Just like winning the lottery

My friends have been congratulating me as if I won the lottery. While I have yet to hold the actual acceptance letter from Ateneo, the other thing I must ace last Monday, May 19, 2008, was, well, aced by yours truly. But of course not all credit goes to me. There's my family who were with me and who gave really excellent answers, and then there's my cousin who wished me luck, there were my officemates who did the same, and most importantly, there was God. Well, what can I say, I can now freely travel to the U.S. for ten years!

My prayers were answered. I love walking with the Lord.

***

I want to tell you about a one-of-a-kind art sale at the Ateneo Art Gallery. You should click here.

About the Photoshop workshop and the things we want to be

Taking the Photoshop workshop at CCF yesterday made me realize that there's a big difference between a photographer and a photo-artist. A photographer would want his or her photo to remain untouched. Thus, he or she would take the best care to not screw his shot up. A photo-artist, meanwhile, is confident about his or her photo editing skills, so a botched up shot does not matter. A little bit of Photoshop magic is all that bad shot needs.

I am a bit torn between the two. On the one hand, I want my shots to require as little photo editing as possible--or none at all. On the other hand, photo editing tickles the frustrated painter in me. I wanted to be a painter when I was in grade two. But my mother said it's not a good idea because painters earn too little to nothing. And I believed her. I shouldn't have, really. All my happiness rests in creativity--writing, photography, museum-hopping, cooking. Parents should really encourage their kids to explore things, no matter how seemingly senseless those things are.

So I was thinking...I would really be happy if in the future, my (future) kid would tell me he wants to be a Jesuit. I think that's one of the best things to be in the world. Only intelligent, strong, and faithful people are allowed to enter the Society. And it would be an honor to have a Jesuit in the family. I see Jesuits around Ateneo, and I like them a lot. I admire them a lot. They are great examples of true men in God.

Of course if my future kid wants to be an artist, an entrepreneur, a professor, or what-not, I'd be happy with that, too.

May 19 is the magic day

Two things will happen on May 19. And my day can go three ways: a) not happy, b) half-happy and c) deliriously happy.

Yesterday's grad school interview went well, I think. The person who interviewed me did most of the talking. I basically just nodded my head in agreement. The person was very nice like that.

What I am mortified of though, was the way I stuttered and ate my words from nervousness. The questions I expected to hear were not asked. As I mentioned, the person who did the interview did most of the talking. The person cracked jokes, to which I heartily laughed. Those were good jokes, after all.

The person ended with the words "I look forward to seeing you blah blah blah...." The person also mentioned classes I might want to take. I guess those are good signs of a very probable grad school acceptance, right?

Of course the person had to ask if I am married (no), if I am planning to get married soon (no) and if I have a boyfriend (no). And the person said that that's well and good since having a relationship like that will distract me. So I interpreted it as God's way of telling me that everything's okay.

The person said the list of persons to be admitted to grad school will be released on May 19. If I'm on that list, I will be very happy.

But I'll be tremendously happier if another good thing will happen on the 19th. As I've mentioned in my previous blog entry, something good is supposed to happen on this day. I can't tell you what. But it involves another interview I must ace.

Remind me to dress up decently tomorrow

I got a call from someone at the department I applied to in grad school today, saying I'm up for interview tomorrow. So...does this mean I actually passed the entrance test, especially the Math part?

Being the Google geek that I am, I researched what actually goes on during an interview like that, and the first site Google pointed me to was very helpful. Click here.

I did that after asking the person who called me what that interview is for, what the questions will be, etc. You know, silly and amateur-ish questions like that. The person at the other end of the line laughed a little, of course.

So remind me to dress up decently tomorrow, to project an image of professionalism, and to not leave my brain at the department lobby. Someone needs to redeem herself. Someone really wants to go to grad school. And it's meee!

Light painting

Thank God for bosses who support your passion for photography. Yesterday, some of my officemates and I attended a photography seminar at CCF (Christ’s Commission Fellowship, if I’m not mistaken) in Ortigas. Sharing his expertise was wedding photographer Andy Samaniego.

