This school year, Edify team had

chosen San Vicente Elementary School

(SVES). They conducted remedial classes

in three major subjects, namely, English,

Math and Science in order to make third

graders comprehend

much better the lessons

taught at school.

Senior Heads of

the event were Jestin

Bernardo and Janine

Cambangay. Junior Heads

were Myron Alcanzare

and Rico Chet Deonaldo.

Edify Review classes were held on Satur-

days from September 18 to October 9,

2010, 2 to 5 pm. Pencils, pad papers and

food were given to the students.

Smiles of pride and fulfillment from both the students

and Alchemists surely proved the event worthwhile.

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER? Karolle Inna Infante

E DIFY is charity event under Academics Committee

wherein review and advanced classes are offered

to grade three students of chosen public schools.

September 18: ENGLISH DAY.

First day of Edify was certainly success-

ful. However, there was also a predica-

ment the team encountered. No grade

three teachers were present as ex-

pected upon agreement with the coor-

dinator of the school; hence, no grade

three classrooms were initially avail-

able. Despite the conflict, third graders

did enjoy the first day.

UP ALCHEMES: We handle with care Karolle Inna Infante

IT has been an annual activity to welcome freshmen at the start of the school year and assist them year-round. This school year, the UP ALCHEMES block handling team 2010-2011, headed by Diana Joy Gernan and Kathy Madlambayan was tasked to supervise blocks G2 and G4. During the Freshmen Advanced Registra-tion last May 4, some Alchemists volun-teered as marshals. Freebies, taken charged by Vergelle Parrocha, Edsel Serrano, and Eric del Rosario, were given away to freshies.

It was even more welcoming when a party was arranged for blocks G2 and G4 on June 10 at the Vinzon’s rooftop. This party was organized by Iya Leonardo and Claridge Gamboa. Freshmen participated in getting-to-know games while some Alchemists shared some of their college life experi-ences, enlightening first year students. Furthermore, Engineering Centennial Opening week, perhaps the climax among the events, was held from June 21-25. It was a week-long event for engineering freshmen students to enjoy, share their talents and finally step out of their comfort UP ALCHEMES…

CEERS Jodel Cuasay

AS part of UP ALCHEMES goal to pur-

sue academic excellence and to give

service to the community, the organi-

zation held its annual College Entrance

Exam Review Series (CEERS) last July 3,

10, 17, 24, and 31, 2010.

ORG NEWS

Lab Tour for

freshies

page 3

ORG NEWS

The Org Spirit

lives on

page 10

WORLD NEWS

“The Only Way is

UP.”

See page 5

ODDS & ENDS

ChE: What is

LOVE and HATE?

See page 9

(Continuation on Page 11) Continuation on Page 2

Vol. 1 No. 1 Jun - Oct 2010

Continuation on Page 2

ORGANIZATION NEWS P URGE D ! 02 page

November 2010

M AR KE TI NG W OR KSHOP 2 01 0 Ann Margarette Tayco

HAVING recognized the need

for the improvement of marketing

knowledge in the organization, a mar-

keting workshop was held last July 23

at MH 313-315. Members and appli-

cants took part in a 2-hour talk about

the basics of event marketing for or-

ganizations. Two credible speakers

were invited to share their knowledge

in this field.

The first speaker was Ms.

Chezka Vidal, an alumnus of the UP

Economic Society. She devoted an

hour for the introduction of sponsor-

ships targeted to companies and/or

businesses. Her lecture covered the

sponsorship packages, cover letter

writing, some basic tools and do’s/

don’ts. Being also a member of the

marketing team in her college organi-

zation, she was able to deliver the ba-

sic essence of marketing for org

events.

The second speaker invited

was Mr. Darrell Kent Aguila, the cur-

rent Brother Custodian of Beta Epsilon

Fraternity. His part of the Workshop

constituted the basic steps in the actual

marketing process. Some processes

demonstrated were phone-call making,

follow-ups and memorandum of agree-

ment (MOA) signing. He was also

able to relate his different experiences

in the field of marketing of well-

known events in the College of Engi-

neering (e.g. Rakestra, Engineering

Marketing Congress).

The Marketing Workshop was

assembled by Lavina Gador, member

of the Finance Committee of UP AL-

CHEMES. Overall, the impact of the

information shared in this talk has pro-

vided the members and applicants a

better understanding of the marketing

side of event management, and hope-

fully will increase our organizations’

efficiency in this area.

T HE Visual Arts Committee,

also known as VA, of the

Creative Groups of AL-

CHEMES organized a two-part work-

shop. The first installment of the VA

Workshop was held last August 16 at

MH 301-303. Xavier Fernandez, a

member of the Secretariat committee,

presented the basics of using Word-

Press. Being the head of UP AL-

CHEMES website maintenance team,

Mr. Fernandez introduced the applica-

tion of WordPress to blogging and

website building. This free web soft-

ware has been used by many site de-

velopers in the premise of ease of use

and good quality aesthetics.

The second installment of the VA

Workshop was held September 6 at

the same room. During this 2nd part,

Ms. Alarice Francisco, a Fine Arts Ma-

jor, was invited to do a talk and demo

of Adobe Photoshop which has always

been a very powerful tool in the area

of publicity and photo enhancement.

The Workshop was exclusively con-

ducted for members and applicants of

the organization for the enhancement

of their creative skills and knowledge.

The aim of the workshop was to de-

velop members’ talents ad interest in

the field of modern-day techniques in

publicity and information propagation

through the internet and other media

components. The success of the VA

Workshop was made possible by the

event heads Loujane Balatbat and

Judy Rebong. The UP ALCHEMES cal-

endar shall be filled with many other

fulfilling lessons, seminars, and work-

shops to help better equip members

and increase market value.

VA’s First

Workshop Ann Margarette Tayco

LAB @ FIRST SIGHT Michelle Myla Marquez

The ChE seniors gave the ChE

Freshmen their first gaze and experi-

ence of the Chemical Engineering

Laboratory last June 21, 2010 through

the first ever lab tour, Lab @ First

Sight, headed by DJ Donn Matienzo of

the UP ALCHEMES with coordination

to the ChE Representatives.

Seven stations comprised this

2-hour lab tour. Two lecturers per

station, Ann Margarette Tayco and

Mario Nistal Jr. for the Reynolds Num-

ber Setup, Camille Rivero and Richard

de Guzman for Gas Absorption, Lian

Cecilia Ortiz and Chester Paulo Luna

for Crushing, Louise Dorothy Faye

Acupang and Jehan Kay Otani for

Screening, Cyma Edel Alba and Charli-

magne Montealegre for Fluidized Bed,

Kara Therese Limchiu and Marlon

Jesspher de Vera for Sedimentation,

and Athalie Reyes and Oscar Alex Ba-

jasa for Pumps, were assigned to give

brief description of the equipment,

how they work, their applications and

hazards/safety measures.

ACADEM IC E XCELLENCE

SUBJECTS have gone extremely

difficult, teachers seemed harsher

than before, and the grades have

been constantly at risk of going

down the bigger values – and for a

good number of members, the

numbers have really dipped low. It

was a worry prior to the release of

the 2010 engineering organization

recognition application results, as

these daunting grade scenarios

threatened the organization's

ownership of the title, which also

merited an award in the recently

concluded Engineering Organiza-

tion Excellence Awards, the Aca-

demic Excellence Award.

It is a truth widely acknowledged,

that when the measure of aca-

demic excellence is given through

numbers, only one organization

stands out – the youngest among

all others, yet the most gifted.

Once, it has been asked, whether it

was 'just a product of the mem-

bers' gift or just from good recruit-

ment'. But for its consistency and

impressive percentage, I believe it

is accountable not from the latter

but from the members' gift, culti-

vated by the organization through

reviews, peer reviews and collabo-

rations.

In the 2010 engineering organiza-

tion recognition application re-

sults, things turned out well for the

organization as out of 171 mem-

bers, a remarkable number of 91

Hazel Fajardo

students were recorded College

Scholars and University Scholars in

the past year. 53% of the organi-

zation has attained a General

Weighted Average of 1.75 and up

as recorded by the CRS. With an

organization GWA of 1.95, coming

from the only organization with a

grade starting with a '1', the per-

formance may seem grand. But

this number is already part of a

trend – a downward slide from a

noteworthy College Scholar or-

ganization GWA around 2 or more

years ago.

ACADEMIC League of Chemical

Engineering Students.

Service. Humility. ACADEMICS.

