Holiday gifts and more!

Why do I receive more gifts during Christ’s birthday than my actual birthday?

Not that I’m complaining about this fact, but rather, I’m just asking a hypothetical question.

People say it is better to give than to receive. But guess what, I’m always excited every time I open a gift. So more or less, I enjoy opening gifts rather than wrapping them. Har har. I’m just being human.

But don’t worry, it’s not only me who benefits from the gifts given to me. Everyone else does! *wink*

So if ever you gave me something for this holiday season, check out the list below that I checked twice.


I’m sending my sincerest gratitude to everyone else who shared their blessings to me this holiday season:

Mom for the Wade shoes; Teni for the 500 Php SM gc that contributed very much to my new Diesel shoes; Gabbie and Mai for the Simpson and Adidas shirts, respectively; Caitlin, Diwa, and Elena for the bags; Marielle and Pauline for the hankies, Zion for the hand towels, and Alex for the bath towel; Jack for the ‘Rayban’ shades; Nathan for the cute watch, Abbey and T. Joy for the bracelets, and Inna for the wrist band that I really love; Sam and Aiah for the key chains and T. Marie for the bling bling; Mike for the purse; Adina for the wood carved pangkamot; and Myla for the pillow.

To those who are very concerned with my hygiene:

Reisa for the Soap Factory soap specials; and Diwa and Mia for the soaps and shampoos.

I really felt Mia’s concern because the shampoo she gave me has a label that says:

“The way your hair look’s can tell a lot about you.”

Come on Princess Mia!

Diwa for the toothpaste and Jotham for the night mint toothgel that I will really enjoy; Gina and Clarisse for the M&S hand wash; and Khaim for the hand sanitizer and bug spray.

Two days before our Christmas Party, my green mug which was a gift from the UPIS Student Council suddenly turned into mugs. Because of that incident, my broken mug was replaced by four new mugs courtesy of Miggy, Kiana, Kaye, and PSYSC who gave me a UP centennial mug.

Thank you also to Marielle for the travel mug and Mrs. Yu for the water bottle I won during the Faculty Party. And also to a donor I don’t know who sent green charcoal also for the Faculty Party.

Gobs for the lovely picture frame; Toni and Misha for some CDs; Abbey for the 2010 desk calendar; DOST-SEI for the planner; Pauline for the planner and notepad; T. Rose Ann for the notebook; Ara for the post it; T. Joji for the cute crocodile stapler; Frances for the laser pointer; Wawu for the faber-castell pencils; Pangilinan Family for the led book light; Kyla, Miko, Marco, Jornales Family, Mr. & Mrs. Gutierres, and Pastor Mike & T. Francie for the enthusing books you gave.

I was really amazed why I received only one toy this Christmas! Haha! Thank you Miguel!

They say that the best way to a man’s heart is thru his stomach. I’m now opposing this saying since last December 12, I was diagnosed by my ENT to be suffering from laryngospasm resulting to coughing and shortness of breathe. She said acid reflux is causing my laryngospasm and heart burn. For that, I was advised to stay away from acidic food including those which are sour and spicy; caffeinated drinks: soda, iced tea, coffee; food with tomato sauce; and chocolates!

So now, I’m thankful for those who made me suffer this holiday season for giving me food which I am abstaining from eating. Thank you very much for making me drool as my friends and family members savor the gifts you gave me:

Jigger and Ayie for the M&S dark chocolate all butter biscuits and Belgian milk chocolate biscuits, respectively; Shauna for the Droste Pastilles; Luigi for the Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark; Andrea and Marielle for the chocolates; Eloisa and Enzo for the chocolate bars; Andy for the cookies and Hans and Zeb for the brownies; and Nathan for the Chokolate de Bohol.

Let me introduce a new saying that goes:

The best way thru the Urban gurU’s heart is thru his larynx!

Thank you also for the scrumptious pastries you gave me:

Aiah for the lemon squares and T. Rafael for the lemon square cake; Manette for the macaroons; Ty and Josh for the pastries; Gaea and Kha-el for the tarts; Caparros Family for the Snowballs; and David for the M&S all butter Scottish shortbread fingers.

Thank you also to whoever gave the candy cane I found in my table; Marco for the queso de bola; and Christel for the sparkling red grape juice cocktail.

Finally, T. Fe for the Php 300 cash I won during the Faculty Party; and Mom for the Php 10,000 cash wherein half of it turned into a 29” flatron TV with the help of my other siblings.


From last year’s 75 gifts, there was a slight decrease into 72 I received this holiday 2009. But above all of these gifts, this is the most important one that all of us should be rejoicing…

'Til next year!

Internet Withdrawal Syndrome Explained.

All of a sudden I opened my MS Word, and started writing. Again.

I’ve been away for quite some time.

For a span of one month, I’ve let go to a lot of bloggable thoughts, side dish stories, and one-liner-quotes that would make a thousand-word-post.

Plurk Angst.

Alas! I can finally claim that I’m internet withdrawal syndrome free! Although there are still moments that I would sneak up thru our office wifi, I’ve managed to live a life without internet connection for the past 20 days. Just imagine how much karma points I’ve lost before I froze it last June 20. Grrrr. I will never reach 100. And so I admit, I envy my blogger friends who were there since early this year. Boo me!

