Happy Birthday to Me!

Hahaha, and today, I officially step out of the teenager's clique. Yes, my teen love life may not have been that 'colorful', but heck.

And nope, no celebrations for now. No food, no gifts. But I'm grateful to my loved ones, my friends, and to the people who remembered this special day of my life. Your thoughts are far more greater than any banquet nor gift.

Salamat sa inyo. :)

As much as I would like to give more detail to this post, but I'm still on my studies. I'll have the luxury of editing this (hope so), hmmm, maybe on my free time. Hah, I wonder when would that be.

Happy Birthday, Little Brother

This is another birthday blogpost, this time for my young brother Lucky, who will be celebrating his seventh year.

His real name is Cristerroi, a portmanteau of Mama(Cristina) and Tiyo Roy's names. One question people would really ask: Where did his nick 'Lucky' come from? And isn't Lucky a feminine word?

On how he got his nick, well...


I'll update this post later. :D

All Systems Go

I'm happy that Sir Sanchez approved most of our present sales system narratives and flowcharts. There were some minor glitches, but we'll work out on it, let alone some major adjustments we're preparing.

It's all systems go for Rose Ann, Jofil, and I.

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The most arduous task on this study is the searching of a host company. The company search clings more on the interpersonal and communications skills. It's more on establishing a good rapport with the interviewee - in asking permission for the conduction of study, presenting the questions in a manner most understandable to him/her, among others.

It is from the information gained from here do the subsequent parts of the study reckon. These parts mostly deal with the technical and analytical aspects, things that we've been trained in this course. This is more on presenting, organizing, and networking the data. Having a strong knowledge base and scrutiny can spell the difference.

But a common denominator between the two divisions is teamwork. We couldn't have come up with a new study should we have given up. True enough, there were countless times that we contemplate on doing the whole process all over again, and with the speeding deadline, question our capability to make it. But even with all the pessimisms, we marched on, hopping one place after another, knocking on every business establishment we see along.

Until we found Mactan Cebu Trade Center...

Come to think of it, we had fewer pretensions with MCTC compared to the other three companies we've studied, one of which is Ma'am Mayta's availability. We got the full permission of the owner, the assurance of us being the first group of students to study their company and the processes which can support us three, and the trust of relaying their source documents. Never did we had all four of these in any of the previous companies.

God must've planned all these from the start, and I'm thankful for Him. We could've suffered more serious aftermath should we proceeded with any of the previous ones. I'm also very grateful to have Rose Ann and Jofil, for withstanding all the pains and for holding on. You guys are the best! :)

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By this Thursday, we're geared on submitting our proposal. We're getting paced up.

This September 27's the deadline. I'm more confident now that we can make it. :)

Hmm, What Gifts?

As already stated, today will be a dual birthday celebration for Mama and my little sister Fanessa. I planned on going to Danao today, but I declined due to a few concerns...

I hope that Ate Mikit's salary is already at hand. Yeah, I've gotten my allowance yesterday, but I've spent a considerable amount of the sum for the printing of our thesis. Fanessa requested for a badminton set for her birthday, which I would want to give her. But I only got roughly P300.00, and I think a badminton set would cost more than that, not to mention that this money I have to stretch until our payday at Lexmark R&D this 15th. The day falls on a Saturday, so I'm hopeful to get it this Friday.

Even if I will, I highly doubt if I can spare a huge chunk of it for gifts. Our thesis is resource-hungry - the cause of most of our expenditures. I may buy something else, but have to give up the badminton set. Not to forget, I am yet to buy a present for A-gie's - her requested anime songs/shows. Uhm, call it cost-cutting, but I think I would vouch for the game set both for A-gie and Fanessa. :)
Oh, not to forget Mama. What present can I give her? *rolls eyes* She has not requested me anything, nor hinted about her upcoming birthday.

I've never given those ladies birthday presents ever since, if my memory serves me well. And this year, I would want to make a difference. I'd go to Danao probably this Saturday night, after class.

Ooph, I have not greeted them yet! Better give 'em a call. :D

Untitled...

Thank God for answering my prayers!

Finally, I was able to talk to Ma'am Mayta via phone patch. I got much of the needed juice, and the call lasted for roughly ten minutes. Damn phone booth, and it didn't return my spare P5.00 change. <_<;

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I was really surprised with what Sir Monserate announced to us on our Networking class. He is suspended from teaching in the university. This is because of the previous year's issue involving him in a 'lascivious' act with a student.

