My Socially Constructed Reality

Marami akong natutunan sa UP noong ako'y nasa kolehiyo pa lamang. Katunayan, doon ko nahubog ang halos kalahati ng aking kasalukuyang pagkatao. Natuto akong huwag umasa kaninuman, mag-aral nang hindi kailangang mandaya o mangopya, mangatwiran kung kinakailangan, huwag matakot kung may katwiran, magsalita kung may nararamdaman, magtanong kung may kakulangan, magsulat kung mayrong ayaw makinig sa katwiran, at manindigan sa mga pinaniniwalaan. Ang akala ko, ang pagiging UPian ko ay sapat na para maging masaya at kuntento ako sa kung saan man ako magtatrabaho. Akala ko alam ko na lahat. Hindi pa pala. Ako pala ay mangmang. Mangmang sa katotohanan na ang totoong mundo ay pinaiikot ng mga taong katulad ng mga tinutukoy ni Karl Marx sa kanyang paglalarawan ng mapanggamit na mundo. Mangmang sa katotohanan na ang boses ng isa ay kailanman di kayang talunin ang pagkapipi ng karamihan. Kung babalik ako sa UP, hahanapin ko si Sir Rolly at itatanong ko sa kanya kung bakit di niya ako tinuruan...

pix from http://www.myktheone.blogspot.com/ .

Here I am again -- teaching Communication Research. It's not easy. It's not easy to explain complicated research matters to undergraduate students. It's not easy to be really strict so the students would learn to READ, READ and READ. It's not easy to say their proposals are not acceptable, or that no panelist would ever want to read a problem with no basis -- no strong background and no significant at all. It doesn't feel good looking at clueless graduating students. They seem to be so clueless whether they hit the jackpot in the proposal they submitted. Ayoko kasi ng research proposal na PWEDE NA. I want their research output to be significant and worth their time. If the students spend time thinking about their problem and how they would be able to come up with sensible topic and problem, then I also spend nights thinking, and searching the net or searching for books in the library, just to help them in their brainstorming. But I cannot suggest a problem or a topi...

I have so many things to do in my list but I just don't know which to do first. All of them are due on the same week -- next week: Checking of two major exams, thesis consultation with 8 groups, computation of grades, edit my former BSN students' thesis, edit our (with Sir Umaly) book, attend workshop at Cyber City, prepare for my report on one of my subjects in Graduate school, complete requirements in Sir Archie's class, etc. With all those things I need to do, all I want to do now is to blog. This blogging thing is stealing my precious time. What can I do? This helps me relax and think things over. Ano kaya ang una kong gagawin after blogging?

My sked today: 8-8:30: Prepare materials for ESL class 9-10:30: ESL tutorial in school 10:3011:30: Edit Teaching-Learning English Through Newspapers 11:30-12:30: Thank God, it's lunch break! 12:30-2: Receive and read thesis proposals from ABMC 4 2-3:30: Electronic Newsroom class 3:30-6:30: Continue editing TLETN * I hope I won't need to stay later than 6:30 p.m.

I couldn't help but think: I've almost been hit by motorcycles for two consecutive days -- yesterday and tonight, on my way home. Then last night, I had a bad dream. I couldn't move my body and although I tried to shout for help, I couldn't hear my own voice. I don't know what's wrong with me lately... Maybe I have to take extra care, especially when crossing the street. Nakakatakot na tumawid...

It is very seldom that I watch TV these days. In the first place, I never like TV viewing. I only turn the TV on to watch news. Now that we have Internet access at home, not to mention I buy PDI three times (because it is a requirement in my Newswriting class) a week, I just rely on the Internet for news and other info. I think our TV set is now just a redundancy. Good thing, even my kids don't watch anymore. Anyway, there was one time a couple of weeks ago when I watched a reality-based show May Trabaho Ka at QTV. Several students from different schools like UP Diliman, UP Baguio, Univ. of the Assumption, Far Eastern Univ., St. Scholastica's College ,were competing in order to get a job at GMA. The contestants faced different challenges until only 3 remained. The top 3 had the real challenges in their lives. The whole thing and the concept of the program were fine but then, it's quite weird because the contestants are competing just to be hired as a RESEARCHER at GMA. It w...

"Hide it and it shows itself sooner or later." -- Archbishop Oscar Cruz "Avoid obsolescence. Attend a conference."

A voice that cannot be heard; A heart that has no feeling; Two eyes that can't seem to stare; Emotions that are too complicated to explain. Too real to ignore; Too impossible to reach.

