ManSci: Not a Rocket Science

Tonight I stepped into my Management Science (ManSci) class. Room 510. RCBC campus.

You see, this computer lab is very special to me; it always brings memories of my ManStat sessions with Mrs. Reyes two terms ago.

Stepping inside the computer lab tonight brought me hope: to get a better grade. But this time, in ManSci. One strategy was to choose a different seat, but, believe it or not, I could still see and hear Winning woes lecturing there. Isn’t that scary? Especially for Sir Dennis!

Anyway, my ManSci professor is Dr. Dennis Berino. Yes, my former CSR teacher. Rumor has it that Sir Dennis lectures very fast like a bullet train. Well, it’s his forte. He’s a Stat major and he is a Doctor of Business Administration. What do you expect? Honestly, if I will not see any sign of Sir Dennis slowing down, I expect myself to catch up and manage to perform well in his class. A grade of 3.5 is not bad at all, but that doesn’t mean I won’t strive for 4.0. Not that came from the Bernoulli family, but I think my mathematical skill is average. With the right attitude—and enough sleep, I think I can survive his class.

We were 22 or so in the class. Quite big actually that we are cramped inside Room 510. I saw some familiar faces this evening. My former classmates from my other subjects where there: Imran, Yokey, Mei-mei, and Shirley.

ManSci is basically the use of scientific method for decision making. And we will be studying several quantitative models. Wait until you hear more from the ManSci wizard. Oh Lord!

Okay. This plus Ethics and InfoMan. I am really up for a challenging term. Looking at the ManSci syllabus, I can see myself doing the Moodle Marathon again. That means less time for blogger.com and more time for teachnologists.com! (Ugh!)

Secretly, I was hoping to belong to a punctilious group—and I did! Meimei, our ManStat 2^nd honor (next to JP), will be my groupmate…and my partner throughout the term. Inside, I was leaping with joy. God is good to me! J

Sir Dennis, to our relief, said that his ManSci class is not a rocket science. He stressed that! If he was indeed serious, I will start campaigning for his subject to my other friends who have not taken ManSci. It’s too early to tell though. But if it is not a rocket science—something that will require great intelligence or technical ability—then I might enjoy attending his class. Might. After all, I need to remind myself what I had to give up—my Thursday night!—this term just to take ManSci. If you know my Thursday schedule, you’d say it is truly a big sacrifice.

With this and that, I look forward to having some fascinating, thought-provoking, mind-stretching discussions in ManSci. I have an inking that what I can learn from this course will contribute to my growth, not just accumulate knowledge. On top of that, it will help me discover my God-given potentials that will someday be part of my solutions in making a difference in this world.

Not a rocket science, but it will be a useful rocket ship to somewhere. Somewhere.

Infoman: Our new I.T. superhero

Information Management is my last pre-MBA subject. I have no choice but to take it this term; otherwise, I will be stuck next term with a bunch of freshies listening to the evolution of computers. When the two Rons—Eslabon and Macapinlac—and I decided to take the Tuesday class in Makati, I informed Mike, our former ManStat classmate, to take the same class. For one reason, Mr. Benedict Avila, the I.T. guru, has many endorsers. Many students recommended his class saying that they had learned some computer softwares and had discovered useful websites because of Mr. Avila. It sounded interesting, so we took our chances. We also heard about the “open house” at the end of the term. Now, who’s not into class parties anyway?

I wasn't surprised to see a jam-packed class. Indeed, news spreads like virus. Tonight, I was grasping for oxygen because we have a small classroom and we were about 30 students!

Anyway, Benedict Avila is the I.T. director of La Salle Greenhills and is currently taking his DBA at DLSU. He has a master’s degree in keyboard shortcuts (MKS). This fine gentleman is an entrepreneur and a photo hobbyist.

Superman, Spiderman, and Batman are no match for our “Infoman.” And his transportation device? A motorbike. Now that’s a superhero image!

Just between you and me, I think that if he could just possibly add something to the Philippine constitution, he’d definitely put there “bragging” rights (to Wow your officemates and friends!). That is, by the way, his famous tagline!

During our first session, Infoman—concatenated that way—showed off his prowess as a techie. His computer runs Windows 7; his desktop features BumpTop having photos resized and edited by Faststone and Lightroom. It was also the premiere night of Prezi, the latest Web 2.0 presentation software that we are all wheedled to use for our group reports. I bet its popularity will last even after we passed this course—at least in our batch.

My clairvoyance and first impression are telling me that I will be bombarded with a whole lot of Internet research and requirements. I just hope I can manage all the website accounts (and remember all the passwords) Infoman is requiring us to subscribe.

At the end of the day, I realized that by being in his class I could actually acquire some special skills under the superhero’s instructions and training that I might later on need in life. No doubt he's part of the plan.

Cheers…to our new hero!

Ethics and Family-Work Life Harmony

Today is the first day of my third term at the graduate school. My first subject of the week: Business Ethics and Family-Work Life Harmony.

Confession: I'm supposed to be enrolled in Prof. Macachor's Management Accounting class (Monday) this term, but I changed my mind. I dropped the subject a few days before classes started and I replaced it with Ethics. I thought it would be a better move for me, so I can take core courses next term.

I came earlier than most of my classmates, but the amazing senior couple, were there already!
I chose to seat at the center of the middle row inside Room 520, our temporary classroom. It's my biggest class so far. Imagine, thirty one students under the renowned husband-and-wife tandem, Drs. Emiliano and Perla Hudtohan!

Confession: I did some advance on-line reading before coming to class. How about that! I hear somebody calling me nerd! :)

Our class went well. The Hudtohans like to consider themselves as facilitators (from the French word facile meaning "easy") instead of professors. Sir Emil said that they want to be mentors, not "tormentors." But what struck me most was when he said that we have to take advantage of the 100 plus years of experience--Sir Emil's and Ma'am Perla's combined.

I think I will like this class, so I am excited what this course will bring. I hope it will bring out the best in me!

By the way, the Hudtohans are both Ilonggos. Isn't that interesting? :)

How I see my school life for the Year 2010

Today is exactly seven days after we said goodbye to Year 2009. Yes, precisely one week. And it's three days to go before the new school term starts again.

Am I ready for another race? Really, how do I see my school life this year? Two words: More challenging.

Last term, I started taking three subjects. Since I want to finish my MBA by 2011, I have to take at least three subjects every term. Now, I am one step away from being a full-blown MBA student. Meaning, I will be taking purely core courses--no pre-MBA subjects anymore--after this term!

I enrolled in Dr. Hudtohan's Ethics class, Dr. Berino's Management Science class, and Mr. Avila's Information Management class. InfoMan is my last pre-MBA subject aside from the I.T. workshops which I will be validating in the coming weeks. If I pass all the exams then I don't have to enroll the workshops next term.

All my classes will be at RCBC Tower. Just that thought of traffic from Manila going to Makati makes me tired already. I wish I could find a better schedule in Taft. On the brighter side, there are more places to eat in Makati that in Taft. I can imagine myself eating at Pasta World more often, if not every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday!

So yes, this term will be more challenging, physically and mentally.

Confession: While I have to go through the Herculean task, I look forward to a month long vacation after this term. Meaning, I can travel again! Horay!

As I wait, I have to gear up and prepare for upcoming battle. God is watching! Victory is waiting! I am aiming...for 4.0s!

Happy 3rd term!