This is the final day of the NECES week. And of course, just like the previous celebration, it ended with the variety show. What to look forward for in the NECES variety show is the performance of the ECE students in each year level starting from third year to fifth year. Last year our section ruled in the third year level because of our amazing performance like the maskman fever.
This year, the theme is different, of course..hehe. It's about the things of the past 3 decades from 70's, 80's and 90's. The presentation can be in any form as long as they fall within the bracket of the period. As for our section, the class decided to do dancing instead. Actually, 4ECEB, our section had a very minimal time of planning because we were busy with some other things last week, i guess, or we were just in the habit of cramming when the day of the presentation is about to come. It was only last Thursday when some of the steps in the dance were formed. And it was only in the two consecutive days before Saturday that we practiced. Yesterday, we stayed until 8:30pm to finalized the steps and do the blocking of each groups.
I never really like dancing since I got into college but just to go with the group, I did all that I can for the benefit of our performance. I also heard from Princess that Engr. Guevara, our class adviser, is willing to give extra credits if we do great in the variety show. Also, he won't hesitate to give us a 200 items-long quiz if we won't be able to present a decent one! It was really a pressure on our side to perform well.
This morning, I didn't bother to go early because I knew for sure that we're going to practice again. I already know the steps and I was not excited enough to go early just to dance again. Our class supposedly is at 7am in Eng'g Management with Engr. Vicerra. I arrived at UST at 7:45am. When I got there, there were only a few of them present so my decision was right. It was already past 8am when we were growing in numbers. Obviously, what our section did was practice again.
To break the happy moment for some, it was 9am when another section was going to have a class in Rm.42 and our adviser announced something so we packed our things and went to ECE Lab.A at the second floor. Our adviser said we were suppose to have a class officer election that day and he also emphasized that all the position shall be replaced a new person. I thought it's sad for Gino because he has been our president since second year. I was surprised because when the nomination was opened for secretary, I was nominated and then elected..whoa..I didn't expect to have a responsibility for the class. Anyway, it's good to be one of the class officers though.. especially on the centennial celebration of the Engineering..hehehe
After the election, back to business again. We practiced the whole performance again. And to have a final one, we practiced with our costumes on. I said to myself, anyway after this be back to studying again so just enjoy the moment. It was already lunchtime when we had a break to eat and then commanded to be present at the field infront of the Eductaion bldg at around 1pm because it's when the show begins. We just ate at McDo in the carpark of UST so as not to waste more time.
The program didn't start at the right time just as the Filipinos are known for. Our class plus two more were very early waiting under the heat of the sun for the program to begin but it was like 3pm when it started. The set-up of the stage that they put up was smaller but it was ok. The audience were seating on monoblock chairs with 2 wide tarpaulin-roofed stalls placed on both sides of the venue to shield the people from the sun. It didn't accommodate the whole crowd though. The sound system was also good although it could damage our ear drums..hehe. We did understand anyways that there would be bands that would play later that show. The emcees were Engr. Vicerra and an ECE student.
The first part of the show was the awarding of winners in the previous events of the NECES Week. Our section winning the Men's Basketball for two consecutive years already. I guess doing it first is also a way to wait for some other audience to come especially those who were still having classes. There were also raffle draws to excite the students. The prizes were gift checks from Tokyo Tokyo and some beauty products I guess.
The next part which was the most awaited is the performance of each section in each level. The sequence started from the third year level down to the fifth year level. The third years really did great! I think performance-wise they were the best because they were all prepared and their presentation was polished very neatly. Just like in our section, they also did an-all dance performance. The only difference was they had individual actors for each popular figure in each decades like Michael Jackson, the Backstreet boys and the Spice Girls. Their performance was really nice to watch because they showcased their talents in dancing and impersonating and they all grooved into the music.
In the fourth year level, the performance level seemed to go a little notch lower because the synchronization of the dancers were given a little importance but the choreography was good especially in our section who performed first among the fourth years. The songs in our performance include: Kapag Tumibok Ang Puso and Macarena (90's), My Sharona and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (80's) and I'm Coming Out and Careless Whisper (70's). I was part of the 90's group and I must say that we really didn't do quite good. The choreo of the 80's is the best because the beat of the music is faster and livelier. Of the three parts, the last performance captured the audience's attention the most because of the Sex Balls-like portrayal of our classmates who were wearing only tight black cycling shorts and suspenders. That was the highlight of our performance, I should say because it made the crowd laugh and be entertained.
The fifth years performed last. It was already dusk when they started. Since they were allotted 20 minutes in their performance, they had a lot to show. Some were boring because they did like a choral something. What I remembered that wowed me was the Super Mario. At first, I can't believe how they've gotten the idea of doing such because it's really unique. One of them acted as Mario and the props like the clouds, the bricks, the grasses were held by those people in black and they were all rotating around a black cloth to have a scene like the sequence in the game. That was the highlight in the fifth year level. I was also entertained by the "HE! Girls" in another section. I just couldn't stop laughing at one point when they shout "he!" They were all serious in acting to the point that they look like crazy because all that they utter was the word "he!" That's what made me laugh, I guess.
After all the performances, we had our dinner while watching the rock performance of the band from our section. The announcement of winners then followed. In 3rd year, the winner is 3B, 4th year, the winner is of course our section 4B. We are already back to back champions just like in basketball. In the 5th yr, I thought it was 5B because of the pattern and I was also entertained by their performance but it went to 5A who was also the over-all champion in the NECES week. Our section won 3rd place tied with 3B in the over-all.
After a tiring day, I went to the PGH to visit my cousin Eman. Early this morning, my sister told me to go there because she'll also be there and we'll just go home together afterwards. When I was already there, at first, I can't figure out where to go because what was given to me was the room number only which is Rm.562. I thought there are several buildings there but later, I found out that it's just one. I asked several guards and I was relieved when I got there. When I got in the room, I saw a dextrose beside Eman's bed plus the Nutriplex that serves as his food because his esophagus is wounded and he couldn't take food using his mouth. I felt sad for him but then I showed no sign of pity so as not to worsen his case. I just talked to him and asked about the province. It took me about an hour and a half before I decided to go home with my sister.
It was already late when we arrived home.
