I have job! I'm a reasearch assistant for a universal health care project. The job's really nice as we are doing mental work not just encoding stuff or cutting up pieces of paper. The pay was decreased because they opted to hire all three of us who applied but we realized that this is good. The entire workload for us RAs seem to be impossible if only one would be doing it. It's only for one month so I'll still be going to med school though. The only thing left that could prevent me from admission is the hepatitis B screening test. If they found that I'm hepa B positive... hm... of course, if that would happen I would now have to worry about acquiring liver cancer.

The commute is better now because it's cloudy and fun. Still a bit humid though. And I also have the flu, not the swine flu though. I don't plan to die any time soon.

 I have bad skin...

F*ck people who make up words so that they could sound scientific and more elite.

Examples:
mixology
jumpology
eventology

Now if these people were really serious, they'd have use the latin origins of the words.
 mixology would be commisceology or mixtology
jumpology would be saltology
eventology  would be casusology

Then again they could have been down to earth and used the proper words.
Mixologist would be cocktail maker or even better, bartender
Jumpology would be jump photographer
Eventology would be events managemer or events organizer or events planner or mayb even, partygoer

People who called themselves X-ologists usually devote a time of their lives studying and measuring and explaining knowledge regarding X. Now you don't usually see research papers or journals such as American Journal of Mixology or New England Journal of Eventology. So stop trying to sound scientific when what your doing is not science. We understand you love what you do and you really want to elevate it to a higher status but naming it like a field of science just makes you look and sound stupider.

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So, simple shoes. Eco-friendly right?

Good: Use of recycled materials such as rubber tires, company adheres to ethical guidelines regarding work environment, hiring, etc
Not-so-good: Believes 100% organic cotton is the only way to go, Philippine simple shoes supply is probably imported which kinda defeats the purpose of using recylced materials (airplanes = fossil fuel)
Bad: Expensive. I'd rather buy local brands which are cheaper and produced here. And these local brands are not imported or flown in

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Speaking of organic. I hate the concept because it helps foster the belief of natural is good. Yeah. Not quite. Though some organic farming methods should be adopted, rejecting the use of pesticides and fertilizers just because they are "artificial" is stupid. Also, rejecting biotechnology (eg GMOs)? hello! Man and technology is such a natural combination. Besides, there are already studies showing that GM crops being used in the Philippines have not caused massive ecological destruction nor impoverished farmers. The policies regarding GM crops should be closely monitored though and I hate that farmers have to contend with IPR and be dependent on biotech firms for their seeds.

So our university graduation ceremony was this morning. I had to wake up real early (3:45 AM) because I move so slowly and need at least 1 hour to prepare. Note that most of that is spent just sitting on the couch and staring into blank space.

The ceremony was shorter that I had expected. It was fun seeing our professors in different garbs and we got jealous of the unique gowns of the professors with doctorate degrees excluding the MDs and DMDs.

I managed to bring my camera but the place was dark and I avoid using flash as much as possible so that.

The student commencement speech was ok, full of generic phrases and not fun. The speaker even spent a good amount of her time talking about her own degree program, I don't know what she's thinking. I expected a refreshing treatment of the theme but oh well. The delivery could also be improved, maybe a little bit of angst or persuasiveness rather than calm and pleading.

Oh BSPH mates, I'll miss you all in med school but I'll probably still see a quarter of the people here because they'll probably work in CPH.

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Yesterday was Earth Day. I went to CCP hoping to see something new and exciting.

I didn't though I had an exciting trip returning to UP. Because it rained HARD in the middle of effing SUMMER.

It rained so hard that the streets of Manila became flooded in ankle-deep water. The flood was similar to the flood during typhoons. WTF? And the horrible part was the jeepney driver kept making detours that I ended up in F*cking SM Manila instead of Faura. Really! The jeepney driver should announce changes in route because eff man, we don't have the same final destinations. It was a good thing I was wearing sandals because one of the worst things in life are wet socks.

japan vacation recap 1

Day 1 of my vacation was spent riding airplanes. For a really close country, this sucks.

