Nakakapanibago ang summer ko!

Today, summer classes in Diliman start. While the rest of my friends (well, except Jerome) are busy struggling to go back to acad mode, I'm still sleeping my heart away till noon everyday. In a way, it feels weird because in my five years in UP, this is the first time I'm actually gonna have a summer break – because I didn’t enroll for summer classes. (Well, I really shouldn’t be taking summer classes this year, because I'm supposed to graduate this April… bummer). Well, wala lang, nag-momoment lang ako. Para kasing nakalimutan ko na kung paano nga ba talaga mag-summer, hehe!

When I was a kid, the major highlight of the summer would be my vacation at my grandmother’s house in Sta Rita Pampanga in time for their barrio fiesta. The fiesta itself is April 25, but as early as April 20, my cousins and I would already be there. Imagine a typical barrio house (iyung concrete and first floor pero ang second floor kahoy lang) being filled with around 5 adults and around 10 children. At lahat kami sa sala natutulog. Exciting no? The prime sleeping places would definitely be the couches. Haha! Then the vacation would be capped off with a swimming on April 25 itself, after the handaan, with all the leftover food. Of course, during my high school and college years, it would be a different story, right? =)

My summer after 1^st year college, I took up Math 54. Shet! More than 3 hours of calculus!? I even almost failed it. It was because two noisy classmates of mine pissed off my professor. In effect, she made us take the second exam 3 days ahead of schedule – yes, without discussing what needs to be discussed. Syempre, asa pa akong maipapasa ko iyun diba? As of the last day of dropping, my exam average was 42%. A number of my classmates dropped. I didn’t – I was ‘five and fighting’! Haha! Lakas ng loob ko no? Well, 2 reasons: first, if I drop, I would’ve wasted my summer classes, and I don’t want that; second, the emergency 2^nd exam punishment was uncalled for, I knew that inside my boyish professor, she had a heart and that she is gonna do something fair to compensate for that 2^nd exam mêlée. And she did. After the finals, I was confident that I nailed it, that I answered enough correct answers to manage a 3.0 (I think it was around 85%). Nag-review talaga ako. Based on my computations, even if I get a 100%, my grade would only be 2.75. But lo and behold, 2.25 was encircled on my class card.

My 2^nd summer, I had Nat Sci 2 and Comm 3. Obviously, it was a stress-free summer. Geology and Biology were my thing and Speech Communication wasn’t a struggle for me. Comm 3 really helped me a lot in dealing with my stage fright and the way I handle myself in front of other people. I really think it helped me with my people skills; especially I was an incoming president of my Aguman that year. Ano topic ko sa final speech? It was about the perks of being a third wheel entitled A Single in a Couple’s Company.

My 3^rd summer, I took up ES 12 (2^nd take, hehe) and Hum 2. It was a balancing act. While Hum 2 was okay, relatively relaxing, ES 12 was a real struggle. Since second take ko na, mega-effort naman ako. Stella and I were always hanging out at the Engineering Canteen. In fairness, I passed ES 12 with a final raw grade of 60.13%. It was a sweet conclusion to my ES series. Haha! Ewan, swerte talaga ako sa ES 11 at ES 12 ko. ES 11 ko kasi, 59.85% eh. Haha!

My last summer was my worst schedule ever: PI 100 from 9-11am, STS from 5-7pm. Imagine, 6 hours of break! Good thing I discovered Desperate Housewives that summer. Anyway, my PI was a mess. My teacher had a temper and was very stubborn and close-minded, not to mention demanding. Tapos may kaklase pa kaming epal. ‘Kala mo kung sinong cute – maputi nga and all, may fashion sense, pang-zombie naman ang mga mata. Add the fact that he was always sucking up to the prof by always having an opinion on this and that aspect of Rizal’s work of life – to the delight of my professor. Geez, he was good at feigning knowledge. As for STS, well, it was STS? Haha! You’d really survive without reading the thicker than thick readings. Totoo nga iyung legend na basta magaling ang report niyo, mataas grade mo. In fairness, our purely-picture report was one of the most genuinely well applauded. As in nakikinig talaga mga classmates namin, kahit na 6.20pm na kami nakapag-start.

So eto, since hindi ako nag-sasummer, naninibago ako. I will really, really miss my friends. I will miss the Tuesday genmeets, the dinner after those genmeets, tambya hours, chismisan (haha!), wednesday dinners, late-night walks to and from Matimtiman and Hardin, 34G, washing the glasses I didn't use. I will miss the ruckus, issues and more issues. =) But I'm really savoring this sleep-late-night, wake-up-late-morning routine I'm having. I know it gets boring from time to time, but I really think my mind needs this long and genuine break – break from acads, from certain people, from certain issues. At least ngayon, tahimik ang buhay ko. Wushu… =p