for lack of an umbrella

I'm really not into superstition. I poke fun at old wives' tales and rural folk tales. Talk to me about anything supernatural or otherworldly and I will automatically counter everything you say.

But there are some things that I can't easily explain away.

Like why something bad always happens to me when I don't have my umbrella.

Yes. This is about that large umbrella I always carry with me, so much so that some people instantly recognize me when you ask them about 'that guy with an umbrella'.

Anyway, the last time I left my umbrella at home was nearly three years ago. That was when I had the fun experience of having two 9mm weapons pointed at my head.

Last Saturday, I was so preoccupied with a lot of things running through my head that I forgot my umbrella at home. I was still near our house when I realized that I had left it at home. However, I was already late for an appointment and it seemed like it wasn't going to rain anytime soon so I just went on my way.

That appointment, by the way, was set back by more than two hours.

Everything went smoothly. Alumni talk about the trip to Shanghai for the solar eclipse next year. AstroSoc Refresher course. Sleep.

Sunday morning came. For some stupid reason, I was running around the street in front of the PAGASA Observatory. My mind blanked out for a microsecond, and in a sudden burst of speed I dove into the asphalt. I can't remember if I tripped or if I lost my balance. The next thing I knew was that I was lying on the ground with scrapes and bruises on my hands and arms.

What a stupid guy.

I walked back to the tambayan with a dazed look on my face. My friends helped me clean up the wounds and put on bandages, after which they took me to the Infirmary where I stayed to rest for an hour or so.

I still can't understand what had happened. There was absolutely no reason for that accident to happen.

I'll never leave home without my umbrella again.

first of december

I haven't been writing much lately. It's not that I have so much to do that I have no more time to sit here and put thoughts to paper, it's quite the opposite. I have nothing to do.

There's not much for me to write about, unless you all want to read about my classes - or lack of classes - every other day. There's nothing much to do yet. No papers or reports or much research until the Christmas break, no exams or presentations until the next year.

About the only thing that maintains my stress level (hahaha) is UP AstroSoc. With the International Year of Astronomy just a month away, I have to keep track of a lot of plans and proposals and problems and people. It's one hell of a challenge coordinating the activities of an organization, but it can also be fun and exciting.

Fun and exciting. Hahaha. It feels good to be able to articulate requests and give suggestions, to lead people, to be respected by your peers.

Translation: Ang sarap mag-utos, mag-dikta, at manakot.

Hahahaha. I'm only kidding. (Sure...) It's fun to be in charge, but the price of all that "fun" is all the responsibility that a high position brings with it. Bottom line is, the buck stops here.

Bea, ito na siguro article ko for Sidereals. Hahaha.

So what else is new...

Nothing much. Hahaha.

Christmas is in twenty-four days. My birthday is in twenty. I'm getting one year older once again. Argh.

However, hitting 22 so close to Christmas has its benefits - double the presents. HAHAHA. So what should you get me for Christmas AND my birthday? Hehehe.

I won't come out with a wish list this year. I want to be surprised. Hahahaha. But seriously now, with the current economic crunch I won't be expecting much. I won't be able to give much either.

I would gladly settle to be with the people I love this Christmas. I miss my far-flung high school barkada. I want to be with my family on Christmas Eve. I want to celebrate the season with my friends.

A chocolate bar or two won't hurt though.

Hehehe.

Merry Christmas everyone!

usisero

Three people were killed at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman yesterday.

Two security guards and one bank teller lay dead on the street as I watched the police gather evidence and photograph the crime scene. Numerous shell casings littered the ground around an armored car riddled with bullet holes.

Reporters and photographers were running everywhere. A large crowd of people surrounded the area; only a long line of yellow tape kept all the bystanders at bay. Mga usisero't usisera.

Tulad ko.

I really had no business there, I only wanted to know what happened. Just an hour or so before I heard a series of loud bangs which I thought were just from fireworks. Fireworks at noon.

That was before I heard from a classmate that there had been a shooting incident at the Bahay ng Alumni. Police sirens started to fill the air right then. I ran outside Mass Comm as police cars drove past the building; the only thing stopping me from following the cars was my Comm Res 101 class.

Our professor did not come to class. I was supposed to go somewhere else, but as I passed by the UP Theater I came across a few construction workers who were talking about what had happened. I followed them to where the shots were fired. Mga usisero't usisera.

Kasama ako.

My curiosity got the best of me. I pushed through the crowd to see what was going on. I asked people about what had happened, about what they saw. I plurked about what I saw and heard. About the only thing I did not do was shoot a few pictures of my own - I was having qualms about posting pictures of dead people.

It was exciting to be there, to see things happen. Hahaha. Every semester, something like this happens to me. Something happens that makes me even more driven in my course. I always get a rush, a feeling of exhilaration, that drives me to do more, to give more, to strive for more.

Inspiration.

I want this job.

going down under

*This is my second to the last paper for feature writing class

We entered the cave.

 

Our measly little light punctured the inky gloom to reveal walls of crystalline limestone. Towering pillars of rock jutted up from the dark water to meet those which pointed down from the roof. Bats hung from the roof above us, while cave swallows swooped after insects around us. The only sound we heard was the "swish" of our little boat as it moved up the river.

My dad and I had the best seats in the boat; I was at the very front while he held the light from his position behind me. My mother, sister, uncle, aunt, and cousin sat in the middle. Our tour guide/boatman was at the back of the boat, pushing us along while giving colorful commentary about what we saw before us.

The boatman pointed out to the seven of us in that little banca the different rock formations in the cave. In a huge open space called "The Cathedral", we saw rocks which looked like Virgin Mary. Another looked like the Three Kings. Still another looked like a man being followed by a dog. In the center of the Cathedral was a lone, tall spire called "The Melting Candle".

The cavernous dome of the Cathedral soon narrowed down to a gallery which was full of rocks in the shape of vegetables. To the left was one which reminded us of a carrot. To the right was a cluster of mushrooms, beside which was one that looked like a cucumber. A large formation which looked almost exactly like a puso ng saging appeared towards the end of the gallery.

We moved on; our banca glided over the calm water. More rock formations appeared out of the gloom. Once we even saw what appeared to be (or what we imagined to be) a small vein of gold.

Our boatman was not contented with just telling us about the cave and the river, he also livened up the tour with his own little comedy show. He kept cracking jokes about this or that rock formation and about some of the people who explored the cave in the past. At one point he told my dad to point the light to the left and then he declared "yan naman, bankang puno ng tao", when the light revealed not a rock formation, but another, real, boat full of tourists!

We were laughing all throughout the 45-minute tour, which covered only a small fraction of the cave system.

That was in April of 2006. Today, Palawan's Underground River is one of the top contenders for a spot among the New Seven Wonders of Nature - it currently holds the fifth place. Mayon Volcano, the Chocolate Hills, and Tubbataha Reef are the other sites in the Philippines which could be immortalized as natural wonders.

The 8.2 kilometer-long Underground River, or more properly the St. Paul Underground River, is one of the longest navigable subterranean rivers in the world.

Found in Puerto Princesa City (yes, it is within the city boundaries; Puerto Princesa is the largest city in terms of area in the Philippines), the Underground River is the main attraction of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. The river cuts through a limestone mountain range before draining into the South China Sea.

The national park, which is also considered a UNESCO world heritage site, encompasses part of a mountain range and a tropical forest. It plays host to a wide variety of animals, and, according to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, is a great place for bird-watching as some rare birds can be found there.

How do you get there? There are two ways of reaching the national park; by land or by sea. The land route will take you through the jungle. You will have to walk through what the locals call "the monkey trail" thanks to the dozens upon dozens of monkeys you will see on the way. If you go by this route, as one of the people we talked to back then said, you have to be prepared for a long hike – the better part of a day must be set aside for this.