Oh well, I’d just brag about my record of being the 5th plurker in the Philippines with the most responses, hence 42nd in the world. Now, please don’t ask me for proofs! Plurkerati is not loading the past weeks. But heck, that was a long time ago, and since I don’t have internet connection when this post was written, I, obviously, can’t verify my own claims. So again, boo me!


To my plurk friends, lovers, and haters, I miss you too! I know, life at plurk is not complete without a daily dose of negativity. So here it goes… avada kedavra!

Disconnection explained.

A tornado hit our community last June 4. I didn’t even know that it occur until a plurker posted a link to the Philippine Daily Inquirer article relating what happened. My dad was so concerned upon hearing it on the news. Okay, I was exaggerating, “he was concerned,” rather.

What’s interesting is that my broadband antenna went down the next day. Cool, huh? And so I waited the entire day to be connected until I went outside the house around 2 o’clock in the afternoon only to find out that my antenna is gone! The screeching sound of the GI sheets that woke us up early in the morning that day should have been my clue that my broadband was disconnected already… FOREVEEEEEEEEEER!

If you’re wondering how it fell down, I have no idea either. My gut feeling is telling me that we should blame global warming.

The same day, I reported the incident to the Smart Wireless Center since I was already at the mall. They assured me that they will connect it the following weekend, June 13. And so I promised myself that if ever they will not call me for the final scheduling of my reconnection, I will permanently disconnect my broadband. I gave them until June 11, Thursday.

Surprisingly, Smart was very cooperative. THEY DIDN’T CALL!

By June 14, Sunday, I went to the mall again to pay my final fees so I can have it permanently disconnected. Guess what, I still have to pay a thousand pesos, Php 999.00 to be exact, for the June dues! To think, I was only able to use my internet from June 1-4. Four days people! Four effing days!

The lady explained that my money would still be reimbursed for the days I was not able to use my connection, I just have to wait for my next billing statement. Blah! Blah! Blah! Okay fine, whatever! I will pay whatever amount just be sure that you will permanently disconnect my effing broadband!

They promised to withdraw the antenna and wires and other stuff on the 27th. How I wish they will be here before lunchtime. I have work this coming Saturday, smart people! If I’m not here, better luck next time.

Am I bitter? Obviously, I am not.

I’ve been a loyal customer for the past two years. All I ask is immediate action to the needs of your customers. So again, and again, boo me!

Sun. Globe. Smart?

I’m still undecided what wireless internet connection should I purchase. I still need internet connection, especially when I’m at home. I can’t stay overnight at my office just to leach wifi. I just have one question bothering me this time, should I still consider a smart choice?

Disconnection Explained Further.

For the past two weeks, I utterly fought my internet withdrawal syndrome. The tornado, falling antenna, bills, global warming, and everything else paved the way for my broadband to be finally disconnected. I actually have a better purpose, rather than those mentioned earlier.


After three long years, I’m going back to school. Okay, that would be redundant. I’ve been working in a school for the past three years!

I mean, I’m going to school not as the teacher but rather a FRESHMAN student! (Please notice the emphasis on the word freshman).

Since mid-2007, I’ve been very visible online. Social networking sites, forums and YM chatting were my first addictions until I gave birth to the Urban gurU in March 2008. In one day, I spend more time online than sleeping. That’s why way back then when people ask me of my job, I often ask them, “At what time of the day?” And then I will continue, “10am-6pm: I’m a Science geek; 6pm-3am: I’m anywhere online; 3am-9am: I’m kinda sleeping then; 9am-10am: I’m taking a bath.”

Now, if ever anyone would ever ask me what I’m currently doing in my life, I plan to answer back, “I just made it more complicated,” then continue, “just check out this blog entry.”





Written June 23, 2009, 11pm-1am while suffering from colds and crossing my toes that classes will be suspended the next day. And oh! It’s already raining outside! Hurray!


PPS: It had been two consecutive days of suspension of classes. Double hurray!

Low Pressure Area

Here are signs that the Urban gurU is in a Low Pressure Area:

1. he can't finish any job. in the first place, he don't have any idea how to start any task.
2. he has thoughts of deleting an/some online account/s. or maybe not.
   
3. he enjoys fighting in the arena with his brute. and of course robbing at mafia wars.
   
4. he can't start any AI post. and thinks that the judges are way too biased lately.
   
5. he tries to kill time by micro-blogging thru plurk. despite several blog posts he had started already but never finished anything.
6. he doesn't mind eating his dinner. not unless his tummy demands it.
   
7. he is just waiting for the subpoena from Smartbro since he haven't paid his internet bill for the past 3 months. same is true for his other bills.
   
8. he still can't decide whether to pursue his postgrad this coming semester. the college secretary would surely kill him.
   
9. he keeps on thinking which memorial plan he should take. cremation is topping his list.
   
10. he tries to write a post that would make sense, at 2 in the morning. but thinks he's an epic phail!
    

Summer gurU

It's official, cyberhybernation is over!

After almost a month long of blogging hiatus, 25 days to be exact, the Urban gurU is back!

However, since am melting because of this scourging heat, am back as the Summer gurU! Yey! o.O


So what happened to the Urban, I mean, Summer gurU for the past 25 days?