The first stop was in Taipei Internation airport. I got angry at my parents for rushing when clearly the plane we're supposed to ride has not yet arrived. I cooled off taking photos.

At least there are inflight albums and music to stave off the boredom in the plane.

We finally landed in Japan at around 9pm. The first thing I did was illegal take a picture of the immigration section of the airport. Good me!

After experiencing the strict Japanese immigration, we finally leave the airport. We were fetched by relatives and drove around for 3 more hours. I was tired and grumpy so no more pictures. My wish of experiencing tatami mats came true as we slept in a tatami room. Not a ryokan though, a house of a Filipino acquaintance.

College graduation is done and I can finally relax.
Managed to finish my speech a few activities before my turn.
The ceremonies were quick this year (I was the usher last year). Less speeches, I guess.
My speech went well. I saw people agreeing with what I said so I managed to show them that we did "get" our program. Yay! Now I can finally start my vacation and do my summer responsibilities.

Meanwhile, it's raining outside. Strong rains. Looks like the first strong rain or maybe it was just a fluke. It's still hot though.

I finally saw Wall-E last week. Yeah it's pirated but the quality was surprisingly good except for the final scenes. Ayun ang halimbawan ng maganda at mahusay na pelikula. Iyon na talaga.

I hate this.

I'm writing my speech for our college graduation ceremonies (We have 2, one is for the university and one is for the college.). I want to tell my classmates my insights regarding public health. I want them to learn to love PH as much as I do. My assumption of course is that they do not love PH as much as I do which can be wrong. I have tons of paragraphs but no outline. I don't have a clear objective and my thesis statement sucks or non-existent.

Clearly, I have a problem.

So, PH. I would really like to explain why I love PH. Why I think we should all pursue careers in PH and not just medicine, no preventive medicine doesn't count. And I really would like to tell them that they shouldn't hate on several subjects we had taken. I really disagree with them especially with the philosophy class we had. They seem to have missed the point of the course and I would really like to tell it to them. It's rare that one gets an opportunity to speak to his batchmates and tell them what is on my mind. I also have to praise our batch for a job well done.

Aargh...

I really hate making speeches. I'm a scatterbrain and dislike using flowery words. Somehow my extensive reading of science fiction and fantasy is not helping. I would really like to use a quote or story that I have read to explain a point but sadly no story comes to mind. I've tried reviewing Dune and WoT quotes but I'll only end up talking about government and religion, two topics I really don't want to discuss.

And I sound like I'm making a lecture which is not good for who am I to lecture to my peers? Didn't I have the same experiences as them during college years? Well, a good number of experiences but not exactly the same, the philo class remember?

And speeches are supposed to have one single message and I'm still torn. I haven't decided on what I would like to convey. I really shouldn't sleep till I get a coherent speech started. I'm not putting this off for tomorrow. When will I edit if I finish this only tomorrow night?

Dancing with a cold. Not fun.
Doing turns Chris Brown style with a cold. Not fun.
The summer heat. Not helping the cold nor the dancing.

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I still have no commencement speech. I have the major points listed but I can't seem to piece them together into one coherent and FUN whole. The fun is pretty important, really.

How do you make a speech when you don't know what you are going to say?

Another one,
How do you make a 3 minute speech when it seems that what you want to say can be said in under 1 minute?

I'm doing something I really don't want to do. HS all over again.

Before japan pics, here are some shots from our fundraiser college ball. First time using 50mm in a social event and the AF is annoyingly stupid but precise. My manual focusing skill needs to be improved.

Shit! We are holding our college graduation rites in BSLR east. That sucks...

Blogging in Taiwan again while waiting for our flight to Manila.

We almost didn't make it here because of some train mishaps. We ended up boarding the Narita Express but "standing" all the way from Yokohama to Narita (~90mins). I ended up sitting on our suitcase.

Returning to the Philippines tomorrow. *sigh* Goodbye cold weather...

I'll miss Japan. Hopefully I can save enough money to return here on my own. I'll need to learn Nihonggo though.

Pictures really soon... I'll try to make posts that won't look like a photodump.

