29 January 2010

Week 1

I miss blogging. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time and luxury of resources (I'm using prepaid internet) to blog. =( And I don't know if we're allowed to share what's happening in our practicum...at least not until the practicum ends. So lemme share some pictures na lang. Low res though to save time in uploading.












21 January 2010

Hoy. Bakla ka ba?


Pwes, attend na!

19 January 2010

Reeeaaach


a Facebook find


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listening to: Lean On Me (Glee)

17 January 2010

From Chocolat

I'm not sure what the theme of my homily ought to be. Do I want' to speak of the miracle of our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how he lived his life here on earth. His kindness. His tolerance. Listen. Here's what I think. I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist and who we exclude. I think we got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include.

- Pere Henri (Hugh O'Conor)

16 January 2010

Q & A II

Q: AWW YOU HAVE TO LIKE STRAWBERRIES! umm anyway.. ahem, so uhh- you like cute stuff?
A: A bit of story why I don't like strawberries. When I was a kid there was so much, umm, hype about strawberries. Practically all the kids in my neighborhood claimed that strawberries are really delicious. Of course, that made me crave for strawberries. One day my cousin who just came from Baguio gave me some strawberries. And it tasted...weird. No, it actually tasted baaaaaaad. The strawberries really looked perfect on the outside but sucked big time in the taste department. So there, that is why I don't like strawberries. TMI. Lol.

And yes, I like cute stuffs. Teddy bears are overrated though. =p


Q: i just hurt my gums with my toothbrush, what do i do?
A: Since this question was posted 2 hours ago, I bet you and your gums are fine now. =p Go eat chocolate.


Q: Humm- Hummmmm- Hummmmm- I can't think of anything to ask you right now... :P
A: Come on! Keep it coming! Hahaha. Thanks for the question/s btw.


Q: So pipo, describe your ideal life partner.
A: Someone like you. =p Ang hirap naman ng tanong. I really haven't thought about this. Lemme try though.

I want someone older than me. I'm not into guys younger than me. I dunno. There's no chance that I'll be in a relationship with a someone younger. I know this is not always true but I associate maturity with age. I want someone mature.

I'm very childish. Most of my friends won't agree to this but I'm really childish in a romantic relationship set-up. So someone who can deal with this would be nice.

I'm a sucker (pun not intended, really) for attention. The best way to make me feel loved is giving me time. Lotsa time.

Someone smart. Smarter than me. Not that I'm very smart pero I just want someone who's superior to me in the brain department. He must be street smart too.

A really patient person. As a partner, I tell you, I'll get to your nerves really often. And sometimes I do it on purpose.

Ok, I'm gonna stop now. I can go on and on with the list but I'll never feel satisfied with my answer. I dunno. But I'm very sure with what I listed. Thanks for asking. :]


Q: so i'm not your ideal life partner, i fail at number one :P anyway- i am kind of stalking you, do you mind?
A: 4 out of 5 is not bad. =p You're not the type of stalker who follows somebody wherever he goes, right? So I guess it's fine. Haha. And I'm pretty sure in a few days time you'll get tired. I'm a pretty boring species you see. Lol


Q: who's better, madonna or mariah?
A: Parang kilala kita. Haha. I think Mariah is the better singer while Madonna is the better entertainer. :]


Q: No. I'm the type of stalker who scours the web for any recent activity you've done XD heeheehee i dunno- i find ya interesting :P in any case- what have you been up to recently?
A: Not much. Johnny Depp muvee marathon. And I'm waiting for my final practicum (ojt) assignment.


Q: So, as an aspiring PR practitioner- what can you do to change the dirty face of Public Relations? Hehe. On the second thought- I'd just like to ask if you plan to be APR :D and what will you do if you become one ;)
A: No plans yet as a PR. I'm planning to apply as a research assistant in a certain company. :]


Q: so you prefer short term goals over long term goals?
A: I think "prioritize" is a more fitting word.


Q: you seem to like photos of you shot from behind :D what's the reason behind it? :D
A: Hindi po ako photogenic. I rarely look decent sa pictures. Hehe

15 January 2010

Bye Elbi

After more than a week of waiting and feeling exasperated, I am now relieved. Relieved because finally I'm certain that I'll be doing my practicum this sem. Though I was not assigned to the firm I like most (Blacksmith Institute), they placed on my second choice - Pilipinas Shell. What happened to Globe? I dunno and I don't wanna talk about it.

