Ramil Blog

It's that time of year again! Finals week is rapidly approaching, the temperature has dropped dramatically, and Winter Intersession is right around the corner. It's a very exciting time, but it's also a very stressful time. Not only do I have finals on my mind, but I have to prepare for these trips that I'm about to take. In the beginning of January, I'm going to Peru with MLK Scholars, and then at the end of January, I'm going to Florence to study abroad next semester. In addition preparing for those trips, I have to plan a trip (Europooloza 2008) in May before tickets get too expensive.

So, to ease my worries, I decided to spend the weekend at Palladium participating in Palladium events and sleeping on friends' floors. I got a lot done, too. I completed my RALI program, I competed in the Super Smash Brothers Tournament, and I learned how to make Jambasta.

However, there was one casualty of this weekend: Allison's microwave. We cannot pinpoint exactly how it broke, but we think it broke when we tried to sterilize the sponge in it. Before spending money on a replacement, we took our hand at trying to repair the microwave ourselves. After doing research, we decided that the fuse had shorted out, and that it needed to be replaced. To do this, we first had to take apart the microwave, remove the old fuse, and replace it with a new one. Here is a video documenting our repairs. It is called, "Ramil Repairs a Microwave":

N.B. Although the video ends triumphantly, we actually failed at repairing the microwave. I stopped recording before we tested the microwave, and that's why there is no footage of our disappointment. The microwave is now in the garbage, and a new microwave must be purchased as a replacement.

Ever since I got my spiffy video camera from NYU, I've been making quite a few videos. I really want to get better at making them, and I've slowly become obsessed with YouTube and the YouTube community. Visiting YouTube has become part of my daily routine. Whenever I go online to check my e-mail, Facebook, etc., I feel compelled to hit the videos tab to see what today's most popular videos are. Most of the videos are either Naruto, Filipino Soap Operas, or something that probably belongs on X-Tube. But if you take the time to sift through the first couple pages, you are bound to find a diamond in the rough.

After spending hours every week on YouTube for the past couple of months, I have been thoroughly impressed with the huge amount of interaction that goes on because of the website. Video bloggers like Phil Defranco, William Buckley, Christine (a.k.a. HappySlip), and Perez Hilton have followings numbering in the tens of thousands. Many of these subscribers post video responses and create a dialogue that can grow and last for quite a while. I think that YouTube is such an interesting - and still developing - phenomenon, and I think that YouTube could use my help to move the community in the right direction.

That said, I feel that I must address an issue that has been driving the YouTube community in the wrong direction: the sensation that is Kristina Chen (a.k.a. tinaecmusic, or brianlitrellfan15), but most commonly known as Tina. Up until the whole Tina thing, I felt really positive about the YouTube community. It gave millions of people the chance to connect to others across the world who shared common interests. Great! But when Tina started making videos and getting trashed, I began to see the dark side of YouTube.

All this innocent girl wanted to do was sing and dance and share her love for singing and dancing (and Zac Efron) with the world. However, she received so many nasty comments and responses, that she deleted all her videos and left YouTube. I realize that Tina is no Ashley Tisdale, but she didn't really deserve the response that she got. Tina has since returned to YouTube, but her new videos have raised concerns, especially the one where she gets naked.

I knew that YouTube had its flaws, and the Chris Crocker fiasco, and the lonelygirl15 hoax reminded me that I shouldn't be so naive or optimistic. But this is different! We're talking about a little girl who likes Hello Kitty, and High School Musical, and turtleneck sweaters! I really believe that something is happening to Tina, and I think that a lot of it has to do with the YouTube community.

Now, if I worked for YouTube, I would make it a point to call Tina's parents and tell Mr. and Mrs. Chen exactly what their daughter has been doing on the internet lately. Then, I would call Perez Hilton and reprimand him for being so mean to Tina. I think it's great that YouTube is an open space where people can interact freely and unrestricted, but when there are no boundaries, some people are bound to get hurt! So to all the haters, I have only one thing to say: Leave Tina Alone!!

As you may already know, I am planning to study abroad in Florence next semester. I've applied for a visa, booked a flight, and selected my courses, but that was only the beginning of a very long, complicated process. There are so many forms to fill out, and deadlines to meet that it can make you want to not go abroad anymore. But I'm slowly getting everything done, and today, I went to the doctor to do a physical examination and obtain my medical records.

