hey guys! this should have been a year-end post but i guess it ended up as my first post in 2010. very well then. i'd just like to say that 2009 was one heck of a year! :) i feel so blessed! :) thus, this entry... read on.
7. "Gifts" from my parents
I'm not trying to be materialistic but I've got to admit, I love my parents for investing on a PlayStation3, a RockBand2 Set and a brand spankin' new Sony Vaio Laptop for me! :)
To tell you honestly, these things are more than just electronic gadgets to our family.
We've all been longing for the PS3 for quite sometime now and last May, Cholo and I finally convinced our dad to buy one! As always, nakakakonsensya din at the end of the day because my parents had to spend that much again for us. But at the end of it all, sulit talaga. Dahil all boys naman kami, and we're all in to basketball, we don't really have to invest much on games. Having the NBA 2k9 and now 2k10 game was enough for us to feel the value for money of the PS3. :)
We're all NBA 2k addicts now. We play 10-minutes per quarter games and there's no surprise when we hear loud cheers inside the house. That means, there's a close game happening. My dad is the ultimate addict. He plays 2k while everyone else is in school or studying at home. Playing against his L.A. Lakers is definitely a tough thing to do.
And just last month, my parents came home with RockBand2! and i never thought it would be that addicting and entertaining as well. high tech mga pare! it's the game where i can hone my singing prowess :)) and definitely, it's the game outside of basketball where all of us children, and even my dad, can play together. :) can't wait to invite friends over to play this game :) *sana payagan* haha!
yun yun eh!
and lastly, my parents bought me an early gift, a new laptop! :) i was actually joking (which means, it was half meant) when i started requesting for a new laptop. my reason behind it was that my Acer Laptop was already getting old (yet well-maintained by myself). it was kind of like, "if they buy me one, then thank you very much! if not, it's fine with me, i can live with the my old one." but lo and behold, they were serious about getting me a new one this whole time. they came home from singapore with this new sony vaio. they bought it there at a bargain price! when the model was released here, it cost 21k pesos more! yeah boy!
cholo is now the new owner of the acer laptop. i know, it sucks to be the younger one. ending up with the hand-me-downs. but hey, to him, it was a great blessing! sobrang saya nya kasi matagal na daw niyang pinag-titiyagaan yung slow computer. and i can see na iniingatan niya.
in the end, i'd like to say that all of these things are definitely good investments. for one, the ps3 and the rockband set definitely gave our family a boost and more time to bond. even with our cousins! and two, the new laptop will definitely come in handy now as i'm expected to graduate this 2010. i'll definitely take care of the new laptop even more than the old one.
to my parents, maraming maraming salamat sa inyo! you've provided us with so much!
6. FACEBOOK
Facebook wasn't really created in 2009 but hey, i joined this social networking site in 2009! haha. I remember joining facebook in the midst of stat 136 madness! :)) maybe it was because of plain boredom why i joined facebook that one night and it ended up eating my time for the rest of the dreaded semester. And sooner or later, life became easier with facebook. :)
i'm not really into applications but i use facebook primarily for posting pictures, socializing with friends, catching up with really really old friends, conversing with relatives abroad and the like. although there have been changes, the interface of the site is very user-friendly. it's the type of site you'll be signed in whenever you're online. it definitely caters to all ages and walks of life. even my parents are on facebook!
after friendster and multiply, facebook is definitely one for the ages. i don't know how another social networking site will ever top facebook.
one of the announcements my high school friends posted on facebook
bottomline is: i'm thankful because facebook gives me a lot of reason to stay online. it keeps me updated with people i haven't talked to for years! it made having high school reunions easier to organize. it made 'online publicity' a walk in the park. it helped me 'recalling' the birthdays of my friends. it made posting old pictures and tagging people a worthwhile thing to do...etc. and, it gave me the chance to crack up a conversation with Carla! :)
5. A Great Year in Basketball
this is not really for the sport itself. this a great year in basketball for me because of four teams.
TEAM STAT - 4th place, UP Diliman Games
Los Angeles Lakers, 2009 NBA WORLD CHAMPIONS
http://justamemo.com/2009/06/14/congrats-lakers-2009-nba-world-champions/
Ateneo Blue Eaglets, 2009 UAAP Juniors Back-to-back Champions
http://mhelgarrido.blogspot.com/2009/10/ateneo-blue-eaglets-2009-juniors-back.html
Ateneo Blue Eagles, 2009 UAAP Men's Basketball Back-to-Back Champions
http://mhelgarrido.blogspot.com/2009/10/ateneo-blue-eagles-2009-uaap-seniors.html
I coached the Stat Team for the first time last season and reaching the final four was definitely a big feat! it marked the first time the team did not have to rely on kuya tal that much. we beat UPIS in the quarterfinals! (avenging our 3-pt loss back in 1st year) and gave the CHK team (the eventual champion) a big scare in the semis. this 2010, we have a brand new team and the task will truly be challenging.
