Thesis Proposal

We are the MyVibes team. And I must say I am super duper happy with the outcome. It was one proud moment. ^__^

MyVibes Team during the Thesis Proposal (picture taken by our Thesis Adviser, Sir Dante)

           We just proposed our thesis this evening entitled "MyVibes: A PageRank-based Collaborative Filtering for a Music Recommender System". Basically it's a music recommender system that gives recommendations on what songs a user might like based on a song he/she likes.


Just before our defense, things seemed to go wrong for us. But the end was worth it. :)


           That afternoon, me and my thesismates had to prep for our defense. Our schedule was 7pm-9pm in the evening. We went to our adviser to see what changes could be made. He gave us some tips and lots of advices. And so after, we had to edit some documents before we could print them. It took long though, since Kuya Genesis had to edit them using Latex. By that time, the weather didn't seem to cooperate with us. It was raining hard, there was practically thunder. It was already 6pm by the we went to the mall to eat an early dinner and buy the things we need.


          We bought cakes and juice for our panelists, and rode a jeep back to school. We had to stop by an Internet station to print our documents. Then again, bad luck. There was really something wrong with the usb containing the files, and the files in it were either corrupted or it simply disappeared. Since the file was corrupted, we used the files in my laptop(and good thing I brought mine) and transferred it to the flash drive. But poof! Our files disappear by the time it was loaded into the other computer. And so, we ended up borrowing a flash drive from the store. Love you, Cherry! :)


             We were fifteen minutes late for the defense. We were already rushing to the school. Worse, we were wearing high heels in the pouring rain. Cherry had wearing her shoes since 4pm. I just wore my new 3-inch heels and I didn't know how to walk in them! Urgh. I just could not imagine how we walked all the way to school.


               By the time we reached the Grad Lab, we were very much nervous. Good thing though, we couldn't start yet since there was another group who has to present first. So we had definitely had time to prep. And despite being nervous, we were having fun reviewing and taking lots of pictures.


Defense Time!
                I gotta say, having a mock defense gave us an advantage. Since of two of our panelists already saw our presentation during the mock defense, they definitely understood what we wanted to do. We orginally had 5 panelists, namely, 2 subject advisers, our thesis adviser, 1 faculty and the ComSci department chairperson. Unfortunately, two couldn't come. That left us our thesis adviser, and two subject advisers. And it was a total advantage to us. As our IT subject adviser told us, the result did not need to be deliberated.


Accepted!


But we still had some revisions to do. But its still a happy outcome. No re-defense. :D


Happy. Grateful to God. Thank you to Cherry and Kuya Genesis.

Friends are Gold in a Minefield

Remind me again how lucky I am to have them.Thank you for making life bearable.

The Scent of Summer

             Our second semester is almost ending, and bit by bit, all our requirements are done. It's been half a year of paperworks, quizzes, defenses, reports, thesis proposals, tears, frustrations, heartaches and disappointments. But of course there were lots of happy days and happy memories.

And now that half year is ending, it's time to take a break and make room for SUMMER!

              Summer means fun, beaches, flowers and vacations! It's the time to do something for ourselves and for all the things we didn't have time for.

I've got a lot of plans for summer, and I'm definitely going to enjoy every minute of it.
Happy Summer!

I seem to be seeing a lot of 'Karmas' these days.

Interesting quote I saw on facebook. I've seen some like this happen.
P.S. I am not talking about me.


"The karma for screwing over a good girl is the bitch you end up with. "

Keeping In Control

Sometimes, so many things happen to you at one point that you simply don't know what to do.
And you're reaching a breaking point, where you just want to lie down on the floor and cry.

Right now, I just wish that I could have some comfort instead of all the reprimands, lecture and putting all the blame on my carelessness. *_____________________*

When everything seems out of control, I just really don't know. It's not just about today It's just that today plus all the other things are driving me insane and make me feel like I'm not doing anything right.

Then again, I can get through this with my faith, and my strength from Him.
I'll get by. Somehow.
We all do.
So hang in there and keep things in control.

