentation.. grabe, ngayon alam na nila mga pinaggagawa ko nung maliit pa ako.XD

nagpa"how well do you know..?" game ang cousins ko.. first two questions muna: favorite color, at fave hs subject"... multiple choice naman.. abcd. kagulat gulat, naubos yung choices sa parehong questions.. walang nakakuha.XD sabagay..

then, yung mejo pinakakinatatakutang part.. sinundo na ako ni papa sa stage.. tas ayun, sumayaw.. as in side to side lang.. haha... tas hala, roses na. homaygard.. isa-isa, nakasayaw ko sila... mostly, tumatawa lang kami at kung anu-ano ang pinag-uusapan. yung iba, talagang nang-asar lang.. grrr. joke! somewhere in between, kinilig ako. akala ko wala na, meron pa pala. jusmiyo. siyempre di naman pwedeng di ko sila tignan habang sumasayaw kami. mejo matagal ko na rin siyang di nakikita. pero ayun, natapos din yun.

treasures naman.XD naku, haha.. joke time ito.. halos sa mga nandito, classmates ng parents ko sa ME.. so ayun.. cool naman ang mga payo na binigay nila sakin.. nakakakunsensya. charos.XD

tas candles. halos family members naman ito. grabeng nakakatouch, kasi yung mga relatives namin from my dad's side, pumunta pa from cebu for the event, tapos bongga ang mga message ng lahat. dito rin napaiyak si mama. grabe, nakunsensya ako. seryoso na tong pagkakunsensya na toh..

grabe, napaisip ako, ano pa bang meron? wow.. malapit na ata matapos! nagrerejoice na ako sa ulo ko.XD

nagpa-game na naman ang cousins ko. last 3 questions.. fave song artist, fave song, fave movie. waw, mejo nakuha lahat. haha.. katuwa.. giveaway.XD kaya lang yung last question brother ko ang sumagot.. madaya. joke!

blowing of candles, cake cutting, toast.. mabilis lang lahat yun... tas nagpathank you ako. di ko na maalala sinabi ko, basta alam ko di ko pinaghandaan.XD dapat kakanta ako, kaso di ko alam ang dapat kantahin sa mga ganun, so hindi nalang ako kumanta.

after nun, party na! kaso kinailangan ko munang magpalit due to unexpected circumstances. so pagbalik ko, wala na yung iba. yung iba naman, nagpictorial.XD gusto ko sana sumali pero di nila ako niyaya. ouch diba. joke. napansin ko kasi yung mom ng former classmate ko sa labas na ang alam ko di makakapunta. chem midterms. so pinuntahan ko muna. nasa loob daw si classmate.. pagbalik ko, wow andun nga! (malamang diba.XD) grabe, di ko expect. tas yung iba naman, nagppeanut wars. hayy naku. hayy naku lang.XD

then, nagpaalam na ako sa kanila. may nag-abot ng rose. totoo na rose. mejo natawa ako sa isip ko kasi fake yung ginamit sa 18 roses at kasali rin siya dun. gulat ako siyempre, pero keri lang. o diba, bongga siya, siyang unang nagbigay sa akin. haha! sad to say, napagtripan ni family friend yung rosas at nilasog-lasog.. wala akong part nung rosas. sayang.

so nagparty mode muna kaming mga natira.. then nagpabukas ng ilang presents.. mejo, ahm, may bag na ako for every remaining day of the semester.. hahaha!

tas uwian na. ayun, natulog kami sa villa. natapos din. di ko inakala na ganun. di ko inakalang masasabi ko na masaya ako. di ko inakala na kakayanin kong magtransform ng ganun katagal. haha!

sana nga lang nakapunta lahat, pero keri lang.. di naman yun ang importante. ang importante nakasama at kasama ko pa rin lahat sa mga susunod na taon.

note: lightbulb moment ito.

taking up natural science to under dr. carlos primo david made me realize how much i liked earth sciences. i mean, i definitely enjoyed them back in high school... but this course renewed my enthusiasm for cells, fossils, rocks, faults, etc. this course made me want to say, "i got stinky, i got dirty... but see, i learned!"

