We did NOT push through with our Baguio trip. There I said it. However, as it was not that well-planned, it was no surprise for us that we did not continue with it. I only began searching for guesthouses yesterday but all of the people I asked had no vacant rooms.
It then took me a few hours to realize the reason for this — it was Panagbenga Festival season in Baguio City now. How did I miss that crucial part? Maybe because I was under the impression that the festival happens on the summer months (i.e. March to May) but I was honestly not that enthusiastic to visit Baguio when there will surely be a lot of tourists around. We could have gone yesterday but decided to just spend the day together and eat, eat and eat. =D
We can always go back to Baguio on the latter months of the year, when Ikle will be back in the country, finishing his graduate thesis.
We first got our tickets for our 7:25 PM movie in the fourth floor. Good thing we reserved our seats the night before on SureSeats because aside from the number of people queuing for tickets, all of the seats for Jackie Chan’s Chinese Zodiac (a.k.a. CZ12) were either reserved or sold already.
We then went to Super Bowl of China to have our early dinner. We ordered food enough for the three of us, because we always tend to over-order and end up forcefeeding ourselves just not to waste food and money. We had crispy noodles, lemon chicken, steamed fish and fried rice. It was not our first time to order this set because it was our fail-safe choice of dishes.
Ikle mentioned that these dishes were much better than the food he eats in China, imagine the irony of that. He had a kidney problem two months ago because of the extremely greasy and salty Chinese food. If his friends were to come to the Philippines in the future, he asserted that he will definitely bring them to Super Bowl of China.
Forty-five minutes before the screening time, we headed back to the fourth floor to eat dessert: crêpes from Café Breton. Ikle had no more ‘available compartments’ in his stomach but I urged him to eat even the simplest crêpe just for the spirit of eating together. At that point, I felt like the witch forcing Hansel to eat. LOL
While waiting for the movie inside the cinema, Mon got an amazing news — his sister has passed the UPCAT and got her chosen course of BS Mathematics in UPLB! She was the same sister whose UPCAT test permit I had personally applied for in June 2012! We were so delighted over the news that we got stinkeyes from people sitting in front of us as we were that noisy — sorry for that.
In spite of the big news, our mood was temporarily dampened when Mon mentioned that there might be a problem because their father might not be too happy with the prospect of their daughter studying in UPLB. But we dealt on that over coffee after the movie.
So from Trinoma, we went to the Sky Garden of SM North to have coffee and cake in KoCCo. I forgot what KoCCo stands for but it was our favorite place to hang out, before Ikle went to China in August 2011.
We then went on brainstorming on how to best persuade their father to permit her sister to study in Los Baños. She can transfer to Diliman after a year, provided she conditions herself to study VERY hard and not be too comfortable there. We just felt so bad over the idea of her giving up her slot and letting the opportunity to be a UP student pass (yes, opportunity). I was also running searches on my cellphone over reconsideration procedures in UP Manila and Diliman.
However, based on what I’ve gathered, Diliman does not allow reconsideration, while UP Manila might reconsider her.
U.P. Diliman: 2.2 – no reconsideration
U.P. Manila: 2.285 – 2.5
U.P. Baguio: 2.659 – 2.574
U.P. Tacloban: 2.7 – 2.7
U.P. Cebu: 2.7 – 2.7
U.P. Iloilo: 2.7 – 2.7
U.P. Mindanao: 2.75 – 2.75
U.P. Los Banos: 2.42 – 2.8
Looking at the widely available list above, she might be reconsidered for UP Manila because she was admitted in UPLB, wherein a UPG 2.42 is needed. If their father’s concern is the proximity question, we were hoping that she can hopefully get in UPM and let’s just see what’ll happen next.
But the best solution will be for their father to allow her to study in UPLB, so that they won’t have to go through the tedious reconsideration process, which usually takes until the last week of May/first week of June. Not a lot people have patience for that, and other universities might be already starting their respective classes.
I think she’ll have a strong case, considering she is an UPCAT passer, asking for reconsideration, contrary to those who did not pass wishing to do so. But who knows? As always, the pain of waiting is indescribable, but nevertheless, congratulations Lot for passing UPCAT!
sayang hindi kayo natuloy sa baguio. this friday baka magbaguio naman ako.
Boo! Buti pa kayo hehehe Anyway, mahaba pa ang taon! ENJOY! =D