The sea route is a whole lot quicker and more convenient. A ride from the wharf to the park area on large motorized bancas takes a little over 30 minutes. You also get a wonderful view of limestone cliffs and of the mountains. No one here at home can remember what that trip cost, but one blogger who also went there put it at 700 pesos for six people.

Both routes start at the town of Sabang - "the gateway to the Underground River", as the signs in town gleefully point out - which is a 2-3 hour drive from downtown Puerto Princesa. You can try to ride the jeepneys which irregularly ply that route or you can charter a van to get you there.

Be advised though; that 2-3 hour trip will be a very bumpy one. We had the dubious fortune of getting a free ride on a van which had a driver that probably dreamt of flying supersonic fighter jets. At first, the going was smooth. But once we left the paved highway, we were treated to a spine-jarring, bone-crushing, nausea-inducing ride on a "road" which really stretched the definition of the term. The experience was made even worse by the driver's insistence at maintaining a break-neck speed even though scattered rocks and potholes were making life miserable for us poor passengers. I don't know if the "road" to Sabang has already been fixed. I sure hope that they at least smooth it out. If not, I would advise that you bring a lot of cushions with you.

Anyway, inconveniences aside, that 2-3 hour trip will take you from Puerto Princesa City proper through a more rural area. You will pass many beautiful mountains and limestone formations which will, for a few moments at least, make you forget about your broken bones.

The town of Sabang is your typical beach-side small town. There is a wharf where the ferry boats going to and from the Underground River load and unload passengers. There is a little beach where kids play. There are also a lot of eating places there – the seafood dishes are the best.

There is also an information center there with a map of the entire Underground River cave system and the general area. Try to look at it to get an idea of the size of the cave system.

Let's recap. From Puerto Princesa City ride a jeepney or a chartered van to Sabang. From Sabang take a ferry boat or hike through the jungle on the "monkey trail".

Once you land on the other shore or reach the end of the "monkey trail" take the time to explore the area before going to the Underground River itself. Since we took the ferry, we landed at a beautiful grayish-sand beach. It's nice to look at, and it's nice to play in the sand, but swimming is out of the question as below the huge waves is a steep slope which could be very dangerous as unwary swimmers could be pulled under by the powerful tide. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Expect to get wet though. My mom and my sister were swamped by the huge waves when they tried to get off the boat.

Anyway, a trail from the beach leads into the forest. Be prepared to see monitor lizards and monkeys aplenty. You might even get lucky and see a peacock or two among the bushes.

The trail ends at a small group of little sheds where you could sit down and rest and eat. There are tour guides there who will readily answer any question you have.

Beyond the sheds is a beautiful blue-green lagoon. This is the entrance to the Underground River itself. Tall mangrove trees provide shade along the shore. Across the lagoon is a tall cliff; look at the bottom and you will see the opening of the Underground River.

One final reminder: time your arrival carefully. We got to the lagoon just in time for lunch, so we had to wait for more than an hour before the boatmen resumed giving their tour of the Underground River.

For us –well for me, at least - the experience was well worth all the inconvenience and the occasional "bump in the road" (and I mean that literally).

I felt giddy all over even when I was only just stepping into our boat. I had been suffering from asthma the day before we went there and I was coughing all the way from Puerto Princesa. The Underground River and its surroundings were so breathtakingly beautiful that I forgot all about my illness.

While it was the highlight of our trip, the Underground River is not the only thing to see in Palawan. A week there was not enough for me and my family to explore everything the island had to offer.

I would like to share everything else that I experienced over there –from the islands in Honda Bay to Puerto Princesa itself- but it would be better if you went to Palawan and experienced it all for yourself.

I still remember moving slowly across the lagoon towards the cave entrance. It looked dark and forbidding, like the open mouth of a giant just waiting to chomp on us.

We entered the cave.

downgraded

I've forgotten how much of a pain it is to use a little keypad. My fingers hurt after five days of having to contend with a barely functioning navigation pad and hard plastic keys.

Nearly two years on, and it's finally time to retire my XDA2. Hahahaha. The old PDA has been going on and on for quite some time now. It still works, but the battery is no longer reliable. The phone will shut down and reset over and over again at the slightest change in temperature.

Using the camera will cause the PDA to reset. I have to charge the phone every time I use Pocket Word or Excel, or when I have to make a call. There goes my portable office. Hahaha.

Now I have to make do with a second-hand Nokia 6020. Argh. From a touch screen to a keypad. Handwriting recognition to text-speak. It's insulting. Hahaha.

Haaay... At least I still have a phone though. There are many others out there who don't have the luxury of complaining about the loss of their portable e-book reader or the removal of their ability to store thousands of text messages.

Look at the bright side, I'll get a new phone by next month. Hahaha. I'll just sell my old phones for quick cash.

that perfect moment

I hadn't seen the inside of a Starbucks in a very long time, so it was a real special treat when I walked into the one at Santana Grove in Sucat this morning.

I had a fun time at our batch reunion last night, even though I was tipsy the whole time from four straight shots of Absolut Vodka. Hahaha. At least I did not walk into any glass doors!

It was all worth it though - I won a Starbucks gift certificate! It's always the little things... That's 100 pesos worth of free stuff from my favorite coffee shop, and I still have that other gift certificate I got nearly two years ago.

So there I was at Santana Grove. I wanted a steaming cup of White Chocolate Mocha, my favorite drink since I discovered coffee. Hahaha. Who knew that I would cause such a fuss in that little shop?

I had been saving my other gift certificate. It was a Christmas gift from my cousins, and it would get me any drink of any size I wanted anytime I wanted it. I was waiting for the perfect moment to cash in that certificate for a Venti White Chocolate Mocha, and I thought, what the hell, better use it now so that I could stay awake during the long journey from Paranaque to Marikina.

My world crumbled when the barista told me that the certificate was no longer valid.

Exxagerated, yes, but I realized a lot right there and then. I just ordered a tall drink. 125 pesos for coffee. How sad. Hahaha.

Waiting for that one perfect moment cost me my gift certificate.

I sat on that certificate for nearly a year, waiting for the one perfect moment to use it. A lot of opportunities came by, but I chose to hold back and wait for another time, one better than the opportunity I had right then and there.

The ironic thing is that I myself had no idea what "the one perfect moment" was.

It was just something I thought I would know when it came, but everytime I had an opportunity, I always thought that it was not the right time. Always. I waited for perfection.

But nothing is ever perfect.

It's not just with coffee (Oo may lesson dito hahaha). Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect. There is no such thing as perfection. There is no such thing as "the perfect moment".

There is only the here and the now.

Live life, live each moment to the fullest. You never know when that one moment would be your last. You never know when that would be your last chance.

You may be so engrossed with waiting for that impossible perfect moment that you let life pass you by.

It's not that we should live loose and fast. It's not that we should be careless with our lives. It's not that we should not plan for the future. It's all about making each moment, each day, each opportunity count.

Hahaha. All this because of a cup of coffee. But there is more to this tale. I was waiting for my coffee at the counter when the barista asked to see the gift certificate again. She said that she wanted to ask their manager about it. Guess what?
The certificate was still good.

Hahaha. We all had a good laugh over how I had kept it with me for a very very long time. Apparently, the certificate had no expiration date, but they were using a different color for their certificates already - it was that old.

I'll have that Venti White Chocolate Mocha next time I go to Starbucks. Hehehe.

canton ng pancit malabon

I had the singular experience of going home last night with a drunk man by my side. He obviously had one beer too many, and he was very, very noisy.

Apparently, he and the jeepney driver were friends, and he kept saying that he wanted to treat the driver to dinner. Pare, pancit canton tayo! Sagot ko! Gusto kong kumain ng pancit canton ng Pancit Malabon! Over and over and over again.

