[UP Fair 2008's Tuesday Night] Rakestra: Lost in Oblivion [UP Beta Epsilon]

RAKESTRA 2008: Lost in Oblivion

with the highlight performance of
URBANDUB
with
MANILA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

and

45-minute exclusive performance of
SANDWICH
on their 10th Anniversary and
[S] Marks the Spot Album Launch

with other performances by

Parokya ni Edgar, Kamikazee, 6Cycle
Mind, Sugarfree, Itchyworms, Moonstar88,
Chicosci, Silent Sanctuary, Callalily,
Hale, Imago, Mojofly, Rocksteddy,
Mayonnaise, The Dawn, Slapshock,
Radioactive Sago Project, Kiko Machine,
Pedicab, Hilera, Pinup Girls, Ciudad,
Chilitees, Taken by Cars, Cambio,
Manibela, Zelle, Boy Elroy, Oi Wag Dito,
Bembol Rockers, The Dorques, Angulo, Too
Late The Hero, Duster, Aizo,
Bagetsafonik, The Ronnies, Concrete Sam,
El Mercurio, Peryodiko and many more...

UP Sunken Garden,
February 12, TUESDAY
6pm

Tickets at PhP 85.00

For inquiries contact 09152628615.

Proudly brought to you by:

the Beta Epsilon Fraternity

in cooperation with UP PRIME, Mellow
Touch 94.7, Soupstar Entertainment and
EMI Records

Tribute to UP on its Centennial Year

And it's all about me. hahaha! What a tribute!

This UP meme have been circulating within the blogging community in response to UP's centennial celebrations. I think I already have read 10 of them already. Now that I have no more interesting topics to write about, this would serve as a good filler post. Of course, I'm proud to be a product of UP. :) Happy 100 years!


