Entrusted to Serve. Entrusted to Lead. :D

*Thank you Don for the picture.

So I was blessed to have had the opportunity to be part of ASLA Batch 6. Since the filing of application, every step has been a wild ride for me.

When I attend events that truly overwhelm me, I either write extremely long blog entries about them or extremely brief ones. I'm choosing the latter this time.

The Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly gave me a chance to learn more about my leadership. It allowed me to meet a bunch of inspiring people who really want to make a difference in this world through service. I treasure meeting people like that. I've met quite a number in '07, Pisay and YFC. Only here in ASLA, everyone had the chance to talk and the chance to assess ourselves, our communities, our commitment, our reason and our leadership with one another. It was awesome.

I've expressed my thank you's in my multiply. I love you, all. :D

Praise God! He is the reason why I have become me and He gave me this opportunity. :D

Subic training.

I was supposed to write a super long and dramatic entry about the Subic training but I loved Ate Meki's blog entry about it so hindi na lang. :))

Instead of surfing, eating and sleeping all day to enjoy the sembreak, 22 students, 4 trainers and 2 DISCS staff decided to go to Subic to program.

We were in Subic for 4 days from Monday noon to Thursday afternoon. Our sched went like this. Breakfast. 5-hour morning contest. Lunch. Discussion. 5-hour afternoon/evening contest. dinner. discussion. sleep. get words of wisdom from our coaches and eat lots of junk food in between.

It was very tiring. There were so many things I didn't understand. I got headaches. And the closest thing we got to a Subic vacation was the walk we had during the second day.

But now, I miss Subic. I loved the place. The house had a centralized airconditioning system. The girls had a large room. The people were amazing. I learned there is SO MUCH more I have to learn so that I could program well. It was a dream come true for me - being with great schoolmates and being taught by some of the best programmers in the country.

As Ate Meki's blog entry enumerated everyone:

Thank you Jason, Ivan, Kuya Jay, Kuya Wil, Jim, Kuya Byron, Kuya Richard, Ate Liza, Kuya Liban, Ate Meki, Kuya Alvin, Kuya Jam, Kuya David, Kuya Pong, Miggy, Janssen, Chester, Ate Danna, Kuya Thomas, Kuya Jejo, Ate Wimbie.

I had lots of fun. Akala ko maoop kami kasi freshies kami pero sobrang everyone was really nice. It was a great experience for me to have been in the midst of really great programmers. Sobrang I was inspired to do well in my studies and in practicing programming. I enjoyed the nerdy jokes, the morning exercise and eating junk food like crazy with all of you. :)

Thank you to our trainers. Doc Mana, Doc V, Sir Akie, Sir Eric. I was overwhelmed by the discussions. Haha. But I feel so blessed to have had been trained and taught by the best. Sobrang generous niyo po lahat for sharing your time and super programming knowledge and talents with us. And thank you for your jokes and words of wisdom. :))
//Doc Mana, thank you for organizing everything, being patient with us and for the loads of laughter. :)
//Sir Akie, thank you so much for the advice. We were already getting discouraged until you told us about your ACM training experiences. Thank you po.

Thank you to as ate Meki put it, "DISCS ladies." Haha. Thank you for taking care of us. :D

Though you weren't there with us, Ma'am Rodrigo, thank you for the support and constant encouragement. We are all blessed to have a super nice and loving professor and DISCS chair. We love you, ma'am.

God, thank you! :D Sobrang dami mong blessings na binibigay. :D

In other news.

I just realized that there are more news about the eagles here than about me so I'm redirecting the focus. Actually, this is also because there's very little Eagles news left to tell after the season ended. Hahaha.

- I decided to stay home and program or at least push myself to program instead of going to the Bantay Bata UAAP-NCAA All Star Game today. Yes. I'm surprised by myself. Even if I'll end up watching here at home, I still missed out on the chance to watch live because I'd rather stay home and try to multitask than be at the Arena and dedicate the entire 4 hours for the festivities.

- I'm officialy on sembreak. I'm just one paper away from completing all my 1st sem requirements.

