Wow, I made it through my first 3 days of college! In fact, my classes are only scheduled from Monday to Wednesday. So far, I have yet to make any new friends (obviously coz classes just begun for the fall semester) but most of the people I encounter-including my new teachers and classmates-are very nice and courteous. I'm taking up film, BTW, for those who have forgotten what course I will take. The name of my new school is Long Beach City College. At first, I was nervous to go to my first class in my first day coz I was late (no thanks to my sister!) but then I regained my self-confidence and caught up with the things I have missed early in the lecture. In my first class (Introduction to Film) , we viewed the silent film classics "A Trip to the Moon" (1902) by George Melies and "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) by Edwin S. Porter. For our second class (Fundamentals of Film Production), all of us discussed in our own opinion the best/worst films we have seen so far this summer and of all time. Incidentally, my instructor for my second class happens to share my first name. He also has this independent film coming up which is currently in post-production (he describes his film as a sci-fi drama and "its about a guy who searches for his wife whom he believes was abducted by aliens years earlier"). We also viewed this very funny and very uplifting documentary called "American Movie" (1999) about a loser filmmaker who attempts to finish his film project as he deals with his own problems, while at the same time introducing us to his cynical yet supportive family and his eccentric friends. For my third class (which was in the evening), the subject was about Stage and Screen Writing. Our teacher had a great sense of humor which he imparted in his discussion. We also had a good time doing our first writing exercise for the class. Our teacher also gave us our first assignment: to make a one-act play featuring at least 4 characters and involves a table with a drawer with a key inside the drawer (what a stretch!). The next day, I attended my only class for that day (Film Art and Artists) which was only done in the evening. For this semester, we will comparing US films and foreign films through a series of viewings. Then just a while ago, I had another afternoon class for Fundamentals of Film Production. We continued our viewing of the documentary mentioned earlier, and afterwards we had a discussion regarding it. We were also given a project to take at least 10 pictures to be presented to the class next week that tells a story. Hopefully, I will be able to accomplish these things in a short matter of time, if my procrastination doesn't get in the way. I already have the textbooks needed as well as my student ID (I just had my photo taken and in a matter of seconds...Presto! I have an ID!) . Hopefully, college life wouldn't be bad as it seems to me, but I might sooner or later expect the unexpected in my new campus.

"Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!"
--- from the play "Auntie Mame"

Here's an interesting article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer (taken from its website) that I would like to share with all of you:

Filipinos spending more time online

Updated 21:40:08 (Mla time) 2004-08-04

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva
INQ7.net

FILIPINOS are spending more time online these days as more content, such as online games, are becoming readily available.

Netopia president Raymond Ricafort said patrons of its Internet café spend an average of 44 minutes online nowadays compared to an average of 21 minutes two years ago.

More than 50 percent of Netopia’s revenues come from Internet access, while 20 percent comes from online gaming.

Netopia has 100 Internet cafe branches in the Philippines.

“Over the last few years, there have been more content available online,” said Scott Countryman, president and chief executive officer of local game publisher Mobius Online Games.

Countryman believes the growing popularity of online games in the Philippines has increased Internet usage in the country.

Taking its cue from the experience of South Korea, the executive said content drives Internet usage.

South Korea is the most wired country in the world due to the booming online gaming community, added Countryman.

"At the same time, online gaming increases the information technology IQ of people," he added.

According to Countryman, there are close to 6,000 "documented" local Internet cafes, 1.8 million Filipino Friendster (an online networking website) accounts, and 6 to 7 million Internet users in the Philippines.

On the other end, Countryman said there are about 100,000 Filipinos worldwide playing the online game MUOnline, a three-dimensional, multiplayer game.

Gil Edeza, Level-UP chief technology officer for global operations, added that there are about 250,000 "active" players of another online game called Ragnarok in the Philippines.

In 2003, the National Telecommunications Commission said Internet subscribers have reached 1,852,333, which translates to a 131-percent growth compared to 2002.

There were about 800,000 Internet users in 2002, the agency said.

The agency did not note the factors behind the increase but said the number of digital subscriber line (DSL) service subscribers have hit 16,165 as of the third quarter of 2003, with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. controlling 80 percent of the local market.

DSL is a broadband technology that offers Internet speeds of 128 megabits per second (Mbps) up to 2Mbps.

The NTC also noted that the increase in the Internet subscribers was quite "significant" compared to the previous years since 2000.

I close my eyes, then I drift away into the magic night
I softly say a silent prayer like dreamers do
Then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you.

--Roy Orbison from his song "In Dreams"

Also to quote from the Eurythmics: Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree?

I had another weird, nonsensical Felliniesque dream 2 nights ago (I had 2 similar dreams earlier that seemed straight out of David Lynch's warped mind, but those are different stories). I dreamt all of the people I knew in high school including the bullies were lining up in the Daraga cemetery for a field trip. And next thing you know, everybody was dancing like it was a ball. I was amused when 2 of my least favorite people, Shree Daven Requiero & the sadistic Francisco Tuozo were holding hands when dancing. Then, we were suddenly sitting in armchairs that came out of nowhere facing the gate of the cemetery, while on my left side, the fugly Raymond Oringo (another bully) was in a witness stand (which also came out of nowhere!) before the judge gave him a life sentence (for a crime I don't even know or don't even care at all). Then we started walking and in a matter of minutes, we were in a road somewhere in Quezon City. The place where all of us were suppose to go was a big mall, but we have to enter it by going upstairs in a giant house nearby. Everybody started climbing the stairs, but then some and later more became easily tired even though they have only reached the second floor. I was one of the few who were still walking, I was lagging behind. The floors were getting smaller and smaller ala “Alice in Wonderland”. I lost track of the rest, and then I felt someone was following me. I ran even as the space begins to shrink. Then I made it to the top, only the rectangular door was so small only a cat or a dog would fit in it. But somehow I managed to fit in because of my thin body. Then I found myself in a dark room, I turned on the lights, and what I saw an elegant & clean living room, I was the only person there. Then I woke up... but then it turns out to be a dream WITHIN another dream! I was in this classroom which resembled a room in my house in Daraga only bigger, there was this teacher and I was the only student there. Yet I hear noises of other people who were reciting, as if they were invisible. We were having this lesson that I couldn't even understand and I was dealt with too much pressure from the teacher. Then the ground started to shake, and I woke up back to reality as I know it. It's all true! Really?

Man, it's been a month since I last posted anything in my blog. But thanks to these surreal dreams I have been having, I can finally post something of interest. But one thing still bothers me: How come nobody has ever posted comments to my recent or even previous posts? Pls. find the time to input your feedback. Thank you!

My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.

--Patricia Graynamore (Meg Ryan) to Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) in the underrated 1990 film "Joe Versus The Volcano"