Professionalism. Excellence.

They say 'grades are just numbers,

they don't define who you really

are.', for an organization with ex-

cellent academics in their name,

this serves as a challenge. With

the numbers come the grandeur

and the test. If one of the pillars

by which you are founded is crum-

bling and sloping down, what

would you do? Rise up Alchemist,

and let your works reflect in your

numbers, let your numbers define

where you belong, never concede

to the difficulties and continue to

own that throne.

03 page

ORGANIZATION NEWS The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES

“LAB @ 1st SIGHT 2010” mounted before the doors of the ChE Laboratory welcomes the freshmen.

“A drop of knowledge can

change the entire world.”

POLYMERS FROM SOYBEANS

MANY researches today are focused on the development of environment-friendly biomaterials as a replacement for the commercially available synthetic ones. This has been the focus of the symposium on green polymer chemistry held recently in Washington D.C. The forum highlighted researches on differ-ent aspects of polymer production- from raw materials to the polymerization processes- that will make the final product nontoxic and biodegradable.

Polymer derived from Soybean Oil One of the researches in the sym-posium described how rubbers can be made from soybean oil. This particular undertaking was carried out by Dejan Andjelkovic together with Richard Larock, both from Iowa State University. Andjelkovic sees soybean oil, which can be ex-tracted from soybean seeds, as one of the cheapest and most abundant renewable natural resources. He also noted that using renewable sources, such as soybean oil in the production of polymers, helps in reducing or eliminating the exten-sive use of petroleum-based raw materials in the industry. With their research, a wide array of biomaterials, such as rubber and tough plastics among others, can now be derived from soybean oil. The method of production that was used in the research was a cationic polymerization of the oil with styrene and divinylbenzene. Andjelkovic pointed out that aside from their biodegradability, poly-mers derived from soybean oil have qualities which is at par with that of the synthetic polymers used by the industry. A Netherland-based research group also conducted a research related to the studies of Andjelk-ovic and Larock. They described how microwave irradiation can be a green and efficient alternative to common methods of heating needed in the production of poly-mers based from soybean oil. Their

research shows that their novel idea of using microwaves success-fully lessen the reaction time of the process. Similar researches were also shown in the one spearheaded by Lin Zhu and Richard Wool in which triglyceride-based polymers were produced from plant oils such as soybean oil through free radical polymerization. Bright future for Green Polymer Chemistry Studies featured in the event shows how promising the future can be for green polymer chemis-try. Many researches regarding the production of polymers from natu-ral resources aside from soybean oil are still ongoing and can soon be realized. These researches may be useful in paving the way for making the polymer and polymeri-zation processes safe and more efficient. In fact, the organizers said that the field is already under-going a new phase in which green polymer chemistry is not only used for the sake of green chemistry but rather it is now used as a tool for addressing a wide variety of prob-lems.

Source:

Freemantle, Michael. Green Polymer Field Blossoming Progress reported in making new materials from re-newable feedstocks such as soybean oils. Chemical & Engineering News.

Independent Trio wins

Nobel Prize

D r. Richard F. Heck, professor at Uni-versity of Delaware, and Dr. Ei-ichi

Negishi, professor at Purdue University have been awarded last October 8, 2010 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the devel-opment of Palladium-catalyzed Cross Cou-pling in Organic Synthesis.

The two professors, who are organic chem-ists, independently researched on making use of carbon to create complex chemicals that could be used in the near future. These said complex chemicals could be used for synthesizing more useful chemicals for food, medicine, industry and even electron-ics.

The hindrance then was the fusion of car-bon atoms because of their stability and preference not to join with other atoms. Though early syntheses were made possible by using reagents like Grignard Reagent which makes the carbon reactive and able to join with each other, these reagents were still not very promising in large-scale production due to many unwanted by-products.

Then there were the thought possibilities that transition metals could actually act as catalysts, giving rise to organometallic chemistry. Dr. Heck researched on how to make styrene by linking carbon atoms in 1968 using Palladium; while in the 1970’s Dr. Negishi and Dr. Suzuki also worked on Palladium for synthesis. One of the most important artificial organic synthesis using metals as catalysts is the synthesis of paly-toxin, naturally synthesized by a species of coral in Hawaii. It is a poison which was discovered to have anti-viral properties and is viable for stopping cancer cells, according to the researches in the 1980’s.

“Few people fully understand the true meaning of this magical thing that the tran-sition metals offer us,” said Dr. Negishi in an interview led by the Nobel Prize organi-zation. Truly, finding the best catalyst to form carbon-carbon bonds is worked upon and is still on. These researches will be on its major bloom due to the recognition given by the Nobel Prize. The usage of met-als in Organic Chemistry will pave the way

Renz Marion Corpuz

continuation at page 5

WORLD NEWS

John Russel Canoza

P URGE D ! 04 page

November 2010

Going Places: Philippine Entry Chosen as the Finalist to the BBC World

Challenge 2010 Kristine– Mae S. Hangod

“ THE Only Way is Up”, the official entry of AIDFI (Alternative Indigenous Devel-

opment Foundation Inc.) of the Philip-pines, has been chosen last July as one of the 12 finalists of the World Challenge 2010 competition, besting out almost 800 other entries from all over to the world. With the goal of developing technologies that would support sustainable and or-ganic agricultural alternatives, the ram pump program was started by the Bacolod City based organization since 1997. Since then, the program has won various awards and recognitions in and out of the country for its excellence in the advancement of renewable energy, the most notable of which is the Ashden Awards in London in 2007. As of July 2010, AIDFI now boasts the installation of ram pumps in 170 up-land villages, benefiting around 50,000 Filipinos in remote areas; and technology transfer to countries such as Japan, Malay-sia, Thailand, West Timor, France, Nepal,

Cambodia, and Afghanistan.

Hydraulic ram pumps use the momentum of moving bodies of water to pump water uphill without using another source of energy, making it ideal for transporting water to remote areas where people are able to enjoy free flowing water from a water source located 90 m below their village. While this technology has been invented as far back as the 18th century, AIDFI was the first to utilize it extensively in different communities.

BBC World Challenge 2010, the sixth in the series, aimed at seeking out projects or small businesses from all over the world that showed enterprise and innovation by making a positive difference to the society while being at harmony with the environ-ment. The winner will be chosen through the results of an online voting which will start on September 27 and end at mid-night (GMT) on November 12, 2010. The

other finalists in-clude “Cyber Capi-tal” from Denmark, “Ok Coral” from Tanzania, “Pass it On” from Peru, “Double Boiled” f r o m K e n y a , “Growth Cycle” from Zambia, “A Class Apart” from Guatemala, “Burn after Eating” from India, “One Reef at a Time” from Madagascar, “Saving from a Rainy Day” from Mexico, “Charge of the Light Brigade” from Rwanda, and “In a Nutshell” from Marawi. Voting and view-ing of the other finalists can be done at www.theworldchallenge.co.uk. The awards ceremony will broadcast on De-cember 4, 2010 on BBC World News and will also be featured in Newsweek maga-zine in the December 21st issue.

Ervin Cezar

into a better and more in-depth researches in many fields of study.

References:

www.nobelprize.org www.npr.org Scientific Background on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010: Palladium-catalyzed Cross Cou-pling in Organic Synthesis. Editors. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

AS of October 27, 2010, Iran has begun

loading fuel rods containing enriched

uranium into the core of what will be its

first nuclear power plant, the 1000-

megawatt Bushehr nuclear power plant in

southern Iran.

Mohammad Ahmadian of Iran’s Atomic

Energy Organization said the process of

inserting the fuel rods will take about 20

days, while the reactor is expected to take

another month to begin producing energy

at full capacity.

The Bushehr reactor, set to produce

energy commercially in 2011, will be

operated and maintained by Russians.

Originally the work of German engineers

in the 1970’s when Iran was under the

Shah, the reactor was recently completed

with help from Russia. Operation will be

supervised by the International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA).

Fuel rods used in Bushehr contain

uranium enriched to 3.5%, that is, 3.5%

Uranium-235. Natural uranium contains

0.72% Uranium-235, while weapons-

grade uranium must be enriched

beyond 90%.

Iran currently has plans to further enrich

their stock of uranium to the 20% level

for use in producing “medical isotopes,”

as the small reactor used for this

purpose – built by Americans, when Iran

was under the Shah – is currently

running low on fuel. All of this will be

done under IAEA monitoring.

