Interview later, I am so excited yet nervous

That is the longest title I have ever had in this blog site.
I am so excited yet nervous, yes. Actually I do not know what to do now.
Will I now take a bath and prepare for this afternoon's major-major interview?
I am also anxious knowing that this will be a once-in-an-undergrad-life experience.

Even though I really do not know what to do now, one thing is for sure, I will not let the hope of my family and relatives turn into nothing. I will make them really really proud. I love them so much.

This scholarship is not only a passport for an education abroad, but this will also be a key for some of the family wounds to heal. I need your prayers for me to have confidence to face the panel and also for me to have the right answers to their questions.


Bring it on, Fulbright!

Recharged

I am so happy for I slept for six and so hours today!
Upon arriving this afternoon at the dormitory, I decided to take a nap for five minutes only since I still have a PE class. But then I was not able to attend my class. I just realized that I woke at around 9:41 in the evening. Maybe it is because of the restless nights at the hospital during the weekend.
Now I am recharged and full of excitement for tomorrow's interview.
Please do pray for me. Thanks!

Longing

I am inside my class right now.
I just came from Pangasinan.
All I think about now is my mom.
I cannot think properly here in class.
I want to be there, beside her.

My Christmas Wish

Unproductive

This day is supposed to be a productive day. Plans were altered.
I had a wasteful day.
Now I will have a more terrible days ahead of me.

A week before THE BIG DAY

Yes I am nervous for my interview. This ain't my first "real-world interview" but hey my future really depends on it, literally and figuratively. What made me more nervous today is the fact that I now know who my competitors are, at least in my college and in my department. We are six in our department who applied though I am not yet sure if all were sent an invitation for the interview, but I am sure we will all be in the interview phase. So, it is a week before now, and what is left for me to do aside from thinking about my academic assignments is the fact that I am not yet physically prepared for it! :) This point might be useless but hey it is part of the preparation stuff most people would do just to present their selves properly.

I am asking, from the bottom of my heart, for your favor to please do pray for me to be granted with the 2011 Fulbright Global UGRAD Exchange Program. I will die if I will not make it, seriously. All my hopes and academic career plans are now based herein. So please, include me in your prayers. I will really appreciate it. Super thanks!

STRIKE SA UNIBERSIDAD NG PILIPINAS

HINDI KA MAKIKISAMA SA STRIKE SA U.P. BUKAS? 
Ganito kasi ang maaring implikasyon kapag napatupad ang budget cut. Syempre, kinakailangan ng UP ng pondo para sa pagpapatakbo ng pamantasan, kung ang pamahalaan ay hindi na makapagbibigay ng sapat na pondo para sa edukasyon, ipapasa nila ang pasakit sa atin na mga estudyante. Ang mga Bracket A at B na dating isang libo hanggang isang libo't limang daan kada yunit ay magiging LIMANG LIBO KADA YUNIT NA. Isipin mo na lamang kung ilan pa kayang mga estudyante ang makakapagaral sa 'Pambansang Pamantasan' ng Pilipinas- ang U.P. Baka magilan-ngilan na lamang.

God's words for today

^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"




Matthew 28:19*
______
  I thank God for all the blessings that i have been receiving through my whole life- my family, friends, relatives, classmates, teachers and professors, and for the other people who have always been there for me. I am always ready to serve Him and to make me as His instrument in broadcasting his blessings and wonderful gifts that He has for all the people using whatever available media that I have now.


__
*New International Version available online here.

Societal Impetus

     Why am I feeling this pressure lately of having a girlfriend?

     It started when my cousin April Joy posted on my Facebook wall. It was a question-answer application and the question was about me having a divorce. She answered that how can I be divorced if I do not even have a girlfriend. Most of my batch mates back in high school and now here in college have their partners while I am left with no one to be with- leaving me with no company at all time.

     This maybe the reason why my friend Reinalyn observed that I have been so alone lately and she noticed that I have changed. I told her that is because of my academics- I need to focus more since I have a terribly hard semester now. And yes, I have chosen acads over having a girlfriend since high school.

    Is there really a need of having a girlfriend?

    I think it a social need because your society judges your sexuality based on having a partner. This has always been my case- people often tag me as a gay for having no partner for a long time now. Even my parents sometimes doubt me, seriously. Though I tell them that if they wanted me to finish college they will not coerce me of having one. in my town, I cannot deny that they know me since I have been an active student-leader back in high school. Therefore these people add to that coercive feeling right now of having no partner yet- of course since majority of them have one.

     I BELIEVE that if you will let this societal impetus take over you, you will lead to doing a negative act or even acts that surely can ruin your life and an act that might have a negative impact to your family,too. So I am not being taken over by the system. Make them believe whatever they want to think and believe in, you know the real thing about yourself more than anybody else does.

Quote from Magic

"The more you resist, 

the more it persists." 








do you think so?