*flashback*

• March 23-24 - finals! I have to finish the last 4 exams I'm supposed to give for this school year.
• March 26 - honors deliberation. Have to finish the graduating class' grades and finalize the honors lists.
  
• March 27 - Candlelight Ceremonies of the graduating class at Loyola Grand Villas. I have to shop my attire an hour before the event. Bwahaha!
• March 31 - Graduation Rites. Have to finalize the audio-visual presentation needed that day and that took me an entire day to finish! Praise God it went well!
  
• April 3 - Graduating Class' Retreat at Camp Explore, Antipolo, Rizal. Went home exhausted. And just like any other retreat, no one wanted to go home... *sigh*
  
• April 4 - Departure for Balanga City, Bataan for PSYSC's National Science Camp
• April 5-9 - Camp Bataan. For the record, this is my 7th Camp! Whew!
• April 10-12 - rested at home for the Holy Week.
  

Am not that busy, right?

But no, here's the deal, got more things happening this summer:

• April 13-24 - Log_on. It's a refresher course am giving at school for those who are taking high school entrance exams next school year.
• April 27-30 - Curriculum Refresher Course. I'll be giving a workshop for teachers about integrating Science in the elementary level. (details will follow soon)
• May 9 - iBlog5. I'll be riding an Ikot jeep and head to Malcolm Hall for the 5th Philippine Blogging Summit.
• May 11-29 - School Workshops. We will be preparing this time for the next school year!

Whew! What a jam-packed summer! Is this what they call vacation?

I don't think so...

Let's just enjoy the heat of the sun!!!

Credits go to 12 years old Just for the new Urban gurU graphics!

If you're gone.

I think I've already lost you. I think you're already gone. I think I'm finally scared now.

I think you're already leaving, feels like your hand is on the door. I thought this place was an empire but now I'm relaxed, I can't be sure .

I think you're so mean, I think we should try. I think I could need, this in my life. I think I'm just scared, I think too much.

I know this is wrong it's a problem I'm dealing...

If you're gone, maybe it's time to go home. There's an awful lot of breathing room, but I can hardly move.

If you're gone, God, I need to come home. Cuz there's a little bit of something me, in everything in you.


*sigh*

Choosy. Sensitive. Passive.

I am a very flexible person. Cheerful. Friendly. But very, very choosy.




I am a very patient person. Polite. Courteous. But very, very, sensitive.



Hence, I am a very moody person. Temperamental. War freak. But very, very, passive.

The 25th of December 2008

The time is just 11:55 pm.

So technically, it’s not yet the 25th.
Tic. Toc. Tic. Tic.
In a few moments, the clock will reach 12 o’clock. And hey, the entire world will celebrate Christmas Day!
Families share festive meals, exchange of gifts with their loved ones, friends celebrate with cheers, cellular phone networks crashes caused by the huge traffic of SMS sent, never ending phone calls, television shows countdown, hence, those who are at work has no choice but to render their service to other people —nurses, doctors, policemen, firemen, call center agents, gasoline boys, 24 hour fast food crews, etc. — good thing I never dreamt of being one of them.

Past 12 o’clock. The world celebrates Christmas.

This year I’m celebrating Christmas with my nuclear family —mom, dad, sister, and brother— just like a decade, or more, ago. My sister’s husband and their son are both in Manila, so hypothetically, no extensions this year.
I saw our one and only family picture this morning when I woke up. That picture was taken when I was just eight or nine years old. I missed the good old days —those days when I don’t care about the world around me; days when they kept all the problems from me; times when I wake up on Christmas Day, I’ll find either a gift, a card, a toy, or cash in the sock I hung on the window.

12:20 am. Fireworks stopped. It’s raining.

Rain resembles blessings.
When it rains during your wedding, they say you will be poured with bountiful blessings.
When it rains during your JS Prom and you’re having it on open grounds, maybe your class adviser forgot to hold on to an egg.
When it rains on Christmas day, blame it all on global warming! And I’m definitely sure about this.

12:25 am. The rain stopped.

Suddenly, I miss the Internet. It has been more than 50 hours since the last time I was online. Although there’s an Internet connection here at home, I opted not to get in touch with my friends.
Suddenly, I miss my cell phone. It has been almost 40 hours since the last time I sent an SMS thru my cell phone. Although there’s a signal for my network provider a block away from our house, I opted not to get in touch with my friends.

This is my definition of hibernation. I cut all of my connections to the outside world. I want to hide myself from the world —the world full of agony, bitterness, pain, and inequalities. Agony caused by life’s adversities. Bitterness realized from imperfections. Pain brought by challenges. And inequalities established by a vindictive society.

Past 1 am. Mom asked me to pick up my towel.

When an organism hibernates, it seeks out a den.
Our house is my den. It is a den where I rest at times when I need to hibernate. This is my comfort zone. The free flowing river at the back cleanses my soul. The green mountains around and the majestic Mayon Volcano refreshes my mind. The calmness of air at night rests my body. And the warmth given by my family keeps the flame in my heart to burn.

1:10 am. A group of men passed by our house.

