My 2005 In Review

After watching numerous TV shows featuring recaps of events that happened the past year, and after reading Jamie's blog...I just have to do this. Some highlights of my life in the year 2005:

Performance Comparison of 802.11 b and g Over a Wifi Ad Hoc Network
The year began with IC and I having ideally less than a month to finish our thesis, thanks to some erroneous data gathering the previous year. We had to starve during meal time and strive to stay awake both at night and during the day just to meet our deadline. At that time, I thought that every day spent working on our thesis was physical, intellectual, and emotional torture. Looking back at those days...it actually was. But then at the same time, I'd say those were one of the best times of my college life! Who would ever give up the cozy lab, chicken invaders, and the company of admuECEzerofive?! And aaahhh what fulfillment when we were done with everything! Cheers to IC!

AECES Tournament
I don't know what got into me when I volunteered to be a project head for AECES, maybe I got this sense of responsibility of being one of the big brothers in our org during my super senior year. It's a good thing I was assigned to a project which I was more familiar with, for I would have screwed the Career Talks big time. I enjoyed planning the events for the sportsfest, preparing the logistics, coordinating with the representatives of the lower batches for the schedules, and even pulling money out of my own pocket due to the small budget. With the efforts of everyone involved, the project culminated successfully. Successful in the sense that it was the first REAL sportsfest of AECES, despite a number of lapses and changes in the schedule. At the end of the day, I guess most of the participants had fun, be it in basketball, chess, badminton, table tennis, or DoTA. =)

Graduation
It wasn't as dramatic as I imagined it to be, but graduation is graduation. How often do I have my name called, get to march up the stage, and bow infront of an entire batch of Ateneans?

Summer Vacation
After five gruelling years of studying, I needed a vacation en grande before studying again for the board exam. A summer vacation isn't complete without going to the beach, so along with a bunch of friends from different groups, I headed to the most popular beach in the Philippines (I think I posted about this Boracay trip in my blog already). From Boracay with friends, it was then U.S. with family. This year, I got to appreciate the States more, since I could go around more independently. I got to spend time with my cousins, uncles, and aunts whom I haven't seen for so long. I got to experience the night life in Vegas (the last time I was in Vegas, I was WAY below 21). I got to spend more than $2000 in gimmicks and shopping just for myself (I would have saved that amount and spent it in pesos, but then I wouldn't have enjoyed my U.S. trip that much if I did). I got to skimboard in Laguna Beach and snowboard in South Lake Tahoe. Tell me that isn't a highlight.

Excel Review
I got back from the States having been absent from review class for three weeks already. I thought I would have to study double time to catch up on lessons I missed in Math and Electronics, but the reviewers' corny jokes which they incorporate in their lectures encouraged so much complacency (at least for me, hahahaha). Still not over being an alumnus already, I would accompany Jamie to Ateneo after review class to give her moral support in doing her thesis. I killed time by reviewing that day's lecture notes and answering the take home exam given by Excel, which was another excuse for me to spend more time in the thesis lab I really missed.

Globe Telecom
Getting hired at Globe was one of the best things that happened to me this year. It was not the perfect time to get hired, as I planned to start working only after the board exam, but I couldn't let that good opportunity pass. First of all, I really wanted a job in the field of telecommunications, and not in I.T., software development, or consumer products. I wanted to feel the worth of being an ECE graduate first, before venturing out to different fields. Second, Globe has been a company I've always believed in, and I've patronized their services ever since my first cellphone. I wanted to be part of making great things possible. Hahaha. No shit here, 'coz I doubt my boss reads blogs of his subordinates. ;-P

On Being an Engineer
Towards the end of the year, I took the ECE board exam and passed. With all modesty, even if it were by the skin of my teeth, I think I deserved to pass. I took my review sessions seriously, and followed my Starbucks study routine religiously, even after I completed the stickers of my promo card. =P When I started working, I still set my weekends aside for reviewing, and even went to the extent of wallpapering my room with manila papers of electronics and communications formulas. I did not lack in prayer either, as I constantly asked God for His guidance; and as the priest put it in his homily during the tedium mass, that God's will be done. And fortunately, God's plan was similar to mine. Being a licensed engineer is one of the achievements I will be proud of all throughout my life.

Looking back at my year-long highlights, I'd say 2005 was definitely my year. I got all the experience, luck, and blessings I wished for, and then some more. With that, I would like to thank everyone who was involved in making the year that had just passed a most successful one. That goes especially for you, Papa Jesus.

And oh...

*running back up the stage*

*bow*