- I am going to miss my teachers. I was blessed enough to have some of the best teachers I could ever have for the subjects I took up this sem. Kaya for sure, mamimiss ko sila ng sobra.

- A ako sa PE. Yay! :)) Sa mga hindi nakakaalam, Physical Fitness for Women ang PE ko. In other words, weight training. So yes kahit hindi kasama sa computation ng QPI(sana nga kasama na lang e. haha) ang PE, I'm proud to get an A. :D

- Hindi masyado kagandahan ang aking Random number but I still hope I get a PE class that I like.

- I won't be able to go online as often for the next two weeks because as I said before, this sem break is very promising. I'm soo excited. Wala lang. I just wanted to share. lol. :p

Uhmm. I think that's all. Ray2 and Fatima, kailan na? Greggy, finish planning na, please! :D

Block N, I'll miss all of you. Ang drama ng pagbye namin last Thursday. Lol. Parang ang tagal hindi magkikita. Haha.

Enjoy the sembreak everyone! :D

This explains why Chris Tiu was in the Pacquiao match.

Ok. I'm procrastinating again. But this is something I really have to share. I reached this random blog who apparently got this from ate meki (2-bs cs). naamaze lang ako. haha.

apparently, when my dad and mom told me they saw chris tiu's name as sk chairman somewhere (di ko maalala where e. hehe.), it was really him. And now I know why he was in the Pacquiao-Barrera match. GMA is so lucky.

CHRIS TIU IS NOW A KAPUSO!
By Noel Ferrer

Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu or Chris Tiu, 23 years old, captain ball and star player of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, a Management Engineering major, an honor student, a budding entrepreneur, SK chairman and occasional model will finally set foot on television for a pioneering primetime television show under the Kapuso Network!

But before anchoring his show whom he topbills with sports icon Manny Pacquiao, he is set to fly to Las Vegas to watch the Pacquiao-Barrera match which will be aired over GMA-7 this Sunday. This is quite an opportunity for this young achiever who has been presented with a lot of program concepts — and who has finally found something that would fit his multi-tasks as student, basketball player, SK chairman and young businessman. While the UE Warriors are up against the La Salle Archers in the UAAP basketball championship, the country stops for the Pacquiao-Barrera fight with an Atenean sportsperson in the front row — Chris Tiu — soon to be conquering a new arena — media! Good luck Chris!

i SPEAK:

GMA Executive Annette Gozon-Abrogar and I are about the happiest people with Chris’s entry in media. As a fellow Management Engineering major like Chris, Annette sees Chris Tiu’s excellence in his fields of endeavor as a good inspiration to the youth and to parents who would want their children to be like Chris.

His media stint is a perfect way to affect more people positively. In an interview with Chris in a magazine, he mentioned a very admirable guiding principle. Chris said, "Success should not be seen as an end, but as a means. The more you’ve achieved, the bigger your responsibility to share it to others. For example, if you are a successful businessman, you should use this opportunity to help other people, by being a just boss who pays fair wages and gives benefits. Use your achievements to help other people, so that they in turn could use what they’ve accomplished in the service of more."

Congratulations La Salle.

Congratulations

De La Salle University Green Archers
UAAP Season 70 Senior Men's Basketball Champions

Jayvee Casio
and
Cholo Villanueva
Season 70 Finals MVPs

Jayvee Casio

and

Rico Maierhofer

UAAP Season 70 Senior Men's Basketball Mythical 5 Members

Franz Pumaren's great coaching skills have not yet died. Aside from those 3 players with awards, team captain TY Tang did a great job as well. He was a good leader and he soo helped the team beat UE during the first game and Ateneo during their last game. Jayvee Casio is now officialy Finals boy. He's at his very best when it truly, truly matters, the Finals. Haha. Congratulations!

