Reading Binge

Last week I caught Hilton reading a Murakami while in our Bio 11 lab class. Being that ancient, I concluded that he was just too uninterested in our activity that he opted to read instead. Valid point. When I asked him why he was reading, he told me he was following the advise of Jessica Zafra that it is good to bring a book or two so that when you feel the urge or the need to read then you can do so. In this case, he was reading because our class has gotten so boring and he didn't have enough interest to revel in things Bio 11.

Maybe to maintain the number of books I have unread, because Bea gave me the complete works of the Grimm brothers, I picked up the last addition to my pile of unread books: Jane Eyre. I finished it over the weekend, as I relayed in my other entry. Hilton's suggestion in mind, I put Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold in my bag last Monday. I chose it because it's a short novel and it won't add significant weight in my bag. I kind of forgot it was there until this afternoon.

My classmates and I were waiting for our turn for our second Bio 11 lab exam in one of the unoccupied rooms at IB. Everybody was buzzing around, cramming every morsel of information one can. We were the last class to take the exam, and I was getting tired of cramming that I might just go blank when I step into the exam room. I remembered I had a book with me; in the middle of all the mad cramming, I started reading.

I must say that being well-read is a dream I'm afraid I may never get to fulfill. My reading habits are quite erratic: when I am on the reading train, I read book after book and when I am off the reading train, I don't see books. While I love going to the bookstore to browse titles and I like to hang there while waiting, I don't buy books not recommended to me or not praised by critics. Little glitches in my brain allow me to buy books on a whim but they're quite rare.

Reading Chronicle of a Death Foretold has gotten me into a high I can easily recognize. Buoyed by the delight I got from the said novella, I was impatient for another read. My feet took me to Fully Booked, and I browsed the titles in anticipation. I dismissed the idea of buying another classic since I was bent on going to Bookay-ukay in UP Village one of these days. Trippy enough, I got a book that I haven't heard of from someone I know, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It appealed to the history lover in me, as it promises a thrill ride through history. Apparently it's a vampire novel but not Twilight-like from what I reckon, but let's see.

I have always considered books to be good investments, I hardly hesitate to buy good books. Unlike food that can be diminished or clothes that you can outgrow, I think books are more or less absolute and always in fashion. That being said, I don't mind that I am growing a heap of unread books, I'll get to read them later. But if my current momentum is enough, I might get to read a good number this time. :D

Camera or Phone?

My Panasonic FS8 is not a year old and I am content with its performance, I know. But perusing over at Gizmodo (reading up on the new iPhone leak), I saw a new Leica. I don't know, the Leica brand has a certain appeal to me. Following a couple of links later, I saw its Panasonic equivalent. Now, I want to buy one.

I'm not really a camera aficionado nor a photographer wannabe, but I do like my gadgets to be really good. Not really best of the best awesome 'cause that'd be too expensive, but awesome enough so that I know it's way above the average of its kind. I now have two equally attractive cameras in consideration, one I saw in Gizmodo and one I found while googling the aforementioned camera. 

First up is the Panasonic ZS7, which has 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. I like it because I realized that I like having my camera shoot good images from afar. I'm not very keen on going lengths to get good pictures. I'd love to have the power to shoot pictures at long distances. Also, what makes this camera extra neat is that it has built in GPS, geo-tagging baby! Coupled with other new features such as Intelligent Resolution Technology and all that shiz, I am very much considering breaking my piggy bank.

The other camera I'd like to get my hands on is the Panasonic TS1. It's waterproof and shockproof, I don't have to worry getting it all shaken when I use it. It is a 12.1-megapixel camera, not that it's all that matters, and it has Lumix's new Venus Engine HD which from what I understand is a processor. It's a bit older than the ZS7 but it has specs that really stand out. 

So what do I do? What I usually do, delight myself researching about these gadgets. I'll think about the buying part later. And besides, I'm also considering buying a phone. Between the two, it's hard to think clearly right now. Let's just indulge shall we? 

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For in depth reviews, check out Digital Photography Review and Imaging Resource.

