classified.exe

last night was an eventful night. i had to reformat my laptop and let go of 3 years worth of files. 2 years worth of academic studies, pictures, journals,videos, programs, etc etc

whoever created that classified.exe virus, i hate you.

it started when i noticed a folder named classified.exe in one of my flash disks. i tried to clean it but failed. then my antivirus stopped working. at first, i just couldnt update it but after a few days, it totally refused to launch. so i asked help from my office friend who knows about this stuff. but when he tried booting it, ayaw na. huhu and we tried again. but it still didnt boot.

so he tried that system restore thing. ayaw pa rin. tried again. ayaw pa rin. until we were left with no choice but to do destructive reformatting.

so there, i hit that button. and everything was gone. poof!

bye bye files. bye bye 3 years of my life. memory na lang sya.

ill just make new ones.

volunteering and nosebleeding

a few days ago in balay expo, the scene was this

you enter the establishment along edsa. its cold inside. there's a pc by the door with a note 'post your pics, blog your story, 5 mins only'. once youre in, you will be entertained by someone at the registration area. you have to write your name, address and contact number. after that, you will be given a name tag.

in that same room, there were more or less 10 round tables with chairs around them. there were bulletin boards where data on relief goods and areas of relief operations were posted. at the far end of the room, there were dispensers for softdrinks, brewed coffee dispenser and water. excess meals for lunch in styro packs were on one table at the side. large boxes of krispy kreme were on one table near the drink dispensers. trash bags were hung nearby.

when you want to donate something, you have to go to another room. when you give your donation, someone will say "who's donating?". when you answer, he'll say, "ahmm, you have to fill out this form". after filling out one, he'll say, 'ahm, there's like, another one here, and here". and you'll just smile and ask, what you are doing there. and you start to lose a lot of blood. nosebleed!

when you enter the packing room, you could see a long line of table, with just a few people packing things. you ask someone and she'll say "actually, we ran out of plastic bags". somebody butts in and say "we ran out of plastic bags but theyre buying now". if you want, you could stay at the pantry first, have some food and we'll call you when the plastic bags arrive". and you say ok and proceed to the pantry. now youre losing more blood.

at the pantry, the very first room you went into, you go and get water. your mom grabs a piece of donut and a cup of coffee. and you smile again and think that this is so different from your first relief volunteering experience. you go to one table and sit on a chair beside a young girl eating. she says she's having her lunch (its 4pm). she says there were at the relief center since sunday and you went there on a saturday so that makes them volunteers for almost a week already. while talking to the little girl, you lose a few drops of blood, again. youre suffering from mild nosebleed.

when you get back to the packing area, people are back on their feet. theyre busy packing. there's a lot of plastic bags already. theyre have their own rhythm when working. and you join the group. and you begin to cope with the rhythm.

work is specialized. its an assemblyline one specializes on tearing plastic bags, one on putting rice, one on putting water, one on putting canned goods, and so on and so forth. since you were near the start of the line, you specialized in plastic bag tearing.

and then some more goods arrive. and one shouted "hey guys, we have to vacate this table cause they will put rice here. we have to transfer these goods to the other table so that they can put the rice here". and your nosebleed worsens.

after 3 hours of packing, and rotating functions, your group runs out of rice. so you go back to plastic tearing. and you see someone who looks like kaye abad, sweeping the floor and you wonder if its her. and you see her name tag and it says kaye, and you say, ah its her.

after a few more minutes, you feel tired already. there's no rice to pack. and so the group head shouts "hey guys, maybe we should have dinner first so that when the rice comes (theyre expecting 200 sacks of rice), we'll all have the energy to pack!"

and so the group goes to the pantry for dinner. dinner is boneless grilled chicken with a cup of rice. and you eat fast because youre only given 5 minutes to finish your meal.

and after 4 minutes, someone shouts "hey guys, thank you for coming. we know everyone is tired and hungry so we decided to suspend the operations. we'll resume tomorrow at 9 and hope to see you again". and then everyone begins clapping. and you clap too.

and you tell yourself, good job. you just did a very good job. but more importantly, you still have enough blood and didnt lose that much because of nosebleeding.

mein geburtstag

this birthday is different. everything that has been happening for the past few months, weeks and more so for the past 3 days has been so overwhelming. and adapting to it is quite a challenge.

i was texting sezy dezy this morning telling her that i need a paradigm shift. she was telling me that man, ang seryoso! but, seriously, i badly need it. unconsciously, these things are bringing out my worse. and i dont like it. in fact, i hate it. i need to get back to the hopeful perspective, the perspective which makes me think that there's a positive side to this. and i belive that there is. i just hate the stage which im in right now. or better yet, at the stage where i was. hopefully, this new month will give me a renewed sense of patience, courage and inspiration.

my boss (who just resigned and is one of the reasons for the sadness im feeling now) texted me this "cherish the moment when we're empty but happy, tired but inspired, down but smiling, feeling lost but living for a cause". yesterday it was so hard for me to give a sense to this statement. everything that i was feeling were the emotions/state before the buts...empty, tired, down, feeling lost. i wanted to feel the emotions/state after the buts. but after reading my friends' messages (yihee ehem ehem), i felt happy, inspired, smiling and sige na nga, pati yung living for a cause part na din.

i have a friend who always asks me the reason for growing whenever sad changes occur. and i tell her because thats the way life is designed to be. we need to feel one side so that we could appreciate more the other side of that continuum. but sometimes, i myself am not convinced with my answer. but maybe thats the answer. so that we must continuously find an answer. or i dont know. wisdom, i hope i have more of this.

buti na lang may family and friends who keep me sane.

tomorrow is a new day. and i pray that its going to be a better day. despite the typhoon.

