misadventures

this is ariel with a capital a, without the diamond ring and the exaggerated outfit.
just an ordinary employee

reality bites

the pain is back.

a year ago, everything was fine. we were a team. solid. unbreakable. we had fun with each other's company. life was not perfect but its ok, we had each other to turn to anyway. last year, we faced villains together. but now, its different. it seems like we have become each other's nemesis.

one misunderstanding grew into a serious fight. the plethora of emotions clouded judgments. each had its own version of the story. each had its own version of the truth. both may have been saying the truth but the ego and the pain may have been stronger. and so each had an interpretation of its own.

now, its getting ugly. its hard to see traces of past friendship. ignoring each other is a norm. pretending that you dont see each other has become a mechanism for survival.

and thats so painful.

knowing that the smiles that you give could be returned with a blank stare. realizing that the person whom you considered as a friend doesnt see you as one anymore. it hurts to recognize the fact that youre no longer needed in their lives.

somestimes, the question is still there. why does it have to reach this point? why does it have to resemble this childish kind of misunderstanding? taking sides, either you're with me or against me.

getting used to this needs more time. but there's still that tiny bit of hope that one day, it will get better. restoring the friendship to what it was before is an illusion. but hoping for civility is not a dream.

meanwhile, thanks for the friendship.

si erap

so birthday pala ni erap ngayon. iba dapat ang isusulat ko pero umiinit na naman ang ulo ko dahil kasalukuyan ko syang pinapanood sa tv. ang kapal ng mukha! yeah, this government is shit but that doesnt erase the fact that his government was shit too! putik, akala mo kung sinong pagkagaling galing na presidente! argh, politicians! mga poncio pilato. ang hilig maghugas kamay! kainis! even if i dont see a significant improvement in this government, hindi ko pa rin pinagsisisihan na nagpakaloko ako sa kakarally at kakalakad ng ilang kilometro nung college para lang mapatalsik sya. kapal!

with wings

just this week, they were talking about aviation in 'good times'. mo has this fascination with airplanes and everything about aviation thats why they talked to an airline pilot, whom they named bob, in the show.

bob has been a pilot for 25 years already and is probably working for an international airline company now. they asked him trivial things like which airline has the prettiest flight attendants (british air, sia and jal), do they really get to sleep with them (a lot of girls are attracted to the uniform), which domestic airport is the hardest to fly to (naga and all those with short runways), etc etc. and yeah, pilots do have a distinct way of talking. like theyre breathing into the mic or eating their words.

just thought its nice to share some more trivia here too =)

- pilot's food are prepared separately not because theyre too choosy or they have different food preferences. they do this for security reason. para pag nalason yung isa, may isa pang magpapalipad ng eroplano. and this is a fact.

- mo was asking if in long flights, do pilots really fly the plane the entire time. not really. a captain's work is crucial during take off and landing. but while cruising, its the first officers who take over. dito na natutulog ang mga kapitan. and airplanes now are smart. you just plot your destination and the plane will go on 'auto pilot'.

- may multo din daw sa mga eroplano. there was this story about a flight attendant who talked to a lady who was requesting her to relay some message to her husband. when the flight attendant relayed the message to the husband, the husband said that his wife is indeed on the same plane but she was in a casket. scary.

- flight attendants are like restaurant waiters so try to be nice to them, always. come on, they carry your heavy luggage(which you should have checked in)and place it in the storage bin, they smile at you even if they feel shit because they havent had a decent meal yet, they flush the toilet because you dont know how to, they were reprimanded because you filed a complaint against them for calling your attention when they saw you using your cellphone in fligt, plus many others. but the most important reason why you should always be nice to them, they could have had their sweet revenge on you without you knowing it ;)

- some pilots prefer female flight attendants not because of what youre thinking but because theyre more caring and detail oriented. pag ang lalaking flight attendant daw pinakuha ng tubig, bibigyan nya si captain ng plain tubig. but if the flight attendant is female, she's gonna ask if he wants it with ice or just the plain thing. pero pag bading daw minsan may lemon pa =)

- female flight attendants could go to work even without a cent in their pockets. hatid sundo kasi sila.

- a lot of aircraft accidents are caused by miscommunication between the pilot and the control tower. hindi magkaintindihan dahil sa ingles thats why they have to undergo an intensive training in english.