I'm with three other practicumers. Fortunately, I know these three and I had the chance to work with them before. Two of them are like one of my super friends. So I think we have a very promising team.

We'll leave Elbi on Wednesday. I'm gonna miss Oble and my fellow Isko. *sigh*

See you on March.

***

Dear Ma'am Carla and Ma'am Emy,

I doubt if you'll be able to read this but I just want to say sorry for the long face kanina. One week of waiting and feeling exasperated really took its toll on me. I could have been worse. But our relationship is more than a teacher-student type and with that in mind I reminded myself not to be a total pain in the ass. I know you worked so hard to strike a deal with them and I'm really thankful to you. You know how long I've waited for this to happen and so I just couldn't bear the idea of being the one of the last students to be assigned in a practicum firm. Again, I'm really sorry.

I promise that I'll do my best there and all your efforts will not be put to waste.

On Large Class UPLB: A Resounding “No!”

On Large Class UPLB: A Resounding “No!”
by Randwin Francis Cea Mercado


In one of my MA classes in Diliman, I once shared this plan of the UPLB administration to convert Eng 1, Eng 2, and Eng 10 large classes. A large class has 160-250 students while the status quo lecture class has 30-40 students. My classmates, ESL teachers and Call Center trainers were shocked and appalled. My teacher, a student of Noam Chomsky and an initiator of key subjects in Diliman, chuckled because the plan was absolutely crazy.

(According to a DOH survey, 3 of 10 government employees suffer some form of mental condition. I can think of 2 way up in the UPLB administration who might belong to those 3.) As early as a few months after Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco took office, there have been rumors that the GE subjects offered by the Department of Humanities will be converted to large class format. On September 4, 2006, Prof. Ruperta Asuncion, who was then the English Division head, called for an emergency meeting. The administration told her to tell us to alter the syllabus of Eng 1, Eng 2, and Eng 10 so that it can be taught as large class. The administration expected it the following day because large class was to be implemented next semester. (As if rewriting a syllabus was as easy as making a cup of coffee.)

Several concerns were raised in our meeting: first, because Eng 1 and Eng 2 are GE courses approved by the BOR shouldn't the BOR be informed first; second, what was the reason for the implementation of this scheme; and third, because all existing studies on ESL claim that small classes produce more competent students, aren’t we sacrificing our quality of education?

Instead of a syllabus, we submitted position papers against the large class scheme. One of my sources later told me that the administration just laughed at our papers. “Pa-position-position paper pa kayo,” one of them reportedly said.

Every semester, the administration would tell us to convert to large class. Every semester, our division head would present our reasons against it. When Prof. Asuncion stepped down as head (and later retired), it was Prof. Emerita Cervantes’s turn. And she defended our cause just as her predecessor did. Someone form the administration reportedly said: “Sawang-sawa na kami dyan.” If I was there I’d tell that person: “Kung
sawang-sawa na kayo, ba’t di nyo pa kami tantanana?”

January 2010. A memo from the chancellor reached the Department of Humanities and the Department of Social Sciences. The memo came with a verbal instruction: Large class will be implemented for all GE classes next school year. It also came with a verbal threat: Take it or leave. (In the case of temporary faculty it’s take it or no renewal.)

On January 18, 2010, 9AM, the faculty of the Department of Humanities will be met by RGEP council head Panopio and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Laude not to consult but to tell us that we can’t do anything about it. It’s curious why Laude would be there. She’s the one who endorses our renewal to the chancellor.

Technically, it is the administration that is proposing the large class scheme. But so far, we have not been provided the rationale for such a move. (The situation is a far cry from Velasco’s promise of transparency when he took over from Chancellor David.) The rumor is that it has to do with money. Large class means fewer teachers. Fewer teachers means more items. More items means more money in the bank. More money in the bank means more interest. More interest means more savings.

(What is an item? Each department has a set number of items. Items correspond to the number of teacher you can hire. I’m not sure, but I think the government budgets salary according to items and not necessarily according to actual number of teachers. Therefore, even though no one is being paid for that item, there is money being set aside for that item. If no one uses it, the money goes to the bank. It’s an elaborate version of the 15-30 scheme in baranggays.)

This is the worst time to be a member of the Academic Personnel Committee. Because few teachers are needed, it pains me to know that I would be one of the people responsible for determining who among my colleagues will not be renewed next school year. (In our division alone, there’s some 20 faculty members. The Department of Humanities has some 60.)