1. Student number?
2001-42137
2. College?
College of Engineering
3. Course?
BS Computer Engineering Lab? Intel Microprocessors Lab (IML)
4. Nag-shift ka ba o na-kickout?
I survived.
5. Saan ka kumuha ng UPCAT?
UP Baguio
6. Favorite GE subject?
SocSci 1 (Sir Palis) -> "winner!" yung teacher eh. Bitin nga lang lagi yung klase kasi lagi siyang late dumating (aka the 730 man). STS, most students hated this subject, but it is Dr. Arcilla's main task to make STS meaningful and exciting.
7. Favorite PE?
Swimming. Now I know how to swim and even consider it as one of my hobbies. Our instructor was coach Noel of UP's very own champion swimteam. We were even taught the butterfly stroke, and for our finals, had to enudure the 'Pasmathon', a swimming and running marathon (done alternatively).
8. Saan ka nag-aabang ng hot girls sa UP?
The BE tambayan really has a nice spot in Engg, especially during registration period, hehe. But I guess nowadays, all you have to do now is to know the name of the 'chick/s' and then google for it, hoping they have friendster, multiply, etc and have loads of pictures in it.
9. Favorite prof(s)?
Dr. Augusto Yrastorza Hermosilla! (Sir nasan na kayo?), Sir Palis (winner!)!
10. Pinaka-ayaw na GE subject?
Soc Sci 2. Very boring. I was a freshie then and my prof even believes SocSci2 aren't fit for freshies. Before, it was very hard to enlist in SocSci2, but I got it easily through the CRS (with freshie priority).
11. Kumuha ka ba ng Wed or Sat classes?
Yes, mostly because of lab classes.
12. Nakapag-field trip ka ba?
Yes: Kas 2 (Temple tours within Metro Manila), Hum 2 (Lucban, Quezon for the Pahiyas Festival), Company field trips (Canon, Astec and Globe).
13. Naging CS ka na ba or US sa UP?
Nearly had been a US for a sem when I had a GWA of 1.48. Darn. And so I just had a couple of CS semesters.
14. Ano ang Org/Frat/Soro mo?
UP Circuit (My bloc G-23 dominated Ckt '01), BetaEp (batch '02b), PRIME (Eng'g political/leadership org), TennisUP (one of its founding members! woohoo!).
15. Saan ka tumatambay palagi?
Dorm, BE tambayan, Circuit tambayan, IML.
16. Dorm, Boarding house, o Bahay?
I've tried all of the above. (Kalayaan dorm -> rented flat at Brgy. Pansol -> Uncle's home in Cubao -> Molave dorm). And then there was also the Lab (IML).
17. Kung walang UPCAT test at malaya kang nakapili ng kurso mo sa UP, ano yun (Given ang mentality mo nung HS ka)?
Computer Engineering was my first choice ever since. I could not have been enrolled in UP Dil if I had chosen other courses (especially if those courses were available in Baguio City)
18. Sino ang pinaka-una mong nakilala sa UP?
JedIngking. Right after our bloc meet with BlocHandlers, IBA (who eventually abandoned us). Both of us were heading towards our freshman dorm, Kalayaan. Bisayang bisaya pa si Jed nun! Hindi pa marunong magFilipino! hahaha!
19. First play na napanood mo sa UP?
I don't know my first, perhaps 3 Sisters? I love to watch plays, even vowed to watch all DUP plays; but, because of the lack of companion/s to watch with (preferably some chick/prospect ;) ) I was only limited to watch those that were required. Except for "Tatarin", I was curious if it would be like the movie. hahaha.
20. Name the 5 most conyo orgs in UP.
Any org known to have lots of chicks.
21. Name 5 of the coolest orgs/frats/soro in UP.
Proud to be a Betan. G23-2001! (yes we are cool. Definitely the best bloc. I really feel sorry for those under the RGEP who never experienced the bloc system).
22. May frat/soro bang nag-recruit sa yo?
Well I started early... I declined/dodged earlier invites from others and chose what I think is best for me. Even up to now, my parents do not 'officially' know. My affiliations are clearly written in my Friendster profile anyway, and my brother and sister would have read it. It is something to be proud of anyway (especially now that I'm a graduate, thus in safe territory already).
23. Saan ka madalas mag-lunch?
ugh. Dorm food. At least tipid, hehehe.
24. Masaya ba sa UP?
The experience alone is definitely worth it.
25. Nakasama ka na ba sa rally?
Yes! I was one of those who were lazy enough to wake up early on a Sunday and fuss about starched hankies and white-side-walls. By the next academic year, we were no longer required to enlist in ROTC. Ahh, the triumph over the 'akala mo kung sino kapag ROTC' officers.
26. Ilang beses ka bumoto sa Student Council?
Maybe 4 times for ESC then about 2-3 times for USC.
27. Name at least 5 leftist groups in UP.
STANDUP, LFS, ANAKBAYAN, I dunno... usually they come together and it's already hard to distinguish one from the other.
28. Pinangarap mo rin bang mag-laude nung freshman ka?
Of course. I was a promising student back then.
29. Kanino ka pinaka-patay sa UP?
MayeeCrisostomo. The southern lass from CdO. A true beauty inside and out. She was our Kalai batch 2001's official goddess of beauty.
30. Kung di ka UP, anong school ka?
Saint Louis University in Baguio City. It was like my automatic destination, being a Louisian since Grade School. I only 'tried' to take the UPCAT, and then when I passed, there was no turning back.

Ghibli Museum

Yesterday, I went out with my Toshiba friends to visit the Ghibli Museum located in the Tokyo's western suburbs (Mitaka). The museum features the works of Studio Ghibli, an animation company popular for films like Spirited Away (2001) and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) [the only Ghibli films I was able to have watched].

This museum is a definite haven for animation artists/fans who would like to take a backstage view of how animated films are being created. From scrapbooks to numbered inks (ala cross stitch), books, drawing tables, etc. It is indeed a fine arts museum. Also, a great visit for the young and young-at-heart.

There are so many things to describe and to write about this museum. The sad thing about the place is that "pictures could not be taken inside". I really don't know why photography is being forbidden (I guess all museums do, but this museum is more like a playplace and doesn't contain sensitive 'Mona Lisa paintings' in it).

