Ink Stains and Killer Shoes

Today was the first day of our summer job. I say “our” because it’s a group thing. Basically, there are thirteen of us. G is abroad, KT and M are not qualified for summer jobs yet, A and T have summer classes, RW can’t work there since her mom works there, and C and KL are... I don’t actually know. That leaves me, K, V, R and N together in our very first summer job. Oh, wait—it’s R’s second, she worked earlier last month in Greenbelt.

So, what do we do? We deal with paper. Lots and lots and lots of paper. We give paper, receive paper, put papers into envelopes, cut, rip, staple, photocopy, stamp... No it’s not the post office it’s SSS.

I don’t really want to write too much, so I’ll just share a few things.

All of us were defeated by the time-in/time-out clock. Oh, ignorance.

Like I said, we deal with paper. There are about thirty kinds of forms and you have to remember where they are and what they’re for. Some have to be stapled, some folded, some given together and some two copies per person, some can’t be given without IDs, etcetera. And then you have to tell them where to take it (5 counters, 2 floors, and one office in San Juan where you have to send the E-6’s).

Then there’s this form called E-4 and it was out of stock. A lot of people were looking for it, so we had to tell them to go to the website, download it, and then print it, fill it up and bring it back. The younger clients would nod, and go off in search of the nearest internet shop. The older ones would frown when they hear the word “internet” (if they hear it at all) and then they would give you this expression that conveys the message “Nah, screw this place.” Generation gap 101.

After the first few hours of issuing the forms, we realized that we needed to acquire mind-reading powers ASAP. Some of the people would just go, “Pahingi ng form,” and when asked which one, they would reply with, “Basta yung *insert various hand movements here* na sinusulatan.” Gee, thanks. That makes my life easier. Oh, yeah, there were stacks of forms a few feet high that we had to fold-rip-staple-stamp-stack. We did this for, oh, two hours, and I seriously felt brain dead until the Accounting Officers started being noisy. We even stamped our hands, just because.

We made a few mistakes, but it wasn’t entirely our fault. The photocopier jammed twice on K, and the document would have gotten to the Officer faster if she just rewrote it. We gave out the wrong forms once in a while due to confusion. And then there were our killer shoes. Read: shoes that kill because of the pain you have to endure while wearing them. I am not wearing them tomorrow, I’ll brave the reprimands.

V was assigned upstairs, so it was me, R, K and N who bonded with each other... and with the dead trees in various colors and sizes.

V also introduced us to one of the other trainees who sounds exactly like G. And kind of looks like her. Which is kind of sad.

Oh, and word of the day: CONDONATION. We had no idea what that meant, and we were breaking it down by etymology, purpose of prefix, and whether or not it had anything to do with donations. All we knew was that it was a word in a form for when you forget to pay for a while. I suggested the root word was “condone,” although for some reason I couldn’t remember what it meant. (Yes, yes, I get it now.)

All in all it was extremely fun. We’re rendered invincible from the summer heat from 8 to 5, and we’re getting paid while having fun—well, most of the time at least. Sometimes killer shoes just suck the happiness out of everything.

Death Note Mode

What Death Note Character Are You?
Hosted By theOtaku.com: Anime


Darn it, I wanted to be L. Pfffft. XD
Katrina this is your fault you got me into this thing.

Tears.

My Professors, A.Y. 08-09

Ah, professors. As any college student knows, your professor can make or break your grade. That's why picking them is an extremely touchy subject-- if you can pick them at all. (The Math professors are always "concealed.") Here are my professors for the last two sems, posted here in the hopes of helping CRS users who are googling for good measure.

FIRST SEMESTER

Prof. Malaya C. Ronas (Social Science 2 and Political Science 14)
--- "He's a nice guy" is the standard statement about him. He really is. He's not the best teacher in the world but he's a cool guy. I think I had more fun in his Soc Sci 2 than in his Pol Sci 14, but hey. That's not his fault it's Heywood's.
--- Gives a .25 raise in the final grade if you pass the special projects.
--- 3 long exams in Soc Sci 2, 2 long exams in Pol Sci 14 (Aaaah, Heywood!!!). Word of caution: He gives mean true/false questions.

Prof. Josefa Balzdoz-Schriever (English 12)
--- Is out of the country A LOT. That means missed classes and a lot of group studies. Her favorite class activity is outlining. She has this characteristically high-pitched voice so you may want to sit in the front. And, uhm, don't take Eng 12 if you're not prepared to read at triple speed.
--- Gives quizzes once in a while. No final exam, just a final interview-type thing.

Prof. Alfred Pawlik (Archaeology 2)
--- One of the teachers I recommend the most (but I may be biased, I mean, I'm an archaeology fan). Be prepared to hear a lot of stories about everything from Egypt to action figures.
--- Speaks in a German accent, which should keep you awake in class if anything.
--- He introduced me to Monty Python films. XD
--- One group report, one final exam, a lot of film showings and reaction papers. But most of the time it's just a really relaxed class.
--- A substitute professor who filled in for him at the beginning of the sem (because Prof. Pawlik was digging in France at the time) said, "If you don't want to get to the lesson, ask him about beer." We did. It worked.