And the driver would always answer him nicely. Pare, sa susunod nalang. Inaantay ka na ng misis mo e. Ingatan mo pera mo, mawala pa yan!

Right beside me was a drunk man clutching quite a few 500 peso bills in his hand. Haaaay... Hahahaha.

Anyway, this went on and on until we got to Concepcion Market. All the time I was hiding a smile - more like holding back laughter - since I did not want to risk insulting the man. But I was really amused by the incident. Kind of reminds me of a certain someone who tried going through a glass door some time ago... Hahaha.

It was a fitting end to a very stressful day. I know some of you are waiting for the inevitable blog entry about the events of last night. I wanted to write about it, yes, but some things are better left unsaid.

Especially if you want to forget them.

This will be the last time I write about this sad part of my life. I'm moving on. This chapter has ended. A new one has begun.

The past will remain the past. I will move on to the future. For now, yes, I will be sad. But I'm not mad. Yes, I may have fallen into despair last night. Yes, I may have thought ill of others.

But now I'm back in control.

I'm closing the book on the last five years of my life. It all ends - really - today. No more going back. Now it's public. Now it's policy.

Today is my Independence Day. Hahahaha. (I've always wanted to say that!)

I want to thank those who stayed with me last night. I want to thank all those who made me smile, who made me laugh, who gave me their time, who offered a shoulder to cry on, who walked with me... Everything. Thank you.

Even if i never told all of you exactly everything that was going on.

I learned a lot from everything that has happened. I'm a better person now. I know better now, but my idealism is still intact. I do not hold any ill will towards them. None whatsoever. It's amazing, really, that I feel this way - even after everything that has happened.

But I'm telling the truth.

Haaaay... They say that time heals all wounds. Well, I was deeply wounded. But I'm still here. I'm still standing. My wounds will heal. I'll keep pushing forward. I'll keep hoping for the best. I'll always look on the bright side.

Time will tell. Sooner or later, time will tell.

Now let's get to work. I have two final examinations tomorrow. One's a take home exam which is still just a bunch of incoherent doodles on intermediate pad and jumbled ideas in my mind. The other is a law exam that will most probably last very late into the night.

I still have an organization to run. The second semester will be no joke. Come January, it will be the International Year of Astronomy. I do not intend to fail in that endeavor.

Haaay... Hehehe... Always look on the bright side of life.

Remember: as long as you can still laugh and smile, you are not defeated.

crappy retarded sh*t

And so the CRS bashing begins. It's that time of the year once again when UP students from all over come together to vilify that most beloved of all our university's institutions.

The (delayed) results of the first run are out and - amazingly - I got four classes already. That's 12 units in the bag right off the bat.

Of course, all I have left are majors. No more GE subjects or electives for me. However, I still need to get two more subjects; if I don't take Comm Res 101 and Comm 140 this semester I will be delayed by yet another semester.

The Computerized Registration System this semester is quite different from its previous iterations. While no less slow and prone to other 'problems', this version now allows the student to prioritize classes for enlistment.

A welcome new feature, yes, but can the people behind CRS please come up with a way to make the system more efficient?

Every semester there's something new, but the major problems still remain. Painfully slow service and unexpected disconnections are the big ones. Will someone please address those issues first before making the system even more complicated?

Haaaay...

This is what happens after another long evening at M 213. Last day blues? Hahaha.

thawed

Midnight. I couldn't sleep. It was baffling; I felt sleepy, yet sleep wouldn't come. My electric fan was at full blast, yet the heat was still unbearable. I tossed and turned, but sleep would not come.

Two weeks later, and this is me. All the ideas frozen and locked up in my mind have been thawed and turned into reality. Three major projects done and over with. Now I'm only waiting for the results, hoping against all hope for the best.

It's all over.

I can breathe easy now. One last class to go. Communication 120 with Prof. Avecilla. I'll be home late tonight. Hahaha.

But after that? No more. Just two exams left. Exams... Easy.

So much for the First Semester of Academic Year 2008-2009. I have at least three more to go, most likely four, before I graduate cum laude.

Confident. Hahaha.

Like I said before, it really helps if you know what you're fighting for, if you have a goal to reach for, an ambition or a dream to fulfill. It drives you forward, even through all the obstacles and adversities that life throws at you.

Of course it also helps if you also have inspiration by your side, something to look forward to.

Haaay...

One last General Assembly for the semester. Two exams to go. Three weeks of rest. Four more semesters before it all ends.

Now why did I find it so hard to sleep last night?

winding down

I want my pork chops.

For some inexplicable reason, I have been craving for my mom's "special" pork chops. Marinated in some secret concoction, fried in butter, then drenched in a good helping of mushroom soup...

Mmmm...

It's been two days now of non-stop pork chops. Lunch and dinner. Hahaha. I just can't get enough.

Yesterday, I downed five in one sitting. Five. It just begs the question; how come I'm not gaining any weight?

Hahaha...

Maybe it's just all the stress. I've just started wrapping up "major combat operations" for the past semester. With three major subjects done and over with, I can now breathe and relax.

Two more classes left. Two exams. Exams. Hahaha. Easy.

Haaay...

Now all I have to wait for are my grades. Hahaha.

Okay... My pork chops are ready. Hahaha. Eating time!

something to look forward to

Storm clouds darken the sky. A strong wind howls all around. Rain pours down in torrents. The streets are flooded.

But there in the distance, the sun breaks through the clouds - a little ray of sunshine piercing through the gloom.

It's a sign. The storm will end soon. The wind will die down. The rain will stop. The flood will subside.

Soon enough.

When problems start to pile up, when crisis follows crisis, when failure trumps success, it helps when there is something to look forward to.

Call it what you want. It may be inspiration, a goal, an objective, even ambition. What matters is that through all the hardship, you know what you're fighting for.

You must have something that drives you forward.

Haaay... Wala lang.

Less than a week to go. Three major projects left. Two exams. An organization to tend to.

But I can still smile. Hahahaha.

Right. Back to work.

time is running out...

...but I am still very much in control. Hahaha. My feature article is well on its way. My topic for the poverty story was approved. I have multiple sources and interviews lined up.

About the only thing not going to plan is that MRT website. I may have to go directly to their main offices next week. Hahaha.

A little over a week left in the semester, and the stress levels are starting to rise. Good luck to everyone. Hahahaha.

two down...

...and a whole lot more to go. Hahahaha. Nonetheless, I had a very productive day.

I've set interviews with two prospective interviewees for my feature article on Philippine Astronomy and I've passed my second-to-the-last story for Journ 102.

That's two of the tasks on my to do list - the second interviewee was due to pure luck; I quite literally bumped into him while walking.

One day done and over with. Ten more to go. Maybe a little more depending on the schedule of my exams, but hey, those are just exams. Hahahaha.

Tomorrow I'm going to present my planned topics for my poverty story. I have three all lined up so I have a reasonable chance of getting one through. I hope.

I also plan on starting on my feature article. I have enough to start on already. It's amazing how ideas can appear out of nowhere at the oddest of times. These two hit me while I was taking a shower this morning.

Now i feel good enough to take a break. It's been a long time since I played a game.

i love me

*This is my final paper for my English 1 class. I'll be passing this today. After nearly five months, I wrote this essay in just a little over an hour. Hahaha. Enjoy.

Upon waking up, the very first thing I do in the morning is to fire up my computer. I spend the first hour of my day checking my email, reading new blogs, viewing new albums, and looking at updated web pages. Friendster, Facebook, Multiply, YouTube, Yahoo, and Google are my breakfast buddies - I actually eat my corned beef and eggs at the computer table, usually while writing a blog post of my own or uploading some of my pictures.

The weird part is that it's the same every day. Sure, the titles change, but the content stays roughly the same: I love me.

