Like plunging into deep, dark waters
The four-day “break” that started last Thursday was the beginning of an all-too-unbearable state of despair and frustration over PolSci requirements. And amidst the frying of the brain cells are the added emotional highs and lows by some unforeseen events (school … erm.. course related) that I will not bother divulging over here.
It was insane. I felt like a prisoner in my own room, shifting from reading at least 6 sources and then ending up glued in front of my computer the rest of the night. I had at least two seemingly impossible-to-finish final papers. I say that because I just basically started during that week, so it was definitely falling under the “crammed” category. For the entire “holy week,” I experienced caffeine-induced nights that allowed me to sleep at around 3-4am, while waking up at 7 to continue typing my papers away. I have forgone going out with my family, and my only form of social interaction was through YM. Somehow, there was comfort in numbers. My co-Polsci coursemates share my pain and we try to find ways to “help” each other out. This is done mostly through emotional means. hahahaha. And after a lot of crazy, crazy events that transpired in line with the Polsci madness we are all experiencing, I really have learned to love my coursemates.
I still can’t believe I did all those. And now I’m sick with cough and colds, fighting my way through this because of the pending finals. I’m glad that I was able to sleep for a long time last night. I needed to rest because I felt as if my body is going to give up any time soon, and there’s no way I’m going to let that happen. I still have History166 later, Philo orals tomorrow and partnering up with Ray for our Theo orals on Thursday. Oooh! And a take-home exam due Thursday too! Somehow, I have absolutely no idea when I’d be able to start that.
This...
When readings are starting to torture me
It has almost been 2 weeks since the second semester started, and I’ve never been this stressed this early. If you have been keeping tabs on my micro-blog, you’ll see my incessant whining over everything. What a pain.
But then hear me whine and rant some more.
Heavy workload is usually reserved for incredibly inhumane hell weeks that can be experienced some time February or March. Usually, everything before that, especially the first freakin weeks are light and manageable. Unfortunately, it has been anything but!
My subjects are pretty deadly when it comes to the reading assignments. For the past few days, I’ve been staying up way late (than usual) attempting to finish the readings for the following day. Mind you, 150 pages worth of readings only for one major subject given a minimum of 2 days before is supposed to be normal. And that’s just for one meeting for that one subject. My other major also requires around the same amount. There are graded recitations, quizzes and papers for that reading at least once a week. Kaya wala akong takas. Take note: Our readings are far from the easy, light-hearted, feel-good kind. PolSci readings are usually books, articles, journals on various theories, case studies, comparative works, paradigms, etc by really great authors. I always get this info-overload-kinda-feeling after finishing everything. It’s like I end up mentally drained every night before my T-TH classes and right after my T-TH 6pm class.
I feel tortured. The past school days already felt like eternity. My blockmates and I never had ample time to even take a breather.
I’m sorry. It just gets frustrating at times, especially when you realize that it can only get worse. I guess the bright side would be the skills that I’ll probably master at the end of the semester (let’s hope!). Writing papers. Reading hundreds and hundreds of pages per day. Maybe it will all do me some good at the end, especially when the reality...
Thank God for Some Series Downtime
Lists that prove just how much of a TV-junkie I am, and some more.
- My sister and I have color-coded, computerized tabled lists that shows who will download what per day to maximize bandwidth.
- Mac has this amazing program called TV Shows that automatically downloads the right torrent file at the right time and even opens up Azureus/Transmission for me automatically as well.
- We schedule the times when we are able to watch our shows. Contrary to what this list has made me sound like, I usually am out all the time. My sister and I have agreed we shall watch together, so we have to actually ‘schedule it in.’
- I can name the US networks and time slots of all those shows. In fact, I have been recently fascinated with TV ratings and the show’s demographic, especially amongst competitive time slots, networks and shows.
A little more and it's over
Just because there’s free internet here at Starbucks, Corinthian, I’m going to try updating this thing. Starbucks is not exactly my ideal place to study, but that’s probably because I never really found a ‘good’ branch that’s conducive for studying. It’s all a matter of preference, and this one is surprisingly not bad. It’s not far for Ateneo, but not exactly close enough for me to bump and deal with people I actually know. And the place is pretty big, and plays just the right kind of music – easy-listening, motown/jazz and soul. I’m stuck here because I’m still not done studying for my Economics final, which will happen in a few hours. I’m still calm, which means my panic mode will sink in a bit later.
I can’t wait for all my finals to be over. I feel like it’s never going to end, seeing as I still have 2 hugeass papers due even after finals week. One that our group basically haven’t started yet. Uhm… we have good reasons. Trust me. Pero kaya yan. Kaya talaga yan. I’m actually pretty thankful deadlines were moved or else I’m probably going crazy right now.
My plans for sembreak are still tentative, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to have our block sem-ender KTV thing, BlueREP EVSEM, my 4D sembreak out-of-town outing and our family Singapore trip. I always make the most out of my sembreaks, and this is no exception. I’m really looking forward to my much-awaited vacation, where I can finally have time for myself and get my much-needed closure. Wonder how that will go. Hohum.
Time to go back to more Econ studying time. I’ll just leave you with pictures from my sister‘s birthday celebration at Circles, Shang. Buffets are incredibly sinful. Thinking about how much I’ve gained since the start of the sem is depressing. Stressed eh. Bawi na lang sa sembreak. haha.
A breather from Polsci madness
I’ve been in an emotional rut for the past few days, and it doesn’t help that there are just so many school-related things I need to worry about. Every now and then, I’ve been trying to get a hold of myself, trying to dismiss anything that will let me fall into a relapse. I guess the stress helps me focus on the things that should matter for the time being. I have to make the most out of everything.
Saturdays are meant to be days of indulgence for myself. My tito happens to be one of the regional directors under the Department of Tourism, and he invited our family to visit the Philippine Tour Operations Association’s 18th Philippine Travel Mart at SM Megamall.
It’s really, really interesting, and I was quite delighted to be in a place full of activity! There were stalls representing the various regions and places all over the country that you will end up having this urge to travel around and realize how many wonderful places there are yet to visit in this country. There were also free food samples, exhibits and shows. Travel agencies were everywhere, so you can see a wide range of promos and travel packages to suit your liking. My mom, who was oh-so-excited grabbed a handful of brochures, cards, leaflets to compile for our next vacation destination. haha. My sisters and I were just as excited that we went around scouring for places we can’t wait to visit. The picture on the left is me with the famous tarsier in Bohol. My mom desperately wants to go there soon.
After Megamall, I headed over to Bonifacio High Street and met up with my girlfriends at T.G.I Friday’s for dinner. Lately, I’ve been having these girlfriend withdrawal symptoms, and all the frustration...
Get my 