- the black box is colored orange ;)

thats all folks. will update this pag may naalala pa ko.

ooops...i did it again

the first time i did it, i was reading a pocketbook with my earphones neatly tucked in my ears. upon reaching north ave stn, the speakers were blaring with reminders that the first coach is reserved only for senior citizens, pregnant women and those who are traveling with kids. syempre nagbingi-bingihan ako. excuse me but i didnt take that round trip just to get off at north ave and take another risk of not grabbing a good seat for a 30-minute train ride to taft. the guards know this modus operandi so they still have to check the trains for hard-headed passengers like me.

of course i know this too so i pretended like i heard nothing. i was comfortably seated but on my peripheral vision, i was looking at the approaching guard. and he stopped in front of me. still i didnt look up.

guard: maam, for pregnant lang po dito.
me (looking up): pregnant ako (trying hard not to laugh)
guard: pregnant kayo? (nakangising aso)
me (seryoso look): oo
guard: (no more dialogue; walked away na nakangising aso)
me: whew! (mukhang i still have to work on my lying skills hehe)

then last friday, i did it again. but this time, i was pretending to be asleep, still with earphones tucked in my ears. upon reaching north ave, the guard was waking me up (mahirap gisingin ang taong gising)

guard: maam, maam, last station na po.
me: kunwari kakagising
guard: maam san po kayo?
me: taft
guard: maam san po kayo sumakay?
me: cubao
guard: maam dun po sa kabila yung sakayan
me: para sa pregnant to di ba?
guard: aah, pregnant ba kayo?
me: (tingin ng masama sa guard)

then the guard walked away.

grabe, im getting used to this. i wonder what other alibis or antics could i use next time. hehe

of exams, corruption,and generals

for security purposes, i was advised to hide this post

of exams, corruption, and generals

i was in the midst of wracking my brain just to come up with decent answers for my exam when i received this text from eyva

"uy pare, co ung maj gen barbieto sa news n may corruption case? Nkta ko lng ung ticker tape sa ch7. c barbie ba un?"

so i googled his name and saw this news item from inquirer.net "Major General Barbieto and the Ombudsman"

MANILA, Philippines - Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman or dered the suspension of Maj. Gen. Jose T. Barbieto, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division based in Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City. Barbieto, along with a non-commissioned officer, Staff Sgt. Roseller Echepare, were suspended for six months pending the investigation of a complaint filed by army officers. The complaint alleged that the general and his sergeant extorted money from applicants desiring to enlist in the Army without undergoing the regular examination procedures. Payments of P25,000 to P30,000 were demanded with Echepare allegedly serving as the collector for Barbieto. Incidentally, the Army recently announced that it is recruiting 3,000 new soldiers this year in line with the plan to create six additional battalions.....At one time, he headed the AFP delegation to the Mutual Defense Board meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii."

So i texted eyva and said, syet! sya nga!

MGEN BARBIETO or Barbie as we call him is one of our bosses back when I was still working for the AFP. He was Deputy J5 when MGEN GARCIA (yes, the controversial general who also faced corruption charges) was J5. So you see, im not new with bosses whom i see in the news because of corruption charges.

I could not remember how i felt exactly when i learned about MGEN GARCIA's case. I remember though that we were supposed to have a meeting on that day wherein he was supposed to be the Chairman. The attendees were all generals and because he didnt show up, my immediate boss, who was a mere Major, chaired the meeting. Astig!

Anyway, I remember that we were all shocked upon learning about it. I think it was a Navy officer who told us about it and so I ran to the library to look for THE news clipping. And i felt goosebumps because I didnt know that he would be capable of doing such thing. Yeah, we hear about corrupt officials in the news everyday but I didnt expect that I would be working closely with one of them.

And learning this latest news about some official I know who is actually facing corruption charges is quite frustrating. Its a shame that he is facing corruption charges but the actual nature of his charges is what makes it more frustrating. I mean, what on earth is he thinking asking peniless soldier wannabes for thousands of pesos? Isang heneral na nagmistulang fixer sa LTO.