Have I mentioned how effing cold this place can get starting late afternoons? or how unfashionable and underdressed I am when put next to the people here?

Hey Hey it's Good friday! No baths after 3? yeah... whatever.

Had a very tiring day in Tokyo. No more excessive food consumption. Been growing fond of bento meals though.

I still hate travelling with my parents. So much we even fought. hahaha... my father has become unbearable, acting so immature and insensitive. He's regressing into being a teenager; I suspect the lack of freedom during his younger years to be the cause. When I become a father, I will let my child scold and correct me. Of course, he or she has to prove me wrong first which I will make very difficult to do. My mother? She's a better travel companion but she gets stressed all the time even though she shouldn't.

I'm amazed with the organization and order of the Japan railway system and their fallback system for those who get lost in its complexity. I wish the Philippines create a similar system.

I'm excited for alone day Sunday!

Rode the shinkansen (the bullet train) and slept. Failed to see Mt Fuji due to that.

Strolled through the East Imperial Garden in Tokyo.

Finally got acquainted with the Japan train system. It's fun and organized and less crowded (haven't rode it during rush hour). Too bad I had to travel with my mom who gets stressed everytime we get lost or do something stupid only tourists could do. Really... goal for next year: travel alone to a new place. Component obj: To save enough money to travel alone somewhere Deliverable: Part-time job

And we're staying in the Yokohama city (more specifically near Shin-Yokohama station) and not in Tokyo so a good time will be spent riding trains... with my parents... *sigh*

Was too tired to blog yesterday.

Three straight days of sleeping past 12 and waking at around 5. This vacation is so tiring and it's turning into one big food trip, totally unplanned but oh so welcome.

What I did in briefs...

1st day (in Japan) - Nagoya tour.Cherry blossom viewing.  Met some Filipinas with Japanese husbands. They seem to be happy; overworked though.Japanese grill. Yum yum raw meat at night. Went to a japanese bar but didn't drink. Camera died on me so no pictures of night activities. Sucks...

2nd day - Osaka. Universal studios only. Saw Wicked in Nihongo. Got stuck in a few shows fully in Nihongo. Saw one awesome parade. Bokeh practice. Rode a roller coaster again. Bumped into the language barrier a few times too many. Ramen night.

3rd day - Kyoto. Kinkakuji, Heian and Kiyomizudera. Cherry blossoms again; I can't get enough. Veggie bento and Sushi bar.

Others: I hate travelling with my parents. really... so noisy, unorganized and uptight. Too bad I don't earn my own money so I'm stuck with them for a while longer (5 years or so). 

No pictures, don't want to edit in the laptop.

2200
Now in my relatives' house. Someone is smoking. Passed through very strict immigration.
VERY COLD. Need gloves and scarves.
Tour starts tomorrow AFTER buying cold weather clothes.

1500
I'm now in Taiwan, waiting for the arrival of our plane to Nagoya.

There is glorious (oh so glorious) WiFi. Looks like I won't have to kill somebody to entertain myself.

The waiting area is awfully big and quiet though. My cough just echoed. Ahahaha...

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The airline food sucketh but there are music, movies and games (not the Cebu Pacific games) but I just slept through half the ride. Blame the party the night before.

Going to Japan tomorrow. Will update if the hotel has internet connection. Then again, I'll insist that we stay in one with Net.

But first, I have a party tonight. It's that formal that got downgraded to a semi-formal that I was talking about. I'll practice with my new lens again.

Practiced with my new 50mm 1.8 lens. There are so many people with SLRs nowadays. Go cheaper products! Of course this might be bad for photography as an art.

I found the 50mm hard but fun to use. It really only leaves a very small margin of error; good thing there is autofocus. However, Autofocus sometimes fail when lighting conditios are bad or when the camera is just being stupid. Anyway, I have to practice with manual focus more. I don't know how to handle 1.8 well yet so I'm at 2.2 or 2.8 but it's still good. I still do have a long way to go because I have around 3-8 bad photos for every good one.

Shot with my new lens:

Yep, that's my nephew who I am so not spoiling.