10 Things I Love about UP Maskom

(This is in response to the invitation sent to me by Prof. Danny Arao. Since it’s a few days before our grand alumni homecoming, it seemed like a good idea to write about UP Maskom. I tried to write something more “witty” and “serious” but I kept getting flashes of mascom images which were completely unrelated to each other. Rather than try to make sense out of them, I just came out with this list. It’s a tired blogger’s last resort.) 🙂

1) The noise. This college is always full of life. It’s palengke day everyday.

2) The fashion. This actually deserves an entire post. We used to successfully classify students according to their majors depending on their clothes:

• normal UP attire (tshirt, jeans) — Comm Res
• the “nerd” look; high waist pants, tight shirts, thick glasses — Journ
• trendy; branded; those who look like they’re going to a party instead of class — Broad Comm
• mga mukhang bagong gising — Film

3) Fishballs. We have one of the best fishball stalls in the entire campus. Ask around and they’d usually tell you that the best fishballs are either at the College of Music or in Maskom.

4) The orgs. They fill every nook and cranny of the college. Org members always seem to enjoy each others’ company and are eternally busy. Students in weird costumes are a common sight during org initiations.

5) The staff. Some of the staff who were there when I was still an undergrad have moved on. I will always remember Aling Suming’s kindness (and how I mistakenly thought of her as a longganisa vendor) and the tireless assistance from the people at the library (they’re always nice to me). At kahit masungit minsan si Kuya A., love ko pa rin sya!

6) The people. Being Catholic-schooled all the way, I had a mild case of culture shock when I first arrived in UP. Later, I realized that the broad range of people I met in school actually prepared me for my professional career. I met people from all walks of life with all kinds of points of view. Let’s just say I don’t shock so easily now.

7) UP-MCO. A list about the things I love in Maskom won’t be complete without mentioning my still very active organization. I think we lived up to our slogan, “Shiny, Happy People”. I can still remember one of the questions during my final interview as an applicant; “Which do you prefer? Fleshy or hollow armpits?” Go figure. 🙂

8 ) K2. Although we had our own sets of friends, we were a solid bunch (we used to cut Math 1 as a block!).  How can I ever forget Raz’s silver pants, Vanny’s long, flowery skirts, RG’s vests, Kristel’s dancing, Bea’s boybands, Patz’s Spanish, and Forsyth’s impressions? Who could ever forget Sir Neil Garcia’s “Fettleworth”, the magical 2-door Rav4 which can fit 12 people, and that trip to Enchanted Kingdom with Senora Ventanilla?

9) The teachers. Biases aside, I think I was lucky enough to be taught by the best media teachers. Ma’m Jo, Sir Rondina, Ma’m Betsy, Ma’m Armi, Ma’am Elizabeth (who retired na), Ma’m Rachel, Sir Danny, Ma’m Shirley, Sir Mike, Sir Nic Tiongson, Sir Rolando Tolentino, Ma’m Portus, Sir Gerry, Ma’m Malou…the list goes on.

10) Last but not the least, my BC 121 class. I love, LOVE everyone from this group. This was my video production class under Johnathan Rondina and I had such a great time with my classmates. We spent an entire weekend in Batangas shooting our final video and we definitely learned a lot more than video production:

• I learned how to keep awake after two straight days of almost no sleep;
• Jules learned to make coffee;
• RG learned about choosing the right make-up foundation;
• Macel found out the hard way not to fall asleep anywhere (specially on set while we’re shooting a scene!)
• We all learned that eating Lucky Me Pancit Canton for breakfast, lunch and dinner is bad for you.

***My college days have come and gone but as the cliche goes, the memories live on. As I near another chapter in my life, it’s fun to reminisce; a lot has changed in ten years. I wonder if Raz still has that pair of silver pants…