Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Feels Like High School All Over Again
All throughout these summer month, I usually arrive home at around 10:30PM because of the various meetings that we had in the student council. There was even a time when after hours of OJT in Ayala, Makati, I’d go to Ateneo for my three-hour meetings. I would arrive home feeling sticky and tired after a good day’s work. This was my routine for a good part of May.
This reminded me of my high school days. Back then, I’d be leaving school at around 6:00-7:00PM. It’s a long way home from Manila. Most of the time, I had to eat dinner in between my bus and jeepney ride. If I had no money (which is more of a rule than an exception), I’d just spend 14pesos on two tuknenengs. I prefer the balut version than the hard-boiled (penoy).
I also remember that I often had a difficult time getting a jeepney from Baclaran to Sucat. During those times of the night, the jeepneys were only few. I had to compete with a lot of people to get a ride home.
Even if it wasn’t really easy, I have to admit that high school was one of the most memorable years of my life. I surely miss it a lot.
One thing I ask tonight - to have supportive parents.
@ 
Monday, May 26, 2008
Nokia 2630 for Sale
I am currently selling my cellphone, Nokia 2630 for 3000 pesos. It's a good phone. I just got it last April. It has a VGA camera, video recorder, and an FM radio. It's very thin with a width of only 9.9mm.
I'm selling this phone because I want a simpler, inexpensive one. I could also use the extra cash.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
My Trajectory in Life
What will be my trajectory after college?
This was the question I was mulling over for some time during practicum class. The thought of life after college distracted me from challenging the Bourdieuvian framework that we’ll be using for our practicum paper.
Sir Leland said a lot of things that made me think of what I should be doing after college. Clearly, I want to get into politics (I’m not joking about it). But as I have often pointed out, unlike my good friend Boyet Dy, I do not have the usual pre-conditions (capital) to pursue this trajectory. Nonetheless, I sense that I am pre-disposed to this trajectory. Am I misrecognizing my own capital or am I just deceiving myself?
After getting a clear grasp of my own capital, I need to figure out my strategy. What will be my entry point? My blockmates were saying that I should marry a celebrity. Unfortunately, I don’t want to tread that path. I want to veer away from conventional roads. If possible, I want to be a trailblazer. Nonetheless, I need to figure out my strategy to getting into politics (or whatever trajectory I want to pursue), and I need to figure this out soon.
0 capital + 0 strategy = 0 trajectory.
More disclosure after further reflection (and consultation).
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Rubik's Cube Philippine Open 2008
Philippine Cubers Association And Toys R Us presents the biggest speedcubing competition in the country!
RUBIK'S CUBE Philippine Open 2008! July 5 & 6, 2008 @ Robinsons Galleria Activity Center, EDSA corner Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City
It's time to flex my fingers once again!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
It's Official, I'm a Genius
Well, not exactly. It’s more of being an inventor. Anyhow, I came up with a simple solution to a pesky problem.
If you’re a 5th year college student who wears a set of pants you bought when you were in 3rd year high school, it’s possible you have this common problem.
I’m currently wearing a size 32 pair of jeans. Clearly, I should be wearing a size 34. But I come from a family that earns a living through a sari-sari store so buying a new pair is not one of my priorities. So, when I wear this particular pair of jeans, I (or my friends) often catch my zipper open.
This morning, I decided to end this pesky problem by using this.
Using a slip knot, I tied this string that I got from my flash drive, to my zipper.
I slipped the other end of the string to the button of my jeans.
Voila! With those simple steps, I maintained a closed zipper for one whole day! Simple and innovative!
Will I be copyrighting this invention any time soon? Well, not exactly. There’s a footnote to this little invention story. It’s not an original idea. I saw this in Engadget a few days ago.
The Best House MD Episode
The 15th episode of the 4th season of House is by far the best episode that I've seen!
House with a head injury is like Superman touching kryptonite.