Prof. Cielo Maaliw (French 11)
--- Cool. Really cool teacher. She spent a few years in France as a kid and she shares stories about that, which makes the subject really interesting.
--- .25 raise in the final grade for complete attendance.
--- Midterms, departmental final exam, 2 dialogues, a lot of quizzes.

Prof. Daryl Saddi (Math 11)
--- Oooh I hope he doesn't see this. Uhm. Well. We had this joke... "You can't spell sadista without Saddi." He's not bad, he just has really high standards. He made our Math 11 look like Math 17, so you can guess how the Math 17 students felt.
--- 3 departmental long exams, problem sets, 1 final exam.

Prof. Perena (PE 2 Cheerleading)
--- Can't remember her first name. I mean, we didn't actually have class. It was UAAP season and the cheerleading class involved going to the games and cheering for the players.
--- Attendance is everything. And I mean that in the most literal sense. That's the only thing you get grades on. 10 games and 5 events, attend them all you get a 1. Miss one and you get a 5.

SECOND SEMESTER

Prof. Jose Magpantay/ Prof. Omar Pecho (Natural Science 1)
--- Prof. Magpantay (Physics part) can be... Uhmm... A little scary. Be punctual, because he locks the doors. He also gives difficult exams (2 long exams). One essay as project. He uses an OHP for lessons, and the acetates are available for photocopying. No computations, just concepts.
--- Prof. Omar (Chemistry part) is cool. He doesn't lock the door, and he makes jokes. :) He also uses the powerpoint projector, and uploads slides. Optional essay as project.
--- 4 long exams, if you pass them all you don't have to take the comprehensive finals.

Prof. Camillo Nogoy (French 11)
--- The Golden Rule: Never, ever, stare at his pimple. :))
--- His classes are fun, but it's French so if isn't murder-level difficult it's a miracle.
--- Midterm, departmental final exam, 3 dialogues.

Prof. Beatriz Torre (Social Science 3)
--- Ma'am Bea!!! None of us have anything bad to say about her. Seriously. She handles a sensitive subject- Gender and Sexuality- but the way she teaches it is just amazing. She never loses her cool either. I think she majored in Chemistry, and she's an Oblation Scholar too. Plus she's extremely pretty. Hers was the only class I actually looked forward to going to everytime.
--- Now that I think about it, she did assign a lot of work. But I swear, you won't notice it. Haha. We did 10 essays, one field trip, one project proposal, one final project, one midterm and one final exam, and a lot of class activities. She uploads the powerpoint slides too.
--- She's tied with Prof. Frago for my "best teacher of the sem" award.

Prof. Perlita Frago (Political Science 14)
--- One of the nicest teachers EVER. Incapable of becoming angry or raising her voice. I didn't see her get mad even once. And she teaches really well. A lot of readings, but that's the norm anyway.
--- 2 long exams, group activities every now and then, one cultural presentation, one group folio and she assigned an essay once.

Prof. Jayson Petras (Panitikang Pilipino 12)
--- For various reasons I shall not comment. :))
--- One midterm, no final exam. A few field trips. Final project, which looks a lot like a baby thesis. Group activities. It's a rather interesting subject too.

Prof. Marie Filio (PE 2 Scrabble)
--- Sometimes I wonder just how many words she has in her brain. Let's just say I can't imagine anyone beating her at Scrabble.
--- There are 20 games in this class, win 5 and you're guaranteed a three. One inter-class tournament and lots of little quizzes. If you don't want to attend the tournament, you can take the final exam.

Prof. Kelvin Lagota (Math 14)
--- Uhm. I hope I didn't fail this class. *Fingers crossed*
--- He's an "okay" teacher. Gives a problem set when needed. Homework, quizzes, activities. Need I mention he's brilliant at math?
--- 3 long exams, one final exam, all departmental. I remember he wasn't my original teacher though, it was a last minute change.

So there. My list of professors. I'm still recuperating from the stressful semester, I have a feeling I won't be fully recovered when it all starts up again.

Good luck to everyone taking summer classes.

Random Post, No Actual Sense

" 'I'd like to find a woman to pose naked for a daguerrotype. Can you help me find one?' It was not easy to find nude models, though Louis had heard that artists in the studios around the Luxembourg Gardens were convincing street waifs to pose for a bowl of soup and a pinch of snuff. But he needed something more than the bared frame of a rag-and-match seller; he needed a high-blown frailty, something worthy of oblivion."

-Dominic Smith, The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre

***

It's officially the summer.
Another summer with nothing actually productive in store, thank you dad, for not letting me take a summer job. (Yes this is me seething.)

19 books left on the vacation reading list. I'm just going to continue reading now. And worrying about my grades.

On another note, why does the primetime news suck? Why devote a full six minutes to celebrity gossip? It's a complete waste of airtime.

I'll write something relevant next time. When I get over the post-hell month trauma.