It's no longer unusual to see albums on Multiply filled to the brim with pictures of just one face. It's no longer out of the ordinary to read a blog post in Blogspot or LiveJournal about one's deepest thoughts. It's no longer surprising to learn everything about someone from his or her Friendster profile. It IS unusual not to find someone and their story online.

New media and communications technologies have had the effect of connecting everyone on the planet – well, at least those who have access to such technologies. The personal computer, the Internet, cellular phones, digital cameras: all have done much to bring people from near and far away together. Consequently though, they have also had another effect on the youth of today.

Easy access to the Internet in the age of Wi-Fi and DSL Broadband connections plus the proliferation of more affordable digital cameras and cell phones and not a little bit of peer pressure has caused the current generation to put most –if not all- of their lives "out there" where everyone can see.

It's very different from the past. I was watching the movie The Patriot on HBO the other day, and the opening scene showed a post rider delivering letters to the home of the main character. Everyone was excited to see the mail and read the news back then in 1776. In 2008, it has all become a matter of routine. Back then, at least until the invention of the Internet, only the famous or the prominent or the controversial made the news. Today, everyone is in the news – so much so that Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2006 was "You".

A very shocking assertion, right? Wrong. While nearly 99% of the people on this planet do not get featured on CNN, the Internet has given all of us access to everyone else. We can publish our stories, our pictures, indeed our lives on the myriad of web sites which allow us to do so. It's really quite simple. Blogspot, for instance, allows one to sign up and put up their own blog site in three easy steps: create an account, name your blog, choose a template. You get a place to publish your thoughts and your ideas for everyone to see in three steps. That simple. Signing up for every other web site out there and creating your own little niche in the online world is also just as easy.

It's all so easy in fact that we all feel entitled to share everything with everyone, maybe because we all want to be noticed. We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. As Cito Beltran explained in his article Now Showing: Me for PCIJ.org, cyberspace has become "a surefire way to stardom" limited only by the imagination.

Does a sense of self-importance prevail among the youth of today – our generation?

Go online and see for yourself.

the sound of silence

It's September once again, and stress is in the air. Hahahaha. The first semester is nearing its end, and a lot of papers, exams, projects, and reports are coming our way.

As for myself, I have three huge projects looming for my Journalism subjects. I have to write a feature article about Philippine Astronomy (hard but manageable), turn out a story on poverty (difficult but not impossible), and contribute to a website about the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system (tiring and expensive, but exciting). All of these will eat up a lot of my time and resources.

Not to mention the stress. The four weeks I have to work on these projects seems a pittance compared to the amount of tasks and chores and research and field work I have to do to turn these ideas into reality.

Computer games, while previously a very good avenue of escape from the harsh realities of life, are not the solution to this kind of stress. In fact, they add to it, eating away at precious time. I have already decreased my playing time significantly, reducing my time in fantasy world to those moments of extreme frustration and rage just an hour or two a day.

Maybe its time I did something else.

An article from Zenhabits.net, Sound of Silence: How to Find Some Quietude in Your Life, details some ways by which we can have some quiet moments in our life to help us relax and hear ourselves.

I already do most of the things listed in the article. I've restored my old habit of reading. I spend some of my time out in nature. Blogging - well, you can see for yourselves. About the only thing that doesn't apply to me is the item "for those with kids". Hahahaha.

And they work. Having some quiet moments away from the hustle and bustle of everyday work life really helps to relax the mind and the body. I actually feel more relaxed than I should be, what with all the projects and problems and deadlines looming on the horizon.

Now if only I could get someone to jog with me sometime. Hahaha.

Try to read the article and do the stuff its author recommends. You'll be relaxed in no time.

sabaw

A life of all work, no play, and no sleep is guaranteed to turn one's brain into gelatinous mush.

Coffee has replaced the blood that runs through my veins. My stomach has gotten used to churning up stomach acid and nothing else. My feet, legs, arms, and hands are sore. My back aches. My eyes hurt from nearly 24 hours of non-stop use.

Am I a workaholic? Hahahaha. It seems to be that way. Much of my time is spent doing one thing or another - either academic or org related.

It's not that I'm complaining. Well, not that much. Hahaha. I actually get a bit of a rush while working nowadays, especially when I'm out in the field.

I am starting to become a workaholic. Maybe I should slow down a bit. It's a good thing that I'll be enjoying the coming weekend with friends. I just hope that nothing screws things up.

pushing forward

Time travel is a very fascinating idea. Who would not want to go back into the past and see how history was made? Who would not want to go into the future to see how things will be?
Who would not want to have the power to change things by going back or jumping forward?

In computer games there is always some sort of a "save" system. The player can pause the game at any time and "save" his progress. If things go bad, the player can always "load" that save file and start over from that point in the game.
If only life had a save system.

There are many things in the past which I want to witness for myself. As a child, I wanted to go back to the age of the dinosaurs and see with my own eyes my favorite animals. As a teenager, I wanted to go back through human history and watch how wars were fought and won, how civilization evolved and moved forward.

There were times when I wanted to go back in time to correct a mistake, to change an error, or to do things in a different way. With the clear vision of hindsight...

There were also times when I wanted to go back in time to relive a certain moment, to be with a certain someone once again, to be in a special place one more time. Just one more time...

If only I could turn back time...

I don't know exactly what triggered this feeling. Reminiscing. Remembering. Hoping.

Could it have been my experience at the DENR? I spent most of last night tossing and turning in bed, moving in and out of sleep. I actually dreamt of writing that story when I fell asleep. I thought of writing that story when I was awake. Overly grade-conscious, yes, but that doesn't explain why I am what I am today.

Could it have been my time at the Sunken Garden? Staring out at the long green grass, with birds flying all around, and with soft, puffy clouds up in the blue sky... Maybe.

It could have been because I read my old blog posts for the first time in months. I have a feature article to write for Friday, and I looked at my old blog about Palawan to get an idea of what to write for that article.

I soon ended up reading my other old blog posts, reminiscing about times gone by, remembering cherished moments, hoping that I could relive them one more time.

While browsing through YouTube the other day I stumbled upon this little video clip from CNN. This may very well be the closest thing we can have to time travel. Dr. Mallet proposes a "time travel machine" which works by twisting space with lasers, which in effect also twists time thus creating a sort of "loop" through time. The catch, though, is that if we ever get that machine up and running and capable of physically transporting a human instead of just subatomic particles, the farthest we can reach back in the past is only to the time wherein the "time machine" was first turned on.

In the same way, with my blog I can only go back to the time wherein I first wrote in my blog. I only have a personal record of my past -other than the memories locked in my mind- up until my very first blog post.

I can only go back to January 18, 2005. Hahaha. Just a little more than three years. Rereading my old blog really brings back memories. It also allowed me to see how much I've changed over the years.

I want to point out two of my old blog posts. One was about a national issue while the other was about how I thought things should be. Now, three years later, I write about very different things in a very different way.

In a way, I miss how I was able to write about issues and current events. I miss how I was able to articulate a call for change in my blog. Over time, however, I became disillusioned. Nothing was happening anyway, and I realized that I was writing about the same things, the same people, and the same problems over and over again. And I don't want to keep on repeating myself. About the only change I can expect is the change that I can effect as a student, as a future journalist, as an org president, as a future president.

Change. The only thing constant in the universe is change.

A lot of things have changed. Over the years, I have changed.

Time travel is a fascinating idea, yes, but why pine for a way to go back into the past when one can move forward into the future?

I want to see the past as much as anybody. I want to go back and change things if only could. But would I really want to change history?

I am a different person today. My experiences in the past have made me so. The people I met, the people I left, the mistakes I made, the success I enjoyed, the choices, the decisions, the conflicts - everything has contributed to what I am today.

