Taking a breather

Thank God for the 5-day weekend we have this week because if it weren't for this long break from school, I'd have probably gone crazy from all the workload. Yesterday, we were finally able to have our Thesis defense and it went pretty good. Now I'm left with what I hope to be final revisions to be done on our documentation. On top of that, I still have other projects to accomplish for a couple more subjects. I know I have to start working my butt off again as soon as possible, but I also know that I need to take a breather, even for only a short while.

I was able to get a good 9 hours of sleep last night and it felt amazing. I had been sleeping for roughly 5 hours in the past consecutive days that those dark circles under my eyes have gone darker. My father has been continuously telling me to not stay up too late anymore and it takes everything in me not to answer back yelling if I don't stay up late then I won't be able to finish all of my schoolwork on time. (Yes, the crankiness comes with the whole package, and for free, too. I'm sure you all know this.) A 24-hour day is simply never enough!

So, right now, aside from venting out, I am taking a break, merely pausing for a while from doing things on my long to-do list. I'm going to read Georgina Wilson's cover story on this month's issue of Cosmo Ph, I may watch the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars and maybe a couple episodes of Friends as well (I'm already on Season 5!), and later I'm gonna go for a jog in UST because I sure as hell need the exercise since I've been stress-eating lately.

I have a lot of long overdue posts but I'll be getting to that probably after I'm done with my final exams which would be on the first week of March. I can't believe all the hard work is soon going to pay off! As I said to a friend, "Konting tumbling na lang, graduate na!"

So near yet so far...

Haven't written here in a while. My mind has been buzzing ever since I came home from school this afternoon and I guess I just need to let all these thoughts out...

My group in thesis decided that we're better off if we have our final defense next semester. It's a big deal because an INC grade will be incurred in our transcript. But a final grade will then be given after we've successfully defended our study. To be honest, I really didn't think we'd make it this sem. But I have a strong faith that we will finish strong next sem.

This whole thing definitely drilled a lesson in my head that I should really learn to prioritize things that I need to accomplish. The thing with me is, I do make lists of things to do but I rarely scratch them off one by one. They are most likely to be scratched off all at the same time, which is really not the way to do it. This is simply one of those life challenges I have to successfully conquer to be able to move on with my life. So yeah, lesson definitely learned, and I'm hoping to take this with me long after I graduate.

Smiling, still

In the past week, I felt so overworked, especially physically, which doesn't really make sense at all since I only went to school for two days (Thursday and Saturday) that week due to suspension of classes for two consecutive days because of heavy rains. I did however had something to do that Friday. My parents and I had an appointment at the DFA for our passport application. Then, I asked my father to drop me off at UST because my friends and I had a review scheduled at the library. I didn't go home until a little over 7 PM and thank God I did because the rain started pouring real hard just when I was walking down our street.

Now August has arrived and I'm starting to feel like this semester is not one of my best... My exams are already coming up next week and I think I'm not even half-prepared yet. But of course, I'm trying my hardest to do my best despite all things getting in the way.

Hopefully, this week will change my outlook for the whole sem. If not, well, I guess I should try again the week after.

Wishing you all a fantastic August! So sorry for sending out negative vibes on the first day of the month. I just had to let some of this buildup out of my system... I have a smile on my face, though, and you should, too! :)

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times when one only remembers to turn on the light.

--Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban

To be a night owl

Behold, my schedule for the coming first semester of AY 2011-2012, my last year of college. I didn't want to have to go to school so early because God knows I will just be sleepy during the whole first period but I didn't want to have to leave school so late at night, either. But as with most things in life, I can only choose one  of the options. I opted to choose the latter.

But lately I seem to be having problems with sleeping in the day, even though I sleep late at night, even past midnight. Probably because I got used to waking up early in the morning to go to work during my month-long OJT. I end up with only 5 or 6 hours of sleep, just like this morning I woke up at 6:50am when I fell asleep at 1 am last night. I tried shutting my eyes again but it didn't work and I wasn't even feeling sleepy anymore. This needs to change, pronto!

Also, I'm concerned about how well I am going to perform in class since I'm not used to studying at night. I mean, I used to do homework at night, but I've never had lectures up until 9 pm like what I'll be having this coming sem. But of course I accept the challenge. Good luck to me!!

My Saturday schedule makes me miserable, though. My mother even felt bad for me for having to go to school on a Saturday for 7 hours. Good thing I have Monday & Friday (the Thesis sched was put there only for formality) off. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a fun sem with my friends, despite the heavy workload it's gonna bring.

