MILESTONE

Graduation day.

It was the day we've all been waiting for. Suddenly my constant whining about school stuff and about how sleep-deprived I was during my five years of college became nothing when compared to this. March 25, 2009 was definitely well worth the wait. :]

On the day that marks a great milestone on my simple life

I remember feeling like something has come to an end. After all, going to school was something I've done for seventeen years, I was happy, relieved, excited and hopeful. This marked the end of getting up in the mornings to put on our white and green uniform, it marked the end of our fifteen minute walk from the entrance of the university to our college building. It marked the end of countless problem sets, laboratory reports and exams. It marked the end of lunch with my closest friends at the canteen then in the student's lounge, huddled together in our group sharing stories, laughing and most of the time cramming for assignments and quizzes until the bell rang. It marked the end of our barkada bonding after class, our movie dates, shopping with the girls or patiently waiting for the boys while they bask in on computer games. This marked the end of my 5 minute- powder break turned 15 minutes chikahan session with the girls in the CR while the boys wait by the door; I will never forget their exasperated what-took-you-so-long looks when we finally had the urge to come out. :]]

I will surely miss my dearest friends and the rest of the ECE 51. They are the very reason why I still look forward to going to school everyday despite the very heavy workload that awaits us each day and a serious form of fatigue that goes along with it. It sucks that the two belonged to a single package.

I will definitely miss my professors, and I will always be grateful to them for giving us the benefit of their wisdom.

The most important lesson I've learned isn't about the stuff I learned from textbooks or laboratory experiments or from the long hours of sitting in class. It is the lesson I've learned through meeting the people who touched my heart.. and still do until now! :]]

What Pays Off?

I:
officially became on vacay! a week ago.
wanted to blog weeks ago but kept procrastinating because I know this entry is going to be looooong.
and most importantly..
I:
got pass thesis and case study and pre-board exams!
am graduating on March 25!
am finally done with school for good. :)

Here's a rundown of the important events that happened while I was taking a Blog-leave.


February 6: Final Defense

The original schedule was at 8'o clock in the morning but at 8.30 we were still 2 panelists short and our thesis adviser was nowhere to be found. Luckily, we managed to find the right substitute for the panelist who called in sick and even though we started late, everything went smoothly as I hoped. We passed with minor revisions on the paper.

Minor revisions and more than a thousand bond papers later...



February 26&27: Pre-board Examinations

These were the 2 days everybody was dreading. You're lucky if you have good history on the previous comprehensive exams, but if you don't (like me and everybody else), the pre-board exams were clearly a matter of life and death. It sucks that these two days can put your chances of graduating on time in jeopardy. And unfortunately, for most of us, it did.

March 2: THE Results.

At around 4 in the afternoon, we were asked to enter the Dean's office one at a time for the dreaded results. At that moment, we were immediately branded into two. Those who passed and those who did not. Immediate relief awaited those who passed while sadness and disappointment greeted those who did not. During that time, I just felt that I can't be happy, it's enough that I am relieved for most of my dearest friends passed too. But seeing those people who cried because they didn't make it , even those I don't even know and haven't spoken to during my five years of college was heart breaking enough. I reserved my happiness for later and tried to comfort as many people as I can, especially those who are my friends. It's very hard to see them like that. I mean, we all did not sign up for this pre-board thing. How can they just drop a bomb like that thinking that everybody can handle it just fine. We were working on our thesis, doing internship and case study and we still have academic subjects, for Christ's sake! It's easy for them to say that all we need to do is study hard for the pre-board but I don't think anyone can be fully prepared especially if he has to juggle everything else on one hand including the fear of not graduating on time. Yes, it was easy for them to say that all we needed was to study hard, but I don't think they even thought about the pressure they were inflicting. And if they were in our shoes, I doubt that they could handle it.

March 6: First job interview.

This was a funny experience. I can't believe I did not take this seriously. I did not even think about the things that they might ask and how I should answer. I didn't even cracked an Electronics book open to prepare for the technical exam. It didn't even cross my mind. I just accepted their invitation, (I was lucky I was among the 6 people who passed their first exam) sent them my resume via email, then went to my first job interview unprepared. Hahah!
My excuse?
My mind was already in vacay! mode that time. And I'm not planning to land a job immediately, I still have the actual Board Exam to prepare for.
At least now I know what to expect for my next job interview. And I learned a lot of lessons, believe me. :)

March 7. Senior's Night: Black and White Party.

My friends and I are not exactly the type who go to events like this especially if the Student Council organized it. It's not that we have anything against them, it's just we think there are better things to do. Always.
But the Senior's Night was an exemption. After all, this was for us seniors. And we just couldn't miss the chance to be together in a Black and White Party. We are about to separate ways, so this may not happen again.