Sometimes, the military is such a funny organization. They are just so addicted with protocols, and structures, and proper decorum but they couldnt follow just a simple command: do not steal.

of batnas and watnas

im trying to come up with answers to my nosebleed-inducing exam and im tempted to give out-of-the-box responses. we're tasked to raise 6 possible issues based on the case given and i can only think of 3. so here are the other 3:

issue 1) bat masyadong mahilig si sir sa issue? madami kaya syang issue sa buhay?
issue 2) bat ndi ko sinagot ang exam na to, malaking issue sigurado ang grade ko.
issue 3) pwede bang mabuhay ng walang isyu sa buhay?

waaa ang corny ko. hmpf! time for esoteric stuff

die bar

the results of the 2007 bar is out. tina passed. yey! may libreng notaryo na ko haha
aside from her, i saw one other blockmate who made it: amylaine.
and aside from them, i also saw familiar names who made it: bulseco, nina de leon, philip yap and jordanne chan.
congratulations and please help make the philippine justice system work more efficiently.

pag ang kanin naging bigas, may bumayo

i just saw the questions for my final exams in one of my subjects and i think that my bone marrow or whichever system of my body which produces blood needs to work doubly hard because im suffering from an extreme case of nosebleed. we are given 48 hours to formulate our answers on this but since i have work on monday, i only have 24 hours to do magic and come up with not only intellectual but also legally acceptable answers. ive read the case twice and i dont think i want to read it again, just yet. so let me talk of a topic more serious than my other entries yet less brain wracking than my exam.

let me write about rice. yesterday, we had a speaker from the international rice research institute who talked about the effects of out-labor migration on rice farming and gender roles in selected provinces in luzon. among other things, she found out in her study that out-labor migration helps rice production since remittances from migrant workes provide economic aid for their family members who are engaged in rice farming ergo they have more money to buy farm equipment, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, etc. also, out-labor migration empowers women because they have an increased role in decisionmaking mostly on matters concerning household and farming operations.

the current shortage on rice supply is not part of the presenter's study but since she was representing irri, she was asked the ever famous question, "bakit kulang tayo sa bigas? dito pa pala natuto ng rice farming and thailand at vietnam pero bakit tayo pa ngayon ang nag-iimport sa kanila?" the presenter wittingly said, "thats also the same question we are asking ourselves in the institute and hopefully we could find an answer to." she also shared about this hypothesis they had in the institute about the country's archipelagic nature as a reason of our difficulty in producing a supply of rice adequate for the country's population.

i dont want to contest that. i do not have the scientific knowledge and experience on the study of rice production so i just cant contest that. besides its just a hypothesis. but coming from a family of farmers, i have my own understanding of the problem.

we dont have enough rice because our farmers are just not capable to do so no matter how they want to. farming is not a very profitable business. from the tilling of the soil (which in some provinces are still done with a plough and carabao just like the one they did in amazing race asia), to seedling preparation, to rice planting and up until the harvest season, a relatively huge capital is needed for the equipment, labor, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, etc. an ordinary farmer who do not have an alternate source of income could not possibly finance all these expenses and would thus be forced to resort to loans from owners of agricultural supply stores and rice millers.

during the rainy season, farmers would normally face a serious problem on how to earn back their expenses since 1) typhoons would have destroyed their crops or 2) they have harvested a substantial quantity of palay but they cant sell it at a decent price. in our case, we have only started using treshers and dryers a few years back but before, when mechanized farming was just dream, i remember our palay transforming from gold to grey then to black because they are stored wet. because of the constant raining, there's no way for us to dry them so theyre placed in the stock room until the mighty sun comes out. if we're in no luck, we could see roots sprouting from these palay seeds in just a few weeks or they would just rot. so what would an ordinary farmer do? its either he prays really hard for the sun to come out or sell some of it at a low price. if still, the sun doesnt come out, sorry na lang, sell and sell and sell at a low, lower, and lowest price. fyi, you cant mill palay and turn it into rice without drying it first. so what does this mean for the farmer: lugi. poor farmer.

but during summer season, farmers would not have much problem in earning back their expenses since there's less typhoon and drying is easy. but then again, you would not want to sell your palay just yet. the laws of the market tells you so. there's a lot of supply so buyers, normally the millers, would buy your palay at a low price. so you have to wait until there's less supply and the buyers would be willing to buy your palay at a higher price. or if youre a big time farmer, you might want to have your palay milled and sell it as rice which normally allows you to earn more. but as ive mentioned earlier, if youre a normal farmer who dont have an alternate source of income, you have to sell it because you need the money to pay for your debts and you need money for your day to day expenses. and also, higher prices of rice does not necessarily mean high because the buyers (normally the millers) would tell you that they couldnt sell it in manila at a higher price because people would rather buy the cheaper rice imported by the government than our locally produced rice. ang saya di ba? so what happens to the farmer? sorry na lang ulit, mas mura kasi ang bigas na ini import ng gobyerno eh. during the summer season, farmers earn back what they spend on rice production (farming to milling) but they wont have that much profit to 1) sustain them until the next harvest season and 2) to pay the debts theyve acquired during the rainy season.