it got me thinking. considering the amount of effort (or lack of it) i put in my studies this year (my FIRST year), i screwed up. big time. i started asking myself if i really wanted this. it's a wonderful path, no doubt. i liked chemistry back in high school; however, chemical engineering was only a fallback. what i ::thought:: i wanted was molecular biology and biotechnology, which was waaaaayy out of my reach.

it's not that it was against my will; my parents gave me free reign over my course choice. still, i only got that because i thought it would have been easy to shift to mbb... but when i got here, boy oh boy was it hard.

is this really what i wanted? would shifting to something i got interested in via a GE course be worth it, or would i be better off staying? is geology, for lack of a better term, my dream course? i wonder.

i anticipated it, but it still blew me away. it looked as if the night sky was underneath us. lights twinkling, small as pinpricks. as i looked out the window of the ATR plane and as we neared the runway, i recognized the roads i saw on the map. it was amazing how much clearer the routes could be seen at night. it was a highly uneventful flight; this, by far, was the best part.

at the same time, however, i was scared. not of the landing... we've been through that more than a couple of times. i wasn't scared of getting lost; not yet (i don't have to go just yet). i was scared of how close i was.

i have a week. just a week. well, now i only have six days. i must try to get there. i've done this once before; the only difference is, it's not the same person. i got to know them at the same time, but still i feel this is much more scarier. i know where i would find this person, yet i don't know if i have the guts to. i need a friend to come with me.. i hope i could convince her.

then again maybe i won't go.


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HAPPY HOLIDAYS.


-blue

QUALIFICATIONS:
*Any bona fide student of any year level from any high school (public or private) in Pampanga can join.
*There will NO REGISTRATION FEE.
*Contestants must present a valid high school ID as proof of eligibility.
*An official coach and/or recommendation from one's high school is NOT necessary.
*There is no requirement for attire.
*Participants and winners from the regular Pautakan held last October 25-27 at Don Bosco Academy Pampanga are are still eligible for the special edition of the Pautakan. After all, this individual competition is a whole new ballgame!
*Interested students are encouraged to pre-register to the following contact numbers:
FERGIE 09276565665
FERDINAND 09274321682
Email: up_aguman_tfk@yahoo.com
Regularly visit Aslag Online for any announcements.

CONTEST RULES AND REGULATIONS
*Participants must be bona fide high school students, and he shall represent himself only.
*A participant is required to be at the contest site fifteen (15) minutes before the contest proper. Should he be late for an Encounter or an Elimination Round, a leeway of fifteen (15) minutes will be given. If he still fails to arrive after the 15 minutes, he is automatically disqualified for that Encounter or Elimination Round. In an Encounter, the other participant will be declared the winner.
*The contest shall be composed of a Written Phase and an Oral Phase, the mechanics of which are as follows. The Written Phase will make use of answer sheets. No calculators, slide rules, and the like shall be allowed. The contestants are expected to bring their own pens and/or pencils. The Oral Phase utilizes a timer-buzzer device. The contestants shall be briefed on the mechanics of this before the contest proper starts.
*Questions will revolve around 8 subject categories: Mathematics, General Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History and Current Events, Arts and Literature, and General Information and Trivia. Each question shall have its corresponding number of points and allotted time depending upon its degree of difficulty. *Complaints on a particular question shall be entertained by the Board of Judges only before the next question is asked. The complaint shall not be entertained thereafter. Only the participant may approach the Board of Judges to air the complaint.
*The complainants shall be the one to present their sources, if necessary. The UP Aguman will neither present nor divulge its sources as its questions and answers are valid. The decision of the Board of Judges is final and binding.
*Any form of coaching from the audience shall be penalized by nullifying the question.
*All rules and regulations shall be strictly followed and implemented.
*UP Aguman reserves the right to modify or alter the aforementioned rules as the need arises.

