The Major attack (MWF edition)

I do love surprises, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant.

Tai-Chi (Mondays and Wednesdays exclusive) - Despite being an early class (my class is at 7am-8am), I still took it as I have this very desire to learn the art and form of Tai-Chi (well during Edwin Ang's demonstration,I come to realize that I could apply some of the skills I have learned from Taekwondo). Well aside from my desire to learn the art, I also chose this as a form of relaxation and warm-up in preparation for my Academic-heavy day that awaits me.

I was kind of expecting that most of my classmates would be freshies, but Pia was my classmate too (Which makes her my perpetual classmate for second semester . . . We are classmates for SA, PoS60, PoS51, AND PE, and that translates to her being my classmate from Monday to Friday . . . hello Boss Pia!!!)

Edwin Ang is a nice funny guy that makes learning Tai-Chi fun, so my impression for his class is a fun class to begin with. I love Tai-Chi :D

Western History - Boo. Andrea Jalandoni didn't arrive during our Hi18 class, so it was a freecut for us. So I still don't know is she's a terror teacher or not :|

Anyhow, I happen to know a couple of people in my Hi18 class (hello to Don Faylon, Joselle, Joan, and many others ;) ). Yet, I consider this class as a class of intrigue. Why such? Because my wish was fulfilled (so yeah be really really careful for what you wish for because it does come true hahaha), and lo and behold, the uber-cute-girl-from-R36 is my classmate, but she's with her boyfriend. Boohoo. I don't seem to enjoy this kind of scene every MWF (but thank God there is Tai-Chi where I could vent out easily and come to Hi18 class in a cool, calm, undisturbed state), and I don't really like seeing her bf doing their thing during class, but who cares? As long as she's my classmate I am already happy.

Frankly speaking, I do not know if I should be happy of pissed with my MWF scene / sessions with my classmates (especially uber-cute-girl-from-R36). Happy because hello my "dream" girl (well dream lang kasi taken eh boohoo :(( ) is my classmate but annoyed because she's with her bf (I'm not angry at her bf but I think her bf is angry with me yikes :| ), but it's not a problem with me. Inspiration is inspiration, and nothing can stop that. And the fact that the queen of intrigues (yes Joan ikaw yun haha) is my classmate its going to be one hell of a class.

As for my professor I'll get to know by Friday hopefully. ;)

Hi18 is one hell of a class. Yeah!

Fil14 - Same I1 friends, but this time we are together with the LM people (hello Krys, Cham, Kristine, Kristal, and Javy! ;) ) and since our block knows most of them it was a noisy environment inside the Berchmans AVR (the ONLY class I have that has an airconditioned room thank God).

Dr. Respeto seems to be a nice professor, and famous too (my friend told me he made some book that is well-known but I still have to verify this bit of information). Although strict (because of his rules with regards to attendance and tardiness) and possibly boring (but hey first impressions never last ;) ), I do expect that I am going to learn a lot of him, considering his great knowledge to the history of the Filipino language. So yeah, he's not a terror teacher and it seems that I'll be appreciating Filipino more than ever (thanks to my former Filipino professors in college Ms. Glenda Oris and Ms. Pamela Cruz for making me appreciate Filipino and seeing our native language in a whole different perspective)

PoS51- Well not that much to comment here since my class here is basically like my PoS60 class except that Diana Mendoza has a nice, encouraging attitude towards us (as compared to the "terror kuno" of RR Raneses . . . well he may be a terror during class but he's a nice dude outside the four walls of the classroom trust me). I meant encouraging as she was encouraging us regular PoS majors (not the AB-MA people ok) to work hard and be part of the AB-MA program. Well yeah, she seems nice and is kind in terms of giving grades (easy A? Well I'll know by the end of this semester wahahaha :)) ). Not much to comment but yeah I'm beginning to like the idea and concepts of Political Science. :)

PoS100 -Fun subject? Well I guess so since Pilar Berse for me is a mix of Diana Mendoza and Czarina Medina in terms of teaching style and attitude. Not that much to talk about since I'm basically with the I1 block plus seniors who are taking it since everyone is required to take PoS100 (yup yup its a core subject haha)

I'm interested in this subject since its going to be dealing with Philippine politics and yeah I want to go in-depth with that matter especially with the corruption part. Wow, now I am beginning to love my course (and yes I'm no longer shifting ;) at the most I'll do a minor hopefully in economics)

Thoughtbox:

-Instead of paying 150 pesos for my locker violation, I had to pay 200 pesos because I left a book inside! Dammit! (thank God I'll not be needing a locker because 1) I have a car where I could dump my stuff, and 2) I can use AnnaB's cabinet to keep my books because I have a lot of books especially for PoS60)

-Reading 60 pages as your first assignment was more of an "initiation" of how would law school life would be (my cousin and other friends in law school told me that they had to read hundreds of pages worth of cases for a test like twice a week . . . now that's uber hardcore!)