so what happens? the cycle continues. ordinary, small time farmers get more loans from rice millers until they have so much debt that they are forced to make their lands as collateral which, in many cases, they lose ownership of. or they sell it. or if theyre quite lucky, they would have kids who would work abroad and in such case, the result of the study mentioned above would apply. they could adapt mechanized farming which would allow them to relatively control their losses due to natural phenomena. and if theyre more lucky, they could even become millers. otherwise, kawawang magsasaka. sorry na lang, ang galing mag-isip ng gobyerno eh. they would rather spend on importing rice than helping our local farmers improve on their farming techniques. and if the governments of vietnam or thailand decide to cut the quantity of rice that theyre exporting to other countries to ensure that they would have rice sufficient for their people, our own government would urge its dear people to cut down on their rice consumption. putik! mahal na mahal talaga ng gobyerno ang mga tao and theyre quite creative, thinking out of the box. pinagdadiet na lang ang mga tao kesa tulungan ang mga magsasaka. para bang pag kulang ang libro, sasabihin ng gobyerno, bawasan nyo na lang ang pagbabasa nyo.

and now, people are asking why dont we have enough rice. funny.

here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right

ive been flooded with this song for these past few days. last week, i watched "bee movie" and i liked it. i liked the story, the colors and the song, which happened to be this one.
and last wednesday, or was that tuesday, i was watching american idol (which i dont normally watch) and they were doing beatles. brook did this song, with her matching yellow flowy dress.

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right

i was such a mess last week. it started from the long weekend that i had doing nothing. im no longer familiar with long periods of idleness despite my initial excitement over it. i thought i was gonna enjoy having long hours of sleep, watching dvds all day and munching in between but i was wrong. ok, i enjoyed it the first 2 days but the succeeding days were just so boooring that i was longing for it to be over. so i was happy when sunday came. but my sister and i had some sort of dedma moments. argh, ano ba. monday was ok. tuesday: boredom about the monotony of life naman ang drama ko. wednesday, the boredom was still there buti na lang dangs had this magnificent idea about us trying out for _____. thursday was better. and friday....

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right

today is friday. this morning, i had to take my old route going to work because i had to go to makati. i was quite excited about it because i was hopping that im gonna see beatles guy. and i did! yihii...so high school

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

i was smiling sheepishly while walking towards the terminal. i was in my bright yellow top, black slacks and shiny green doll shoes. but when i got there, the usual queue of people waiting for fx was not there. instead, there were a few fxs waiting for passengers. i walked towards the white one who's first in line, checking out if the front seat was still empty. and then i saw him! biglang naging malinaw ang mata ko haha too bad, someone was already seated beside him. but i know he recognized me. he glanced backward when i hopped in the car. and he glanced twice which just made my day =) i swear i was grinning during the entire ride.

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right It's all right

i noticed that he is sporting a shorter hair now.

hunk-a-doodle-doo

we have this photowall at work which features pictures taken by whoever is interested in kodakan. it was my boss' brain child devised to track our progress in the field of kodakan. our co-workers were supposed to vote for the photo that they like most without knowing who's photo was it. but being the 'insecure' newbies that we are who hate competition, prinsesa and i thought that it would be better to just have a gallery instead. no voting. no anything. just a plain gallery for people to look at. and anyone can join regardless of the camera they own. even pictures taken from phones with cameras are accepted.

and our first theme is .....HUNK! a photo of whoever (or whatever) we think epitomizes HUNKness. grabe, ang tagal magsubmit ng mga tao! (me included) i couldnt see anyone who embodies my ideals of what a hunk is. wala akong makitang lalaki na mahaba ang buhok, nakasalamin, nakasandal sa puno sa may sunken, may hawak na libro sa isang kamay at yosi sa kabila (the yosi is just for the artsy farsty nerd look but in reality ayoko ng amoy yosi), tapos nakatingin sa kawalan. tipong pinag-iisipan yung nabasang linya sa libro. hindi ko din nakita ang hunks nung minsang magbadminton kami malapit sa abs. nakita ko si ewan mcgreggor dahil pinanood ko ulit ang moulin rouge but that wont count. i dont have a us visa so i cant go and see ethan hawke and johnny depp. hindi ko alam kung san ang gig ng bamboo sa ndi ko makunan si ira cruz. i was about to go to london for prince william but then again, i woke up from my dream and saw gael garcia bernal so i took my camera, but i woke up again, and this time its real haha. i was about to give up, almost tempted to post oblation's picture in the gallery pero buti na lang nakita ko to.



