Life Lately

Career: Last month, I was asked by my adviser if I could be a part-time lecturer at the university this semester. Turns out, one of the faculty members suddenly had to take a leave so they needed people to fill in. So yes, it's back to school for me! I'm teaching one subject (two hours per week) this semester. 

didn't think I'd be using these again

My first day was actually overwhelming. You see, I haven't taught class in almost two years and I haven't spoken in front of a crowd in almost a year. That's why teaching a class of 124 students made me so nervous during my first day-- my voice was breaking, seriously. Thankfully, during the succeeding class lectures, I was able to gain my footing once again. One of my previous students from 3 years ago even sat in my class and afterward told me that I (including my teaching style) haven't changed at all and I guess that's not so bad considering how long I haven't been teaching. 

Social Life: One of my goals this year is to make time for friends and I'm glad that I'm being true to that. Over the past two months, I've been doing a lot of catching up with my friends and it feels refreshing.

Health: Twice for the last two weeks, I tried boxing classes because I thought it would be a good activity not just for losing weight but also to relieve stress. However, I think it just gets me even more stressed! After classes, it's either I get (1) sick or (2) too drained of energy that I just want to sleep until the next day. I'm guessing it's not a sport for me so I might try a different sport. I will update on that!

Hobbies: I've been making a lot of cupcakes. I also managed to bring out my watercolor and pick up a brush after more than a year! This time, I enjoy doing watercolor calligraphy/lettering.

chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

matcha cupcakes with anko and matcha cream cheese frosting

Work All Day. Work All Days.

I love my job. I swear I do. But sometimes, I can't help complaining about its disregard to the time of the day/night and to the days of the week.

Reading journals one night at Moonleaf (where I saw one of my co-instructors reviewing for his board exam).

Red velvet cake from Medchef's stall in Mezza Norte after the Army Navy dinner.

Saturday and Sunday was spent in Tagaytay. No, nothing special and nothing to enjoy. We were discussing work inside a function room for the most part of the days.

I was looking forward to using the swimming pool (I haven't had exercise in ages) after the workshop Saturday session, even at the dead of the night and despite the cold weather but One Tagaytay Place's pool closes at 8pm. Tsk. Disappointing.

There wasn't much to explore during the night and we also had a workshop session early the next day so I ended up buying ice cream and Mudshake and watching an action movie (Unstoppable) at the hotel room.

My weekend. :(

Happy-logue 10-06-12

hell week noun \'hel wēk\ 1. the week where all deadlines occur 2. worst week of the academic term, usually occurs at the middle and at the end of the academic term and may last more than a week

One of the many things I learned during teaching: it's not just the students; teachers experience hell week too.

Now, being both a Master student and a university instructor, I'm experiencing twice the hell. (I can't even call it hell WEEK because it's been going on for months already!) And don't even get me started with research project deadlines.

In other words, things have been totally crazy. I haven't had time to relax, to get a pedicure, etc.

However, there are still a few things that keep me happy.

1. My students. For some reason, I like it when my students ask me questions. It just shows that they're listening and they're interested in what I'm teaching. Most of the time, I get really really tired but my students make everything bearable. Last Friday was the last day of classes. I'll surely miss my students.

2. AME friend Sty-chan just got back from his one-year stay as an exchange student in Tokyo. Before he left, I asked him to get me some postcards. He got me two...

Tokyo Tower

Buddha statue

...plus this cute and shiny Christimas greeting card with Asakusa printed on it.

3. The postcard I mailed to myself during my last trip to Taiwan just arrived! Why self-mail? Well, why not? I bought postcards, I had some stamps and there was a mailbox at the hotel.

4. New Grendha sandals. Parents' gift for me. 

Ah. Two weeks. Two weeks. Come to me, sembreak.

Honesty Wins

I just came back from the shaking table competition in Taipei (we competed with universities from Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia and Hong Kong; students were from different countries as well) in which our group had to call the attention of the judges to tell them that our model had failed (because they didn't notice at all).

I've had a number of instances during college where I had to tell my professor "Sir, you misrecorded my score. I'm supposed to have a lower/failing grade." Well, it's the right thing to do. (Plus my conscience can never take it.) Yesterday was quite a similar instance... but it required A LOT MORE COURAGE.

Our goal in the competition is to create a model structure that can withstand an earthquake of 1000 centimeters per second square (a.k.a. gals) and fail at 1050 gals (whether by collapse, excessive displacement, etc.)