Why I like New Media Studies

This is my research interest, as of now. I know I will love this as long as I love the internet and the web.
I just talked with my professor in BC 148  (Interactive Broadcasting class which I took last semester) and Comm 150 (Internet and New Media Culture class which I am currently am taking this semester) Professor Data Canlas.

She introduced me to a lot of interesting ideas regarding the internet and the World Wide Web last semester in our BC 148 class, and for now, she still continuous to share her knowledge about the online media to class. Today, as our class ended, I got to talk to her one-to-one regarding her research interest which I am also interested in.Though in our conversation, I drew what differs my research  topic from hers. She is into the convergence of the new media and the mobile phones and the social effects thereof; while my topic interest is on participative new media.

Even last semester in our BC 148, Ma'am Data inspired me to be involved actively in the cyberspace because it is not being studied on and the scholarly papers at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication are mostly focused on the mainstream media. I learned from our conversation that researches on the internet are focused more on the commercial side of it. She mentioned famous individuals online such as the Internet Marketing Consultant Mr. Carlo Ople and the Blogger Ms. Janette Toral.

This interview is connected to my interview in Fulbright Global UGRAD Exchange Scholarship scheduled next week, on the first day of December! And I am so excited yet anxious about it so I am into researching more about the stuff that I needed to clarify- if any, regarding my dossier.

I am praying that I will be chosen as one of the grantees of this scholarship because I want to learn more and acquire a broad perspective regarding this body of knowledge which is I believe available at the United States  of America and is only limited here in the Philippines with the reasons I mentioned above herein. I also wanted to share whatever knowledge that I will acquire in the scholarship program to the Filipino people and to the Philippine media.

Katarungan para sa mga biktima ng Ampatuan Town massacre

Ika-san taon ng Ampatuan Town Massacre. Huwag kalilimutan ang dahilan ng ikinamatay ng 58 na katao klabilang ang 32 peryodista at mga manggagawa sa midya. Bilang mga mag-aaral at mga praktisyoner ng midya, tayo ay sabay-sabay na humingi ng katarungan para sa mga kasamahan natin sa industriya.

The blogger does not own this photo.

No copyright infringement intended. Used here for non-commercial, academic purposes only. 

Happy Birthday Ate Koy

I LOVE YOU ATE FRELYN!

Happy happy birthday! Cheers!

Super thank you po sa lahat!

AUGUST 1991: The WEBvolution begins

Photo available here. Used here non-commercially, for academic purposes only.

                   I found it interesting that eight days before I came out from my mother’s womb on the 14^th day of August in 1991, Sir Tim Berners-Lee publicly introduced the World Wide Web or the WWW[1]. The World Wide Web is made out of billions of data such as documents, photos, music, videos, that were interconnected by to computers all around the world, enabling the users to share files whenever and wherever they may be. [2]  It is quite intimidating to know that the web’s years of existence is the same as my existence in the world.

                I say intimidating because during the first class meeting on the 9^th of November in our Communication 150 class, I realized that we encountered the web and the internet late for our age, and in our generation. For my case, I first encountered the web when I was a 6^th grader when we were tasked to search for something for our subject back then. Yes, it was 2004 and the web was 13 years old already and again, yes, I was also 13 then.  

                Looking at how the web started, you may not even believe that the proposal was at first doubted by the boss of Sir Tim burners-Lee, yet the success is truly significant in the lives of the people in the current century. This is an excerpt from an interview to Sir Berners-Lee by Dr. Aleks Krotoski wherein the web inventor showed how happy he was upon the first flight of the web on the 6^th of August, 1991 as shown in the TV series produced by the BBC entitled The Virtual Revolution[3];

“I get it all wired up then that was the big switch… through the switch the lights went on… and that was the web taking off across the world. People started to log on and typing hypertext and I could feel the power of all these links spreading across the planet and we just have to hold on tight… and a call came from BBC… to cover the incredible uptake.”

               

                Although looking at how big the impact of the web in our life today, it is still seen as not encompassing some of the traditional media such as the television and the radio.[4] But I think it is because as compared to the traditional media, the new media is younger when it comes to the domination aspect. Because looking at it, as young as it may be, the influence and the impact it has made to the people is much bigger than that of other media.  

                As a “Digital Native” or as a person who is born and raised in a world of digitalization, as what John Palfrey and Urs Gasser called it in their book Born Digital[5], I am happy how our life has become more comfortable especially in doing academic works wherein a single click may lead to thousands of ideas ready to be acquired online.  It has also broadened our horizons because what was difficult to achieve before is now a single search away, even in our capabilities on doing some things such as buying expensive books and music. My mother would always tell me that I am blessed having such gadgets and internet because I can chat with and see our relatives who are miles away from us, virtually.

