Splurging on Music!

Since I promised to rekindle myself to Western music, I decided to buy records of various Western artists whenever I had a "valid reason" to do so. True enough, I perfected my Microsoft exam earlier. :D That was more than a valid reason for me to head off to Music One at Greenbelt and buy not just one, but four CDs.

Upon the suggestion of a friend, I decided to try listening to Hey Monday's music. I've always been a sucker for girl-fronted bands, though weirdly enough Paramore never really caught my ears. This band is said to be a "clone" of Paramore, though I personally think they're more pop than punk. I like the girl's voice, though. Hold on Tight is their debut album under Decaydance, and for newcomers on the music scene they certainly don't disappoint. What makes me happier about this purchase is that this was the last copy on the shelf!

I got hooked to the Plain White T's through the music video of their song 1, 2, 3, 4 which always manages to leave me going "aaaaaawww." I just realized later that they're behind the hit single Hey There, Delilah. I like the mix of their songs, and their lyrics are simple yet manage to strike a chord. Big Bad World is their fifth album, and I do hope it won't be their last.

Colbie Caillat has been around for quite some time, and I've always wanted to buy her album but it's either I didn't have the money or I simply forgot to visit the music store whenever I went out. I managed to get the deluxe edition of Coco, which includes 21 tracks. I especially like her renditions of Kiss the Girl and Here Comes the Sun. No fancy singing like most singers who revive songs.

Although I did say I wanted to rekindle myself with Western music, I couldn't pass an opportunity to buy something of Utada Hikaru. Simply titled Single Collection Volume 1, it contains her best songs from 1998-2003. Listening to this brings me back to my high school days when I was first introduced to Japanese culture. Since then, I've been a follower of select JPop and JRock singers and bands. Of course, no collection would be complete without songs from Hikki.

I do believe in supporting the artists and the companies who provide music for us to enjoy, so I don't want to pirate music as much as possible. Now if only Japanese and Korean music were much more accessible. Haha!

The keeper of the keys has nothing more to keep.

Work-related paraphernalia should be treated as nothing more than mere objects designed to aid us in our work. I should detach myself emotionally from my work and everything that goes with it, from big things such as project documents to little things such as door and cabinet keys. 

Last December 2008, CRC Batch 2 turned over the Datacraft office at AdRIC to CRC Batch 3. Nothing formal, it was more of them returning their laptops and briefing us as to what type of projects to expect from upper management. Along with all that, Nathz gave to me a set of keys that he used for the entire year he was with Datacraft. To most people, it could well be an ordinary set of keys. To me, it meant much more than that.

When I see that particular set of keys, I am taken back to the last 4 months of 2008, when 12 people were officially made part of Datacraft-CRC, and when one-half of AdRIC was occupied by at least 10 people at any given time. I got to know some people who can be so adamant about playing DotA, and I also found out that these same people knew when to put down everything and work their butts off. These were the times when Batch 3 was still unsure on how to go about studying for MS and MCSE at the same time, and Batch 2 was always there to lend a helping hand.

When I had that particular set of keys, I felt useful. Because I was the only one who had a set of keys for the cabinet, I was the go-to person whenever people needed a set of headphones or a replacement for busted hard drives. Being the keeper of the keys placed in me a certain degree of responsibility. It made me feel that I can do something that I am actually capable of, something that didn't require me to read 1000 pages of material just to understand what I'm supposed to do.

When I lent that particular set of keys, I thought I'd have them in my hands again soon. I was greatly mistaken, because they now have another keeper. I am confident that he will keep them well as he is supposed to, but to him it will just be another set of keys. It's probably better if it will stay that way.

Gratefulness, Positivity and Hope

Experts said that yesterday was the most depressing day in history. Yesterday, I did one of the stupidest things in my entire life and ended up really hurting someone whom I hold dear. Yesterday, I really cried after repressing my emotions for a long time. Yesterday, I slept with that heavy feeling in my heart and with thoughts of not wanting to get up the next day. Those thoughts were so strong to the point that I was even thinking I'd be in a coma just because of the mere thought that I don't want to wake up.

But then again, it's weird how seemingly down and depressing days can turn out to be those days you wouldn't want to forget. And it's not just because of all the negative emotions you feel. For me, it is during these days when I find out how much my friends care about me, and these are the moments when I appreciate my life even more.

I'm not really trying to be preachy, and I don't mean to offend anyone with what I'm typing right now. For me, I guess it's all about finding the good in even the worst of situations. It's all about being more understanding of the people who seem to bring out the worst in you. It's all about not giving up even when it seems there's no hope anymore. As long as people live, there will always be hope. That's the last thing that came out of Pandora's box as Greek mythology narrates it. It seemed insignificant, especially when compared to all the dark forces that came out before it. But for me it is much stronger than all the dark forces combined, as long as people recognize it and allow it to fill them up. (Sounds cheesy, but I can't find other words to describe it. :P)

And so today, I woke up. Admittedly, I'm still not as happy as I usually am. But I do not harbor anger of any sort towards anyone. Instead, I'm filled with gratefulness to everyone around me, and especially to God for allowing me to live out another day. Most of all, I'm filled with hope. Yes, even if people say that I should stop or that I am wrong in doing so, I will continue hoping. That's one of the things no one can ever take away from me.

Caring for Others

Why do people choose to care?
It's a bother, really.
Why care about other people who don't care about you?
Why care about the woes of the world when you're not affected at all?
Why care about stepping on other people's shoes when it just means that you gain more money, more power, or more knowledge?
Why care about the poor when they don't contribute to the betterment of society?
Why care if you don't get recognized for what you're doing?
Why care if other people just ignore your cause?

Still, we SHOULD care.
We care for humankind because they're people just like us and they deserve it.
We care because we ARE affected by what's going on around us, no matter how small or big the effect is.
We care because what we do affects other people, too. And eventually it's going to rebound on us.
We care because we know that in our own little way, we can empower other people to better their lives, and eventually do something to be agents of change to our world.
We care despite a lack of recognition or acclaim, because true caring is not fueled by such.
We care because we believe in our cause, and in doing so we hope to convince other people to care for it as well.

So why stop caring?

Time To Get Serious

A new school term officially starts today, and I only have two classes this term: COMPARC (Computer Architecture) every Wednesday and METHODS (Thesis Research Methods) every Thursday. However, this term also marks the start of more work and more exams for Datacraft.

Here's a quick overview of the things I have to accomplish this term:

• Finish research on my thesis. I'm definitely going to work on something related to Natural Language Processing (NLP), and as of now I'm leaning towards a topic related to pronoun resolution in Filipino. I still have to get a good grasp of what pronoun resolution is, though.
• Pass all the required MCSE exams. This one, I think, is tougher than finishing thesis research since there is just so much stuff to read and understand. It doesn't help that a lot of it revolves on networking which I'm not good at. :((
• Finish work on the project passed to us by CRC Batch 2. We have to continue working on a Sharepoint-based project that the upper batch was unable to finish. This one seems easy, but it actually isn't. Or at least I think it isn't.
• Pass all my subjects, especially COMPARC! The upper batch says COMPARC makes noses bleed and turns brains into mush, but I'm hoping all of us will survive. Not passing COMPARC means not being able to defend our thesis proposal as well. >_<

I'm really hoping I'll be able to do all of these and still have time to go out with friends. Yes, despite the amount of work (or maybe because of it), I would still want to have breaks in between. And it's definitely good to spend these times with people special to me. :D