Free and on top

• I was able to beg off from being a member of the committee in charge of our university's homecoming this year. After all, I'm on study leave and would rather not be distracted or further stressed by other responsibilities. Besides, where's that appointment that supposedly was sent out July according to the person who contacted me? Nada, zip, zilch. Didn't receive any communication at all regarding meetings, etc. So I assumed from very beginning that I was out. Very much relieved to get that off my back!
• We got back our exams today in our automata theory course. I passed: 66/65. (Btw, our professor explained that the original perfect score was 70.) A classmate said he got 59 and that another got 65 but I don't know what our magna cum laude graduate got. Still, am planning to have a small bit of celebration about that unexpectedly high score.

Choral recollection

As I walked to 7-Eleven to buy myself a drink to go with my lunch, there was a group of students practicing chanting Andres Bonifacio's Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa on the steps of the auditorium. I then recalled Restie Umali's musical setting of that poem that our choir learned and sang some 25 years ago at the hands of the great composer himself. At first, I had a vague recollection of how the song went and then, bam! Yes, I remembered...and it was in F# minor. Now I can't seem to get it out of my head. Sigh! How I miss those times being piano accompanist of the choir.

Super-extended "weekend"

The "weekend" that began last 17 August lasted longer than expected: by a whopping eight-day extension! Why? Because of heavy rains (and subsequent flooding) over most areas of the country leading to suspension of classes and office work virtually everywhere. While that gave me more time to read papers and review notes for my classes, it made for a rather boring week being cooped up at home and not being able to go out and get some fresh air, so to speak. Still, am thankful that our area and home didn't get inundated by floodwaters unlike the less fortunate elsewhere.

Extended weekend

This three-day weekend got extended by yet another day when classes were suspended today because of a passing typhoon. This means our linear models class will not have met for two weeks! Anyway, I took advantage of the extra time by rewriting and summarizing some course notes. And then there was also my bad back which I believe is finally getting better after two days of pain.

Three emails and memories

I have just discovered that Joel emailed me recordings of a difficult choral piece as performed by three different choirs, complete with his comments about each interpretation. It made me miss the good ol' days as a piano accompanist and of choral competitions. And of course, it made me miss Joel too.

Two games and a bad back

• My mom got curious about the Bejeweled game so I installed Bejeweled Blitz (it was the one I could download for free) and immediately got addicted. I tried to get both my parents to play it. My mother found it entertaining tho she was rather slow in spotting potential three-matches. My father on the other hand had difficulty picking up on the idea especially when he is a partially red-green color blind.
• I thought I'd mention that I also installed the Minion Rush game which was found to be a lot of fun. With both Bejeweled Blitz and that in our iPad, I suddenly find the likes of Angry Birds and Candy Crush boring and slow.
• Despite more or less exercising regularly (walking + strength training), my lower back has curiously began aching.  It might be due to my sitting for long periods of time while studying and programming for my automata theory course.

Two birthdays and an exam

• Today is the 32nd birthday of my favorite tennis player, Roger Federer the Great! Happy happy Birthday, Roger!  It's also the birthday, so to speak, of my MacBook Pro which turns three today. Nice to see that both are still performing well and going strong. Ha, ha.
• We took our midterm exam in our formal languages, automata theory and computation course. Having taken nearly three hours to answer it (we were allotted two hours), I'm mentally and physically drained. And, although I have lately realized that some of my answers are possibly incorrect, am very much relieved it's over. Hey, at least I had answers which is actually more than I could hope for, having not previously taken the prerequisite undergraduate course!

More time

God is good! I suddenly have more free time to work on my problem set as well as review for Thursday's exam. I have just been told that Prof. K can't make it to our class today because she has lost her voice! She apparently lost her cellphone as well because she instructed staff to let my classmates know as well if and when they (staff) see them (students) around. I volunteered to send a text message to my classmates to save them the trouble. I also hope though that Prof. K recovers soon. Considering her compromised immune system due to recent health issues, any illness, minor or not, poses a potential risk on her health.

Another power outage

We have yet another unannounced power outage in campus that lasted all day:

• I find time to punch holes in handouts that have been accumulating on my desk and finally file them away in my ring binder. 
• It is also a good time to buy a fruit shake (avocado) to beat the heat. And because there is no running water to wash my bowl and eating utensils, I buy a poori pocket from Bugong for lunch instead of the usual hot rice meal from the COOP.
• Am thankful that those curtains didn't get put up. It remained bright enough for me in the office to review my notes and work on my problem set.

Good memories

Today I went shopping at Megamall and attended the Madrigal Singers Batch '89 reunion concert at UP Diliman.

• I finally get to try out ordering a smoothie at Jamba Juice to see what's the craze all about. The Php135 for the Banana Berry smoothie may be a bit steep but considering all the fruits blended in and the size (16oz), I think it was worth it. (I had it with a coffee bun from from the Roti Mum shop a few doors down.)
• While waiting to meet up with Joel in UPD, I sat in the van munching on a Wendy's hamburger sandwich enjoying a carillon concert consisting of UP Naming Mahal and several other Filipino standards.
• Need I say it was great seeing and being with Joel again? And to echo his own words about the concert, it was something to cherish. I never thought I'd hear again those voices and that Madrigal Singers' sound that I so fondly remember and grew to love in the late 80's. It was also nice to know the backstories behind those signature songs of theirs. Sigh... the good ol' days.