If you ask me, only one person deserves the boot. If money is the problem, our Chancellor shouldn’t be
squandering UP’s precious budget on sidewalk displays (those infamous three-coat painted solid concrete Oro can sized bangas littering the sidewalks), 60-foot Christmas trees, and life-size Nativity scenes. If money
is the problem, our Chancellor should be creative enough to think of ways to tie up with international research
institutions and earn money by simply being a university in the truest sense. Or have the balls to demand a bigger budget from the government. Elections is just around the corner anyway.

Fire Velasco and hire someone new. Preferably someone who understands that the one thing every UP student is proud of is quality education.


January 15, 2010
Los BaƱos, Laguna

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Mr. Mercado gave his permission to repost this.

12 January 2010

Q & A

Lemme share the questions people asked me thru my formspring account.

Q:Would you rather date a lot of different people, or be in a committed relationship?
A: Dating is really fun but I'd rather be in a relationship. :]


Q: R U watching Showtime? Haha. by jalness
A: Noong christmas vacation. Lol. Eh kasi naman pag lolo at lola mo kasama mo sa bahay wala kang choice. Lol.


Q: Would it be pancakes or crepes? :D by laenasalaena
A: Crepes. I dun like pancakes.


Q: If by chance a fairy godmother comes to you one night giving you a choice to become a hotter guy or a sexy gal, what would you choose?
A: A hot dude. I never wanted to be a girl. Really. Plus, I think I'm not strong enough to be a girl. :]


Q: i like strawberries, do you [like] 'em too? :D
A: No. They're cute though.


Q: given the chance to date or be in a relationship with a local celebrity, who would you choose?
A: The first person who popped into my mind was Derek Ramsey. Then Ron Morales. But if you want me to think really hard...Derek still. =p


Q: do you regret living your life now?
A: You mean the way I'm living it? No. I have dozens of mistakes and plenty of regrets but I guess these are essential parts of my life. I'm not exactly living my ideal life yet but I'm working on it. Though I have to admit that sometimes I wish I had a "simpler" life. But a few minutes later I'd snap out of it. The journey, the drama, the pain and all those things that most people consider as impediments in achieving their ideal life are indispensable parts of the quest. I believe I'm making most out of the journey now. After all, I believe, we'll all end up with the same fate.


Wow. I just realized that formspring is an instant blog entry source. Lol. Keep those questions coming! Haha. Send those questions here. :] But if you don't want others to see your question for me, put it here.

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listening to: Sober (Pink)

Gleeful

Yay for the second season of Glee!




I miss Emma Pillsburry already. And Sue Sylvester.

osang

Kayong mga kabataan wag kayong makokontento sa itinuturo ng libro at ng teacher. Magtatanong po kayo, hindi masama iyon.

Valid and sensible point.

Murahin mo teacher mo ha. Ako minura ko teacher nung hindi nya sinagot saken yan. Oo walang hiya yang mga teacher na yan eh. Hindi sinasabi totoo saten eh.

Ayun lang.

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listening to: Shattered (OAR)


11 January 2010

Chitchat

I had a pretty interesting and productive day today. I woke up early to go to school and pick a form I need for my practicum. Stayed in our department for a while hoping to have some a chat with some random people. Too bad no one was around since today is Monday - our classes are from Tuesday to Friday. I left for lunch 11ish and decided to just eat at home. I bought a slice watermelon, my favourite fruit in the world! Hehe. Seriously, I <3 watermelons. Watermelon is the next best thing to chocolate.

I asked Johnny Depp to join me over lunch and he obliged. He said he's not hungry though and just watched happy me eat my watermelon-chan. Halfway through lunch he decided to tell a story. "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", he started. I wasn't paying much attention since I'm not into guns and stuffs. But it got pretty interesting when he and Enrique Iglesias came into the picture. Johnny is really good as always while Enrique is boyish and cute.

Around 1pm I decided to go back to school to do some research for my practicum. I saw my friend DJ and decided to ditch research and have a little chit chat with her. Our little chit chat lasted till 6. Lol. Macky joined us around 4 pm. Btw, our chit chat was about our practicum. We three are potential practicum mates if British Council (DJ) and Globe (me) decides not to take as practicumers/interns. We'll be joining Macky in Pilipinas Shell. And yeah, I think I'm favoring Shell over Globe because I'll be with these two funny girls.

