Tips for an Incoming UP Diliman Freshman

Who would've thought that it's been a FULL YEAR since I started my journey (lol, how dramatic) as a University of the Philippines freshman? :D

I recall being scared as hell going into college. All my (school-)life I've protected within the fences (haha) of MC; less than a kilometer away was the Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, where I was almost sure of getting mugged or raped. HAHA I swear, I even cried about this (Okay, too much info).

ANYWAY, you can imagine how scared I was. That led to hours of searching the internet for anything that could help me as I entered college. Tips for freshmen, the list of General Electives, the preenlistment procedure, the UP map (complete with jeepney routes).

SO, as my contribution to humanity (especially to Econ freshmen, WOOHOO) -- and because I was feeling reflect-y when I wrote this on my journal -- here are some "tips" (for a lack of a better word) for an incoming UP Diliman freshman:

*Note: These things aren't usually what you will read on forums or whatever. These are the stuff I have learned or observed in my first year in UP.

1) They will call you FRESHIES hahaha. Get used to it. Or don't, in my case. (Notice how I haven't used that word)

2) UP will not be everything you've hoped/expected/been scared of. Especially if those expectations/ideas came from someone born earlier than 1989 and who did not study in UP, lol.

3) Given that, you need to CHILL. Keep an open mind, but hold on to your values. (I cannot emphasize this enough :>)

4) You will find that the first couple of months in UP will be HELLA CHILL. Like you won't even be studying, and you'll find that you don't need to. Think again. Come hell week, you may not sleep and you will start regretting not having read your readings sooner. Yes, UP isn't all about acads (you can get into anything you want!!), but that's when you gotta keep your guard up. It teaches you a valuable lesson about keeping your priorities straight and your acads in check. Because you will be tempted to stray.

5) Going back to the Freshie thing... I suppose you've already posts that have "Don't look like a freshie" as their #1 tip. Stuff like "TBA is not The Bahay ng Alumni" or "Say AS instead of Palma Hall." DON'T WORRY. The upperclassmen won't bully you! At least not in Econ. Srsly, never walk alone? Bullshit. I guess, HAHA.

6) But anyway, just in case, it doesn't hurt to PREPARE. Do what I did -- download a map of UP (with jeepney routes) to your phone!

And because I am such an amazing person here's a copy (I already updated the Toki route ;) ):

7) Of course nothing says comfort than numbers... of friends, acquaintances. In my case, it helped A LOT that I would see an MC batch mate pretty much everywhere I went in UP (familiarity ftw <3). For those who aren't from a big school (and for those who are), I highly encourage you to make friends with your blockmates. I know you're shy, but believe me, they well may be the warmest people you will meet in UP. They may seem snobbish at first (can't help but judge), but anyone can be your friend in UP (of course, choose wisely when it comes to their values :>). Even that girl you're trying to avoid eye contact with.

8) I mentioned judging people. Another big thing I learned in UP: Don't judge. You may have gotten away with it in high school (and it might have also led to your popularity), but "judgers" are looked down upon here. You can be whoever you want to be here -- let out your true colors.

9) Lastly.. You will not get raped, you will not get mugged and jeeps are pretty safe. But you know, be careful still.

TEEHEE I'm done. :D I hope this was helpful. I can't wait to volunteer for Econ freshman orientations!!

Message me if you need anything. :) I'd rather on Tumblr though: buchinicole.tumblr.com (I don't really use this blog anymore) LOL

Edit in, May 30, 2013: I won't be using this blog anymore, so if you have any questions/want to get in touch with me, you can do so through my Tumblr. Peace out!

U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!

From peyups.com

It all seems fun and exciting right now, practicing the cheers that the UP Pep Squad taught us earlier today. I barely know what I'm getting myself into though, so let's see how long this enthusiasm will last.

UP Diliman map & jeepney routes

This is VERY helpful, WEE. :D
(Forgive the disregard for borders)

Edit in, May 30, 2013: I won't be using this blog anymore, so if you have any questions/want to get in touch with me, you can do so through my Tumblr.
Also, I'm not so sure about the route of the Toki along the upper right area of the map. Recent development in the Science Complex has probably caused the route to be modified already. :)

UP Diliman CRS Freshman Pre-enlistment (long title)

I am creating this blog post about the UP Diliman Freshman Pre-enlistment process because I would like to do my part and contribute to the world we live in. ;)


This brings me back to one of my reasons for creating a blog (aside from BOREDOM), which are the several other blogs I have read regarding life in "Peyups". They were VERY helpful (although I couldn't find the answer to one of my questions. That's why I will be discussing it later on.). :-bd


First, I would like to share my first semester schedule for AY 2011-2012 (I'm taking Business Economics, btw):

I got all my first choices, but its acquisition (I believe) required HOURS of double-checking schedules and back-up schedules to their back-ups schedules (As much as possible, I got the ones with the least demand), right down to the last day of pre-enlistment. So that's one tip, I suppose.
(If these don't make sense to you, I suggest that you read other blogs about pre-enlistment. I will not be explaining the whole process, hihi.)


