I Can See The Light!

And no, no. No Lawliet anywhere. Sorry.

However, I could've sworn I almost saw sparkly thingies. 8O

Why? It's algebra. Finals for Advanced Algebra were today. And I studied hard enough to say that I passed through the multiple choice fairly fine, though uncertain, as every student is--except Isaac. But when I got to the final page--actually, when we all got to the final page--all Junior students, not only from my class, but the other class-even Isaac!--were frozen still by the fear of a large blank page haunting them. No answers. Just...questions. Certifiably unanswerable questions.

Well, what was the question?

//WARNING TO EVERYONE WHO HATES MATH AND WILL CERTAINLY HAVE A HEADACHE BECAUSE OF THIS//

There is a package of 24 shapes, consisting of squares, pentagons and hexagons. The sum of all sides of the shapes are 112 sides. And there are 10 more square pieces than there are pentagons. What is the number of pieces of each shape in the package?

Now, normally, an idiot would have broken down and cried reading that question. My classmates managed to endure the question. But died when they found their answers were no-where to be found on the multiple choice.
*Note: All multiple choice questions include solution boxes, and are worth two points combined. If you don't have a solution, or you get the solution wrong, you get no points for either. It's an all or nothing system.

We all froze at the sight of the page staring back at us, mocking us, telling us we were stupid freaks who can't understand numbers, of all things.
As if it was telling us that it is the master over us.
No way.
Our frozen stance broke into frustration, and then firing rage (not raging fire, that's different) which translated into loud complaints and demands for exam extensions. (Which we received, by popular demand. People Power!)

But then the teacher came into the classroom, and wrote on the board, as our proctor watched her. And she wrote on the board that there were corrections:
change "10 squares more than pentagons" to "10 hexagons more than squares".

So we did.

Using the Cramer's Rule of determinants, we lined up the three equations like so:
x + y + z = 24
4x +5y +6z = 112
x +0y - z = 10

And we arranged the third order determinant as such that:
A = |1 1 1|
|4 5 6|
|1 0 -1|

Do you want to know what A comes up as?
It comes out as ZERO. (Call Lelouch, everyone!)

So it would pretty much be useless to compute for Ax, Ay and Az! Since the A is equal to 0! 8O

We all panicked. And people came in repeatedly announcing that if we can't find the answer in the choices, we should just write our own.
The problem?
As I just pointed out:
THERE IS NO FRIKKIN ANSWER.
D8 We all went into deep frustration over the fact that it was impossible to answer.

The frustration got worse to the point that I covered the page with scribbles, in my attempt to explain WHY IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO ANSWER. A doodle of a chibi-me saying that I can see the light (translation: I'm dying here!) with matching sparkles and everything. And every scribble of illegible numbers imaginable.

Until...

Isaac, all hail the mighty genius. Viva Isaac.

Yes Isaac.

He walked unto the platform, and said, "disregard her corrections. You'll get the answer. It's easy."

And I don't know with that arrogant, proud, selfish, grrrrrrrr person. But it hit me like an inspiration from out of nowhere.

And the page just got dirtier because I had to cross out every scribble I made on the margins and spaces of the page.
And I wrote my answer.

Although it was supposedly for the use of the Cramer's Rule, it was impossible to use. So I just used substitution and the common sense that every person has to have.

Let's just hope we're right.

For anyone who finds the answer, send me a note.

Where am I going?

Alrighty. I've posted almost the same blog on my dA journal. But there's a twist. I'm going all out and spilling my frustrations here.

So it's called venting.

Big whu-huh-huh.

First off, good morning teacher...*enters room and blah, discusses stuff, asks a question to students...waits for answer... GETS ANGRY*
Filipino Class.
So utterly dramatic it can all get.

We go to the library every Filipino class to watch some of the book Noli Me Tangere in a TV adaptation. The deep Filipino vocabulary and the intense literary value makes it hard for us, the simpletons of this universe, to read the whole novel. (Besides, it was in Spanish before. And translating it to a different language makes everything a lot harder... not to mention the translator was boring. The English translation was actually entertaining.)

She asked us a question regarding one of the chapters. And plenty tried and guessed. Until she got disappointed and frustrated and angry, because no one got it right. So she said, "I've tried doing everything to help you understand the novel. I've even let you watch a movie adaptation! And you still don't read the novel? Just for that, tomorrow, don't come into the library. We'll be discussing the book orally upstairs in your classroom. Also, answer all the corresponding activities in your text book for chapters forty-two to sixty-three. All this will be submitted on Monday."
(And, fact of the matter is, chapter sixty-three is the last chapter.)
So she gave us a consideration. Anyone who comes up to her during the week will be asked to narrate and summarize a randomly chosen chapter of the book. Anyone who manages to do so correctly and completely will be exempted from the monstrous piece of anomaly she calls homework.

And that would be it.

NEXT.

