Hello UP.

Some things just comes back to you when you have forgotten about it and don't concern yourself about it anymore. When I graduated from high school I have dreamed of studying in the University of the Philippines. Diliman campus in particular. But it was not realized because our meager income dictated so. Now that I have finished a bachelor's degree and proceeded to graduate school I was given a chance to cross-register in UP. That means I'll be staying here for summer in the comfort of the University Hotel. It's a refreshing break from the previous semester and I plan to be productive while comfortable (comfort often begets idleness). 

The UP registration form asked for a present address. So I wrote this.

The room was all right. But you'll know we flew 700 kilometers because it instantly turned messy the moment we came in and settled ourselves.

At least the comfort room is clean, organized and well-lighted. In fact, it's where I spend most of my time.

Right now all I wish is that I'll have a good time here. Allowance, please be quick.

The Ring

I met up with my friend, one of the Jessicii, in Manila last Saturday. In excitement to see each other, we have planned our activities a month before including all the "chika" we owe from one another. As a token, she bought me a ring of my choice and out of the many designs, I chose this one. 

I found this ring very, very useful when you ride a jeepney and there's an annoying girl in front of you. Just imitate Ninoy Aquino on the 500-peso bill. Make sure the ring is facing her. In general, the insinuating gesture is applicable to any annoying person who irks you. But probably what I like most about this ring is that I could use this as a substitute to brass knuckles whenever I want to punch someone infuriating. In addition to the pain and ignominy, the word BITCH is aptly stamped on his or her face.

How island hopping can be depressing.

In three days I have been to three different cities in three different islands in three different modes of transportation. To make it clear enough that's off to the city of golden friendships by land, then to the queen city of the south by sea and finally to the city of smiles by air. From Iligan City I travelled to Cagayan de Oro then to Cebu and lastly to Bacolod.

 And then back.

My classmate and I were chosen to represent MSU-IIT in the 72nd Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers National Convention (PIChE) National Student Congress 2011 Quiz Show in Colegio San Agustin in Bacolod City. They chose us because apparently my classmate is the top student in our class and probably because I often win in quiz show contests at home. There are three members in a team and our third member, a year behind us, once had an overall grade point average of 1.0000 (extend decimal place indefinitely). That just goes to show we were the best that the department could possibly gather.

But we lost.

My classmate and I have joined this for the second time already and the results are, well,the same. Last time we finished 8th place among 11 teams. This time, Tadaaa!! The 9th. Yes, we did not prepare because we thought, without ever learning from the first experience, that stock knowledge is enough. The next thing we realized, after hearing the questions, our stock knowledge is nowhere to be found. It had escaped us and the flow of thought balked at the sight of problems solvable in 120 seconds. One problem especially left me feeling queasy. It asked about the pH of a 0.5 M sodium acetate solution given that the hydrolysis constant is 5.8x10^-10. I went on getting the pH by equating the hydrolysis constant to the ratio of x² over (0.5)(1-x) and assuming x is very small compared to unity, neglected it in the denominator and went on solving for x. This is the concentration of the hydronium ions in the solution, and the negative logarithm of this is the pH. Brilliant.

Big mistake. Sodium acetate is not an acid and x should represent the concentration of hydroxide ions, not hydronium ions. Thus, the negative log gives the pOH and not pH. My answer, 4.77 is therefore utterly wrong. It should have been 14-4.77 or 9.23.

What's so depressing with this is that this is the first time in my quizzing history that I mustered the effort to solve a problem. Usually I leave that to my teammates and they leave the general knowledge and recalling skills to me. But when this question came I felt like having the moral responsibility whatever to answer it. I came a subtraction close but a concept too far. Depressing. The same thing happened to me last year when the question asked for the name of molecules that are mirror-images of one another, that is, chiral. I answered stereoisomers, but it is the larger group. I knew the question asked for a sub-group of stereoisomers but my memory failed me that time. I contemplated suicide after hearing the answer. Guess what, it's enantiomers.

Probably the reason I ace quiz shows at home is because the questions have categories. General Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Current Events, Literature, and General information. In the student congress the categories were Gas Absorption, Reaction kinetics, Heat Transfer, Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics etc. I have always told everyone that I am not the brightest in the Chemineering majors and excellence in these fields almost always determines the winners of this competition. Nevertheless, it is flattering to be chosen again to represent the school. My classmate and I will be graduating this year and I have one advise to the subsequent quizzers:  Prepare and overprepare. The pattern of the questions recurs every year and the instructors have a copy of them.  Our fault is that we were too lenient with ourselves. We did not participate to win but only for the purpose of being there. As for me, I was too preoccupied with our thesis project left behind and too mindful of the expenses. I retained the feeling of being compelled to join the competition up to the competition itself, sulking over the fact that we cannot join the convention proper because nobody wants to pay our registration fee of 3,000. Not even us.