The UN Security Council has ordered the

suspension of all steps of the enrichment

process until they are convinced of Iran’s

peaceful intentions.

Iran’s enrichment programme remained

hidden for 18 years.

The UN Security Council traditionally

responds to Iranian defiance with new

rounds of trade and financial restrictions,

particularly, aimed at Iranian importation

of refined petroleum products.

Tehran has repeatedly stated that it has no

plans of building bombs, and no evidence

to the contrary has been found.

Iran loads fuel into Bushehr

nuclear reactor

Independent Trio… (continuation)

The hydraulic ram pump

bringing benefits to the

poor communities

http://

www.theworldchallenge.co.

uk/2010-finalists-

project08.php

05 page

The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES

EDITORIAL Curiosity and Nobility are Neighbors

M ost little children surely did pass

through that phase when they

had that “Someday, I would want

to become a teacher” dream. Well, who could

blame them? In their world, teachers are the

most amazing people. How these grown-ups

are able to patiently teach the little children

“everything” simply amazes the minds of these

little kids who‟ve gotten used to sleeping to

playful tunes of nursery rhymes and magical

tones of fairy tales. After all, these grown-ups

are like passwords for the kids to unlock the

next stage of their own game of life. Further-

more, in the kids‟ eyes, these teachers are the

key-holders and the legacy-keepers; they are

the bearers of light and knowledge in times of

darkness and ignorance. Ah, the nobility of a

teacher and the idealism of a child!

Then the little kids grow up. To some, the

world remains perfect, like how a snow globe

actually captures everything magical about a

fairy-tale-like world. To others however, their

worlds turn to that deep shade of greyish-

black, mixed with other lively colors, like how a

canvass is filled with a mess of splats and

globs of different colored paint. The teachers

though, still remain noble and loyal to their

profession, educating a new generation of

curious, clueless minds; imparting knowledge

to a new set of individuals eager to learn.

But where actually did these great teachers

start? Aren‟t they also once a part of that gen-

eration being educated by yet an older set of

educators? Aren‟t they also once a part of the

clueless and the curious? They‟re human

beings after all; and alongside their greatness

and nobility lay the remnants of cluelessness

and curiosity. Alongside their ability to impart

knowledge lies their passion to still obtain a yet

newer and more mature understanding of their

own lives.

And where actually are these little kids headed

to? Aren‟t they headed to a horizon of maturity

and understanding? Aren‟t they, though travelling

different paths and playing different games, all

the same headed to that certain point when they

would be the ones to share everything they

know, and have learned, to younger minds?

They‟re works of God after all; and surely, hand

in hand with their cluelessness and naïve-ness

lies something greater than what they thought

they could ever be. Hand in hand with their ea-

gerness to learn new things would lay their

dreams to someday be the great ones and the

noble ones of the world (at least in a kid‟s eyes),

holding keys and passing down legacies to yet

another set of innocent minds. Teachers and

kids, their multiple differences set them so much

apart, yet their thousand similarities bring them

so much closer, so close that sometimes, in this

world full of people, their personalities collide.

No, I should say, all the time. However, the

“double-sided”-ness of the characteristics of

these two groups of people is not at all surpris-

ing, nor questionable. This “double-sided”-ness

after all is evident in each and every one of us, in

every single soul alive in this magical yet stained

world.

Yes. We all are students and teachers in our own

little ways, in our own rights. This is a fact, a

claim no one can attest to. All of us are born with

that sense of curiosity and that trace of passion

to share what we know. All of us are bearers of

light and receivers of wisdom, whether we like

it or not. All of us are fated to learn and all of us

are fated to teach.

The organization has held activities where

we could actually showcase our teacher ways,

yet still give way to the childish innocence in

us. The CEERS, EDIFY, SEC WORKSHOPS

and even the BLOCKHANDLING ACTIVITIES

are just some of the events held annually by

the UP ALCHEMES that give chance to its

members not only to share what they have

learned to less mature and less-knowing

minds, but also to learn more things from the

people and from the students they interact

with. We, as an organization, and as different

individuals, are then called to a challenge to

satisfy both humane thirsts in us: to learn and

to teach. Both acts are human nature worth

satisfying after all.

A new leaf has been turned, a new semester

to begin with. Some of us kids have brought

along heartaches from the previous semesters,

while some have brought their own little rain-

bows of success. Either way, each and every

one of us have surely brought along bigger

appetites—bigger appetites to fill with new

knowledge, bigger appetites to influence oth-

ers.

So, come this new semester, are you ready

and up to the challenge?

“Teachers and kids, their multiple

differences set them so much

apart, yet their thousand

similarities bring them so much

closer, so close that sometimes, in

this world full of people, their

personalities collide. “

Editorial Cartoon Here

P URGE D ! 06 page

November 2010

The Race Hazel Fajardo

Executive Officer for Secretariat Committee

S econd semester. I've always

thought second sem was

more exciting than first sem

– Engg Week, Anniv Month, Christmas

break, summer vacation, Ash Wednes-

day, and of course, student council

elections. As early as 2nd year, I must

admit, I was already guilty of snicker-

ing at horribly mismatched and forced

tag lines. But then again, they work.

And I admire these people for 1) step-

ping up to that kind of race and 2) hav-

ing the courage and charisma to de-

liver such lines repeatedly.

As the reader may well know, I got

blessed to take up a less strenuous

derivative of such kind of race. I was

successful then and now, I think I want

to share some lessons I've learned in

the process (and I'm still learning a lot

mind you). I was saving this for my

pep talk near the end of this second

semester but I guess it won't hurt to

share a bit of it to a wider audience.

I know I know. Compared to a

whole lot people I may have the littlest

experience (which some would think

renders me quite unworthy to write

this), so if you think it unworthy, skip it

and if you think otherwise, you still

have the option to disagree with it.

Either way, I believe you'll know what

I'm writing about when you get there

yourself.

So before you put on those running

shoes, there are a number of ques-

tions you have to ask yourselves: why,

why, why, for what, for whom, why,

why, etc. I'm stressing on the 'why'

because you should have a strong

foundation on why you are subjecting

yourself to that kind of endeavor.

There must be a lot of 'why's because

at the very least, you should know

clearly the reasons behind making this

big decision. Are you running for the

position or title only? Are you running

because you want to put balance to

your resume (because maybe you

heard it's not just about all the 1.xx

and being a consistent US or CS, you

must also have leadership experience)?

Are you running because you want to

serve? Why run for this organization?

Why not run with this party? Why run

now? Can you handle the additional

work load? Will you be able to balance

it with plant design? Can you work

with different kinds of people? Who

are you running for? Are you running

because someone just told you? Are

you running for your friends or are you

running so that you won't have to be

the only one without a position in your

group? These decisions are tough to

make – I took months to make mine. I

think I took up until the last minute to

finalize it. Whatever it is, you must

make it independently. People will talk

to you about it, people will urge you to

it, but ultimately, it all boils down to

your.own.reasons and decision. Not

his, not hers, not everyone else's.

Making that decision is just the begin-

ning of the race. When you succeed

and actually get there, when you start

the work and do your things, you will

realize there's more to the name of

the position you ran for. There're lots of

things to consider and deal with. You'll

be surprised at how much stuff you

know (and deal with, sometimes good;

sometimes bad) more than the normal

member knows. There's more responsi-

bility and more people on your hold.

Not counting the people who'll give you

a headache every once in a while, but

there'll be even more who'll shock you

with their commitment and reliability ;).

You'll have to be prepared to sacrifice

your daily schedule and regular routines

that you've been used to. You'll have to

deal with criticisms and false accusation

and all kinds of people you've never met

before. Prepare to be surprised by peo-

ple who have more potential than you

initially thought. And prepare to see

people in a different perspective as

you've done before. All these are just a

few of the sometimes frustrating, some-

times rewarding, but most of all memo-

rable and worth it part of the race that

you'll be taking on once you put on

those shoes.

So no, if you think it's just about get-

ting yourself through the campaign pe-

riod and writing that title in your re-

sume, forget it. Neither does it end

when you step down from your position.

Running this race starts with you making

that decision and it doesn't end with

winning that campaign. You run it with

your title and with your team, your

member. You run it together so you can

pass it on to someone who's learned

from you and who'll teach the same to

others. There's no end to this race, just

a series of passing on and inspiring oth-

ers to put on the same running shoes.

Improving and learning along the way.

Well, you could say we're all trying to

run this race called 'leadership', and no,

it doesn't have a finish line.