However, one bad thing about school events is that they always have a curfew. It was not even long after we got into party mode that the organizers were already calling the night off. It was a good thing we had a back up plan. It was a road trip to Tagaytay plus partying and dancing until 4am. :]]

So what if wearing heels sucked big time? I was just too happy that we were together.

So, what pays off? Patience and hardwork pay off. And love of friends pays off too. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if college life has been difficult, at least I have them. And I intend on keeping them, for good. :)

P.S.O.D

No I'm not speaking forensics. Though I enjoy watching Gil Grissom, OD does not involve a crime scene this time.
*****

One mid- December morning at the office where I was an intern, a friend urged me to finally try Facebook. Our boss was gone and service orders were still far from many. It was the time of the day when everything work related can just sit in the corner and be left ignored. I've been wanting to try Facebook for the longest time but starting an account also means putting up a decent profile for everyone else to see, finding the people I know and uploading a photo of myself. I didn't have the time for that back then and yes, I'm still living in 2003 trapped with Friendster.
My friend too, has recently joined Facebook that time and she wanted to add more friends and more pets in her Pet Society neighborhood. So right after she created an account for me, she introduced me to Pet Society and finally let go of the mouse so I can choose what my pet will look like.
I settled for light green and really cute big round eyes. But just like how I never wanted to wear baseball cap and a plain t-shirt in real life, I didn't want my pet to wear something of that sort. I soon became obsessed with earning more coins, I even went as far as creating an account for both Archie and Billy so I can use their lottery coins to buy furnitures and cute dresses. I am a sucker for anything pink and the first dress I really wanted was this pink princess dress.


I guess the game appealed to me because it involves looking fabulous and getting creative in decorating your pet's house. This pink dress was the first item I really wanted. BAD. But it costs a whooping 800 coins so I had to turn to Billy's pet and his coins for help. I couldn't use my own coins because I was saving up for a pink Mademoiselle's bonnet worth 500 coins that surely did go well with the pink dress.
34 levels later, and after taking over 6 accounts excluding mine, (Billy's, Archie's, Sharmaine's, my brother's and sister's, Brad's), here's a peek of my pet Sundae. :)


Last night while I was looking for new room ideas for Pet Society, I came across this blog called Pet Society Anonymous. The author's January 6 entry was entitled Pet Society Overdose- are you at risk? She presented a list of questions which I dutifully answered while laughing at myself and feeling guilty both at the same time.

Signs that you may be at risk for Pet Society Overdose: (taken from petsocietyanonymous.com)

• You feel intense pleasure and guilt when playing Pet Society.

GUILTY

• You lie about how much time you spend on Pet Society.
  

Uhmm, if we're talking about those times that I should be working on our thesis instead, (oh! this is embarrasing) YES.
GUILTY

• You curse loudly at your computer when your pet falls during a hurdles race.

Here's one I am NOT GUILTY of. I stopped racing a long time ago.

• You neglect to clean your real house, favoring to decorate your pet’s house instead.

GUILTY

Well, not the entire house but my room is a total mess! But my pet's house? Fantastic!

• You think that a pink Christmas tree is classy.

GUILTY
I know the yuletide season was long gone but I told you, I'm a sucker for anything pink and I was desperate to have a pink tree when I first saw it on the Forum. So I am keeping it in my pet's room. It IS classy. And it's final. The tree STAYS.

• You have multiple accounts on Facebook so that your pet can have more “friends.” Or, you have taken over your boyfriend’s/husband’s/ girlfriend’s/wife’s Facebook account so that your pet can visit his/her pet.

GUILTY
Yes. I've taken over my boyfriend's, my friends', my siblings' not just for visiting reasons but for earning coins as well. This helps if you're a shopaholic. There's a tendency that your pet is one too.

• Pet poo excites you.

GUILTY
Pet poo excites me just because Archie wants to collect poo in his pet, Pochi's house. The brown poo's all his. What I am excited about is the possibility of my pet popping out a golden poo!

Thank you petsocietyanonymous for sharing with me the signs of Pet Society Addiction. Not that I'm not aware of them before. It's fun to read the signs from somebody else's POV.
That's it. Enough for today. I still have to feed my pet and open 22 gold mystery boxes.
I'm kidding. I'm pulling an all-nighter (again) for our thesis. Thank God Sundae's here to keep me company. Hahah :)

Another cup of coffee please...

