..The Cube..

..According to some people, it's not easy to be happy.. I was thinking of the same thing until one day, something just hit me and I felt like..oohh..happy.. plain and simple...happy!

..This may sound so weird but that something which made me happy was this little cube of six colors - Rubik's cube! my first attempt? 3 days! 2nd? 1 day and just tonight while taking a long break from work, 10 minutes..yeah you read it right. 10 minutes. no plans of joining speedcubing in the future but the fact that I was able to solve the mystery about the cube was so amusing. I'll try again. Got to work..8

..Let's take the plunge..

..There are things in life that we really want to experience and there are people who are very much willing to make that experience memorable for you but the question is, are you willing to give it a shot especially if that kind of experience has to go against what is proper and what has been dictated by the society? if you are then show up, tell it to my face and I volunteer myself without any second thoughts, let me be that person to take you where your life has never been...I'm telling you.., "I never came! I was there all along..." just let me...8

????...

ayaw ko ang matulog
ayaw ding pumikit
ni ayaw maidlip
para bang sa aki'y bangungot ang kalakip

ayaw kong dumilat
ayaw ding gumising
takot sa katotohanang...
ako'y nahimlay na't wala sa iyong piling
gawa ng bangungot na sa aki'y kumitil

???

ngayon...
kasabay ng pagsikat ng araw
ang pagsambulat ng damdaming
naghihimutok...
naghuhumiyaw...

bunga ng mga panahon ng pananahimik
tila nagbabadya ng katapusan, ng wakas...
wakas na ni minsa'y hindi sumagi sa isipang
kailan lang ay musmos

kamusmusang patungo sa mapaglarong tadhana
tadhanang hindi inalintanang akin...

at...
sa aking mga kamay

ngayon ang araw ay hindi na muling masisilayan...

..The Art of Detachment..

..The past few days actually gave me enough time to contemplate and realize some of the best moments that I ever had in my life..A time when I got to spend time with material things. A time to be with new people and be friends with them. Time to be with those people that I really cared about. A time when my whole world revolved around someone or something and a time to be one with myself. Best? I think so but I have to let them all go now. Remember, never hold on to things because everything in this world is impermanent. Once in a while, we need to detach from each and everyone of them. The biggest question is "HOW".

..Going deep into the root of all this might be of great help. It's like knowing what the problem is and then finding a solution to solve it. Whenever there are things that make us feel loved and given importance of, we tend to cling on to them and those I think cause us so much pain in the end. One would even ask "why did it have to happen if it wouldn't last long?" "why do i need to go through all of those stuff and leave me hurting?" the answers to those questions might take us a long time to comprehend - we tend to deny things as they happen. Acceptance is not an option (at first). We get hurt, we feel pain, we feel ignored. Normal. Pathetic. That's why we need to be prepared at all times. We have to accept what's going to happen next. We need to detach. Detach from them.

..For every positive things, there are negative things at the other end. For every dark tunnel, there's light. For every sadness, there's joy. For every thing in this world, there's pain. Loneliness. And I am just tired. Sick and tired of doing the same old sh*t all the time. I am trying to learn. Just learn...

..I still have a lot to share, a lot to say, it's just that, I don't know where to begin. I'll just wait! Just wait...8

..The Ten Commandments of How to Get Along with People..

1. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it often counts more than what you say.

2. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully, no matter what it costs you.

3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging thing to or about somebody. Praise good work done, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.

4. Be interested in others; interested in their pursuits, their welfare, their homes and their families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as one of importance.

5. Be cheerful. Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Hide your pains, worries and disappointments under a smile. Laugh at good stories and learn to tell them.

6. Preserve an open mind on all debatable questions. Discuss, but don't argue. It is a mark of superior minds to disagree and yet to be friendly.

7. Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves, and refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip . Make it a rule to say nothing of another unless it is something good.

8. Be careful of another's feelings. Wit and humor at the other fellow's expense are rarely worth the effort, and may hurt where least expected.

9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Simply live that nobody will believe them. Disordered nerves and a bad digestion are acommon cause of backbiting.

10. Don't be too anxious about your dues. Do your work, be patient and keep your disposition sweet, and you will be rewarded.

Good Governance: Our Right, Our Responsibility

For years my head has been struggling to answer one question…Why are the people in our country so fragmented?…Like, why are there so many factions in the government? In the military? In business? In communities? In the studentry?…That there is what we call the "right wing" and then there is the "left wing?" In the university where I came from, we call them ‘tibak’; ‘aktibista’; or worst ‘NPA wanna be’s.’