-Photocopying books needed for PoS60 plus having them binded at Ateneo = SAVINGS!!! (I'm not willing to shell out thousands of pesos on books that I'll be using for just one semester . . . well unless my subject is something like calculus or accounting hahaha)

-It rained like hell a while ago, and it looked like it was signal number three in the Ateneo campus. Yes, it was that scary.

-I'm hyperactive for some reason by now haha. That's what I got from reading 60 pages of a reading assignment for PoS when you realize that you don't have PoS60 class tomorrow thanks to a mass (well I'll use that time for something else haha)

-I'm more than halfway to my 16k objective! Woohoo!!

-For some unexpected reason, Tamale said hi to me a while ago as we saw each other. Haha. Things are surprising these days ;)

The Major attack (TTH edition)

First semester for me is basically filled up with mostly PolSci majors and some core subjects (like Filipino, History, and Socio-Anthro). This is the start of me getting to know more about my majors ;) so here is my first impressions for my T-TH schedule:

Sa21 - Well I do agree with Martin that Czar Medina is a fun teacher in SA. Hooray for me. ;) And it is actually hard to notice that she's actually a teacher the way she dresses up (hey, she's just 21 anyway haha). With the activities in line for this subject, I'm sure this is one absolutely fun subject. With things like breaching experiment, Ecopark field trip, Araneta center amazing race, and all sorts of activities, I could say that Socio-Anthro would be a fun subject for me.

As for classmates, well I'm with 1/2 of my I1 block plus 1/2 of the AB-MA PoS (aka the "superior" PoS people haha just kidding) block (hello Pia and Eloise! Hello Geelo too!) plus a couple of students from various courses (like Managment or IS).

Overall evaluation: It's a fun subject, yet you get to learn stuff.

Pos60 - First things first, although some of my friends told me that RR Raneses is a terror teacher (well as if I had a choice 'coz I'm a PolSci major anyway), I wouldn't exactly say that he is a terror teacher. A strict teacher would be a better definiton (like hello if he was a terror teacher then how come the students aka us PolSci majors still get to laugh at his jokes ;) ). With requirements like two 12-15 page "short" papers (in SINGLE SPACE), a penalty of a one-page (SINGLE SPACE AGAIN :|) summary of the lesson on the day that you were absent / cut classes, having 40 page-long readings as an assignment given on the first session alone (and i could only get it by tomorrow AND we should be prepared with them on the next day . . . which translates to crunch time :|), AND an oral exam as the finals (yikes!!!), it's a surefire shock therapy to me (where my mind is telling me "get serious bitch!!! or else!!!").

I may be complaining at first, but I still felt thankful that I only need to deal with tons of readings. at least I do not need to suffer with calculus or accounting or comparative anatomy or -insert hated subject here-. And for the oral exams thingymajig, i just thought of this as a preparation for Theology (Which I will be taking next semester . . . double yikes!!!). As for the "short" papers, at least my extreme suffering i had when doing the ARP during English 12 will pay off as my research writing knowledge is greatly needed while I do those seemingly long and extensive papers (where your usual last second cramming may occur).

As for classmates well its the same with my SA class (1/2 I1 classmates, 1/2 AB-MA PolSci people which includes Geelo, Pia and Eloise) plus a couple of notable students (like Jauro Castro, who is now a PolSci major), and a couple of students who are taking this as a free elective (in other words, seniors haha).

Overall evaluation: Very demanding and very strict, but it will serve as a training ground for Law School (IF I pass Ateneo Law that's the case ;) )

Other stuff for today:
1) For the first time, I drove to Ateneo alone without any problems ;) driving at around 6am is a breeze as you avoid those annoying bus, jeepney, taxi, tricycle, and all sorts of annoying drivers. Also, I was able to park my car successfully (and get out with a little difficulty). So yeah, it's an accomplishment for me. But I would still need some help from our driver (who goes to Ateneo when I'm going home . . . speaking of being very concerned about me ;) ) in getting out of the parking slot safely (I need to practice more on parking, which is considered by many the hardest part of driving). Time will come I will be able to do these things properly even if I drive alone.

2) Had a "power meal" early in the morning (which comprises of two whole wheat pan de sal and a banana) as my breakfast. It's one healthy way of starting the morning right that I'm sure (well I thank my mom for this ;) )

3) Bonded with my H classmates and talked about stuff, and we welcome Gian Ludovice to the Ateneo (congrats bro!)

4) Got my ID, and thank God my photo this year is more decent and less sabog compared to the photo of my ID last year. :D

5) Had my Alumni card replaced, and it's gonna take three weeks for it to be replaced. Great.

6) Had to shell some money for those PoS60 readings (which must be read by Thursday but no I'm getting my copy tomorrow . . . good luck to me with reading those 50+ pages)

7) Still need to pay that annoying locker fine (my fault so I'm not complaining here except for the fact that I need to pay the fine).

8) I hope she doesn't see me. Seriously.

COMING UP: The Major attack (MWF edition)