(friends, im rereading your messages na tinaktak mula sa bote ng alcohol. sobrang naappreciate ko hehe thanks thanks)

ondoy

saturday morning, i woke up at half past 6 when my parents arrived. ang dilim! nagbabadya ang langit ng matinding pagbuhos ng ulan.

so the usual routine, nag-ayos kami ng mga dala-dala ng parentals. after that, we had breakfast. at around 8, kuya and the parentals left the house. hanggang binti na ang baha. so i texted my boss and told her that im not going to work because of the flood.

bandang tanghali, tumawag ang inay informing me that they were not able to go to the jobsite because the roads are unpassable. they were stuck in traffic in santolan and kuya tried other routes pero wala pa rin. so ayun, nag stay sila sa bahay nina ate raquel which is just 2 streets away from us.

meanwhile, this is how it looked like sa amin around 2pm.at around 3, ganito na.

yang red na orocan, lalagyan ng basura yan. so. hmm medyo kadiri hehe

at yan, onti na lang, abot na sa bintana ng kapitbahay namin ang baha.

eto ang gate namin. syempre puro ganito shots ko kasi ayoko bumaba. yung nasa baba, inakyat na sa amin yung gamit nila. i also cooked lunch for them. tapos yesterday, sunday, on our 3-hr trip from cubao to masinag, eto ang mga nadaanan naming tanawin. from c5 pa lang to sm marikina, you could see a lot of janitor fish on the road, sa may flyover. tapos pagdating ng marikina, nagpaikot ikot kami sa loob ng marikina because we were not able to pass through marcos highway. here, you can see a crv na nakahambalang sa poste at binaha hanggang bubong. kitang-kita pa ang putik sa bubong.eto pa ang isa. parang twister.at eto pa. nakabaligtad na mga sasakyan.

eto pa ulit. tsk tsk..so sa loob ng mahigit 2 oras, puro ganyan ang nadadaanan namin. mga malalaking bahay na nakabukas, nasa labas ang mga gamit nila at punung-puno ng putik. there were still areas with knee-high water. lahat ng madadaanan, makikita mo ang epekto ng baha. tindahan ng 7-11 na nakatagilid ang cash register at magulo ang paninda, tindahan ng bigas na mukhang nabasa lahat ng stock, jollibbee branch na madumi sa loob, drugstore na nasa lapag mga swero, mga basura na natrap sa bakod ng school, at kung anu-ano pa.

there was even a point wherein we had to pass through knee-high waters. sabi ni kuya, pag yang adventure, tumulo, tutuloy tayo. eh tumuloy si adventure, so tumuloy din kami. when we got to the other street, uh-oh, wala ding lilikuan haha so ayun, buti na lang mabait ang sasakyan at hindi tumirik.

tapos kanina, monday morning, on our way back to cubao, there were garbage everywhere. marcos highway was already ok. sa labas ng town and country, puro sasakyan. sa labas ng bawat subdivision na madadaanan, puro sasakyan. sa mga talyer at carwash, puro sasakyan din. sa may sm marikina, kitang kita ang basura. yung mga kalabaw sa riverbanks, puro basura. tsk tsk

its like mother nature saying, eto na basura nyo. binabalik ko sa inyo. ayusin nyo na ha.

hay, when nature strikes back, no one can escape from it.

cowardice / for a noble cause

im such a coward. i was reading this blog http://www.miofightscancer.com/ but i cant finish it. it was created by a single-mon whose 5-year old son bouts leukemia. reading the letters was just so heartbreaking. especially the part where she writes about her wanting to teach him how to drink, or meet his girlfriend, or if its a boyfriend, then she'll walk him down the aisle. but the breaking point was when she was begging him not to leave her because there would be no other reason for her to live if he leaves. the line is an ordinary one but coming from a single mom makes it unbearable.

lets help the kid. read the blog to find out how. i hope you'll have more courage than me.

i hope this little act of spreading the word helps him.

horoscope

i now believe in horoscopes. and this is what it says for libra..

this is a poor day to go against people in authority. just let things go by and bring up your concerns another day (you wont get anywhere today)

snippets in a crazy workplace

a few minutes past two yesterday, someone came in and asked where he could find my boss. and just like many others, he asked where mr butch is. bad thing: butch is a she. good thing: he asked her and she's nice.

he was in the office for his exit interview. my boss assigned him to me. so ok, i had to do the interview.

so i took a form got up and walked towards him. i smiled, said hi, introduced myself and shook his hand. i asked him if it was still raining outside since he was carrying an umbrella. he said pabugso bugso.

we went to the conference room. i turned on the lights and the aircon. we took our seats and had a small talk before the interview.

first part of the interview is a survey so i had to leave him first so that he could fill out the survey form in peace.

when i got out of the room, one of my officemates said, "gwapo!". i said ok lang (i have a weird taste on men)

after about 15 minutes or so, he came out of the room. he's done with the survey. i said ok and told him il follow.

the moment he entered the conference room, people went crazy like teenagers.

officemate 1: yihee

officemate 2: yihee din

officemate 3: gwapo

officemate 4: si gi namumula

officemate 1 or 2 or 3: yihee

kaya ayun, si gi nashy bigla kahit hindi naman crush si interviewee at nakalimutan tuloy ang questionnaire. but of course, she had to regain her composure so she got the form from her desk and was about to go to the conference but walked back because she cant help herself from laughing. so gi spent 2 minutes laughing while the interviewee inside was waiting and maybe listening to the teasing outside.

buti na lang hindi feelingero si interviewee. pero mukhang he had a sense of what had just happened outside because he had that knowing smile wahaha

tv ist kaput

its RockEd night at jam. theyre talking to dong abay this time. tagal ko na ding hindi nabubuksan ang radyo, as in radyo. hindi ang radyo sa telepono o radyo sa ym kundi ang totoong radyo. and its a good thing i turned it on tonight. nice.

ang tamad tamad tamad mag-isip ng isusulat

pag ang bata nagsalita na parang matanda

my sister and i were at my brother's house last saturday and just spent the entire afternoon there playing with our niece and nephew. we also helped them made head dresses they need for their school activity the following day. we finished at around 10pm and it also just started raining. my brother was telling us to sleep there for the night because he was already tired and couldnt drive us all the way to cubao but we were insisting that its still early and we wanted to go home.

when we were kissing the kids goodbye, my niece who's 3 started saying, (in english) "there's thunder outside oh and its raining, see? see?. then his brother who's turning 5 said "no more going out tita, galit si daddy"

wahaha cute...

tgif

finally after 3 years, we now know what tgif means! no saturday duty for us starting next week. yipee �
hope everything will turn out well though

headless chicken

been browsing facebook and multiply for the past hour. i wanna blog but i dont know what to write about. i was thinking of writing about cory and ninoy but some recent events at work have kept me wondering a lot rendering my mind immobile from writing.

tomorrow is school day for me. we're on our 4th module now, discussing the philippine policymaking process.i had my report last week on the legislative process in the country. one does not have to take this subject and read articles about the senate and the house of representatives to know what their primary task is, i.e. to craft laws of national significance. a mighty task, very cerebral even. but look at the profile of our congress and the senate. irony of ironies. not to belittle senators and congressmen who have no law degrees or who have not finished college but reality bites, policy making and analysis is no simple job. yes, success is not equated to having a college degree but for a job that requires strategic thinking and high-level of analysis, i think we should give justice to our country by electing people who can do the job and not those who, when conducting inquiries, think that they are just rehearsing their dialogues in front of a camera or those whose motivation for joining a state visit is to have their photograph taken with obama.

