The syllabus says "Introduction to Broadcast Communication"

Last Thursday, I had my last day of the sem. It was our finals for m BC100 class where we played Jeopardy! as the exam, and afterwards we had a party we prepared for not without much stress.

Our group, Kaye, Carl and me, were like the minority in the class—the last ones expected to speak and interact in class. The prof said he thinks we’ll be the last placers and that if we beat the other teams, “it’s like NU beating UP.” His frequent snide remarks were really nothing to me; he was interesting and intelligent enough. But this one I took to heart, and I’ll have to admit I was a bit hurt. Haha. I couldn’t blame him much though. The three of us—always seated at the back—weren’t really keen on “displaying our competence” in class.

However, the three of us were really overwhelmed and happy that we emerged as the second placers. We were able to beat the other four teams our professor thought so highly of. Too much of the negativity, though. The overall atmosphere was really fun and exciting. I even made the first mistake ––on the first question!—as I forgot to state my answer in question form, which is how the game is played.

The whole event—including the mini film showing we had after the quiz show (where we saw the actual video of how JFK’s head was blasted away), the food Kaye and I helped take care of, the hilarious mistakes the teams made, and of course, our prof’s one-of-a-kind personality*—was enjoyable. It would top my list of the most unforgettable final exams I had in the university.

Even more so, I made such good friends in this class—Kaye and Carl. It was really the three of us who were together in this class since the start of the sem. Our hard work studying for this Jeopardy! really paid off. Yeah, cheesy, but I’m glad to have met them. Fufu~

 
* Sir’s personality is really hard to describe: he is intelligent, conceited (he said so himself!), nationalistic, funny (awesomely so), and random. Those adjectives are vague, though, compared to the “colorful” character that he has in person. It is amazing to have him as a prof for even just a sem. Despite the routinely nerve-wracking moments in class, despite all those ridiculous school-bashings he did, and despite all the complaints I made about the subject, I don’t think I would regret having him teach me and hear his tales firsthand (about Philippine history, foreign culture, his predictions of the future, and a lot, lot more). And years later, when his statue (that looks at and scrutinize everyone who passes by) had been erected in the university (as he so often said it would be), I’ll prolly be proud to say, “Hey I tokok his BC100 class. How very unfortunate you couldn’t.” Haha!

** He is a lawyer who would often show up at public hearings with his friend, Barok, also a lawyer. If asked who they represent at the court they would say, “Public interest, your honor.” They would also often sue wrongdoers, and mind you, they get results. He said, “Kapag walang ganyang mapapakialamanan kami ni Barok, nanghihina kami.” Haha. ♥ He said that it is his way of giving back to the university and people that educated him. He also said that when we graduate, we shouldn’t expect to live as if in a rosy picture painted especially for us, and that we must never be ashamed of starting small—even as small as serving coffee to others. With the training we had, coupled with hard work and competence, we would be able to make it well.

 
Awesome, right? I just wish I had written all of the trivia and advices and bits of wisdom he shared in class. If I could name one reason why I am proud to be from UP, it would be because it was able to produce someone like  him.

Arashi no Hi 2

Ondoy and Pepeng are typhoons Filipinos would not easily forget about. Ondoy was the more destructive one, although Pepeng devastated much of Northern Luzon, even taking a couple of U-turns and staying in place for almost a week!

They say this continuous occurrence of calamities, not only in the Philippines but abroad as well (like the earthquake in Indonesia, and the tsunami in Samoa) indicates the end of the world. On the contrary, I think the calamities served as a renewal of contract of the people: Everyone began taking notice of the state of our nature again, renewing the promise of being the environment’s rightful and responsible guardians; Everyone—Filipinos—also showcased the rekindling of the nationalistic flame. Okay, that’s a bit cheesy, but I do think that the tragedies enlightened most of us about our duty to work together as a whole, as a nation. Really, the colossal material amount and cooperation Filipinos were willing to give were nothing short of amazing, even people from other countries recognized this. A lot took the initiative to help, to save lives, to bring comfort to the distressed.

During these times, the heroes inside the Filipinos emerged. I saw them on TV, on the papers. But there are three people who earned respect from me whose “heroic” acts I witnessed on the net: Ala Paredes, Alodia Gosiengfiao, and Jin Joson (although I know there are tons of others who did a lot to extend help to the Filipinos in need.