 I admit that we did our best, but only the best of what we were able to prepare. We did not mark our ways with excellence, so success was not able to follow after us. That must have spelled the difference. Sad, probably but on the brighter side, I can always sleep.

Running the Nestle MILE: Meeting Amazing People

First is the title. Then there's Jiggy Aquino-Cruz. He was the first MILE Committee member who caught my attention. Not because he's chubby and cute and all, but because I watch Y-Speak and I'm an avid fan of the Aquinos. ( Admiration that is deeply rooted on the eloquence of Ninoy and the compassion of Cory and of course, the contrast to the Marcoses.) I'm like "Omigad, Jiggy Aquino-Cruz (yes, complete) works with Nestle!" But more than that, he was assigned to look after my group and he, together with the rest of our mentors literally were with us even in the wee hours when we painstakingly finish our business cases.

Of course who could forget the Ate ng Bayan. The one who I first knew via airwaves. The ever "maasikasong" Leslie Kate Tseng. Technically, she's not an Ate. I think were from the same batch. However, she was always there for us to the point of having to sleep uncomfortably just to accompany eight distressed MILEES working hard to finish their business case. That in itself is so "family." And by the way, the headphone she lent me was great. I felt like drowning in the music of the iPod shuffle. I mortified myself because I entertained thoughts of not returning it. That's how "quality" it was.

Fellow MILEES Ian Obach Palermo and Giovie Boschi with Ms. Leslie Kate in the center.

Speaking of family, there's Ms. Steph and of course Madderrr Judy. The two of them were technically the mentors. They set aside their high ranks to mingle with newbies like us. They gave up comfy nights to guide neophytes in the career world to develop themselves. They were so game and eager I never thought they held top positions, considering the existing stereotypes.  Ms. Steph is the  brand manager of MILO (who is supposed to bring Chris Tiu along the basketball training, but damn, stars have unforeseeable schedules) and Ms. Judy is the head of Nestle's packaging. When I first saw her, I felt an instant connection. Something feels familiar. Then she started talking about terephthalates reacting with ethylene glycol to produce polyethylene. I asked her, "What was your college course, Madderr??" She replied, sharply, "Chemical Engineering." That explains the connection, and I thought, I'm really bound to be successful.

Team Lucky. Front row from left: Abel Reyes, Camille Dominique Tacastacas, Lea Karmina del Mundo, Ms. Judy. Back row from left: Carla Sia, Ms. Steph, Crystal Balili and Adrian Manlapig.

Ms. Steph and I.

Then there's the Bisaya group. First is Ms. Jasmin Estacio, who hails from Cagayan de Oro, Bear Brand's brand manager who was supposed to tag me along to Regine's shooting of her newest Bear Brand commercial. Unfortunately, my return flight was scheduled in conflict. (To my utter disappointment). So she just asked me to send something for Regine to sign her autograph on. Apparently, a piece of paper. The next thing I knew, Regine asked if I could instead have a signed copy of her newest album out sometime this November. I almost fainted. and I'm not exaggerating. Composing the Bisaya group are Ms. Rhea, the one from Iligan City who purposely went to Mandarin Oriental to visit the 4 Iliganons who made it to the top 48. That's just thoughtful. Also, Ms. Anna Lee, Maddeerrr, who is single by the way. She's from Dumaguete and the group just loves her. No fuss and palavers. I have to include here Sir Andrew from Cagayan de Oro, whom I have mistaken for a basketball star and her wife 3na and of course, Ms. Maila who's not really a Bisaya but took the time to introduce us to the Bisaya people.

Jesther Ian (MILEE), Ms. Anna Lee, Ms.3na, Ms. Jaz, and JanMell.

 There are still a lot I haven't mentioned but are equally amazing. There's Ms. Grace De Castro, the head of recruitment, the MILE 2010 Course Director, or fondly, MAMA G. That hypocorism defines her role and the amount of compassion she has.

Mama G and child.

These are the kind of people in Nestle. Everyone I met in MILE is amazing. They were not apprehensive of showing that even if they work hard in the number one food and beverage company in the world, they still have the funny and playful side. They were not mindful of the top positions they hold and mingled with students who still have a lot to prove. They had patience for hungry minds who asks questions every now and then and the compassion to help us out of tangled circumstances, often involving themselves in the process that you never thought would come from a person you barely know. 