as for the NBA, i was rooting for the Lakers because Kobe was just bringing it the whole season! i wasn't really a full-on Laker-fan but i was hoping they'd win. i just really thought they deserved it. oh by the way, i predicted their victory correctly even before that season began! click here!
and of course, even though i'm in UP, i still cheer for Ateneo. boy did it feel great to have Ateneo win the double back-to-back championships! yeah boooy! hahaha. having them compete in the UAAP gave me enough reason to cheer. eh nanalo! yahoooo! GO ATENEO!
those victories, definitely i'm thankful for. :)
4. The Transition - In Stat Life.
in 2009, my two-years as part of the UPSSSC ended. those weekly council meetings, weekend obligations, meetings with the admin, text-brigades, endless prodworks and many more... were now part of my 'past'.
moments before we ended our term
yeah, nakakamiss. why would i be thankful?
this is because finally, i have time for the things i was missing out on! :) haha.
seriously, simple things like having lunch with friends, spending breaks on my own terms, fetching my brothers more often, getting to drive for mama... make a big difference. :) and let's not forget, i had enough time for quality time with someone special.
moreover, i finally got to be active with StatSoc! i mean, i've been a member since '07 but in 2009, grabe maraming mga bagay na first time pa lang! perhaps more than 80% of the activities napuntahan ko. first time to be best member of the committee. (haha, achievement talaga eh)
but seriously, i've been waiting for the time to offer more time to statsoc. it always feels great when you feel na nakatulong ka. specially when you have friends that are officers. :) it was so great helping out in several activities especially the after party yo! :) hehe
BWI in the Photobooth yo!
yeah, i'm missing the council work and all, but hey i'm also having the time of my life. :) that, i am thankful for. :)
3. a different summer :)
during my whole stay in college, i usually spent my summer in school. it was either summer classes, council work or even dance practices. this time it was different. i was an intern that whole summer. my stint was from the wednesday after holy week up until the day before the first day of classes.
with some of my co-interns
woke up at 6am every single day and drove to work. met new friends, co-workers, bosses, even the big bosses. drank coffee every 3 hours or so. ate lunch with co-interns. went home at 5 or 6pm just like most people in the labor force. kakaiba yung feeling. it was the real thing.
now with our mentors
it was also cool getting used to makati and every now and then, meeting up with stat friends after work. and of course, the business attire! hahaha. really cool. i even remember wearing a 'special' polo just for my presentation.
2. Surviving and Enjoying School
3rd year ended with a bunch of low grades. but hey, i learned a lot from that sem! that was the sem that i felt that i was really for Stat! hahaha. Stat 136 was one heck of an experience. baptism of fire in stat! haha.
yeah, that's me, while doing our stat 136 paper
very tiring!
having 4 stat subjects, 1 math elective and a not-so-exciting GE subject wasn't at all easy. malaking malaking struggle ang pinagdaan ko. but at the end of it all, ma'am gen (as well as our other profs) prepared us well for 4th year.
when 4th year started, i was like "kaya ko toooo!" 18 units, 15 of them were stat! but in fairness, my future became clearer and clearer.
my electives, stat 196.1 (advanced statistical computing) and stat 192.1 (market research) were both a joy to attend to! siguro kung may top 5 favorite subjects ako, these two would be there! bother were so useful. stat 196.1, despite its more technical nature, i knew skills in SAS would come in very handy in the future. stat 192.1 on the other hand, was less technical and definitely an application of statistics. those saturday classes under ma'am cla, super enjoy! even if i had to wake up early on saturdays.
stat 147 was a tough one. seriously. it was like one of those subjects you would love to take but definitely hard to pass. sir kikko is one great professor. he seriously inspires me to do well in the future. and his subject? i'd want to use the techniques i learned once i step into the real world. all-time favorite subject!
1st sem in 4th year was really tough. but lo and behold, i made it back to the list! CS yo! :)
and thus, since i survived the last two sems (meaning, i passed all my subjects), i'm only taking 12 units this semester! :)
1. Who else?
2009 would never be complete if it wasn't for her. :)
i started talking to Carla through facebook last summer. from there, we built on to something special and later on finally calling it a relationship.
back in june 2009 :) our first picture together
as i've said in my previous blogs, we spent most of our time in school together. going to org activities, going out for lunch, studying in the library. we also got to go out with her friends, my friends and even both at the same time! :) met the parents, siblings, relatives etc etc etc.
sometimes, we talk about "what if hindi ko kinayang i-approach siya that faithful day?". yeah, what if i didn't have the guts to ask her out for lunch? or what if torpe lang pala ako the whole time?
"photoshoot" @ statsoc semstarter
but you know what, i'm thankful for all the things that happened and the way they happened. i feel so blessed to have Carla as my girlfriend. i thank God for blessing me with a very beautiful, gorgeous, understanding and supportive girlfriend.
as i'd always tell her, she was definitely the best gift i received all year long.
like i've said, i'm having the time of my life. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment