Conversation

I need to get a decent job – and I mean fast! I don’t wanna stay at the house, and I’m here for the longest time since graduation day. Just the thought of it gives me the creeps. Eew! Review for board exam starts on early May, so by that time I could have at least submitted a dozen resumes to different companies.

I have an option to try to apply at the call center where my brother’s working right now, I hastily said no the first time he offered it, because if I do get the job, I’d still be staying here. And one more thing, I think call center is not for me. But don’t get me wrong when I say this. It’s not about the ‘call center impression’ some graduates think about but it’s more on the work description. My English speaking abilities are just average, so I don’t know if I’d pass the interview as well.

My orgmate emailed us about last week regarding an internship and it needs fresh graduates of chemical engineering. So I emailed the contact person and it turns out to be an AIESEC traineeship in Australia. Sounds cool! If I get into the program, I can be an intern in Australia for 2 to 18 months! I got excited so I emailed my curriculum vita and now all I’m waiting is some more information from her. The Australian company is called BhpBilliton – a mining and Petroleum Company for all I care, haha! I just keep my fingers crossed on this one.

About 3 days ago my friend Gemeni texted me and here’s a gist of our conversation:

Gemeni: Lui, gus2 m bng magpiano lesson? 4800 lang ang 12 sessions or 12 hours sa casa musica sa dasma. 2-4pm every Saturday so 2 sessions per day xia. Ok lang daw kahit ndi musically inclined wala daw problema yun. Wla akong ksama e. cge na!

Lui: naku, gus2 ko din sana kaso Saturday whole day kasi ang sked ko sa review for board e. Graduate n ko khapon!yehey!

Gemeni: wow! Uy, tama yung hula natin n 2006 k ggraduate.Congrats!uy galingan mo!san ka nagrereview? Ako din nagrereview for license abroad. Baka magawan mo nmn ng paraan?

Lui: tanx. Byad n ko s reservation e. Bat ka nagrereview d my my lisensya ka na? s mrii ako nagenrol. Voice lesson ba wala?hehe.

Gemeni: gusto kong magabroad lui e. seeking for greener pastures. Foreign license nirereview ko. May voice lesson din, sobrang accommodating nung place ndi ka mahihiya. So ayaw mo? Nyaya ko c jen at milu ayaw din nila. Mahihina loob. Ako kakapalan ko na mukha ko. Minsan din tayong nangarap n bumuo ng banda no!

Lui: cguro after ng board n lng ako. Pangarap ko din yan no ndi ako papayag na ndi matupad. Wow magaabroad k pala. My tnry akong applyan n internship sa Australia daw nagpapadala. Ilang buwan din yun pag nagkataon. Hehe

Gemeni: naku, sa Australia din ako nagapply e. so pano, kitakits na lang dun? Bilisan mong mag-apply kasi in need ang Australia ngayon ng mga workers.Ü

---end of conversation---

Bakit ko sinulat yung usapan namin? Una, kasi matagal na naming napagusapan na magaaral kami ng piano lesson, now here’s the chance ako nmn ang hindi pwede. But I’ll try to fulfill that dream, especially the voice lesson, haha! Pangalawa, naexcite ako kasi pupunta syang Australia. Ayoko ng mga kaibigang nalalayo/umaalis ng Pilipinas (I’ve already got 3 friends in California, Paulyn, Rino and Rob) maski ako, ayoko din ng aalis to live in other countries (I just want to go and visit some places) pero ewan ko kung bakit ako naexcite sa pag-alis nya. Siguro kasi nagapply din ako ng traineeship dun, so if ever magkikita kami dun, di ba ang saya!?!

After 6 struggling years

After 6 years, I finally passed all of my subjects! Hooray! Too bad that our plant design only got a grade of 1.75. I know we deserve better than that. But anyways, after passing the last two removals I took several weeks ago, all of my grades are in. all I have to do is to march next week (well, I hope I’m on the list of graduating students cleared for graduation). I’m so excited, although I say this half-heartedly. 6 years was long enough for me to say that I had learned to love everything in UP, especially my friends and KEM. I will surely miss them. Everything’s not over yet though, since I still get to see them sometimes, so there probably be no closing chapters of my life on this aspect, just on the plain essence of schooling.

I may not be an excellent student, but my life completely changed during my college life. This has been the most memorable of all, and I got to say at least I learned lots of things not bounded by classroom walls. Think that’s more important. ChE may not be the perfect course for me, but I just learned to appreciate it, and everything else that comes with it. Education anyhow is education anyway, ‘ayt!

Goodbye College! Hello real world!!!

Plant Design

It took quite a while for me to post again on my blog because I got very busy with my academics. I need to study very hard for the last remaining days of my college life. I passed my last few exams, hooray for me! But it is not yet over. We still need to finish our plant design (Fuel-Grade Ethanol Production Using Cassava as Raw Material). With only a few days before the deadline, we need to stay at Iche’s boarding house for 2 straight weeks.

2 weeks is not easy. Just imagine this: first thing in the morning, you wake up and go straight into your laptop and type, solve, analyze and bleed your brain to its utmost extent just to ensure that your calculations and assumptions are correct. Worse than that, we get used to skipping meals, or having meals with your group mates just sharing a big can of sardines. We sometimes (actually they) decided not to take a bath because we are not yet done on our work. We had two weeks of sleepless nights. There were moments when we even had arguments, crying moments and almost close to breaking down. I pity us during those times. I’m just glad that it’s all over.

I saved this part to thank the following:
Iche’s parents, for constantly treating us with all the good stuff
Maita’s parents and Erma’s mom, for also giving us food and showing their utmost concern
My groupmates, the “Miss Minchins”
To my friends who showed their concern

Thank you also to these shows and songs (without these, I’ll be insane):
American Idol 5
Moments of Love

Bad Day
Unwritten
Because of You
Angels Brought Me Here
Inside Your Heaven
Big Yellow taxi
When I See You Smile
Could’ve Been

I’m just glad that it’s finally over!