                If the web has its good sides, it is undeniable that it has also bad sides. The most important is the privacy of the individual who publishes almost everything on the internet. According to my professor in my English 30 or my English for the Profession class, Prof. Dr. Helen L.  Lopez when I asked her if I can publish my written output made in class online, she was against the thought of publishing it online. She said that my privacy can be intruded and that the paper I wrote might get criticisms and if other finds it unworthy to be published, then my reputation and also the University’s reputation might be ruined. I was unable to express my point to her. I believe that the web gives an opportunity for us to express ourselves and to let others know what we think or what our opinions are on certain issues.

                According to Stan Yee, our culture now is a “share everything” culture wherein the private data about us is easily disclosed to public which in turn might be subjected to exploitation and abuse[6].  I believe that it also relies on the information that you are sharing online and the settings you establish on the media or channel that you are publishing it on.

                Even there are negative sides on using the web as a medium on expressing yourself, I am still happy that the internet and the web help everything from doing a simple to the most complex actions, easy. And even though I was born with the month and the year when the web was also born, I can say that as I grow old with it, I get to study how it evolves and how it can deeply penetrate the lives of the people particularly its users- the very fact that we are of the same age helps. In short, I am part of making and even witnessing how it evolves!

               

               

---

[1] “Internet History” available at Computer Hope website at http://www.computerhope.com/history/internet.htm; Internet, accessed 9 November 2010.

[2] “WWW” available at the Computer Hope website at http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/w/www.htm; Internet , accessed 9 November 2010.

[3] The Virtual revolution is documentary series which has four episodes. It was presented by Dr. Aleks Krotoski. For more information, check the website of the series at http://www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution/.

[4] “ Is the Web the ultimate propaganda machine?” available at Dr. Aleks Krotoski’s website at http://alekskrotoski.com/post/event-digifest-is-the-web-the-ultimate-propaganda-machine; Internet, accessed 11 November 2010.

[5] “About the Book” available at the Born Digital website at http://borndigitalbook.com/about.php; Internet, accessed 15 November 2010.

[6] “Are You Checking In- or Out?” in Reader’s Digest Asia’s Guide Tech section, November 2010, 145. 

XXXXX

A REPOST from the UP Cybernomads website at http://upcybernomads.blogspot.com/2010/11/august-1991-webvolution-begins.html. The author decided to post the same content in his own blog site for the future references. 

Finally done, for now

Done with my internet stuff. I still need to do and to catch up with my academic stuff.
I learned and discovered so much about the new media today!
Now, I need a rest and a break to have more time in reading a bunch of readings piled up on my table.
I wish I won't be sleepy tomorrow for my 1-7 PM classes.

What a Night

So I thought after jogging at the acd oval, I will be able to read the articles that my classes require us to read. But no. I was able to make a blog site for my Comm 150 class. And I discovered the blog site of Ma'am Data. Yes, finally I will add something to my assignment in class! :)

Meet my bestfriends

 Meet Rosanna Kim and Richard Ace.

I miss these two.

Jogging

After attending the mass, and buying a book for Mia, I decided to jog at the academic oval. I thought it is the perfect timing for me to burn some fats, but it was until after five minutes of jogging that I felt something wrong on my right abdomen. I felt tired maybe or it was just because I just jogged right after I drunk a fruit shake. I thought of my appendix. So to relieve the pain I felt, I decided not to run for another round. It took me 30 minutes for this one-round jog wherein majority of the time was spent walking. I plan to do this on a regular basis for me to make my lifestyle active. And of course, I need to be fit or else my health would be at risk.

Tuesday is Readings Day

Since I do not want to read a bunch of readings in a very short time- mind you, I need plenty of time for just a single reading! So here I am just finished two of the three readings in BC 182 but have not started Comm 120 yet. Again, I violated my own rule. 

This image is posted in front of me to remind me not to use the internet, but again, I violated my own rule. t's because I needed to check my e-mail and to download a video, so still, I have a valid reason. :)

BOGCHI Night

Finally I am having my dinner! I ordered from BOGCHI- the coolest food in a box..ahm, restaurant?

The food in a box!

My favorite meal in Bogchi, Adobo Classic! 

Doomed

I felt so tired after doing some research and after seating on my chair in front of my laptop for six hours! Yes, so I took a nap and I just woke up at around 9:30 tonight. I have not eaten my dinner yet. Just as I plan to order for a dinner outside,my cellphone failed to connect to my laptop- it is still broken and a zero percent visibility on its screen. Now what am I gonna do, I hope Vicky's have an online site where we can order into, online! Now I have not even moved my clothes from my travelling bag to my closet so I am going to do it also tonight.

Message from Facebook

I just watched The Social network so I searched more about the people involved in the company yet I found an interesting video from the people who are directly involved in the company- the employees. Watch this video that has a relevant message for all Facebook users.


This video is available at the Official Facebook Channel at Youtube. Check it here.