When I first saw the poster for Nestle MILE, the tag line at the bottom reads: See the Nestle difference. I think it should have been, Experience the Nestle difference. The kind of people in the company-- this, for me, is the Nestle difference.

Running the Nestle MILE: The Not so Usual Way to Spend Your Sembreak

Prefatory Note: Ahemm.. I would like to apologize to my,ugh, blog followers who constantly visit my site (so?) and after refreshing the page for a jillion times, found that there were no new posts. If ever there exist such followers, the reason, my friends, for this deplorable blogging deficiency is because I was off to run for the MILE. 

I shall now entertain questions.

Follower no. 1: You ran a mile? You did not update your blog for a week because you ran a mile?? What are you, a turtle?

JanMell: There, there.Relax.I know that you miss me that bad. I did not say I ran a mile. I said I ran the MILE. It's different. MILE means Management Immersion for Leadership Excellence organized by the number 1 food and beverage company in the world, number 1 health, nutrition and wellness company in the world-- Nestle. You better watch this.

 

Follower #2:  Did you do those things in the video??

JanMell: Not only those, but a whole lot more. Sorry I can't spill the beans and tell you the activities.. I am bound by a commitment to make future MILEES roll in excitement and anticipation of the activities in MILE. (Especially that, ugh,  many followers of my blog qualify for MILE next year.) But the whole thing was such a BLAST! There's this thing we call experience but it's different when it's unforgettable. The MILE experience was not something that can easily drift into the subconscious. If ever it does, it's the easiest to recall. 

Follower #3: Can you describe your MILE journey?

JanMell: Of course. But that's another blog post. Although there's free wifi in the hotel, blogging is virtually impossible to insert into jam packed schedules so I decided to post everything memorable after the four days of the not-your-usual-sembreak.

This calls for a celebration

Prefatory Note: The blogger in me cannot resist the urge to recount my wonderful experience with you. Hence, I apologize to you Nestle, for I will have to state here how it is to be summoned by the number one health and wellness company in the world. 

After submitting a 2 page comprehensive resume, interviewed twice by phone, and depleting my English vocabulary, I was finally in for the final screening (I wondered what mesh will they use). The confirmation call was quite brief, but that was only because I've got nothing else to say except two words-- Thank you. By virtue of being here in Mindanao, they would have to fly me in to Makati, to Nestle Philippines Main Office, and then fly me out. That to me, is exciting. For one, I feel important.(Yes, especially when all expenses are paid for you.) Second, I feel rich. (Yes, especially when you know all expenses are paid for you, again.) And third, it was what I wanted. Ideally, nothing beats the feeling of getting what you want.

So I prepared myself for the big day. I did not know then, that the next 24 hours of my life would be life changing. Within 24 hours, I

•  was airborne twice, 

• devoured Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, 

• learned that Manila Centennial Airport is connected to NAIA and hence cabin crews will not announce that you had landed at Manila Centennial Airport but at NAIA, 
• learned how to ask cellphone load from a Nestle executive, be escorted by a uniformed driver (equipped with 2 smartphones for SMART and GLOBE, taray!) from airport to hotel, 
• had exquisite dinner at the luxurious A. Venue Sky Suites hotel (could it be that they thought I am a celebrity?), 
• wondered whether the waiters in the restaurant are waiters or matinee idols disguised as waiters, 
• made friends with 4 other students who speak the same language (Oy Raffy, Annsille, Athena and How-mini), 
• learned how to wear a necktie (by sleeping late enough to learn it on my own, by sheer luck), 
• dressed up in my alleged corporate attire where I could easily have been mistaken as a waiter, 
• ate the most sophisticated and overwhelming breakfast in my life that I thought that would be the last time I'll eat breakfast, 
• met more students from UP Diliman ( Oy Cara, Carla and Arianne) and San Beda (Oy, Mon) and be amazed with their personalities, 
• brushed elbows with senior executives, 
• witnessed how a senior executive got to tears because of a touchy question (it's adorable)
• defended a presentation from these senior executives (it felt like AI or PGT, only classier),
• learned that in the Nestle office MILO, Nestea, Lemonade and Nescafe are available bottomless,
• ate lunch for 15 minutes because a flight was waiting and the traffic is debilitating, and finally 
• had a great time!

When I went back home I was still smelling of the aroma of the fresh experience when I realized it was not yet the end. I am, after all, still vying for the real deal-- the four day live-in training program this October 26-29, 2010.

Just a while ago, they called me up and said I will have continue my journey with Nestle.You're right. They called up to congratulate me because I am officially a MILE Elite. The first reaction was: Huwaaaat?? But then again, I wanted this. That's why I want to extend a jillion gestures of gratitude to all who were kind enough to support me and of course to Nestle, who saw my potential in that 1 and a half hours of group activity.

