Quotable quotes

I have never belonged wholeheartedly to a country, a state, nor to a circle of friends, nor even to my own family.

When I was still a rather precocious young man, I already realized most vividly the futility of the hopes and aspirations that most men pursue throughout their lives.

Well-being and happiness never appeared to me as an absolute aim. I am even inclined to compare such moral aims to the ambitions of a pig.

---Einstein, Albert (Written in old age)

photo from http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/albert-einstein-1951.html

Busy busy

I was so busy the past month that I neglected to blog. So sorry. Some of the things I am busy about, I admit, I brought upon myself and some of the things are necessary to move up in the world.

Anyway, the past month was crazy! I dealt with an almost impossible task of finding an apartment in Zürich, a woman who is pathological liar and lots of work!

I really love my job but sometimes it can be a bit too much. I'm tired to the core!

What I am really proud about is getting my dream apartment. In Zürich, there is a persistent lack of apartments for rent. Sometimes, one needs to compete with 100 (sometimes more) people for 1 apartment. Immobilien agents here are so spoiled because people are ready to do anything to get a flat.

I should be able to blog again regularly very soon...

UPLB summa cum laude as a stripper?

I know that I am a bit late in reacting to this but I've been really really busy the past few weeks. Better late than never!

Is it possible for a UPLB summa cum laude to be jobless and to end up as a stripper? Of course, but it would need to be by choice.

A very good friend of mine graduated as a summa cum laude from UPLB, and a few months before graduating she already had plenty of job offers from a lot of big companies. Some offers were even not related to her course. Why? This is because to graduate as a summa cum laude from UPLB is a huge thing. Members of this exclusive club are made of something else. It is not enough to be intelligent, a lot of discipline is also necessary. Imagine, to be a "suma" you need to have a GPA of 1.0 to 1.25. A GPA of 1.25 means that you need to focus and excel for 4 whole years on everything! Mathematics, Philosophy, History, Communications, and even PE...If you are not from UP, you can't imagine how difficult it is to get an UNO! I was happy to get a TRES on most subjects.

I heard it said many times that there are 2 different kinds of UP students, 1) the ones who are truly intelligent and 2) the ones who have "diskarte". Being a summa cum laude (or even a "just" a laude like my sister) means that you have both in very high doses. These two qualities are not compatible with being content to strip.

Photo from flickr

Matiwasay provided on http://yoopee.multiply.com/journal/item/6688
a list of UPLB’s summa cum laudes in all of its history: Note there is only 1 BS AgriBusiness from 2000, anyone know him/her?
1946 BS Agriculture - Obdulia Fronda
1947 BS Agriculture
1975 BS Agriculture - Cielito Habito
1976 BS Biology
1978 BS Applied Mathematics
1979 BS Biology
1982 BS Biology
1987 BS Biology
1987 BS Biology
1988 BS Applied Mathematics
1992 BS Biology
1992 BS Biology
1993 BS Applied Mathematics
1993 BS Biology
1995 BS Economics
1996 BS Biology
1996 BS Economics
1998 BS Economics
2000 BS Agribusiness Management
2002 BS Applied Mathematics
2004 BS Biology
2005 BS Chemistry
2005 BS Economics
2006 BS Chemistry
2006 BS Applied Physics
2007 BS Biology
2007 BS Economics

I am proud to say that I know 4 of the 27 UPLB summa cum laudes in history personally with 1 being a very very good friend. I hate it to see their achievement belittled for sensational programming.