College deliberation was a few days ago.  For the uninformed, deliberation is where we decide whether to pass or fail students who were below the passing mark.

First time I heard of it, I thought the whole thing was stupid.  The whole point of having a cut-off mark was cos that's the minimum standard set for the students, anything below that means the standards have not been met. 

In all fairness to the students, staying in the program requires gallons of blood and sweat.  You need a general average of 2.5 and below to be in good standing, 2.51-2.75 to be in probation (which if you're in twice, you get kicked off the program), and anything above 2.75 means you need to start looking for a new school.  Then again, you know what you're getting into when you decided to stay in the program right?  If you want an easier course, where meeting the good standing average is easy, you could always shift early.

No, I am not the evil instructor who fails everyone subject for deliberation, but yes, I have  failed a few.  Hopefully those kiddies will not be attempting to kill me in my sleep.  Here are a few of the reasons some give me for passing a student, that I totally disagree with (yes, this may make me seem like I lack a conscience, but I tend to favor justice over mercy):

They're too poor to afford another school.

I understand that the financial aspect of life really sucks, but being poor should not be an excuse to get more slack.  So if your students were rich, it's ok to fail them, but if they're poor, you are without conscience if you do?  That's fair?  What's the opposite of being an elitist?

Pretty much like the first one, and instructor admitting that student really is pretty slow; but still would like to give him a chance cos some people excel even if they sucked at it in school.

WTF?!  Given that line of reasoning, then we might as well pass everyone.  Who knows who'd turn out "excelling" at their shit.  I was telling them how maybe he's not doing good in this program cos this is not the program for him, maybe he needs to shift to another course.  This is the reasoning they gave me.  And that he can't shift to another program in the univ cos next fail, he gets kicked out.  So why didn't you let him go before?! *sigh*

No logical reason given.

Bah.

The bestfriend left a few weeks ago to work as a physical therapist in New York.  She’s staying with a couple of professors we had back in college.  No, they did not get their New York City Health jobs in some website, although, if you are looking for one, there are sites galore to go check. 

I miss her.  I would be in Manila thinking, I want to eat at this place later, or watch this movie at Rob Place.  Then, I would realize she is not in Manila anymore.

I have a thing for friends I can drag anywhere at a moment’s notice.  Do not get me wrong, I still like my schedules and routines, but sometimes impromptu invitations are fun too, especially if you’re not in the mood to go home yet.  And that’s where my money keeps going to, dining out and movies.

I should actually stop eating out, and start shopping instead.  In spite of this habit of eating out a lot, I seem to still be losing weight.  I don’t get it.  It’s not like as if I go on diets.  Yes, I got pretty stressed last month, but it’s ok now.  I have this theory that maybe it’s because I don’t sleep early.  So, I’m doing this asleep by midnight thing.  I hope it works.  Otherwise, I’d have no pants left.

Also, did you notice how I ended this entry with something completely different from where I began?  I do get derailed easy.

The birthday is coming up in a few weeks.  I am now a few days away short of *gasp* 27.  Man, I'm old.  Why I still feel like I'm 21, and acts like a 16-year old, is beyond me.  Hopefully this maturity thing follows fast, prolly in dog ages, by the time I hit the 27.

And because 27 gifts is a little bit too much, let me just stick to wishing for the 7 things I want for my birthday:

HP B2133-VB Mini note

Should be better if it comes in pink with XP instead of Vista (Vista annoys me), and has longer batt life, but I like everything else, so yeah, there.

nokia n77

Yenny (from sony eriksonn, get it???) is broken.  Ok, not broken really, just that the scroller thingy isn't functional anymore.  So it makes things hard.  Plus, I still don't like eriksonn that much, so if I'm buying new phone, I'm switching back to nokia.  Preferrably one with wi-fi, music, and lotsa' memory space.  Was told the N-series is pretty much the cheapest line with wi-fi, and this is the only one i saw without the flip.  Not liking flips to much either.

chucks!

I need to get me new sneakers.  Cos i don't really like heels all that that much (although the sandals need uploads soon, i'm starting to have nothing to wear), and my only 2 pairs of rubbers are getting seriously worn out.  Also, chucks are starting to get to me.  In a good way.  Only problem is, they most prolly get squishy when it rains, right?

hoodies!

I'm starting to like hoodies in general lately.  Mebbe cos of the cold.  This one from topshop looks really cute.  Should mebbe go shopping one of these days.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2

To be honest, I simply like this baby cos it looks uber-gwapo.  The DSC-T77 has better features, but heck, what do I know about cameras?  I just need a point-and-shoot variety which takes clear pics, has the steadyshot feature (I don't have steady hands), and is small and lightweight.  Our cam is nice, but it's pretty bulky.

Panglao, Bohol

No, of course I don't want a beach resort.  But I do need a beach trip.  Preferrably when the weather gets all warm and sunny.

world peace.

*bow*

Long overdue post about this new little thing called Easy English PSL.

Easy English PSL

Honestly, it looks alot like ipod right?  This little MP4 player is actually something that could help your kid learn american english in a niftier way. Storage chip comes with 104 Aesop’s fables, 20 A Child’s Garden of Verses poems, 37 teaching manners, 154 Mother Goose rhymes and tons of vocabulary words.

You know how those videoke thing works?  It's pretty much like that, only the video you see is actually relevant to what is being read (or sung, as is the case with videoke).  So while the player is reading, the words being read lights up.  Then, when the screen changes, you hear a sound signalling the change.  See?  Very much like videoke, albeit, more productive. 

Launching was attended by these people, check out what they said:

• Yapatoots
  
• Ennah, Comsci student
• Azrael (photos)

Oct. 1-12 means Spanish Film Fest time in Greenbelt 3.  Unfortunately, this is not free like that Cine Europa in Shang.  Tickets are  priced at Php 65; but still, not bad right?

So I'm thinking I want to watch these movies if I get the chance:

Miguel Y William

Genre: romance, comedy

Leonor leaves London to marry a rich, widowed duke in Castile, also leaving her lover, William Shakespeare, a promising playwright. In Spain, she meets Miguel de Cervantes, a man of letters who has lost faith in his talent. Shakespeare arrives to prevent the marriage between his beloved and the duke and so Leonor sees the chance to bring together the talents of the two writers to create a unique work.

El Orfanato

Genre: horror

Laura returns to the orphanage where shespent the best years of her childhood to discover that it has acquired ahaunted, unhappy air. She then sets out to learn what happened at the orphanageafter she left, plunging headlong into a netherworld where the dead reach outto the living.

Nocturna

Genre: animation, fantasy

Tim leaves the orphanage he calls home to find out why the stars have disappeared from the sky. He embarks on an exciting journey where he encounters the denizens of Nocturna, a parallel world that comes to life as we lie asleep, with a mission to find Moka, keeper of the night, to plead him to return the stars to the night sky.

Friends, we will watch this aight?

For the rest of the movie synopsis, check here