Ateneo or UP?

ACET results are finally out! :) There was heavy traffic along Katipunan Avenue yesterday.Seniors flooded the Blue Eagle Gym where the results are posted. Those hopefuls were not alone, though. Parents, siblings or anyone for that matter were there to witness that drama.

      Me? I was sleeping in that beautiful and dramatic Saturday morning. I was supposed to be part of that crowd but the attraction between my bed and I was far more greater than the need to get up. Oh well. Let me be. IT'S THE WEEKEND, FOR GOODNESS' SAKE! My slumber was ultimately disturbed by a phone call. Groggily. I picked it up. It was Rogie, a friend who was at the gym as of that moment. He called to say,

"YOUR BROTHER PASSED! :))))"

      The sleepy me was like, "Oh really? Great." BUT it suddenly dawned on me. MY BROTHER PASSED THE ACET! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

     Little bro got in BS Environmental Sciences with full scholarship plus dormitory allowance. Great deal, huh? :))) No more worries! Just allowance and he's good to go!

      BUT...

      He also got in University of the Philippines which is like every senior's dream come true. He got in the 4-year program in Geology. Still, not bad, right? 

       He's at the crossroads like I was before! There are some pros and cons in every choice. I was thinking about it and here are my reasons.

ATENEO?

The ups....

• I'm here, obviously. :))))) We get to be in the same community, too! :)
• SCHOLARSHIP!!! No more worrying for tuition expenses. Just work hard and it will do! 
• OrSem is the BEST! Enough said.
• BS ES is such a good course, too! The home org's located in the Manila Observatory, I believe. Now, how cool is that? :)
• You won't get lost around the campus. The size is really manageable. :)
• Security's really strict. You can count it as a con, too. :)
• It's a good thing being called an Atenean. There's a ring of prestige to it!

The downs...

• The cost of living is high. Scholarship will take you there but gosh, you have to manage resources wisely. Food here does not come cheap. (My brother eats a lot sooooo you understand why this is very much included in the down side.)
• Well, you have to dress up for class. One, there's the implementation of a dress code. Two, the campus is like a walking runway. 

I can;t think of more reasons. wooh so...

UP?

The ups...

• IT's UP! You must be really proud to be an Iskolar ng Bayan! Tuition is subsidized that's why sending your child here isn't as hard on the wallet as it is to other universities.
• You can live with just P100 a day. :) That's according to some of my friends and I doubt it would be untrue. There's a lot of stalls around the campus. :)
• You get to experience 3-day weekends every week! Monday is an official part of your weekend unless you professors ask you to come for an exam or stuff like that.
• The grounds are beautiful and refreshing! It's also fun to know about trivial stuff about the buildings. :)
• You won't worry much on how you look because in UP, you can be anyone and wear anything you like. There's this liberal sense of understanding in the university so don't fret too much!
• I HAVE ENOUGH REASON TO BE IN UP! WOOOHOOOO!
• PSYSC! Enough said. 

The downs...

• It takes a while not to get lost. There's a reason why there are jeepneys around the campus, right? 
• Well, since my brother's not on a scholarship program, our parents still have to pay for that, too. Wonder which bracket he belongs to? 
• It isn't easy looking for a dorm to stay in the campus. This is where all diskarte comes in handy.
• Compared to AdMU, UP is an ocean of strangers. Size is proportional to population, I believe. Wooh. It would be fun and taxing at the same time to meet lots of new people. :)

I ran out of reasons already but that's a good thing, though. I have to come back to my stack of books. It's midterm season once again and gosh, I need to pull my grades up. Not saying they're really bad. I just want to make it to the list this semester so #push! Haha oh well. It's still his decision. Either way, I'm good with him studying here in Manila. Looking forward to June, then! Wooohoooo!

 

Thank God It's Wednesday!

Halfway through the last week of class for 2013!

Although the day didn't start off the way I planned it to be (I was hoping I could still review early before my first class, 8:30 Literature), it was a day worth the hassle and stress. :))

Because I crammed studying for that first Chemistry long test and hit the sack at around 2 am, my body clock cannot help but adjust to what my exhausted little shell demands. To no one's surprise, I went to class, rushing late. Well, at least I had time to grab some coffee.

The same routine went on, actually. Literature. Chemistry. Quiz unfinished. Ranting about the fact that I knew the answers but time suddenly went haywire and left me with some questions unanswered. Dance aerobics. Back to the dorm.

My bed is indeed a siren, luring me with her captivating lullaby. Indeed, one must congratulate me for standing up against her calls. :))) Instead of sleeping in, I had a date with my Chemistry notes (I'm tired of Chemistry too. =.= but allow me to digress please.) and I said goodbye to my life online for a while.

Studying drained me. Oh well, those 5 hours solving sample problems made a difference, anyway! :) Although I was still betting against time, I had fun answering the long problems! :D The multiple choice part was confusing though. Since when did multiple choice be as simple as the alphabet ? It's the same with life and all the crossroads it poses. You must always choose. At least in an examination, there's always a right option. That's not always true with life, though. One choice leads to another and you'll end up thinking, "What if I chose the other one?"

Now, where did that come from?!

Moving on, after a grueling match of wits, IT WAS TIME TO CELEBRATE! Who wouldn't rejoice over the fact that you survive a long test? I always do, by the way. :)))

UP was having its annual Lantern Parade and it would have been fun to go and witness the lights over the city skyline but then, the obedient little daughter inside me opted to let the chance go. It was a tough choice! :( I had to choose between this and my block Christmas party this Friday. I couldn't miss our block's first holiday get-together. It's a milestone I should be part of. That's why, sayonara, UP Lantern Parade. Maybe next time. :')

I would have called it a day but then, Claire, one of my groupmates for our Food Innovation Project, called to update me regarding our proposal. And.....

Ella: Hey there.

Claire: Girl, I HAVE NEWS!
Ella: Yep, ano latest chikka? (Yep, what's the latest gossip?)
Claire: *mumbles something*

Ella: What? Can you just send me a text message or anything? I'm still having dinner at KFC!
Claire: WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FIRST PLACE! DOC WONG LIKED OUR PROPOSAL AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FIRST PLACE!

Ella: OMAAYGAWD SERYOSO?!?

Let me just emphasize it again,

OUR PROPOSAL GOT THE PANEL'S ATTENTION AND TA-DA! HELLO, RESEARCH TURNED TO REALITY! :)))

That research project slash paper slash proposal was no small feat. Our group was mainly composed of freshmen plus a mentor who is a senior from the same course. We spent nights cramming that paper! (Yep, I know. We are master crammers haha) We faced the crowd and defended those ideas. The risk paid off! :))))

I was too happy to function well upon hearing the news. Literally jumping from joy, I seemed not to have any other care in the world. Never mind the cars passing me by. I'm sure they were wondering who's that girl skipping each step. But i just had to. :))))))))))

We didn't get bragging rights as champs, though. Got second place because our project lacked something. Still, it is a huge deal! :))))) Only a few more revisions and we are good to go! Doc Wong also teaches Thesis for our course and you know what's another good thing to celebrate, he is considering exempting us for this class! :))))))

The day really turned out better than I have expected. :)))))) Now, exhaustion is overcoming me. I was able to survive straight 24 hours without napping though! Time to log out. Ciao~ :))