Since silence creeps through the cold air around me, I can hear all sorts of sound here and there. Frogs croaking, crickets making their sound, the cell phone of the neighbor rings, buses and trucks passing by the nearby Maharlika highway screeches, roosters cock-a-doodling (at 1 in the morning!), and my dad snoring from upstairs.
This is what I like best here at home: no traffic outside, I don’t need to buy food from the nearby carinderia, I can eat my dad’s champorado, I don’t need to worry about any bill: may it be phone or internet or boarding or insurance or credit card… even just for exactly two weeks.
In every 52 weeks per year, all I ask is at least two weeks of quality vacation. And I’m thankful to God that He had given me this.

1:30 am. I can feel that my pimple is about to burst.

If you noticed how random my thoughts are, it is because of the following reasons: (1) sudden emotional distress caused my amygdala and hippocampus to panic; (2) my interneurons are lethargic already; (3) it’s my bedtime already; (4) and most importantly, I’m afraid that my pimple will burst on Christmas Day.

This is who I am. And I choose to be myself.

But despite my frailty and my shortcomings, I’m still thankful to the Lord that He blessed me all of these years. Nonetheless, He gave to us His most begotten son, Jesus Christ. Happy birthday Sir! I owe you my life. : )

5 minutes before 2 am. The rain started to fall again.





Written before the clock ticked 12am and ended before the clock ticked 2am; 25th of December; in a house along the Bicol River.

Why should the 2008 THES-QS world university rankings not be taken seriously?

For an alumnus of a national university —the University of the Philippines (UP), it is not that easy to accept the fact that the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) outranked UP in the 2008 university rankings recently released by the Times Higher Education Supplement and Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS). ADMU rose from 451 ranking to 254 while UP landed to 276 from last year’s 398.

Two other local universities made it to the rankings. Quoting blackshama on his Filipino Voices article On university ranking: views from both sides of Katipunan Road:

“De La Salle is at 415th and our only ancient university, the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas is at 470th.”

As early as July 2007, UP announced already its refusal to participate in the said survey because the THES-QS could not explain where it got the figures on which UP’s rank was based in the year 2006.

The UP Newsletter article entitled Only two RP universities made it to the world’s 500 best; but must the rankings be taken seriously? written by Alicor L. Panao continued:

“In response to UP’s objection, however, Quacquarelli Symonds research assistant Saad Shabbir simply wrote back that if it did not receive the information by the deadline then it would be 'forced to use last year’s data or some form of average.'”

Just last Friday, October 17, UP announced again in its website that it did not participate in the THES-QS university rankings and President Emerlinda R. Roman did not even receive any invitation to be a part of it.

To give you an overview of how the THES-QS came up with ranking of the top universities of the world, here are the six indicators they used:

• 40% - Academic Peer Review - Composite score drawn from peer review survey (which is divided into five subject areas). 6,354 responses in 2008.
• 10% - Employer Review - Score based on responses to employer survey. 2,339 responses in 2008.
• 20% - Faculty Student Ratio - Score based on student faculty ratio
• 20% - Citations per Faculty - Score based on research performance factored against the size of the research body
• 5% - International Faculty - Score based on proportion of international faculty
• 5% - International Students - Score based on proportion of international students

Apparently, if you don’t submit proper documentation in the abovementioned criteria, old data will do for the THES-QS researchers. Sounds rational enough, isn’t it? Okay, not really, am just being sarcastic.

To boot, Wikipedia’s THES-QS World University Rankings article offered several other criticisms about the said survey including too much emphasis on peer review, errors have also been reported on the faculty-student ratio used in the ranking, the pool of responses is heavily weighted in favor of academic ‘peers’ from nations where the Times is well-known, the results have been highly volatile for other universities, and others.

Panao’s article in the UP Newsletter also offered flaws in the THES-QS survey in other higher education institutions in many countries just like what happened in Duke University whose rank rose drastically in 2005 when it was listed to have 6,244 faculty members. It turned out that this figure was actually the number of undergraduate students enrolled at Duke in the fall of 2005.

ADMU’s official comment in the 2007 THES-QS World University Rankings questioned the criteria used in the survey as not congruent to a Catholic school’s mission and vision. Hence, the results became their benchmarks to strive more “to grow in excellence and in linkages with peer institutions internationally… and continue to be the formation of a next generation of leaders who will not only be the best in their chosen professions, but who will place this excellence at the service of others.”

True to a fact, they deserve congratulations for emerging first among Philippine schools included in the ranking.

However, I just don’t get the basic idea in a certain part of the article Rankings and caution by Ramon Miguel Samson posted in the ADMU website saying:

“Self-professed experts would have provided their own analyses of the rankings, ranging from intelligent and pragmatic examinations of the methodology, to delusional theories that are on the same level of saying “nobody called us,” which all make reference to karma or some other supernatural cause.”

Hiatus

The torrent is finally over, as far as I believe.

And guess what? The Urban gurU is back. Back from exactly 55 days of hiatus.

Let me start my excuse letter from these events that deserves a post:

• August 25 – Gerry Roxas Foundation Anniversary Launching
• August 30 – Eraserheads Reunion Concert
• September 6 – PSYSC Science Olympiad National Eliminations
• September 7 – UAAP Cheerdance Competition
• September 19 – Ipo Dam Tree Planting
• September 20 – Math-Sci-a-Ka
• September 21 – 2008 Philippine Blog Awards
• September 27 – PSYSC Science Olympiad National Finals
• September 28 - surprised visit to the ER!
  

