Sunday, October 05, 2003
ONE HAGGARD FINALE
Carpe Noctem (Seize the Night) - Year 2 - Starting Week #18
Background Music: "Can We Still Be Friends?" by M. Moore
NOTE: This is a weekly blog entry that is posted at the start of the week prior to moving into my dormitory.
THIS is the last week of the first semester of my 2nd Year College. It has undoubtably been a very tiring semester. The intensity seems to increase, and to say, there was only one major subject this sem.
What made it tiring? Everything. Basically every pillar of my College life [Academics/JOU2-1, Heraldo Filipino, AB Comm Channel, and Dormitory/Tropa] carried with it some weight.
It was supposed to be a clean start for me. I wanted no grade lower than 2.00 for the Prelims, 2.25 for the Midterms, and 2.50 for the Finals. One crashed into the other and my grades were just satisfactory. Disappointments began to rise.
I wanted to catapult myself in the Heraldo Filipino with article after article being passed in to my section editor, with hopes of restoring their faith and confidence in me as a writer and as a newly appointed Junior Staffer. Well... what happened there? I lost my inspiration to write. Disappointments continued to rise.
With the AB Comm Channel members who are AB Comm 3rd Year and 4th Year students busy with Media Production and Theater Arts, I had the chance to take the opportunity at hand and head the shooting schedules. Though, I wasn't assigned to them, if I was persistent I could have produced something and it could've uplifted the Comm Channel today. What happened? Well... because they didn't call any meetings to secure shooting schedules... I didn't bother and look what happened. Disappointments kept on rising.
The dormitory situation was quite fine until a new person I met who I could relay my experiences to as a Broadjourn student (he's an AB Comm student, which have few guys... especially in the dormitory)... suddenly faints... collapses... experiences painful chest pain leaving me depressed, even traumatized at one point.
But, despite all that, something new emerged this semester. The existence, or my personal existence, in the NC14 tropa. This circle of friends secured every night was a good night to eat out and enjoy it telling each other stories and jokes and what else. I met Abbie Almasco and Len Barcelo of Polsci2-2 shifting into Broadjourn, they are Joel's classmates. Abbie is a balikbayan from Saudi Arabia. Len is Abbie's best friend and vice versa. I also met Gail, Basil's girlfriend, she's taking up Applied Biology (APB2-2)... she studies hard and she's involved in extracurriculars like the University Student Council.
The dorms also changed shape. From last year's solo building for the guys, it was now expanded into three buildings. Unlike in the previous year where I met everyone within one semester, I did not accomplish meeting every on-campus male dormer. I got to know roughly 70% of them, including the new batch of Kuwaiti guys like Karl's brother Kelvin and Basil's brother Fahad. Fahad joined the DLSU-D Chorale.
Kevin Urquia, is also from Saudi Arabia like Abbie. He moved in and became good friends already with Lance. I considered him my drinking buddy.. read about that later. Mark from last year and I became closer this semester. He joined us in our nightly dinners recently and got to know everyone in the tropa. I met his room mates in B7 Dong and Andrew. Andrew is probably one of the most popular guys on campus since girls think he's hot. Andrew was raised in Libya and he studied in a Seminary during his High School.
Changing faces did happen and same faces were still there. This past semester, I had an on-average 1 drink per week. I got seriously tipsy several times this past semester.
Memorable things this past semester...
- Tropa dinners where we would invade a fast food place and combine tables so we'd look similar to the painting of "The Last Supper".
- Our trip to Eastwood and our sleepover to Joel's Place inside Camp Aguinaldo. This tall drag queen dancing next to our circle on the crowded dancefloor at "The Basement".
- My classmates performing once again this year, and this time "Tatarin". And we didn't do it just once, we did it three times. Talk about "on demand".
- Although it wasn't a good memory, it has to be memorable. When I met Tony and how I told him my whole college life story in 1st Year as a Broadjourn student... in such a way to entrust my good memories of my Freshmen year towards him as a 1st Year AB Comm student. And after being friends with him, the moments where he collapsed and I had to rush him to a bed to get his medicine or to get some water for him. This was memorable in a some lonely way.
- Dancing half-naked the egyptian at the Oval during the PHED103 Mass Demonstrations.
- Meeting the new apprentices of Heraldo Filipino... and being very happy that my classmate Kate Mamon and my dorm mate since last year Thomas Wagan made it.
- Accepting Lance Prodigalidad, a friend since High School, as my best friend since we share genuine dialogue.
- The shock on my Constitution professor's face when he computed my grade which had crashed severely.
- Katz debut and Rona's debut... and riding in Upper's SUV or Starex Van.
- The closest I ever got to being drunk (if I was drunk... I'm not exactly sure) which was at Apple's house after Rona's debut... it was the first time I drank with my classmates and first time I was inside of a vehicle under the influence (i wasn't driving though).
That's pretty much a lot for one semester, and to say, that's not even half of what has happened. This week concludes this semester and I pray all goes well with the exams and the speech. I want to close the cap on this semester and secure it tight... with no loose ends.
***
Here are the four pillars, one last time for this Semester:
Academics/JOU2-1. It's supposed to be "Walterweek" or "Walterfest" as we eat out at Waltermart this week. We'll be studying of course and in Speech and Oral Communication's make-up class on Monday, I'll be giving my Final Speech and I'll be participating in my group's Speech Choir on the last scene of Moulin Rouge. Then, I'll be studying for the three written exams I need to take this week. Namely Constitution, Reed103, and then the hardest and most delicate one of all- Communication Theory.
Heraldo Filipino. I have a news beat on the possibility of getting Ogie Alcasid to perform at the Oval for Php 10,000 per song. Something the Faculty Association (FA) is talking about which our adviser Dr. Pil Garcia heard about. Other than that, there's the Midyear Workshop or Midyear Seminar next week. That, would hopefully be the thing to push me back into writing. And, during the Midyear Seminar, I want to bond with the apprentice as much as possible... and also bond with the others in Heraldo Filipino. I need to find my true essence as a writer again.
AB Comm Channel. No news and I think we can close this pillar down until next semester.
Dormitory/Tropa. I'm moving out on Saturday and cleaning the place since DLSU-D will be hosting the UNIGAMES 2003 and the dorms will be given to the visitors and athletes that are coming from afar. I think everyone will be around next semester with a few new people... that's my prediction. Within the tropa, we'll be eating out of course this week and I wrote those I've been close to lately a letter of encouragement for the Finals. I hope they like it. And, by the way, Mark helped me with this problem and I think everything should be okay again.
***
This is the last "Carpe Noctem" post of the 1st Semester of my 2nd Year College.
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