hay, im excited for 2010.

headless chicken

been browsing facebook and multiply for the past hour. i wanna blog but i dont know what to write about. i was thinking of writing about cory and ninoy but some recent events at work have kept me wondering a lot rendering my mind immobile from writing.

tomorrow is school day for me. we're on our 4th module now, discussing the philippine policymaking process.i had my report last week on the legislative process in the country. one does not have to take this subject and read articles about the senate and the house of representatives to know what their primary task is, i.e. to craft laws of national significance. a mighty task, very cerebral even. but look at the profile of our congress and the senate. irony of ironies. not to belittle senators and congressmen who have no law degrees or who have not finished college but reality bites, policy making and analysis is no simple job. yes, success is not equated to having a college degree but for a job that requires strategic thinking and high-level of analysis, i think we should give justice to our country by electing people who can do the job and not those who, when conducting inquiries, think that they are just rehearsing their dialogues in front of a camera or those whose motivation for joining a state visit is to have their photograph taken with obama.

hay, im excited for 2010

morning text

got this text from an officemate this morning. and i want to share it with everyone especially those who's into photography

============

i have a moral question for you.

this is an imaginary situation, but i think it is fun to decide what one would do.

the situation: there is a huge flood in progress. many homes have been lost, water supplies compromised and structures destroyed.

lets say that youre a photographer and getting still photos for a news service, traveling alone, looking for particularly poignant scenes.

you come across pgma who has been swept away by flood waters. she is barely hanging on to a tree limb and is about to go under.

you can either put down your camera and save her, or take a pulitzer prize winning photograph of her as she loses her grip on the limb.

so here's the question and think carefully before you answer the question below:

which lens would you use?

wide angle

sympathy

august 1, 2009 (saturday)

i first heard about her death at the shuttle on my way to work that saturday morning. there was a drizzle. i was seated right behind the driver. since it was a saturday, there was just a few of us in the bus. one was a girl at the chair beside me. another was a guy behind me. plus maybe 2 or 3 more people. there were a few more minutes to spare before the scheduled departure of the shuttle. the shuttle's driver and the girl beside me were chatting. first about some girl they both knew. then the girl said, "patay na si cory no?".

i wasnt surprised. when kris said on the buzz that she was taking a leave from her shows and that they were praying not for a cure but for their mom not to feel pain, people somehow deduced that the time is near. i had the same feeling. she had a full life. maybe its her time to rest.

i texted my sister who was still at home about the news. and she texted back saying yes, she saw it on tv.

when i got to work, the same routine continued. my officemates and i only had a short chat about it. no long discussions as we used to have when something big in the news breaks out. but as the morning progressed, i checked the news. and read article after article. and i had goosebumps.

on the way to the mrt station, phia and i were chatting about cory. what we read and what we heard on tv. anecdotes from teddy boy locsin and jiggy cruz, stories about the malacanang photographer and the cans of maling when traveling abroad, etc etc. and i had more goosebumps.

august 2, 2009 (sunday)

while jogging around circle, panyero, mimi and i were talking about here. more stories were told and more respect for the woman given.

that afternoon, i was glued on tv. from the noon's news on anc until the afternoon's showbiz news on the buzz. i suspended rationality and cynicism. i listened to kris talk and share how their family prepared and dealt with their mom's death. i cried with her as she recounted how painful it was to see their mom in pain and to gradually succumb to death.

august 3, 2009 (monday)

i went to work with puffy eyes. we talked about the interview at the buzz. while reading news, i cant stop my eyes from getting wet. ate and i were emailing each other. i told her mimi and i were planning to go to manila cathedral. she said she would if she was here. at work, she's watching some of the videos from the interview. she was reading some of the articles. but she's restraining herself from crying because it would be embarassing for her to be seen by her officemates crying especially since they were not filipino. the night before, her boyfriend was puzzled why she's crying. so she gave a crash course on philippine history. and andres became an instant fan of tita cory.

august 4, 2009 (tuesday)

tin, phia and i left the office at around 530pm. it will be a long night.

we took the shuttle until buendia and rode an fx from there. on the way, we could see street hawkers selling yellow ribbons. didnt get to ask how much those ribbons were though. this one gamely posed for the camera but my shutter was slow. nakalingon na si manong when this picture was taken. the fx passed through roxas boulevard and since traffic was light, we were at intramuros at around 630.

when we got to the cathedral, there were no lines so we though god, were lucky. the cathedral was beautiful, with yellow lights making its facade look so beautiful.

we went to the side were the people were gathered and asked where the end of the line was. and they said its at the back of PLM. ayos! it turned out, the people infront of the cathedral were there to hear mass. theyre not going inside the cathedral. most of them were students. some were wearing ust uniforms, others i cant recognize. whether they were there because they were told to go or not, its good to see them there. its good to see teeners (anubayan, parang ang tanda ko na) go to something 'historical'. its good to see them going out of their way to participate in something beyond their daily concerns.

we left the cathedral to go to PLM. we havent walked far when rain started pouring. and im not talking about a shower. it was heavy rain. but we continued and walked to the side of the plaza gobernador turning left heading for the back seeking shelter under our jackets and umbrellas. after a few minutes, the rain stopped but we were already wet.

the end of the line was beyond PLM. i dont know which street that was until i saw patio victoria. and there were 2 lines. we didnt know which line was the real one. so we took the right one, which turned out was the wrong one.

we got to the end of the line around 7. and more people were lining up after us. it was a bit dark at the street were we were. it also seemed like there was a drainage somewhere nearby because the smell was so bad. under normal circumstances, i wouldnt have stayed there. but that was no normal circumstance. so there we waited with other people. students and teachers, office workers and homemakers. all of us waited patiently in line. all the time, i was texting my sister asking where she was. and it seems she got to the line ahead of us.

waiting for the first hour was no sweat. people were chatting, exchanging stories. some were there as early as 4, some as early as 2. street hawkers must have earned a little higher than their usual income selling food from balot, peanuts, pop corn to taho and chips. there were also those who were selling umbrellas, pins and shirts.

when we got to PLM, we had the second heavy downpour. a real downpour with wind. so again, we got more wet. plm opened its gates to those who would want to answer the call of nature. we met chinee there, still in her school uniform. we waited there for 2 hours. the group behind us could no longer wait so they left. the line was moving at a really slooooowww pace. when we moved to the other side of the school, the sisters could no longer wait. tin and chinee went ahead. phia and i stayed behind. we knew that the public viewing resumes after the mass. but it was already late yet the line wasnt progressing. and the rain wasnt helping. like the line, the rain also pours, stops, and resumes.