“Well, you could say we're all trying to run this race called

'leadership', and no, it doesn't have a finish line.”

page The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES 07

Fire! Camille Rivero

UP ALCHEMES

T he previous semester has

seen UP ALCHEMES in a

more assertive light. The

months of June and July were

bombarded by the overwhelming

energy of Alchemists, particu-

larly of the block-handling team,

the applications committee, and

the creative groups. We deliv-

ered performances and efforts

called by various freshmen wel-

coming programs with much

enthusiasm and support. We

strengthened our hold on the

annual Laboratory Tour, used it

as the first out of many outlets

for promoting academic excel-

lence, and procured compensa-

tion for a breach of agreement.

Such highly visible and tangible

efforts contributed to the attrac-

tive aura of the organization,

which won almost 50 applicants

and produced 30+ inductees by

the end of the semester.

The rest of the months were

busy with customary events and

activities, but in ways more

structured than those of the

previous years. For a start, by

July we have already estab-

lished the senior and junior

heads for almost all events of

the entire academic year, along

with the manpower distribution

for CGs and the three

"organization events." As other

organizations start to mimic the

flagship activity that defines UP

ALCHEMES, we conducted the

most intensive and extensive

series of Reviews and Tutorials

ever, quietly but effectively de-

fending our position as the pre-

miere academic organization in

the College. We selected Sec

Workshop topics that would

sustain the organization with

posters and website designers

and managers in the future. We

have seen more intense income-

generating projects both by the

Finance Committee and by the

people of some events. We de-

signed Sports Clinic to train Al-

chemists for ICOC, which in

turn was designed to prepare us

for Engineering Week 2010. It

should be noted that this year is

obviously the most participated

and most intense ICOC ever,

with a more aggressive Aca-

demic affairs, Finance, and Se-

cretariat committee. In general,

we observed a heightened active

involvement and pride for one's

own committee without border-

ing on excessive committee-ism.

Instead they all added up to an

overall org pride, primarily

sparked by the EOEA champi-

onship, and continually fuelled

by each committee's Executive

Officer.

Along with the strong attitude

are continuous efforts to

strengthen our presence in the

Department and the College. We

initiated a courtesy call to the

new Department head, and with

the help of our adviser, were

able to pursue a partnership

with the Department through

the upcoming ChE Workshop.

We contributed assessment on

the revised ChE curriculum,

and were one of the very few or-

ganizations who actively took

part in the University-wide

RGEP evaluation. We ventured

on volunteering for events of

other organizations, with the

hope of extending our presence

to the students as well.

Indeed the first semester had

been a great one, but there will

always be greater semesters that

can be forged in the future. We

give credit to whom credit is

due, but let us not forget that

UP ALCHEMES has its own

share of unsatisfying points.

CEERS was definitely under-

manned, despite being the larg-

est income generating project

and being the most awaited

event five years ago. The ratio of

members to applicants in our

own events is still unimpressive.

In general, we still need to really

work on the overall dedication of

the Alchemists to the organiza-

tion. Whether by the right or the

left hand, the Executive commit-

tee is serious in alleviating the

problem of member inactivity in

UP ALCHEMES. The committee

is here to give encouragement,

recognition, and constant re-

minders; but may be forced to

revoke membership once again

if absolutely necessary. None-

theless, the ExeCom is just

seven people. UP ALCHEMES is

a body of around 150 people

that I believe, has the power to

prevent its fire from unnotice-

ably dying it out. On the con-

trary, we can strengthen the UP

ALCHEMES fire. I expect to see

everyone working for this goal in

the second semester. Up up!

“UP ALCHEMES is a body of

around 150 people that I

believe, has the power to

prevent its fire from

unnoticeably dying it out.”

EDITORIAL P URGE D ! 08 page

November 2010

SOME OF WORLD’S

BEST PRACTICAL JOKES

During the 1400’s, a monk at Syon

Abbey, Middlesex pulled off one of the

earliest documented practical jokes

when he hid a beetle inside an apple

and convinced his fellow holy men that

the rocking fruit was possessed.

In 1962, at the lone TV station in

Sweden, technician Kjell Stensson ap-

peared on the news and announced

that, thanks to a new technology, view-

ers can convert the existing black-and-

white broadcasts into colour. All that

was needed was pull a nylon stocking

over their TV screen. Thousands tried

it.

In 1998, Burger King introduced a

new menu item: the Left-Handed

Whopper. The new whopper included

the same ingredients as the original

Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger

patty, etc.), but all the condiments were

rotated 180 degrees. Thousands of cus-

tomers had gone into restaurants and

requested the new sandwich.

In 1976, British astronomer Patrick

Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that

at 9:47 AM, a once-in-a-lifetime astro-

nomical event was going to occur. The

planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter,

temporarily causing a gravitational

alignment that would counteract and

lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore

told listeners that if they jumped in the

air at the exact moment that this plane-

tary alignment occurred, they would

experience a strange floating sensation.

BBC2 received hundreds of phone calls

from listeners claiming to have felt the

sensation. One woman even reported

that she and her eleven friends had

risen from their chairs and floated

around the room.

In 1915, in the

midst of World War I, a

French aviator flew over

a German camp and

dropped a huge bomb.

The German soldiers

immediately scampered

out of the camp, but there was no ex-

plosion. After some time, the soldiers

went back inside the camp and ap-

proached the “bomb”. The “huge bomb”

turned out to be a large football with a

note tied to it that read, "April Fool!"

In 1980, BBC reported that Big Ben,

in order to keep up with the times, was

going to be given a digital readout. The

announcement received a huge re-

sponse from listeners shocked and an-

gered by the proposed change. The BBC

Japanese service also announced that

the clock hands would be sold to the

first four listeners to contact them. One

Japanese seaman in the mid-Atlantic

immediately radioed in a bid.

Source: Boese, Alex. 2002. “The Top 100

April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time”<http://

www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

P30/>

Specify that your drive-through

order is "to go."

Learn Morse code, and have con-

versations with friends in public

consisting entirely of "Beeeep Bip

Bip Beeep Bip..."

Speak only in a "robot" voice.

Sniffle incessantly.

Name your dog "Dog."

Reply to everything someone says

with "that's what YOU think."

Forget the punchline to a long

joke, but assure the listener it was

really funny.

Practice making fax and modem

noises.

Make beeping noises when a large

person backs up.

Invent nonsense computer jargon

in conversations, and see if people

play along to avoid the appearance

of ignorance.

Do not add any inflection to the

end of your sentences, producing

awkward silences with the im-

pression that you'll be saying

more any moment.

Holler random numbers while

someone is counting.

Drum on every available surface.

Staple papers in the middle of the

page.

Honk and wave to strangers.

Change channels five minutes be-

fore the end of every show.

Don’t use any punctuation either

Repeat everything someone says,

as a question.

Repeat the following conversation

a dozen times: "Do you hear that?"

"What?" "Never mind, its gone

now."

Stand over someone's shoulder,

mumbling, as they read.

Source: “101 Ways to Annoy People”. Cool Funny Jokes. <http://www.coolfunnyjokes.c om/Funny-Jokes/Misc-Jokes/101-Ways-To-

20 WAYS TO ANNOY PEOPLE

AP

RIL

FO

OL!

