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Sunday, October 28, 2007

on to better things....like erm - career?

[migrated from livejournal]


Lately, I have been having this freak out sessions with regards to what i need to do for my ece198. I just get so freaked out that I face away and procrastinate. I hate it. I am just so confused. I feel guilty for not doing anything yet, but then i tell myself, "relax, take it at your own pace. Enjoy every moment of vacation while it lasts." Well, I still feel guilty, But, I do give in to the latter's persuasion. It has, after all, been just less than 2 weeks since I became free from last sem.

over all, the sem turned out pretty well. a tres in 53 is not so bad. Heck, I am thankful I did not have to take up the removal exam....I am quite happy and satisfied with the performance for this sem. The guilt feeling of actually not doing super duper well as to pull my grades higher than was expected lingered --- but not for too long though. I has passed. I mean, I could have done better. But, alas, I need at most 1.25 in two of my subjects next sem to actually "make it." But, enough about that. As they say, in this life, the only path available is the path forward. Hahaha, well, they might not have said that, if so, then I said it. haha.

On to lighter side of things.
-It's such a shame that the motorolla razr v8 does not have some of the things that I wish for in a mobile phone. The first things i the lack of expansion in memory. 512 mb is kind of lame. I was hoping that if i did want to buy it, that I would be able to use that memory instead on the v8. But hahaha. why all of this for just a phone? BLAME IT ON THEIR AD! Their (the motorolla razr v8) ad i just so whacked up! It's so cool. Though, reminiscent of the matrix fight scenese, the concept was just so school. To my interpretation of the commercial, it would seem to me that what they were trying to say was that the phone was that "edgy" that it can cut through skin or something haha. the emphasis being put on "edgy" I like the design. But, im still contemplating on whether I would switch phone to it or not. Anyway, if i do have the money, then i guess....But now, I'm broke. I can't even get a hold of a nice pair of shoes I saw...It's all up to mommy. (*evil grin*)

-I can't believe my brother all ready has his PS3!!! @#$@^#% Hehehe. That was just mumbling gibberish. Add insult to the injury - he even has his own lcd tv! although, it was not hdtv. He did say it has hdmi (heheh, whatever that means) --- all i know is that i is compatible with the ps3 - enough to really show case it's console prowess. Haay...Now, I am saying this because this seriously got me thinking about the career path that I should take.

----Two things:
-Engineering career
-Corporate world career

If I did decide to go into the corporate world, and with a BS in ECE (hmm - knocks on wood thrice), then I will not be able to maximize the growth that engineering students (especially electronics courses) have. I mean, see my brother for example, he decided to go down the career path of a networks engineer - and now he has a stable job in new zealand, with his girlfriend, a ps3, etc etc. Now, YOU WOULD NOT GET THAT IN LESS THAN 4 MONTHS  ordinarily - but he did. Well, yes, he is 30 years old. And, he may have acquired enough experience blah blah blah. But the point of it being, can a career in the corporate world bring something like that? My brother has just been working in that company for the said amount of time, but he has already achieved that height.

Once, I forgot when, I told my mom. "Ma, baka di na naman ako mag work sa ibang bansa. Pwede naman akong maiwan nalang dito sa Pilipinas and ako na bahala sa mga ariarian natin." My mom told that to my dad and my sister. And she relayed to me. They laughed at that concept. Well not in the sense of "pangmamaliit" but in the sense of --- hmmm... just plain and simple HUMOR. And my dad's reply was: "Well, that's good, we have someone to take care of us." Hehehe. Well, in my family, where the notion of trying to make up a career here in the Philippines is just a waste of talent (considering monetary returns)...One would think that yes, It will be  waste.

So now, the point of the discussion being brought back. If I decided to go and traverse the path to a corporate career - then I will just be stuck here in the Philippines. Yes, there may be opportunities to travel - but that's not really the idea now. The idea being, to be able to create a career elsewhere( abroad) and become stable. Earn big bucks! Hmm...do i hear amounts like 3M pesos per annum? WEll, that would be a great case....but a case that seems thoroughly unlikely if one pursues a career in the corporate world.