I am yet to gather important facts...

I'm really saddened. Our professors are going away one at a time. First was Sir Miro's death, followed by Sir Osorio's rumored absence, and now Sir Monserate. With him gone, who will take his steed?

[to be updated]

September: the Month of Birthdays and Worries

September can be considered our family's flagship month. It is in this month that most of the family members celebrate their birthdays. First would be my young sister Alyssa (who's celebrating her birthday today). Next would be my Mom and my young sister Fanessa this Tuesday, followed by my young brother Lucky the day after. Mine would be next Wednesday, and Tiyo Roy's next to me.

To reiterate, September 9 is my beloved young sister Alyssa's 17th birthday. She's in Danao right now, living with my other two young sisters and with Kaia as their caretaker (Mom is in Negros to attend Ate Yammy's wedding, and Ate Mikit's in Japan).

Sad that I can't give her a gift now. I don't have enough money to buy her a present; my allowance is yet to arrive tomorrow.

Don't worry A-gie, as soon as I have the money, I'll give you your requested anime songs. :)

Maligayang Kaarawan, A-gie.

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I'm very happy with how our thesis is going. Through our joined efforts, we are now creating the program modules. We've finished a prototype proposal of Mactan Cebu Trade Center.

It's amazing that for only a few days, we were able to make it this far. After suffering emotional traume, and going on the painstaking process of company searching, finally we have found the one that would satisfy our four criteria: one that has not been studied by similar students, one that has processes that can support us three, one that has the full permission of the owner, and one that is willing to give out their source documents. I'm really grateful to Ma'am Mayta and to the whole MCTC for allowing us to study their company.

Alas, even the prototype is not that secure. The reason is that, there are some points on their sales system that we need to clarify, especially on their source documents. There were fields on these papers that seem unclear of their purpose. And we hope MCTC can shed light on this issue through another dialog.

But what worries me is that, Ma'am Mayta (the interviewee) wanted our interview (last Tuesday) to be one-time; i.e. she cannot promise to give us another time for another interview. And also, she's quite busy and may not be able to entertain us. Though, she allowed us to drop a call should we have any concern.

Inasmuch as we wanted it to be, it's really hard to get all the information at once. Questions are inevitable to arise.

In regards with that, the one that answers the calls is not her but Miss Josy, her bookkeeper. I've called MCTC for some clarifications twice in a row, but Miss Josy can't give a definite answer. The details of the sales processes is not her main concern. And when I called her, she sounded a bit irritated. I even heard her exclaiming to Ma'am Mayta that we are calling again, in a sullen note.

I am determined to call them again, hoping for an appointment to push through. Better yet, have Ma'am Mayta talk to us on the phone, so we don't need to come personally. This may sound pretty straightforward and rash, but we don't have much choice. We can't move on with the study unless these issues are addressed.

I hope they can set time to answer our questions. It's one thing I pray. We direly need the answers, as the deadline (Sept. 27) is fast approaching. Please, have mercy on us. :(

The New Breeds

And the contest is finished...

Surprisingly, we topped the Identification Round, the one that I really loath. And on the programming round, well, we weren't able to solve one of the two problems. It was the determination of the original price, given the markdown percentage and the net price (inputted by the user).

We weren't able to make it to Round 3. A team from UC-Main, UC-LM, and Comp. Eng. qualified for the final programming round, which was to solve a problem involving searching for numbers in a string of characters, computing their sum, and sorting them. To be honest, this problem is a lot easier than determining the original price. Oh well.

It's like the world turned upside down. We failed in programming yet swept the identification round.

And as the results were laid, Joy and Jayrome (from UC-Main) had the successful algorithm at the fastest time, giving them the win. Joy and Jayrome belongs to the elite few top students of their year (they're in 3rd Year).

Deep inside, I really wanted to win. Who doesn't want to? I felt like I disappointed Ma'am Maris. I felt like I could've done better if I studied more. However, I'm still glad for Joy and Jayrome for topping the contest. At least, the winning team came from my campus. Hmmm, I can smell a pinch of sourgraping here. :D

I and Anabelle joked on us getting all rusty. Hahaha. It's high time for the college to discover new breeds, and they've just found them. As for me, I can't dedicate my full time to joining contests, as I've stated in the previous post.