The past will always remain the past. "Past is past", a friend once said. You can reminisce all you want. You can remember all you can. You can hope to change what you've done or to go back to what you were all you want, but the past will always remain the past.

You cannot do anything about the past. You can only keep moving forward into the future.

Learn from the past. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from your success. Keep pushing forward.

I remember now. I watched Meet the Robinsons on the Disney Channel last Sunday. "Keep moving forward".

objective achieved

It's not often that I get to write about overwhelming success in this blog, so this is a very special occasion. Hahahaha.

I got the story at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) this morning. Talk about good timing; the story was quite literally handed to me as I arrived at the DENR building.

There were protesters right in front of the building. According to one of my Journ 102 classmates, they had just started their program a few minutes before I arrived. The protesters were farmers from Bukidnon who were rallying against an allegedly illegal memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DENR and a development company.

It was a very exciting experience. All my fears were allayed. There was the story right in front of me. There were multiple sources right in front of me. I was not alone.

We got over five pages worth of interviews from three different sources over the next hour or so, plus a copy of the MOA in question. About the only thing we didn't get was a statement from a DENR representative. However, with three days before the deadline we have more than enough time to get the other side of the story.

Whew. I love this job!

Haaay... It's been a very exciting day. Tiring, yes, but exciting. Exhilirating, even. And all that happened within the space of just two hours. Hahahaha.

Of course I still have to put the story in writing. I still have to verify much of the information I got this morning. I have to read that very long MOA. I have to go back for the DENR's side of the story. Hahaha.

One little baby step at a time.

I've accomplished my first objective for the week. Hmmm... Maybe I should try to think of everything I do as part of one of my computer games. Hahahaha. Now that would be one hell of a good motivational strategy - for me, at least.

Yes, I am grade-conscious. Maybe a bit too much. Ever since I got that tiny hope of graduating cum laude I have become more obsessed with seeing a "1" on everything that I do at school. Hahahaha.

So far, I've been doing quite well this semester. I just have to continue getting high grades. Grabe ang G.C. ko na talaga!

Anyway, I still have a long way to go before you see "mission accomplished" as the title of one of my blog posts. I have to work on the story itself. I still have a feature story to write. I still have that exam to pass on Thursday. I still have the International Year of Astronomy to worry about.

But at least I'm moving forward.

***
A special thank you goes out to my classmate, Ryan, for getting most of the interviews, and to Erika for the pictures.

first of september

Monday morning. Tinatamad nanaman ako. Hahahaha. Someone please just wake me up when September ends.

I don't have any class today. The only thing I have to do right now is to scoot down to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to get an environment story for Journ 102.

Sounds extremely easy, doesn't it?

It is easy, except for the fact that I have absolutely no idea what to do once I get there. Hahaha. This is not the House of Representatives, where you can simply ask for a bill or barge into offices (no, I'm just exaggerating) to get interviews. This is not a police station, where the blotter is accessible to anyone and police officers are just lounging around waiting to be interviewed.

I should be leaving now, but I'm still here. The official excuse is that I'm still drinking my morning cup of coffee. Unofficially, I'm scared once again. Hahahaha.

Nevertheless, I have to do it today. The deadline is on Thursday. I have to do this today. I have to get that story today. Today. Not tomorrow, today. Did I say that I needed that story today?

So. Fear of the unknown will not stop me. Fear of being alone cannot stop me. I want to get a high grade on this one. (Grabe ang G.C. ko na) Hahahaha.

Anyway, it's time to move. Sorry for yet another "me" post. Hahahaha. Chaaaaarge!!!

something

Everyone is outside eating dinner. Now I have my cousin's computer all to myself. Hahahaha.

I said that I was going to relax. No Sunken Garden here in San Juan though, only a huge swimming pool down on the 4th floor.

It was a very thrilling experience swimming four floors above ground as the lightning flashed all around us. We played catch while the rain fell. My sister couldn't catch a ball to save her life. Hahahaha.

There. Now that's something new. I'll be home in a few hours. More work tomorrow, but at least I'll be a bit more refreshed when I get there.

nothing

It's been a long time since I just sat down somewhere and stared at nothing.

Hahahaha.

I miss my Sunken Garden moments. I miss just sitting there among the tall acacia trees with a cool breeze going through my hair. I need to relax.

My life for the past few months has been very hectic. If I'm not in an Execlus meeting I'm out there somewhere in the field looking for a story. If I'm not cramming a paper I'm reading up for my next class.

I miss stopping to smell the roses. I miss staring up into the sky while the clouds go by. I miss watching the sun set. I need to slow down.

All work and no play: I never thought I would be like this. Hahahaha. There's too much on my mind. An environment story for next week. A travel article for Friday. An exam on Thursday. A field trip on Tuesday. The International Year of Astronomy in 2009.

I stayed there at the Track Oval while waiting for lunch. No one else was around. The trees shaded me from the sun. It was quiet; no one was screaming or asking questions or giving a briefing or reporting. It was just me, myself, and my PDA. Hahahaha.

Solitude never felt so good. I love to have friends around me, but I do need some time alone to rest and relax and to make some sense of all the things racing through my mind.

Haaay... I really need to relax. I have to take a break once in a while. I will take the time to just sit at the Sunken Garden or at the Track Oval or at the Lagoon - no acads, no org, no anything.

poor little pluto

***This is an article I wrote for my feature writing class.

You’ve been team mates for the longest time, all nine of you. You’ve been through a lot together. Ever since you were “discovered” you were a part of the group. You were all inseparable, until one day someone took you off the team because you were just too small. Plus, your little brothers and sisters were always tagging along.

August 24, 2006 was the day Pluto got booted out of our solar system’s official list of planets. We were taught about the nine planets of our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. But in just three days, we will be marking the second year since all science textbooks were rendered obsolete by a vote which involved only 424 of the world’s professional astronomers.

The highly controversial vote on that fateful day capped a long debate on the status of the diminutive erstwhile ninth planet sparked by the discovery of other bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune in the Kuiper Belt.

The what???

Okay. Let’s set the issue of Pluto and the vote aside for a while and go on a little “tour” of our solar system just beyond Neptune. For our purposes, let’s hitch a ride on the New Horizons spacecraft –a probe sent by NASA to study Pluto- which is just now past the orbit of Saturn. Let’s imagine that we’re already well on our way to Pluto (which in reality would be in 2015).

Neptune is just a bright blue dot behind us now. Pluto looms ahead in the distance, its single moon, Charon, is just beside it. This is not your normal planetary system, as Pluto and its moon orbit the Sun at a different angle relative to all the other planets. Its orbit also cuts across that of Neptune, so that for part of its 248-year long orbit it actually becomes the eighth planet from the Sun.

We see in front of us a grayish-white globe. Pluto is believed to be composed mostly of ice, a far cry from the rocky inner planets like our very own Earth or the gaseous outer planets like Jupiter or Saturn. It has more in common with comets, so much so that one scientist says that if you knock it off its orbit into the Sun “it would grow a tail and look like a jumbo comet”.

Speaking of comets, this is where some of them come from. As we move past Pluto we encounter a lot of icy objects floating around. We’re now in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune where thousands upon thousands of small icy bodies orbit the Sun.

Now we – wait, there’s something big out there. Among the Kuiper Belt objects we soon see a large globe. This is the aptly-named Eris, a body once touted to be the tenth planet from the Sun.

Okay, back to Earth now.

When it was discovered in February 13, 1930, Pluto was considered as the smallest planet in the solar system. Further study showed that there are several moons in our solar system which are much larger. Pluto is so small that both it and its moon would fit within the borders of the continental United States. Astronomers were already wary of this and of this “planet’s” other eccentricities, but Pluto’s status as a planet was only challenged more recently.