Rain of Powerful Punches Poured

David has again beaten Goliath in this boxing match.
The Philippine's Pacman won over Mexico's el Tornado de Tijuana. The secret relied on Pacman's speed, and powerful punches and combinations. I got to tell you this ain't my first time to watch a game wherein Pacman battles up and defeats a Mexican boxer but it always thrills me to watch how a Filipinos can be so great and amazes the entire world.

But I must commend Tony Margarito for a nice game. He remained fighting until the end of the game although he started loosing his balance on the 10th round.

To Congressman Manny Pacman Pacquiao, and to all the Filipinos anywhere in the world, congratulations!


During his interview after the game, Manny showed that he still has heart because he has concern for his opponent and asked the referee to have Tony checked by a doctor. As Manny said fighting is ain't about killing. Good job congressman!

Here's my round per round observation in the game.

FIRST AND  ROUND.
I got to say that this is Pacman's round. He went to the ring with a powerful yet smiling look. I was waiting for a Filipino song on the background but according to once of the commentators there were two 70's songs played wherein one is a song from Karate Kid.

SECOND ROUND.
The first part is Manny's but Tony showed his power and was able to cornered Pacman. Offense punches was all that Manny gave El Tornado.

THIRD ROUND.
Everyone's shouting for Manny. He showed power and through his head shots to Tony. According to one of the commentators, Tony cannot catch Manny.

FOURTH ROUND.
The round when Tony's face started swelling, yet he was able to give Manny an upper cut.

FIFTH ROUND.
Tony had a chance to corner Pacman, again. Well, it's his game strategy to be able to throw powerful punches since he cannot catch Manny if there are in the center of the ring and gave another upper cut to Pacman.

SIXTH ROUND.
Manny is totally in control of the game yet he was hurt and was again cornered. But he was still fine.

SEVENTH ROUND.
Before the round started, the referee accompanied Tony to the doctor on the corner of the ring to have his eyes checked. Margarito still showed aggressiveness in this round. But Manny countered those of Tony's through his combination of punches and his speed.

EIGHTH ROUND.
Pacman face is still clean unlike that of Tony's. This round has proven that Tony is still determined to defeat Pacman showing stronger punches but Pacman was able to counter those, although I think he went slow on this round. A big upper cut was again thrown by Tony to Pacman.

NINTH ROUND.
Margarito started the round but rain of punches poured into his face giving him a bloody face.

TENTH ROUND.
Louder cheers from the aundiece is audible on the television. Tony started to loose his balance in this round. As what my dad said, Margarito was "saved by the belt."

ELEVENTH ROUND.
Margarito again losses his balance in this round yet he has shown his big desperation herein. He has not power anymore and he can barely give punches to Pacman in this round.

TWELFTH ROUND.
I did not feel Tony Margarito anymore. Pacman showed actions as if inviting Tony too give him more punches. It was obvious in this round that the Flipino pride will bag his 8th World Title.

Dirty Game

It's a Sunday morning in Pangasinan. Upon waking up, I immediately checked if the movies that I am downloading was up, without realizing that's it is a Sunday and today will be the Pacman-Tornado boxing match. I went to the room where the television is, switched it, and turned to Solar Sports.

There was this short feature entitled 24/7 which was about the two fighters and I saw how dirty Tornado's team is when it comes to sports- well, it's the very issue why his license was gotten by boxing authorities and was banned for playing boxing for a year after finding out that there were illegal inserts on his knuckle pads before his January 24, 2009 fight against Shane Mosley. It was shown in the TV feature a scene wherein on as the Team Margarito was on its way to Dallas boarding on an airplane, the other companies of Margarito punch the magazine where Manny is the cover and called it a 'bitch," while Margarito tore the cover on the neck of Manny in the photo.

 Well, I understand such acts of Margarito- knowing how eager he is to fight again and regain his reputation in the boxing world. He also said that he will end the tradition of Pacman defeating Mexican boxers.

"Class President": The Fifth Day of the Second Semester

Journalism 151 is my Advertising class. My only class on Saturdays this semester.

I thought I was going to be late for the class since I had difficulty waking up due to lack of sleep and the coldness of the room. Then I took a bath and did the rest of my rituals. I have not taken my breakfast yet, and took all my stuff and laundries with me to the class since I planned to go home right after it.

When the professor came in, I just cannot believe that she's younger than what I expected to see. Some students who took the course last semester described her as old, but she's younger than the definition of 'old.' She's Eleanor Agulto, her Master's thesis was one of our readings in our BC 181 class last semester. I did read the original thesis, and I found it really interesting, especially the Poli-Econ part of it.

As the class progressed, she asked for a volunteer who would put up the Yahoo group of the class- now I just remembered that I needed to do one. And so I did volunteer. And then, she suggested that we vote for a class president and some said the class president should be chosen via volunteering, too. My classmates particularly Yvan, Margie, and Blessie were murmuring my name and our professor noticed it so she did appointed me, as what my classmates suggested.  Thanks classmates, I miss being called "President."

