Merry Christmas

My Ma195a.6 exam last Thursday marked the end of academic requirements due for the year. And I feel I did pretty good. Probably a few missteps and mistakes but I'll gladly take that over any other alternative. I should be happy - I should have been happy since Thursday. But I'm not.

This Christmas season was the first time I've ever given out as many gifts as I did. And this was the first Christmas season it actually felt easy to spend that much money on people who were neither my roommates or part of my family (though I consider them family). I also received the best set of gifts this year. I received the thing I wanted so much I was willing to wait six months for it. I received something that I had no idea I wanted so much. (Yes, I have amazing friends who know what I want even before I know it.) But best of all, I got what I've never had the courage to admit to myself that I needed: people who actually give a damn about me.

Overall, this semester and season would have been so great so far had I not been an emotional wreck. I've fallen "in lesbians" (for those who don't get it, you've missed one great movie this year) with the wrong person - a person who, after months of contemplating, I think I probably could never really be with. Ah, Cupid, thou really art a blind bastard. So, allow me to borrow what could possibly be the most well-known and most quoted lines from the movie "Love Actually":

With any luck, by next year, I'll be going out with one of these girls:

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But for now, let me say that, without hope or agenda - just because it's Christmas, and at Christmas you tell the truth - to me, you are perfect. And my wasted heart will love you until you look like this:

If I really do have readers for this blog who go through the entirety of my entries, seeing as this is probably going to be my last entry for the year 2010, let me wish you all a merry Christmas out of deference to that long-standing social contract. May the rest of your days and your nights be filled with happy thoughts, great company, and all the mouth-watering delicacies that make you ecstatic before you consume them and devout weight-watchers after. And may the rest of my days this year be filled with them too. It's not too late for things to turn around after all.

What Happened In Corregidor Will Stay In Corregidor

...because I forgot to bring batteries for my camera.

As part of our Hi166 class requirements, we had to take a trip to Corregidor island because our professor believed it to be a good way for us to learn about how World War II was like here in our country. That didn't really turn out well.

Now, since I don't have my own car and the meet-up place was located somewhere in the vicinity of the CCP complex, I asked my friend who was taking the same class if he could pick me up somewhere along Katipunan. The night before the trip, he sent me a message about his dad not wanting to get caught in the traffic jam the ACET would cause that morning; he'd pick me up in Ayala-UP TechnoHub instead. I knew then that I had to wake up earlier than I initially intended to since I now had to call for a cab instead of a trike. I slept for only three hours for reasons I can no longer remember. And here's where things started to go downhill. As soon as I woke up, I remembered I had not charged my camera's batteries. As we would be in Corregidor for most of the day, I would definitely need both of them fully charged. So, before I left to take a shower, I plugged the charger in and began the process. After the shower and changing, I stuffed my camera into the bag I decided I needed and walked out of the room - without the batteries that were still being charged. I only realized later as I was waiting in the KFC at TechnoHub that I had forgotten to bring them with me. (The lighting was nice since it was early morning and I wanted to get a great shot in before the trip started.) I would have gone back for them but I didn't want to be late because, like time apparently, the ferry waits for no one.

So the whole day, I lugged along with me a bag that only served the purpose of carrying my camera, which was, at this point, of as much use to the trip as a paperweight was. It was a good thing Allen let me borrow his camera for me to take a few shots - none of which turned out to be worth editing.

How was the trip? I won't even bother writing about it here. It was uninteresting for the most part, which is definitely not what you would expect from an out-of-town trip.

Think First

If you still haven't heard of the recent Gloria Diaz scandal... here it is.



Of course most of us Cebuanos, me included, RAGED over this comment: "Kasi when you think about a Cebuana, can hardly speak English, and of course, Tagalog..."

And in a video here Ms. Gloria Diaz tries to defend her statement, saying that she never said Cebuanas couldn't speak English. "This is what I said," she said. That everyone should have the right to answer in the language they are most comfortable with. She shrugged away the issue joking about getting a Jejemon interpreter if you wanted to speak Jejemon.

Unlike comments posted everywhere belittling her accent, or calling her a liar and a whore, or showing evidence of how Cebuanos are widely renowned in the outsourcing and call center scene, this blog post is quite different.

I just want to tell her this: she should have thought of what she was going to say before actually saying it. She may or may not have meant it, but it was still offensive in the end. And since she did say it, instead of letting the issue trail off as a joke, she should really admit a mistake, whether it have been intentional or not. She didn't even admit that she said what she said, when video footage shows otherwise.