Pluto’s status as a planet was first seriously questioned in 1992, when the Kuiper Belt was discovered. Astronomers were asking whether to still consider Pluto a planet, to classify it as a Kuiper Belt object (KBO), or to classify it as both a planet and a KBO . The discovery of Eris in 2005, a body much larger than Pluto, brought to a boil the already simmering debate on Pluto’s classification.

I mentioned before that Eris was “aptly-named”. Indeed it was, as “Eris” was the Greek goddess of discord and strife , and much of that permeated the astronomical community. Many wanted to keep Pluto as a planet, citing cultural and historical reasons. Others kept to the facts, and wanted to demote Pluto to something less than a planet.

Everything came to a head come 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) started to wrap up its discussions on the matter.

The IAU is an organization of professional astronomers from around the world. Its functions include naming celestial bodies and defining astronomical and physical constants. Basically, this body defines “what is” and “what is not” in Astronomy.

A total of 424 members of the IAU voted to adopt a new definition of the word “planet” on August 24, 2006, effectively dropping Pluto from the original nine planets.

The word “planet” comes from the Greek planetes, meaning “wanderer”. For the longest time that was all that a planet was; a body which “wandered” or orbited around a star. Everything changed with the IAU vote.

Today, a body is considered as a planet only when it fulfills three conditions. It must be:

a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

The first condition is self-explanatory. The second means that the body in question must be massive enough – that is, have a strong enough gravity - to form a spherical shape. The third condition means that the body must not share its orbit with any other body.

It was the third condition which cost Pluto its planetary status. While it did orbit the Sun, and it did have sufficient gravity to become round, it shared its orbit with a myriad of other objects. Pluto, along with Eris and the other KBOs, was demoted to “dwarf planet” status. However, as of last June, Pluto was relegated to a new class of objects, the so-called “plutoids”.

There you are, along with your brothers and sisters, separated from “the big kids”. You watch them play, knowing that you once joined them in their game. Someone took you out because in their eyes you just didn’t fit in. Don’t worry though. There are others who would love to see you back in the game.

***The footnotes were not transferred to this post. Hehehehe. If you ever have a problem with my sources just send me a personal message and I'll send you the original document.

now that's just a little too much

There. I actually feel better now. My "twelve hours of solitude" have stretched to over seventy-two hours in bed thanks to the flu.

It's a good thing that I got sick during the long weekend; I won't have to play catch-up with my classes. However, I had to cut my Comm 130 class this morning for fear of a relapse. There goes my perfect attendance...

Of course, it's nice to get sick once in a while. You're reminded not to push yourself too hard. You're reminded that you're not all-powerful. You're reminded of your limits.

A sickness also gives you the perfect excuse to pass on more troublesome jobs to other people. Hahahahaha.

Well, now that I'm, well, well, I'll have to start working on my Journ 111 paper. Then I'll have to run down a bill at the Batasan Pambansa. Then I'll have to get a copy of the Comm 130 take-home exam. Then there's that report for Journ 102.

Whew.

Now what was that about limits?

UP AstroSoc ACLE -- "Sinaunang Astronomiya"

"Sinaunang Astronomiya: Ang Langit sa Buhay ng Sinaunang Pilipino" is UP AstroSoc's offering for this semester's Alternative Classroom Learning Experience (ACLE) on August 14, 2008 (Thursday).

Dr. Dante Ambrosio, a professor of history at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, will be giving a lecture on indigenous Filipino Astronomy (Sinaunang Astronomiya). Dr. Ambrosio has written several articles regarding Philippine Astronomy. You could read his published articles in the Philippine Daily Inquirer here and here.

Most Filipinos aren't aware of their ancestors having a rich knowledge of the heavens. Believe it or not, the early Filipinos not only used the night sky for determining the seasons, they also assigned names to certain groups of stars that reflect their own culture (yes, just like what the Greeks, Romans, Arabians, and Chinese did!). For instance, the Tagalog named the Orion's Belt as Tatlong Maria while the tribes of Bagobo, Bilaan, at Manobo called the constellation Orion as Balatik, a trapping device used for hunting.

Amazingly, Filipinos have their own version of the skies. (We should be proud!)

This lecture will surely give you a glimpse of the past and discover how our ancestors interweaved their beliefs and culture with the skies above.

See you there!

no rush

Ma, hindi ako nagmamadali ngayon.

Music to my ears. For the first time in weeks I have the time to just... well... do nothing.

It's a fitting end to another week of crisis after crisis. Political, financial, social, academic, organizational -- you name it, I got it. Hahaha.

Screw it. I'll just put those headaches aside and relax. I'll enjoy the moment. I'll ignore every text message, every email, every call that brings in news of yet another problem to manage. I'll cut myself off, if only for a few short hours.

I'll rest. I won't rush. I'll make them wait. I'll enjoy this brief moment of quiet solitude.

perfect coffee break

I haven't had one of these in a very, very long time. A steaming cup of coffee, and nothing else. No notes on my desk. No research on the screen. No paper to pass in the morning.

Just me, my coffee mug, and relaxation.

Relaxation for me is writing this blog post with the battle scene from The Last Samurai on YouTube and Call of Duty 4 minimized on the taskbar. Hahahaha.

I got the mix of milk and coffee right this time - just creamy enough to make every sip feel like a taste of the clouds.

Enough work for the week. I still have that report for Online Journalism class on Tuesday and that news story for Journalism 102 on Thursday, but for now I'll just sit back and relax.

After two straight days of forging through flash floods and torrential rain and a deluge of problems great and small, I think I deserve a little break.

There. I've finished the "Shock and Awe" mission for what may very well be the 120th time; a little more and I may be able to play the level in my sleep.

If you're looking for a more structured and coherent post, go somewhere else. Hahahaha. I don't want to think about "structure" and "organization" right now. I just want to let the words flow from my mind.

The music from this scene of The Last Samurai is simply haunting, and the way it mixes with the samurai charge is just perfect.

The perfect mix of coffee, music, and stress relief. It's times like this which make me feel more alive, even though my body has yet to see five straight hours of sleep.

I've perfected the art of sleeping on the move. I've slept on the MRT, in jeepneys, and in FXs, and each and every time I wake up just as the vehicle nears my destination.

Sleeping on the move. Now how did I get there? (No pun intended.) Hahahahaha.

I need to sleep on my soft and cushy bed. The temperature is just perfect for a long, deep, slumber.

Zzzzzzz....

NASA says Mars craft "touched and tasted" water

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA scientists said on Thursday they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander.

Read more from Yahoo! News.

expired

That's what I was thinking over a week ago during Sunday mass. My patience has expired. My tolerance has expired. Any residual sympathy within me has expired.

I don't know why I even bother listening to their side.

I absolutely detest being lied to, ESPECIALLY if it's to my face. Having people I used to trust doing the lying is just the final nail on the coffin.

It was a captive audience. They even had a Powerpoint presentation up on the huge screen.

Everything was pure vanilla. Everything had been said before. However, one thing really twisted my tail.

Coercion.

One of the reasons why the Church is against the reproductive health bills in Congress is that, according to them, the bills seek to force people to use contraceptives. In fact, the men in white robes gleefully point to a provision penalizing health workers who refuse to provide complete information on reproductive health and access to contraceptives.

Another reason is that they believe that "population management" here would soon be just like that in the People's Republic of China: one child per family, or else. They point to the provision of "incentives" for couples who have only two children as a basis for this fear.

The Catholic Church considers these acts as coercive. But what is coercive about providing tax breaks? What is coercive about ensuring that the people get complete information and have access to whatever family planning method they choose?

What is coercive is the fact that the Church is forcing down our throats its own views on family planning on pain of "being in a state of sin" or outright excommunication.

