I’m starting to think that going out new and different places have become a sort of my thing. I always crave for that certain level of adventure and excitement as I step on new unexplored lands.

Never did I expect that last weekend would bring that level on a higher notch than I would have imagined otherwise.

Last Saturday, August 14. I managed to hitch a ride with Ren and Rachel and caught up with the rest of our classmates in Natsca2 for our Batangas fieldwork. Earlier that day, the three of us had to attend an equally important seminar, the practicum seminar workshop conducted by the CPO.  Important in the sense that it’s a requirement for sstudents undergoing their OJT’s to attend to such.

Fortunately, luck was on our side and the next thing I knew, I was in my hotel room at the Mt. Malarayat Gold and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas at 8pm in the evening.

We have to get up real early the day after since me and the rest of the Natsca2 sections were supposed to go bird-watching at the mountains before climbing the summit planting tree-lets/seedlings.

We left at around 6am and started our trekking around more or less, a quarter before the hour of 7.  On the first leg of the trek, we stopped by a certain point to catch some birds flying. Using binoculars (or binocs as how eco-people would say), i was able to see some birds although I have no idea what type, variety or kind of bird we saw although Philippine hornbill birds have been the most commonly sighted bird for others in the group.

We spent about 3 hours trekking 8 kilometers of dirt, plants, and rocks up in the mountains, passing by poachers (yes, poachers), rural folk, and locally-domesticated horses and their horse poop.

The moment we reached the summit, I was amazed by what I saw. It’s like we’re in a freakin’ Lord of the Rings. Can;t desrcibe it in full detail but you can imagine Frodo passing by this area hehehe. Not soon after, we got ourselves wet and dirty planting seedlings on poked holes on the ground and on the mountain side. I actually have to climb one to plant several plants over there.

I would have gotten myself tired by that time already but obviously, I just reached my peak as I breathe the fresh poopy air touching my face as I gazed upon the mountaintop.

But it quickly got drained out when we spent 2.5 hours going down the mountain. By the time we reached the foot, that’s when I felt a sudden drop of energy.

Nonetheless, trekking a mountain indeed was an exciting experience. It made me think of doing it again for the sake of keeping the spirit of adventure alive.

This is one trip that I will never forget. This surely equate the fun that I have 7 years ago with Banahaw.

Woot woot!

What happens when after so many unsuccessful and unfortunate attempts to do a certain thing you finally got it right? Eternal happiness? Well, maybe…At least that’s what I felt after finally being able to attend to this year’s Graphika Manila.

Graphika Manila, like the one I attended last June in Singapore, is a highly-anticipated international multimedia event: A gathering of students, professionals, designers, and new media art enthusiasts. But unlike CG Overdrive, GM is a one-day event. More than just a one-day event to be exact, it serves as the opening kick-off for this year’s Manila Design Week.

There have been attempts by me to get the chance on going to this event since second year college. The first time, GM was in conflict with my NSTP1 class, with both being on a Saturday so I was forced to sell my ticket to someone who needs it the most.

The second time, I thought nothing would go wrong this time until the day before the event, I made a fool of myself getting victimized by the Budol-Budol gang syndicate (on the day RT30 made its debut on 99.5RT).

(Note: By coincidence, it’s been a year since that happened, on August 14)

Maybe this time, third time’s a charm although I wouldn’t have count on it because of circumstances occurred early this month. But it’s a good thing that I made it past that episode and went to GM without a hitch.

A lot of people were there in attendance at the event’s venue, the SMX Convention Center. I manage to arrive there atr the nick of time just when the first set of speakers have started their session that morning. I don’t want to elaborate further so here’s the rundown on what occured:

1. Arnold and Cynthia Arre=Husband and wife team who were “best known for their individual works”. Cynthia is best known as the cover artists for the greatest hits album of the E-Heads while her hubby is behind some popular Pinoy graphic novels which I’ve yet to get avail of myself.