This episode reminded me why I like watching House. I can definitely identify myself with him.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Outcomes Not Outputs
Yesterday I was again given the chance to share my own reflections about leadership. This is my second time to give this talk. The first one was with COA during their formsem. I am truly honored to be seen as someone who is worth listening to for at least 30 minutes. Whenever I look back at my humble beginnings (DOTA 'til 4:00AM, sleeping in calculus class, failing 2 subjects), I can't help but smile at the blessings that I have received.
The talk that I gave was supposed to be the same one I gave during the COA formsem. Unfortunately, when I was supposed to edit the last slide of my presentation, I found out that I wasn't able to save it in my flash disk. So within 15 minutes I had to produce my presentation from scratch. Because of this incident, the presentation I gave was a bit different from the last one I gave. My thoughts during the last time I gave a talk was different from my thoughts these past few days. One month really changed my perspective about my leadership.
I found out that one of the things that stuck to the audience was my little piece about outputs and outcomes. This is something I picked up from my OJT. The point I made was that we should measure our success not by the amount of funds we raised nor by the number of attendees to our projects. I believe that the true measure of success is its societal outcome. Did it have a positive effect on people? I know that this is difficult to measure. But at the end of the day, forming better people makes the SAF (student activity fund) worth the penny.
On a side note, I really believe that my talk yesterday was an improvement over the first one. The COA version was more than an hour long. I had the general outline in my head but I was struggling a bit during my actual delivery. Yesterday, I was a bit clearer (I'd tend to believe so) and more organized (with my thoughts). I was more comfortable since I knew the points I was making. I was able to deliver my talk within 30 minutes, which was quite nice. I was also able to control my saliva problem in the side of my mouth. That was a big issue (hehehehe!) during my COA talk.
I have two things that I would like to improve regarding my talk yesterday. The first thing is my posture. I really need to learn how to stand up straight. I would also like to add more of my personal stories. It helps other people to get to know me better. That way, they'd see leadership as something less of an effect of perfection and achievement but more of an everyday decision that we can all make, regardless of background.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Leading Outside the University
I just came home from a pastoral planning in our parish. It was the planning session of the various units of the parish. Our parish priest knew about my involvement in various socio-political issues, so he put me in the Commission on Human Promotion. Basically, it's the one that handle's the provision of basic services like health and education (since there are numerous indigents in our big parish). Our commission was also in charge of promoting human rights in the community. That means that we would also be working with the various informal settlers within the community.
Monsi (as we would call our parish priest) wants me to head the advocacy team. Basically, its task is to know the various issues being faced by the community and those within it. This can include unfavorable city ordinances and other needs of the community. Therefore, one of the regular activities of that team is to conduct monthly consultation with the various areas of the community.
I like the task that was given to me but I told our parish priest that they cannot expect me to function full-time because of my responsibilities in the Ateneo student council and because of my distance from our parish (during school days, I live in a dormitory outside Ateneo). His response to me was striking. He told me that he wanted me to be part of the commission, not only because of what I can do but also because of what I can learn. Truly, our planning session today gave me a taste of the challenges that people face outside the university.
I learned that people, especially the old ones, are not so easy to work with. If we think that dealing with our fellow students (issues of apathy, etc.) is difficult, dealing with people outside the university setting is a hundred times more difficult! I remember an instance when our commission chairman and a member were quarreling over something that was yet to be discussed. It's really difficult to be a leader in a setting where we don't share common experiences just like in a university or school setting. Leading in the "real world" is very difficult, but at the same time, I feel a strong calling for it. I was mulling over whether I will devote one year (after graduating) to helping organize our community here.
On another note, while we were planning, I felt like all the concepts I learned about project management (i.e. logframes, project proposals, Gantt charts) were not as easy to do as in a classroom or even in an NGO setting.
I had this funny encounter yesterday when me and my officemates in AIM-Mirant went out for our special lunch. While we were waiting for Boyet's [Dy] (one of my center-mates) cotton candy, a girl asked me, "Ikaw po ba ang nanalo?" Apparently she's Atenean and she was asking whether I won the elections or not. I said yes and even pointed to Boyet and said, "Siya naging Sanggu president din dati."