They are forcing their beliefs on everyone. Not just Catholics, everyone. The bishops and the priests would be well within their rights to tell their flock to follow their teachings, to toe their line, so to speak. Within the Church they would just be doing their jobs.

However, in a nation of 90 million, NOT ALL OF WHICH ARE CATHOLICS, the mere act of denying equal access to information is coercion.

Natural Family Planning: NOTHING ELSE, OR ELSE!

Even if you are a Protestant, or a Muslim, or a Buddhist, or whatever other religion, you are forced to toe the line. AS LONG AS THE CHURCH HAS ITS WAY.

The issue here now is not only overpopulation. It's no longer just the fact that our resources are being spread thin by the unbridled growth of our population. It's no longer just the fact that our schools are being filled to the brim with new students year in and year out. It's no longer just the fact that more than 400,000 babies are being aborted by mothers and families who are either not yet ready or simply cannot afford another child.

The issue here is freedom of choice.

THAT is the one thing being denied the Filipino people, thanks to the Church.

Choice.

The people have the right to choose how they plan their families. They must be able to choose what they believe is right FOR THEM, not what is right for the Church.

Choice in itself is useless if it is not INFORMED.

The people must be given equal access to ALL kinds of family planning methods. They must have access to ALL information about family planning, not just the sanitized version peddled by the Church.

Last time I checked, we were supposed to be in a democracy, although much remains to be desired in this country. However, the people in this country are free to choose what they want.

Ignore the Catholic Church. Give the issue to the people. Give the issue to suffering mothers and overburdened fathers. Let them choose for themselves.

inspired

I have an idea.

Would it not be a good investment to develop some kind of defense system which deflects or even engages and destroys inbound problems and crises?

Yes. Something like this. Or this. Maybe even this.

Of course this is all just wishful thinking. The problems life throws at you are not like missiles or artillery shells. Libre lang mangarap.

But it would be really nice to go about life without headaches and heartaches blindsiding you at every turn.

An early warning system would be much appreciated in lieu of an active defense platform - at least I would not walk blindly into yet another problem!

Ahhh... I love the feeling. The stress is draining away as I type. I've gone through three different blog posts already. Two you will never see. This is the third. Hahahahaha.

However, I would like to avoid talking about my problems. This post ends now.

Life from Venus blown to Earth?

Life on Venus could be blown to Earth by powerful winds, scientists claim.

Previous research has considered the possibility of micro organisms existing in Venus's atmosphere despite extreme temperatures on its surface.

Read more from BBC News.

Viewer's Guide: Aug. 1 Solar Eclipse

Friday, August 1 is a red-letter day for eclipse enthusiasts. On that date, the sun will be partially eclipsed over an immense area that includes western and central Asia, parts of northern and central Europe, all of Greenland and even a small slice of northeastern North America.

A total solar eclipse — the first in nearly two and a half years — will be visible along a narrow track that will start over the Northwest Passage of Canada, gives a glancing blow to northern Greenland, then shifts southeast through Siberia and western Mongolia and before ending near the famed Silk Route of China.

Read more SPACE.com.

revitalized

For the past weeks I have been feeling, shall we say, a bit sluggish.

It's not that I'm bored or anything, it's just that I'm not as inspired as I was before. I turn in assignments and papers without much gusto, hoping that "good enough" would get me a passing grade.

Stress, stress, and more stress. About the only thing keeping me sane was my frequent "tambay" at AstroSoc. "A laugh a day keeps the stress away", to paraphrase an old cliche.

But only barely.

Computer games only keep me away from the stress for as long as I have the mouse in my hand - not a good thing when you have to pass papers every few days.

I needed to break my humdrum routine. I had to breathe some fresh air.

Today I did.

Of course it's not as clear-cut as it sounds. Just yesterday I was having a very bad case of the jitters. The mere thought of going out and getting interviews by myself turned my stomach.

For our report in Journalism 102, we had to go out and interview reporters about the PNP and AFP beats. Read that? ReporterS. And get a feel for the beats as well.

The problem with the assignment was that the "we" part meant "me". One of my groupmates was AWOL and the other had a prior engagement.

So there I was at Camp Crame. Alone.

The policeman at the front gate was helpful enough to tell me how to get to the press office. I found the press office soon enough and got an interview with one of the reporters there.

All of a sudden it was just like that one moment a few months ago. There I was, talking to a person who really loved what he was doing. The feeling was infectious.

While the questions l was asking this time were about the place and the news from the place, I got to feel what it was like to be a journalist once again.

I was so scared of going out by myself that morning that I was practically paralyzed. The fear and paralysis disappeared the moment l went inside the press office. Maybe it was the friendly reporter who gave me the interview. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the room; everyone was accommodating and helpful. Most probably it was because I was reminded of what I was preparing to become.

I was again given a glimpse of what could very well be my future. And I loved it.

I wanted it.

The interview went smoothly. My next stop was Camp Aguinaldo, which was quite literally just across the street from Camp Crame.

While Crame was warm and accommodating, Againaldo was cold and distant. The soldier at the gate told me to go to the public Information office. However, he neglected to tell me where that was.

I almost got lost inside the sprawling base if not for a signpost which pointed me to the right direction. The press office was easy enough to find, though my timing could not have been worse.

As I approached everyone inside came out and left. Apparently there was a press conference. I spent an hour doing nothing as I waited for their return. They came back, but I was told that no one would be available for an interview until late in the afternoon.

One score and one bust.

Success at Crame made up for the failure at Aguinaldo. But even though I did not get that second interview I still felt good. I got to go out in the field. I got to stretch my legs and once again get a feel for what my future job would be like. I got to go to the headquarters of the PNP and the AFP. It was all I needed to get back in the groove.

I love my life.

lead us not into politics

There's a debate raging over the issue of reproductive health and population management.

Again.

This time, the bill in question is named "An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development".

The Catholic Church has voiced its staunch opposition to the bill.

The bishops say that the bill is pro-abortion.They say that the supporters of the bill are "murderers" and "anti-life", that the bill "legalizes abortion" and promotes the use of "abortifacients".

Some priests have even gone so far as to threaten the denial of the sacrament of communion to "pro-abortion" politicians.

The Church says that using contraceptives is wrong, that couples should only use "natural family planning" methods.

The Church says that the passage of the bill into law would lead to the eventual legalization of abortion and euthanasia, thus perpetuating a "culture of death".

The Church also said that the Earth was the center of the universe. They also threatened astronomers like Galileo and Copernicus who said otherwise.

Oops.

What the bill actually proposes is the establishment of a coherent national population management policy.

The Philippines currently has no national policy on population. Instead, local government units are left to decide for themselves how best to deal with issues of population and reproductive health.

The bill also has provisions for "mandatory reproductive health and sexuality education" in schools and the guarantee of the availability of "the full range of family planning methods, techniques, and devices" for "couples and adults of reproductive age".

A related bill in the Senate provides incentives for couples who decide to have only two children. However, there will be no penalties for families who have three or more children, so the proposed law is nowhere near China's draconian "one-child policy".

Nowhere, absolutely nowhere, is abortion legalized in both bills. In fact, abortion is repeatedly stated to be illegal and punishable.

As a Catholic, I find it disheartening that the people I was brought up to respect and follow would resort to spreading lies and misinformation and to name-calling in their attempt to stop the reproductive health bill.

Every time I hear mass I cringe whenever the priest or an announcer discusses the issue, knowing full well that the congregation is being fed half-truths and outright lies.

And this from people who should know better.

Aside from the moral issue, the Church should think more about the state of the nation.

With 88.7 million people as of the last census in 2007 (see this press release), the Philippines is dangerously close to becoming overpopulated.

This year, the population is projected to hit 90 million. That's more than a million new mouths to feed, bodies to shelter, children to educate, and workers to employ.

