A blow-by-blow account on how I presented at the NIGSCON 2011

Yesterday I was such in a panic as I haven't finished my presentation for this morning's colloquium. But because of God's grace, I was able to finish it, be on time for my talk, and deliver it with confidence and authority.

At first I was very anxious, nervous, and my heart was palpitating like crazy! I wasn't able to rehearse what I would say! As I was browsing my slides, I was going very fast, like all the information I knew just escaped my mind. Then I stopped and thought to myself, "patay! pa'no na 'to???" When Doc Caloy was finishing his talk, I braced myself and thought that this will just be 15 minutes of shame. Let's go Edz!

Okay so I was introduced by Chloe a.k.a. Mark Clutario. Nakakatawa pa kasi sabi niya, "the next presentation will be on... to be presented by Edz Mendoza" Ano ba yan hindi man lang full name ko, haha! So I was introduced and my mind kept racing on how to open my talk. Fortunately, as I grabbed the microphone, everything just started flowing out of my mouth. Tuluy-tuloy! Ibang klase, kahit ako nagugulat as I was elucidating on my study. Sumobra pa nga ako sa 15 minutes! Masyado ata akong nag-enjoy sa kakasalita, ang daldal kasi e, haha!

Almost halfway into my presentation, my adviser, Dr. Sandra Catane, arrived. I saw her from my eye's peripheral and I got disoriented for a second! Alam mo yung feeling pag dumating yung crush mo? Yung kikiligin ka? Eto baliktad, matatakot ka! Hahahaha! Parang yung facial expression ko, "oops, oh no..." Haha! But the show must go on. I calmly expressed all the information that I wanted to convey, maintained eye contact with the audience, doing moderate hand gestures, and reaching out/walking/pacing about in front, a la Steve Jobs when discussing. Hahaha feelingera naman ako. I felt confident all of a sudden. Natuwa ako kasi yung conclusions data ko have made connections with my conclusions! And accurate naman sila and precise! So yun, nakakatuwa. I also received good questions after my talk. Same questions that we were asking ourselves din about my thesis. All in all it was good! And to think I did this only the day BEFORE the presentation.

This paper of mine has traveled extensively, one in Asia and two in Europe. Sayang walang US. And I think three sa Pilipinas. Before, the data I had was scarce so it was easy to draw conclusions about it. But now, my data is so robust, that a lot of it has to be weaved carefully to make a coherent conclusion. Ibang klase. Ang dami mong kailangang pagsama-samahin, habi-habiin. Kaya mega nataranta ako nung Nov. 9! Fortunately, it came out successfully. And I owe it all to God. :) Maraming salamat, Lord. :)

Nakakatuwa pa after the talk, JD Dianala, who felt and saw my worried soul before presenting told me my presentation was good! It's as if I wasn't panicking at all! :) That made me happy. What made me happier, Ma'am Sandra commented, "pwede ka na nga magdefend ng thesis mo e." My soul swelled into a bright light. I felt inspired to write my thesis after this. But to Lemony Snicket's joy, my inspiration left as quick as it came. Sigh.

I'll be doing a penalty course this AY 2012-2013 for exceeding five years in my graduate studies. Huhuhu. So much for that inspiration. Should I present again for me to be inspired? Hmm...