Ever since I played Jean Valjean in our 4th year musical Les Miserables, I simply can't get let go of music. It has become part of my life, and it is continually changing my view of the world.
As a case-in-point, let me present you a very interesting piece of music from Pisay the Movie (thanks JC for burning me an copy of the OST). I've spent 30 minutes last night before sleeping, and two hours this morning upon waking up, just to get the song right. Besides its charming and inspiring lyrics, the melody presents very much a challenge dahil mahirap at matataas yung pasok nung singer. And so of course, I feel relived right now because I finally got it right :D (sorry can't post the mp3, I might get sued by the composer dahil Pisay grad ako at madali niya akong ma-tra-trace)
<song starts here>
Ang puso ko'y parang musmos
Ginising mo at tinuruan
Ang malay ko'y parang papel
Sinulatan mo at sinindihan
Sabi mo tayong mga anak
Ay hindi lang anak ng ating mga magulang
Tayo'y mga tagapagmana
Ng masidhing pag-asam ng buhay
Tinuruan mo akong magtanong
Hinikayat na gumunita
Binuksan ang aking kamalayan
Hinamong masindak
Hinamong masindak, magitla
Ang nangyayari dito at ngayon
Alingawngaw lang ng ating panahon
Lumiliyab na apoy ay di nauubos
Daloy ng tubig ay bukal ng pag-alab
Tinuruan mo akong magtanong
Hinikayat na gumunita
Binuksan ang aking kamalayan
Hinamong masindak, hinamong masindak
Sa tulak ng pangangailangan
Lumisan ka, lumisan ka...
Sa kapig ng pagbabago
Maghihintay, maghihintay
Tinuruan mo akong magtanong
Hinikayat na gumunita
Binuksan ang aking kamalayan
Hinamong masindak
Hinamong masindak, magitla
<song ends here>
It was so inspiring that it made me reflect of the week that has just transpired.
I was basically trapped in a huge-two-floor-centralized-air-conditioned house somewhere in Cubi Point, Subic. Many would be expect that the house was my resthouse..but no. It was a house that Ateneo got for our team so we could train for the ACM Intercollegiate Programming Competition (ACM-ICPC). So in short, I was mentally tortured in that place for 4 days :D
My team for the ACM-ICPC is an all-Pisay group, composed of me, Clarisse Ligunas, and Jason Gaguan (right to left in the pic below) (and thanks Doc Mana for the pic):
Of course, we had other companions in the house. We were seven teams in all, plus an alternate, plus 4 coaches. And all we did for four days (that's 8am-11pm everyday) was to solve and program without breaks (we took most of our meals while programming).
But that didn't stop me from having fun. Ka-bibes ko si Jason sa pangungulit at pang-aasar kay Clar (haha, sorry lang Clar) at sa ibang pang tao lalo na kay Doc Mana (our head coach). Ang kalog din namin kasi habang nag-pro-program, kung anu-ano naiisip naming jokes.. :D
Came Saturday, the actual day of the contest. I thought that the four-day mental torture paid off because we placed fourth overall. Many people congratulated us, because despite our being a purely-freshmen team, we still managed to place that high in the contest.
I wasn't really expecting anything. In fact, when I prayed to God before that contest, I told Him na Siya na bahala sa amin, because I really wasn't expecting anything.
My four-day experience in Subic was in fact so humbling: it broke my pride because I saw how the other teams performed excellently in our practice contests, and how we fared relative to them. It made me realize that, hey, I'm still a freshman and I'm just starting the journey. I don't have the right to boast.
Most importantly, it made me shift my focus from myself onto God. It made me realize that God is my substance, and that only HE can truly sustain me. It made me realize that I should really put Him before anything else. It made me realize that without Him, I couldn't have been achieving things.
In short, para akong nag-retreat habang nag-pro-programming.
And so Lord, consider the song I've place in this blog entry as my song of thanksgiving to You. Thank You dahil You gave me (and my team mates) a good start sa ACM-ICPC. Marami pa kaming kakaining bigas :D
Thank You so much!
:D
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