I stumbled upon Ms. Ala’s blog randomly. It caught my attention because of its Filipiniana theme. As I browsed through her entries, I have realized that I had heard her name before—she’s APO’s Jim Paredes’s daughter. She’s currently in Australia pursuing a degree in arts (contrary to what “people expected from her” since she was previously a VJ). Her efforts to gather donations for the victims of Ondoy from Australia was very admirable. She coordinated everything from announcing the matter, to collecting the donated items, to transporting them to Manila. She also mentioned how she became so affected by the destruction of the typhoon “back home” that she almost screamed at one of her professors who was just “asking an innocent question” about a project (I think). Prior to Ondoy, she had been raising funds for a cancer patient through her art woks.

My friends and I are fond of attending cosplay events as time to bond and feast with our eyes because of the costumes enthusiasts—cosplayers—wear. Here in the Philippines, at least in my knowledge, there are two well-known cosplayers. One is a team (Team Tuxedo) “lead” by Miss Jin Joson, and the other is Miss Alodia Gosiengfiao. Enthusiasts regard them as the cream of the crop in the Filipino cosplay community. Not only do they have amazing costumes and physical features to boot, but they are also talented and accomplished individuals as well. But now, they are more than figures in costumes posing for the cameras to me. I regard them now as Filipinos with big hearts reaching to those in dire need, using their talents, and perhaps influence, to initiate charity actions towards the typhoon victims. Like Ms. Ala, Ms. Jin and Ms. Alodia used the power of the cyberspace to bring in help not only from Filipinos but also from concerned people from other countries as well. They made and sold art works, displayed the options for those willing to volunteer for the relief operations, and even participated in these themselves.

Even just from the acts of these three ladies, it has become possible to see the silver lining. We still have a long way to go in taking care of and restoring Mother Nature in its proper state. But seeing the heroes come out in “ordinary” Filipinos and seeing the nation so united is one heck of a good start.

Heavenly Forest: Thumbs Up!

 My classmate Alea was generous enough to give me copies of different animes and Japanese movies, while we’re waiting for something to do during our class. One of them was Heavenly Forest (Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru) which I watched as soon as I found free time during these busy days. She said it was a beautiful movie, and with Tamaki Hiroshi in it, I was bound to bet alongside her. Haha.

However, since I couldn’t review something decently without giving away *too much*spoilers, here’s a well-made critique of the movie.

I really am not into those “cheesy” and “formulaic” movies where love conquers all. But then, this movie had moved me to tears towards the end for the reasons stated in the review, and perhaps because Makoto’s sadness just spilled over I had to shed tears, too. Haha. Indeed, “pure love” was the foundation of the movie, and I am easily reminded of the movie starring Ueno Juri (hohoho~) entitled Rainbow Song (Niji no Megami). I felt like I just had to yell at Makoto the way I wanted to yell at Kishida: “You dork, can’t you see her?!?!?!”

Just as Detroit Metal City was the first movie that made me laugh so hard in months, Heavenly Forest was the one that tugged at my most bittersweet emotions, perhaps at my most vulnerable (read: stressed) period of the semester. XD I liked (and was deeply affected by) it so much, I even played the movie until its last seconds hoping that there is still “something” in the end.

 Tamaki Hiroshi is really a brilliant actor, and the transformation of his character was very well-embodied. The performance of Miyazaki Aoi, an actress I only know by name, was the best thing this movie has to offer. She was indeed cute, but as the critique said, her absences from the screen were greatly felt. I think that is one achievement only an actor with laudable acting prowess can accomplish.

Arashi no Hi

I couldn’t think properly. Was my mind washed away by Ondoy as well? Together with the millions-worth of properties, livelihoods, and lives of my fellow Filipinos? Did the storm also succeed in wiping the smiles off the faces of everyone gravely affected especially the children—who now have to endure sleeping during the cold nights on the cold floors of the crowded evacuation centers, shrugging off their hunger pangs?

The most I—my family—had to endure were two days without electricity and water supply. The next days went without telephone and internet connection. That much and I was already feeling very very bad—dreadfully annoyed, if you must. But when I came to think of it, it was nothing like the experience of others affeted by the wrath of Ondoy. It was really miraculous that our subdivision’s walls protected us from the raging floods. Because if it weren’t for those walls, we would have been like the subdivision nearby, submerged in flood and mud. The best we could do was to take care of the nine-year old son of my father’s co-worker, as well as my uncle who were living in the nearby flooded subdivision.

The havoc was really overwhelming but the camaraderie bewtween and the help Filipinos gave to one another nearly brought me to tears, however agonizing the feeling of helplessness was. I hope and pray that we all give each other a hand in the process of rebuilding our country from the mess Ondoy left.