Didn't we just experience a rice crisis? Aren't fuel prices rising everyday?

Many schools are forced to hold classes under trees or in corridors while the children share books and seats.

A family of six needs more than 800 pesos to survive for a day. The current minimum wage in Metro Manila is just a little less than 400 pesos.

Granted, these problems are not caused solely by rapid population growth. However, these problems are exacerbated by the addition of more and more people.

Some babies are even unwanted by their parents.

There are about 400,000 cases of abortion in the country every year.

Abortion, one of the sins condemned by the good bishops, can be linked to lack of education and poverty. Coincidentally, the very bill they demean as "anti-life" seeks to provide proper education and to properly manage one of the many causes of poverty.

Teaching children at the proper age about reproductive health will discourage "experimentation" and unwanted pregnancies before marriage.

Giving married couples -especially the poor ones- access to every available means of planning their families also reduces the incidence of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.

Having less children will also increase the quality of life, especially for poor families - imagine having to feed eight mouths AND sending them to school with a minimum wage job.

I do not understand why the Church wants to block any reproductive health and population management initiative in the country.

They keep invoking a a 40 year-old papal encyclical called "Humanae Vitae" which was promulgated by Pope Paul VI.

It was never explained in church, only mentioned as the reason why they were calling on everyone to join prayer rallies to protest the reproductive health bill.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal explains it as "about the beauty of conjugal love", whatever that means.

The point is the Church has not fully explained its side to the people. It has resorted to threats and name-calling, to lies and misinformation. I will not go so far as to call the bishops and priests hypocrites, but their actions do tend to border on it.

The Philippine Constitution states that the separation of Church and State must be absolute. In our "democratic" society, the Church has every right to air its views and opinions. However, we must draw the line at its use of threats and misinformation.

If the Catholic Church wants to stop this bill, I hope that they will stay away from engaging in political maneuvering to get what they want. They must refrain from doing the very things they condemn politicians for.

If they want to stop the passage of the bill, the priests and bishops should instead talk to their flock and explain why they should not vote for the politicians who support the reproductive health act.

Of course, I have no intention of seeing the Church succeed in stopping the bill. I want the bill passed this year.

The country needs a coherent national policy on population and reproductive health. We can ill afford a future where our archipelago of 7,100 islands is filled to the brim with people competing for every available resource and service.

If we do not want this to happen, we have to act now.

UP AstroSoc Co-presents Namets!

Namets (Yummy) follows the ongoing flirtation between Jacko and Cassie, two Negrense chefs who grew up in Bacolod, and whose lives revolve around food. Trouble starts when Jacko loses his Italian restaurant, Puccini's, to a giant cockfighting debt. The moneylender Dolpo takes control of Puccini's and hires Cassie as a consultant for a total restaurant makeover. Cassie re-visions Puccini's into a place that serves traditional Negrosanon food, and we are treated to the full panorama of Negrosanon cuisine and the idiosyncrasies of Negrosanon eating. Along the way, Jacko and Cassie find time to finally fall in love and set aside their differences.

'Namets' will be shown on July 30, 2008 at Cine Adarna, UP Diliman, 7.00pm. Don't miss it!

Contact Bea Banzuela (09178051515) for tickets (php70 each).

View the trailer here.

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You can also get the tickets directly from me. Just reply to this post or send me a personal message. Thanks!

checking out "cheking"

“Who the heck is this guy?”

That was the first thought which entered my mind when I found out about this year’s Gawad Plaridel awardee.

Who is Atty. Pachico A. Seares?

A quick check through Google did not turn up much. There were a lot of articles about him being the fifth Gawad Plaridel awardee and… nothing else. I was expecting maybe a past interview or biography, but nothing of that sort turned up. The only things I learned was that he was the current editor-in-chief of Sun.Star Cebu and that the award was for his contributions to community journalism.

I realized that I would have to attend the awarding ceremony to find out more about him.

I had no idea what the big deal was back then. The name just didn’t ring a bell. All the past Gawad Plaridel awardees were people I knew and recognized. The first, Eugenia Apostol, started the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Film actress Vilma Santos was the second recipient. Radio broadcaster Fidela Magpayo, more commonly known as “Tiya Dely”, was the third. Last year, television reporter Cheche Lazaro became the fourth awardee.

The awarding ceremony was held at the UP Cine Adarna. I came late, as usual. There was a line at the entrance when I arrived; all us latecomers were made to wait for the end of the processional and the singing of the national anthem.

As I entered, I noticed that the theater was packed. There were students from different schools and colleges, reporters covering the event, and a lot more other people. I found a seat just as the dean of the UP College of Mass Communication (CMC), Dr. Elena Pernia, started her opening remarks.

All the time I was thinking about who Pachico Seares was. Who was this man being described by Dean Pernia as “a media practitioner who has excelled in the media and has performed at the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service”?

An audio-visual presentation titled “A Dreamer with a Deadline” followed. Friends, colleagues, and students of Seares – whom everyone called by the nickname “Cheking” – gave testimonials about him and aired messages for him. Going by the words of the people interviewed for the presentation, Seares appeared to be a fair journalist, a strict editor and boss, and a fine teacher.

The awarding ceremony came right after the presentation concluded. Former CMC dean Nicanor Tiongson, the man who started the Gawad Plaridel, read the citation on the plaque. The award was then presented by UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao, UP Vice President Dr. Amelia Guevara, and Dean Pernia to the man who was the cause of all my trouble.

It was my first look at “Cheking”. Honestly, he reminded me of former senator Ernesto Maceda - the two looked surprisingly alike.

Seares then proceeded to give the customary Plaridel lecture; his was on the issues faced by community newspapers. Community newspapers, like Sun.Star Cebu, are only local in circulation, as opposed to national broadsheets like the Inquirer and the Star.

In an unmistakable Visayan accent, Seares recounted the problems of our country’s community press. He talked about an article he wrote for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in the past, titled “The Future of Community Newspapers”, which discussed the dilemma faced by community papers.

That dilemma, according to him, was “how to improve standards and values and struggle for survival at the same time”.

He decried the existence of corruption in the community press, which he blamed on economic problems and “values less than strong”.

I listened to him speak. He really did sound like a good teacher, notwithstanding the accent.
He went on to discuss the value of the community paper. I learned that as they are local in scope, they have better reach among the local population and they cover more local issues than the national broadsheets. Their coverage of local issues ignored by the national papers makes them very important to their readers.

Up to this point I was completely ignorant of the importance of the community press. I guess I was guilty of being so “Manila-centered” that I forgot about the other cities and provinces of the country.

He then said that a newspaper, or any news media for that matter, should always maintain public trust. That way, public patronage would be maintained and even increased. This would lead to profit which would ensure independence from bribery and corruption and from the control of investors who could dictate what could be printed, thus making a better paper.

“Good journalism is good business”, he said. Plus, its practice can also prevent libel suits and the killing of journalists.

To practice good journalism, he said that one must not be a puppet of government or private interest. One must seek clarity in his stories, know what’s important, maintain objectivity, be informed and fair, and get his or her facts right.

“Whatever lies ahead of community press, good journalism will help us endure”, said Seares as he wrapped up his lecture.

Before this year’s awarding of the Gawad Plaridel, I did not know who Pachico Seares was. Of course I wouldn’t know him – he’s a Cebuano journalist. Now I realize that in Cebu he is a very important and famous man, and that his contributions to the growth and expansion of Sun.Star Cebu and his work for Cebu’s community journalists are great achievements.

That was why he got the Gawad Plaridel. He underscored the importance of the community press. He highlighted the need for good journalism in the community and the country.

A good journalist, a great teacher, and a pillar of the community press in the Philippines.

That is Atty. Pachico A. Seares.