As I've said, nothing beats the feeling of getting what you want.

It's Ms. Grace de Castro, Nestle's senior executive herself when MILE visited MSU-IIT.  This time, everyone's motivation for success was rekindled.

Evidence of how Ms. Grace de Castro rocked the MSU-IIT Mini Theater. She was really, really entertaining. Hands down.

 Photos courtesy of Nestle M.I.L.E. If your on facebook, you could visit them here.

Plant Tour MMX: Purging one of the 7 deadly sins

I never thought standing in front of the real, tangible Magellan's Cross would be hair-raising. Previously we've been to Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PPCPI) where I committed indifference and earlier committed envy with the laboratories of the University of San Carlos. My goosebumps or horripilation or in medspeak, cutis anserina   (I claim to be a frustrated medical student) could be attributed to these depravities. It's as if the historical and religious ambiance was declaring someone like me unfit for the visit. But still I insisted. I admit indifference is a crime, and I often label it as The Sin, but boredom is a sure excuse to feel indifferent and to not feel envious when dumbfounded with equipment beyond your level is impossible. Hence, I concluded it was all forgivable. Don't ask me why, we can't confirm it with God, can we?

Here's an interesting fact we non-Cebuanos share. We saw this same image from our elementary Sibika at Kultura book. (Remember the Burnham Park, the Hagdang-hagdang Palayan?). I was enthralled to see it for real and unable to help myself, asked: " If Magellan brought this cross centuries ago (1521), erected this during the country's first Catholic rites, then how come it looks new?" Disregarding the idea of termites afraid of the consecrated wood and sanctity-induced immunity from biodegradation, I read the signpost at the foot of the cross. It says that the original wood is now enclosed by the new one, probably for aesthetic reasons. For me, it also gives an additional eerie feeling knowing that beneath the superficial gloss is that thing that symbolizes all of Catholicism-- the first ever to be engraved in the minds of the Filipino natives. It's the mystery factor that prevailed. 

Nearby is the Basilica del Sto. Nino where the statue of the Holy child is kept. It has become a tourist spot partly because it is thought to be miraculous, answering deep devotees' prayers (It's the apparent trend. Saints only answers prayers from devotees. It's called reciprocation. Duh) and partly because historically, it was given by Magellan to the then chieftain of Cebu, Rajah Humabon in 1521. The Sto. Nino is the patron saint of Cebu for which they dedicate the renowned Sinulog Festival. Strolling around the vicinity of the basilica was lethargic. It smelled like the Spanish era was just around the corner. And one more thing, the balloons smelled like childhood. I felt like having one.

Thank you Wenggay for the pic and the pose.

To prove that you can learn something from this post, the ones responsible for the artwork on the ceiling of the Magellan's cross were Serry M. Josol and Jess Roa. Moreover, the enclosure is octagonal. Nothing. I just figured it would help me win a million someday. Ahh, gameshows!

Photos by Karl Ondoy. Again, tenchuu.

Plant Tour MMX: Envious on the first day.

Still feeling like everything is shaken by the tempest of the sea, we ushered ourselves into the official place of stay—Cebu Business Hotel located in Colon, Cebu City. Colon is well, your usual populated district. The place reminded me of House trying to defend why he is certain that heaven is non-existent when in fact he hasn’t been there. “You don’t have to go to Colon Detroit to know that it smells.” Nonetheless, the agency arranged for the accommodation and as I’ve said, I’m not so good at complaining. It’s tiresome.

The moment we set foot on the hotel, everybody went straight to the dining hall which was named Sapphire, probably because of the color of the tablecloths. Our breakfast was already waiting to be devoured, and yes, we really devoured it. The food was ordinary—corned beef (not sure if it’s really beef, it looked like horse meat), sausage, and sunny side ups. It was supposed to be “eat all you can,” and with the famished appetite of everyone, the utensils were lucky they didn’t end up churned in gastric juice. The eating was incredible you’d wonder why the rice on everyone’s plate is red. Apparently, it’s the corned beef served in an amount that would make you think it’s the staple food and the source of carbohydrates.

But the day has just started. By 10 am we immediately proceeded to the first place of visit— University of San Carlos. We were greeted with yellow USC shuttles which seem to remind us how small our campus is. However it was not enough of the intimidation. Our purpose there was to visit their renowned Chemical Engineering Department.  Renowned because they have an adequate Unit Operations Laboratory. For those who don’t know what a unit operation is, examples are agitation, distillation, mixing, and other operations that doesn’t require a chemical reaction. It is contrasted to a unit process such as clinkering, where limestone and shale is converted to cement.