Good thing the rooftop area is considered as 'outside' and so we were able to take some pictures there. The main attraction in that area would be the lonely soldier robot from Laputa.

This is the only time I was able to use my newly bought d40x and so I am still having a hard time with it. Most especially at night. (above photo: the robot soldier from Laputa, with the moon hovering on its head).

[The Toshiba peeps with Laputa soldier robot]

After the visit at the museum, we went for dinner at Tachikawa city. This outing had been planned out because Jmer would be transferring to Osaka after a year's Nihonggo study at the Toshiba HRD office (Shin Yokohama). Also, ever since my arrival in Japan, we ( with Jmer, Wena and Mich) haven't gone out yet (supposed DisneySea trip last year was postponed). I was also able to meet MarvinGo, the 1st Filipino hired through Toshiba Global (1st batch). They brought along Gaurav-san who is an Indian, worked at Siemens and an MS graduate of NUS prior to working at Toshiba.

[above photo L-R: Jmer, Wena, Mich, Scion, Gaurav -- Marvin took the picture]

4 of us ordered the set while the other 2 ordered individually. At 2500yen per head (for the set), this is what we got:
1.) Ceasar salad

2.) The Genghis Khan - with the pot which is used to sort of grill the onions, togue and lamb meat. There was also a side dish with raw meat and some vegetables.

3.) Seafood composed of scallops, squid and shrimps

[food photos taken with the use of the PDA instead]

We just ordered water by the way, and so it's free. Eating out in Japan is really expensive. I remember Geoff talking about eating at a Filipino restaurant and paying 8000 yen per head or divided by 2, I don't know but either way, it's still very expensive. This is just once in a while and so it's quite okay with me.

I went home at about 1130pm. Train ride was more or less 2 hours(?), one way. hehe. This is the Ghibli sort-of-ticket souvenir I got which is a random filmstrip of a scene from Howl's Moving Castle. I believe the official distributor for Ghibli films abroad would be Walt Disney in case you may be familiar of some of their titles.


Now at least I can say I have done something over the weekend. I wonder what my next 'gala' would be...

Shinnenkai (新年会）and Sumo Food

Woke up this morning, and this is what I saw:
It may not be obvious in the picture but frosts were all over the place. Initial reaction was, 'snow!' but come to think of it, it was just probably frosted dew. It's around 0 degrees Celcius around here since it's winter. Of course seeing the actual falling down of snowflakes would have been more dramatic; nevertheless the sight was cool since I'm a first-timer having a semi-winter experience.

Anyway, we just had our Shinnenkai, or New Year's party awhile ago. hahaha. At first, I thought all of Toppan's employees would gather around and 'party', but It's just actually a dine out with the whole team under Tozawa-kachou (Manager Tozawa) where I belong. I guess there won't be any 'company-wide' event, it's just not the Japanese way.

We had just dined in this Japanese resto near Himemiya Station (Tobu-Isesaki Line), which turned out to be a Sumo restaurant. This is the 2nd time we're going out with the team, the 1st one was our welcome party wherein we ate sukiyaki.

When eating authentic Japanese dishes, expect raw meat. This is some pic of raw seafoods as appetizers:

And now for the main event, the Chankonabe! (feat. Yasuda-san)
Imagine that big pot (nabe means pot) being shared only be 4 people (the team ordered 4 pots). It's Sumo diet, remember? Yet, more sidedishes to come:

(beside: that's just some cooked egg on the left, on the right- it is raw horse meat!)
(below: forgot the name, but it's basically something like our very own fishballs)

On meetups like these, it's usually patak-patak (everyone pays) but thankfully we were 'saved' by Kachou or else we would have contributed 6,000 yen.

The Japanese are indeed heavy drinkers, even capable of drinking different kinds of alcohol in one sitting. It was a good thing I skipped the beer this time (and chose Melon instead, haha, health conscious because of my BP!) because I might not be able to catch up with them. But really, the best way to befriend a Japanese is to sit down and have a drink with them. Most of these team mates are very serious at work which makes us feel "out of place" all the time, having no one to talk to. With the help of alcohol, they really get to have the confidence to talk to you and practice their English.