I'm a Cebuano who speaks Filipino better than the stereotypical Cebuano (yes, the stereotype is very humbling)... but we've never been bashed about our English before. I can probably ignore that kind of offensive statement, but her not admitting she said it is hard to bear.

I demand an apology.

Post-Orsem Letter to My Freshmen

First of all, I don't know what drove me to write this. Maybe it's the fact that I'm alone in my room right now with my iTunes (with so many, many sad songs) playing in the background and the mood is just right. Maybe it's because of the possibility that I might not see many of you as much as I would like to over my last 2 years of stay in the Ateneo de Manila University. Maybe because my speech during our last processing session wasn't as good as I wanted it to be (I'm better at writing than I am at speaking) and I feel that I owe all of you much more. Regardless of reason, here it goes.

Today, I end my 19th year of existence and experience in this world. Given that three of those years I spent in the Ateneo, I'm sure I'm not exaggerating when I say I've been through a lot. Of all the things I've experienced though, I'm still convinced that the three dorm OrSems I've taken part of will eat up the greatest slice of the highlight reel of my life - and this one I've been with you guys is giving my own OrSem experience a run for its money. I hope I've given you guys a great OrSem run with memories you'll bring with you up until you yourselves part ways at graduation. I hope I've helped make this OrSem good enough that you yourselves would want to take part in it again next year as the helpful upperclassmen to the next batch of freshmen.

I pray I've helped in enough ways to foster reason enough for you all to stay close together as a small unit. Though it may be near impossible for a large batch such as yours to stay strong all the time, I'm certain that I can count on this group staying strong and intact throughout the years you have left in the dorm. Please be there to pick each other up and dust each other off. Trust me when I say that your roommates are going to be the ones who will be there for you at your lowest points and darkest hours in life and you'll want them to care enough to know how to cheer you up. I hope you grow as close together as I have with my roommates who don't even need to use words to cheer me up. I hope that in three years time when it'll be your batch video playing at the OrSem party, it won't matter whose pictures are flashing on the screen as all of you will be watching it together and the faces of those beside you are all you need to remember all the good times you've had over the years.

We're not the best FCC group this year for nothing guys. This group, as should be clear to all of you now as it was to me when we started, is a dream team for OrSem and any hero would have been incredibly lucky to have gotten this group. Thank God he gave this group to me and Lianne. I can't speak for Lianne but I'm pretty sure she would agree when I say you were worth waking up at 6 in the morning, all the late night meetings, and all the spent energy. You guys have awoken something in me that's been dormant for almost a year now. Although I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, it feels good to have again. You've given so much happiness over the week and a half we've been together and I can only hope I've at least returned the favor. I'm really sorry if you feel I've failed you in any way and I hope I can make it up to you over our next few encounters.

Please remember that I'll always be here to help should you need any, even after my departure from the Ateneo. As the small box in my Facebook page says, I'll forever be your hero - so long as you let me.

Borderlands: A Review

I haven't played a lot of games so allow me to express first my amazement at how well the developers blended FPS and RPG elements to create the captivating Borderlands. I mean, sure there have been FPS games with a leveling system but this is the first I've played with full skill trees, specialization options, and loot system - all common RPG elements.

With that being said, the multiplayer option for this game was a great addition. With the RPG element of specialization, it wouldn't really have made much sense if multiplaying was impossible. I played the entire game with two of my friends and each of us had different classes with specializations chosen to benefit each other. It made the game a lot more fun and interesting. The customization of character and vehicle color added a little more flavor and allowed people with the same classes to at least differentiate their character a bit.

Now, on to the disappointments of the game. While the customization of colors helped, the clothes the characters wore weren't really changeable. If I remember right, the game didn't even have armor items - just weapons. Perhaps they could add more items other than weapons in the sequel - if ever they do decide to continue this brand.

When I started playing, I found the initial area (Arid Badlands) to be huge, which was great. After completing a majority of the quests in the region, I was excited to move on to the next area, assuming naively that it was as huge, if not even more so, than the Badlands. I was wrong and this was the first disappointment. The next region was almost infinitely smaller than the first, with less sub-areas as well. While the next region somewhat made up for that a little, the game never really recovered fully in this aspect. The fifth area was almost made solely for a boss battle and the fourth was a one-path area, leaving no room for exploration and straying from the set path.