I don't want this month to end without a single post so I'm multitasking. This involves shifting my browser from thesis stuff to Facebook and Pet Society, to Fashion Wars and to my blog. It's been a while since my last post. But nothing much have changed, really. I'm still caught up with tons of school stuff. If there's one thing that has changed, it's my rekindled relationship with my over-sized coffee mug.

The fact that I have a lot of experience in the area of sleep deprivation plus my constant practice of pulling an all nighter definitely did come in handy during these times of thesis cram sessions. Though I am done with my second set of 200 hours of internship (this means I'm supposed to be free during Mondays and Wednesdays) my whirlpool of daily activities did not even changed a bit. Back then, most of my free time are spent in Billy's place doing our thesis. Now the days when I'm not supposed to be in school were still spent in school since we have to do a lot of testing procedures and consult our thesis adviser every chance we get. And then each day after class, Billy, Archie and Merce stay at my place until almost midnight for our thesis. I try to catch up on some Zzzs while they work and then I start working on the paperworks until morning after they left.
To make my long story short, I am currently back on zombie-mode. I'm having a hard time listening to my professors during class. Unfortunately for my Broadcasting subject, it's on the exact time that my sleepiness is at its peak and falling flat on my face from some serious form of fatigue was all I could think of. But I can't sleep during class. especially if I'm seating at the front row!

I still have loads to tell! And I promise to make time during one of my Thesis101 overnight sessions. That is, if I still have an ounce of sanity left.

Pains, Lessons and Blessings. Part II

FRIENDS= HAPPINESS.

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.




This one's a given. They are one of the few reasons why my sanity is still intact even though college has taken its toll on me since day one. They are one of the few reasons why I always look forward to sem breaks and holidays.


And Sharmaine, who has been my dearest friend since fourth grade. I've learned enough lessons from her to last me a lifetime. She reminds me of the type of person I wanted to become. And in times of troubles, when all others fail, hers is the hand I can always reach out to.
24/7.


HE LOVES YOU, SO BE NICE.

To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another.


2008 was the year we turned two.
Sure, we do argue a lot. There were many times I refused to speak to him for days. But it still doesn't change the fact that two years later, I'm still in love with someone who makes me suuuper happy. And loves me dearly even though my mood swings proved to be a real pain in the ass time and time again. Who tries hard to keep up with my shopping sprees and treats complaining as a big no-no. Who treats my family as his own. Who holds my hand as if he's never ever gonna let go.

THANK YOU.
You're the very reason why I would love to believe in HAPPILY EVER AFTER. :)

Pains, Lessons and Blessings. Part I

"Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect and Thank God it can go."
****
2008 has been my own whirlpool of ups and downs. Got me close to tears at some point, crying my heart out in another, but happy and contented most of the time.

Lessons-

COURAGE.

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing the heart.

There were a dozen times during the year when I have felt defeated.
I was almost in tears when I found out that Daddy was sick. That was by far, the biggest blow. I immediately prayed for him to be okay, but the damage was already done. One of the hardest parts, apart from from not-knowing and dealing with uncertainties is facing my shattered views. Just because he's the best father anyone could have ever had and he takes good care of everything, and he lifts you up even from the deepest pit of your darkest days, it doesn't mean that he has this impenetrable shield and he's always strong.
Those six months was among our darkest days, and I thank God with all my heart that it's all over now.
Yes, I've dealt with my shattered views about my father's health. But how I see him as a person will never change, or shatter like a broken glass. It's hard as steel.
He is still the world's greatest dad.

ACCEPTANCE.

Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgment of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it.

One failed mark last semester was enough to send me locked up in my room for three straight days while crying non-stop. That sucks. A lot. But thankfully, I've gotten over it with a lot of prayer that everything will turn out fine. The thing about failure is (though it sucks a lot), it gives you the opportunity to bounce back higher.
Because of that subject, I'm taking different classes now for the first time. Technically. It's not really the first, but the first one's internship so that doesn't count. I had to face my first 200 hours of internship alone while everybody else had to take classes on Signals and Spectra again over the summer. (Remember when we filed a complaint regarding of our professor and I'm the only one among my friends who passed the subject. Yep, that's why.)
Now, I've decided to omit taking different classes on my things-that-I-hate-to-do-since-it-totally-sucks list. It does not really classify as overly-majorly bad. In fact, I'm happy that I'm taking different classes. It's good that I'm learning different things and I got to spend one whole day every week with Ann and Ria alone. And looking back, it's good that things got really shaky last semester break. Since I was too worried about the possibility of not graduating on time, I got Archie and myself into skipping the semester break and starting with our internship early to avoid schedule-problems. Now Archie, Billy and Gaudi, all three who expected to be summer grads are almost done with 400 hours of internship! Now all that's left for us to do is get pass this huge obstacle called thesis back to back with pre-board exams and we'll be done with school. For good. Best of luck to all of us!

