peer pressure

UPSE 2010 produces 2 Summa Cum Laude, 24 Magna Cum Laude, and 55 Cum Laude among 155 graduates. And who knows how many Dean's Medalists there are?

I've never really cared about my grades in the past, because in the small, sheltered world of Kong Hua, which produced our Senior Batch of 109 students, surviving came easily. I never studied, and was more immersed in extra-curriculars and "getting the most out of life". Somehow, even with my rather pathetic grades, I got into the UP School of Economics - I think all that praying helped. And now, for the first time in my life, I'm worried about not finishing on the top half of my batch - which I've never had to worry about before.

There's a very slim chance of me graduating with honors. In fact, there's barely any chance of me qualifying for the Dean's Medal, which is like "honorable mention" of our School. I'm not particularly worried about the future, or getting a job, so in that sense my grades don't really matter to me. But I do care about not getting left behind, and when more than half your batch graduates with honors and YOU don't... That sucks. Seriously.

In the School of Econ, they take "competition" to a whole new level. Except in this case, you can only win or lose to yourself.

PS Allyanna Anglim was my classmate last semester, in Econ 141: International Economics. How she could have maintained her godlike GWA despite going through that class, I have no idea. That girl's a genius!

I wish I had an Arima

The girl is Miyazawa Yukino, who tricks her classmates and teachers into thinking she's THE perfect student. The guy's her boyfriend Arima Souichirou, who IS the perfect student - although he's not exactly a sane person. Their story is chronicled in the manga series His and Her Circumstances, which I'm hooked to at the moment. I've never had the patience to read manga scans online - because I reeeally hate having to click all the way to the bottom of the page, and then the next - but for this particular story, I don't really mind all the clicking. It's THAT good. Now, I'll go read.

the bored and the ornery

That's the name of a certain Maiko (MaixZuko) community on fanfiction.net. Right now, I really want to read through the fics they've archived, but I can't. Because the nearest, decent internet cafe from our flat charges 20 shekels per 1.5 hours. That's 200+ pesos devoted solely to Facebook and keeping FnQ together - a vain attempt.

Life in Israel is actually pretty swell. Gorgeous people - seriously. Tel Aviv is like a scene out of Europe, not the Middle East. Walking to the net cafe I'm at right now, one passes through more clothes-boutiques than all other shops combined. At least that's what it seems like. Also, every woman who flits past is decked in what would seem in the Philippines like fitting nightlife wear. I don't mean promiscuous, or Gossip Girl-worthy, just... so fashionable it's slightly surreal.

I am in constant danger of being run over by bikes, of getting sniffed by dogs - both of which are abundant in the streets of Tel Aviv. The people from the building next door have a balcony overlooking our bathroom - and I didn't notice that until two weeks after I got here, spending more than 30 minutes on my daily showers-cum-meditation sessions. I am desperate for Nissin Cup Noodles, Fuji apples and seafood. There is an excess of what Auntie Fely calls pita bread, but really, I never liked bread.

Israel is beautiful. It really is. But I've yet to see more of it. So far, my favorite out of all the places I've been to with my family that one day we actually went out for sightseeing is Mount Tabor, where the disciples sought refuge after the death of Jesus Christ. I truly wish I could properly describe the feeling of driving up that mountain in a narrow, two-lane street. The whole time I was thinking the car would fly off the mountain and crash hundreds of meters in the city below.

I am not thinking straight. Seriously. Maybe, just maybe, I am bored and ornery due to my own lack of initiative to find something interesting to do with my summer. I am looking forward to more of Israel, and although I always argue with my family, I sincerely love them to bits and do not mind living under the same roof as them. But I know that our living situation (wake up at 10, sleep at 12, eat, bathe, watch TV in between) is not helping my sanity. I am going insane here. Almost.

PS. I used to think Tel Aviv was the capital of Israel. Actually, it's not. It's Jerusalem.