Next would be the New Haven issue. I doubt the developers intended it that way but if they did, that was a major imbalance issue. Before we hit New Haven, my friends and I were really playing hard for the items we needed to progress faster. When we discovered the chests hidden all around New Haven, the thrill of getting a great loot item from enemies faded. We just played and replayed the town for the loot and got items so powerful, the rest of the game was a breeze. I haven't played the DLCs yet so I don't know if they've addressed that issue in their updates.

Lastly, the story sucked. Sorry to be so blunt about it but it did. The introduction scene was great and the first few parts were OK. But, as the game progressed, the story worsened. The final scene was just trash. I was expecting at least some treasure, like maybe a hidden ancient city or even just a vault full of stuff that had a guardian of sorts. But no. The game just gave us a boss battle - and a lame one at that. With the right sniper rifle and enough ammo, the thing should be a piece of cake.

Overall though, I still give the game a lot of credit for the gameplay system, the graphics, and the customizability. The story could use a little upgrading and a little more background story would have drastically improved the flow.

Would I buy a copy if they decided to release a sequel? Most likely.

Gising Na, Batugan!

PAGBABAGONG-KLIMA: Hindi na bago.

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Bago mag-umpisa ang Mahal na Araw, ipinalabas muli sa ABS-CBN ang Harapan: Vice Presidential Debate. Hindi ko pinalampas ang pagkakataong ito upang marinig ang mga diwa at saloobin ng mga kandidato sa pagkapangalawang-pangulo ukol sa mga isyu ng bansa at mga tanong ng bayan. Sa debateng ito, binigyan din ng pagkakataon ang mga kandidato na magtanungan at magsagutan. Dito nagkataong magkatapat sina Mar Roxas at Loren Legarda. Itinanong ni Roxas kay Legarda kung bakit ang pagpapahalaga at pag-aalaga sa kalikasan ang nasa sentro ng kanyang plataporma. At ito ang tugon ni Legarda: Ang isyu ng environment at climate change ay hindi lamang sa Plipinas kundi sa lahat ng mahirap na bansa sa buong mundo at iyan ay nakakabit sa sikmura at sa bituka. Mahusay na sagot sa mahusay na tanong!

Sang-ayon ako sa sagot ni Loren Legarda sa pagkakataong ito. Ngunit, ang pagsang-ayong ito ay hindi nangangahulugang sa kanya na mapupunta ang aking boto. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin tapos ang aking pagninilay at pagkikilatis sa mga politikong ito. Hangga't may panahon pa, mas kikilalanin ko muna sila. Tiyak naman na may ilan, kung hindi man lahat, sa mga kandidatong ito ang may alam at pakialam sa isyu ng kalikasan.

At dapat lang na bigyan pa nila ito ng karagdagang diin upang matanto rin ng taumbayan ang kahalagahan nito lalo na dahil ang mga maralita ang pinakaapektado ng isyung ito. Sunud-sunod na nga ang pagpaparamdam ng kalikasan sa atin: malulupit na bagyo, malalakas na lindol, at iba pang mga sakuna. Kinailangan pa nga ng Pilipinas ang tulong galing sa ibang bansa nang humagupit si Ondoy. Malala rin ang naging kalagayan ng Haiti pagkatapos ng tinaguriang super lindol na yumanig dito. Ngayon, labis na pasakit at perhuwisyo na ang naidudulot ng El Niño. Sa mga pangyayaring ito, maraming taoang nagbayad, maraming tahanan ang nawasak, maraming buhay ang napinsala. Sa maikling salita, marami ang nasira. At ang pinakanaapektuhan nito ay ang mga maralitang mamamayan. 'Ika nga ni Legarda: "Ang mga pinaka-apektado ng climate change ay ang mga mahihirap. Sino ba ang nawawalan ng ani tuwing tagtuyot? Sino ang nasasalanta ng mas madalas at mas makapaminsalang bagyo? Sino ang tinatamaan ng malaria, dengue at iba pang mga sakit na dulot ng climate change?”

Ang mga kaganapang ito ay sobra-sobra na upang ipakita ang kahalagahan at epekto ng pagbabagong-klima - pagbabagong alam na ng mga tao ngunit nagkikibit-balikat lang at patuloy pa rin sa kanilang gawi at mga gawaing makasarili. Sana magising na tayo. Tanghali na!

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References:

http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2010/0322_roxas3.asp

http://lorenlegarda.com.ph/news_313_Farmers_party_list_groups_defend_Legarda.php

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You Are Guilty!