not my ideal hunk pero pwede na. saw him in manila cathedral, taking pictures. when i first saw him, i said to myself, what a wonderful wor....err mali. hehe sabi ko sa sarili ko, pwede na. but then again, he and his companion might have noticed that i was secretly taking their pictures (kaya blurred) kaya medyo naconscious ako. at na-shy. so i stopped playing paparazzi. but the yearning to take a good picture of him was still there. and it was so strong. so i did the unthinkable. i asked for permission. and took his photo (with his friend). haha (medyo makapal mukha ko pag hindi ko talaga crush). at first he was hiding his camera so i told him, in a nice way, "no, what i really want is to take a picture of you with your camera". feeling nya ha. so that's the story behind this blurred picture.

this morning, more photos were added to the gallery. aside from henyo's brandon boyd picture (yes she managed to sneak her slr inside araneta), there was also jen's disneyland picture with gabby eigenmann, and dory's picture of tito jun. so far, yun pa lang. hope more people will post their pictures in the next few days.

bisita iglesia

habang nag-aalmusal kanina, nagkayayaan kami ng kapatid ko at ng housemate namin na magbisita iglesia. plinano naming puntahan ang mga simbahan sa manila dahil bukod sa magkakalapit ang mga ito, maganda pa silang kunan ng litrato.
una kaming nagpunta sa simbahan ng san miguel sa malacanang. bago makarating dito, isa palang mahabang lakaran ang kailangan mong pagdaanan mula st. jude. mabuti na lang at marami ding taong naglalakad kaya hindi ramdam ang pagod. at buti na lang at maraming puno sa loob ng malacanang kaya hindi ganon katindi ang epekto ng sikat ng araw. nakakainis nga lang at ang mga guwardiya sa malacanang ay masyado yatang praning at ayaw pakunan ng litrato ang mga gusali doon. hello, kung alam nyo lang. may dala akong bomba haha
pero nakakatuwa, may nakita akong pangalan ng isang kainan sa loob, STEAK OF THE NATION ang pangalan. hmm...dito ba kumakain ang mga buwaya sa gobyerno kaya feeling nila steak ang kaban ng nation?
pangalawa naming pinuntahan ang st jude. dahil masyado kaming napagod sa paglalakad papuntang san miguel, minabuti naming sumakay sa mga modified tricycle patungong st jude. pero bago yan, eto muna ang nangyari
kapatid ko: manong, magkano hanggang st jude?
drayber: 5o maam
kami: ha?
drayber: singkwenta po, kayong tatlo na dun
kami: mahal! (sabay alis)
drayber: (pasigaw habang naglalakad kami) 40 na lang maam
kami: tuloy pa rin sa paglalakad
drayber: (pasigaw ulit) 30 na lang maam, 30 na lang
kami: (about face!)
natutuwa talaga ako sa simbahan ng st jude. napakaaliwalas. madaming openings, maliit lang, tsaka ang lapit mo sa altar. at higit sa lahat, madaming tindang pagkain sa labas. :P mahal nga lang pero sige pa rin. lafang!
pangatlo sa listahan ang san beda. sa kisame naman ng simbahan ako natutuwa. natutuwa ako sa mga paintings na nandito. para kang nasa sistine chapel. parang gusto mong magdasal ng nakatingala na lang kesa nakayuko. at syempre, paglabas mo, madami pa ring nagtitinda ng kung anu-ano. kakanin, mangga, ubas na 70/kilo (weird ang presyo), panali sa buhok, prayer book, pamaypay, at kung anu-ano pa. nakakatuwa talaga mga simbahan sa pilipinas, parang palengke sa labas.
pang-apat sa destinasyon ay ang san sebastian. dito ako pinakanahirapan sa pagkuha ng litrato. ang dilim sa loob, pero ang silver na retablo ay napakatingkad. basta, wala akong magandang kuha nito.
sa ikalimang simbahang pinuntahan namin, lumipat na kami ng quiapo. at bago kami nakarating dito, napadaan muna kami sa bilihan ng debede at napabili ng mga sumusunod: across the universe, alvin and the chipmunks, love in the time of cholera, atonement, martian child, etc. gusto ko pa sanang bumili ng there will be blood, august rush at no country for old men pero pinigilan ko ang sarili ko dahil nagtitipid ako sa mga panahong ito.