2.  Phunk Studio=Several guys from SIngapore who were behind the production of several OBB’s of some programs for MTV Asia. 2 of them were present. I wasn;t able to hear much of them when I went out to go to the restroom but happened to have see by chance Jeo, Alyssa and Clarizze along the way.

3. Underground Logic=It;s a production house who were behind some successful ad campaigns for which they were responsible for breathing life into their ads. Among them was the Pepsi 2010 campaign, the Nissin Cup Noodles campaign (the Japanese-inspired one), the ad campaign for Sunsilk (featuring Marian Rivera, Nikki Gil and Maja Salvador), among others.

4. Danny Yount=The guy who not only was involved in creating the intros for Ironman 2 and The Invasion but also behind the conceptualization and awesome production of the several show opening credits (Six Feet Under and Pushing Daisies) and promos for Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel in the US. Exciting as his portfolio is though, his discussion on how he made some of his work began to bore a few however.

5. Tara McPherson=The only international female speaker in GM according to the hosts. She’s quite the psychedlc artist with a style that she calls her own. Many of the works she showed us contains a common thing, women and carved out hearts. Don’t asky me why but more ore less that’s how she define her style. One thing I learned from her is that to become a better artist, you need to continually build up your portfolio. Did I mentioned she looks a bit like Lady Gaga (but to a lesser extent).

6.  Rocketsheep Post=This year’s fan-favorite. Rocketsheep Post’s leading man showed us the Pinoy way of making movie magic through the use of “Jejeworks” (?) and “Dayamation” but at the same time stressed the importance of planning things out while making big-budget projects like this one ongoing movie project that has been under production since my high school days. The movie stars Rhian Ramos and hopefully, they get to finish the movie soon before I get my first job after college.

It was a fun experience and no doubt that, it turned things for the better, for my sake.

Until next year!

Yes, my Multiply account is still active it’s just that I haven’t been blogging for a while now because of time spent in doing stuff for school. The only “blogging” I get to do is typing whatever’s on my mind as my status for FB, Twitter and Plurk.Lazy right?

Well, I’ve been thinking about continuing writing my original posts on Facebook instead of writing it on Multiply. One reason is that for the past year or two, I’ve noticed a significant drop of viewership in jbata5.multiply.com and it’s not just mine, but to others as well. If in 2007, the in thing was Multiply, then today it’s Facebook that’s taking the central spotlight.

If I remember it right, Dianne signed up on FB a few years after she made a vow to me that she’s fine using Multiply when I invited her then to join Facebook (I signed up on FB around January 2007 then on Multiply on March that same year).

Since starting The J-Blog Files in 2007 (which was originally intended to exist as a way to reply on a Multiply link Dianne put up on her YM status), I’ve written over 550 entries with some still unpublished. I think I’ve reached the point of getting a bit burned out sharing whatever it is that I want to share to the rest of the world: My life, my feel good moments, my misfortunes in life, and whatever it is that I want to write about.

What’s worse is that no one’s reading what I’m posting here anymore unless Multiply gets itself a tagging function similar to FB’s. In addition, Multiply as a whole have degenerated into an online marketplace for people trying to sell items on the net, with ads eating up a good chunk of space on my page alone. The essence of what the site was intended seemed to have lost its way, like how Friendster was before it went downhill.

As much as I want to end my misery and quit Multiply for good, there’s still a reason for me to hang on. For one, it has become my refuge of putting my inner thoughts that I don’t want other people to read on Facebook (except for the occasional poetry that I get to type on FB), second I’ve been thinking of putting a certain end date writing blog entries for The J-Blog Files on the same manner how I started doing it anyway.

Come to think of it, my first ever post on Multiply is titled “Just Before Graduation“. I wrote it just mere hours before I headed out to school to march on the day of my high school graduation. If ever I do get to finish college on my projected end date, July 2011…That’s where I want to put my final entry under jbata5.multiply.com. I’m already thinking of my final blog’s title as something like “After I Graduated”, hours after I graduate from school altogether.

