PPSA Story Part 2

October 22, Saturday

The Pleanry Session was supposed to start at exactly 9:00am, but a lot of people were late. I had a little chat with Dean Zosimo Lee and Prof. Malaya Ronas.

At around 9:30am, the plenary session started. Ma'am Caoili presented the History of Political Science in the Philippines. Ma'am Caoili's presentation was probably the most exciting one. In her own words, Ma'am Caoili said, "I didn't know that my paper would generate so much controversy". While Ma'am Caioli was presenting her paper, Ma'am Carmencita Aguilar would butt in. Aguilar argued with Caoili while Miranda defended Caoili. It was like the two terror professors were terrorizing each other. It was a really scary moment for me because some of Aguilar's words were harsh. They were raising their voices already. Basta, nadama ko yung harsh words ni ma'am Aguilar kay ma'am Caoili. Akalain niyo ba sinabi niya kay ma'am Caoili ay "Olive, I think you need to change your research method".

After the plenary session, there were 3 concurrent workshops. I joined the workshop on "Teaching Political Science". Lalo lang akong inengganyo ni sir Pilapil mag-MA. During this workshop, I was seated beside Prof. Miranda.

Lunchtime came. I was seated beside Prof. Herman and Aleli Kraft. Our table also had Prof. Jose Abueva. It was fun chatting with them while eating. After I ate my lunch, I went to Sir Naval. (You see, the previous night, sir Naval approached me and asked if I could do him a favor. I asked him what the favor was. He said that he wanted a small tour of Bohol because he plans to bring his family with him sometime during the summer. He also added that his wife is part Boholano).

So after lunch, we went out of the hotel. We were picked up by my lola's driver. My lola and me brought sir Naval to the Blood Compact Site (blood compact of Sikatuna and Legazpi), then to the Bohol Bee Farm. We saw Prof. Athena Lydia Casambre at the Bee Farm (tumakas din siya sa conference). Sir Naval thoroughly enjoyed the Bohol Bee Farm. He said that the atmosphere is quite nice for someone who wants to write. We went to only two places because Sir Naval needed to be back at the conference around 4:30pm because of the business meeting.

The closing ceremonies ended early so we had time to go shopping. Again, I accompanied Sir Naval (parang tour guide ako ng mga propesor). He bought Boholano delicacies for his wife and children. He also bought more of his famous "powerballs". We saw Prof. Tigno shopping as well. After shopping, we went back to the hotel. Ang ka-chikahan ko naman ay sina sir Naval, Ranjit, and sir Ronas.

Solidarity Dinner was held at the Bohol Tropics Resort. It was fun! I got to see the other side of my otherwise "terror" professors. We were singing and dancing (I have pics of those who sang and danced). There was also a game, "Bring Me" and I won a shirt in this game. I just had to state the name of the President of the University of Bohol.

While we were eating dinner, pinagsilbihan ako ni sir Naval. Namamatay na tuloy sa inggit ang queen mother ko sa SIKAT.

On the way home, Ma'am Caoili was telling me to become a permanent member of the PPSA. Sure, why not?

I can't wait for next year's PPSA Conference!

PPSA Part 1

Here is the first part of my PPSA experience.

By the way, PPSA stands for Philippine Political Science Association. I attended the 2005 PPSA Conference, which was held at the MetroCentre Hotel, Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

October 20, Thursday:
I arrived at the NAIA Centennial Terminal around 6:30am. I saw Professor Olivia Caoili at the check-in counter. I greeted her and told her that I would be attending the PPSA Conference.

After getting my boarding pass, I went to the departure area and was looking for a place to sit when I saw Prof. Crisline Torres and Prof. Gene Pilapil. Ma'am Torres was reading a journal article while Sir Pilapil was sleeping, with his head resting on Ma'am Torres' lap.

I was with several UP professors during my flight, namely: Olivia Caoili, Maria Anna Rowena Luz Layador, Zosimo Lee, Noel Morada, Gene Pilapil, Raymond Jose Quilop, and Crisline Torres. From Ateneo was Benjamin Tolosa.

October 21, Friday:
The outfit for the conference was "smart casual". For the first day, I wore my green bohemian-inspired dress.

As I entered the MetroCentre Hotel, I saw Prof. Felipe Miranda and Dean Zosimo Lee eating breakfast. I proceeded to the second floor and went to the registration booth but there were no registration forms yet, so I sat down at the foyer. While texting a friend, I saw ate France Bitanga (from DLSU and UMak) and greeted her. Then, Prof. Jaime Naval came down and he greeted me. (He's such a student-friendly professor).