I attended the PACE Echo Seminar series yesterday with the SAMASKOM officers and few of the graduating students. The first part of the event was actually a Marketing pitch by Anvil and Thomson-- the main sponsors of the seminar. Anvil is launching three books in Communication and the authors were there to talk about their books. Among the 3 books are: MAKING DOCUMENTARIES IN THE PHILIPPINES by Isabel Kenny, INTERNET 101 by Rachel Khan, and THE MEDIA KIT by Jag Garcia, Mike Lim, and Melanie Casul. Ms Kenny wasn't there but Ms Chi-chi Robles talked about Ms Kenny's book. Actually, I already met Ms Kenny in one of the fora I attended in UP Diliman last year. There, she talked about her book. Even at that time, I already wanted to purchase her book because it seemed interesting. It's about storytelling called Making docu in the Philippine setting. The second part of the seminar in the afternoon was so tiring. Several research outputs were presented, both by faculty and stude...

Today's the second day of prelim exam. For the first time, I didn't get bored in proctoring. I managed to keep myself "busy" while proctoring. I was doing three things at the same time: Looking at the students who were taking the test, walking around the classroom and thinking about the theses of my students. I had to do that because I wanted to save myself from getting bored proctoring -- staring at students who were trying to make sense out of their test papers. Besides, I knew I didn't have vacant time in school today. I had no time to really sit down and think about all the topics of my Research students so I take advantage of "idle" moments -- I always think while I do something physical like proctoring, walking, and going up and down the overpass (foot bridge) from the main building to the PS building and back to the main campus.

This is Hazel and her sweet daughter. I'm so happy that she found me thru my Friendster account :-) It feels so happy to know that the good old friends never forget :-) Her Friendster profile can be found here.

Try these suggestions from TIME/CNN: 1. Count your blessings. 2. Hear the music. 3. Snog, canoodle, Get it on. 4. Nurture you spirituality. 5. Move your body. 6. Laugh big. 7. Do something nice for someone else. 8. Make more money than your peers. 9. Seek positive emotion as a path to success. 10. Identify with your heritage. 11. Use a happy memory as a guide. 12. Play the part of an optimist. 13. Try new things. 14. Tell your story to someone. 15. Balance work and home The grin of our society is blue-toothed. With BlackBerrys and corporate email at home, we are tethered to technology unlike any previous generation. This newfound flexibility between our work and private lives works for some people but is problematic for others. In 2003, Michigan State University researchers found that those who establish boundaries between work and home are more connected to their families and have less conflict than those who integrate the two. The researchers divided people into what they call integ...

TIRAMISU ni VEI SPECIAL BROWNIES ni VEI

My Tita Nenet is a star in Israel! She applied as caregiver then auditioned as an actress. She was chosen among all those who joined the audition. Now, the film where she is one of the main casts has won awards in Cannes Film Festival. My Lola Fe must be very proud of tita Nenet. Who would have thought that her destiny is in Israel? While many Filipinos think it's not safe to live in Israel, well, my Tita is a witness to how good life can be in that country. Read the article about her -- she's Monet de la Torre in Israel -- in t h i s l i n k .

Watch the live performance of Black Eyed Peas of WHERE IS THE LOVE on 7/7/07 in London h e r e .

Sometimes, I wish God were just a text or a call away. There are times I'd like to ask Him questions. I see a lot of things that I could not explain why. But if I were to talk to God, I would endlessly thank Him for everything.

We just had a meeting. Everything that is on the agenda is NEW. We attempted to ask questions re new policies. But all we got from the chair is, "WHAT CAN WE DO?" She even said that those are policies to be followed by "mere faculty." I thought that the choice of words is important. And so we are "mere faculty." Nice term. If I have question, there is only one answer: "What can we do?" Things are getting tougher. It becomes harder for me to breathe here. I still could not figure out why a "mere faculty" is not given a chance to ask questions.

Dani switched to PROMIL from Enfalac. We tried Enfapro first but she didn't like it. Despite controversies about the rusting of Wyeth cans, I still trust this brand. I'm very sensitive though so I won't overlook cans with rust. We also started to include Nestle Cerelac in Dani's diet. She likes brown rice and wheat with milk flavor :-)

It might be true that opportunities knock only once. But it's a different story when several opportunities knock at the same time. I want to grab them all but it seems impossible to succeed in all. My problem now is how to balance my time with all the opportunities knocking at my door. I need to set priorities. * The book I wrote with sir umaly is on its way to publication. I'm proofreading now and adding more parts. * Sir Umaly told me we would be writing columns for the Manila Bulletin. The column shall be published every two weeks. * other opportunities I can't mention yet. I'd like to see what happen first :-)

Even good news comes when you least expect it. Just got good news from Sir Umaly yesterday. Our book is on its way to publication. Thanks to Vibal Publishing Inc. :-) Just what I've been waiting for...