Notes

1. This has got to be the most confused school week ever. As some may have heard, in light of the recent calamity, my school came up with the unusual decision to cancel any official "finals week," instead making all school requirements optional as of last week. Given our wonderful college vice-president's history of DEFYING the CHED's suspension of classes during typhoons on many occasions (not to mention defying the weather itself), I was actually actually surprised that she finally did something humane. I admire the decision, really, but still -- "optional requirements?" REALLY?

2. Anyhoo, considering this has been a source of a lot of sheer agony this semester, I think I should at least mention that my thesis defense went beautifully. In fact I daresay the whole project went better than I or my two groupmates ever imagined, especially considering all the trouble we had just getting our proposal approved. For the last few months we spent weekends with a Dumagat (an indigenous people) community in Antipolo, conducting a "participatory photography" project. To cut a long story short, we handed out cameras to them and let them take pictures for an exhibit. Unfortunately I make it sound so much simpler than it really is, but let's just say it's a potential candidate for Best Thesis?

3. Despite the wonderful success of my undergrad thesis, I've decided that entering this field has not been the best decision I've made (long story) -- which is why I am now in the process of preparing an application to a music conservatory in Singapore (and possibly a few other schools in the US, though this is a lot less likely). At the moment I'm occupied with securing (i.e., begging for) the aid of some of my teachers, who will at least write recommendation letters for me. Now, I'm aware that this is a rather deranged act, in effect rendering the four years I've spent studying here utterly pointless, not to mention causing me to postpone indefinitely my long-time law school plans, but COME ON!

Now I suppose Singapore is a curious choice; besides the fact that my evil girlfriend (who has successfully bent me to her malicious will) is applying for an MA there, Singapore is a rich, rich country with a government that funds the arts, a nice public transportation system, and an international environment within easy distance from here. Although the details of this grand plan are fuzzy at this point,  I've given it a lot of thought and I'm quite serious about sending my application within the next few months. I am very serious about the prospect of living in a foreign country for the next few (or more) years, and adjusting my prospective career track just a teensy bit.