Algebra Class

Setting: classroom, packed with students, the period exactly before lunch
Characters: The teacher and students
Plot:
Teacher comes in to the classroom, not bothering with the noisy students all over the place, not bothering to greet them or shush them half awake. She takes a piece of paper, something printed on it...seems important... Hmmmm, everyone stares.
She posts it on the board.
And announces:
There shall be a quiz bee for Chemistry and Advanced Algebra this Feb. 26. Everyone must join. You are all grouped randomly (read: later on, she said that she had fun that weekend with putting our names in a box and pulling out random names for the groupings) and the groupings are posted here. The quiz bee is graded as a normal quiz. And the group who wins will be given plus points in their exam. This quiz bee will serve as a review for the finals. So take it seriously. Also, the quiz bee will be held down at the main hall.

And me: *headdesk* *facepalm* *OTL* *orz* ~!NOOO.

Seeing the groupings, I was with:
Ian
William
Hannah
Maxine

Mind you, Maxine is the lowest ranked student of the batch. William had summer classes. Ian is...well he failed Chemistry last quarter. Hannah's a good person, and I love her.

And me? Well I'm doomed.

I posted on the board that I'm willing to have a study group with them on Feb. 20, despite the fact that I'm studying for the finals. And I'll be glad to help them get those plus points.

And the reactions?

Ian: Eh, nakakatamad. ("I feel lazy")
Maxine: Bawal! Ayoko. ("Not allowed! And I don't want to.")
Hannah: Hah? Ako? Uhm, okay. (Huh? Me? Uhm, okay.)
William: Sige! Kelan? Punta ko sa inyo? Gawa tayo ng flan! (Sure! When? I'll come to your place? Let's make flan!)

Me: ...
...
...
William, mag-aaral tayo. Hindi gagawa ng flan. (We'll be studying, not making flan.)

Although I deeply thank him for his enthusiasm. Just that I'm stuck with the group I'm most challenged to be with. It's like first year IP all over again.

ANYWAY.

CLE:
All requirements to be passed on the twenty-eighth... oh wait.... the sixteenth. That's next Monday.
Everyone = HAAAHH?!?!

P.E.:
Practical Exam on the last week of feb.

And when are the finals, you ask?
*coughmarchtwountilfourcough*

Where am I going?
I'm going to study.

Blah. Hooray for nonsense questions and answers.

Plainly Nothing

63% Geek

I'M SO BORED.

Despite the fact that I have a ton of homework.

Because He Said So (Part One)

And so Gabs tags me, hoping it would help lessen my writer's block.
Thanks a bit. But I think I'm feeling a little too nauseous today to write sixteen random facts about myself.

Ah well, nevermind. I'll do it anyway.

#1 - I'm a realist, not a cynic. (Or perhaps another way around. I really can't tell.)

#2 - I think that you're a second rate, trying-hard, copier machine. (Well, basically, everyone is. Almost. Since anything and everything has been tried before, we're only really modifying old concepts. As Gabs had put it earlier, nowadays, there's no such thing as originality.

#3 - #2 reminded me of the competition I entered for making a music video. There is a 20% allotted for originality in the judging criteria. And, well, that'd be pretty hard to fill. A full 20%...how?

4# - The fact is, I have been longing to ask you this question: "What will you when I lose my voice, that I can't tell you I love you, anymore?" (Someone has answered this question. Thanks Xela.)

#5 - I enjoy enumerating things, and writing sentences down seperately, line-by-line. Most possibly because I'm so used to writing in paragraphs for essays and whatnot, that I've been accustomed to creating my drafts in outlines first. Enumeration just seems second nature to me.

#6 - I very well know that this tag is boring you by now.

#7 - For a girl, I'm very bad at doing chores.

#8 - Despite being given various awards in academics, I am known to have fantastically horrible memory. I oftentimes walk into a room and go out, trying to remember why I went there in the first place. Just a while ago, in the middle of writing this post, my sister tells me to go get the iron. So I go upstairs to the maid's room, get the iron and greet two of my cousins--one reading a book, and the other, I have no clue why she's there. I ask them where the iron is and they point to it. I take the iron, step outside the door, and turn off the lights. I take a step forward, and a step backward, when I heard one say, "hala!" (Oh no!) And I turn on the lights, apologizing.
Weird, isn't it?
Yet, just last year, I read a chapter of my biology book, and slept in class. And whenever we had a quiz regarding said chapter, I had a perfect score.
Oh, the random oddities in life.

#9 - #4 was from one time, when we celebrated Holy Mass at school. So I was sitting next to Xela, and the teachers were telling us to sing hymns when we needed to. (We were all too lazy.) So I was there, singing. And mid song, I broke off. And I told Xela that I actually have URI (Upper Respiratory Infection), and possibly laryngitis. And my ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor - otorhynolaryngologist) had told me before not to sing, and that I should avoid unnecessary conversations. From that point on, whenever I sing during Holy Mass, or any time at all, she would hit me on the head, or kick me on the ankles. After the mass, I wrote, "ano nalang ang gagawin mo, kapag nawalan ako ng boses para sabihin sayo na mahal kita?" (What will you do if I lost my voice to tell you that I love you?) That was a joke of course, so she answered, "eh di isulat mo." (Then write it down.) So I wrote, "ganun?" (Is that so?) And she just nodded. Haha.

First half for now. Next time.