isa pang medyo hindi ko kinakaya sa quiapo ay ang underpass. may nadaanan kaming 2 mag-ina, yung 1 nasa bungad, yung 1 nasa kabilang hagdan, na parehong dala dala yung mga anak nilang maysakit. halos hindi mo matingnan dahil sa awa at disbelief. biruin mo, nakahiga sa hagdan, mga batang siguro ay teen-ager na (bakas sa mukha) pero dahil sa sakit at sobrang kapayatan (kasintaba lang yata ng wrist ko ang legs nila) ay mukhang 6 0 7 years old sa liit. grabe, parang nakakaguilty na ewan. biruin mo, palakad lakad ka lang, gumagastos sa kung anu anong bagay samantalang ang mga taong ito ay walang perang pambili ng gamot para sa mga anak nilang sobrang seryoso ng sakit. iisipin mo tuloy, wala ka bang kwentang tao dahil inuuna mo pa ang mga mabababaw na bagay at luho mo kesa tumulong sa kapwa mo? hay...
anyway, wala namang bago sa quiapo. madami pa ring tao. pero mas madami ngayon ang naglalakad ng paluhod. at syempre sa labas, andun pa rin ang mga nagtitinda ng kung anu-anong halamang gamot.
pagkatapos nun, intramuros here we come! dumiretso kami sa manila cathedral. dito, medyo nailang ako sa pagkuha ng litrato. pano kasi sa may altar, may imahe ni hesukristo na may pasang krus tapos may dugo dugo pa ang katawan. para tuloy akong wala man lang paggalang dahil ang mga bagay na ito ay dapat dinadasalan at hindi kinukunan ng picture. parang medyo offensive din pag nakikita mo ang mga turista na kung magpakuha ng picture sa loob ng simbahan ay para lang nasa isang tourist spot at hindi sa isang bahay panalanginan. pero ganun kasi talaga tingin nila eh, lalo na kung hindi sila katoliko. naisip ko, ganito din siguro nararamdaman ng mga buddhist monks kapag kinukunan sila at ang mga templo nila ng mga turistang walang pakialam kahit kasalukuyang nagdadasal ang mga mongha. at dito, may nakita akong 1 lalaki na may mahabang lens, syempre natuwa ako. nagpapaka paparazzi ako pero hindi ko sya makunan ng maayos habang kumukuha sya ng picture. kaya naglakas loob ako at tinanong kung ok lang na kunan sya ng picture. may kasama pala. hehe 2 tuloy silang nakunan ko ng picture.
panghuli sa pinuntahan namin ang san agustin. yung ibang tao, pati sa libingan ni miguel lopez de legaspi, nagdadasal. at nagsasign of the cross sila pag nakikita nila yung rebulto. naku, akala nila santo din sya. hehe gusto ko tuloy lagyan ng karatula, HE IS NEITHER A SAINT NOR ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOLY TRINITY NOR ONE OF THE APOSTLES/DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. SYA AY ISANG KASTILANG MANANAKOP LAMANG.
anyway, the whole experience was fun. although its tiring to say the rosary in every church that you go to, hindi naman sya ganon kabigat. the cross of going through 7 churches, reciting the rosary and the station of the cross is nothing compared to HIS cross. tsaka hello, may food trip, sightseeing at foto trip naman on the side. para tuloy akong nandaya kasi hindi ako masyadong nahirapan. tsaka i didnt do it solely for the atonement of my sins. andun pa rin yung pleasure, yung indulgence. hmmm...

ilang tulog na lang

just a few more days and the sem is over. wohoo!
i havent touched my camera in days (except for today) because of demands from school (translation:papers and exams here and there). and thats too bad for somebody who's in the first stage of learning the art of kodakan hehe. but just 1 more paper and 1 more exam, and its over! happiness.
my last shoot was my nephew's graduation. junior nursery graduation.
hirap kunan ng mga bata! they keep on moving and running around the place. so the end result, a lot of blurred and dark shots. sadness.
still managed to capture some moments though.

beautiful life

i went to ateneo's trendwatcher series earlier where the book "leading philippine organizations in a changing world" was launched. i think this is the 4th time that ive been in a book launch. my first was domingo landicho's erap book, the second was that walden bello's book (i forgot the name) and the third was randy david's nation, self and citizenship (which is a collection of his "public lives" articles).