it was around 1030 when the heavy downpour resumed. as in malakas! and the lines were already dissolved. but people knew who used to be in line and who were not. slowly the crowd moved. it was like 5 steps forward and then halt. 5 more steps forward and then halt. no matter if you're walking in flood or in pavement, that was the routine, 5 steps forward and then halt. when we got in front of plm, it progressed to a few more steps and then halt. the rain didnt stop so phia and i were stooping down to have our umbrella lower than anyone else so that their umbrellas would not get to our shoulders. we were moving at that routine for a few more minutes. we were trying to go to the side so that we could move easier but if youre in the middle of that mob, moving out of it would be really hard. imagine being at the cubao station of the mrt at 8am plus the rain. the crowd was like that but a bit gentler. they were not really pushing you but somehow, there's a sort of 'human tide'.

when we finally got to the sidewalk, we headed where the crowd was going. and logically, we went ahead of our group. when we rejoined the mob, nagmukha kaming sumingit na lang sa grupo. but we didnt care.we got to the middle of the crowd again and regained our pace. we couldnt see where we were. finally, the rain stopped when we got to san agustin. and this was where the security personnel and the marshalls started screened us in. there were mmda fences and they were letting people in by 1s. and at the second security filter, we were again rearranged into 2s. this time, the line was already moving fast.

and then, there was the door. it was at the side of the church. phia and i stayed at the left side so that we could see cory's face. people inside were pleasant. the marshalls were guiding the people and conversing with them. seeing that the people were wet, they were expressing their utmost gratitude. ate vi was there with ralph and ryan. ai ai and boy were with kris. they were all seated at the front pew.

when i got to see cory, i couldnt recognize her. no matter how hard i was trying to recognize familiar features such as the nose and the cheeks, i still couldnt see that. the lady inside the coffin was so thin. so petite. her face was so thin. her fingers were just like skin and bones. that moment i felt the pain of the family. this is their mother. this petite, thin lady inside the coffin who looked so frail was our president. this lady who inspired a lot of people into a life of righteousness, courage and prayer is gone and im so glad i saw her despite her body being lifeless.

august 5, 2009 (tuesday)

despite sleeping late, i got up at 8am and turned on the tv. they were showing live feeds from the manila cathedral. jose ramos horta was seated beside fidel ramos. the family, celebrities, dignitaries and of course, politicians were there. what struck me was when the estrada family got inside, they were all wearing shades. no one in the family was wearing shades. made me feel like hey, ano kayo, diva?

the mass was moving. most of the pal peeps were online and we were popping each other once in a while. and all of us were, what else, crying. fr arevalo gave a very good homily. that for me was the highlight of the mass. after his sermon, i was jokingly telling phia that i wish he's my spiritual adviser too (as if :D). and she told me that was dangs wish too. bishop soc's speech i think was recycled (correct me if im wrong). kris' response was a tearjerker. the climax was when she thanked each of her siblings and told anecdotes which gave us a glimpse of their individual roles in the family.

after the mass, im glad that the anc relegated the songs to the background. they became background songs for the funeral march. it felt different when the apo led singing the 'handog ng pilipino sa mundo'. yes, its really good to be pinoy. paminsan minsan lang tayo nagiging mayabang sa mundo tungkol sa ating pagiging pinoy and though i was just 4 when edsa 1 happened, im proud it happened in my generation's lifetime.

cory was my childhood president. hers is the picture i used to see in our classroom when i was in grade school. she was the president when we studied about philippine presidents in hekasi. i knew handog ng pilipino sa mundo because we used to have an apo casette tape and that song was part of that album.

when i got a bit older and slowly learned about things, ninoy became my hero. yes no one beats rizal but ninoy was different because his heroism was more 'real' for me because he lived in my lifetime. every august 21, when tv shows would relive his cause and how he died, i get teary-eyed.

now, i learned to respect not only ninoy but also cory. comparing her presidency with the current and other past presidents, im glad that she was my childhood president because at least, the president i got to know has the respect of the people. as a child, i know that government leaders should be respected and are called honorables and comparing them with the current breed of so-called leaders and public servants now, im glad that i had my childhood then.

in the past few days, watching old tv interviews of cory and hearing stories from people made me respect her more. she's a smart lady. she speaks eloquently and calmly (with due credit to teddy boy locsin for the very good speeches). in her interview with dong puno for ninoy's 23rd death anniversary, she proved that she's not the typically 'simple' lady that people tell she is. she has a lot of wisdom, doesnt exaggerate and corrects wrong assumptions at once. during the interview, kris was talking about her dad owning a lot of books and asked her mom how many books she thinks her dad read. cory answered i dont know but a lot. kris suggested about a thousand and cory said ndi naman. she could have just said yes but opted not to cos she knows its not true hehe

taking into consideration all that she and the family has been through, it would be hard not to admire her. and also the family. with all the brouhaha about gma's unwelcome visit to the wake as well as the marcoses, the family's reaction to these has has been put into bad light. i read negative comments about kris and noynoy having worse values than the marcoses especially when they spoke their real feelings about these things (noynoy saying no to a reconciliation and kris refusing to answer when asked if the president is welcome) or about kris taking advantage of her mother's death to increase abs' ratings. i cant help but feel sorry for the people who wrote that and who think that way. ironically malicious yet self-righteous. kung sila kaya ang namatayan ng tatay, or who grew up in the way the aquino children did, not having their parents fully to themselves, maybe they could have acted worse. its just so unfair to expect the aquino children to just say yes to everyone who say peace to them just because their mom is dead. their parents, and indirectly even they, have given a lot for this country whether thats hope, inspiration, the notion of noble public service or even freedom, depending on the perspective one is taking. and maybe the least that we could do as a sign of gratitude and respect to cory is to sympathize with her children.

its past 12 midnight and the feature is still about cory. im still watching.

sundays

ely is so visible on tv these days. before, there was quaker oats, red horse beer and the ako mismo campaign. now, there's the coke zero ad with gabby dela merced and billy crawford.

