1. Go to Ateneo for enrollment and payment of tuition.
2. Went to SM Naga and shopped. :D
3. Watch the storm pass by and wreck stuff.
#1: Stories from The Ateneo.
The enrollment started last May 4, if I remember correctly, and so we made it a point to go to Ateneo as early as possible. We went the the following day, May 5, and thankfully, there weren't loads of people left. My guess was that they all filed in at the first day and left the other days for us far-from-home people.
So anyway, the process was very organized, and all the staff were very kind and provided excellent service. There was a room where applicants could finish up their application forms and pass it to a student staff member for submitting to the next room, where they generated student ID numbers. From there, you had to just pay dues and you're all done.
If you're a BS Digital Illustration and Animation student (like me), there was one more place and task to do before you are officially enrolled. See, as I was called for the generating of ID's, the subject advisor read my file and saw that I was indeed a BSDIA student. She told me to follow another staff member up into the building - which led me to the DA's main office. (DA stands for Department of Animation.) Before the advisor disappeared from my sight, I heard her say something about a screening exam.
I didn't know what was happening! I was worried out of my wits and I didn't expect a screening test at all! I had zero preparation, and my mind was cluttered too much. Thankfully, my mom went up with me and kept me company. I didn't know if I was smiling or laughing or crying. Nothing made sense that time.
Soon, I was called into the office. I wonder what I'm going to do here? My question was answered briefly by Ben, someone who worked for the DA. He indirectly told me that I was going through an interview at that very moment. All those questions about me and how I learned to draw and why I wanted to study Animation - all that were for the interview. Wow. Awesome. Another unexpected event for the day.
It wasn't nerve-racking (the Interview) at all, and I actually relaxed a bit after about 5 minutes. He was kind and quiet, and his cute little daughter was at work with him! Doll was so cute! As we were nearing the end of the interview, he asked if I was ready for a screening exam, which had two parts: a written exam about Computer Graphics, and a drawing exam that was going to determine if I had enough talent for the course. I guess he noticed my hesitation 'cause he told me to ask my mom (who he saw with me earlier outside the room) if it was okay for me to take the test that afternoon. (May hinahabol kasi kaming ride pauwi sa Del Carmen, kasi nga, hindi kami comfortable dun sa new house namin sa Naga. Eh hanggang 5pm lang yung trip ng mga van. Baka hindi na kami umabot kasi mga 2.5 hours yung exam lahat-lahat.)
Mom immediately said yes, because it would be a waste of time and money to come back for the test the following day. I went back to Ben and after paying Php50 for the qualifying exam, he issued me a receipt and I was out the door.
Mom asked me what I did inside and what time the exam was going to start. According to Mr. Ben, I had to be back at that office by 12:45pm, and that didn't give us a lot of time to eat lunch. It was already 12:00nn! And we still had to order at the Coco Cafe to get our meal. (btw, Coco Cafe is this elite-looking restaurant inside Ateneo that serves yummy cuisines. It had a Starbucks feel to it too, minus the sky-high prices.)
I guess the best part of being so tense is the excuse to be talkative and to wolf down your food. I did the talking part, but the wolfing down, not so much. How could I eat when I knew I wasn't prepared for the qualifying exam? I looked across the table to JP, who was eating his Adobo and leaving out the meat. He only touched the soup. Haha. I smiled at him and said, "Buti ka pa JP, parang wala lang! Hindi ka manlang concerned sa kahit ano! Maging tense ka naman para sakin oh!" Mom and Bugoy (a cousin) laughed and kept on eating. Well, I was able to finish my lunch, and soon, I was on my way back to the DA office. JP, mom and Bugoy had to inquire at Montessori for JP's studies, so I was left alone. They were coming back after my exam anyway.
A lot of little things happened as I waited for the exam, but those aren't important. The test takers appeared one by one, and when there were about 5 of us, Mr. Ben ushered us into the DA lab beside the main office. The lab was very impressive, with a BIG flat-screen TV and monitors surrounding the sides of the room (for students' use). There were 10 separate desks in the middle of the room, and we were told to take our seats. The cute guy I was talking to earlier sat beside me, but we had a large gap between us, as the desks were spaced to avoid cheating and stuff. Good thing.
So to make the long story short, I passed the exam (much to my relief) and I had fun. It didn't feel like an exam at all, since most of what I did was draw. Haha. SO freaking fun. We were then asked to go back down to the Student ID people and go back to the DA to get my schedule. The last step was to pay for the tuition.
We thought we were going to make it to the Treasurer's Office before it closes, but to our dismay, it was closed. Mom was furious, because it wasn't even 5pm yet! They closed earlier than expected, probably because it was Summer, and that is was a Thursday. We had no choice but to return to Naga on or before May 7, since that was the deadline of payment.
#2: The trip to SM Naga.
So we went back on May 7, and the first thing we did was go to Ateneo for the payment of tuition fees. It was pouring so HARD that day, and we were wearing jackets. I actually thought it would stop raining anytime soon, but I was wrong. It rained even HARDER. Oh well. At least we had a big umbrella.
So we went to SM Naga after the rain receded a bit, and I had a great time shopping for a few stuff. :D And I found my thang:
I have always, ALWAYS loved Sarah for her talent, her beauty, and for who she is! She is so down-to-earth, and even though she is one of the most successful artists in showbiz, she still remains humble and kind. As I read a review about her, Sarah is very un-diva-ish. And I love her for that! I have like, a complete set of her CD's and after about 3 years of not having any printed material about her, I finally have this magazine! So awesome!!!
Apart from that, I also bought a blouse, a movie called "Thirteen Ghosts", and (would you believe it) a Deluxe 2CD Edition of Taylor Swift's Speak Now album.
I like Taylor Swift, but you can't call me a die-hard fan. I mean, she has great talent and is very pretty, but I dunno. Haha. Whatever. I just realized I love Taylor Swift!!! I am going to buy the rest of her CD's when I get back to SM Naga! :)
It was really raining, and it looked so much like a storm already. Praise God, my uncle and aunt offered to take us home to Del Carmen! It's roughly a 2-hour drive without traffic, but because it was raining, we had to be extra careful on the road. Thank God, we made it safely home. (Oh yeah, we played at the Arcade, but the photos are on Mom's phone. I'll make a post about it later on.)
#3: The Typhoon Bebeng.
Yesterday, I didn't see the sun at all. When I woke up, it was already gloomy, and rain was already pouring outside. The wind was cold, and I regretted not wearing a jacket or anything to cover my arms and legs. I know it's still supposed to be summer, but I guess the wet season settled in early this year.
The storm caused a brown out, and therefore we had no TV, internet, and no light. Good thing it was cold, so we didn't really complain about sweating. This event lead us to do things we had put off because of distractions. JP was able to answer some of his exercises, and I was able to write on my diary again, after a month. We also took out our laptops and had a movie trip out on the Balcony. Haha. It was fun, as usual. JP enjoyed the storm most, because it was his first time to witness something like it.
And that sort of ends this entry! :D It went longer than expected.
God bless! xoxo
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