Being a 3rd year college student

This week was so stressful in so many levels.

We still don't have our thesis topic fully approved so I'm worrying about that since it's already February. Besides thesis, we also have our SAD case study to work on in which our defense will be on the 24th, but a week prior to that will be a mock defense. Then add to that all the other subjects I am taking which are little pains in the bum as well. All of that will possibly equate to my brain exploding any moment of the coming weeks.

"Hi, I'm Mayee, and "Stress" is my middle name."

That will be my catchphrase until I can finally say that it is all over and I can just prop my feet up and relax. Until then, please God, give me more than enough strength, physically and mentally, as well as patience and perseverance to get through the rest of this school year.

On a happier note, today was the opening of the Engineering Week in UST and we had the annual parade. After that was the "Open House: Flavors of the World" which was a kind of salu-salo for all the Engineering students. I only had the chance to taste the Mexican "flavor" which is simply two tacos. Imagine 7,000 people waiting in line and getting crowded in one place in need of food. I am already thankful for being able to eat tacos.

Classes were suspended already so after we ate, we stayed at the classroom only to take pictures.

It was fun sharing smiles and laughter with my classmates even though we all ended up being tired after all the effort of taking so many photos.

So anyway, I better hit the hay. I tweeted I was going to start reading a new book but I'm reluctant to do so because of the busy weeks ahead of me and I just might end up not finishing it so I decided to just blog. I am very much looking forward to reading again soon though. Add me on Goodreads to see books on my to-read list. :)

Teenage Dream

Last night I caught the clock at 11:11 PM and did you know what I wished for? Good exam grades. The whole of last week was my preliminary examinations and boy, did I suffer through hell. But I'm glad it's all over know! All I have to do is await the results. I am seriously praying that I pass all my exams. Pray for me as well, it would mean a lot. :)

Right now I'm just trying to relax and enjoy my Sunday because we still have some projects to do this upcoming week. In the past few days I have built quite a long movie watchlist and it just seems endless to me so I will try to scratch off a couple films from my list today. I think I'll watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Fame, and The Secret Life of Bees.

And before I forget, last night something random came to me: I suddenly wanted to write to my friends via snail mail. I've never actually sent mail through the post office (my mom used to do it when we'd write to my brother abroad) so the thought of doing it excites me somehow. The surprise in their faces when they get the letter is exciting, too. Not that I'll get to see it, but I can imagine their reactions would be something like, "Wow, people still do this?" Haha. I like the thought of receiving physical mail so it will be kind of my way of telling them to write me back in snail mail, too. (This was actually inspired by someone on Tumblr who has a bunch of Disney Pixar post cards and he/she is asking for anyone who would want to be sent a post card.) But I would have to visit the bookstore first for lovely stationaries to write on. I can't wait!

P.S. My new theme is too simple, yes? I can't do anything with it anymore. :( Can anyone point me to the right direction where I can find wonderful blogger themes? Hehe. Thank you!

Philosophical mumbo jumbo

The first week of school was uninteresting. Like how it usually goes down, we didn't do much aside from getting our registration form signed. Besides me and my friends going to the mall every after class for three consecutive days, there really isn't much that I can tell you. Actually, there's just one thing: I love my Art Appreciation class.

In today's lecture, we were introduced to how art began as a form of human expression as my professor discussed the times of The Middle Ages up until the transition to the Renaissance period. I won't be discussing that here but if you're interested, all I can say is Google's your best friend, honey. (Sorry, I'm lazy like that.) So anyway, our prof asked us these questions as she went on the discussion; questions like, "Who are you?" and "Why are you here?" Sure, those are as basic as basic questions can get but if you really think about it, those are the questions that are hardest to answer. I was seated in my chair itching to recite but I had all these different ideas clashing in my head that by the time I put them together logically, my professor has moved on to another subject. She ended the class by reminding us to really think about our lives. Like, really. It's kind of scary for me when I think about it. (And I'm quite sure I'm not alone on this.) I mean, life in general is already a big complexity in itself, but with all the other bullcrap going on around in the world that may affect how we live in any way they might makes things a little extra harder, sometimes, far too extra.

Anyway, having all that philosophical talk inspired me to read Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World again. I can only remember bits and pieces from the book because I didn't read it continuously. Hopefully this time I'll have the willpower and enough inspiration to finish reading it at a regular pace. :)


Oh, during our first back-to-school trip to the mall, I bought a new book:


I'm not sure if I want to read it before the movie comes out or not. Maybe after reading Sophie's World I shall proceed with this one. I want to buy more books!!!!