===================================================================

last sunday, i went to the end hunger walk the world campaign of un wfp. thought it was a real mahabang lakaran. turned out it was just a ceremonial walk though. so what we did was walk from un to rajah sulayman where the program was held and back to un after where bert parked.

after breakfast, it was still too early to head to binondo so we thought of places where we could go to kill time. intramuros: hmm too clicheish. divisoria: not in the mood for shopping. luneta: ang init. paco park: walang pwedeng gawin. national museum: check!

so off we went to national museum. tamang tama ndi pa pala nakakapunta si ethel. so nilakad namin mula delifrance un papuntang national museum. and when its your lucky day, lahat talaga maayos. we were ready to pay the P100 entrance fee but it turned out sunday is free day. galing!

and for that (aside from learning a lot about history), i recommend national museum. if you dont have anything to do on sundays, go there. go there with your friends. go there with your loved ones. talk about history. its ironically refreshing to talk about our country's past. if youre teaching history or art, require your students to go there. we need to support institutions that promote our people's sense of history, art and culture.

anyway, back to regular programming. we went to binondo after and ate tons of chinese food. hehe

===================================================================

kanina naman, i went to seth's christening. and to trinoma with mimi and the parentals after. tamang tama, may post-independence day activity featuring the madrigal singers, up orchestra, up pep squad and up filipiniana dance troupe. tapos may fireworks pa after.

===================================================================

pansin ko lang, my sundays after that talk were not that bad. =)

shameless plug

hmm i dont usually do this but...friends, countrymen, ladies and gentlemen, bili naman kayo ng libro namin :D its entitled vignettes of informal workers, edited by prof yuzon and dr atienza. launching is on july 11, 2009, saturday, at the up solair.

its composed of 13 stories written by solair students. you can get it for a cheap price of 250. its not a hard-core academic book but could pass as a collection of short stories hehe masaya sya basahin habang nasa byahe, sa mrt, nasa pila, nag-aantay ng kaibigan sa starbucks, etc etc all the stories are about the informal sector: mga manininda, manghuhula, magbobote, child prosti, etc etc

mobile blogging

im blogging somewhere in moa. just had dinner with my best friend since college. talking about the same tiring, endless stuff. i just cant get the hang of it. its a never ending cycle.

be brave. be strong.

figure it out.

end hunger: walk the world

http://www.wfp.org/walktheweb"> src="/sites/wtw/files/banners/wfp-wtw-336x280.gif" alt="WFP's Walk the Web" width="336" height="280" border="0" />

while everyone is busy with hayden kho and the videos he took with several women whom everyone is already familiar with, im excited about this event.

ive always wanted to join in one of those run for a cause or walk for a cause things but never got to join kasi wala akong kasama. but this time, im really going. tara!

blank

i havent written anything in ages.

i went to see angels and demons with frodo last sunday. i like the book. ive read it but i couldnt remember the details. (i think i have a mild case of alzheimers. i keep on forgetting things gradually for the past few years) the movie was nice but not excellent. its the typical action-packed holywood movie with scenes that make you bite your nails. the scene depicting the creation of the antimatter was like a roller coaster ride. yebah!

my college friends and i were supposed to go to pinatubo this weekend. we already made reservations with the tour provides (heard of russeltehri?). kaya lang si mabaz, may hearing sa monday. so fine. postponed. na naman.

i was talking to mabaz last night. actually, more of offering EVNTS AVE's services to her. we were talking about her future kid's binyag next year and his/her 1st birthday a year after that. meron na kaming theme. hehe ndi ko sasabihin. but if this thing will go as planned, its going to be a riot!

im excited about ate's vacation in december. lapit na di ba? hehe 7 months na lang. i need to save up!

kisapmata

kanina lang sa mrt, ang dami kong naiisip. kung anu-anong bagay ang tumatakbo sa isip ko. pero ngayon, wala na. wala na tuloy akong maisulat.

tongue-tied

madalas, pag kaharap, bigla na lang walang masabi. pag kasama naman ang mga kaibigan, ang daldal daldal. ang dami daming nasasabi. kahit anong usapin, may opinyon. pati linya ni chris tiu sa milo commercial, inaanalyze. pero pag ikaw ang kaharap, ikaw ang kausap, wala na. ang utak nabablanko. argh!

break...it up

im not used to having long breaks. while ordinary people get 2 days off in a week, i only get 1. i have half-day work during saturdays and go to school right after. so i was really excited about this week's break. but after two days, im beginning to get...bored.

i need big bang theory dvds!

ano bang ginawa ko nung bakasyon?
1)went to visit 8 churches (didnt visit the churches we went to last year except for quiapo). this year we started with sta clara in katipunan then moved to mount carmel in new manila. next was christ the king, then quiapo, sta cruz, binondo, malate and paco.

2)we dropped by wai ying for lunch and was really happy with the food. my friends and i had this unending wai ying quest last year but we didnt really had the luck kasi never namin syang nakita! but last week, dory texted that she was there and she was telling me how good the food was. told henyo about it and she also said that she's been there cos she has this classmate from binondo. so last thursday, i made it a point that we drop by the place and lucky lucky us, we found it! ha!

3)finally watched some of the movies ive been planning to watch for weeks
- the secret life of bees
- doubt
- milk
- revolutionary road (na sa gitna eh bigla na lang tumigil so ndi ko natapos)
- the reader (na nakatulugan ko)
and other dvds na nasa bahay
- baler (excuse me, bat sya best actress?)
- new in town (siguro pagod lang ako kaya nakatulugan ko ulit)
- confessions of a shopaholic (pangit ng copy)
- bridal wars (pangit ng audio)

4)did the laundry including bags

5)posted some pictures

again, i want big bang theory dvds!

gusto ko pang magsulat

ng kung anu-ano lang.

monday was a holiday. tuesday was not but i had an extra half day off because of an upset stomach. i was texting cams and dez about how i find the situation funny. real lbm (not looking for better management)has been so easy to use as a reason for sl because they cant really say if you had one thus its one of the most popular sl reasons. so when you really have it, sometimes its akward to use it. so last tuesday, i was contemplating whether to tell my boss that i have it or not. dory was telling me to use other reasons like headache or dysmenorrhea. nakakatawa di ba? i have real lbm but im having second thoughts of using it kasi ang corny gamitin. pero ang ending, ginamit ko pa rin =)

i went to work around lunch time when i felt like "the situation" was already stable hehe and all i had for lunch was sky flakes and gatorade. sad. jokingly told my friends i was on a diet.

when i went upstairs, my boss showed me our (new) second hand laptop. (dahil cost cutting, second hand ang binibigay sa mga nagrerequest ng bagong laptop). panget. open office. may sira na yung "1" key. no dvd writer. heavy. hay...

and i had to use it that afternoon because meine pc ist kaput! hay sira ang pc ko. hindi marecognize ang keyboard. sira na daw ang motherboard so klangan ayusin.