After waiting for like an hour, I finally got to see my doctor. We did the whole pre-physical exam dance -- the blood pressure, the weighing, the questionnaire -- so that it's not that weird when it's time to touch your privates.

And then the real physical exam started. My doctor checked for heart murmurs with the stethoscope, checked my eyes, and then gave my ears a look. She let out a gasp, and I immediately knew something was wrong. "How long has this been in here?" she asked as if she had uncovered my secret stash of candy. I asked what she was talking about, and she told me that there was a cotton swap stuck in my inner ear. And apparently, it had been stuck there for quite some time. How gross is that?

At first, I was not that concerned. I mean, if the cotton swab had been living inside my ear for such a long time already, it has probably found a way to adapt and contribute to my body's functions. But my doctor insisted that the Q-Tip tip needed to be removed, and so we flushed it out with at the emergency eye wash station.

As a result of today's doctor visit, my hearing has drastically improved. In addition, I will also be more careful with cotton swabs.

With my Conducting and Keyboard Harmony finals out of the way, I only have 7 final exams/projects left to do. That sounds like a lot of obligations, but 4 out of the 7 remaining things happen tomorrow. Here's the breakdown:
9:30 - Aural Comprehension III Final
2:00 - Duet Performance
5:00 - Music History III Final
7:30 - Concert

It's very similar to The Perfect Storm, except without the big budget or Marky Mark. While I'm getting really stressed out about tomorrow, I'm kind of glad that I'll be able to get things out of the way. I feel pretty prepared for my finals, but I just wish I had a little bit more time to study those dates again, or practice that tricky part a few more times.

It's times like these that I start wishing for things from cartoons. Did you ever watch Dragon Ball Z? (I realize I may lose some of you on this next one, so I've provided a helpful link to jar your memory). Remember the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? You know, it's the place where Goku and the gang would go sometimes when they needed time to train. And it was great because 360 days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was equal to 1 day in the real world, so they were able to get strong enough to save the world with moments to spare. Imagine if that were real? I would never be stressed out about finals.

But if the Hyperbolic Time Chamber really did exist, I would probably have a lot of other things to worry about -- like having the football team beat me up for knowing entirely too much about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Today marks my last day of school for fall semester, and it feels great to be done with exams, papers, and obligations. However, today also marks the last day I'll be on NYU's campus for about 5 months. So, while I'm glad to be free from all the stressful parts of school and the city, I wish I didn't have to say goodbye to all my friends.

I'm still really excited for the next couple months, though. Here's why: First, I'm going to Peru with MLK Scholars for a week and a half in January. We're doing community service projects in Urubamba, and seeing some of the local sights. Then, a day after I return from Peru, I'm turning around and going to Florence, where I'll be studying abroad for the semester. Once the semester ends, my friend Julie and I are traveling across Europe. We're going to Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest, and Barcelona.

So, to all my old friends and all my new friends at NYU and at home, have a great next semester, and I'll see you in 5 months!! Make sure to read my blog for updates.

Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope you had a great holiday, ate lots of food, and got lots of presents, because I know I did! In fact, my family had so much cheer this year, we celebrated Christmas twice!

Well, that's not exactly true. We don't have that much Christmas spirit, but we did have two Christmases. We had Christmas I on the 23rd, because my sister was flying to Guatemala that night. So, on Christmas Eve's Eve, we had a big dinner and opened our presents. Then, we had Christmas II on the 25th, and since we had opened all the gifts already, we just spent time with family, ate another big dinner.

It was pretty cool separating the different parts of Christmas. Essentially, Christmas I was all the good parts and Christmas II was all the boring parts, so it was nice to be able to duck out of the bad parts without missing the good parts.

This Christmas was a busy time video wise, and my productivity has reached new levels. So, there's going to be two of my videos in this post! The first one is my family's Christmas video, called "Ramil Celebrates Christmas." The second is my sister's Christmas greeting from Guatemala.

And just in case you're wondering where those Tyra clips came from...

If this last clip was new to you, it means that you should be watching more YouTube.