So done with another year of college.
While everyone else is getting their grades, I am stuck at home doing crazy things. The second semester ended last March 22, 2013 and I have been on vacation mode since then. What do I do when it's vacation? I sleep, eat, read, watch, drive my parents insane, scare the neighbors and play with animals. But before I get so engrossed in doing crazy things, I gotta review the semester that just ended.
Theology Two - Monday and Friday 7:45AM-9:10AM
Basically this whole class was about celebrating life in a community of faith. Although this class was seriously boring and I would drink coffee just to wake myself up, I actually appreciated this class a whole lot. Imagine, I was forced to start and end my school week with prayer and praise. Of course, there were times I would annoy the professor really bad and she would roll her eyes at me. I didn't bring my Bible to class one time and was too lazy to borrow from the library. The professor noticed and I was like, 'Reading the Bible won't get me to Heaven. ' I guess this was one of those classes I just had to attend so that I wouldn't have to repeat it. Ever.
Take Away: Almost every meeting the professor would say, 'You should live your life to the fullest!' Fullest my @*$.
Humanities Two - Tuesday 10:40AM-1:50PM
What kind of schedule is that? I'd be in the classroom on time and the class would start at around 11:15AM. If the professor didn't feel like it, she'd end the class at like 12:30noon. We were always eating during this class. Am not really sure what the professor wanted us to learn in this class. The lessons were messed up and rather queer, but we could always relate to them somehow. I especially enjoyed those times the professor would just rant about her ex boyfriend and we were like, 'We'll listen to anything as long as it's not the lesson!' I enjoyed the final project/final exam for this class! My group had to give a presentation about clothes and I just put together pictures from my Flickr days. LOL.
Take Away: 'Use your knowledge about the person to make a judgement about the situation,' the professor would always say.
Classics- Tuesday and Thursday 2:00PM-3:20PM
Ohmyfreakinggawd. I honestly thought that I was done with this professor who also taught Oral Communication to our block during the first semester. I don't exactly hate the professor, but I don't love her. I just don't get the professor at all. This class had too many surprise quizzes I failed, questions that had no answers, stories I could not relate to, grades I could not figure out and unnecessary stress I had to deal with. I remember not knowing what to review for the midterm exam. All I did was scan my scarce notes and take the exam. When the results came out, I was like, 'Thank God for stock knowledge and for Ada who is so crazy about mythology.' This could have been an interesting class if. . . Never mind. Looking back though, this class brought our block together.
Take Away: I want to go to Greece!
Philosophy/Critical Thinking - Wednesday 9:20AM-12noon
My brain would go dead during this class! During the first half of the semester, I was guessing everything in this class. I'd guess the answers for every quiz, I'd guess the answers for the reflection papers and I guessed for the midterm exam. I only started getting things when we started the debates! I loved it. I guess I was lucky 'cause I was always in a group with people who knew how to work debates. I liked the professor because I think he's smart. It's just that most of the time he was talking to himself and explaining the lesson to himself. He would start his sentences with 'In a nutshell' and we'd make fun of that. I'd make fun of that. Mica, Mina and I would laugh really bad in class 'cause the professor would make stupid sounds which we would later on copy. Char was not my classmate in this class, but she also had this professor for another class. We would swap stories about him and we agreed that he made our brains dizzy. To get me through this class, Char, Mica and Mina would make me laugh!
Take Away: All is well.
NSTP One - Wednesday 2:00PM-4:50PM
Would someone please explain why I needed to take this class? How come this class is not graded? How come it's just pass or fail? I had to drag myself to this class every freaking week. Half of the time I did not understand the professor who taught the class in some form of Filipino. Did not help that all my classmates in this class were rowdy first year students. Good thing I had some friends who were in this class who were also irregular students like me. We got through the whole semester because of food, swapping stories and hating the class. The best thing that happened in this class was that we got to go to GK Enchanted Farm. The most annoying thing is that there still is an NSTP Two. Freaks.
Take Away: None.