La Salle knew how to stop their opponents, at the most crucial times. Despite the fact that they're Ateneo's rivals, I know that they totally deserve the win because of their intelligence on the hardcourt and hardwork. UE and Ateneo didn't make it easy for them to get to where they are but they got there so congratulations! As a former Archers supporter, I am genuinely happy for them. :D Just don't expect ADMU and UE to make it easy for them to defend the crown next season. :p

Congratulations ADMU.

Run-down of the Ateneo Basketball Awardees of UAAP Season 70:

Ateneo De Manila University Blue Eagles
Season 70 Senior Men's Basketball Second Runner-up

Christopher John Alandy-Dy Tiu

of the Ateneo Blue Eagles
Season 70 Senior Men's Basketball Mythical 5 Member

As I've never tired of saying in this blog, Congratulations Blue Eagles. You make us extremely proud! Our team captain definitely deserves to be awarded for all he has done for our team. I'm glad he got the recognition. Since according to Desa he was watching the Pacquia-Barrera match in the US(haha), he sent his brother Charles to receive the award for him. Todo smile si Charles kanina. Haha.

Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles
UAAP Season 70 Women's Basketball Champion

Cassy Tioseco
of the Ateneo Lady Eagles
UAAP Season 70 Women's Basketball
Mythical 5 Member
and
Most Valuable Player

This season, I watched only the 2nd game of the finals where they took the crown for the 2nd time in 3 years. I've watched them in their finals appearances in the previous years and they are just amazing. Cassy Tioseco has been someone I remembered ever since. And now that I'm in Ateneo, I'm extra glad that Cassy is once again MVP and that the Lady Eagles are Champions. Congratulations! Oh! And congratulations to our INTACT classmate, Sarah Mercado of the Lady Eagles too. It was our honor to have had you as our classmate.

Ateneo De Manila High School Blue Eaglets
UAAP Season 70 Juniors' Basketball 1st Runner-up

Jaumi Tiongson
and
Jayvee Dumrique
of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets
UAAP Season 70 Juniors' Basketball Mythical 5 Members

The first time I watched a Juniors game was during the televised 2nd game of the finals. I noticed a Dumrique who looked like my English blockmate, turns out Jayvee is his brother. I can't believe I have an English blockmate who has a brother in one of the Ateneo basketball teams and I didn't know. It's so uncharacteristic of my tsismosa self when it comes to UAAP matters. Haha. :)). Anyway, they were really, really good. I only watched one game and though they loss during overtime, I saw how great the Ateneo Juniors team is. I'm seriously excited if that's how the future of Blue Eagles basketball would look like.

Animo Ateneo!!! The future looks good and bright in blue and white. :)

Lit entry. CS project.

That entry before this (My non-fiction take on fiction) was for our group's pakulo for our Lit major paper. Haha. But since it's already here and fatima commented on it, might as well keep it. Haha.

Fatima, i'll lend you pa our reader. Sobrang ganda talaga. =)

Almost the entire block has had similar ym stat messages since last night. We so want to finish this CS project already. I really enjoy programming but when it comes to stuff where I have to apply a little bit of creativity, I get confused about what I really want to do. God bless Block N!:D This is just the start. :)) Kaya natin 'to.

My non-fiction take on fiction. :p

I have loved reading since I was a kid. I was almost always in the Best Borrower’s list in elementary. But as I got busier in school, I had less time to enjoy fiction. Whenever I had time to read novels, I enjoyed it. But something was lacking. I felt like I never really got anything new. I’ve read so many books. Even if the events were new, the style and the way in which I could absorb the lessons were more or less, the same.

But Lit 13 class totally changed that. I was exposed to stories I’ve never read before. And since the sem is about to end, I guess it’s time I actually wrote something in my blog about what has been happening in my academic life.

Lit 13 came as a pleasant surprise. I knew from the first meeting that I would be challenged. But I knew from that first day that there was never going to be a dull moment in this subject.

We started by discussing the History of Story. Though many people think story is dead and nothing else could be done with it, this isn’t true. How could story be dead when humans have the natural tendency to share? I could totally relate. I go to school in the morning to talk about the new things I’ve learned about the Blue Eagles and Chris Tiu. I come home and tell my family about my day. I, then go to my computer and blog about the things that would take too long to tell each of my high school friends about and my joys or disappointments after a UAAP game. After that, I go and watch television to see the wide variety of TV series that I could watch. I didn’t need much convincing that the story was not dead.

