Current mood:

chipper

career heaven
the last three days was like career heaven for me. the international conference for philippine studies was a very, very welcome experience. even though i still wish i could have gone to the asian media informatuion and communication centre (amic) congress (which i missed because i could only pay for icophil's fee) last week, i think icophil was money well spent.

to quote benjamin, a young ph.d student and first-time conference-goer, "it's like a meeting of the minds." of course, my first one, the philippine political science association conference last year, was also a memorable experience, but the last three days were better.

i met and conversed with a lot of people, got a few calling cards and exchanged some numbers and email. and i felt very comfortable there. i was alone, unlike my first time when i was with some sort of a ust contingent, but i felt like i belong with them more. very different from when i was in the faculty. i mean, we were all the same in that conference, no degree-boasting, no ego.. and people were generally receptive and open-minded. it's also comforting to know that there are a lot of young academics like me. i'd like to think it makes my uh.. hobby (for lack of a better word) more accpetable and makes me less weird, haha!

but i saw some ust professors. met sir candido, sir galan and ma'am de castro and caught a glimpse of sir ferdie and ms. nuncio (who used to teach filipino journalism, not sure if she still does now). even sat in sir galan's panel and had a chat with sir candido during the first day.

made some promising ties too. people who i think i can collaborate with for a research sometime or just exchange emails talking about current issues and research. and oh, even had a couple of eye candies, hehe.. there were a lot of foreigners during the conference and most of them were japanese or were almond-eyed, hehe..

i was able to talk to dr. arnold azurin, a philet (thomasian), who told me that i really don't need an institution to pursue research. he said what i need is funding, like him. and i've been giving it a lot of thought actually. i asked ust's social research center if i could get in as researcher, but they haven't replied yet. if it doesn't go well and i don't get load again, i'd just probably create my own research fund - whatever i earn from freelance stuff, i just use to budget my research projects. right now, i already have some three topics in mind, but i guess i'll hold it first. will have to pass my thesis into journals before anything else. hope it flies.

watched "the dark knight" today. bravo for heath ledger and i really like the twists of the plot this time. i'm still irritated at some of christian bale's uh.. 'acting' as batman (like the changing of voice which comes off as trying hard and the awkward fit of the mask on his face because his jaw sticks out, hehe..) but i gotta admit, he's getting better. themes of anarchy, the incorruptible hero, anti-hero and common good also hit home.

well, that's it for now. will still have to pack my things. i'm off to singapore in a few hours and i want to have good sleep before my first trip abroad.