Pattaya, Thailand
(my photos)
The Zign Hotel in Naclua Road, Pattaya, Thailand; Mini Siam, Pattaya, Thailand
Pardon the lack of Bangkok shots. My sunglasses and my Sony Ericsson cam complained lots on the way from Pattaya to Bangkok. I didn't get to take any more photos in Bangkok, too. Although I think I should have.
I'm normally a fail at planning shots. I never plan mine. Amazing how my Sony Ericsson T250i can take good photos, though. Given the right lighting, that is. I am happy with my phone's cam but nothing still can beat a point and shoot and dSLR.
Late for said training. I don't think I'm coming in at all today. I seem to have a few things to do given JM, ( tsubameongaku) and I are applying for Silliman University in Dumaguete. I'm pretty stoked for it. We're contemplating on taking the Dipolog or the Cebu exams come January. Either it's a road trip or it's an overnight trip via passenger ship to Cebu and lots of walking around the places i.e. random moments to take lots of photos. I'm the typical wandering photographer, to be honest. XD
Now why does going to Silliman excite me so much? English Lit. majors apparently have foreign language courses. I'm thinking of adding Nipponggo and French/German/Spanish to my foreign language addled brain. I'm a closet linguist enthusiast after having been exposed to so much Japanese via anime, jdrama and jpop and then to German, Italian and Spanish care of my now defunct voice lessons. I'm thinking of getting into voice again, however. My teacher isn't teaching anymore but I hope to find a decent music school there that offers that and piano. I don't easily give up on my dreams on doing something with music.
Oh and another cool thing about the school is that they partner with the coolest universities in Japan. Going to Keio or Toudai for a year seem very, very enticing, ne? I know rudimentary Japanese via self-study (and the material Keiichi-nii gave me) and all so I think I'll survive the foreign language courses and exposure. I've mastered English in much the same way as looking or obsessing into their grammar so what's with adding another language other than English and my own to the repertoire? XD I'm ecstatic to soon be a quadro-septulinguist. LOL. I already know three hence I seem to be a trilinguist, now?
Either way, Mass Com. in there seem interesting. But I'll shut up now and cross my fingers I get a good enough qualifying grade for any of my dream courses at the said university. Here's to hoping I can ace this year's university entrance exams like I did when I was new to college. I merely got through the 60 percentile mark when I took Ateneo's CSAT (approx. a 79 rank) and the OLSAT at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan at an 80/90something rank. I often fail at making the 90s. That's as far as my test taking history goes. I failed to get a percentile ranking of at least 83-85 at the recently concluded board exam for teachers, too. I got by with a mere 80.80 which is good enough to get me into any school I might want to apply in. And I swear a lot of people have been hinting at me to get a teaching position at some elementary/primary school or SpEd school. Even those at the PRC---questioned me about being employed in a school. I'm not up for any. Apparently, I'll be stuck at being a student forever. Or I think I will be unless my aspirations where art and music is concerned flies sky high.
As far as test taking and studying goes, I'm normally nonchalant about it so don't mind my blab on scores. I'm a normal human being who doesn't really have much care for them. Never in my life have I been a perfectionist---growing up knowing a few of them is enough to have me rushed to somewhere searching for sanity---but I always seem to have a foot on the dreams I have. Or at least I have dreams. Back in my early college days, I rarely hit the books. XD Or I think I did only to read them and not really study them so much. I do keep a half-ear open and semi-conscious mind for lectures, though. I always manage to be semi-conscious during classes. I'm best at not focusing in class entirely---i.e. sleeping or doodling---unless the class interests me. I don't think that will do for this bout of studying, however. I'll have to stay focused once I get in said university. Or all hopes of exchange student-ing and such could hit dust in a flash.
But really, being student often spells fooling around for me. Or it's a balance between studying and fooling around. I did a lot of it back in the day---think juggling being a student-journalist and student at the same time and fooling around with the coolest colleagues everywhere. I'm psyched to get back to that life for at least two or three years more. I might have to skip student-journalism unless I get roped into just that. Nothing will probably compare to my experience with my old alma mater's student publication, The Crusader Publication. Every other publication I know are either tipped more to the left than swaying in the middle. If you know what I mean. Think extremists or as much as I hate to say the word, activists and such. I'm fine with being a progressivist than the opposite.
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