Baguio Weekend

My family went to Baguio for the weekend. I have always liked going to Baguio. I used to spend summers there while Tia was still stationed in Baguio, good times. This weekend, we stayed at Tita Nadine's transient space for a night. The house was spooky, but we had a great time scaring Miguel. 

Saturday afternoon, my siblings and I wasted time at Burnham Park. They went biking while I read. I feel quite happy that over the weekend, I finally got to finish a novel! Scrap one off my tally of unread books. Mwahaha. For those wondering, I read Jane Eyre. I found it a very good read, maybe because I can identify with her principles, kinda.  I got the title when I saw Definitely, Maybe.

Bea met with her HS friends from Berkeley and Achievers, my mom went shopping at the flea market and ukay-ukay, my grandparents and my dad went to Good Shepherd for goodies. We had different plans, so we just agreed to meet at SM Baguio. After dinner at home, we went to Session Road for some nighttime ukay-ukay. I have frequented Baguio, but this is the first time I went to the nighttime ukay-ukay. The goods were laid out on the streets, where numerous street food were also present. My only purchase was a small bag, 'cause it was hard to see which ones were good with the little light that was available. And besides, I'm kuripot. Haha

Before we went home, we stopped by Camp John Hay. Unfortunately, the humungous chocolate crinkles at Everything Nice was not available in the branch at CJH. Boo. Good thing we already have alfajor and ube jam from Good Shepherd, that's quite enough Baguio goodies for me. 

Leaving Baguio, I realized how it has degraded. When I reached SM, all the negative little things I saw while driving around just overflowed.  I used to picture Baguio as a very cool, green and rural-ish retreat. I loved that it had parks, had so many family activities, and that it had a very cozy charm. The Baguio I saw this weekend was dirty, very commercialized and populated. I hate to say this but I think it has lost its spell on me.

I hope after this coming elections, those who will be fortunate enough to win will at least try to get Baguio cleaned up and jazzed up again. I hate having no favorite Philippine city. 

Absolutely Unforgettable

First week of summer classes is done and finally my friends and I got to go out. The first plan was to hold a double birthday celebration for Jomax and I, but in the end we decided to celebrate one at a time. First up was Jomax's, so we went to SM Mall of Asia to go ice skating! The four of us skated, while waiting (and doubting) for Rainier. In fairness, Rainier got to MOA just in time for dinner, which is a good thing even though he was several hours late. He's usually missing in action so the fact that he came is like winning in bingo.

Picture taken by Jethro, a skating buddy we found at the rink.

Being the newbs that we were, we struggled fo a while, some more than others diba Jamie? We skated slowly and close to the railings until we picked up enough confidence to skate more freely. There were lots of skaters, big and small and the because of this the ice got ugly quite easily. Each of us fell on the ice except for Nins; unfortunately, my one fall was the worst even with everybody else's combined. My left arm, particularly my elbow, ached and swelled. However, I didn't take it seriously until after dinner, when it was still throbbing after I put some ice.

Injured at MOA. Hehe

So our clinic, err, hospital hopping commenced. First, we went to the mall clinic where a couple of nurses attended to my swollen and aching elbow. They called in the cute in house nurse from the skating rink to log in my case and advise me on what to do. They gave me a cold pack and converted my jacket into a sling. They can only offer first aid, and they suggested I go to the nearest hospital, San Juan de Dios. I had no idea where that was, but one thing was clear: I needed to see a doctor.

I didn't really know which hospital to go to. I thought of St. Luke's but I think my case is too simple to make the long journey there, I decided to go to UP's infirmary instead. There we met a very nice doctor, I forgot his name, who unfortunately did not know what to do because he's a family/ community doctor. He gave me mefenamic acid for the pain, and a sling to better suit my condition. He told me to go to the nearest hospital with an x-ray machine, or better yet go directly to the Philippine Orthopedic Center; and so we went.

Sling, for reals.

