Software Freedom Day 09
September 21st, 2009 -- Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Software Freedom Day 09
Sept. 19, 2009 – Software Freedom Day 09 was celebrated at my Alma Mater, Systems Plus College Foundation (SPCF) at the IT Building Theatre. Being an OJT at our department’s office (CITE), me and my fellow OJT taker was required to help out and assist during the event (although I can’t really remember anything we did to help out, all I know was during the buzz and fuss of those at the registration, we were at the coffee shop, drinking a cup of hot coffee! =D). Anyways, by the time we got to the theatre, the main purpose of the event was being introduced. Afterwards, our Dean, Prof. Grace Fabros-Tyler gave the guests an insight of SPCF and the new IT Building. Well, afterwards, we got out of the the theatre to go around the other venues for the talks, which happen to be starting at 1:00 pm yet. I also decided to sign up for the PHP Programming Competition, which I joined just for mere enjoyment. And boy! It sure was more than just for fun! =D
Anyway, we spent some time at the mall, had lunch and strolled around. Comes 1pm, we headed back to school. Turns out, competition starts at 1:30 yet. So we decided to go to the library while we wait for the time.
Finally, 1:30 strikes, we head back to the laboratories, and find out that other speakers are having their plenary sessions already. Me, and a few of my classmates, who also joined the programming competition went straight to the laboratory where the competition as well. To our surprise, all of us know each other, since we’ve been classmates at some point. And, to add to that, I was the only gal in there. Cool! =D And so we thought it was just going to be a friendly competition. Definitely just for the heck of fun. The officiators of the event were very friendly, and we got to learn more stuff before the competition proper, which is really cool! It was just like a lesson at school, as we tried out a sample problem before actually proceeding to the competition proper. A few minutes after we started, finally, 2 other competitors from other schools joined in. At least, we have other competitors for added tension. Haha.
The questions ranged from easiest to toughest. Well, actually, they weren’t tough. It’s just that time pressure keeps you from thinking more out of the box. I nearly had the first question, except I lacked a code segment. Which is why I got 2nd for the first set of points. “It’s okay, there are other questions, I can catch up,” I said to myself. I moved on question after question, finding one that I could finish quickly. True enough, I found a question which converted a certain number to binary, hex, and octal, and fortunately found a function readily available on the net. “Nice!” is what I thought. Quickly, I highlighted the code segment, and with my quick fingers, Ctrl-C -> Alt-Tab -> Ctrl V, and added a few more codes to finish it up. When I was raising my hand for me to get the points, too bad the officiator was already checking another person’s work! Well, I did not know he was having his work checked already. Coz by the time they got to me, and checked my work and gave me 2pts, they had a mistake, and I thought I was already leading. After a while, they changed it, realized they had a mistake, and changed the rank. Well, anyways, that was okay, so I tried solving another one, but then, time was up, and we scores were finalized.
Boy, was I surprised to find out I got 2nd place! Haha. If I just got the 2nd problem first, I got 1st place, but then the other competitor was ahead of me by just seconds! But then, it was still cool since I never expected I’d rank on the competition. After all, I joined for fun and experience. =D And winning was a plus! =D
Afterwards, all participants and winners were asked to go straight to the Theatre. As soon as we got there, we realized on how much we’ve missed out on. The crowd were noisy as the officiators were holding games and giving out prizes. It was fun just by seeing it. Too bad we also missed out on the plenary sessions. But, oh well!
Finally, we were called to go up front as our names were called one by one. It was very heart-warming how those from our department cheered out for us, showing how proud they were of us, and as well as the contest officiators, saying that they were pretty amazed and glad that we took the courage to join the competition, describing how hard we tried to work on the problems. =D
Yay! I got some freebies. CD’s, tumbler, mug (perfect for my coffee-addictus personality, haha!), tshirt, and a travel bag. (I sure got a lot of freebies that day! LoLz, not to mention those from PCWorkx, PLDT, and KahelOS.. ahaha). Afterwards, picture taking time!!! First the participants, then everyone else present at the Theatre. Too bad I haven’t got pics myself. Oh well…
To sum it all up, I could say I enjoyed the event 101%. I definitely learned a lot, enjoyed and surely was an unforgettable experience. I still got SFD hangover I think. Hehe. I’m looking forward to the next SFD as well, since my first time attending was just awesome! =D
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