Anyway, the class had a full lecture, yes, she gave a lecture and did finish the entire duration of the class lecturing. Just like my professor in BC 174 or my Marketing class.

What excites me about this class is the fact that we will be joining a competition in AdSpeak! :) And she will be our Creative Director, well, that's our midterms anyway. She did not pressure the class when she said that her class never gets home without a prize, from the start of the competition they always bag one.

Astro Mayabang

Ate Ivy Claudio and I went to EDSA Shangrila to watch the film of one of our classmates in BC 148, and to show our support to him. I saw and was start struck as what Ma'am Data would call it, to the stars whom I first saw in our class last semester. And now they were presented in the silver screen with some artists. Yes I saw the casts such as Aaron, Megan, Sweet, Marco, and Hermes.

The film was good. It was kind of disturbing for me specifically the scene wherein a gay, Mama Suk (Sweet) who pays for sexual pleasure,  asked Astro (Aaron) to mimic a religious saint before they have sex.

Anyway, congratulations to Director Jason Paul Laxamana for a great Gala and Premiere Night! Guys, watch it,too.

Movie poster courtesy of Director Jason Paul Laxaman.

Available here. 

Morning Class on the Fourth Day of the Second Sem

Now I am in my afternoon class as the new professor in the Broadcast Department takes over the class for BC 174 or the Broadcast Marketing and Promotion class. We are currently four attendees so far, excluding the professor.


BC 181: "OKAY LANG KUMPLIKADO KAYSA SIMPLISTIKO."
My morning class was BC 180 or the Criticisms of the Broadcast Texts. Prof. Choi, another new professor in the department took in-charge. I was absolutely taken away by that morning class as the prof presented the class syllabus, the readings- I tell you it is a bunch of readings.  Now I am realizing the statement of my peers and friends, "Sana hindi mo pinagsabay ang BC 181 at BC 182."

The Mainstream and the New Media

As I browse the web to search something for my assignment, I encountered again one of my crushes when it comes to online and new media, Dr. Aleks Krotoski. We will encounter her in one of our assigned short films. Ma'am Data introduced her to me last semester. I would like to share this to you since I find it intresting because we are more exposed to the mainstream media than the new media, in general; and Dr. Krotoski's insights are very significant especially that we are studying the internet and the new media culture at the same time we are also studying the mainstream media.

Photo available at the BBC's Virtual Revolution website.

No copyright infringement intended. 

Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

"...the Web has the potential to be the ultimate propaganda tool, but it’s not there yet."
-Dr. Aleks Krotoski

Dr. Krotoski talked in her article "Is the Web the ultimate propaganda machine?" (see link below) about the mainstream media as compared to the use of the web as an alternative propaganda tool. I believe she and Ma'am Data has the same philosophy about the use of the web as a propaganda machinery.

  
"We don’t want governments in our Web! It’s a rhetoric-free platform! We populate it, for us and our interests! We don’t want it to be used to manipulate us!"
-Dr. Aleks Krotoski


If there is one thing that I learned ultimately in BC 148 or the Interactive Broadcasting class is that we should be targeting the 'known institutions' and use the web to tear it down. Just like what Dr. Krotoski stated above, we don't want spinternet to control us!


HERE IS THE LINK:
http://alekskrotoski.com/post/event-digifest-is-the-web-the-ultimate-propaganda-machine

Third Day of the Second Semester

I woke up late today.
There was stealing in the dormitory.
I went and made tambay at UPCE.
Planned about and designed the bulletin board with Buddy Janel.
Learned that Flickr to Y! mail thing.
Attended an evening mass.
Went to TechnoHub.
Asked about a router.
Ate a BIG dinner at KFC.
Went home.
Printed some important readings.
Blogged.
Connected with the family.
Our room was inspected.
Blogged.

Major major acting break

To soothe the atmosphere in the dormitory which affects every resident due to the fact that two laptops were lost in just a day, I just decided to  reminisce on this video production in my Interactive Broadcasting class.

Two laptops were stolen in just a day in Ipil Dorm

Two laptops were stolen today at Ipil Residence Hall. The two victims were undergraduate students from the College of Engineering and from the College of Social Science and Philosophy. The first victim said that his laptop was stolen at around 11 to 11:30 in the morning while he took his bath without locking his door. The second who left his laptop on his chair at four in the afternoon noticed that his laptop was not there anymore upon arriving at 9:45 in the evening even his room was locked. The laptops that were stolen have the same model and the same color.

To answer this problem, the Dorm Manager Ms. Alma Terona called a general meeting for the male residents both the graduate and undergraduate students. The opinion of the body was asked if they will allow the two policemen to enter their room and have it checked and it was agreed upon by everybody. The opinions of law students were also insightful for the legal issues regarding the inspection.

As of the press time, the inspection is not yet finished and the inspection started on the first floor where the undergraduate residents dwell. The victims and the two policemen together with the house council officials of Ipil Dorm go room to room for the inspection.