But, hmm, the argument of the corporate career is that, right now, I feel as if my interests lie in that direction. I just don't see myself working my ass off and continually burning up my neurons and solving excruciating engineering problems...Well, A good scenario will be, if it was an engineering career - only this time, I am the boss of my own corporation. Now, won't that be a good mix of both things? Well, yes, even I hope for that. But, my family is not really the type to risk things that big...with a lot of uncertainty and probability of failure especially here in the Philippines - well, that's mostly what they think. I do give the Philippines the benefit of the doubt though.

anyway. I digress. my resolution will be to at least try out engineering jobs and see for myself what the result may be. The result may point me 180 degrees in the other direction. Or it may point me to take up my masters or something.

-------------------------------------------------------
PS: My mom and I bought this "bed tray." It's wood. Hmm. It's the one that you kind of like use to have bed in breakfast in. Haha. And this is just such a great buy! Now I can really use my laptop in bed. Type stuff. Like what I am doing now, and even read magazines and stuff! It's well worth it. If you do want something to place your laptop on while in bed, you can buy something similar! You can find one in SM. It costs only about 430 pesos! It is sturdy enough! Hmm, oh yeah, just to put emphasis on how I really like this thing. Well, before, since I use my laptop a lot, I put it on the bed, and it heats up due to the lack of ventilation (the bottom being put against something that absorbs the head...blah blah) and I usually end up having it hard on my back and neck since the laptop is so low. So what I do sometimes is put it on a chair and I lie down in bed while using it...so....more trouble to the neck. But say goodbye to those things! hehehe. Plus, it can double to something you can use to have breakfast in bed! Or....vice versa...in this case...since I did buy it for the purpose of using my laptop in bed.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Guys...It's over. It really is...

[migrated from livejournal]


What is?

My 2nd to the last semester that is! Hahahah! I have been itching to type this entry since....June! Hahahah...Finally! Thank the Lord - for this semester is over. I only have one last semester to go! Thank you sir Escoto for being so kind as to give me full credits to my Machine Problem (based on my computations). I dread having to take another final exam. The last and most traumatizing finals in a major subject I took was EEE23 - and that was like - 2 years ago? Man! Time flies by so fast!

Anyway, since the semester is officially over - anyone planning to go to the beach? "Sama ako!" Hahaha.
So, never mind what happened since the last entry - it's the usual.
study study study - do a machine problem - do a design problem - and finally! Those days are over! well, most of it that is. Next semester will be the final test!! I need to go to the beach to fuel up!!!

For this entry.
I dedicate my first few hours of being 'free of the bondage' that I call "waiting for the exemption list for the eee53 comprehensive exam." I havent been able to sleep properly since last Saturday due to the fact that I can't seem to get to sleep because I can't stop thinking of what may happen to EEE53 - so what I did was waste my time in front of the television and playing persona 3 until I could no longer open my eyes due to the exhaustion and UV exposure from the television.

-----segue:
Persona 3 is one awesome game! It has the savvy you look for an RPG. The music is great as well - though the influence of jpop is prevalent - who cares! that's why it's so hip and cool. So cool in fact that you won't really be that disturbed by the fact that the protagonists summon their "inner persona" by using evokers - "soul guns" to shoot themselves in the head." Those evokers - i presume - have spiritual bullets. This game is rated R-18 - for violence in visual content. Plus. The story is kind of mature - not in the hentai kind of maturity - but mature in the storyline...deaths, blood and all that.

-----back on track:
So, after seeing the results of eee53. I contacted friends and informed them of their results...[more information dissemination here]...then i fetched my mom to help me kind of celebrate that my sem is now over.

In no particular order:
1) had another haircut. new hair definitely. i never really was fond of spiking your hair up or those kind of minimal styles that look spiked up...but...i left the stylist to his job. I was getting tired of the long hair. And, my hair is awfully "full" [is that how you say makapal na buhok in english?] so --- old semester and hair gone! new hair come new and final semester.

2) ate at itallianis! now, the menu was pretty pretty intimidating. A pasta good for one priced at 330 pesos?! Hahaha. It was good though. Although, that price was already inclusive of the service charge. Anyway, I treated my mom to dinner. I recently earned some cash by just talking and having a conversation with other people. Nope. I'm not some hosto or something. Hahaha! I just wanted to let your mind linger. But I participated in another focus group discussion whose topic dealt with 3G services....and for less than 2 hours of participation - I got 1500 pesos! Worth it, isn't it? Plus! They serve you merienda...which was shakeys...