CHARITY.

Kindness is contagious.

Probably one of the best things that I've done this year is embracing the gift of service by joining Charity Focus. Writing for HelpOthers.Org and touching other people's hearts from different places across the globe really IS something. This is certainly one good way of spreading my blessings brought by other people's kindness.


Too bad I'm too busy at school, I've posted only five stories so far. That's nothing compared to dozens of stories most volunteers post each day. I promise to make time during the weeks to come. Writing for HelpOthers.Org has become my sort of theraphy. My personal escape from my busy world. :) Here are some of my favorite comments posted to my stories.

From my story Smiles (April 14)

On Apr 16, 2008, lovebug says:
Life is very often, not a pretty picture, but you gave what you had. That is enough.

On Jul 13, 2008, Aurelia says:
Smile because what you did made a big difference in him...a few coins and a big smile...perfec combo. :0) ~Aurelia

From my story Straight From a Woman's Heart (April 16)

On Apr 16, 2008, martzi says:
it was proven that God really exist using the people around us. your sharing is really good. here is my smiles for you.

On May 1, 2008, lovebug says:
Sorry, it has taken so much time to catch up with your story of April 16th, it really touched my heart. Hope you will post again, I might learn something before my time is over.

From my post Happy Father's Day to my Angel In Disguise (June 15)

On Jun 15, 2008, wayfarer says:
Arnee, I used to sail with guys from Sierra Leone who did the same thing, worked at sea ten months a year to provide for their families. I thought it was heroic then and I still do. Your dad is a hero!

On Jun 15, 2008, lmil1954 says:
That is a wonderful tribute to your dad, arnee. You are blessed and so is he. Happy father's Day to all...and my daughter said it to me this morning too (and Im her mom) Love, Lida:)

On Jun 15, 2008, makesomeonesmile says:
That is great arnee! What a special dad and special person you are too!

From my story Love, Life and Service (July 8)

On Jul 8, 2008, JuneBug says:
Yes, a beautiful story! There were many services I have missed because of the pain of my disease. I always regret missing out. Then I came to the conclusion, I'm gonna hurt wherever I am, so might as well be in church with my church family and growing closer to God. Yes, He knows our pain well....:)

From my post Eight Lies of a Mother (August 29)

On Sep 1, 2008, warmth says:
i salute all the women i know of my life. Your story have inspired me to appreciate them. Thank u and God Bless u


There you go. The first part of my year-end report. Part II's due tomorrow. This is a promise I have to keep.
Gotta go. Gotta go. I still have to help mom with all the cooking. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Cheers to another chance to get it right!

I'm sure as hell thankful that I take down notes!

For the third time this week, I'm on this very spot. Trying to pull things together, get pass these loopholes that are seriously starting to affect my memory. It has been a while and I wanted to write about lot of things. I planned to write about lot of things. Some of these things even hit me when I least expected it. I have no idea why most of them vanish into thin air when I'm at this very spot. The only reason I managed to get pass my first sentence (which is something I've failed to do in my previous attempts) is that I've got help from a notepad.
It's THAT serious.
Leave it to my memory to forget about stuff just when I am about to make use of those stuff.
I even had to write some of them down just so I wouldn't forget!
Oh well, I guess jotting down notes would not be too bad. The good thing is, it doesn't take much getting used to. I've had lot of practice at school. And now I have to do the same for my blog, for crying out loud!
****
Let me happily announce that I am enjoying my Christmas break a lot. Although there's a lot of school stuff I ought to be dealing with (it's hard to concentrate on school stuff when you're all prepped up for the holidays), I am very happy that I am getting a lot of sleep than usual. And I get a chance to read books. And go shopping till my feet are screaming in agony from walking from store to store and I am nearly broke.
Unfortunately and inevitably, it's only just a matter of time before I go back to zombie-slash-vampire mode. Zombie- since I will definitely have to deal again with a serious case of eye bags fully equipped with the dark circles under my eyes. I would be somewhat disoriented during the day due to lack of sleep, I will talk less and stare into nothingness most of the time.
Vampire- not because I'm only awake during night time but awake during both day time and night time. Stephenie Meyer has been feeding a lot of vampire facts into my mind. I know the 'being nocturnal' stuff about vampires is just a myth since vampires don't sleep. At all. We will surely have a lot of common then for the weeks to come, while I stay up all night doing my thesis.
But before that, I would definitely have to do this again. Notes or no notes. I will write about some of the good things that happened this year.
Somewhat like a year-end report.
But I guess I have to make a written list first. Anything mental does not function really well right now.