But is written fiction not dead? Could I still read something and be totally surprised? Could I read a book and not correctly guess what was going to happen next?

All the stories in Lit class answered me with a resounding “yes.” A dog crying. A lady ready to die but finds love at the end. A kid dying while playing hide-and-seek. A spooky retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. A family full of incestuous affairs. A lady buying more than 60 pots for girls to use when they have to go. Indeed, there were a lot of things that could still surprise me.

There were also those stories that didn’t make sense. A man wanting to gather a bouquet of blue eyes for his girlfriend. Going through all the memories of a man before he died. But then Lit class taught me that there’s always something deeper in every story. Though I knew this before, I never had to go that deep with the stories I read or maybe I just never chose to. Now, I learned that every event and every detail means a great deal because they wouldn’t be in the story if they meant nothing.

Fiction is truly an art form. It will never run out of possibilities just as there is no end to the possibilities in our life. Fiction shows us that we don’t have only two roads to choose from, there is an infinity of choices. Fiction shows that there are a lot of details in our life that can be closely read so that we could find meaning in it. My questions about whether I could still enjoy reading was answered.

And now, there are only two questions about fiction left unanswered. (1)Do the authors really aim to give a “meaning” when they write or do we just aim to find a meaning? J (2)Will I ever be able to write fiction? J I am only probably a few inspiring short stories and novels from finding out.

Ateneo doughnuts.

I just found a gazillion other Ateneans who wrote dramatic entries about this season. Haha. But it shouldn't surprise me nga because I've heard a lot of dramatic comments around campus. :)) One thing's common. We thought it was an amazing season. Hats off to the Blue Eagles.

But this entry is about the Krispy Kreme Ateneo Doughnuts. Actually, I just wanted to share the pictures. They're good. And they look so cute too. Buy Ateneo doughnuts!!! haha. :))

//Thanks to tin for the picture. And to alyssa for the doughnuts. :D

Before I let go.

Before I let go, I have to write about it.

I tried to totally let go yesterday. But coming to school today, I knew no one was going to make me forget. Lol.

The loss to La Salle yesterday ended our season.

La Salle unarguably played well. They guarded Chris Tiu, Ford Arao and almost absolutely everyone every second of the game. I was once a La Salle fan and their press was something I truly admired about their game. Being on the other side this time, I appreciate it even more because I know how much it hurts to watch your team struggle to break that press.

I know that it's basketball and that La Salle defense cannot be used to justify the way the Eagles played yesterday. It wasn't one of their best days and it was very evident.

I am a fan who has so much faith in the team and so much more importantly, in God. We were in 5th place at a certain point but I knew it wasn't impossible for us to improve our standing this season. I had faith they could get to the finals and eventually win.

Since I first watched live as our team lost to La Salle, I realized how much heart our team had. As I've mentioned in my previous entry, whenever I read the Blue Eagles Bulletin by Rick Olivares and watched the videos that came with them, I grew even more in love with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Imagine knowing both an Araneta Colliseum usher and UST Coach Pido Jarencio honor the team for their heart. Knowing that the "pusong Atenista" was proven by our players in the way they lifted themselves from 5th place and from losing a twice to beat advantage to winning against La Salle thrice in 5 very exciting games in one season and to being just 5 points away from entering the Finals, I know I have a lot of reasons to smile and be happy.

And if I cry, it's because I know the team would have wanted to move on and it's because we lost an opportunity. But I know in my heart that the team fought well until the very end, and that's all that matters. Quoting Rick Oliveros once again: "But they went down fighting and sometimes that’s all you can ever ask. "

It may seem illogical to put so much of your school pride on the line whenever your team plays on the court. A school may seem shallow for being united by mere "guys wearing baggy shorts shooting hoops." It may seem stupid to feel so connected to a group of people whom you've never even talked to and probably never will. But now I understand. Imagine a common desire, a common passion, a common joy, a common hurt and a common prayer shared by a community of around 10,000 people. It's almost impossible not to be drawn into that much energy. You just feel the school spirit. You can smell it in the air during the UAAP season. And it's not only because you see almost everyone wearing blue during game days even if not everyone is going to watch live.

