John-how-are-ye?

These past few weeks have been a blur of activities for me. So much needs to be done, and I start the first month of the new year by not sleeping for the most part.

We had to join a Public Service Advertisement contest for our advertising class. For someone who had not any comprehensive knowledge, even experience, on using Photoshop, I was in a serious pinch. I never really expected to win, just gave it my best. It was a good experience altogether--from seeking the advice of our very credible professor, to renewing concepts, to actually creating the ads (images, taglines, the works), to printing them and submitting them just an hour before the deadline (which happened to be my beloved Sho's birthday--naturally I forgot about the submission and remembered Sho, haha). It was all worthwhile, though. I am very excited as well for the convention on February 15 at San Juan de Letran where we will hear experts on the advertising talk about the craft, and of course know who will win the contest. I really do not expect to win, just having participated is enough.

I also started watching the U.S. comedy show The Big Bang Theory. An officemate shared about 50 episodes of this series (and tons of other movies) in our work network, and it didn't take long before almost all of us were laughing hard during our breaks.

January is also the anniversary month of our organization. This is what we all have been planning and preparing for since the academic year started. Naturally, until the last minute we were still busy completing the preparations, contacting speakers, assigning tasks, setting up the venue, etc. But seeing the number of attendees on a couple of the major events we have lined up was gratifying. My favorite was the symposium about the "scenes behind the scenes" in the media industry. We got to listen to media practitioners talk about their experiences that are usually unheard of by the public. I got really motivated, partly because the speakers who came were very inspiring and realistic in their advice, and partly because I have found out that someone like me who always prefers to stay behind the camera can have a remarkable career in this field. Great month for our org! We may be lacking in financial resources and there were many a hassle, but we pulled our 12th anniversary off with informative and fun events.

Of course, there are the piles of school works such as quizzes, midterm exams, papers, researches (for the "baby thesis"), and reports that take nights and nights to prepare. I also had to create a "niche" website for my Design, Layout, and Publishing class. I decided to make it about Asian films, particularly reviews about films from Japan, China and Korea. Not only will the scope be limited but I will also have a valid excuse to watch and re-watch amazing films. Horray!

Crazy month, honestly. To cap it off, my Captain Fail!Boat Sho is now 29 and The Hyde just turned 42!

Let's get in on, 2011!

Under the lush canopy, life is better

Habang naglalakad ako sa Acad Oval papunta sa Main Lib kanina, may nadaanan akong isang lolo na nakaupo sa bench. Nakatalikod siya sa’ken, at nakayuko na tila binabasa ang isa sa dalawang maliit na libro o kwadernong dala niya. Bakas sa damit niya ang pawis at nakasandal sa kinauupuan niya ang kanyang mountain bike. Hindi ko rin maintindihan, pero para sa akin, ang sandaling iyon ang isa sa mga pinakamagandang eksena na nasaksihan ko. At napasaya ako nito ng araw na iyon sa hindi ko malamang kadahilanan.

Siguro malambot lang talaga ang puso ko para sa mga nakatatanda. O kaya naman dahil nakakatuwang aktibo at malakas pa siya para magbisikleta. O marahil dahil nagagawa niya pa ring magkaroon ng tahimik na sandali para sa kanyang sarili, sa gitna ng mga puno sa Oval.

Hindi ko mapigilang isipin, ano kayang nakasulat sa kwaderno o librong binabasa niya?