Team G-14. Our structure was the first to erect during the model-making day, Saturday, because we prepared almost everything beforehand. We just had to assemble using bolts and nuts.

Structure + poster

Unfortunately, at 950 gals, one of our steel ball bearings spilled out and the judges did not notice at all. The next "round" was about to start and we had to raise our hands and point to the judges the spilled steel ball bearing. Hence, our structure had a design strength of 900 gals. I was initially in denial because I did not exactly see the ball bearing spill out (it might have been from someone else's model structure). But one of my teammates said he did see it. It was sad and I can't even describe the feeling but we had to do the right thing otherwise our conscience will haunt us forever.

So they took out our structure from the shaking table and we took out all the decorations (we couldn't disassemble it totally because we didn't have tools at hand).

Then, this was flashed on the screen. The score computation is a bit complicated to explain so just take it as it is.

4TH PLACE. With that VERY TINY score difference: 0.0024. We were happy that we even reached fourth place (we didn't expect our score to be as much) but at the same time, we were sad, because of that score difference with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM2).

But after a few minutes, this was flashed on the screen.

Turns out, the previously flashed was not up-to-date. We all had to look at the screen a number of times before we could believe it. 3RD PLACE. 3RD PLACE. 3RD PLACE. Apparently, UTM2's base isolation system did not work like it's supposed to so their score decreased significantly.

My groupmates and I were jumping, squealing and screaming in happiness. We went back to our failed model structure and took photos happily.

Our bare structure

And here's the fruit of our hardwork, all the sleepless nights, holidays, weekends and late nights spent working in school and importantly, HONESTY.

Our base isolation system last Thursday.

Steel ball bearings housed in bottle caps. One (or two) of the bottle caps were sheared off so the ball bearings spilled out

Notice the cup of water? If after 400 gals, the water is still above the line, we get bonus points. And we did, thanks to our floor isolation system! I think this made us win.

All smiles. It's honestly difficult to win this competition because most of the other schools have great facilities (e.g. shaking tables, waterjet cutters for precision cutting, etc.). :)

However, fate decided to play a trick on me. I lost my two-week old phone on our way to the airport. It's just a low-end Android phone that came free with my postpaid line but it's still such a waste. I'm still disappointed with what happened but I don't feel THAT bad. I'm just happy that it wasn't my passport.

Aside from winning third place, I also learned a lot from the presentations of the postgraduate teams. Team G-18, the other team from UP, also placed 4th and won special awards! Congratulations. UP FIGHT!!!

A few things your teacher might not be telling you

It's been a year since I got officially appointed in my job. But I'll have a separate mushy post about that. For now, let me share this: a few things your teacher might not be telling you. But actually, I think the proper way to call this list is "a few things I wish to remind our students" haha. :))

1. We are humans. We are not perfect. Our job is to teach but that doesn't mean we know everything.
2. We learn from students too! They have ideas different from ours but works just as well or works even better.
3. When we're taking a long time checking papers, it's because we have hundreds to check and we have to read and understand everything so that we can give fair grades. Unless you're okay with us giving all or nothing (100 or 0)?
4. If you don't want to have quizzes, seatworks, exams, projects, reports, or homeworks, and you don't even participate in class, where on earth are we going to pull your grades? Darts? Roulette? 
5. We don't like talking to ourselves or talking to the board. Sometimes, we ask questions that are supposedly answerable by common sense and yet no one answers... it's just sad and sometimes embarrassing.
6. We deserve respect as much as you do.
7. If we're scolding you for excessive absences, for tardiness, for sleeping in class, etc. it's because we care. We want you to learn. Although sometimes, it's also because of item (6).
8. We don't like spoon-feeding students because we don't just want you to know the answers. We want you to learn how to think ("learn how to learn" as my professor said) and how to get the answers. We believe in the saying "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life".
9. Nothing great ever comes easy. Want to get 1.0's? Want to get a degree from the university? Work hard for it.

Disclaimer: This post does not, in any way, reflect the sentiments of all teachers. Just mine. I teach early subjects in the university. I also didn't take any units in education.

Beach with ICE

I had a blast with ICE (Institute of Civil Engineering) during the weekend, courtesy of our institute director, Doc A. Almost all the young instructors and a number of the professors went to Doc A's resthouse by the beach in Batangas.

That's Mindoro over there!

It's my first trip to the beach this year that's why I was very excited. The area was very private with very few people, which is great!

