FOURTH WEEK ROCKS!

And now we've reached the final point. 

The final stretch before the home run.

The chorus being played for one last time, concluding the song. 

It's now the final week of our internship! 

Weird, now that I think about it, I haven't noticed that three weeks have already passed by. I guess you never really notice how fast time flies by when you're enjoying what you're doing. 

July 02, 2018 - Monday

For the first day of our last week AKA our last Monday, we were extra cheerful because Jasmine  would also be finishing up that weekend as well, only a few hours ahead of me. 

The first half of that Monday was quite uneventful. I continued with scanning and digitizing serials. I also took this time to look into and read some of the books the Filipinas Heritage Library had to offer. I found myself gravitating towards their amazing collection of Filipino horror and science fiction short stories. It definitely sparked interest within me to start getting into Filipino fiction specifically horror. 

After lunch, I've heard that we would be asked to come down to the library's exhibit. We've known about the library's exhibit for the longest time. It was featuring the Philippine alternative cinema with renowned filmmaker Nick Deocampo as curator. Due to an interest in the topic, I was dying to ask our supervisors to allow us to help. It finally happened! 

We went down to the exhibit room to help as press preview would start that afternoon. It was an amazing experience helping with arranging materials to present. It seems like I found a knack for this sort of thing furthering my interest in curatorial studies. Meeting Sir Nick was memorable as well, being able to shake hands with one of the pillars of Philippine film-making. It was an honor to follow orders under him directly and getting to work with his staff. Soon enough, people from the media arrived and the preview started. We were given the opportunity to participate in the previews and be toured around. Sir Nick congratulated us for a job well done but it had to be cut short because of the end of our shift.

We helped build this exhibit!

Looking back, it was a wonderful experience and a perfect start for our last week. Obviously, the day after that could not top that afternoon. 

July 03, 2018 - Tuesday

Tuesday was quite boring. I continued with scanning along with shelving and helping researchers in between that. I was not only looking forward to the end of the week, I was also excited with the prospect of helping the Library with this sort of "film festival" for alternative films that they have been cooking up which will be occuring that saturday. 

July 04, 2018 - Wednesday

Wednesday was the beginning of something about to become wonderful. At first it was quite boring because I continued doing the same routine I left off but only a few hours after, we were asked to help with cutting out the tickets for Saturday's film viewing. It was a breath of fresh air to finally do something new. We were able to chat a bit while we were cutting them up. It took maybe at least two hours to finish the task and afterwards resumed with our original work. I did my job until the end of the day officially concluding the first half of our last week. I just can feel that the next day will become incredible because we learned that the library will be having a video shoot which I discovered earlier would be with CNN. Just the thought of it was enough to excite me. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

July 05, 2018 - Thursday

Thursday comes marking the last two days of our shift. I can say that I'm waiting for the end of this week to finally get some sleep. Once we stepped off the elevator, I resumed with the routine of turning on computers and tidying up the study areas. It was something that we've all became familiar with after a few days. I continued with my tasks until lunch break. As I previously mentioned, that afternoon, CNN would be coming to feature the library which is why we were all pumped up. About half past two o'clock, people with camera equipment showed up and began setting up with a reporter on standby as well. The reporter interviewed our director as she delves into the history of the library, the collection and our services. It was an amazing thing to witness a TV production in front of your very eyes. 

Do you know what the best part is? WE GET TO BE EXTRAS! In order to highlight the services of the library, someone had to be filmed utilizing the services. For our part, we had to use the CD player. I don't know how to explain the feeling but it definitely was an experience. It was quite weird to pretend using the audio collection and listen to classic Filipino music so we actually turned it on and used it. I enjoyed listening while being filmed. Let's just say I can't wait for it to air on TV which I believe would be at the first week of August. After that, we continued with our work until the end of the day.

July 06, 2018 - Friday

Friday is finally here! The penultimate day to conclude our shift. After this day, we will only have one more day left before the end of our internship. It is a bittersweet feeling to be in between wanting it to end and yearning for more but all things must come to an end. That Friday started like any other day, with us doing our routine of turning on computers and continuing our tasks. As for my case, I'm excited because I will finally finish scanning nearly eight books! A feat that even I thought I wouldn't accomplish but two hours before lunch, I did! 