Introduction to Broadcasting- Friday 9:30AM-12noon
I wanted to skip this class altogether! I have no idea if we were wasting the professor's time or she was wasting our time. I dunno if her method of teaching was wrong or if we just expected something totally different. I dunno if she taught us anything or we just didn't listen close enough. I dunno if her De La Salle University standards are higher or if Assumption standards are lower. I have no idea. It was pretty awkward when she asked the class if there was anything wrong and how come we were failing. As if we would stand up and tell her what the problem was. In the end, we just shut up and did whatever we could to pass. When I found out that she was serious with her weekly reflection papers on TV shows, I made tons of them and passed them all. The happiest we were during this subject was when we got to visit GMA 7. And then some of my groupmates for our final project got to interview DJ Jimmy Muna.
Take Away: Being in media will never be easy, but it will be worth it.
Scriptwriting - Friday 2:00PM-4:50PM
I LOVED THIS CLASS! <3 Before the professor made us write our own scripts, she made us watch tons of movies. Because I love movies, I would download all the movies she would make us watch and I'd use those movies as an excuse to waste away three hours a day. I'll never forget this class because I got to watch a really good movie, We Have To Talk About Kevin. There was this movie about Rizal which was brilliant, but I got bored. And so many other movies which made me go, 'Crap. I wish I wrote that script.' I got a partner when it came to making our own script. And we literally did not sleep just so that we could finish the script. There were times I would really yell because things were so off and lines weren't coming out of our heads. Coffee, energy drinks and alcohol helped us along the way.
Take Away: "The producer is anyone who knows a writer."
Economics - Saturday 10:40AM-1:50PM
Curses! Saturday classes suck. Why do I need economics when my course is Media Production? Stupid. I bought the book for this class just so that I would not have to listen to the professor talk. Little did I know that I would not also be able to understand the stupid book which was full of numbers and graphs. Every Saturday, I would think of new ways to entertain myself during this class. At first, I would just count the times the professor would use his fuck finger to point at the board. After some time, I got tired of doing that. So I would borrow the phones of my friends and play all sorts of weird games. When that didn't work, I composed a song. And then towards the end of the semester I copied my classmate, Michel, and practiced writing with my left hand. Yes, that was how boring this class was. I was especially disappointed after I learned that the professor got all of his Powerpoint Presentations online. Like what?! O.o
Take Away: Anything with numbers bores me to death.
At the End of the Day: I wanna say that I had such a useless semester and that most of my classes were crap, but that wouldn't be true. I enjoyed this semester because my friends made it awesome. =)
Woe to Agamemnon king of Argos!
It's been approximately two days since our class did our black light flip card presentation of Electra by Euripedes and I am still on what I call a "Classics High." In late January, our professor, Miss Schnabel told us that we would have to interpret the play Electra. Our presentation would be considered our final exam. The first thing I did was ask Krissa, our block rep, what she wanted done. And she was like, 'Kahit ano! We have 7k to spend.' The second person I talked to was Elaine who helped write the script and was there since day one. And the third person who knew about almost everything was Tricia who reserved rooms, made sure we had props and bugged people. Then, after those three people knew about the plan, things got crazy.
My number one problem was that we had no money to spend. I thought that the school would give us our 7k and we could just waste it all on props and food. Heck, we had to pay for our props, collect the receipts, give the receipts to Miss Schnabel and then get refunded for whatever we spent. My second problem was that our class was made up of three different blocks with three different schedules and people who could not get along or come to practices on time. And my third problem was that no matter how hard anyone in the prod team explained the concept to the whole class, only a handful of people could get it. Holy crap.
When I finally got my hands on twenty four illustration boards, I was all set to tell the class, 'You have no freaking idea how hard it is to make props!' It didn't help that one side of the illustration board was white and we had to paint that black or that the white paint would not glow in the black light. There was one week in which I stayed up late with Elaine, Pat and Phoebe just trying to get our first set of props to work. At 11PM one night, we dragged twelve heavy illustration boards to the bathroom of my house, plugged the black light and saw that it was working. Suddenly, my tiredness vanished and I thought, 'Wait till the whole class sees this!' True enough, the next day, Thursday, when they saw the picture above and the actual effect they found it in them to finish two more sets of twelve illustration boards.