And for years, I have been listening modestly and patiently on what they have been saying… 10 percent comment about capitalism, 10 percent comment about equality, 25 percent comment about social strata and a humongous 55 percent comment about Good Governance. They say that our country lacks it. That our country should have it!

But what I forgot to ask them is "What is good governance in the first place?" Does it mean that if our country would have this, it would belong to the first world? That if our country could acquire this, then there would be economic stability? If our country can have good governance, does this mean that we can have a fair share on the issue of WTO? Or should we even use the word GOOD and GOVERNANCE in one sentence?

A couple of years ago, issues have been heaping up in our country, workers demand for the P125 across-the-board increase which was not really met, issues about Indigenous Community Militarization, which again killed dozens of Aetas, Manobos and Hanunuo since our indigenous brothers did not agree with the conversion of their tribes’ land into militarized areas, a series of Oil price hikes and then a few rollbacks which just like the previously stated events all ended in favor of lobbying groups. If you will take a look at all of these issues, they have a common ground…they are all government concerns.

The Philippine Government has been claiming all along that it is democratic…that we are very lucky since it is one of the freest countries in the world…that our government was made by the people, for the people…that our government system is IDEAL. Come to think of it, ideal is synonymous to perfect and since grade four my often quoted motto is NOBODY is PERFECT. In this context, I could safely assume that the Philippine Government has been lying all along, that its claim about idealism is a lie.

I am 18 years old. I am a student. I value education. I try to be an asset to my country. But I can only do so much. While most of my peers value signature items and gossips about their latest varsity crushes, I prefer to sit down and ask questions about my country. If government officials have been claiming that ours is an ideal form and I find out that it has been lying all along…what should I do?

To be honest, I do not know. Perhaps the answer would be to demand good governance from each citizen. But the problem is that the youth, like me, lack influence in formulating public policies. Our exclusion is caused by both external and internal barriers. The external barriers have to do with a ‘culture of apprehension’; reflective of the generation gap that tends to breed a sense of mistrust and misunderstanding between adults and youth. It is also reflected in the government and other decision-making bodies that do not bother to involve young people in policy development. Instead, young people are generally treated as the "next generation" and "leaders of tomorrow." The internal barriers relate specifically to youth, who often fail to see themselves as actors in decision-making processes. This is partly the result of never being taught that they have a role to play in making policy decisions, and partly a result of youth organizations lacking the necessary skills and strategic thinking to make inroads into policy circles. This brings me to the query. Does it have something to do with budget cutting on educational funds every time there is a national emergency? Why does it have to be the educational funds?

I remember when Nelson Mandela delivered his speech in the African Youth Convention. He firmly stated that a time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices - submit or fight. And as of this moment I believe that there is nothing left for the youths of today to do but to fight and demand for good governance. It is our right and it is our responsibility.

Involving us young people in policy-making is important. It provides opportunities to build skills and learn from experiences that will serve us well throughout our lives. It will help us combat cynicism about politics and politicians, It will give us a first-hand understanding on how decision-making processes function. It will strengthen the civil society - will demonstrate the value of the public sector and of public service. At the same time, it will give us the chance to participate in the development of communities – in social, economic, cultural, and political terms. Lastly, it will help us disprove the multitude of negative stereotypes about youth that continue to exist.

Asking questions does not mean one is practicing treason. Demanding for an answer will not make one commit sedition. I call these two involvement. The youth is not a ‘next generation’ scenario, we are happening today, this very minute and we are assets longing to be tapped by our country. We should not be afraid of growing slowly, we must be afraid only of standing still…Of doing nothing for the country that has been our shelter, our protection, our home.

Good governance is not a gift. The youth like us have the right to Demand for it...Work for it…and Assume Responsibility for it. Who so neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future! 



Speech Delivered in 2004 by: mrlvtubid (brasil tubid)
Community Chest Foundation
Oration Contest
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

..Pains of Being A Teacher (students do not read this)..

1. Students truly DO NOT appreciate you.

2. You are over worked underpaid.

3. Your students look at you as somebody they pay

4. You are always sized down

5. You have to take respect from them in a forceful manner

6. They are happy if you are sick, busy or in a boring meeting (because you don’t have to come to class, imagine, they are happy because you are sick?)

7. They call you ‘irrational being’, ‘unfair being’, ‘may favoritism’ and others out of nothing.

8. They feel that you should always be a happy, shiny individual.

9. They question your opinion

10. Worst they yell ‘I don’t give a hell care about her number!’..