It seems like Jasmine is done with hers as well which is why Sir Simon gave us another task to do. We were asked by Ms. Rose, one of the resident researchers, to handle the processing of photographs and counter-check it in the published magazine if the same image has been utilized. The best thing about this part is that we got to chat while doing the task. The images were of Philippine artifacts, adding another layer of interest to the task. By two o'clock, we finished the task to the surprise of our supervisor, Sir Simon, which we have gotten close to in the duration of our stay. 

We sat by the front desk with Sir Simon while he lectured us on the specific kind of reference services present in the special library environment. I definitely learned a lot. Afterwards, we talked about several aspects of SLIS and the profession. He is a graduate and is currently taking his Masters at UP as well. He gave us a lot of tips on how to navigate the professional world. These tips are actually useful! Of course, we were addressing client needs between our conversation. We even got to operate a high-end photocopying machine. 

Today is also the last day we would be working with Sir because he would not be present the next day. We were kind of down after realizing this because he was very cool. We get to crack jokes and talk about many things. He bade us farewell and even took a picture with us and another intern we became close with, Maxine, an MA Humanities student from UA&P. It was amazing working with them even for a short period of time. What's more surprising is that HE GAVE US AYALA MUSEUM GIFTBAGS! With tickets and other stuff in it. I was touched and extremely grateful for this experience.

Gifts from our supervisor!

After Jasmine left, Sir taught me techniques when it comes to job hunting considering the fact that I only have a semester left. There was so much that has to be considered when looking for a job. I just wish I'll be able to memorize it all. The time finally came for the end of the shift, we bade farewell to our co-workers as we end the day. 

Tomorrow is the last day of work. Finally. However after finding out that interns are welcome to attend a seminar about curatorial studies, I decided to come next wednesday for that seminar. 

This also marks my last MRT ride for this internship. I haven't disclosed yet how I write my entries for the journal. I write every day to contribute to my weekly journal and I usually type it on my phone while standing inside the overly-crowded tight confinements of an MRT. It's a surprise how I manage to do it but I was able to every single day but I still managed to do it. On saturday, hopefully, I get to commite comfortably. I have only been dreaming of this day since the start of the internship, thinking I wouldn't miss anything. Now that it's here, I'm sort of sad it's over.

One sleepless night later, it's finally a Saturday!

July 07, 2018 - Saturday

After this day, we're done! No more waking up at 3AM at least for now and we can finally take a well deserved rest. Just in time for our last day, the entire focus of the library shifted to the first day of the film festival we would be organizing. I was quite excited and hopped on a 5AM bus on the way to Makati. An hour later and I finally arrived! For the very last time, I headed to the park I have been killing time at for the last four weeks and just sat there to take in the view. 

Once 7:30 arrived, I headed to the museum to be greeted by Jasmine and we took some photos with the security team which provided us company in the early mornings. We will definitely miss them. The rest of the morning was dedicated for preparing the event, we helped with making perforations to the ticket for the entire morning and once we were done, we were insisted into getting lunch because we would be setting up by 12:00 Noon at the Greenbelt Cinema. 

Helping with the tickets!

After lunch, we headed to where it would be taking place. I was tasked to man the door and check if people had tickets. I continued to do that for the first two showings. The best part is that we get to watch the shows as well! I remember being able to witness three out of the four films being showed that day. It was amazing and has definitely sparked an interest in me! We even took a photo to remind us of the event.

Come visit us!

That day was so much fun that I even extended my shift. I was supposed to leave by 4:30, completing the 150 hour requirement but I ended up staying until 7PM. It was truly a memorable day. I've met a lot of people and made a lot of memories. I definitely do not regret interning at the Filipinas Heritage Library. 

All the interns take a photo!

I'm still coming back to attend the museum curatorial lecture that upcoming Wednesday.

Sir Nick introduces the show