Frankly, I was disheartened when I saw the POC. It was a public hospital and was really unkempt. I'm sorry but we're in a country where public hospitals are in a mess, so I had very low expectations. And so I was really surprised with the good service I got in the hospital. The procedure was efficient and the x-ray was quick. Bravo. Maybe because it was past 11 pm when we got there but I was impressed just the same. I was equally amused with the doctors and radiologists there as they were amused with how I got my injury. Sabi ko na nga ba sisikat ako sa dahilan ng pagkabagsak ko. 

It is such a relief that I did not break any bone, pull any muscle, or dislocate anything. Nabugbog lang daw ang siko ko. While this incident may have been severely unlucky, since it was my one fall that turned out to be quite serious, I still do not regret going ice skating. I had fun, I got to fool around after a week of Bio 11, and I got hang out with Rainier again who I missed dearly. Accidents happen, and when they do all anyone can do is to resolve it as best as he/ she can. I feel completely fortunate to have such great friends who went on a very unconventional night out with me. Thanks for laughing at me and taking care of me at the same time, winner talaga. I love you all, you are the best. :P

Eureka Moment

Last April 7 was IPL's graduation party, held at UP Balay Kalinaw. Not that there's something special this time, it was composed of the usual message to the graduates marathon and AVP fest. But what I really loved about it was Ma'am Jing's message to her advisees, and to the whole of Instru as well.

First, let me introduce you to Ma'am Jing. She is Dr. Maricor Soriano, an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Physics. She specializes in image processing, and she's been my teacher for three subjects as of last semester. Anyone can attest how hardworking and how passionate Ma'am Jing is, it is an honor to know her and belong in the same laboratory as her.

She opened her message citing the eureka moments of her advisees who will graduate this school year: Ate Lau, Kuya Vars, Ate Cherry and Ate Kaye. When you are troubleshooting for days and a spark of realization hits you, that is a eureka moment.  When you keep on running your simulations and then find a very viable solution, that is a eureka moment. When you calibrate your sensors exactly right to be able to gather all the needed data, that is eureka moment. She said that her eureka moment was to have led her students to their eureka moments. And that from there, she needn't do anything and all she needs to do is to stay back and let things fall into place.

A eureka moment in research, or in any endeavor, really buoys you up. It gives you a certain momentum to keep on going, to keep on working even if it's 3 in the morning. It is such a great feeling to realize something significant when you've been working at something for so long. It's like a pat in the back that you're doing well and what you're doing is correct. Ay. How I wish moments like that happen more often. But can only think of two ways to increase the frequency of eureka moments, to work more frequently and to work more rigorously.

Ma'am Jing made me realize that I do want my eureka moment(s?) and I want my adviser to have his eureka moment while I have mine. Actually, I think I miss being eager to do research and I miss being fueled by good news to present in my RM.

After my social life suicidal decision to take Bio 11 this summer, I will have my eureka moment, hopefully more than once.

Stat mech at 1 am. Indescribable.

As in.

My sem is not over. I am finishing my Physics 151 prob set due at 4pm today. I can't cram to the last minute since I have Physics 192 reporting at 2pm and I will travel back to Manila this morning. After today, I have two more grueling days of cramming: postlabs, a project, and a grad party.

Postlabs. Applied Physics 185 postlabs to be exact. I cannot fully express the frustration I have with electronics. It adds to my innate resentment of the field even more. Pano ka gaganahan kung ayaw gumana ng set up mo?

Project. For Applied Physics 185, surprise, surprise. Ma'am Jing told us about it on the last week of classes. It would've helped a lot if we knew we had to make a project waaaaaay before crunch time. Naku naman kasi.

Grad party. I actually enjoy planning, but this time I can't say that I do. Grabe. There is so much to do, and only a few of us BS IV are actively planning and thinking. It's so hard to contact people as well. I know it's Holy Week and everyone has his or her own academic requirements to fulfill, but what about this other responsibility?

I feel guilty having slacked off the whole time I'm here at home. This is the only break I have, more like pseudo-break pala, and I wanted to rest a bit. Hay. What's done is done. What's left to do is all that matters now.