Finally, all (or 90%) of our props were done. The scripts were already given out to everyone. The actors already knew their lines. My problem was the chorus. I had twelve people who could not memorize lines, would come to practices late, would give me shitty excuses, would wake up two hours after call time and who gave me so many reasons to give up on them. There was one Saturday in which all I did was let those who showed up for practice fix the props. Another time, I waited for four hours for people to show up. They showed up six hours later with a lot of apologies which I wanted to push down their throats. But we still practiced as a team.
We had good days and we had bad days. There were days in which everyone was awake and cooperative. And there were days when I was on a yelling spree because someone was late or someone forgot their line or someone did not flip their card on time. A good day was when we could use the Studio in school to practice. A bad day was when we would practice in the heat and I had to deal with the complaints of everyone. A good day was when everyone in the chorus remembered to wear a black shirt. A bad day was when people in the chorus would wear white when the prod team had clearly told them not to. A good day was a day that no one asked questions and just followed. A bad day was when they asked dumb questions which I had answers to but I didn't want to waste my time explaining. A good day was when they trusted the prod team. A bad day was when they did not.
Finally, I guess it kicked in that more than getting the presentation right or remembering lines, what mattered was that we were one as a group. What mattered most was that those in the presentation trusted that the prod team knew what they were doing. What mattered was that the prod team trusted the cast to do their jobs. What mattered was that the chorus trusted their fellow chorus members not to mess up. What mattered was that the actors trusted each other not to forget lines. Team work mattered!
You never know how ready the team is until they perform on the day itself. The night before, Thursday, we had our final practice. Gloves still had to be bought. Masks had to be done over. Some props still had to be made. Last minute changes were made. Some of us had documentaries to cram and exams to review for which we would be passing or taking the next day. We were exhausted. As soon as I got home, I left my things and ran out to buy more props. Others did the same. On Twitter that night and early morning of Friday, some were still up reviewing and editing. Because I could not sleep that night, I got out of bed and tried reviewing. When that did not work, I went to school to attend my 7:45AM class.
Somehow, I got myself out of my 7:45AM class and found myself fixing up the place and some props. When Tricia arrived at around 8:30AM, I told her some changes which the cast would have to do without even practicing it. After Krissa, Chachi and I fixed some stuff, we rushed to take our written exam in Broadcasting at 9AM. Hell, I could not concentrate! Right after the exam, I left the room to talk to the actors and reminded them of some small things. Another class was already presenting their presentation in Studio. I was pacing back and forth. The clock was ticking and it was almost 11AM. What did that mean? We had to get our act together and present our black light flip card presentation.
Sit down! Shut up! Stop talking! You'll do fine! Put your hair up! Wear your gloves! Stop laughing! We can do this! After yelling all sorts of commands at them, I was like, 'Heck, just go and have fun! But while you're at it, you might as well get us all a good grade.' As soon as they entered the Studio, I ran to the control room and stayed there. I watched from behind and prayed to anyone up in heaven to please help those nineteen people who were on stage performing. In around five minutes, the performance was done, but we had already made a statement. Sure, we had mistakes. But who the freak cares? We still got our point across. We had already showed everyone who watched who we were and what we were capable of doing.
Everything is still a blur to me. I heard them clapping. We bowed. Some professors talked. We cheered. We cleaned up. We went out to get our things and then Krissa came up to me in the midst of the chaos and went, 'Anna, thank you. Thank you for putting it together.' I was shocked. And touched. But that's the point: a director just puts things together, but whatever is put together is only good if those who are on stage make it happen. And so, thank you!