Shoe Shopping! with Rea and Cherry

So a typical evening of a serious conversation over dinner with my two very best friends Rea and Cherry turned into a night of Shoe Shopping! 



            Awesomeness! Though, hello empty pockets, but its worth it!

            Okay, so we were just having dinner in McDo. When we left, we were still having second thoughts about going because there was still no electricity at the moment in Cherry's house. So we decided to go the nearby 'ukay-ukay' stalls where there were lots of shoes at cheap prices.

            Two pairs of shoes caught my eye. My friends recommended them to me.
I'm not really a shoe-lover, but hey why not? I gave them a try mostly because I had a meager supply of formal or high-heeled shoes at home.
           Cherry and Rea bought shoes too.
           Happy Shoe shopping to us!!!

On Singleness and Loneliness. The Difference.

              I was at Dunkin Donuts tonight by myself, eating donuts and fiddling with my laptop. And just that simple experience of being by myself made me realize a lot of things.
             I took a good look around the people who were in Dunkin Donuts. There were lots of guys in groups and other groups were a mix of guys and girls. The people who were also by themselves(like me) were there for the purpose of studying. Because they had notes and all.
            There were times that I noticed that some people were looking at me. It's normal, I guess. But needless to say, most of those who looked at me were guys. =p
            It was then that a lot of obvious things made itself even more obvious and clear.
             I was single.
            And I felt lonely at that moment.


            I've never been in a relationship, since I don't plan to have one until after I graduate from college. And I'm really striving to stick to that. So when a lot of thoughts entered my head, I felt compelled to clear out my feelings and remind myself of the important things. So in this blog entry I'll describe two key terms that described how I felt. And I shall differentiate some things. And put some reminders for myself.

Singleness.
            My CHWARM girls have all experienced being in a relationship except me. And no, I am not undergoing peer pressure, but the reality of the singleness hits me sometimes. My thoughts? I find myself alone on some days, but I'm an independent person, so I can deal with it. But I can't help feeling alone and lonely. At times when my best friends are out with their boyfriends, I have to eat lunch by myself(but now, I go home for lunch everyday). There are times when I'm just by myself. My best friends love me and I love them too, and I really don't blame them for anything. It's just me that keeps on wondering what it would be like if I had a boyfriend. Especially the times where I wish there was someone whom I could go with when all my friends are somewhere else. Like someone who could've kept me company in Dunkin Donuts.            
           Someone who wants to spend time with me and protect me from unfavorable things. :3

Reminder to myself: Being single has a lot of advantages. It saves you the pains and heartaches of a relationships, as well as other deep feelings such as missing a person and have fights with them. It helps me focus on my studies. But mostly  I need to remind myself that I am not ready for a relationship, because I really don't think I am. And I really resolved not to have a relationship until after college. God's time will come, and I believe that. Being single does not deter me from being happy everyday. And that's what's really important.

Loneliness.
            Singleness is not synonymous to loneliness. But for some who have a dependent personality and those who go looking for relationships, they may likely disagree on this. Being single is subjective, it still depends on how you look at it. But for me who's single, I'm not lonely. I only feel that way sometimes.
I am independent by nature, and I don't really mind going out by myself. In fact, I do that often, usually every Saturdays where I indulge myself on food and books. But I can't deny feeling lonely and alone sometimes, especially when my friends are somewhere else and I'm just by myself. That's mostly the time when I feel vulnerable, and I wished I had a constant companion. I miss Joanna. T.T

Reality check: If I'm not lonely, I know that I have a lot of things to be grateful for that I am single. My loneliness only springs from moments of weakness, but I know I am definitely stronger than that. But my life has been wonderful, and I don't think I should be asking for too much when I already have a lot. I love my friends and they love me, and they are always here for me whenever I really need them. I like being single, for being independent, for being able to enjoy walks around the city by myself and just simply being SINGLE. Most importantly, it saves me the pain that relationships might bring. I'm very sensitive to pain, and I don't want those kinds of disturbances screwing up my life right now. I know I'll have a relationship somewhere in the future, God Bless me, and I know God's time for me will come. I just need reminders from time to time.