Full Inspection at Ipil Dorm

Full inspection in every room in Ipil dorm is being conducted now. Two laptops were stolen today. Two U.P. policemen are here to help in the inspection.

Texting via Laptop

This is the screen shot of the LG program that I am currently using to send messages to my contacts. My phone is broken and I can barely decipher its screen. So to those who are texting me, my apologies if I haven't sent any response immediately or none at all. This is difficult for me to hold on to my contacts so I will try my best to resolve this difficulty of mine.  

Multiply Reload

Finally i got to open my Multiply account or my online depository of photos! :)
Now I have a chance to look back on those days when I still was lesser fat than now. LOL
Photos are private so you need to be my friend their first for you to view the photos although there are some albums which can be viewed publicly. Cheers for my old friend, Multiply!

Here's the screen shot of my account. Edited version.

UPDATE on robbery case here in Ipil

According to the dormer who lost his new laptop, he just took a bath at around 11 AM then upon going back to his room, he noticed that his laptop was not there anymore. His table is just near the window so he said that it will not be seen immediately unless the intruder really went inside the room. I pity the dormer since he is just a sophomore student and the robbed laptop is just a brand new. He came by my room to ask to inquire if I observed something on his room. I just told him that I heard a loud bang of the door and before that I heard a sound that was like an opening and closing of a door.

WARNING to all residents of Ipil Dorm

WARNING.

There maybe a robber within the walls of Ipil Residence Hall. 

A philosophy major lost his laptop just now. His room is next to ours- Room 114 West Annex 1 here in Ipil Dorm. If the theft is not from the outside since we have a strict security herein, I can't help but to think that it is one of the dormers who stole the laptop. I cannot imagine that I am dwelling with a robber, if my argument is proven true. So safety in this place is questionable, therefore I have a reminder for everyone, even those who are not living inside a dormitory, your belongings are at your own risk so safeguard your stuff.

Photo from Ipilista Kami Facebook account. 

No copyright infringement intended. 

Witness Pacman's Big Blast at UP Theater

Will Manny PACMAN Pacquiao make his 'last game' a big blast?

Know the answer on

NOVEMBER 14,  8 AM

at the UP THEATER

Brought to you by

UPCE,

Solar All Access, Solar Sports, Solar TV, and Top Rank

Second Day of the Second Semester

Today was the second day of second semester and what made me excited are my professors. I have 1 to 7 PM classes today and thank God I have not-so-cruel professors, or maybe it's just me thinking they are not cruel.

In my first class which is Comm 120 or the Law on Mass Media, I had my first encounter with the professor Atty. Marichu C. Lambino and some of my classmates. She really looks like Korina Sanchez in person. She asked us to choose our own case among the 31 cases in the syllabus. I chose the case about orgy. :) She asked the class if we know the meaning of that word. And majority knew the answer. She looked at me and it kind of like asking "tell me the meaning", so I answered that it is a sexual intercourse involving three and more individuals. She smiled, and it is kind of of like saying to me, "how the hell these kids know that word." I just smiled. :) She dismissed the class early. The supposed 1-4 PM class was dismissed at 2 PM.

So while I was waiting for my next class, I decided not to waste time and just went to the OUR and paid my AdMat form, if you can still recall my earlier post that I added a PE class to my schedule. So I stayed there for an hour.

Upon arriving to CMC, I immediately went to the cafeteria and ate a BIG snacks. Yes, i spend almost a hundred pesos just for snacks. Well, that is to ensure that I will not be sleepy for my 4-7 PM class. I have had classes during my second year in CMC and I found out that the 4-7 class is boring. Thank God I have a better professor now.

My second class this day was BC 182 or the Broadcast Audience Research class. It was fun because Prof. Jun Austria is the professor. He asked us to read two looooong articles and asked us to formulate questions about the articles we read. I made eight questions but only read seven wherein one was rejected. The purpose of the activity is to determine if we already know how to formulate questions since the course is about knowing how to make good questions for the audience.

I am unhappy knowing that I was not appointed as the secretary of the class, another guy raised his hand faster than me. Haha, sooo high school, right? But I am collecting all my classmates' e-mails and making it as a habit to keep the papers in a folder and make them as souvenir, so that when one of my classmates becomes famous, I have an evidence that he or she has been my classmate. LOL

Anyway, junks of reading materials await me this semester. I hope I keep my sanity on these subjects.

The Virgin Dorm Violator

I officially logged in at 10:45 PM tonight.
If you came in at past 10 PM, you are late,
and will be penalized if you did not sign at the log book.
I did not sign up for the late permit.
I am supposed to be penalized with a "LATE"mark.
But I was not.