======

since meine pc ist kaput, ich habe keine internet. so nakigamit muna ako ng internet ni ten ten. meaning, i had to sit right beside polar bear. meaning, walang patumanggang tawanan. hay layf, ang sarap tumawa

======

last week, i changed my office phone's language to french hehe wala pang nagsasabi ng je suis desoleis mai je ne comprends pas. next month, il use german. guten morgen!
hay, parang gusto ko ulit mag foreign language.

======

excited na ko sa 50mm :)

kapag isinapelikula ang buhay ko

i saw this test while reading a blog so i took it.

ang magiging director ay si...



Sofia Coppola

Your film will be 55% romantic, 22% comedy, 25% complex plot, and a $ 22 million budget.

With few films under her belt (The Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette) as a writer/director, she's already highly respected and connected -- her dad, Francis, directed all The Godfather movies and Apocolypse Now. Sofia's good at making the romantic drama that is your life with poignant sullen moments of introspection. You saw how she stylishly handled Marie Antoinette's life, no? And who didn't have at least a lump in the throat at the end of Lost In Translation? She's already won one Academy Award for her writing, now she'll be the first woman to receive one for directing -- YOUR FILM!

break... it up

im not used to having long breaks. while ordinary people get 2 days off in a week, i only get 1. i have half-day work during saturdays and go to school thereafter. so i was really excited about this week's break. but after two days, im beginning to get...bored.

i need big bang theory dvds!

ano bang ginawa ko nung bakasyon?
1)went to visit 8 churches (didnt visit the churches we went to last year except for quiapo). this year we started with sta clara in katipunan then moved to mount carmel in new manila. next was christ the king, then quiapo, sta cruz, binondo, malate and paco.

2)we dropped by wai ying for lunch and was really happy with the food. my friends and i had this unending wai ying quest last year but we didnt really had the luck kasi never namin syang nakita! but last week, dory texted that she was there and she was telling me how good the food was. told henyo about it and she also said that she's been there cos she has this classmate from binondo. so last thursday, i made it a point that we drop by the place and lucky lucky us, we found it! ha!

3)finally watched some of the movies ive been planning to watch for weeks
- the secret life of bees
- doubt
- milk
- revolutionary road (na sa gitna eh bigla na lang tumigil so ndi ko natapos)
- the reader (na nakatulugan ko)
and other dvds na nasa bahay
- baler (excuse me, bat sya best actress?)
- new in town (siguro pagod lang ako kaya nakatulugan ko ulit)
- confessions of a shopaholic (pangit ng copy)
- bridal wars (pangit ng audio)

4)did the laundry including bags

5)posted some pictures

again, i want big bang theory dvds!

final set

hindi ko kayang magpenitensya. hehe cant give up one of my supreme indulgences. im watching it again.

at ako'y napapaindak ulit sa slomo.

there, im seeing it again, the 'pass the rh bill' sticker

ang layo pala namin sa stage, dati parang ang lapit lapit lang

at pagkatapos ng alkohol, commercial na naman. anong oras kaya to matatapos?

ung unang segment, 2 songs tapos commercial. yung pangalawa, 3 songs. pangatlo to, ndi ko nabilang pero siguro apat. so yung next, 5 songs. kung 29 songs ang kinanta nila, ilang segments lahat? syet math na naman

hayop ka din

i was watching born to be wild and doc recio is featuring the lives of bears in vietnam. ang hirap maging hayop.

there's this bear farm in vietnam wherein they extract bear biles. hearing their groan from the pain of the process is heartwrenching. after the process, naghihingalo na sila sa hirap. putik, ano bang ginagawa ng mga tao sa hayop. kung sila kaya ganunin.

according to wikipedia "Bile acts to some extent as a detergent, helping to emulsify fats (increasing surface area to help enzyme action), and thus aids in their absorption in the small intestine...Besides its digestive function, bile serves as the route of excretion for the hemoglobin breakdown product (bilirubin) created by breakdown of erythrocytes, which are conjugated by glucuronidation in the liver; it also neutralises any excess stomach acid before it enters the ileum, the final section of the small intestine."

bears in the wild normally live for 30 years. bears in bear farms are lucky if they get to live for 5 years. these bears are found in cages so small that they can neither stand nor stetch kasi mauuntog sila. but their survival instincts work that they bite the bars of their cages kaya lang minsan, they tend to bite even their own shoulders. kakaawa. wala din naman silang magawa.

recently, the vietnamese government imposed a ban on these practices. kaya ayun si doc recio, sumubaybay sa mga rescue operations na ginagawa ng mga alagad ng batas.

rescued bears grow so fat. they become obese. may mga galos at sugat. mabagal kumilos. all are result of bile extraction.

sa vietnam, ginagawang alaga sa bahay ang mga oso pero syempre nasa hawla. there's this bear which the owner turned over to the government because its obese. for easier transport and also for the safety of both transporters and the bear itself, they injected pampatulog on it. it took 10 people to carry the bear.

bear biles are exported to countries also in asia such as korea, japan, china and even the philippines. but such exportation is illegal.

the feature ended with a note that stopping this cruel act is still a long shot. well, efforts aimed at stopping cruelty in general is always seen as a long shot but hey, lahat ng nilalang na may buhay ay binigyan ng karapatang mabuhay kaya wala ni isa man sa atin ang may karapatang kitilin ang buhay ng kahit na sino o kahit ano sa pamamagitan ng pagpapahirap sa mga ito.

ANGAT Tech Voc 2

Its 550pm and we're done with our draft proposal. ANGAT now stands for Aktibong Nakikibahagi at Gumagabay sa Adhikaing Tech-Voc. We've identified committees, defined functions, drafted proposed programs, etc etc. If you know of anyone who believes in tech-voc and is interested in providing funds, please do get in touch with us.

HR Committee

Programs Committee

Budget Committee

Operations Committee

Legal

Creative

Executive Director

ANGAT Tech Voc

Its Sunday, March 22, 2009. IR 220 class is somewhere near Trinoma, meeting at our professor's place to finalize our proposal for the establishment of an NGO which advocates technical vocational education.

This is our professor who is the biggest advocate of tech-voc and protection of the informal sector. I took 204 (labor and economy) under him and is now taking 220 (hr at the national level) also under him. As final requirement for this class, we're tasked to establish an NGO advocating tech-voc. As of now, we're called ANGAT. We're still finalizing what ANGAT stands for.

This is most of the group, discussing what every committee is supposed to do.

Kunwari seryoso.