I. Introduction

During a recent event, I happened to be seated beside a friend who looked uneasy as she entered the venue late. Her watery eyes were evident despite the dim lights and as I approached her, she said, "The quota has not been reached yet."

It was the second and final day of the 2010 Sanggunian General Elections. This friend of mine was running for a certain position in the Ateneo student government. Instead of being worried about the coming results, my friend was concerned if a failure of elections would occur. It was roughly one hour before the tallying of votes when I learned about this situation. And at that moment, I personally thought it would be hardly possible to get around 300 more votes in the late afternoon and bring the elections to a successful conclusion. Brooding on this matter for a couple of days, I have finally decided to write my first blog post...

ON apathy
II. Body

Never had I given a damn about the politics in our university and more so in the national context until I became a registered voter. I used to be both an apathetic student of Ateneo and apathetic citizen of the Philippines. However, unlike other people, I have not lost hope in changes, reforms, and improvements that the student government and the local and national leaders can bring about. Of course, we just cannot sit idly and wait for the changes to take place. We cannot just wait for them to realize their platforms - their plans that are hopefully for the common good. Rather, we should participate in the process of realizing the all-encompassing transformation that we demand. And in order to minify further didacticism, here are my thoughts: The right of suffrage is both a privilege and a responsibility. We ought to partake in the building of the nation. A single vote can make a difference, a big difference in fact. And as I have learned from Fr. Dacanay (not from Spiderman), "The greater the freedom, the greater the responsibility."

I remember myself participating in the mock elections, tagged as Blue Vote, that was held in school last December 2009. The results of these mock elections have not only been published in school papers, but have been also broadcast on the national television. Also, several presidential fora were held inside the campus, as well as in other universities in the Philippines. Hopefully, these telecast events would make an impression in the minds of Filipino voters and a difference -- slight, perhaps -- in the outcome of these forthcoming national elections. All these efforts are commendable, of course, in order to inform the voters about the aspirants. As responsible voters, we must know to a great extent our candidates whom we are giving our one big vote. Being informed will surely make a difference.

The same quality is also necessary in our fight for our environment. You should have already been aware of the aggravating condition our Earth has been experiencing, which thousands and thousands of people have been suffering from. And upon learning this, have you done anything to help? I have asked myself the same question and have answered it in and through my own small ways. I used to buy bottled water during my lunch. I used to drink canned softdrinks and would always prefer drinking with a straw. I admit having those habits until I was struck by what I read in the recent issue from The Guidon, our university's official student publication. Aside from reading the headlines regarding Gibo's triumph in mock polls, I have come across a relevant article, namely, "The Green Explosion: The things Ateneans need to sacrifice for the environment". And next to it is a section where one of the comments read, "...the problem lies not within the Ateneo's efforts, but in the apathy of its students." This was a punch on my face. And I hope you've been punched, too.

Do you remember Ondoy and Pepeng? Have you heard of the tsunami warnings? Have you read about the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile?

Perhaps, it's nature calling to us. Perhaps, it's God talking to us. And perhaps, I can start talking about religious apathy but I believe it in itself calls for a separate discussion.

III. Conclusion

Now, I am proud to say I am doing my part—being one of the many (possibly, an overstatement) students who abide by the laudable motives of improving the status quo inside and outside of Ateneo. It is good being free but being responsible, aware, and active member of the society could do a world of good. Let's start making changes. Let's start within ourselves and influence one another. Let's start now and not wait until it's too late.

IV. Recommendations

• Read the news.
• Vote and vote wisely!
• Listen to my favorite songs: UPUAN and BALITA.
• Watch how cuddly polar bears die in "An Inconvenient Truth".

Using Computers

How do you use a computer?

No, I am not referring to basic computer literacy. In fact, it's possible to call this post "Taking Care of Computers." Still, that's not all there is to this post. So it might be better if I didn't ask "how do you use a computer?". Instead, it should be "how should you use a computer?"

On computer security
One big problem with society nowadays is that almost everyone has access to computers. Back in the old days (and all of this is just supposition, as I wasn't born yet back then!), only the geeks and computer hobbyists were comfortable around computers. Now, even people who only know how to use word processors own computers.

I'm not saying that's a problem per se, but the troubles lie in the fact that they don't usually take care of their computers. And when complications arise, they turn to us so-called "geeks" for help. Unfortunately, not every geeky person is a monopoly of knowledge. Actually, for many students who are in computer-related courses, the usual course of action when trying to fix other people's computers is simple: look up a solution on the internet.

So here are some tips for you to stop pestering us.