The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES 09 ENTERTAINMENT

I C O C 2 0 1 0

U P ALCHEMES held its annual Inter-Committee Overall Championship (ICOC) games last August 31 to

September 8. The original schedule of games was only until September 4, but some events were postponed due to bad weather. Venues of games were at the tambayan, Beta Way, and Sunken Garden. Eight teams competed this year: the six standing committees (Acads, Exte, Fin, Inte, LSR, Sec) plus two applicants‟ teams (Aliquot A and Aliquot B). This year‟s heads were Kenneth de Guzman from the Logistics, Sports and Recreation (LSR) Com-mittee and Claridge Gamboa from the Internal Affairs Committee. DAY 1- August 31, 2010 Pinoy Henyo Members enjoyed the leveled-up version of the game popularized by the noontime show Eat Bulaga. With words like Cassiopeia and Lux-embourg, Alchemists proved just how aca-demic they can be. Annoying Orange Named after the famous YouTube videos, members from each committee paired up to hold the “annoying” orange between their dif-ferent body parts (forehead, neck, elbow, waist, knee, and feet). This made the players closer to each other…literally. After the first day, the Academics Committee surprised everyone with their strong start, ranking first, together with LSR. DAY 2- September 1, 2010 Squabble Representatives from each committee turned on their competitive mode while playing the classic tambayan game. But ultimately, Russel Canoza from the Finance Committee domi-nated with his wide vocabulary and quick think-ing. Patintero The Patintero matches were scheduled after-noon of this day. Unfortunately, the matches were stopped halfway through the event and postponed to September 4 due to heavy rain. After the results of Squabble, the Finance Committee led with 350 points. Inte and LSR trailed behind with 325 points, while Acads dropped to third place. DAY 3- September 2, 2010 Showtime Held at the grandstand, this trivia game was

Jesselyn Rochelle R. Malimata

the true jologs-meter. The Internal Committee‟s emerged victorious, thanks to their impressive knowledge of Pinoy Pop Culture. Human Text Twist Part 1 It‟s the computer game…without the computer. Using one another as letters, committees tried their best to form the longest and most words. After their Showtime victory, the Internals Com-mittee ranked first. The Finance Committee placed second, while LSR and Acads were tied for third. DAY 4- September 3, 2010 Human Text Twist Part 2 I Object! Members unleashed their imagination to use ordinary objects in creative ways. UP AL-CHEMES Alumni and former ExeComm mem-bers Patrick Ramoso and David Gonzales served as judges, and declared LSR as winners. After tallying the results of Human Text Twist and I Object!, Fin Overtook Inte, LSR remained at third place, while Acads dropped to fourth place. DAY 5- September 4, 2010 Three major games (Patintero, Dodgeball, and Command and Conquer) and two minor games (Marshswallow and Egypt to Jerusalem) were held throughout the day. After five games, LSR led with a dominating 1693.75 points, while the second place, Inte only had 1145 points. The applicants Aliquot B rose to third place with 1100 points. DAY 6- September 7, 2010 Like A Pyramid Committee members worked as a team to build a pyramid made of plastic cups using only rubber bands. Agua Bendita Players from each committee tried to hold water in their mouths while representatives from the other committees tried to make them spit it out by

joking and teasing. After all the major and minor games, the over-all standings of the top three teams remained unchanged. DAY 7- September 8, 2010 Ultimate Frisbee The only all-star game for ICOC was the make-or-break event for the committees. The eight teams merged into two all-star teams: Acads-Aliquot A-Exte-LSR and ICOC 2010... (continuation) Sec-Inte-Fin-Aliquot B. The winners were given 225 points (the most points given for a single game), while the losers received only 112.5 points. This further widened LSR‟s lead over Inte, giving them the Championship Title. After seven days of fun and competitive games, the Logistics, Sports, and Recreations Committee was declared as ICOC Champions, while Ruben Salvador was awarded as the Over-all Most Valuable Player. MVP‟s from each committee were also recognized: Acads: Jodel Cuasay Aliquot A: Jethro Fajardo Aliquot B: Kim L. Exte: Emer Dionisio Fin: Russel Canoza Inte: Nico Pedro Sec: Hazel Fajardo The Internals Committee ranked second, while Aliquot B placed third. The tabulation of scores is as follows: Over-all, ICOC was a success. Members and applicants were able to release their stress from academic work, as well as bond with one

Ruben Salavador, ICOC’s Most Valuable Player show-ing his committee spirit with the “L” sign for LSR.

Vennel Lamasan of the Finance Committee, cheering

after one round of I Object!

ORGANIZATION NEWS P URGE D ! 10 page

November 2010

CEERS ...

CEERS aims to provide comprehensive

and affordable review sessions to help

senior high school students prepare

for their college entrance examina-

tions. The review covers major fields

such as Mathematics, Science

(General Science, Biology, Chemistry,

and Physics), English, Filipino, and Ab-

stract Reasoning.

Headed by Jodel Cuasay, Essi Anne

Kaye Cruzat, Joy Marie Jalotjot, and

Vergelle Parrocha, the CEERS commit-

tee started its preparation early May

this year. Two schools participated in

this year’s CEERS: St. Mary’s Academy

of Sto. Nino in Meycauayan, Bulacan

and Sumulong Memorial High School

in Antipolo City. The simulation ex-

ams, during the first day, and the re-

maining review sessions were facili-

tated by tutors and support staffs

composed of resident members and

alumni of UP ALCHEMES.

UP ALCHEMES...

zones. Opening Week Heads were Van Galman and Jules Dayrit. Activities were as follows:

Day 1: Fierce Day High. Freshmen pa-raded and attended the Department Seminar, where creative groups of the organization showcased their talents.

Lab @ First sight. Freshmen were toured around the ChE laboratory.

Day 2: Fair the Fierce Time. Booths were set-up at the CHAC basketball court. UP ALCHEMES Opening Week Committee organized an interactive booth named Fierce Busters, in which cups were tar-geted by water guns.

Day 3: Time Fierce. (Engineering’s Got Talent). UP ALCHEMES members per-formed as human videoke.

Day 4: Fierce Hand. Handprints of fresh-men were painted on a cloth at the engi-neering lobby promoting nationalism. Fierce Place. This was an Amazing Race inspired activity for freshies, together with blockhandlers, where blocks com-peted against one another.

Day 5: Fierce Degree Burn. This was the culminating activity of the Engineering Opening week. Freshmen treaded along the catwalk with their fashionable ap-parel. Models Marc Limpiado and Shane Golo under G4 placed second for model-ling. Overall, G4 was awarded Second Best Block.

While it is true that blockhan-dling is a difficult task, blockhandlers took it as a privilege to serve. UP AL-CHEMES has truly lived up to its mission and goal; that of, instilling the organiza-tion and college spirit among the freshies. Congratulations and good job, Blockhandlers!

DAY 2 DAY 3

ACADS 150 75 75 100 62.5 125 75 0 30 150 125 125 75 225 1392.5 5th

ALIQUOT A 100 75 0 125 75 75 75 75 125 250 100 75 75 225 1450 4th

ALIQUOT B 75 100 75 75 75 75 75 75 125 200 150 150 100 112.5 1462.5 3rd

EXTE 75 75 75 75 75 75 125 150 40 100 125 75 75 225 1365 6th

FIN 75 125 150 75 137.5 100 75 100 40 100 70 75 75 112.5 1310 7th

INTE 125 75 125 150 75 75 75 75 120 100 150 75 150 112.5 1482.5 2nd

LSR 75 150 100 75 68.75 150 150 125 300 300 200 75 75 225 2068.75 1st

SEC 75 75 75 75 68.75 0 100 75 120 100 150 100 125 112.5 1251.25 8th

DAY 1

I Object!Egypt to

JerusalemPatinteroMarshswallow

DAY 6 DAY 7Human

Text

Twist

TotalLike a

Pyramid

Command

& Conquer

Agua

Bendita

Ultimate

FrisbeeShowtimeTeams

Pinoy

Henyo

XD

SquabbleAnnoyin

g

Orange

DAY 4

Dodgeball

DAY 5

Tabulation of scores and final standings.

another. The games were organized, and up-

dates of scores were immediately relayed to the

players. The Rules of the Games were also

made accessible to the teams through the elec-

tronic and hardcopy of the ICOC handbook.

Also, as mentioned by Pres. Camille Rivero in

the 3rd GA last September 29, this year‟s ICOC

had one of the least number of default games in

the history of ICOC. This shows how the partici-

pation of members in intra-organization events

is improving. Hopefully, this org spirit will be

carried all the way to the Engineering Week.

Up! Up! ALCHEMES!

Are You Smarter…

September 25: SCIENCE DAY. Bibo,

indeed! They were very receptive to

science lectures i.e. parts of a plant,

probably, the favourite subject of the

batch, in general.

October 2: MATH DAY. Although,

fewer kids attended, many were still

enthused to listen to the lessons

taught. They were still active and

happy to learn and practice mathe-

matical operations.

October 9: QUIZ BEE AND AWARDING

DAY. The batch was divided into sec-

tions so as to supervise the quiz bee

easier. Certificates of Appreciation

were awarded to Mrs. Cleofe Castillo

(English Teacher), Leah Baluan (Math

Teacher) and Rebecca Angeles

(Science Teacher). Certificates of At-

tendence were given to all the grade

three students who attended.

ORGANIZATION NEWS page

The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES 11

L ITERARY

Matagal ko nang gustong sabihing

antaba-taba mo. Pero natatakot ako.