The generous hosts preparing lunch for us. The one in floral blouse, also a professor and has a doctorate in information management, prepared most of the yummy food. The one in green is her daughter. Theyre our professor's family.This is our lunch hehe Pad Thai, giniling, tapos meron pang liempo tsaka lechong manok.

Getting ready for lunch.

This is my lunch. A little bit of everything.

epilogue (oo tungkol pa rin sa kanila)

its almost weekend

i woke up late today so it follows that i went to work late. well, ndi naman masyado, 845 lang. hindi pa man nakakaupo, i was already told about the things that i have to prioritize for the day. number one, preparations for g5 meaning i had to make the invitation and write the letter for HSU.

i finished designing the invitation at around 1100 but i couldnt submit it yet because i was having problems adjusting the size of the plc map so i had to reconstruct it. buti na lang nagpadala si ms lhen. showed the invitation to my little boss and glad she liked it. the only changes made were on the font. showed it after lunch to my big boss and expectedly, the comment was on the map. medyo malabo. kaya inayos ko na lang ung pinadala ni ms lhen.

while i was printing my semi-final draft, sir joey saw it so tiningnan na talaga nya before i could submit it to him. he suggested changing the name of one event in order to provide a connection to the theme of the event. so there, binago. kala ko ok na pero ndi pa pala. pagdating kay sir jo, ang comment nya, may word ba na 'impactful'? parang impakto. hehe fine

after that, ayun, ok na.

=======

next to do was to call cabin services to ask about the possibility of inviting binibining pilipinas-universe to grace the event. since we're talking about updates, eh di magbigay na din ng update na cabin crew sa pal ang nanalong bibinibing pilinas. (saw her in person last monday during the company's anniversary mass and all i can say is that she's so thin and tall). kaya lang binibining pilipinas charities na pala ang humahawak sa schedule nya. katz was telling me that even corp comm is inviting her but she hasnt heard anything from the handlers yet. katz promised me that she'll call them and just update on whats gonna happen. sana pumayag sila.

========

next was the give aways. called advertising to ask if we still have enough pal express shirts to give as tokens. they still have to check sa warehouse so bukas ko pa malalaman.

========

430 ko na yata nasimulan ang paggawa ng report sa exit interview

========

545. time to check out. videoke night ngayon for mau. we dont normally go out for gimiks during weekday pero para lang mapasaya si mau, go. he's really down since yesterday. kaya bilang mga epal na kaibigan, kinantahan na lang namin, nila pala, sya ng awit ng barkada pagkatapos sayawan at kantahan ni betty hehe

pero syempre klangan namin magbigay buhay sa 'man from manila' kaya kinanta at sinayaw din ang mga kababayan.

naunang umuwi si tin kasi magrereview pa si kenji para sa bar exams (yan ang tawag sa long or periodical exam ng mga anak na bagets ng mga tao sa ofis).

natapos kami around 9

phia, cha and i rode with cholo. unang binaba si sam, tapos si cha, tapos si phia sa mrt q ave. ako sa qc city hall.

i reached home around 1030.

===========

again, i tried writing for my paper. kaya lang wala ako sa mood. so i ended up writing this entry. kaya ako nag-iisip kung itutuloy ko ang masters ko eh. dahil pag ako nagthesis, ndi pwede ang ganito. kaylangan ng mas matinding disiplina. nasa mood ka man o hindi, kaylangan mong magsulat.

===========

tomorrow, its coffee night with j5 friends. and i still have to write my part and integrate our team paper for 222 in time for submission on saturday.

its 1230 and im still up.

i better sleep now

ang huling el bimbo ng bandang kung tawagin ay eraserheads

ika-7 ng marso taong dalawang libo at siyam. pitong buwan matapos ang reunion concert. pitong kilomtero mula sa the fort (joke, gawa gawa ko lang). sa kabila ng aking pamimilosopo sa tigabantay sa gate na ang dala kong camera ay hindi pang-professional dahil maikli lang ang lente (stupid alibi i admit), hindi ako sinuwerteng maipuslit ito sa loob kaya eto lang ang mga larawang nakuha ko.

eto ang view ng stage mula sa gold - a kung san kami naroon.

larawan ng pagal na sapatos (napapagod maging ang sapatos) matapos ang mahigit tatlong oras ng pagtayo.

larawan ng basyo ng softdrink na tinungga ng uhaw na tigahanga.

mga tigahangang umaasang may kasunod pa ang 3 for the road.

mga tigahangang tanggap na wala na ngang pangalawang encore

whats left of the ticket. at ng aking naiuwing memorabilia. 2 piraso ng confetti na dumapo sa aking bag.the look of tired yet satisfied fans after more than 3 hours of standing, swaying, shouting, etc. yung iba, kakatagpuin na lang sa labas.

just a series of emails about francis m and the final set

i dont know whats happening but i cant seem to post in multiply. so im posting via blogger.

at dahil wala pa ko sa tamang huwisyo para magsulat, eto muna

===========

from darwinism

I feel so sad and so old. It's the Bosconian connection plus the fact that Francis Magalona made being pinoy hip. Forget Bamboo and those crap of a lyrics hoy, may agimat ang dugo ko crap. Pag iyong artists na kinalakihan mo biglang namatay tapos iyong iba may sakit - ehem Ely Buendia - doesn't that make you feel old? Kaleidescope World ang favorite 90's pinoy song ko. Hay ang sad =(


========

from wanda

im currently listening to huwag kang matakot and i dont know what hit me pero bigla akong nasenti at narealize kung ano nangyari nung sabado.
ngayon lang siguro nag sink in sa kin na huli na yun. that was it. ngayon naluluha ako at nadedepress at gusto umiyak
if closure was what they wanted when they agreed to have that concert with all that mushy-bordering-to-funny-lighting-up-the-stickerhappy-piano antic, acceptance was what i had last august. ive loved the band since first year high school. going to the 'reunion' concert was a supreme indulgence of an addictive craving. going to the final set was part of the ritual, the fulfillment of an obligation. the concert was fun but i didnt have that satisfaction deep inside which i felt after the 'reunion'. felt teh 'final set' was just one of those concerts. the kind where they had to have fun and please the fans. in the end, i feel that they indeed had fun. genuine fun. and so were thousands of those who went. except me. maybe im just being selfish. i bet the band had more fun this time than last august. it showed.
anubaitu!