Our chit chat also revolved on how we would try not to get into each other's nerves since we'll be staying in one place if we become practicum mates. Hehe. We're good friends but then again we know that living in one place is not the same as hanging out with each other outside.

Next to not getting into each other's nerves, food is next main concern.

DJ: Sino magluluto?
Ako: Di ako marunong.
Macky: Marunong ako!
DJ: Ayun!
Macky: Kaso prito lang.
Ako: Prito lang din alam namin eh - hotdog, itlog.
Macky: Pero pag di masarap yung niluto ko ok lang naman na sabihin nyo.
Ako: Sa labas na lang tayo kumain.
DJ: Jollibee everyday.

Then, cleaning.

Macky: Sino maglilinis ng C.R.?
DJ: Si Pipo marunong daw.
Ako: Ha? Eh...
Macky: May schedule na lang dapat.
Ako: Oo nga!
DJ: Sige Mack, ikaw first two months sa C.R. Si Ate Iya (another practicum mate) magluluto.

Come Wednesday we'll know our final assignment. I do hope it's Shell for me.


And oh, Macky, your suitor is a hawtee. =p

09 January 2010

Facebook Whatevers

You don't talk to me in the morning when I just woke up. You just shut your mouth and wait until I talk to you. Or until I tell you to do something for me - turn off the light, stop that sound you're playing or gimme my pillow that travelled over the night to god-knows-where. You just let me be when I just woke up.

The first thing I do when I wake up is look in the mirror and see if the parts of my body are in their proper places. They tend to go all over and rearrange themselves over the night as I'm a really restless sleeper. Ok. It's just vanity. After checking myself out, I wash my face then take a leak. It's important to wash your face first before you take a leak especially if you're a guy. We get very disoriented in the morning that we tend to be very unhygienic. You still don't talk to me.

I'm really really cranky, moody and grumpy in the morning. That's why I don't look at my Facebook immediately. I read emails, news, blog updates and Twitter updates immediately but not my Facebook. My Facebook is a potential day-wrecker. I have sane friends there but then again I have annoying contacts too. They're not always annoying though. But their status updates just get into my nerves sometimes.
  • Friend declares that she and her boyfriend called it quits. Five minutes later she updated her status message saying that she has moved on.
  • She's so excited to hold her new gadget. She posted about it 10 million times.
  • She keeps complaining about her students. She's (almost) cursing them. She despises her job. Somebody remind her she chose to be a teacher.
  • "A woman can say more in a sigh than a man can say in a sermon", she said.
  • He needs to set everything right. He needs to start with himself. He updated while nursing a bottle of bear in one hand, a shot of tequila and a stick of cigarette in the other.
  • She thinks she looks ugly in her new profile picture. Why post it then? 
  • He claims he doesn't believe in love. What-eee-burrr.
  • Friend changed relationship status from single to in a relationship. He's emo.
  • She asked for more time to settle the issues thrown at her. It's been three fucking years.
  • They bash our field of specialization. But her current job is not for her. She wasn't trained to do that job. That's OUR job, OUR expertise. She's just pretending to know what she's doing and she knows it.
  • They're on a (reducing) diet.

They're gonna hate me for this. But at least we're even now.

-----
listening to: Beautiful Mess (Jason Mraz)

Now this is a mashup

Saw this in Calvin's blog.

A mashup of the top 25 songs of 2009 as identified by Billboard Magazine. Yes, 25 songs. Really cool. It's by DJ Earworm. These are the songs in the mashup:

Boom Boom Pow, Poker Face, Just Dance, I Gotta Feeling, Love Story, Right Round, I'm Yours, Single Ladies, Heartless, Gives You Hell, You Belong With Me, Dead and Gone, You Found Me, Use Somebody, Knock You Down, Blame It, I Know You Want Me, Live Your Life, Kiss Me Thru The Phone, Down, The Climb, Best I Ever Had, My Life Would Suck Without You, Halo and Hot N Cold.

You can download the song here. Or you can just watch the video below.



08 January 2010

Haunted

The so-called mistakes of the past are haunting me.

And they really make me uncomfortable.

Why did I do those things kasi?

And how come I'm the only one being haunted?

Totally not fair.

Tsk.

Craving




mcdonald's apple pie. gimme some love.

07 January 2010

Pink Flicks 2

Taga elbi ka ba o malapit dito? Nood na!