Another weird thing is that we're always celebrating during weekdays (Thursday). Well, the most logical reason would be that on Fridays, most of the Japanese would take long trips home.

We ended the dinner-get-together by standing up, yelling a one syllable "yoo~" and then end it with a clap. For whatever it means. haha.

(2) 007

Hah. My very first post for the year. For some reason, I have been feeling lazy on updating my blog. Maybe I could blame it on my current internet connections (legal one is slow, and the leeched ones are being unreliable).

I've been blogging since 2005 (though not as serious as some bloggers) and at times it's fun to read about oneself based on your own previous posts. Owning a blog may seem corny at first as it can be compared to writing down a cheesy Dear Diary, but I guess on this internet age, blogging is way cooler. If only I could get to be a professional blogger wherein you earn while you write; it's just not that easy to go pro though.

Anyway, just like everyone else, this is going to be my "the year that was" post. I could say that the year 2007 had been great for me and so it deserves at least a recap.
2007's main highlight for me would be my graduation (at last, hehe). Well, everything else worth noting is somehow related to this graduation year. Who else wouldn't be so happy being able to survive EEE. Based on general statistics regarding mortality rate, average years to finish, curriculum requirements, academic performances, I could say that EEE would be the hardest academic life one could get in UP (also add my personal bias, of course).

One of the happiest things that happened in 2007 was the Toshiba Global Interview. Who would've thought that I be one of the lucky 13 Filipinos sent to Japan for the final interview?! hehe. It was yet the 2nd year for Toshiba to get interviewees from the Philippines and we were told to do our best once we get to Japan. During our time, there was no definite number as to how many Filipinos they are going to hire in the end. For the first 2 years, only 3 were given the job offer, but now I've heard that there already have been 5 slots for Filipinos. This means that Toshiba would regularly recruit in the Philippines from now on.
I'm proud enough to be able to reach the "pinaka-final round" of the interview (ala reality tv). I've regarded myself as the underdog among the Philippine delegates, that's why, hehe. Kaya sa mga nagapply jan, regardless of academic standing don't lose hope, hehehe. Another happy moment was when me and my mother had the same time and date of arrival in the Philippines. What a coincidence! hehe. Not to mention I finally received my JLPT level 4 certification upon reaching home (but come to think of it, level 4 is just so so...level 2 means something!).

Despite not being able to get the job from Toshiba (admittingly a heartbreaking one during that time), it sort of opened new doors for me. Being able to withstand the whole interview process really gave me a boost of confidence that helped pave my way through the next job applications. In the end, I really felt flattered and thankful that I was able to have The Choice on which job I am going to pursue with.

And so, within just a year I was able to travel back and forth to Japan 3 times already! First one was of course the Toshiba trip, 2nd was my business trip in my current company, and the 3rd was for my return trip to Japan since I'm going to work here from now on. I guess this would be the most number of trips I could get in a year, unless I'd have a job that would tag me as an official jetsetter.

Of course there also have been uneventful events in 2007, and the most significant would be my "diagnosis" of having hypertension problems. It's really frustrating when you are young and stay fit that you are still diagnosed as having some sort of ailment. Who knows, I may just have some special power that consequently raises my blood pressure (hehe, too much fiction). Perhaps the good thing for this is that it makes me aware now of the things I eat. As they say, "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure".
And so going forward to the year 2008. Supposedly it's going to be the year of the Rat and so this should be my year (meaning more luck and success, hopefully). All I can say is that 2008 would be some year of hard work. I am involved in some huge project that I know for a fact that could determine the fate of my current career for the next few years to come.

I do hope I would gain new friends here, so as to maximize and enjoy my stay in Japan. Whatever plans I am thinking of right now, I'll still be "crossing the bridge, just when I get there". At least for now, the experience should be worth it.