Baka magalit ka sa’kin kapag sinabi ko

iyon kahit alam kong iyon ang totoo. Na-

tatakot akong iwan mo ulit ako tulad

dati. Hindi ko naman talaga gustong

bawiin ung chocolate na binigay ko sa’yo

noon eh. At hindi ko rin inakalang iiya-

kan mo ang pagbawi ko sa chocolate na

binigay ko. Gusto ko lang malaman kung

mahalaga ba sa’yo ang mga binibigay ko.

Dahil ako, lagi kong iniisip lahat ng mga

kwento mo. Mahalaga sa akin ang lahat

ng mga sinasabi mo. Antagal din nating

hindi nag-usap dahil lang sa chocolate na

‘yon. Nagkaayos na rin tayo nang hindi

man lang pinag-usapan ang lahat ng

hindi natin pagkakasundo. At hindi ko pa

rin nasasabing antaba-taba mo. Siguro

nga masyado lang akong naging isip

bata. Siguro nga ayaw mo nang niloloko

kita dahil malaki ang tiwala mo sa akin.

Sana nga ganun lahat ‘yon. At kung

magkaganun man, pangakong hinding

hindi na ulit kita paiiyakin dahil sa

chocolate o kahit sa anong pagkain o

laruan. Pero gusto ko, mangako ka rin na

hindi mo na ako iiwan. Peksman?

Matagal ko nang gustong sabihing

antaba-taba mo. Napakatagal kong pinag

-isipan ‘to. Dati nagdedeny pa akong

mataba ka dahil alam kong balang araw

kailangan ko ring sabihin sa’yo. Baka

isumbong mo ako sa nanay mo o kaya sa

tatay ko. Ayokong mapagalitan ako ng

tatay dahil sa pagsasabi ng totoo. Ayoko

ring mapag-usapan ng mga kapitbahay

lalo na ng iba nating kalaro. Baka layuan

nila ako dahil masyado akong ma-

panghusga kahit hindi naman talaga ako

nanghuhusga. Nagsasabi ako nang totoo.

At ngayon, sigurado na ako, antaba-taba

mo.

Matagal ko nang gustong sabihing

antaba-taba mo. Pero ayoko. Baka du-

mating ang panahon na mapansin mo rin

na tama ako at maisipan mong magpa-

payat na. Hindi ko maisip ang itsura mo

kapag nangayayat ka na. Baka hindi mo

na rin tanggapin ang mga ibibigay kong

chocolates na galing pa sa ibang bansa.

Gustong-gusto kong napapangiti kita sa

tuwing pinapasalubungan kita ng choco-

late. Antakaw mo talaga.

Matagal ko nang gustong sabihing

antaba-taba mo. Simula pa noong bini-

gyan mo ako ng cake kahit hindi ako

nanghihingi. Dati kasi puro ako lang ang

nagbibigay sa’yo ng mga pagkain. Binibi-

gyan mo lang ako kapag nanghihingi

ako. Hindi naman kasi ako naniniwala sa

turo sa’kin nung grade one ako sa GMRC

na “It’s better to give than to receive”.

Dapat pareho tayong nagbibigayan. ‘Di

ba?

Matagal ko nang gustong sabihing

antaba-taba mo. At alam mo bang dahil

sa’yo kaya ako tumaba nang ganito?

Sana lagi na lang tayong ganito. At sana,

sabihin mo ring antaba-taba ko.

-alex

Tabachingching

“I don’t love you anymore,” her lover

said.

Those were the words ringing in her

ears as she stared above at the crying

night sky, the thunder drowning her sob-

bing as she slowly dragged herself into

the only sanctuary that she had at that

moment. She lost track of time, she did-

n’t know how long she had been walking

already. She wished that a bit of the pain

she was feeling would disappear with

each stride she made, and if that would

be the case, she was willing to travel the

whole earth in feet. It felt like eternity

had passed, when she finally found the

door in front of her, the door of the only

haven she could find.

She knocked. It took a while before

the door opened. A man in towel greeted

her with a startled and puzzled look on

his face. She quickly wrapped her arms

around him, feeling his warm, wet skin.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he

hugged her back and comfort embraced

her. He slowly pulled back, motioned for

her to come inside and then closed the

door behind them. He didn’t ask any

questions, her tears were enough.

“You’re soaked. You can borrow some

of my clothes after you finish washing

yourself,” he said and pointed at the

bathroom. Hot water was still running

out of the shower. She nodded and went

inside.

Still feeling disoriented from the event

that happened earlier, she stared blankly

into the flowing hot water while taking

her soaked clothes off, becoming more

aware of the coldness they were bringing

her. She finally stepped into the shower,

feeling its warmth wrapping around her.

She closed her eyes to savor the comfort-

ing atmosphere. But when darkness

filled her eyesight, she could only think of

the rain, the coldness, the thunder, and

the words started ringing in her ears

again, spreading throughout her entire

body and penetrating each of her cells.

She let out a loud cry, hoping to drown

the reverberating words.

HOT WATER

con’t on page 13

P URGE D ! 12 page

November 2010

LITERARY

He heard a loud cry, he quickly thun-

dered into the bathroom. He saw her

there, naked, hugging her knees like a

baby in the womb, her back against the

wall, sobbing. She looked into him with

her pain-filled eyes.

Still in his towel, he knelt down behind

her and slowly wrapped his arms around

her. She felt the hotness of his skin, his

body heat flowing into hers, engulfing

every inch of her skin, crawling down her

spine, until finally spreading throughout

her body. She looked into his eyes, save

me, her begging look was telling him.

She held his face with her shaking

hands, and before the words could start

ringing again, she touched her lips with

his, kissing him deeply, her tongue travel-

ling around in his mouth, like a predator

wildly searching for its prey.

Feeling lost at the moment, his hands

travelled aimlessly around her body and

rested on her back. One of them slowly

traced her spine upward and stopped on

her nape, giving her the chill, the other

one going downward and stopped on her

left thigh, gripping it powerfully, making

her feel hot. They rested on their respec-

tive chosen spots for a while, savoring the

smooth, burning skin beneath them.

But his hands never found content-

ment and started searching again, and like

a predator driven by intuition, they found

their destination on her breasts. His

hands cupped them, marveling at their

fullness. With his hands still on them, his

lips then moved to her neck and kissed

every living cell in it, making every strand

of hair in her body stand up. “Just forget

about it already,” he said.

But she could not forget it. She could

not forget how hotter she felt with her

lover, how stronger yet gentler her

breasts were played, how chilled was her

spine when soft lips traced it, how thrilled

she was when warm hands travelled on

her thighs, how tickled she was when wet

tongue travelled her skin… how nirvanic

everything was, and how secured, com-

forted and loved she felt more than any-

thing else.

Then the words started ringing again.

Like a snowball rolling down a winter

mountain, they became bigger and big-

ger, coming down on her, threatening to

roll over her and kill her.

She pushed him away as the event

earlier became a haunting image, and a

painful memory.

“I don’t love you anymore,” she said.

But she pulled him back, suppressing

her tears she whispered softly, “Stay with

me, until she comes back.”

-wintercoffee

Hot Water (continuation)

Pangit na naman ang gising ni Jet.

Kapos siya sa tulog, at kumakalam

na rin ang kanyang sikmura pero wala

naman siyang pambili ng almusal.

Wala pa siyang trenta ngunit ma-

babakas na sa kanyang mukha ang

lahat ng hirap na kanyang naranasan.

Idinadaan na lang niya sa pagsiman-

got ang mga sama ng loob sa buhay,

kaya’t lalong bumabaon ang mga linya

sa kanyang noo at sa gilid ng mga

mata.

‘Toy, bangon na. Kakayod pa tayo.

Matiyaga ang nanay ni Jet. Kahit

may katandaan na, sumasabak pa rin

siya sa kung anu-anong raket. Laban-

dera, kusinera, tindera... lahat yata ng

pwedeng sideline ay pinatos na niya.

Pero hindi pa rin siya umiimik kahit

hirap na siya. Ang mga mata niya ang

siyang dumadaing para sa kanya, sa

mga kirot na nadarama niya.

Opo, ‘Nay.

Sanay si Jet sa pagbabanat ng buto.

Mistulang ninakawan siya ng pagka-

bata dahil sa maagang pagtatrabaho.

Hindi pa yata siya tuli ay nakapag-

alaga na siya ng baboy at nakapaglako

na rin ng balot at penoy.

Malalakas na bisig ang puhunan

niya upang mairaos niya ang mga

pang-araw-araw na gastusin ng kan-

yang pamilya.