Engr. Jes Tirol delivered the Welcome Remarks, while Prof. Jose Abueva delivered the Keynote Address. There was a plenary session in the morning.

In the afternoon, there were nine concurrent sessions. During the second round of concurrent sessions, Profs. Pilapil and Torres, and I went out of the hotel to shop for pasalubong. I was basically their tour guide. Prof. Pilapil offered to carry my PPSA bag and he did not stop doing so till I gave him my bag. Para daw pantay ang weight sa shoulders niya since he was carrying ma'am Torres' bag on the other shoulder.

During the Welcom Dinner, there were representatives for the Tagbilaran City Government and the Bohol Provincial Government. Acting Mayor Zamora was literally starstruck. He felt so honored to have shook hands with Prof. Felipe Miranda, Prof. Jose Abueva, Prof. Alex Magno etc. We (referring to the UP Diliman contingent) were laughing during this part because for us, seeing Miranda et.al. is just a normal, everyday occurrence.

Near the closing of the Welcome Dinner, a raffle was held, but no one from UP Diliman won.

Our first day started 9:00am and ended around 10:00pm. We were all tired.

50 First Dates

I just watched 50 First Dates on HBO and I totally fell in love with the movie. I wasn't able to watch it when it was shown in theatres, so I grabbed the chance to watch it on HBO.

Now that's what we can call true love. I would like to add that the walruses were cute, especially Jacko.

It's officially my sembreak (since last week), but I still have to submit the final draft of my 199. I haven't even seen my professor since Oct. 3. I'm still nervous about it, actually.

I'm kinda bored here at home. I wanna go out but then I think of the expenses, and I do not have any allowance since it is sembreak.

I'm becoming an addict to Friendster surveys.

Missy's debut

Wow! ang tagal ko na hindi nag-update ng blog.

Well, essentially ay sem break ko na. But I still have to submit papers, lalo na ang 199 ko. Inatake kasi sa puso yung teacher namin, so hindi pa namin alam kung ano ang mangyayari sa amin.

The happy part is, I don't have to take any final exams! Yay!

Ok, kwento muna. UP SIKAT had a field trip (Oct. 1-2). Debut kasi ni Missy, at dahil taga-Laguna siya, dun kami nagpunta sa Laguna. Her debut was held at the Technopark Hotel in Greenfield City, Sta. Rosa, Laguna.Maganda yung place, very Zen ang design. Plus the hotel is designed for business meetings and conferences. Imagine, our room had 10 beds! Parang dorm na sobrang saya!

Ang bait nga ng family ni Missy kasi binayaran nila yung hotel room namin at nilibre pa kami ng breakfast. Nag-overnight kasi kami para di na kami masyadong ma-haggard. Ang bigat pa man din ng instruments (guitar, jembe, rainstick). Nag-perform ang UP SIKAT. Actually, parang naging event na talaga ng SIKAT yung debut.

Yung emcees, si Drew and Tonton. Singers naman ay: ako, Jeff A, Jeff C, Pats, and Liz. Tugtugeras ay: Jerome and Divine. Pero nung kinanta ang Seasons of Love, ako yung egg-shaker.

Happy naman yung debut, and add to that yung fact na nung lumabas kami, may bumati: "Ang galing niyo, good performance from UP" Plus, natuwa din ang relatives ni Missy at yung mom niya will invite us to perform pag may events daw siya. Dahil sa ganda ng aming room, at lahat kami in high spirits (due to the chocolates), nag-semplanning na kami. O diba?

Table lang ng SIKAT ang walang picture si Missy kasi laging may nawawala at nagpe-perform sa harap. Finally, nung disco time, nakuhanan din kami ng picture na buo.

Si Drew, naglulumandi. May natype-an na cousin ni Missy na 13 years old! Drew was such a girl last Saturday, wearing a green blouse and white pants paired with a pink scarf and pink hoop earrings. Tonton sounded like a dzRH announcer. Basta, super happy ng performances namin, at maganda yung sound system. Ang ganda pa naming lahat!

Syempre, thank you kay Missy sa super-exposure na binigay niya sa SIKAT. Super exposure talaga kasi everytime na costume change si Missy, SIKAT ang taga-entertain.