At the start of the school year, there were still some doubts as to whether I was going to be happy in the Ateneo. There were some doubts as to whether this was the school I wanted to be associated with and to attach to my name forever. As shallow as those statements above as I may seem, the UAAP was a part of how I now know for sure I'd rather be in no other school.

Contrary to what I planned to do, I'm not letting go. I'm holding on to this mixed feeling of joy and disappointment. Because this helped me know with so much finality that I will never grow tired of saying "Ang sarap maging Atenista," singing "Mary for you, for your white and blue. We pray you keep us Mary constantly true," and shouting "Win or lose, it's the school we choose."

I love being an Atenean! :D And now, I shall go study so that I could remain an Atenean. lol. :))

Read up.

Going over the Blue Eagle Bulletins by Rick Olivares, I have grown to love the team more as I read to see what happens when the players are not on the court and to hear what I don't hear the players say on the court when I watch live or on TV. I have quoted an excerpt of his article regarding our first loss to La Salle this season.

Here are some of the other excerpts that I loved as well. Read them and tell me why I shouldn't be proud to be Atenean. Much better than that, stop reading this blog entry, read the full bulletins and watch the videos that come with them:

From Blue Eagles Bulletin #16: Live and let die (Step-ladder game against UST):

...Ateneo coach Norman Black before the game. “No doubt it was doubly disappointing because we didn’t get the job done also against La Salle. Now it’s a long, hard road, but I figure we have a lot of fight left in us. We’d like nothing more than another crack at moving on.”

As the Blue Eagles retreated to their locker room to change into their game uniforms, one of the Araneta Coliseum ushers had this to say, “Mas magaling yung players ng UST, pero sa puso, [mas magaling ang] Ateneo talaga (UST’s players are good, but when it comes to playing with passion, Ateneo’s players are better).”

Eric Salamat: “We’re sorry we lost the second seed, but we’ve got another chance. We’re going to give that one big fight. Now it’s La Salle.”

And ever the classy coach, Jarencio, paid tribute to Ateneo after the game. “Never i-underestimate ang pusong Atenista (Never underestimate the heart of an Atenean).”

From Blue Eagles Bulletin #17: Cliffhanger (Sept.27 game against DLSU):

Before the start of the game in the Upper A section of the coliseum’s southside, a group in blue and white held up high a sign that drew much derision and catcalls from their opposites in green who were just an arm’s length away.

“We beat you twice and we’ll do it again.”

We’re about to find out. Here we go again and I’ll see you on Sunday.

From Final Blue Eagles Bulletin: Remember the Titans:

There was some hope in the air when Baclao hit a bail out trey to cut down the lead 62-60, but the gallant Blue Eagles who refused to go away, who were frustrated time and again by spotty officiating, and who were tired from a grueling uphill climb dating back to the rubber match to determine the second seed, simply exhausted its endgame magic.

The season where we overachieved and dared to dream was over 65-60 to La Salle.

As the team faced the blue gallery for the singing of the alma mater hymn for the last time in this UAAP basketball season, I felt the tears burn my eyes. I held them back last year as the last person left in an abandoned Araneta Coliseum refusing to go home with the lights almost out. Last night I let a couple trail down. It isn’t even losing to La Salle. I think I’m beyond that. It’s the manner in which they lost -- robbed of an opportunity to play on even terms. But they went down fighting and sometimes that’s all you can ever ask.

If you look at my pre-season preview of the team, I thought well our chances and penciled them for a final four berth. I liked them then and I sure like them now.

So if you come across a fellow Atenean who is grieving like you and me, tell him or her, chin up because there’s good reason to believe.

Animo Ateneo!