I am pretty happy about it because it refreshed my mind with what I’ve learned at another photography workshop at Jesuit Communications in 2006. In principle, I already know what aperture, shutter speed, exposure and focal length are. I’ve been trying to use these things since then, sometimes with some measure of success, and most of the time with utter failure.

But it was only yesterday when I finally understood how these things work together to make the perfect picture. Now all I need is practice.

Next Saturday, we’ll be back at CCF to study basic Photoshop. I never really understood the importance of tweaking your pictures to make it better. But when Andy showed some of his shots to us, I was amazed at how dramatic shots can be made even more dramatic with Photoshop. But of course, the basic ingredients for a great photo are still imagination, a creative concept and a great shot to start with.

What got my heart skipping a beat, though, was when Andy brushed on the technique of light painting. He gave the example of his car, and how he used artificial lights to give drama to the photo. I can’t really explain it well right now, but if you were there and you heard what he said, and you become sold on the idea of using light to “paint” the shot, then you’ll be as excited as I am to learn!

We’ll be attending a lighting seminar, also at CFF, on the last Saturday of May. That is, if circumstances allow me. Something good is supposed to happen on the 19^th (can’t tell you what), but if it doesn’t pan out, then this lighting seminar, my Basic Chinese 2 class, and grad school are sure to salve the hurt of my thwarted plans.

Pray for me.

Damn Math

I'm not so confident about getting into grad school anymore. Last Monday, I took the entrance test, expecting to ace it, but instead I got a big question mark on my head. There was Math, and the horrors I associate with it---my crabby, spinster teacher in grade 4, not making it to the top 10 elementary school graduates because of less than satisfactory grades in Math (yes, even if I barely passed the subject and all my grades in my other subjects were fine), not getting into the honor section in high school because it required (you guessed it) good Math, and having to repeat Math 11 in college or else I'd find myself out of Ateneo and into (urgh) Miriam College.**

I told my officemates about it as soon as I got to work. I laughed a little, just to convince people it's not that big a deal. But of course it's a big deal for me. I've always had to battle with Math.

So my only consolation is that I'm passionate about languages to do well in it. The English language and analogy parts of my exams went well.

But I stopped finding this fact comforting when I went to Dr. ____'s office the next day to get my recommendation letter. As I've mentioned in my previous blog entry, it's my one last requirement for grad school admission.

So anyway, I got the recommendation letter, and it had a surprise note in it. It said: "Made it, Mitzie. Good luck, be a good grad student, and continue writing those beautiful poems!"

Ack! What grad student? (I MIGHT not pass!) What beautiful poems? (I haven't been writing as seriously as I should be.) Dr. ___'s faith in me makes me feel guilty about my inadequacies.

And so IF I get admitted to grad school this year, I promise to make myself and Dr. ___ and everyody else proud! Itaga niyo sa bato!

**Well, Miriam's not that bad. I spent my nursery, kindergarten, grade school and high school years there. Except that between Ateneo and Miriam, people would normally choose the former. And don't mock me because that's the truth!

Grad school worries

First I was worried about not completing the requirements on time. Because I took too much time writing my personal essay, I forgot to ask my teacher for a recommendation letter. So I had everything but THAT. My desperation spurred me to ask for an extension from the Admissions Office. On the deadline itself. I walked from my office to that office, under the stinging heat of the summer sun, to talk to the staff in person. Phone calls can be tricky, so I shunned that.

While walking, I felt my tummy being tangled in knots. I was nervous but I had to do it. I'm not used to asking for favors, so I didn't know how it will go. I was praying while walking. I wanted the staff to be nice.

So I went there and was amazed at how easy it was. I calmly explained my situation, and quietly emphasized that Dr. ____ will give me my recommendation letter on Tuesday, three days after the deadline. I cited that specific day to make her understand that it won't take too long for me to complete that one last requirement. The person I spoke to said yes, I can submit my recommendation letter on Tuesday. Yey!

One bad thing about submitting my application on the afternoon of the deadline was that I ran out of slots for the regular testing. When my turn came, I was told that I will have to take the special test, which is more expensive. Ugh. But at least my application is moving.