Parang isinisigaw ng matingkad na

kayumangging kulay ng kanyang balat

ang haba ng panahong inilagi niya sa

ilalim ng sikat ng araw para kumita ng

perang maiuuwi sa kanila.

Sige ho, mauna na ako.

Kumpara sa nauna niyang trabaho

bilang isang construction worker,

hindi masyadong mabigat ang mga

ginagawa ni Jet sa pagdya-dyanitor sa

isang eskwelahan. Nakakalibre siya ng

pananghalian sa kantina dahil mabait

ang may-ari nito. Minsan ay siya na

rin ang pinagbabantay sa xerox-an.

‘Yun nga lang, maaga ang oras ng kan-

yang pasok.

Ingat ka, anak.

Nakiki-extra rin si Jet sa pagpe-

pedicab kapag gabi. Silang dalawa na

lang ng kanyang ina ang kumikita sa

kanilang pamilya simula nang tamaan

ng sakit na TB ang kanyang ama. Dahil

sa kamahalan ng mga gamot, minsan

ay hindi na nila mabili ang mga

kailangan niyang inumin kung kaya’t

imbes na bumuti ay lalo nang lumala

ang sakit nito.

Boss, pwedeng bumali muna ‘ko ng

pang-isang buwan?

Minsan, may dugong nasama sa

plema nang umubo ang kanyang ta-

tay. Malala na ang lagay nito kaya’t

napilitan si Jet na bumisita sa opisina

ng manager ng manpower agency na

MALAS

page The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES 13

“Pass, your turn.” A face of disappointment left Chalk‟s face as he carefully positioned his last two cards over the stained table cloth. The fetor of nicotine from Jack‟s cigarette lingered inside the small room as he threw his 2 of hearts with pride. Archie passed tapping his two frail fingers on the round table.

“Better luck next time.” Ace said, turning over 2 of diamonds followed by his last five cards, emptying his hand and was awarded with 5 dollars for that round. The three finished their turn and Jack came to be the loser for the round.

“We should do something else.” Jack said, scratching his round belly.

“Eh?”Archie replied with indifference. “Quit yakking and start shuffling the deck

Jack” Chalk interjected. A gust of wind from the crackling window

silenced the men as Jack obliged to Chalk‟s orders.

“Have you read the headlines?” Ace broke the silence.

“Oh yes, those victims of murder from a loosed psycho are wicked. He must be nuts” Chalk remarked.

“This gave me an idea. How about another murder story, Jack. I liked last week‟s murder mystery you narrated. It gave me the chills.” Ace said.

“Oh sure. This is much better than last week‟s.” Jack replied while lazily distributing the 52 cards they had played for almost an hour now. He began.

Our story was set in downtown San Fran-cisco, a dead city for our main character. His name was Johnny, a grade two student who goes around the same routine: go to school, watch TV, take his dinner and back to his dark bedroom to sleep. He was the only child and his Dad committed suicide before he was given birth. His father had gone insane because of prohibited drugs. The only friend he knew was his mom. Jack started narrating with focus in his eyes.

The rest, though still holding their hand of cards, listened intently to Jack‟s crackling voice.

Sunday though was his best day of the week. It was the day her mom takes her to the nearest arcade shop. Video games gave him good company. The beeping sound of Pacman and Super Mario‟s theme song had been the sound track of his childhood. While he mashes the buttons of the arcade, her mom was just across the street at her favorite boutique. In time, she would pick him up and Johnny‟s back to the real world.

A Sunday afternoon in October changed his life for the worse. While inside the arcade, a spark ignited from the machine he was using. The glass screen exploded and shards of glass came darting out in different directions. A huge fragment of glass scraped his abdominal region, causing a bloody mess on him. Sooner than expected an ambulance came to treat him. The next thing he knew, the arcade was closed. It was found out that the business was illegal and the materials used were faulty. The death of a good friend marked a scar not only to his belly but also to his past. From that day on, Sundays mean accompanying her mother to the boutique and doing nothing. He was miserable.

Simultaneously, the three slouched on their dirty-grey monoblocs enjoying every words coming out of their story-teller. “I‟m getting some beer.” Chalk stood and headed to the refrigerator to get some refreshments. Jack continued.

Johnny‟s mom‟s favorite clothes shop was the ordinary middle class store you could find. It had the characteristic of not being so fancy yet seemed pretty decent. Porcelain-skinned man-nequins towered the brightly illuminated room. Glass windows radiated the noon sun while at the same time cool air soothed every customer inside. The salesladies‟ smiles brought every customer to leisurely drop by the place. But to Johnny, the only thing he appreciated was the azure blue sofas near the rear of the shop. This was where he seated and stared blankly at everything his eyes could see. Though he en-joyed the seat because it was as if he was sit-ting in a cloud, dreaming was the only thing he could do. A dream though can turn into reality. Jack emphasized on the last sentence.

Her mom finished window shopping late one cold February Sunday. The closing of the store lights signaled them it was time to go home. As they passed through the glass door, Johnny caught sight at the newly replaced mannequin near the entrance of the boutique. He gazed at her red crimson lips, her pearl white complexion and her blank and stunning eyes. A close look at the mannequin made him realize that her eyes sparkled. The plastic model was wearing a knee- high dress which showed her slender legs. He tried to talk to her but what he only got as a reply was emptiness. Even though, it was a thing of beauty to him. He felt his heart throbbed and made him feel excited. He found himself smiling again. No science or magic could ex-plain what had just happened.

“Uhmm.. Wait. Stop the story, let me just go the comfort room.” Archie interjected.

“Go, we‟ll wait.”Jack replied. “Can you believe this story? It has this weird

theme again.” Chalk said.

“You must have drunk too much.” Ace said. “If that‟s already weird, you‟ll be enjoying the

next parts.” Jack teased them. Jack finished another bottle, held his hand to his warm belly and waited for their companion.

The smell of liquor mixed with the stench of nicotine clouded the room as Archie returned. They are now ready to immerse in the story-teller‟s words.

That six foot tall mannequin kept Johnny wanting to go back. He forgot about the sofa and instead of sitting there dreaming, he was at the entrance staring at her all the time. He whis-perd promises at the lifeless being. He whis-pered his thoughts to her, his dreams, his feel-ings. He closed his eyes and imagined her sweet and caressing voice.

His feelings came intense as he grew older. He is now a high school student and he con-stantly walks by the boutique everyday after classes. He would leave chocolates and flowers at the entrance of the store during special occa-sions. The owner noticed these but he just shrugged it off since the beggars at the streets would take up his „mess‟ anyway. The people from his school found him possessed by the devil because of this. But to him, just like any-thing else, it doesn‟t matter. Only his dreams are what he finds with interest. His dream for her love For five years of wishful thinking, he became impatient and remorseful. He kept on searching how he could give life to the lifeless. He tried sorcery and superstitions, but all of these things failed him. He consulted dark magic and was also immersed in scientific find-ings. All of these posed negative results. But alchemy gave him hope. One thing he learned is that to gain something, a sacrifice must be made. A life must be offered to give life anew. From that day on forward he thirsted for blood as he had thirsted for love. Jack‟s voice trailed of.

There was a long pause. “Are you okay?” Chalk said with concern. “If you would excuse me.” Jack stood head-

ing toward his room. Jack entered his room while tears start to

form from his frail eyes. You could easily see the raven positioned outside his bedroom win-dow staring blankly at him, making no sound, simply staring. He lay down his bed and care-fully wiped the tears from his eyes, his eyes that documented his history. His t-shirt was soaked in cold tears so he ripped his it, exposing his scar across his abs. “We will be happy soon.” He whispered while kissing a mannequin on the bed. He took a colt 45 and went out of the room.

-peppermint

STORY-TELLING

L ITERARY P URGE D ! 14 page

November 2010

Sayang Babae:

Bakit mahal pa rin kita kahit alam kong wala na

Bakit iniisip pa rin kita kahit ako‟y limot mo na

Bakit sa tuwing nakikita kita, ako‟y umaasa pa

At bakit „pag may kasama kang iba,

ako‟y nasasaktan pa

Alam kong wala na akong puwang sa puso mo,

Lahat na ng pangyayari

ay bigla na lang naglaho,

Ang nakaraan para sa‟yo ay nakaraan na

Kahit ano pang gawin, hindi na maibabalik pa

Ngunit ang masakit sa puso kong ito,

Ang pumalit sa akin ay kaibigan ko

Siya na ngayon ang lagi mong kasama

Siya na ngayon ang bago mong ligaya

Bakit siya pa ang pumuno sa pagkukulang ko?