Cool right?

It’s also a nice way to see how far I’ve come from the grammatical error-filled posts to the somehow sane writings that I manage to put up on the site.

Putting an end date does not signify the end of The J-Blog Files however. In fact, I hope that this could eb the start of a new beginning as I still want to write to reflect my life’s adventures as I head out to the real world. The J-Blog Files helped me find who I am to myself, who I am to others. It will continue to be as I struggle to the woes of life and enjoy the bliss that comes after it.

Besides, I still have to continue writing The CSB Experience, and the remaining chapters on my long delayed fiction stories: Paglisan and When She Left Me.

So for now, enjoy yourselves as I put the “J” to the word “Blog”!

Once again once more, it’s that time of the trimester again when people stay up late finishing term papers, finishing projects that never seem to get done, and eyebags are the in-thing among Manila’s youth elite.

Yes people, it is that thing we call midterms and the week in which it resides that students oftentimes  come to acknowledge as the “midterms hellweek”.

For a school which more or less have 14 weeks allotted to a single trimester, finishing earlier than those who follow the more traditional semestral system does not necessarily mean we don’t have our fair share of problems that all college students share. What’s unique to CSB and probably those who also follow the trimestral school system is the fact that time is always of the essence.

Midterms in CSB comes around on the 7th week of the trimester and students are given notice of what they will expect when that time comes. In the case of MMA students, it’s easier said than done. Most of our classes require us to pass projects instead of written exams during the midterms and the finals, with some giving us a notice of what we should produced as early as the 3rd or 4th week while others give a heads up as late as the 5th or 6th week.

As mentioned before, “time” is definitely of the essence for many of us. More so that “time” is the branded enemy of MMAers. Imagine the weight of completing several projects at the same time, up to the point of actually doing them simultaneously.

Students don’t have the luxury of “time” where they could finish those tasks all in one sweep if given a long length of grace period to do them. It’s hard to beat a deadline if we have a few dozen other “deadlines” to worry about as well.

Despite the hatred, I know that the purpose of such is to determine our performance over the course of the term and that a significant percentage of our final grade comes fro whatever grade we get on it. The short amount of time given to accomplish projects also serves as our “training ground” to be hands on and be good on managing time. These are valid reasons why midterms even do exist but the cost that it brings are far greater: pressure, breakdowns, stress, insomnia. A lot of bad things actually do happen during this time.

The only means to survive this phase is to remember that finals is no different yet very much a  make-or-break for all of us. Knowing that we could manage this difficulty makes our life in college even more exciting.

After nearly four years in college, I know what I’m saying. Midterms can be a downer, but it can be our greatest helper as well.

 Kanina I was looking for Carol at AKIC to sign my papers for OJT. Her last text was to look for her at Chef’s Station-AKIC. I was there, feeling OP in a sea of people donning suits, ties, leather shoes and high heels.

I sensed something was wrong so I checked her last message again. Then I had the urge to change seats, and when I do, I actually turned around see who I was looking for. Heheh, how silly I am not to have noticed it before. 😀

It only means one thing: Miss ko na mag-AKIC.

Whoah, talk about having to mistake a person for someone else. Certainly it’s scary that it will happen to you if not for the simple failure of identifying someone correcgtly.

Last Saturday, I was getting ready for my graduation pictorial when I come across a fellow student whom I instantly presumed as someone I know personally. To be wholy honest, I haven’t seen him (a student of Interior Design) for quite a long while. I think the last time I saw him was way over a year ago when we bumped into each other at the SDA accounting office.

Naturally, I was happy that I see him again. Just as the make-up artist was done putting make-up on my face, I went ahead and talked to him.

“Uy, tagal na ah?”

“Huh?”

“Di mo ako naalala?”

“Uhm, sa’n ba tayo classmates?