Ma Vie En Rose

Ludovic is a young boy who can't wait to grow up to be a woman. When his family discovers the little girl blossoming in him they are forced to contend with their own discomfort and the lack of understanding from their new neighbors. Their anger and impatience cave and Ludovic is sent to see a psychiatrist in the hopes of fixing whatever is wrong with him. A movie that addresses trans-gender and gender issues in general through the eyes of a child.

The Matthew Shepard Story

In 1998, a young gay man by the name of Matthew Shepard was robbed, viciously beaten and left tied to a fence to die. Although he was soon found by the police and hospitalized, he soon expired. This film recounts the events after the conviction of the two men responsible for this hate motivated murder. Matthew's parents, though satisfied by the conviction, are finding the sentencing phase of the trial more difficult. The parents initially want to request the death penalty for their son's murderers, but the mother, Judy, starts to reconsider. As they struggle with their decision, they decide to reexamine the life of their son and rediscover his personality, his struggle to accept his homosexual sexual orientation as a natural part of his being and above all, his generous humanity to others. All of this leads the parents to appeal to the court the way their son would have wanted, not out of vengeance but to represent best of what their son was and the tragedy of his loss.


Saken kayo bumili ng ticket ha. :]

Brought to you by UPLB Babaylan.

Sir Gaga


05 January 2010

Just My Luck

Do you believe in luck? I do. I'm not a fan of that fate thingy and that everything-happens-for-a reason philosophy.

Methinks somebody robbed me off of my luck today. Or maybe I left it somewhere.

We had our photo shoot for the graduation...and I look like crap in the pictures. My "creative shot" is mediocre at best. Mediocre may even be a bit of a stretch. >_<

And I thought the practicum firm where I will be assigned is just a toss between Blacksmith Inc., and Pilipinas Shell. I was actually 101% confident that Blacksmith will choose me. But it's neither Blacksmith nor Shell. It's Globe. I didn't choose Globe. How can I choose Globe when it's not even in the list of choices. I have nothing against Globe though. Globe is Globe after all and I've heard their CSR projects are award-winning. I just don't like surprises.

I'm gonna stop whining now as I have this feeling that I'm already contradicting myself.

01 January 2010

NYR 2010

Lemme join the bandwagon.

Start reading books. Good, real books. Novels in particular. I'm more of a short essay and flash fiction person you see. I like novels but I hate it when sentences take forever to end as if dividing sentences, either through periods or semi-colons, but I prefer periods since they really let you breath and help you process what you've just read and brace for the coming thoughts, ideas or concepts though, would make it lose the its essence or the thought or emotion it wants to provoke but, under closer scrutiny, it is in fact risking already what it wants the reader to grasp by prolonging sentence and peppering it with details which, more often than, not essential to the subject matter. Fine. That's one terrible attempt. Anyway, at least one book a month is not bad. I haven't read much so it would be much appreciated if you can suggest what books to read. Go easy and start with the basic and essential reads though.

Eat healthier foods. When boyfie was still around I had to limit my intake of fruits and veggies since he's not into them. Really not intothem. As much as I want to blame him, it's his parents who raised him that way. Unlike most children, he wasn't forced to eat those yummy greenies. I hated them too but when I finally understood (and felt) their importance, I started to include them on my diet. Until I met boyfie. Lol. So more of these yummy fruits and veggies this year.

Exercise. I planned to hit the gym last year but I didn't know one needs a huge amount of will to make it happen. In fairness to me, I prepared for it by jogging, doing push-ups and sit-up every other day for two to three weeks. But then people noticed that I was getting thin and I look really exhausted and stressed. And that's not exactly what I'm expecting to happen. I want to look healthy and glowing not as if I just had a hell week in school. But maybe I'm just doing jogging  a more than I should.

Be more spontaneous. Watching a muvee alone is a good start. I already have another one in mind. Wait a minute... Won't that be defying spontaneity since I have already planned it? Hmmm. Anyway, that thing I have in mind is something no one I know will imagine I will be doing. Just thinking of it and my friends' take on it makes me giddy and nervous at the same time.

Get enough sleep. My bed time is 2 am. Terrible. I wake up around 11 am feeling very irritable and cranky that boyfie knows better than talk or cuddle me. The key is to just let me be until I start talking (or complaining). This year I should be in bed come 11 pm and 12 midnight should the latest I can stay up.

I think five is enough else I'll be risking myself to so much disappointment that my next resolution will be to stop making New Year's resolution.

And yeah, happy new year guys!
 
 
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