Regardless of how long this list would be, am still thankful that September is finally over.

*plays Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Ends as background music*

Over the past five years, it had been my busiest month of the year. But this year, it had never been as painful as it was also. Sigh. Thank God it’s finally over.

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

pix by poloy

Urban gurU Dreamt of the Eheads Concert Pushing Through

In a music/-OH hub at E.Rod.


(Music: Ten-ten-ten-ten ten-ten-ten ten-ten ten-ten-ten ten-ten-ten-ten-ten ten-ten-ten… ten-ten-ten-ten-ten… I have a dream…)


Urban guru enters the music/-OH hub.

A guy taking a picture of the hallway blocks the Urban gurU’s path towards the staircase.


Urban gurU: Ah… excuse me…

Guy: Sorry… am not actually an artist. Am just trying to be one…


Urban gurU climbs the staircase and settles in one of the couch.


K: By the way, this is my friend Julie. Julie this is the Urban gurU and E.

J: Hello! I’m J. And I’m drunk. Hik!

E: Oh… you really are.


Twas a very hard Sunday for the Urban gurU. He was still sleepless after a pre-birthday party of a college friend at the north end of T. Morato. To think, the birthday celebrant was not actually there. Dammit.

To cap off his Sunday night, he went out with two friends to have dinner at a veggie restaurant at T. Morato. To his amaze, the taxi driver who brought him there was a ‘kababayan’ (townmate) from his dad’s place; who used to train with him for CAT way back in high school; who really looks like younger than him, to think he’s a taxi driver. Wadahek. His conclusion, this world is such a big place to live in, thou sometimes it is not.


K: You saw Marcus downstairs.

Urban gurU: Huh?

K: The one with the camera?

Urban gurU: Oh yeah… now I remember him.


It had been a great confusion for a lot of Ehead fans whether the reunion concert slated on August 30 will still push through. Being a fan, since grade school, the Urban gurU is very much concerned also of not getting the free tickets online. Now, how can he afford the cost of the tickets that is worth:

+ +

Philippine peso, after S & Bertelsmann Music Group took over the sponsorship?

To think, they’ll be releasing the tickets on the day attributed to the Roman god Mercury. Just imagine the pandemonium it will cause maybe in your favorite music store or in a prominent ticket outlet found in the biggest mall chain in the country!


J: Hello again!

Urban gurU: Hi! We’re just talking about some Eheads stuff…

J: Oh… Do you know the song Julie Tearjerkey?

Urban gurU: O-M-G! (Dropping entire jaw while eyes are popping out). No way!

J: I was already in third year when they were staying at Kalai.

Urban gurU: And I was in second grade when they formed the band!


Nostalgic as it seems, the Urban gurU’s dream brought him back to reality when he found his bed at 6 o’clock in the morning, realizing that he still need to attend a function at the Mandarin Suites at 10 o’clock in the morning.

“I wanted life to be this way
Just a little bit of love could mean so much
Oh please don't take it all away
But with you heaven is still close enough to touch
Because your love is still the only thing
That matters in this world
The only thing I can believe...”

pic credits

The Blog Challenge Experience and ‘Other’ Experiences

Despite of a spontaneous guilt of my last ‘virtual vice,’ here I am again in front of Ace writing another post. For those who still don’t know who in the world is Ace, here he is:

I remember a plurker reacting to my plurk when I mentioned that I’ll be spending the entire day with Ace. Duh. (insert annoyed emoticon here)

By the way, Ace turned 1 year old last August 5!

Happy birthday Ace!

---


After two weeks of not writing a post, I am holding Plurk accountable for this disequilibrium. Weekly plurkfiesta emptied my wallet, held me sleepless at night, and kept me wondering should I even attend work the next day…
(Fail on the dramatic effects. Hekhek.)

pix source

What matters most now is that Plurk proved to me that it is indeed a social networking site. Meeting fellow bloggers in real human form is a leap in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution! Back then, I only read about their thoughts online, but now having conversations with them, debating with relevant (and not so relevant) issues, watching them finish packs of cigarettes or blow their pipes, sharing –OH with them, food, food, and more food, etc, etc.
(Wait, this topic deserves another post. I’ll try to ponder first how will I write it.)
---


So before I forget, I just want to thank The Blog Award Challenge for including my entry as a finalist to the 6th Blog Awards Challenge: The Virtual Vice.

My post entitled “Vicious, As It May Seem” was included in the top three final entries.

The Blog Awards Challenge, by the way, “is a blog competition combining literary skills, interactivity and peer polling.” It is a theme-based writing event for everyone in the blogosphere. Done monthly, it is designed to have a peer-to-peer recognition and is aimed to promote and recognize good writing from both veteran and new bloggers.

Being a finalist for to the 6th Blog Awards Challenge, my entry will now compete for blogger votes, which will count for 20% of the final score.

You can visit the list of entries here.

But take note, you can only vote if you are blogging for at least three (3) months with a minimum of thirty entries in your blog, prior to your voting in the competition. This rule will eliminate phantom voters and reduce incidence of cheating.