masaya talaga mag-attend ng mga ateneo-hosted activities. parang nagiging mahinahon ako. its like having a force which tells you to smile, relax, modulate your voice, talk softly, talk in english (nosebleed), take a positive look at things because life is so good! they have this way of talking which makes even the worst situations look ahmm...ok. their voice has a calming effect on me. parang bawal ang debate sa floor. hindi ako sanay! haha im used to professors who cant stop swearing even if theyre in class. i can still vividly recall kung gaano kalutong ang mga mura ni gerry lanuza. o ang mga "f*cking americans" ni walden bello. im used to listening to professors who get so emotional when talking about the country's affairs, professors who make you feel like you want to join the neps after listening to them, professors who talk so passionately that you could feel the pain and frustrations as if they were yours. si randy david lang yata ang mahinahon magsalita. yes, most of the things that you could hear from them are the imperfections of the world but those are the very same things that inspire you the most.

i was telling my boss about my observations and she was telling me that its how they really are. she was also noting how they use words. so neat. she was also telling me this parents meeting she went to. and in that meeting, they were talking about an average teenager's concerns. it was shared that an average high school atenean's concerns dont coincide with that of the average filipino high school student. if an average filipino thinks about studying well in order to help his family in the future, an average atenean would think of how to get to the next year level. and the parents were talking daw how they realize that their children are so sheltered.

i dont have any close friend from ateneo so i dont know how they really are but the few ateneans that i know of are really nice. and yeah, they talk softly.

panik

kaylangan ko na magpanik! 5 araw na lang, kaylangan ng ipasa ang paper. pero hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa alam ang focus ko. how's that? this is the most delinquent state ive been in my student life.

sa wakas

tulad ng unang album ng sugarfree, sa wakas.
sa wakas nakita ko na sya. nahawakan.nadama.nakalikot.nasubukan.
sa wakas narinig ko ang tunog nyang handog. ka-tsak.
sa wakas nagagamit ko na sya.
sa wakas.

anticipation

tomorrow is a special day. im gonna see my, well, how should i call it...latest splurge? kagabi pa lang napanaginipan ko na sya. actually, up to this very moment, i still dont know what prinsesa bought me. si C o si N?

dont you remember you told me you love me baby

sorry if youre expecting a mushy read but the title has nothing to do with this entry. im just tired of the random notes title so i decided to place the song which is playing on my mind instead. people here at home were watching juno earlier, that song was in the movie, and it stuck on my mind.

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

im enjoying labor-management relations. we were discussing negotiations and collective bargaining in class for 2 sessions now and its just fun and refreshing to know its dynamics. this afternoon, we had 2 exercises in class, 1 was the oil price setting, the other was still on jessie.

the oil price setting was the very same exercise my professor did when he attended the kennedy school of government in harvard. it mainly involves 2 developing countries which supply oil to a third country. to help determine a good price for each of the 2 countries, a matrix was provided (there were only 3 options for the prices) showing how much would each of the 2 countries earn if it would sell its oil for a specific amount.

we were divided into 2 main groups, each group represents one country. each country was further divided into 3 main oil players. i was 1 of the oil playes in country b. so the exercise went like this, we were to set oil prices monthly, without knowing how much would our counterpart would sell theirs. t he objective of the exercise is to earn as much as you can for your company but make sure that you dont put your competitor out of business.

if both would sell their oil for $10, both would get a $5 profit each. if they sell at $20, they would get $8 each. if they sell at $30, they would get $11 each which is the highest profit possible, because $30 was the price ceiling set. if you sell lower than your counterpart, you'll earn at your counterpart's cost.

it was fun. negotiating blindly. hoping that your counterpart would get your message. both of us started with $10 which was fine, then we went to $20 which was better. then from there, our individual interests surfaced. we were both suspicious of each other so we didnt go for the $30 price. the pricing went crazy. i was dropping hints that i wanted both of us to earn big so i was setting my price at $30 but she keeps on setting hers at $10 so i kept on losing and she on winning. in the end, my self vision that ill never be a good businessperson was strengthened. i lost haha i only earned $52 against my counterpart's $79.

and what did my professor said? it showed our potential opportunistic behaviors haha and that behavior is something that we have to throw into the rubbish bin if we want to become negotiators.

the 2nd exercise was on jessie. its actually from an earlier assignment. its about this teacher, jessie, who teaches physics in a catholic school who suddenly changed his religion. but before that, he knows that he needs to keep his catholic religion as a precondition for continuous employment. so when he changed his religion, the school had to terminate him.

this time, dez and i were to represent jessie. and we had to negotiate with the school authorities to keep jessie's religion and his job. and what's our best agreement? keep jessie's religion and job but he has to follow the school's regulations when it comes to religious practices. he has to keep his opinions neutral and must not prophesize to his students. nice...

