Welcome to Iloilo!!

     Days before our flight, I actually had second thoughts on going to Iloilo to attend Fr. Nonoy's ordination due to a couple of reasons. First, is that our uncle who was the reason we decided to come in the first place, cannot come home because he has some important matters (work-related) to attend to. Second, I thought that we may be a little out-of-place if we go there, considering na wala kaming ibang kakilala na pupunta din dun. Kung 'di lang talaga dahil sa plane tickets, we wouldn't have even considered of pursuing our trip to Iloilo. 

     Thankfully, that mindset changed when I befriended some of the priests who're also attending the ordination in Iloilo. They were there during my graduation celebration, and they were at our house for 2 days. I also became their tour guide to the Divine Mercy Shrine in El Salvador. They were a lively bunch and were also very friendly, that I thought that if they're also coming to the ordination then it may not be as bad as I think it would be.

From left to right: Fr. Gerome, Fr. Ernie, Fr. Sonny, Fr. Ham, kuya Noel, Fr. Rommel

     So ayun, off we went to Iloilo, together with the fathers, of course! It was approximately a 50-min ride and we arrived in Iloilo just in time.

pictorials just before take-off

At Iloilo International Airport (upon arrival)

     The van which will take us to Badiangan is already waiting for us together with our sundo, Ate Maki. On the way, the fathers bought Baye-Baye, a delicacy in Iloilo. We had our share and it tasted good. It was the first time I tried Baye-Baye. Moving on, after around 45 minutes of travel, we reached Badiangan and were kindly guided to the house we'll be staying at. Thinking back, it was a big house! It even had an underground. I heard it could house 40 people!

     The Badianganons lead us to our bedroom and helped us settle there, while also getting our snacks ready! Talk about hospitality! I was shocked to see the snacks that they offered us. It was Pata soup, Puto, Fresh Lumpia, Tikoy, paired with softdrinks! I don't usually eat snacks this heavy but the Pata soup smelled so nice and I wanted to taste their version of puto, tikoy, and lumpia. And I wasn't disappointed! All tasted great! I ate so many that I thought I could do without dinner.

From left to right: Yellow Fresh Lumpia, Tikoy, Puto, and Pata Soup.

     We had a little chat with the Badianganons who were in the house and found out that they were church parishioners and volunteers. They talked about the history of their place and also some stories about Fr. Nonoy. They spoke in Tagalog but their Ilonggo tone made it hard for us to understand what their saying sometimes. But still, I was very glad that unlike what I originally thought, the people there were very accommodating and friendly. The funny thing is that they tried pairing me up to the son of the owner of the house. Lol. But overall, I was still glad that they welcomed us like we were very important guests.

     Then dinner time came.. and it was like just 2 hours after we had the heavy snack! Well, I said I could do without the dinner, but how could I refuse if the Badianganons insist we eat. As I always say, good food will always have a space in my stomach! I'm glad I had dinner, I tasted all kinds of dishes cooked Ilonggo way. That night, I swear I literally was full!! No joke! :))

Approved FYPS

     

     After more than a year of working on our Final Year Project Study (FYPS), it's officially done! I can't exactly put into words my feelings of happiness upon completing all the requirements for our FYPS. No, actually happiness is an understatement. I'm very proud of what we've finished! 

     I can still remember the days and nights we've spent reading, writing, calculating, experimenting, editing, and re-editing for this masterpiece to be what it is today. Of course, we got major help from our respected and beloved mentor/adviser. I can't count the times he made us edit our paper! From the quality of the figures used, to the format of the paper, and to the technicalities. He was so into making us edit our paper to almost perfection that I thought we would never be able to finish it. Though I think the lack of time 'till graduation contributed a lot to him approving our paper. I think if we still had ample of time, he still wouldn't approve our paper and would instead let us edit our paper 'till eternity! Haha. Well, whatever the case, I'm still glad that we finished it!

Our approval sheet signed by our mentor, panel of examiners, and college dean

     I didn't think that seeing this piece of paper being signed by all the concerned people would bring so much happiness to me!