3) bought 1 dozen of krispy kreme donuts. Delicious! Hahaha. The first and last time I've tried these donuts was when I went to HongKong last December!! About 10months ago! There are no branches near our place so, that's a deterrent. Anyway, since there's one open at trinoma...I'm sure, this will be my official donut choice. Although, I must say, for 1 dozen, it costs so much. I think the bill we had for the assorted was 335? Or something around that amount...But - Hey! It's delicious. It's great. If you have the money for that sort of pleasure and want. Hehehe- ask your mom to buy it for you!

4) Also, as an update, I'm trying to revise my diet. Diet as in what food I intake - not about how much less I have to eat. I have now officially cut out pork and beef of my diet. I should be starting to cut off chicken as well by the end of the week - but I decided to hasten it up and start it yesterday...So for a good 1 and 1/2 weeks now...doing well...doing well....I am still pondering whether or not I should cut out seafood from the diet as well...BUT that could wait. I still have to find a place where I can buy the vegan meals....i mean those that are already prepared...or something like "chicken tofu." Anyway, I hope that goes well....I am doing this because I think it could be a good change to my eating habit. Just trying something new. I get tired of the same routines. But, the sad part of this is, - if I do officially go vegan then, I won't be able to enjoy family reunions! The Pecking Duck! The Lechon! The Lapu Lapu!  So...that still something to think about.

5) Though I got 3 in EEE53...I did well in COE115. Yey! I got 1.5. That really was a tough nut to crack! My exam average was just above 60 - but still, the lab grade really pulled my grades up! Hahahaah! I got 100.59...but, I am not saying these things for the sake of saying them. I just needed an intro to say...Even if I do not graduate with honors, I seem to have already accepted the fact that it is okay...because, for this sem, I know for myself that I have given it my best shot...Although....that reality is not too far off...I just need to get really really high grades for next sem. Hahaha! 1.25 average? Anyway, I won't really worry too much about that. I will try to enjoy most of my remaining time in college...enjoy it in the sense that I will take each day as they come...and contemplate what I will do after college. My parents are really pushing for me to go and take up an MS. But, hey!, right now, I don't feel like taking any more exam and going through the same routine I have gone through for - well, I don't know - most of my life! So --- 

For now, I'll try to relax! Wait for the day I go to the beach...but right now...ps: two.

Monday, October 1, 2007

start things early...?

[migrated from livejournal]


with so many things left undone...where do you start?

Before this sem becomes officially over --- which would mean that next sem has unofficially started (must get a heads start with thesis!) --- remind myself of these things:

  1. 5 Exams (hopefully - this number is tentative)
    • EEE53 (3rd exam October 13 / finals --- hopefully not!)
    • ECE153 finals (October 17?)
    • ECE 197U finals (hopefully, we win the aMAZE-ing race - hahaha so we get exempted)
    • COE115 3rd exam
  2. Desing Problems / Machine Problems
    • EEE53 (1 Machine Problem October 12)
    • ECE153 (1 Machine Problem October 15?)
    • EEE 54 (Design Problem 3), thankfully, I finished this in advanced =)
    • ECE197U (the aMAZE-ing race! October 5)
    • COE115 (MP4 - Thermotes?)
  3. Thesis
Before this sem officially spills over to the next sem, I should have started coding the FAT16 driver for Z8 Encore! --- my head still spins whenever I see the reference code I have. There's just so many things to start from...so many things to do....ang hirap sobra magsimula...because the thought that after you finish with what you're doing there will be something else to do....it just sucks! As early as now, I wish it's april 27 (the official/tentative date of graduation) --- and hopefully, I will be able to accomplish all of the above to get me there. 
I don't even think about graduating with honors too much now. I say that I am trying - but, the bottom line is always - "have you tried hard enough to actually get there?"

God has managed to help me and my groupmates at least leap the first hurdle, with the help from friendly prayers and supportive friends...so now, the next thing is actually serving it up. (let's not talk too much on its details. =) )

So, now...let's start this!

By the way - If you're looking for an anti-virus software that works - hehehe...don't go looking for Bit Defender / ESET NOD32. Go for Kaspersky. At least, it's the one anti-virus software that I actually managed to find a torrent that has a registration key that works. Works as in, it registers you an account - which is great since the updates will be readily available whenever there are any released. I would not have gotten the idea of switching from my symantec to another software until I concluded that it's not as proactive as I want it to be.