“Sa [Cathwor]…”

“Ano iyung name mo?”

“James, di ba ikaw si…”

“Ah hindi hindi…Baka nagkakamali ka lang..”

“Wait…(looking at the person closely), ay sorry! Kala ko ikaw iyung kaibigan ko. Talagang magkamukha kasi kayo talaga eh”.

“Okay lang”

“Uhm, ano ba iyung course mo?”

“CDA”

“Ah….Iyung friend ko InD eh. Pasensya na talaga, ha?”

“Ayus lang iyon hehehe”

Surprise surprise: It wasn’t him after all. Well, what an embarassing moment it was hehehe. But even so, I can;t deny that he looks so much like him, a lot identical to the real thing. So when I checked my friend’s Facebook profile, he looks like exactly the guy I met at the pictorial, except to the hair though.

Such a mishap that could happen to everybody. Here’s to hoping it won’t happen again to me.

😀

In a matter of hours now, I’ll be leaving a country I called home for five days, a land of wonders surrounded by a body of water, a place where nosebleeding happens, at least for me.

To say it in a few words, this whole trip was worth the experience of being out of the country after so long a time and explore uncharted territory with a sense of adventure.

Of course, one reason why I went there in the first is to attend the annual CG Overdrive where students, enthusiasts and professionals in the field of animation, graphics, etc gather for the purpose of sharing to the rest of the world the latest in the aforementioned fields, the secrets of striving for gold, among others.

Another reason is that I want to widen my horizons, not just academic-wise but in terms of seeing things in a  different light. Being someone who’s favorite past-time is wandering around the streets of Metropolitan Manila from north to south and vice versa, I find it riveting on trying to explore through train, bus or simply walking the majesty that is Singapore.

Even though I only managed to check out only a third of the city-state, I made most of what I have in front of me to make it all worthwhile. I couldn’t exactly say I’m someone with a perfect sense of direction but still, getting lost sometimes is all part of the fun. I ended up going places like Orchard, Esplanade, the old Little India quarter, the strip malls found in almost every block and the thrift shops thats sells “3 for $10” (although I neded up buying 18 for $10). There was also a time that I was mistaken for either a Singapore local by a few tourists and they ask me to help them on how to use the state’s train ticketing system.

The Great Singapore Adventure would not be complete if without the help and guidance of the organizers from CGO headed by Mr. Daniel Koh and the people of G4 Station, the place that me and several other schoolmates from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde stayed for nearly a week. Without them, we wouldn’t be here in the first place, one for the trust we gave to the CGO organizers, for never letting us down despite the ups and downs especially during last year’s global bird flu brouhaha. Second for the patience, the friendliness, and, if ever there is such a word, the cheeriness of the G4 employees that made staying in their hostel a home-like experience (but not to the point of making it OUR home for life of course haha!)

I want to thank them from the further reaches of my heart for everything.

As we say in Filipino: “Hanggang sa uulitin!” [“Until it happens again!”]

Frosh Solidarity NIght 2007

Frosh Solidarity Night 2010

Last night was an event to remember, one that I could never forget. It was the annual Frosh Solidarity Night and everybody who’s anybody were there to enjoy this highlight for the 2010 Frosh Week.

I myself never expected that I would be a part of this year’s FSN. Miss Lanie from the Department of Student Life (the former the Office of Student Behavior) asked for members of the FOP Sessionistas to regroup for another round of kantahan in front of a live audience. Thus, I was able to reconnect with a lot of my co-Sessionistas like Marco, Harold, Abegail, Christine, RJ, Earl and a newcomer, Kim. Wacky and Gaby had to pull out because they’re also involved with FSN through other means. Eugene was also in conflict with his schedule so he wasn’t available as well.

No biggie, we all had fun, right? I even crossed paths again with Axe Girl Model #2, from Jeco’s Sexy 360 event, who was there in promotion for Axe Twist.