We arrived Saturday noon. In the afternoon, Doc A took out his speedboat and drove us around. When we rode the speedboat, I felt like I was in the movies. I felt like a million dollars haha!

photo by Sir Eric

photo by Sir Eric

Doc A's speedboat

At 3:00pm, clouds covered the sun and low-tide approached so we were able to enjoy the beach a lot minus the sunburn. We swam and played in the sea until 6:30pm, had dinner and played games until 2:00am.

Sadly, after this shot, my camera's battery died. The sunset was really beautiful!

The next day, Doc A took out his jetski and everyone took turns to ride it. Now that's one thing off my bucket list! I only rode the jetski for a while but I enjoyed a lot! The sea was clear (not much people, not much boats) that's why I was able to drive fast!

thanks for this photo, Sir Eric!

I really enjoyed my weekend, thanks to Doc A and to ICE!

Never Forget

Today, I went to the 2012 Engineering Recognition Rites.

669 candidates for graduation from the College of Engineering

I was planning to ditch because (1) I do not have a dress to wear, (2) I find it difficult to wake up early these days and (3) I was afraid of getting bored during the three to four-hour program.

However, because I confirmed attendance and because I was able to find a white dress with sleeves (fits me very well and was on sale), I decided to go anyway.

It was indeed awkward having to sit at the stage where every student and parent can see what you're doing during the whole program (hence that photo above) BUT it was also very nice to see friends, orgmates and most importantly MY STUDENTS graduating (and some of them with honors too). Unlike what I thought, I didn't actually get bored during the program. And I guess the money for the new dress and the effort for waking up early was worth it.

To the students who will be officially graduating tomorrow, I may not have much experience to be able to say anything but I will say these anyway...

Never forget to uphold HONOR and EXCELLENCE.

Never forget KNOWLEDGE, PROGRESS and SERVICE.

Never forget that Filipinos pay taxes just so you can study at THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES. Don't put their taxes to waste. You are an Iskolar ng Bayan. IT IS YOUR DUTY TO SERVE THE COUNTRY.

And finally, CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK DO YOUR BEST!

Wasurenai 3.11

(Never forget 3.11)

I'm back from a one-week stay in Tokyo.

It's been a great week although it got difficult because of the rains and the one-digit temperatures excluding windchill (at some point, it reached 5 degrees Celsius that "feels like" 2 degrees Celsius because of windchill).

Well, my family isn't so well-off to afford frequent travels (much more to one of the most expensive cities in the world). I've only been working for less than a year and it's not like I'm a earning a lot. After all, I'm teaching in a state university. That's why I feel soooooo blessed to be able to go to Tokyo at such a young age. Yes, Japan is one of my dream destinations but knowing how expensive it is (especially Tokyo), I knew I wasn't going there so soon.

Lots of plum blossoms (ume) in Tokyo Institute of Technology!

One year ago, I was a struggling graduating BS student who was so busy with her research on earthquake vulnerability. I especially remember that day: March 11, 2011. It was a Friday, a very busy day with meetings from noon until night when suddenly, one of the professors said that a tsunami just hit Japan. It was a devastating disaster. Even I felt chills down my spine after seeing all the photos from the news and from the internet. Our hearts go to Japan.

And then one year after the disaster, my professor pushes me to present a paper in a conference in Tokyo for the commemoration of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

I learned a lot during the conference. Perhaps most of the papers presented were too technical for just a BS graduate like me (and sometimes, if not most of the time, I couldn't understand the accent of the presenters because the delegates come from different countries) but it was a great learning experience. And it made me realize just how much research and development the Philippines still needs when it comes to earthquake engineering. After all, we lie along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

I was also very very nervous during my presentation time that my hands were freezing! But I think I did well and some delegates even told me "nice presentation" afterward. It was such a relief.

All wrapped up in front of TokyoTech's main building

Those are sakura (cherry blossom) trees leading to the main building. Too bad I was a few weeks early to catch them bloom. But at least I saw ume!

TokyoTech's library (that triangular building) and Ma'am Sandy (former co-instructor who left to study at the University of Tokyo). TokyoTech library looks soooo cool.

It's been a year after the disaster. Wasurenai 3.11.

And now I have to get back to working. I'm sure lots of work piled up while I was away.

Skyline

I just came back from an overnight workshop in Antipolo.

It's work but we had some free time during lunch and in the evening.

View at the venue's veranda was very fitting as the workshop was kind of about buildings in Metro Manila.

Daylight.

Dusk

Night

I wore [wedge] heels for two days and my feet aren't dead. Achievement because I'm not used to heels (not even wedges). Then again it was a workshop so I was mostly sitting down while listening to presentations and discussions.