ARE YOU QUALIFED TO VOTE? Then, visit this page and leave a comment.

Voting ends on the 6th of September, 2008.





(Now back to plurking!)

Vicious, As It May Seem

Depravity, iniquity, wickedness, or corruption. Infirmity, frailty, imperfection, or simply a bad habit. Whatever you call it, to what vicious extent had cyberlife affected your ‘real’ life?

Gula

It all started with mIRC (Internet Relay Chat). And I am blaming Khaled Mardam-Bey for my Internet addiction!

Honestly, I was a late bloomer. I started chatting thru mIRC in the year 2000, five years after Khaled created the software for Microsoft Windows. In my entire fourth year high school life, I was busy browsing mIRC chatrooms, looking for fellow Filipinos, annoying an aged American chatter, or scavenging rooms just to bully anyone until 2 o’clock in the morning.

I vividly remember an instance when I recognized a name in one local chatroom. The profile says: “dundz f 25.” Curious of whom she was, I asked her, “hi! asl please?”

Homaigood! I was startled. It was my English teacher! It was my English teacher who lives two blocks away from my house.

Cool… isn’t it? A teacher chatting with her student minutes before midnight? (Wait a minute! Now I know why I’m allowing my 6^th grade students to bother me in YM in unholy hours! Gee...)

mIRC is like gluttony. It is an over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. I was over indulged to the point that I didn’t notice I was wasting my time.

Good thing I’m finally over with mIRC. I downloaded the program last year and tried to relive the good old chatting days. A few months ago, I caught myself deleting the program from my drive after realizing that I need to move on…


Luxuria

In 2001, I graduated in high school, interestingly in mIRC also. By the time I was in college, Yahoo! Messenger (YM) was a hit. My college years wouldn’t be complete without YM. It served as a meeting place for class reports, consolidating facts for a term paper, conveying holiday coursework, and so on… Indeed, it was very helpful in my academic life.

But time came when I religiously open my account to meet other people. I get their accounts from Yahoo! Groups, some from other social networking sites. Lechery became an issue. It was lechery in the sense that I am engrossed with sociological compulsions. I easily fell for those whom I met online. Subconsciously, I submitted myself to Dante’s criterion of “excessive love of others.” Besides, it became an excessive reason to stay online…


Ira

Friendster awed the world when it was launched in March 2002. Nevertheless, it was only in November 2003 when I joined the said Internet social networking service, months before TV Patrol had their primetime news about its phenomenal hit among Filipino netizens.

If I’m not mistaken, blogging in friendster started only in the year 2005, by this time, blogging became the outlet of my angst. I blogged about getting a 4.00 in my Biology class, posted a copy of the lyrics of my theme songs for the one my hypothalamus is crazy with, worst, I even ranted about losing my very first job thru my Friendster blog. Indeed, friendster was a witness on how I manifested a vehement denial of the truth. It became my tool in my inward expression of wrath.


Invidia

Having only one social networking account did not content me. In August 15, 2007, I created my Multiply account. I was so envious of my college friend/housemate who discreetly maintains a personal website thru Multiply.Multiply was overtly better than Friendster. I can post there my narcissistic pictures, attach the videos I love the most, upload the songs that had been running thru my head lately, easily review the last movie I watched or the book I’m trying to finish for the past 15 months, continue to blog about my rants and raves in life, and many more. The best part of this, you can easily filter those whom you want to have connections.

My Multiply is very private. I only connect to my friends, schoolmates, classmates, and some online acquaintances with it. It is not infested by any of my past/present/future students, unlike my Friendster account, which is undeniably spammed by messages from them.

Because of that envy, now I believe that I have a better page in Multiply than my friend.


Superbia

YouTube’s slogan “Broadcast Yourself,” is perfect for anyone who wanted to show his or her excessive love of him/herself.

Last March 30, I created a YouTube account just to upload the short films my students made as their project for my subject. Pride gave me the courage to create an account, and later uploaded their videos. It was not actually my work; it was their fruit of labor. It was a plain act of desire to be more important than others.


Avaritia

Chatting with a high school classmate thru YM opened me to the possibility of gaining extra income thru blogging. With her recommendations, I opened my Blogger account in March 8, 2008. It instantly became the outlet of my overflowing thoughts. I redirected the stress I am giving myself by writing them down. Hence, there are also moments when I purposely stress out myself, especially when I have nothing to write about.

Greedy as it may seem, but the very first reason for me to open a Blogger account was just for personal gain.

But hey! After five months of maintaining a Blogger account, I don’t even have a PayPal account up to this very moment, nor incorporate an AdSense widget on my page.


Acedia

I am blaming Plurk for my blogging hiatus. It had been exactly 35 days since my last post here at blogspot. Since I created a Plurk account last July 13, I had enrolled myself into a full time micro-blogging post-graduate degree. Being a portmanteau of ‘play’ and ‘work,’ Plurking ate most of my valuable time for the past four weeks.

Plurking is not only an outlet of attention deficit people, like me; but also it is a social networking service for attention deficit people, like me. Thru Plurk I’ve met a writer-columnist in a national newspaper, a magician-at-night-DJ-at-late-night, a New York film & music producer and publicist, a photographer, an accountant, a researcher, and other e-celebrities. In other words, geeks who have nothing else to do on a Sunday night (well, aside from blogging).