Joy and Jayrome's got a long way to go. Who knows, they would get more achievements than what I and Anabelle had. I'm looking forward to that.

UC-Main Rocks!

Yey, Intramurals!

No classes, weeeee!

This 1:00pm, I and Anabelle are gonna be participating the IT Quiz Bowl, competing against two other teams from UC-Main and three more groups from UC-LM and UC-Banilad separately.

I have not studied profoundly. I'm really weak at identifications. I've joined a lot of contests, and general information is my weak point. I'd better do the programming.

The other teams are quite as competent as us, posing an equal threat.

Ma'am Maris (our Dean) has high hopes on me and Anabelle, having participated in CESAFI and qualifying for the regional contest (related articles: here and here). I've made an ode to myself that upon stepping the fourth year, I'll lie low on joining contests to focus on my study. But this time, I can't exempt myself.

I can't dedicate my full time for this contest. Our thesis has to be done on double-time, especially that the deadline is coming close. I also have my work at Lexmark R&D.

But come to think of it, thanks to the quiz contests I've joined, I've gained experience that would help me out in this another endeavor. Right now, I'm reviewing all the programming problems we've solved during the contest (and those given by our professors), and reading my freshman introductory IT book for the terms. Yeah, it's kinda late. :(

Well, pray for the both of us. :)

A Cure for the Itch?

A word of warning: This post may contain 'unpleasing' terms and may sound disturbing to some.

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Nope, I'm not talking about the Linkin Park instrumental of the same title...

My buttocks has been very sensitive lately, especially on the right side. I've been having a lot of inflammations. Even a simple scratch can already provoke a tiny bump. As the bump gradually enlarges, so does it hinder my ability to sit properly. Worse, blood and a white substance (don't know the technical term) ooze out of it, which is completely uncomfortable. I feel like a woman on her menstrual period. And it really leaves bloodstains on my underwear. Washing laundry has never been my cup of tea, and these bloodstains make matters worse.

I've gotten like two already, both very annoying and painful. It's more excruciating when the bump area is pressed by sitting. How can I help it? It is the buttocks that is in constant contact and is one of the most used parts, and the bump is always provoked. Human as I am, sitting down is a capital need. I have to bear with the pain.

And as women apply napkin to absorb the flow of blood from the vagina, so does I have to swab Betadine(Povidone Iodine) and cushion with Band-aid and cotton.

With this, I've regarded more respect to our women for bearing with their menstrual cycle. I blow my horns. This isn't easy.

I don't know. I can't help but scratch the itch, like a disk jock on his turntable. Call it weird, but it kinda feels good - a totally orgasmic experience, so to speak.

The working definition of itching from a standard dermatology textbook is, “a sensation that causes a desire to scratch.” Fair enough, but why does itch (and scratching) feels good?

Taken from an anti-itch cream website I've stumbled upon searching:

[--Scratching an itch provides only temporary relief, and, unfortunately, only leads to more itching. This is called the "itch-scratch-cycle, " which only makes matters worse. Some scientists believe that scratching actually helps the body release pain-relieving endorphins, but this has not been proven and scratching only provides temporary relief. Scratching may indeed scrape off a layer of skin, but this does not make the itch disappear and it can lead to more serious secondary infections.--]

And so the proverbial saying goes, pleasure has corresponding pain. From the same website:

[--Scratching an itch only leads to more itching and more scratching and possibly, a secondary infection. People who experience itching, whether from dry weather, Poison Ivy or insect bites, should apply over-the-counter (OTC) topical remedies that effectively treat the particular type of itch they have. If these remedies don't work, or if the itching lasts for more than a week or becomes quite severe, it is best to contact a physician.--]

My Betadine ointment is almost depleted, and my allowance is yet to arrive this Monday. I wonder if I can sustain treatment if (God forbid) another inflammation grows on my buttocks again.

Speaking of which, a two-day old bump is on my right buttocks again. Like the other two, there is still no sign of white substance nor blood, but the tingling pain is already there. Oh no, am I going to relive the story again?

Blame it to the a sensation that causes a desire to scratch. This fetish has got to stop. Itching is pleasurable, but definitely not worth the aftermath.