I have lots of work to do. They just won't stop! At this rate, I'll be busy with teaching or studying or research until... next year probably. This academic life. No to stress!

At this rate, I wonder if I'll ever get a boyfriend. 

I'm kidding, of course!! I'm not in a hurry just yet. :))

A Shaking Weekend

Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools. IDEERS. A competition hosted by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE). Now that's the real reason why I went to Taiwan. We competed with schools from Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong and Japan. We create model structures and had them tested on a shaking table. The first day, Saturday, was the day for model-making while the second day, Sunday, was the day for testing and awarding.

Well, our undergraduate teams didn't win but one of our graduate teams won first place! Aside from that, both graduate teams gathered special awards (best in architectural design and best poster).

Reserach revives a childhood memory

When I was very young, my family went to Rizal Park a few times and I remember my parents emphasizing how Manila Hotel was the most famous and perhaps the best hotel during that time. 

Today, I went to Manila Hotel to attend the ERDT Conference. When we got to the lobby, I suddenly remembered that Rizal Park childhood memory and how I'd always see that tall building with a green roof between Central Terminal and U.N. Avenue Station every time I took the LRT going to my high school. Nostalgia.

I had initially wanted to skip the conference to rest because my throat has been really bad since Wednesday. My voice wouldn't even come out yesterday but as I mentioned before, I submitted an abstract which didn't qualify for the conference paper but got qualified for the poster presentation so I had to go.

My undergraduate research: Quantification of Seismic Vulnerability of a Typical Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Moment Frame Building in the Philippines. Yes, my title is very long.

Well, my poster didn't win (instant 10k in cash if it did!) but apparently, I was competing against graduate theses! Haha.

However, it was flattering when an ERDT scholar (I saw it in his name tag) asked a few things about my research and then after the conversation I overheard him telling his friend "Uy, ayos to o" or something like that while pointing to my poster, LOL. Honestly, it's very difficult to get people interested in my undergraduate research, much more appreciate it. I'm glad someone did today.

CE batchmate/orgmate/co-faculty Tantan and Engg batchmate Christian with their posters

Dessert which I didn't get to enjoy much nor finish because we were called to stand beside our posters outside the pavilion. That's coconut ice cream, by the way, not vanilla!

I removed my splint during meal time so I could eat haha. Don't tell my dentist! LOL.

Things New and Old

When I passed by NBS Recto yesterday and saw "up to 75% off on books" signs, I knew I wasn't going home without a new book that day. I got the Watkins Vanilla Classic Recipes book for Php61.25. Well, the fiction books weren't to my taste and I couldn't find other books on crafts.

And then today, I went to Ever Gotesco Caloocan to get an NBI Clearance (which failed, I only got an appointment for August 16 after three hours of standing and lining up) and the NBS there was also on sale so I checked it out and got three more books.

All four of these for Php235.00. They were all on 75% off, super cheap! I don't feel guilty at all even though I haven't gotten my paycheck for my two months of being an instructor and many months of being a researcher (I was and am hired by the government... you know how slow it gets especially when it comes to money). I never feel guilty for buying books even when they drain my week's budget.

Four pretty books. Full color. Php235.00. Score!

Anyway, I went to karaoke last Friday night with my co-faculty members. It was fun! Although a bit weird if you really think about it because most of them used to be my professors. (Didn't take everyone's photo.)

Me and Ma'am Imee

I also went to AME (my student org) Batch 11 applicants' acquaintance party last Saturday immediately after my review class. I spent the first 30 or 45 minutes there going around tables and hugging everyone (kunwari daw debut ko). And then rest of my stay there was spent talking to people and still hugging people.

Now look at these boys (Nigel's missing again). Or should I say young men? I've always looked at them like younger brothers but they've grown up so much. I first met them in 2008 when they were still freshmen. They're from the College of Engineering too. But now one of them is already doing his thesis and another is going to Japan this October as an exchange student. *sigh* I keep telling them how weird it is to see them growing up handsomely, doing thesis, pursuing love, etc. Has it been that long? I feel old! Haha.

Boibando minus Nigel

That's a nice flower you have there, Sty.

And here's an old drawing I found while I was looking for scratch paper. It's supposed to be called "Wallflower". I drew it probably when I was in third or fourth year. It's not yet finished, you see and I still have to redo it because the proportions are screwed up. I'm looking forward to the day when I can draw again.

Wallflower