Despite the fun and excitement of meeting new acquaintances, I admit that I’ve lost track of my own time because of plurking. I am guilty of not doing my work beyond what is required of me. I am very unwilling to do my real work, lazy and indifferent to my real profession. Being a natural born procrastinator, I slept not earlier than 3am for the past 10 days just to finish four exams and Plurk most of the time.

Yes, I know, I am a sloth.








Gluttony. Lust. Wrath. Envy. Pride. Greed. Sloth.


In the end, we go back to the ultimate question whether cyberlife is successful in exterminating real life intimacy. My answer to this query, and basing it on my personal experiences in this ambiguous and ambivalent world of the World Wide Web —is definitely NO. It even led me into treasured real life intimacies —intimacies that are now just part of the memories of a melancholic guru.


Nevertheless, vicious, as it may seem, the cyber world still made me realize that the principles of temperance, chastity, patience, kindness, humility, charity, and diligence are more essential and imperative in this 'real' world full of uncertainties.

This is my entry to the Blog Challenge 06: The Virtual Vice.

OVER: the week that was!

I know. And I am very sorry. I know that I do owe you all a lot.

So let me start my soliloquy by accounting all my eustress for the last week of June 2008...

23^rd of June, Mesmerized Monday

‘Frank’ spared me from lecturing in the laboratory this day. However, he didn’t spare the lives of hundreds of people aboard MV Princess of the Stars, nor the ill-fated citizens of Western Visayas.

I guess my friend is right, Sulpicio Lines should start changing their line of business into Sulpicio Funeral Homes after all of those maritime mishaps.

I do remember boarding Princess of the Stars three years ago. It was a trip to Cebu for the 2005 National Youth Science, Technology, and Environment Summer Camp. It was only tonight when I finally decided to look up for my remembrance of that trip. Here it is:

I vividly remember how huge that ship was. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the largest vessel I’ve boarded. Who would believe that it would succumb to ‘Frank’ that easily?

24^th of June, Thrilling Tuesday

While those living in Manila were enjoying their very long weekend holiday, I myself was indeed exuberant upon receiving my very first credit card. Many thanks to my orgmate’s blockmate in college who is also my co-teacher’s schoolmate in high school and grade school. Oh never mind the intertwined relationships!

In exactly 21 days, I received my HSBC credit card with a credit limit of Php*****.00. (I’ll keep it to myself coz you might be able to figure out how underpaid my profession is).

Nevertheless, just as an ‘old’ friend warned me not so long time ago, I swear from this day on that I wont use my card that much every time I pay a visit to the mall.

Using it twice in every visit is a good idea…right? What do you think?

25^th of June, Wednesday Workout

One thing that made me very excited this day is the fact that it’s the first day of classes for my Photoshop class. Yippee! I’m glad to be a student once again. Teacher Niño, the school’s Art teacher, opened his graphic arts class for the school’s grown ups. So, who are my classmates? Teacher Lilia (the Filipino teacher), Teacher Ana (the School Registrar), and ultimately, Teacher Gracel (the School Principal).

At least now, I can edit already the pictures I’m posting here in my site (without using Paint!). Hehe.

See for yourself!

26^th of June, Thursday Tautness

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

This is what the Lord impressed to me upon waking up from a dream before 3 in the morning. Thou I know that I had a hard time the whole day figuring out what am I supposed to do with my vision, the Lord assured to me my actions at the end of the day. "Mission accomplished," I would say. Thus, just as a colleague remarked the following day, this is just the beginning for me, I know that there are still a lot more things He prepared for me.

27^th of June, Friday Fiasco

Even without enough sleep the other night, I still accompanied my class to their field trip to the Quezon City Central Post Office. It was also my first time inside a big post office. Despite my fascination on how they were able to sort and deliver all of those snail mails in the biggest city in Metro Manila, I was disgruntled at the same time by the actual condition of the post offices in the country. It seems that everything was a makeshift in that post office, from the packets where they sort the mails, to the used sacks of rice they use in delivering the mails to the other central post offices. Ridiculous, I may say.

Good thing my students still enjoyed the entire trip to the dilapidated post office. (Taken for granted that it was their first time to actually mail a ‘real mail’).

28^th of June, Saturated Saturday

Work doesn’t end for me on a Saturday. By 7:15 am, I was at the school already 'coz we’re headed to Grace Christian High School for the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools – Science (ICASS). Two of my students joined the said competition. But since I have angst about this competition, I’ll be posting soon another entry about it.

After the contest, we returned to our school 'coz by 3 o’clock pm, we had the first Parent Interaction Hour (PIH). It’s an orientation for our student’s parents for the new school year (some sort of a PTA meeting).

At 8 pm, I had an organic dinner with a girl friend in a nearby vegetarian resto. But since I was not happy with my tall glass of homemade mango yogurt, I insisted to her that we should drink a bottle of –OH. Good thing she was not happy either with her cute mug of hot chocolate drink. And so we both drink a bottle of –OH.

And the rest is history...

29^th of June, Shopping Sunday

What is the best way to formally end an entire week of eustress other than shopping? Answer: more shopping.