On the same day, I’ve finally met one of the ID110 Pexers who were previously active in ther CSB subforums at Pinoy Exchange during the run-in before the the start of the school year, Neil. I’m happy that I was able to share whatever I could to make the most of their tenure as Benildean.

But as with others, they should also learn the ups and downs of campus life themselves in order to survive and thrive in this crazy life that we call college.

Speaking of college life, when I started my first year in CSB, I had a lot fo dreams, many of which I wasn’t able to fulfill (i.e. join the TKD varsity, join the Pep Squad, join the student press corps, etc.) however what I managed to fulfill somehow made me feel that all the efforts I pulled in to do whatever I can to make my college life worthwhile had paid off. I was able to become a Frosh Orientor, meet a lot of new friends, I was able to sing (despite some small minor mishaps hehe), my OJT is being a part of the best radio team in the world, meeting my idol who inspired me to reach for the stars among others.

Reminiscing the events of June 1, 2007 when the then 107 froshes had their own FSN at the CSB theater, we had a lot of fun, singing along with featured acts like Kjwan, Itchyworms, and Callalily. Some of us made some TUGZ TUGZ onstage while some get to show their stuff walking on the runway.

I couldn’t believe that three years later, I get to relive the moment, and get re-experienced.

Hey guys! I still can’t get over this feeling I’m having for a while now. I’m anxious, nervous, and excited on leaving the country to spend five days spreading the love in Singapore. As I’ve said previously in my past Singapore-related blog that I’m excitred to fly off again after 7 years.

Let’s just say that my family isn’t that much rich to spend holidays on Hong Kong Disneyland or Universal Studios Florida. My parents are the ones who get to fly off often as it is a part of their jobs as government civil servants. I’m just lucky that I get to convince them to allow me to go abroad for a few days after last year’s mishap of a canceled trip no thanks to the AH1N1 scare.

Here’s to hoping nothing unfortunate happens today. In my case, not forgetting the single most important item for the trip. I have this hsitory of forgetting to bring certain things ahead of an important out-of-town trip and I end up getting a sinking feeling of regret for forgetting to do so. Right now, I’m bringing the following items necessary:

1. Pieces of clothing (Pants, Shorts, Shirts, Underwear)

2. Canned and “cupped” foods

3. Hygiene products (shaving cream, razor, toothpaste, shampoo, bar and laundry soap, etc)

4. Socks

5. Slippers

6. Reading materials (A Pugad Baboy book, and two Beerkada books)

7. Portable radio with headphones and emergency batteries

8. Camera and Battery Charger

9. Cellphone (my own phone and my mom’s phone with international roaming)

10. Pocket Money

11. Travel and other Important Documents (Passport, G4 reservation copy, CGO registration email, etc)

Did I miss anything?

I don’t know what Singapore has in store for me but I’ll make sure to make most of my trip and go home and make my school, my family, and my country proud. (Wow, serious!)

The first week of the school year has passed and the ID110 frosh seemed to have settled well within their new home for the next few years. Not much in the school has changed but what’s noticeable were the preparations for De La Salle Philippines’ centennial celebration kicking off this June 16.

What’s obvious a change though was upon entering the premises of the School of Design and Arts I noticed that all the labs and the classrooms now bears new room numbers.

“Odd…” is how I reacted. Usually some offices and facilities in the campus would move to new locations every few terms but not to the extent of changing the room numbers assigned to these new locations. In this case, looks like most if not all the rooms here have changed room numbers.

I have yet to explore all the floors but so far, in the 10th floor…the former comlab that was A1008 is now a classroom bearing the room number “A1011”. Right next, the sound lab used to be known as A1014 is now A1012.

I don’t know how much of the change would affect old students to the extent that confusion would wreck havoc in the long term but so far so good, not much negative reaction were reported as of this writing.

But I just have to remember some key room numbers: A916, A908, A1014, A1013 and A1008.