Now I'm worried about the entrance test on Monday. I know I'm smart enough to pass it, even if I don't make grand preparations (ie., study like crazy). But still, I can't be too confident, can I? Well, I don't want to be. And that is that.

In the future, I will be worried about how to register for classes IF EVER I'm in a different country. I will also be worried about how to balance my classes, since I have fulltime work AND I want to continue taking Chinese languages classes. This probably means I will kill myself with productivity.

The day I had my fill of secrets, fun and food

Yesterday was my second office outing in my two years and eight months of employment in Ateneo, and I must say my decision to stay overnight at Yo and Mo Farm Resort was a good one. Days before, I debated with myself whether I should stay for one night (group A) or just go for the daytrip (group B), since I had to finish my requirements for graduate school admission. But because I finished the draft of my essay anyway, and all I had to do was tweak it, I opted for a day and a night spent with my officemates (well some of them anyway, as the others had to go home and attend to personal affairs).

We assembled at the Xavier Hall lobby at 7:00 a.m. The trip from Ateneo to Tanay took one and a half hours by coaster. Upon getting there, we were treated to a light snack of half a sandwich and a serving of potato salad. Then we walked a bit and spotted a Goldilocks-like house, took some pictures and went inside. The house, it turns out, was where the owners stayed. It was also the spot where guests can play billiards, so it was totally okay with the owners that we went there late in the afternoon to play. But I am getting ahead of myself.

So after admiring Goldilocks’ home, we went on a 1km hike around the farm. We passed a lot of trees and plants and two hanging bridges. We burned a lot of calories. Some of my officemates took advantage of the fruit-picking opportunity and went back with guyabano and calamansi.

The hike left us famished, so we gobbled chips. Of course my officemates had to point out my penchant for sanitation in jest (no eating of chips on a communal bowl/bag for fear of germs on other people’s hands; a slight feeling of disgust when people dip pieces of chips their mouths have already touched on the communal bowl of salsa). But it was alright. That’s the real me, anyway.

Lunch was a feast of seafood chowder (I think...), fish fillet, Korean beef, and buttered vegetables. Dessert was maja blanca with a lot of corn. Yum.

After lunch, A. and I felt sleepy so we slept a little. But before that, I tried reading a book my cousin gave me, but I guess I was too tired to absorb the thoughts in it, so I gave in to sleep. We slept for about two hours.

When we woke up, it was “merienda” (snack) time. We ate noodles, bread, and chips. A. and I discovered that while we were asleep, our officemates went fishing. L. caught a big one. It was fried to a crisp in the evening. Yum.

A., Ly., and I decided to play billiards, even if we weren’t good players. Wala lang, just for fun. Ms. H. and Ms. S. saw us, and Ms. H. was kind enough to teach us some tricks. Well, the basics, actually. As I told you, we can hit the ball, but we’re no good at geometry and strategy. Then they left with the group of day-trippers (group B) at around 5:00 p.m.

Then L. came along and played with us for a while. Since we were talking about stuff when she came, we decided to ask her advice on some things—things which concern the lives of 20-something unmarried girls.

Mang L. and E. unwittingly provided the comic relief some time after. Of course they didn’t know what we were talking about before they came, and we intended to keep it that way. Then it was time for dinner. We watched “27 Dresses” while eating.

A., Ly., and I went to our room after to talk some more. There, more thoughts were shared and secrets spilled. It was one of the rare times I saw my officemates in a different light.

Then I decided to take a shower. When I came out, M. was there, so by then, we were four unmarried girls talking about...stuff. Then L. (married), Ms. J. (married), and T. came. The conversation, of course, got more interesting.

The two boys were sound asleep while all these things took place. They had a lot of beer in their bodies, anyway, which they needed to sleep off.

Our convo ended at around 1:30 in the morning.

The next day (today), we had a quick breakfast, got ourselves ready, and took the van back home.

Tomorrow, we’re going to see each other again, and I bet the way we see each other won’t be the same anymore.