*mas gusto ko lang siguro ung production last time. and the 'feel'. the atmosphere. plus wala akong camerang naharang

========

from pea wi

agree agree..not the same feeling/atmosphere/anticipation.. i think the venue ruined it all not to mention anne-with-her-bling-bling-headband .. still happy na rin ako na may effort tapusin ang nasimulan..

pictures to follow (2 lng namn yun

=======

from eyva

ako sobrang nag-enjoy ako nung sabado. kasi ayokong i-compare dun sa una eh. syempre mas may goosebumps noon, iba ung anticipation ng mga tao kasi parang hanggang last minute di ko sure kung matutuloy talaga. this time, yeah masyado nang commercialized. pero obvious na mas enjoy sila. i think they also wanted to do the 'final set' more for themselves than for the fans. parang closure na rin para sa kanila. basta basta masaya ako.
pero nag-uumpisa na rin akong malungkot na last na talaga yun. salamat na lang talaga at meron tayong pambili ng tiket =)

the final set

after the hiatus

its been ages since ive last written an entry.
and im doing one not because i have so many things to write but because im constantly harassed by my sister to post my cagayan-camiguin pics wahaha

this trip has been planned october or november last year. initial date was set sometime in november but due to the security situation in mindanao, we cancelled it. december came and we were more excited about this trip than christmas. january came and the news about the flood in cagayan were also flooding newspapers and televisions. a few days before and more hassles came our way, may training, may ibang lakad, may problem sa booking, at ang pinaka hassle sa lahat, hindi holiday ang feb 23! hay...

buti na lang, natuloy at eto ang kinalabasan

something about the chinese new year

being at home with nothing else to do (more of nothing else that i could do) except to sleep and watch tv left me with tons of chinese new year stuff from gems to feng shui and dragon dance and lucky food.

out of boredom, i netstalked (if there is such a term) and read a lot of blog entries today. and here's something i found about chinese horoscope and how my luck is gonna unfold this year.

ROOSTER
Zodiac’s Nature:
Courageous, generous, entertaining, popular, protective, resourceful, unrealistic, capable and confident with good communication skills. Prone to boast and exaggerate. Dramatic but reputable people who work systematically but does not like routine. Takes good care of their family & can always succeed in the end.

Roosters are compatible with the Oxen, so their luck is pretty good. They will have more confidence in handling their daily work. Money luck is pretty good; it comes from all sources and prosperity in business. Working employees will have the chance to get a promotion. In love affairs, it is time for the single Roosters who have been dating to get married. Married Roosters should spend more time with family. Health-wise, they should keep away from sharp objects, be careful on the road, and avoid all dangerous water activities. They should try to avoid eating too much grilled or deep-fried food.

the descriptions are kinda cute because some are true. hehe kaya lang didnt like that line in the prediction part about avoding dangerous water activities. argh...pano na rafting ko?

being sick (not with the eheads fever)

im sick. i woke up with a 38.3 temp and with a lungs-full-of-sticky-phlegm-kind-of-cough. usually, a feverish day would be ok for me because it means an extended day of rest but today, argh, its so frustrating because one, im rushing some things at work and two, im also rushing some things for school with 2 reports to deliver in my 2 classes this week. and when youre at home down with fever, you cant do both.

buti na lang meron na ko nito. ahhh heaven

yada yada yada

im so overwhelmed with the things that have been happening at work laterly that i cant even write a decent entry about it. emotions are high. people are annoyed. some are mad. a lot are enraged and they are showing it. im sad. and frustrated. argh!

with all this brouhaha, food and laughter among friends are the best coping mechanisms.

===

i miss people.

Who's Afraid of Sarah Raymundo

I read this article in the newest issue of Peyups. Sarah was my prof in Socio 142 back in college.

==========

Who’s Afraid of Sarah Raymundo

By Katrina Macapagal

They say that this university is a free zone, a liberated space that promotes academic freedom, political tolerance, and liberal education, among other grand claims. Here in UP, students and teachers have nothing to fear – radical positions are welcome, democratic rights are respected, political persecution is a thing of the past.

But when the case of sociology professor Sarah Raymundo came to fore amidst centennial festivities in the past months, the old myth surrounding the institution quickly unraveled.

In November, Sarah was told by the sociology department chair herself that the tenured professors from the same department have decided not to recommend her tenure. She was then instructed not to meet her classes until further notice. When Sarah asked for reasons behind such instructions, she was told that these cannot be disclosed. The last that was heard from the department chair, in a letter addressed to the dean of the College, is that the department is waiting for recommendations from the UP legal office, which means, perhaps that a formal administrative case against Sarah is now in the works. Now, almost three months later, there is still no written explanation from those concerned, despite Sarah’s formal inquiries.

What then, is her crime? Sarah has satisfied the requirements for tenure: she holds a masters degree in sociology and boasts a number of academic publications. Still, the powers-that-be have refused to grant what is due her, like members of a secret society who have sworn not to give her the key that unlocks the mystery.

The shroud of mystery surrounding Sarah’s case is lifted upon further reading. Reason suggests that the only crime she is guilty of is that of putting theory into practice – she is being singled-out because of her progressive leanings and political affiliations, as she continues to serve as secretary general of the Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy and is an active member of the All UP Academic Employees Union and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.

That such undemocratic actions were carried out by a department hosted by no less than the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy is all the more alarming . Not long ago, the chair of the same department pointed an accusing finger at Sarah for her alleged involvement in the disappearance of a former student-activist, an accusation that had absolutely no basis and was later disproved. Today, it appears that this issue is being resurrected by those who are working overtime to kick Sarah out of the academe – those who seem to be deathly afraid of the activist-professor whose advocacies and interests are different from their own political positions.

Because of her convictions, Sarah has become the easy target of the beast that hides behind the university’s liberal posturing; narrow-minded conservatism has reared its ugly head in the midst of proclamations of one hundred years of service and excellence. Contrary to popular perception, what Sarah’s case reveals is that UP is a site of fierce ideological struggle, where those who advocate radical convictions are isolated and marginalized, even terminated, for unjust reasons.

Yet, in such repressive conditions, Sarah remains unflinching and steadfast. Despite the verbal order earlier imposed, Sarah continues to attend her classes, and her students can attest that she is an excellent teacher who raises issues that invoke critical thinking and political inquiry. She remains active in her political organizations and continues to engage in various activities, from fora to mass demonstrations.

So who is afraid of Sarah Raymundo? Certainly not her current and former students, her colleagues in political organizations, or her fellow intellectuals, among others, who immediately expressed indignation and support upon learning about the issue.

At this point, the question posed above is enough to answer.

back from the holidays!

after two weeks of eating and sleeping and just bumming around, im back in the metro and back in multiply. so many photos to post and blogs to write. hay...