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

i was telling dez earlier that im realizing that i actually like conflict. but let me clarify that. i dont like conflict per se, what i like is what happens before and after the conflict, how people manage to handle conflict. you may ask, but conflict dont really end, right? which makes it more interesting =) still not making sense? basta...
blame it on marx and his conflict theory. or maybe blame it on my radical professors from cssp. or maybe blame it on me for romanticizing the idea of conflicting interests.

===========

every saturday, i go on abstinence. i abstain from eating lunch because i dont have the time to eat. see, i have work till 12 nn and i have class at 1pm. and i use the 12nn -1pm period for travel. so having a decent lunch is really a challenge for me, in which, i have been consistently failing. so earlier this night, dez and i went on a food trip. we decided to treat ourselves to a feast! a P244 eat-all-you-can buffet at kamay kainan in trinoma. god, its soo good to eat. and what did i have? let me enumerate them for you.

plain rice.nilagang baka.a lot of kare kare.papaitan.sinigang na hipon.crispy pata.sinigang na isda.ginataang kuhol.sisig.arroz ala cubana.lumpiang shanghai.manggang hilaw.lechon kawali.pipino salad.grilled oyster.tempura.pusit.liempo.kaldereta.friend hipon.
and since i still have sore throat, i couldnt have ice cream and so much sweets so i only settled for buko pandan.

after that, a big BURP....

ang edsa, bow!

in emile durkheim's elementary forms of the religious life, he mentioned about the importance of religious rites and symbols. these rites are regularly done to reaffirm collective morals and beliefs in the minds of all members of society. This is important because people, if left to their own for a long amount of time, the beliefs and convictions of individuals will weaken in strength, and require reinforcement.

this makes me think, if there's one good thing brought about by our crazy political situation now, its the fact that people remember edsa 1. imagine 2 or 3 years earlier, when everything was relatively peaceful, no one gives a damn about edsa. aside from the usual flag raising ceremony done by government officials and the activitists' commemoration of edsa 1 through protest actions for a current issue at that moment, edsa 1 anniversary would just be an ordinary day. walang pasok kaya ang mga tao nasa bakasyon.

but look at the edsa anniversary now. yes, there are a lot of people who are still oblivious to what has happened 22 years ago and are still clueless as to why the people power monument was erected near white plains (or was that corinthians), but at least now, there are more people who either went out of their comfortable homes or cut short their out of town trips just to be with other people who are calling for a change in the present government. at least there are more people who are realizing the power that lies in their hands and are willing to take accountability/responsibility in the future of this country.

i was watching mornings in anc earlier and the hosts were talking about their personal experiences in edsa 1. 2 of the hosts didnt really have personal participation in the event since they were too young to participate. tj manotoc on the other hand was so young and was in the states during that time but remembers his mother being very active in all the anti-marcos rallies due to very personal reasons. it was just ricky carandang who was physically in edsa.

back in edsa 1, i was 4 so obviously, i was oblivious to what was happening in our country. but in edsa 2, i braved the long walk from the university avenue to ortigas because i felt that thats what i have to do at that time. i remember that going there was caused by a mixture of a sense of idealism and adventure. but the feeling of uncertainty about the future was also there. imagine walking out of class for 2 days just to be in edsa and learning from the university's bulletin boards that you could continue doing that until erap resigns. what if he didnt step down? what would have happened?

i guess feelings of uncertainty are always there to test our character once in a while. there are always situations when youre put on a crossroad and while you may dread being in that situation at that particular moment, sticking to our principles and values would always lead us to the right direction. if we would allow ourselves to be on the safe side, to be hindered by our cowardice, nothing will happen. if people were frightened of the tanks in edsa 1 or if us, the youth, were frightened by the uncertain future facing us in 2001, we might still have erap in the office. and while im not very happy with what his successor is doing in malacanang now, im still glad that i was one of those who forced him to step down. now, we as a nation are still faced with another crossroad. and im hoping that soon, i could muster enough courage to make a choice and stand for it.