MECHANICS
Round 1: MASS ELIMINATIONS
In case more than 40 contestants register, a mass elimination round will ensue otherwise, the written eliminations will proceed. All contestants will answer a 65-item test that will equally cover all subject categories. The exam ill be a combination of problem solving, identification and multiple choice questions. The Top 25 scorers will proceed to Round 2 Eliminations. There will be no need for the tiebreakers as all contestants involved in any tie will qualify.

Round 2: WRITTEN ELIMINATIONS
All qualified contestants will compete in a 35-question Elimination Round. Round 1 scores will be discarded and al socres will be reset to zero. Questions will be divided into Easy, Average, and Difficult, with corresponding points of 10, 15, and 20, respectively. The quizmaster shall read each question twice and each contestant shall write their answer on the sheet provided for, within the allotted time, after which checking immediately follows. The Top 8 contestants will proceed to the Championship Encounters. In case of ties in the ranking, three (3) clincher questions will be asked to break the tie. If a tie still ensues, the knockout system will be applied.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP ENCOUNTERS
From this point onwards the Top 8 contestants will compete in one-on-one Encounters in a Single Elimination format. The Round 2 Elimination rankings will determine the pairings.
*Ten (10) questions will be asked in each Encounter. The length of the corresponding time limit for each question will depend on the question’s difficulty. A participant will be given only one (1) chance to answer. The first to buzz-in will be given five (5) seconds to declare their answer. During the 5-second allowance, the time limit countdown will be temporarily paused. If the first fails to answer correctly, countdown will resume and the other participant will be given the remaining duration of the time limit to buzz in and similarly, five (5) seconds to answer. No more steals will be allowed thereafter.
*A participant shall wait for his name to be acknowledged by the quizmasters after buzzing-in, before he gives an answer. If he fails to do so for the first time, it incurs its first warning. On the succeeding instances, however, he shall be disqualified from answering the question.
*The participant with the most number of points after ten (10) questions wins the Encounter and will move on to the next round. If a tie ensues, the knockout system will be employed. Knockout Questions will be asked and the first to answer correctly wins the encounter.
*The Final Encounter will have 16 questions instead of the usual 10 questions, and the one who will win the Finals will be declared the Last Mind Standing.

1. Sinong mas matangkad sainyo ng crush mo?
- ako pa..joke..per pwamis mas matangkad aco..xD

2. Ano ang kulay niya?
- fair

3. Sino mas matanda sa inyo?
- siya

4. Kailan mo siyang last nakita?
- basta matagal na

5. Kailan mo siyang last nakausap?
- see number 4

6. Close kayo?
- noon

7. Ano klase buhok niya? Ayos lang?
- ayos lang.. XD

8. Magaling sumayaw?
- malay

9. Magaling kumanta?
- pwede na

10. Saan siya magaling?
- mambola.. XD

11. Alam niya ba niya crush mo siya?
- ata

12. Kilala ka ba niya?
- naman

13. Alam niya name mo?
- ...ata. joke

14. Naka text mo na?
- once in a blue moon... literally

15. May karibal ka ba?
- yep

16. Gano katagal mo na siya crush?
- greater than [number 4]

17. Saan mo siya unang nakita?
- nakalimutan ko na

18. Pano kayo nagkakilala?
- nambola siya

19. Sasabihin mo ba sakanya na crush mo siya?
- hindi

20. Anong pangalan niya?
- che, sasagutan ko ba yan..

21. Narinig mo na ba boses niya?
- naman

22. Kilala ba siya ng friends mo?
- yung iba

23. Eh kilala mo ba mga friends niya?
- not so sure

24. Kilala ba niya friends mo?
- no

25. Eh kilala ka ba ng friends niya?
- if 23=yes then yes

my sched... another post coming up.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-DILIMAN








Theme: Individual Excellence through Teamplay
October 23-25, 2008, Don Bosco Academy, Mabalacat, Pamp.

For details, contact: Jen 0915.331.5457, Ferdinand 0927.432.1682