Today is the first time I used my credit card. And the first thing I bought with it are my…

Then I also bought a…

…and I lived happily ever after…

THE END

The Nature of Zorro

In an email my student sent me today, she forwarded some things that I really need to ponder upon. Here's an example:

Three things in life that are never certain:

1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

But anyway, this blog has nothing to do with that email...


An online friend finally allowed me to post her pictures here in my site. I met Chutte in Multiply. Here are some of her pix at the Bromo Crater in Indonesia two years ago:

Bromoarea

Mountain View at the National Park

Beautiful, aren't they?


I just love nature. And traveling is my addiction.

I decided also to feature pictures in my sidebar. (Well actually, I've been doing that since I started this blog). The only difference now is that I'll be featuring shots regularly. Every two weeks maybe... =D


Oh, one more reason why I blogged this late is that I'm waiting for I-Witness.

Howie Severino documented "three teens from public schools, all headed for college at UP Diliman. These youngsters carry the weight of their families and communities' expectations as well as their branding as part of UP's centennial batch."

Not to mention their first encounter with the home-grown rallyists who are always there everytime there's a Freshmen Orientation at the University Theatre.


And who can forget Zorro! I love this guy. He's always up to date with what is happening in his society. I always catch him reading newspapers in Nadasha (a 24-hour eatery here in our place).

Anyway, the commercials are over, I need to go back in front of the TV...

'Til next time!

Mabuhay ang mga bagong iskolar ng bayan!

Signs that there’s a Public Storm Signal No. 3

According to PAGASA, at 2:00 a.m. today, the eye of Typhoon "FRANK" was located by radar, satellite and surface data at 30 kms South of Tayabas, Quezon or 90 kms Southeast of Metro Manila (13.9°N 121.5°E) with maximum winds of 120 kph and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

It is expected that "FRANK" will move north northwest at 15 kph.

When I woke up at 11 am, Typhoon "FRANK" has already passed east of Metro Manila and is crossing Central Luzon.

Hence, below is the latest 2D Image issued by PAGASA for 3pm today.

Since we’re already in a contemporary age, at the same time all of the emo’s out there are trying to defy the laws of nature, here are some ways to confirm that there is indeed a Public Storm Signal No. 3 in the metropolis:

1. You are back to basics. You wake up at lunchtime and compete with your housemate with the use of the kitchen as you cook your all time favorite instant noodles.

Yummy. This reminds me of college midnight snacks at Kalai (my freshman dormitory).


2. Talking about freshman years, the second sign leads you to old friends sending you unexpected SMS.

Here’s an example:

Jong: If there is something better than sharing with others the best of what you have, it is sharing with others the best of who you are… : )
UG: Kumusta naman kabagyuhan diyan? (How's the typhoon over there?)
Jong: Emo-emo lang… Haha. (Just being emo... Haha.)
UG: Wala ka ngang magawa… (You have nothing else to do.)
Jong: Kaya *** na lang! LOL. (That's why I'll just have ***! LOL.)

Jong is a good old college friend. He lived three doors across my room way back when we were freshies. At the age of 23, he had finished already is Masters Degree in Economics. He works at the Department of Agriculture and can't directly answer my question whenever I ask him, “Is there really a rice shortage in the country today?”

To boot, Jong is an epitome of a USB!

Thanks to Billycoy for introducing me USB. It’s actually a line of collectibles available here.


3. Another friend challenges your Algebraic abilities, online!

Marge, another college friend, started our YM conversation by asking how’s the downpour at the metropolis. And after complaining about herself gaining a fat ***, she asked me if I know the expanded formula of (a+b+c)^3. Being a natural-born-Algebra-lover, I immediately picked up my pencil and notepad and solved for the solution. After a few minutes, I replied:

a^3 + b^3 + c^3 + 6abc + 3ab^2 + 3a^2b

+ 3ac^2 + 3a^2c + 3bc^2 + 3b^2c

Shoot! That was loooooong.

She responded:

margie: haha
margie: eh (a+b)^3
stupefied protagonist: kailangan ba tlga? (do you really need it?)
margie: medyo (quite.)
margie: haha
margie: alam mo yung shortcut (do you know the shortcut?)
margie: type mo na (type it now)

After quite some time...

margie: kuha ko na (i got it!)
stupefied protagonist: a^3 + 3a^2b + 3ab^2 + b^3
margie: tama (correct)

(^ indicates exponents)

Marge! You’re giving me a headache!

Marge has a degree in Public Health. She’s currently in her province way up north working in a local Water Company.


4. Finally, your last hint is that you stay in front of your laptop and tries to write as many blog entries as you can instead of checking your student’s quizzes. Oh! That’s another topic I can blog about!

Just wait, there’s more!

Outside:

I WANT THEM ALL DEAD!

three months ago when i started my blog, i posted a widget computing my site's worth...

This Page
For Keywords

8217, song, blog

Reward $917

after three months, here's the value of my site:

This Page
For Keywords

guru, urban, song

Reward $451

after 3 months and 24 posts, it seems that my site depreciated much as the value of Philippine Peso in the world market. shoot.



MORAL OF THE STORY:

dont believe page ranking sites.

side effects include insanity...

Waaaaaaaah!