This is because the guard who is on-duty tonight did not put the log book on her table and did not look if the dormer really did sign or did not. So luckily, I was able to enter the dormitory without being tagged as a dorm violator. I just came from Ortigas with Jeff and Francis for a business presentation. During our dinner at Tokyo-Tokyo I was worried about this "LATE" mark but thankfully I am still virgin or 100 percent rule follower and obedient resident here at Ipil Dorm.

Walking for Fitness

And yes, finally I got a PE after minutes of waiting and looking for the professor.
The long wait and agony is worth it after the professor who is to teach that PE class agreed for me to have that PE. I was so thankful to her as she signed my AdMat form.
Now I am looking forward for an afternoon of fun, and lots of walk. :))
I just hope I'd maintain my complexion after this semester.

The Brand Above a Brand, and a Goodbye

           There are a lot of points made in the article by Josh Hyatt on Fortune Magazine’s August 16, 2010 issue but what I like most is his statement that ‘a personal brand must highlight your special strengths, yet at the same time it also must not be too self-promotional…’ It is because I think it summarizes the entirety of the paper. The article also presented different cases wherein the application of self branding which is for me significant as a student who foresees himself working in a corporate-legal firm and who also dreams to have a “brand within a brand” as what the article calls it.

            MEASURE. The article emphasized that having a right gauge on yourself, which can be for example a SWOT Analysis of one’s self can be helpful since knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you in determining and focusing which talent needs to be highlighted. I’d see this aspect as a basis on academic performance, for example measuring your current standing in a class.

            COMPARE. It is really important to your classmates’ standings as well to be able to determine where you are at in the class. As applied to the industry, it is also your advantage if you know a lot especially the in and out of your field since it is vital for you to be able to compare yourself with others and thus can lead you to a good decision and course of action.

            ACTION. If you have determined and established your skills- in this case your grade standing, and compared it to the class and to your standards. An output will be obtained from these data that will make you decide on what action is pertinent to the situation. If your grade exceeded your expectations, you have to maintain it but if it is lower than your standards you have to push through your limits to reach or to exceed your standards.

            This article is so relevant especially nowadays when social networking media and the internet penetrates the working environment. But the article emphasized something on the values of the company where you are in. The first case presented that employees who successfully build brand within companies must know and must be hyper-aware of the behaviours and values of the company, since it might be violating its self-inflicted regulations just like what happened to Mark Pannell, the personality in the first case who was kicked out of his job just because the company thought he was just wasting his time online.

            Among my classes this heart-breaking yet enjoying semester, BA 101 would be one of the first subjects that will be on my mind as I reminisce this sem, maybe after a year. It is because this subject made me more aware and opened a wider perspective on the corporate world. And it totally changed the self-inflicted stereotype I have had to the students of the College of Business Administration. 

CWTS Symposium: Break Glass in Case of Emergency

       The Philippines, being an archipelago and belonging to the Pacific Ring of Fire, is subjected to a lot of natural hazards such as tropical storms, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.  Another factor that contributes to the disasters that struck our country is the lack of discipline among Filipinos that result to man-made hazards such as food-poisoning, environmental pollution, and road accidents. One question that we must ask ourselves is how we can be ready if hazards struck the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. 

            The seminar that the class conducted on September 30,2010  at the CMC Auditorium as project was really essential for it did help us to understand the paradigms of disasters from different perspectives since we have speakers from the geological sciences, from food science, and from communication science in application to UP Diliman campus and students herein. 

            The welcome remarks of the College Secretary of the College of Mass Communication, Professor Danilo A. Arao was interesting. He said that such undertaking is a significant move towards the campaign on disaster awareness and preparedness in the campus which students can apply outside the campus if they graduate since hazards do not have fixed time when they will occur.

            Dr. Santiago’s message informed the audiences on what they can expect from the seminar and also introduced the speakers. I really liked it because madam’s better half Sir Ramon J. Santiago is so supportive to ma’am and also to the class. Maybe without sir Santiago’s friends self efforts, we would not have conducted such a seminar.

            The first speaker is the Director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Dr. Rene Solidum. He talked about earthquake preparedness or the things that we should do before, during, and after an earthquake. I like his argument that preparing for an earthquake is not like preparing for a typhoon wherein the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) can give typhoon signals for the people to be ready for possible flood if their area is prone to flood. Preparing for earthquake is being aware all the time of the positions of things in relation to you. It was interesting how he said that my position, as the master of the ceremony in the event, was not a safe spot in case there is an earthquake, he rather went beside a strong post which is like one of the pillars of the building.

            I am grateful how PHIVOLCS actively participated in the event. They even provided leaflets and brochures on the things that students can do in case of emergency. I am sure that a lot of students who attended were given such and that they are more aware now on the things that they can do in case of this calamity occur. I hope we can disseminate more of these leaflets and brochures to more students in the campus since students here are coming from different parts of the country, the information that they have acquired can then be transmitted to their areas.