Back to the tour.

 The feeling of being confounded with Unit Operations laboratory 1 and 2, a research facility, wastewater treatment laboratory and a separate laboratory for chemical analysis of biodiesel and biogas was nothing short of envious. That was my first time to see actual machines like the lab-scale heat exchanger, the fluidized bed apparatus, the plug flow apparatus, the equipment for sedimentation, even a plate-and-frame filter press! Add to that the towering distilling apparatus that seems to be the pride of the department. Everyone seemed to be staring in awe as the apparatus stands 2 storeys high. I need not mention how grandiose it is. They have all this equipment, and their laboratory activities utilize these. On the other hand we utilize styro cups and thermometers, and of course, heated water. Their school, with the affluent studentry, can afford those high sounding equipment. Well what do you expect from a state university whose net tuition expenses for an entire degree equals that of a single semester tuition at USC? This argument could lead to the issue of separation of IIT from the MSU system for which I feel no sentiment to discuss. The Chemical Engineering Department of USC is housed on a 2 storey building, with the 2 Unit operations laboratories on separate infrastructures. The Department of Chemical Engineering at MSU-IIT is “roomed” on Room 318, sharing the space with the Ceramics and Metallurgical Engineering faculties, with a unit operations laboratory that is next to defunct. While the USC students were busy separating the volatile components of their mixture in their gigantic distilling apparatus, we were busy waiting for water at 60 degrees centigrade to cool to room temperature, and from that work our way to complicate the laboratory reports to compensate for the apparent simplicity of the performed activity.

However it is interesting to note that while knowledge of the fundamental chemical engineering principles is augmented by the utilization of such equipment, the Chemical Engineering Department of MSU-IIT never lacked the edge to perform well in the board exams. It would probably feel good to rationalize our deficiencies with our good performance, that even though we failed to get our hands to play with these apparatus we’re still at par with them. However, I believe a Chemineering student of MSU-IIT would excel and outlast if given the same resources. True, the tuition is never enough, and if ever the millions of peso required would be solicited from the government, it would take a jillion years to be realized. But without constant lobbying and requests and follow-ups, the department would continue to feel envious of such facilities and schools who own those.

It actually felt very informative and good to be able to visit other school’s ChE department. But it feels better if we have the capacity to let other schools tour on our department instead.


Photo taken by Karl Ondoy. 

Plant Tour MMX: Ang Paglalayag.

Ordinary. The last time I traveled by sea it was awesome because the vessel was ginormous. This time, the passengers were clearly clamoring for space. In the economy class, lying down becomes precarious as changes in sleeping position could lead to a man overboard emergency. Well, my bad. I chose to get an accommodation at the economy class. However, it turned out to be an advantage. The sea wind overcompensates for the air conditioning, and this makes the entire area air continuous a.k.a. "air-con."

Plus, you're supposed to pay 300 pesos additional for a tourist class accommodation (tourest, as heard many times) and I hate to part from my three hundred pesos. After all, I only utilized my economy bed for 2 hours. I slept by 1 am, I woke up by 3 am to get ahead with the shower. Most of the time, I loitered at the tourist area, with my classmates very eager to have me there to contribute to the body heat against the extreme air conditioning that turned it into an accommodation at the North Pole. 

The Trans-Asia ferry lifts anchor by 8 pm, and in order to deal with the waiting, I played cards with my classmates. The loser shall bear the punishment of the baby powder and shall walk around the place with demeaning white streaks all over the face. I'm quite lucky with all the training I got with card games. Back home, I'm a frequenter of gambling houses and gambling at wakes and that was way way back when I was  still at high school. I'm not kidding.
When everyone had enough of the powdery sensation, the restobar was already on fire. They almost had the videoke machine broken with the input volume of songs and too bad for me, because of unrestrained loquacity earlier during the trip, my voice was not in the tip top shape. But still, I sang. (Malat nga lang.) After I murdered Irene Cara's "Fame", I realized I would never light up the sky with a flame. So I decided instead to explore the "vast territories" of the ferry. 

I found myself at my bed. Seriously, I went to the topmost portion of the vessel before I got to my bed. All I got was wind and more wind. At least the view comforted me-- a canvas of black. And I mean really black, although there were some faint illuminations of a few candelas, enough intensity to make fireflies proud. I decided it wasn't at all life changing, and the shortness of my stay up there is testament to my diffidence about talking to someone I ought to explain myself to. As such, I preferred the "comfort" of my bed.

Notes: I got to the shower first. It's deplorable. I'm glad I'm not whiny. I don't usually voice out my complaints. It's tiresome.

Photos by Karl Ondoy. Doy, tenchuu.