"I am single, but not lonely. 
I am single, and I am happy. "

Coffee Cravings

White Mocha Frappe
--Coffee Works Iligan

I am a person who loves coffee. But I am not addicted to it.

               Whenever I eat at a restaurant, a cafe or I'm at the mall, there are times that I just want to enjoy a good cup of coffee. But I prefer cold coffee such as frappes and shakes.
                The number one reason I drink coffee is for me to stay awake when I need to. Hectic weeks, sleepless nights. I need coffee!
                 Coffee is refreshing(cold coffee, of course), satisfying, sweet, relaxing and comforting. In fact, there are times that coffee becomes my comfort drink, next to milk tea.
                 Lattes are the best in keeping me awake. I just recently drank latte when I was eating at Zoey's Cafe with my best friends, and I was so energized that night that I was able to get a lot of work done.
             Whenever I'm in Cebu, there are days when I stroll around the mall the entire afternoon until 12 midnight because my sister works during those hours. My afternoon is spent scouring the entire mall, but around 3-4pm in the afternoon, I go to the Fully Booked Bookstore(my favorite bookstore), pick up a book, and read the entire afternoon away just sitting on their reading space. That's what so great about Fully Booked, people can just sit on the rug at the left side of the store and read books or chat. I then have dinner with my sister, but she has to go back to work after and finish her shift. After dinner, I walk around their mini-park at the center and enjoy the cool air.
               Two hours before my sister picks me up at the mall, I go to a coffee shop and enjoy a richly satisfying cup of warm coffee to complete my day. Two relaxing hours just sitting there sipping coffee and reading a good book before I go home.
               But I don't drink often, to avoid being dependent on it. Tea is still my favorite beverage.

              Nevertheless, coffee is coffee. And I still love it. I crave coffee.  : )

Summer to do Lists

#1 Have lots of vases of flowers in my room.

Happy Saturdays.

C2 Milk Tea and New Books. Guilty Pleasure. <3
(And no, I am not in a break-up situation whatsoever. I just thought that book might come in handy someday.)

Saturdays for me have always been days of indulgence and fun. 

            It's a day that I go out by myself and walk around the mall to indulge myself in food, books and all other things I crave for.

            After a very hectic week, I welcome Saturdays with a big smile on my face. No matter how busy I am, I find time to stroll around the mall by myself and just simply walk around. I love walking around the city by myself, and it makes me feel better in a lot of depressing situations.

            I'm quite independent, so I don't usually ask anyone to come with me. But if someone asks me to go with them, especially my close friends, I'd surely be glad to! 

There are currently three(3) things that I crave for; Books(forever), C2 Milk Tea and Siomai. 

• ·         I love tea, most especially milk tea! I enjoy Chowking's Nai Cha and I always order it every time I eat there. But ever since C2 Milk Tea came out, I was addicted. It's sweet and smooth, and very much my guilty pleasure. I bought two bottles to consume for the weekend.
• ·         Siomai! How I love siomai! Two of my picks would be at Chowking and Master Siomai. It's satisfying and delicious, a pure treat for the hungry stomach. I don't think I'd ever tire of eating them.
• ·         And of course, BOOKS! Books are definitely my first love, ever since I was a kid. I love reading so much, and I dream of having a library of my own in my future house someday! I go to Booksale regularly here in Iligan to search for good books to add to my collection. And whenever I'm in Cebu or Cagayan, most of my money goes to books. My favorite bookstore to haunt is Fully Booked in Ayala Center, Cebu. It has a coffee shop inside and a spot where you can just sit down on the rug and read. I'm definitely a bookworm.

And today's Saturday for me has been a really good one. I added two more blogs today, one for quotes and another for what I learned about God.

I hope your Saturdays are just as fun too!

****(On a side note, please do not mind the blue book. I am not currently involved in a breakup, and I am nowhere near that scenario. I'm perfectly happy. I just thought that that book would come in handy for me someday. Heh. )