            Our second speaker Dr. Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay of the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences talked about the Faults of UP and the Geological Profile of the university. One fact that I learned from him is that the rumour of UP Main Library having fault beneath it is untrue. I was amazed on how the architectural landscape beneath the university is planned. It’s like it was really strategically built for instance the path that lead to the water basin towards Commonwealth Avenue from the university. That must have been built for years and in the 102 years of UP, when was those built?  UP keeps on amazing me.  

            The third speaker was Dr. Leonora Francisco of the UP College of Home Economics and talked about the Disasters in Food which is all about food poisoning that can be classified into man-made hazards. It was interesting that Dr. Francisco had a very different framework but it was still significant because she presented a daily threat that might harm UP Diliman students, particularly on street foods such as isaw, fishballs, and others.  I learned that the foods that are sold on streets should be properly covered since it is exposed to the surroundings. She did a comparative analysis on the street foods before and its current situation. She said that the foods sold on the street now are more hygienic and safer than the years before since they now have sauce dispenser unlike before that the sauce are open. I also learned that foods should be exposed in a different temperature immediately so that bacteria will not be exposed to bacteria. All this time I thought that that practice is wrong since it might lead to fast rottenning of food but I must trust her since she had studies about this.

            The fourth and the final speaker was the Chairperson of the Communication Research Department of the UP College of Mass Communication, Dr. Elena E. Pernia who talked about the Disaster Rick Communication. I learned that it is difficult really how to properly communicate about disasters. And Dr. Pernia emphasized that ‘there is no good news here.’ And I think it is true, based on my experience before, during a calamity it is really hard to be vocal about it and to properly communicate your ideas especially if you are surrounded by the affected individuals. Dr. Pernia said that what matters most in such situation is to show that you care towards people especially if they have been affected.

            Applying the Disaster Risk Communication in the Hostage Crisis on August 23, 2010 at the Quirino Grandstand, the police have given too much care to their fellow Filipino General Mendoza and they gave everything he demanded. I think the police should have cared more on a number of lives that was at risk at that time. Though media kept on exposing the latest happening that have caused the hostage taker to be informed on the tactics and aggregated information with what the police did to his brother.  Disaster Risk Communication must be emphasised in institutions like the police and the military since they are vital in the protection of the Filipinos in case of hazards and disasters.

            I initially thought it would not have been possible to conduct such project for a lot of time will be needed to organize and to invite speakers. Luckily, this assumption was wrong for all the speakers were in the seminar and students from different colleges such as the College of Science and the School of Statistics attended it. It felt sad by the fact that our online campaign was not really valued and the guests who confirmed their attendance online did not attend the event. 

            On the lighter side, I am happy being part of this team who conducted the first seminar on such topic here in the UP Diliman, as what Dr. Solidum said. A fellow student from DZUP told me if she can interview me and I said yes. While we waited for the call, she asked me if it was really set on this day because it was in a week wherein we commemorate the first anniversary of the Typhoon Ondoy wherein a lot have died. And I said no, but it was a point that the seminar landed on this date since the seminar is about disaster awareness and preparedness, if a lot have been informed and are aware, we might lessen the number of affected individuals and casualties in case of such incidents.

Corporate Leadership

            I find it ironic that the paper I am writing is on leadership and the reason why I was absent on the day when a speaker Ma’am Barbs of Avon Philippines, was on leadership, too. It was because I was selected to lead my co applicants in the UP Circle of Entrepreneur (I am also an applicant of UP AdCore) in our Entrepreneurial Fair Exhibit on the same day and on the same time. Thanks to my BA 101 casemates- Andrea and Angelo, for sharing what the talk was about.

            If I will be the General Manager of our family business, I will use the transformational and charismatic leadership styles. According to Robbins and Coulter, a leader who stimulates and inspires followers to achieve extraordinarily outcomes are the transformational leaders, while a leader is enthusiastic, self-confident whose personalities and actions influence people to behave in certain ways is a charismatic leader.

            In one conversation that I had with my dad while undergoing an apprenticeship in our business, he told me that to be able to influence others to do their tasks for you as the one who handles the business you have to know your strengths first since these will be the key for influencing others. He told me that I have charisma and that I may use it for leading others. I also remember our SSG adviser back in high school as she told me that as the SSG President of a school that comprises almost three thousand students, I need to transform my fellow officers in such a way that fits our population.

            I will choose these two styles of leadership because they do not require you to change but rather needs you to be yourself to influence your employees. I think your personality will also be essential in motivating your workers since it is an advantage for you and the company if you know their needs.

            It really is my loss not being able to attend such a great talk, as what I observe to my casemates as they tell their experiences on the lecture. Now I learned my lesson that if you will lead a group or company, you better distribute to your fellow workers or to your employees the work needed to be done, for you not to suffer all the miseries just to save your group or company. I should have applied my these two leadership styles early on. 

A Requirement in BA 101

First Semester, SY 2010-2011

Prof. Nicardo Falcis II

24 September 2010