1. Get antivirus software.
This is the least you can do for us, and for yourself. Many glitches would not surface if you just properly protected yourselves from outside threats. I suggest that you look for free AV software from the internet; there are many choices out there. Avira Personal Edition is a good pick for me.

2. Be careful with removable media.
In the Ateneo, the computers are crawling with viruses and other horrors. You should scan your USB flash drives before opening them. In fact, I have my own "ritual" when using these thumb drives in my Windows system. I first run a virus scan, then open the drive by typing the drive letter in the address bar. (This is done to prevent autorun scripts from executing.) Next, I set the options to display all hidden files and folders, as well as the protected operating system files. I then delete everything that I didn't create myself: autorun.inf, RECYCLER (which sometimes is actually an executable disguised as a folder), and other hidden files. I don't hide my files on my USB, so there's no reason why there should be a hidden file in there. (As an added note, be careful when deleting files on an external drive; some of them might be essential for the drive to work properly.)

3. Know your alternatives.
Before running to us squealing about how your computer is crashing every five or so minutes, you should at least have tried to solve it yourself. Many casual computer users seem to be using Windows nowadays, so here's a tip for all of you. For Windows, there's the so-called System Restore, which might help if you just recently installed new software on your computer. If a program isn't working correctly anymore, try to recall if you've recently reconfigured the settings on that program, and revert it to its previous state.

4. Learn to google.
Sometimes, it is just impossible to avoid the occasional problem on your computer. When that happens, you should try using the Internet to your advantage. Yes, I know that the Internet can be an unfriendly place at times, and that sometimes it's difficult to find websites that tackle problems even remotely related to yours, but here is a tip: take note of error messages and error codes. You know it's an error code if it's a number, or if it's preceded by something similar to "Error Code," or if it's an unintelligible string of characters such as 00FFDC235A. By learning to google, you effectively save us the trouble of doing what you yourself could have done.

I'm not saying that you should rely only on yourself. What I'm saying is that we're helping from the kindness of our hearts, but we're also busy with our own affairs. It would make us geek-types really glad if you at least exerted some effort on your own end before asking us to help. It wouldn't hurt for you to learn a little more about computers, would it? :)

Hit the comments!

My Take on the Fight for the Sanggunian Presidency

To begin, I'd like to point out that I am not writing this blog post to support any of the candidates running for president or even the one who ends up resembling the most the ideals my person holds fast to.

In the dormitory building I live in, I've noticed a lot of vandalism on the posters put up by the independent presidential candidate Rob Roque who apparently is running against another independent candidate Howie Uyking. This got me searching social networking sites for more information and I stumbled upon the latter candidate's Formspring page. I've gone over some of the questions and would like to add my own take on two of the most pressing issues with this rivalry.

1. Experience and Credentials

• One can boast three full years of service and experience in the Sanggunian system while the other optimistically looks at his lack of experience as a call to revolutionalize the system with his inspired ideas. While I believe that inspiration can lead to amazing efforts and projects, without the guidance of years of experience in a complex body such as the Sanggunian and the knowledge of their inner workings, one may find oneself spending more time learning the ropes rather than acting on the said inspiration. And the Ateneo student body cannot afford to have this.

2. Academic Standing

• Now this I have no personal information about regarding the latter candidate. The bulk of my insight into this particular area is based solely on what I've read from his Formspring. From what I understand, the latter has had some problems coping with academic responsibilities in the past and people are holding this against him. One cannot judge a person completely based on one single instance in the past. People can change. This, of course, is going to make running against a person with a clean track record that much more difficult though as I'm sure people will not let this go easy. What's more, this statement can work both ways. I noticed the candidate keeps bringing up on Formspring his QPI last semester. That's but one particular instance. What about your 7 other semesters as an Atenean? Their average would be a far better and impartial thing to bring up, would it not?
  

In addition to these two major issues, I'd like to put my two cents in on one other thing I read off of the Formspring account. This one is, hence, addressed solely to the latter candidate.

Qualification

• You tell us repeatedly that everyone who meets the grade requirement is eligible to run. Assuming you are correct (as I myself have no idea what the requirements are), I'd like to point out that while everyone is eligible, not everyone is capable of handling the number of responsibilties and of controlling the powers vested upon the president of the student body. Do you not agree this is exactly why a majority of students do not even consider running for presidency, even ones with experience? Without prior leadership positions, how can you claim to be able to implement things when a newbie of the system such as you will have to learn to handle the two things mentioned above... all in just one year?