Siya na minamahal na ng maraming tao,

Maging ikaw ay naagaw na niya

Sa aki‟y wala nang itinira

Hindi ka ba maaaring bumalik sa akin?

Maramdaman muli ang iyong lambing?

Ang pagmamahal mong hindi matumbasan

Ang pagkalinga mong walang katapusan

Lalaki:

Bakit „pag nasisilayan ka, may nadarama pa

Bakit pagsapit ng gabi, ikaw ang naaalala

Ang ngiti mong nakakapagpakalma

Ang tingin mong walang kasing ganda

kinabibilangan niya.

Nalula siya sa laki ng kwarto. May

sofa na, de-aircon pa. Nakapatong sa

desk ng sekretarya ang LCD monitor ng

kompyuter. Naawa na lang siya sa

sarili nang makitang halos kasing laki

na ng CR ang barong-barong kung

saan sila umiiskwat.

Ay pasensya na, wala pang pondo.

Bumalik ka nalang sa isang linggo.

Nagmukmok si Jet sa isang sulok ng

photocopy center. Tuliro na siya dahil

hindi na niya malaman kung saan ku-

kuha ng pera. Na-confine na ang kan-

yang ama sa ospital sa bayan, at palaki

nang palaki ang kailangan nilang

bayaran habang tumatagal siya doon.

4 copies nga po.

Biglang may lumabas sa makinang

isang papel na may butas sa gitna na

kasing laki ng kanyang kamao. Nagta-

taka niya itong ipinatong sa may pasi-

mano. Hindi sinasadyang natabig niya

ang bungkos ng mga bolpen na ibine-

benta nila. Laking gulat niya nang lu-

musot sa butas ang mga bolpen

gayong may kahoy sa ilalim nito.

Nang subukan niyang ilusot ang

kanyang kamay at kunin ang mga bol-

pen, nakapa niya ang mga itong naka-

patong sa lalagyan sa ilalim lang ng

pasimano.

Dinampot ni Jet ang papel na butas,

itinapat sa xerox machine, at kumuha

ng papel sa loob nito nang hindi man

lang binubuksan.

Tama ang hinala ni Jet. Nakalulusot

sa kahit na anong bagay kapag itina-

pat ang butas na papel.

Kuya, ‘yung sukli ko po?

Naalala ni Jet ang kaha de yero sa

opisina ng kanyang manager. Dali-dali

siyang nagtatakbo patungo doon ha-

bang hawak-hawak ng kanyang nanla-

lamig na kamay ang papel.

Alam niyang mali ang binabalak

niya, pero gipit na talaga siya at des-

peradong magkaroon ng pera para

ipambayad sa gastusin sa ospital.

Idinikit niya ang papel sa malamig

na bakal ng kaha de yero. Nang ipina-

sok niya ang kanyang braso, may na-

kapa siyang mga bungkos ng isanli-

bong piso. Unti-unti niyang inilabas

ang mga laman ng lalagyan.

Dumating na sa puntong hindi na

niya maabot ang mga bungkos ng

pera, kaya sinubukan niyang pasukin

ang kaha sa pamamagitan ng butas.

Hindi naman siya nabigong makapa-

sok dito.

Inipon niya ang mga laman ng

kaha, at nang subukan na niyang ila-

bas ang mga ito, biglang nawala ang

ilaw na nagmumula sa butas. Nabalot

na ng kadiliman ang kanyang pan-

ingin.

Nalaglag ang papel na may butas sa

sahig ng opisina.

-psychomango

Malas (continuation from page 14)

Alam kong wala na ang lahat sa atin

Pero sa‟yo ako pa rin ay aamin

Na kahit nagkasakitan at nagkagalit pa

Ikaw sa akin ay tunay na mahalaga

Napalapit ako sa iyong kaibigan

Mabait siya at nakikipagtawanan

Pero hanggang doon lang ang nararamdaman

Sa puso ko ikaw pa rin ang laman

Gusto kong bumalik sa iyo

Gusto ko na ako‟y nasa piling mo

Hinahanap-hanap ang ngiti mo

Ang lambing at pagkalinga mo

Ako ay nangungulila na

Hindi na alam kung paano ba

Kakausapin at lalapitan ba kita?

Ako ba ay tatanggapin mo pa?

Lalaki at Babae:

Ako ba ang dapat magsimula?

Ako ba ang dapat magmakaawa?

Paano kung ayaw na niya?

Nasaktan na, napahiya pa

Kung hindi nya ako kakausapin,

tapos na ang lahat

Sa kanya, ang paghihiwalay na ito ay dapat

Salamat at ikaw ay nakilala,

salamat sa pagmamahal

Masakit man, ito na ang aking paalam..

-kaye anne

page The Official Publication of

UP ALCHEMES 15

Editor-in-Chief Darlene Que

Organization News Editor

Jei Rollicer Bagonoc

Organization News Staff

Jodel Cuasay Hazel Ann Fajardo

Inna Karolle Infante Michelle Marquez

Ann Margarette Tayco

World News Edi-tor

Renz Marion Corpuz DJ Donn Matienzo

World News Staff

John Russel Canoza Richard De Guzman

Ervin Cezar Kristine Mae-Hangod

Entertainment Editor

Lester Anne Garcia

Entertainment Staff

Lavina Gador Mari Miyahara

Loujane Balatbat Camille Hyacinth Llanes

Literary Editor Zoranah Eigne

Mendoza

Literary Staff

Daniel Luis Melchor Glenn Jansen Suyat

Essi Anne Kaye Cruzat Ranel Irvin Toledo Alexander Luciano

Odds and Ends Editor

Maureen Carbonell

Odds and Ends Staff

Rosely Pena Janine Cambangay

Online Editor Xavier Fernandez

Layout Editors Eric Del Rosario

Edsel Serrano

is the CONVERSION of one's emotions

to his/her sacrifices. Its YIELD is happi-

ness and contentment in life.

is like real (actual) enthalpy -- you can

never measure it, but you can always

estimate how much you've fallen short

(residual enthalpy) from giving it your

all (ideal enthalpy).

<Note: H(real) = H(ideal) + H(residual)>

is like a real gas. It is just not perfect,

ideal or unconditional (unless we are

talking about God's love). It deviates

from how it is expected to be. Ideally,

it would be a give-and-take invest-

ment, a steady-state condition where

in = out. But it is not. The input of one

might not produce as much output,

maybe even none at all... Love would

almost not reach equilibrium. And

that's how it is in real life... A deviation

from the ideal world…

is a chemical reaction; it is either endo-

thermic or exothermic. Sometimes, the

passion (heat) is needed for love to

push through. At other times, passion

results when love pushes through.

is like an isotherm. Dapat constant ang

init ng pagmamahal kahit na iba't-ibang

pressures ang pagdaanan.

knows no boundaries. Since walang

boundary, work = 0, meaning hindi

pinipilit (para magwork) ang LOVE.

pag minadali, tulad ng sa isang process,

mas tumataas ang irreversibility nito.

Therefore lalong lumalayo siya sa

pagiging "ideal" at mas maraming en-

ergy ang nasasayang.

is ChE. But I don't understand Love.

Therefore, I don't understand ChE. Pag

ChE ka laging nag-aassume or wild

guess. Ang hirap hanapan ng "The

One" real point. Tapos sobrang inaccu-

rate pa. Lugi ka sa love kapag hindi ka

maswerte sa trial and error. Pag binag-

sak, may bukas pa…

LOVE and HATE in the EYES of ChE Students

Special thanks to Sir Kristian July Yap for allowing us to publish the answers of his

students to the bonus questions in his classes.

is the incarnation of turbulence in

one's person since it increases the

"velocity" and rates of change of the

mental and emotional flow.

is like crystallization. It happens when

you are already fed up and can't accept

more (saturated).

ay parang mga unwanted particles -

sinisira ang purity ng isang crystal.

is like fouling/foaming. Once you have

it, you can never get the best out of

yourself.

is like a falling particle. The larger it is,

the greater the terminal velocity it will

achieve. And when you finally come to

a stop, the more it will hurt. :c

is an exothermic, autocatalytic reac-

tion. It produces heat which can create

more hate. Hate encourages itself

(autocatalysis). If you don't watch out,

it can turn into a runaway reaction

ruining everything in its wake, espe-

cially the reactor that contained it.

P URGE D ! 16 page

November 2010 ODDS AND ENDS