The disc containing the soft copy of our study

     The case cover is cute, isn't it? It was edited by one of my co-proponents, Poloy. He's competitive by nature so I think when he saw the cover of the other group, he made sure ours will be better! It's convenient to have a competitive groupmate, right? I mean it in a good way ha! :D

Dinner with our beloved mentor

       Our Starch-lignin group, being able to win the Best Study 2013 award during the Final Year Project Display Program (FYPDP) and the Algae group, being a Kinaadman Research Centrer (KRC) awardee/ recipient, we were able to get a hold of some cash. Naging mayaman kami for some time XD. We acknowledge the fact that we wouldn't have made it this far without the help of our beloved mentor, Dr. Cascon. After being chosen by the department to represent the ChE department for the FYPDP, our mentor didn't fail to make us feel his support. He acted more than what I expected a responsible mentor should. Let's just skip the sentimental part and move on.. Anyways, he'd given us his attention and dedication beside his busy schedule. Personally, I have really learned a lot from him. Here we go again being sentimental.. pardon me. :)

     As our little way of thanking our mentor, we coordinated with the Algae group (which is also his advisee) and decided to treat him to a humble dinner. It was kind of funny how we cared so much about how we looked in front of our mentor. I thought I was the only one who prepped myself up, that's why I wasn't able to hide my amusement when I saw Jennifer, Jecca, Nece, Mikel, and even Russel put something on in their faces. Even Dr. Cascon smiled as Jecca applied powder to her face in front of him!! Hilarious, aye? XD

    Continuing, at first I thought it would be a kind of awkward to be dining out with our mentor. I thought of some possible topics for conversation starters that we could probably use during dinner time (but I wasn't really able to use it!). It really was kind of awkward at first, we were literally pushing each other to start a conversation not leaving out our mentor. Fortunately, the atmosphere changed and it didn't feel that awkward na. We were able to talk about lots of things during dinner and we even joked about how Dr. Cascon should not record the results of our final exams. He's our professor for our plant design class and we had a difficult time answering the final exam he gave us (though he constantly repeated how easy the exam he gave us was).

With the Starch-lignin group, Algae group, and our mentor at Hukad, Centrio. 

     The dinner went out well. Our mentor was able to laugh at our jokes and we were also forced to laugh at his! hahaha. Joke lang po! We also took time to criticize the Halo-halo we ate. We thought it was like an iced Benignit! And then again, joke lamang.. Mga buwaya, 'wag magalit please.. ^_^

     We're just very thankful that our mentor took another fraction of his precious time to dine with us. So touching! I just hope we were able to convey our gratitude to him.. Again, thanks for everything, sir! :))

Final defense, successful!

     We actually planned to have our final defense on Wednesday but we had a hard time looking for the panels available on that day. So the best option, schedule the defense earlier, so Tuesday it is! We only had a night to prepare (from the making the powerpoint presentation to reading and to reviewing the concepts and literature), that's why I was a bit hesitant. Because of my nervousness, I woke early (even before my alarm rang) that morning on Tuesday. Then my Tuesday began!

     While waiting for our turn for the defense (two groups were scheduled before us), my nervousness didn't leave me. One part of me is very confident. At the back of my mind I thought we can get through this without fail for we have already defended once during the FYPDP, but another part of my mind thinks that this defense is much scarier. First of all, this time the panel are all chemical engineers so they can easily identify if we committed a mistake somewhere (during our experiments or even in the calculations part), and secondly the time is longer (maxium of 2 hours/group).

Taken right before our final defense (Credits to Dennis)

     To make the story short, we were able to defend our study. The panel had some additional recommendations, but overall, I think we did just fine! We were also commended (I think) for having a very dynamic way of presenting. We were also told how cute the three of us look! Hahaha. Finally, I can say that we're done with FYPS! We just have to edit the paper according to the format and further BEAUTIFY it, enough to satisfy our mentor. My Tuesday which started with hesitation ended with so much positiveness, brightness, gladness, and -NESS!! Basicall, we nailed it!!