Now for my question that was left unanswered until I found out about it myself:
When will the results of the pre-enlistment be released? Is it after pre-enlistment ends, or will we have to wait until the actual [early] registration/enrollment (It's the same thing, I think)?
The answer to that, my friend, is that they are supposed to release it the day after pre-enlistment ends (A detail I overlooked in the attachments that UP gave). Since the CRS has developed quite a reputation of being late, our schedule was released three days after the end of pre-enlistment.


Another set of details that I failed to see in other blogs:
BLOCKS.
A block section only covers your required/major subjects (which you will take with your coursemates). It does not cover your GE (general electives); that's why they're called electives.
In my case then, Econ 11 and Math 17 were my required subjects, hence the 'Block E-4' (I will take those subjects with my coursemates who got the same block). Geol, Eng and Socio were my other GEs (which I picked myself, one by one), and it is possible that I will be taking these subjects with non-coursemates (maybe even students from different years).
In the process of pre-enlistment, you will first be asked to pick a block (I'm not sure if this is for freshmen only), and THEN your other GEs. Also, not all subjects are available for the picking, depending on your year(?) and course (For example, I couldn't pick Philo 1, but some of my freshman friends were able to).


I hope this helps. XD

-9.81 m/s^2

GRAVITY: The natural force of attraction exerted by a celestial body, such as Earth, upon objects at or near its surface, tending to draw them toward the center of the body.
[Note that this is a definition from thefreedictionary.com, hardly a reliable source for academic purposes. Since this blog is not (yet, if ever) for academic use, this definition, given the context of my blog post, should suffice. :D]


Acceleration due to gravity here on Earth is also equivalent to 35.316 km/hr^2. Pretty fast, for a force that is universally and continuously present.
And that's why it's so hard to say, run up a hill. So much power is put into working to get up, and you don't even feel like you're covering any distance. :| Same with bikes, and since I ride a BMX, I only have one gear.
The same force makes air travel so difficult (and expensive), not to mention the amount of greenhouse gases and pollution commercial airplanes emit. Without Earth pulling us down, I could go to outer space! :D
Gravity makes it painful to fall down, it makes people heavier, and may make Physics a lot harder to understand. XD


It may be safe to say, then, that gravity is Enemy #1.
Think about it! Without gravity, there would be no limits! Without gravity, life wouldn't be so heavy.




Without gravity, we wouldn't be alive. Without gravity, the universe would be missing one of its fundamental forces, which I'm pretty sure will disrupt a lot of stuff. :P


Say we were to survive. Still, we would miss out on activities that are definitive of our human lives -- plane rides (the amazing feeling of being able to fly), bike rides, that awesome feeling you get on roller coasters and jump off stuff. Falling in love? Hahaha.




Gravity keeps people together. Gravity keeps us grounded.
Without gravity, we would simply float away into the unknown universe. It also keeps us together literally, if I'm not mistaken. Without gravity, nothing would be applying pressure to keep our bodies intact.
We would simply explode.


____________________________________________________________________________


Now what's with the sudden mention of gravity?
Answer: I suck at driving up hills. :|


Oh gravity, why can't we seem to keep it together?

Oh, intro!

DERP.

I just read my first blog entry, and mahn, it sounded SO weiird. @-)

As a proper start then, I believe I owe you an introduction. :D

So Hi. :) I'm Nikki, a.k.a. Galaxy Defender (Hahaha).

This is my blog, titled after a phrase in an awesome McFly song, Star Girl (whoo, although I'm not really sure what made me start using it :o). I like space, haha. :D

BUCHIE <3

My URL, buchinicole, is a name(?) that I've been using for around seven years now, and it's a combination of my current dog's name (Which was first the name of three of my stuffed animals. Really, how creative can kids get?), Buchie, and mine. It's pretty cool because it's always available as a username. Hahaha.

As you may have noticed by now, this blog is going to be full of random nonsense. :) It may be wise for you to stop reading now, as to avoid wasting several minutes of your life. :D


____________________________________________________________________________

Over the years, I've developed a certain style of... typing, which involves any or all of these to better convey my message. :P I just thought you should know (plus, I don't have anything else to write about):

1) I enumerate things.

2) I use parentheses to include random thoughts to sentences, or to add more information which may otherwise interfere with the sentence structure.

3) I also use / a lot (the explanation is too long).

4) I prefer to state something "in this way" than in-this-way. Hahaha.

5) Emoticons convey emotion is excellently. =))

6) I say "Haha."

That's all I can think of right now. :P

Okay, BYE. :D

Blog entry #1

Hi there stranger, and welcome to my newly born blog. :D Indeed, I am exponentially bored, especially when faced with the fact that I must endure this boredom for another 67 days (Oh the irony of life as I now long for the schoolwork and stress that I also begged to be taken away from me a month ago.). Hihi.

So here I am, trying my hardest to find some worthwhile way of spending my time. Blogging, wee.


(I wonder how long this will last. :P)

P.S. Cute-ass dog. :D ^