Thank you random people who made this work like Pat Cibucao and Char SB. Thank you actors! Phoebe, Sarah and Mica, you were always early when you were needed for practices. You didn't just memorize lines. You guys also helped with the props. JT, you never complained or made a fuss. I like that. Mina, you had one line. Thanks for getting it right! Bettina and Paula, you did what you could when no one else was there to help. You showed up when I did not expect it. Thank you chorus! Micah, Ava, Klar and Kat, you guys were on time most of the time and took this seriously. Cool! Anna, I appreciated the fact that you always informed us if you would be absent. Chachi, you solved problems I did not have solutions to. Elaine, thank you for being there since day one! Angelli and Michel, thank you for following orders quickly and without question. Mhean, how on earth do you know how to draw and do lettering? We would not have had words on our props without you. Krissa, where do I start? Thank you for being you! Thank you for always caring for others. Mica, the black lights you lent us were amazing! More than that though, you came to practice even if you live so far away. Thank you prod team! Kai, for some reason, whenever something goes wrong, I know I can count on you. Paige, thank you for texting certain people to bring the things we needed. And to Nicdao, your ability to stay cool in messed up situations is amazing! You kept me sane the entire time.
What a nice way to end the school year!
*All pictures belong to my block-mates.
** Kinda messed up, but I don't really care.
Expectation: Parents will want to spend time with me on the weekend since we rarely see each other during the week.
Reality: Parents pick me up from my brother's house and hurry home because they have other things to do. When we get home, they do their thing and I do my thing. The next day, as a family, we spend so much time in church. By the time we have the day to ourselves, we're all tired and I have to go back to my brother's house. So much for wanting to spend time with them.
Expectation: Church is a place where people are welcoming and loving and oh so awesome.
Reality: I have never felt so alone in my whole life! It has been more than one freaking year and I still am surrounded by strangers every Sunday. I have gone out of my way to make friends, but they stick to their little world. Impossible.
Expectation: Friends will be there for you and with you.
Reality: They will be there for you when they have the time and energy. They will be with you only if you live close to each other. Schedules get busy. Money gets tight. Life happens. You get through problems on your own.
Expectation: Childhood friends will be friends forever and ever.
Reality: Shit happens! You end up acting civil when you see each other in parties, bump into each other at the mall or accidentally 'like' their status or photo on Facebook.
Expectation: College is an awesome experience that I will enjoy and treasure for the rest of my life.
Reality: As soon as I make it to college, I cannot wait to run out of the college building. The only thing that keeps me motivated to go through with college is the knowledge that my parents will disown me if I do not graduate. Cannot wait to get this over with. Seriously.
Expectation: Media Production is the most awesome course ever!
Reality: Media Production is the most awesome. All we ever do is stay up late shooting videos, editing videos, doing voice overs, making PSA's, watching movies, writing scripts and doing all that crap. Our diet consists of coffee and fast-food. Our brains are working even when we're sleeping.
Expectation: Bookstores will have all the books I want when I want them.
Reality: Walked to around all the malls in Makati looking for a certain book I have been wanting to buy. Wasted around one hour running all around and asking those people in the bookstore if they had that certain book. They did not have the book The Fault in Our Stars. Never really thought that the day would come when a bookstore would disappoint me.
Expectation: Professors will teach me things I need to know.
Reality: Professors have me searching for answers to random questions they ask. Most of the time, they teach me 10% of the things I will need for the future. Sheesh.
Expectation: Community will be more awesome during its fourth season.
Reality: No one is really sure how they feel about the first episode or the fourth season. The plot is so screwed up. The characters are not themselves. It's too weird. It's too different. It's new.
Expectation: Writing will be easy! Writing will make me famous! Writing will be my profession!
Reality: Writing is not that easy. Writing will not make me famous. Writing may not be my profession. Writing may not even be for me at all.
Expectation: I will be out of college by the time I am twenty years old.
Reality: Got into college when I was seventeen years old because I took grade seven. And then transferred into another college. So now, I will be out of college by the time I am twenty-two. I hate this thing called time.
Expectation: Love. Love. Love.
Reality: Friend-zoned.
