GOOD DAY MAYOR RAMON ILAGAN.

I'M A CAINTA RESIDENT FOR 15 YEARS NOW, AND OUR IMMEDIATE AREA, NAMELY RODFER 2 IN BRGY. SAN ANDRES, HAS NOT EXPERIENCE SERIOUS FLOODING EXCEPT DURING THE ONDOY FIASCO.

I AM NOT ABOUT TO RANT ABOUT THE POOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE DURING THE TYPHOON ONDOY SEEING AS EVERYONE ELSE, FROM US RESIDENTS TO YOU AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT, HAVE BEEN CAUGHT OFF GUARD. WHAT I AM ABOUT TO RANT IS WHAT HAD HAPPENED AFTER THAT AND THE POOR RESPONSE WE GOT FROM YOUR OFFICE.

IT TOOK US FOUR WEEKS OF SUNNY WEATHER JUST TO HAVE THE FLOOD WATER SUBSIDE TO FIT LIVING CONDITIONS, AND IT TOOK YOU MORE THAN FOUR WEEKS (AND IS STILL COUNTING) TO CLEAN UP THE MESS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE TYPHOON. NOT THE KIND OF RESPONSE WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING.

THAT ASIDE, WHAT I WANT TO BRING TO YOUR OFFICE'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS THE RECENT FLOODING THAT HAPPENED LAST OCTOBER 31, 2009, DURING THE HEIGHT OF TYPHOON SANTI. AS YOU WOULD HAVE OBSERVED, TYPHOON SANTI WAS MORE OF THE WINDY TYPE AND  BARELY SHOWERED US WITH RAINS ENOUGH TO FILL A BUCKET. AND YET, AT AROUND 6 AM, THE RESIDENTS HERE WERE AWOKEN OF THE FAST RUSHING OF WATER FROM THE FLOODWAY AREA THAT RESULTED IN ALMOST KNEE DEEP FLOOD.

YOU MAY NOW REALIZE THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY ABSURD FOR ANYONE TO CONCLUDE THAT THE WATER THAT FLOODED US WAS NOT BROUGHT BY SANTI. WHERE ON EARTH DID THAT WATER COME FROM?

IT REACHED OUR KNOWLEDGE THAT A CERTAIN WALL IN THE CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE AREA WAS TORN DOWN IN ORDER TO PREVENT FLOODING IN THEIR AREA BY LETTING THE FLOOD WATER FLOW DOWN TO OUR AREA, HENCE THE FLOODING.

AS A RESIDENT WHOSE EVERYDAY LIFE HAS BEEN DISRUPTED BY THIS SEEMINGLY SELFISH ACTION, I ASK YOUR HUMBLE OFFICE TO ENLIGHTEN US OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND REQUEST THAT YOU PROVIDE **IMMEDIATE ACTION** REGARDING THIS MATTER.

YOURS TRULY,

LEI

This semester is the hardest time for a BA Communication student, especially those taking up Journalism-Broadcast Communication. With all the subjects weighing as heavy as one another, it is definitely the "hell sem"

This sem, I have these killer subjects:

• COMM 199 - Thesis proposal. Having your proposed topic approved is one thing, doing it is another. Finding a good thesis partner is yet again another thing. Because of my stubborn-ness to do an online study, I ended up with Cyberstalking with limited selection of sources.
  

• BC 130 - We get to produce our own indie films! It's not as easy as A-B-C though. We need to have a decent budget, talented talents, equipment, etc before we can even start shooting. And there's still the post-production part, and I'm in-charge. I think it's a good thing that Jap and I share the same fate.
  

• JOURN 106 - Investigative Reporting. Do investigative reports on issues affecting the immediate community a.k.a. the City of Baguio. After a night of brainstorming, I ended up passing a proposal about the gay bars, which my prof is now excitedly anticipating.

• JOURN 104 - News Editing. I thought it would be a piece of cake, memorizing editing symbols and analyzing a story, but it turned out that Headline Counting will be the cause of my nervous breakdown. Not to mention Sir Rolly's habit of having us work under the pressure of time.

• JOURN 113 - Online Journalism. I'm in love with the word online, but I never imagined it to be a Newswriting with a different medium. Well, it's still a perfect excuse to go online.

• MATH 1 - Mathematics for Everyday Life. I know I sucks for taking a course that freshies normally take. It's not as easy as it looks; I'm under the prof with the highest mortality rate.

These are the reason why I always end up dead...like a zombie. A walking piece of flesh, nothing more. But once class is over, we come back to life armed with treats as a reward for the good job.

Half of the fault why I die is mine though; I always procrastinate. Imagine, I tried doing the Chapter 1 of my thesis proposal OVERNIGHT, and though somehow I succeeded, I'm still short of 3 pages. From then, I promised in between tears that I won't ever procrastinate again. I hope I can stand by it.

So don't nag me why I'm not updating any of my online accounts (except for Plurk, of course!)
I hardly have time to visit all of them, more if I have to update. >_<

Two more months, and I'll finally be restored to full life. I can't wait! :D

I'm aware that Friendster was down the entire day yesterday for maintenance, and when I checked it just a while ago, I was delighted to see it up and running again.

That is, until I checked my friends list.



From almost 500 friends, it was down to merely 47.

I wouldn't have been so mad if they merely removed inactive accounts or something, but removing my friends (and even real-life friends) from my list without my consent is another story.

Bring back my friends, you (&*#^($^&(#@!!

In line with our Online Journalism Class, we are required to put up a "professional" blog wherein we will posting news articles, commentaries, photo stories, etc. and to live up to the interactive aspects of blogging, comments on blog entries are very much appreciated.

So please add us up and post your comment.

My site:


The class site:

Gusto ko siyang mapanood.


Pero walang nagsi-seed sa bittorrent... *tears*


Ayun, tapos naglalag pa ang crunchyroll. I want my Bartender din. Nao na.

'Nuff said.

I still need to finish a 40-page script and produce 3 exhibit-worthy photographs to bother.

If ever you're one of those people who owns a 4GB, 8GB, and/or 16GB flash drive, well good news for you. Your flash drive is bigger than my hard drive. XD

I seriously need to buy an external hard drive. A 30GB hard drive is not advisable for someone in the media industry. Imagine the tons of photos I have from my Photojournalism class and the videos and music I have to use for my broadcasting class.

Buying an external hard drive isn't exactly the problem, my USB port is. I only have one port, and it's not hi-speed. O_O

Blame it on the nonstop downpour of rain because I can't even think of another reason why.

Just the other night, it was the first time a guy confessed to me. Weird. I turned him down though, right on the spot.

Uulitin ko, hanggang sa mga oras na ito, wala pa rin akong tulog. Isa't kalahating oras na lamang at ako'y kukuha na ng pagsusulit kay Sir Rolly.

Sa aking pagninilay-nilay, maraming paliwanag sa kung bakit hindi ako makatulog ang pumasok sa aking isipan. At sa lahat ng iyon, ang pinaka-pinagnilayan ko ay ang kasabihan na kung hindi ka makatulog sa gabi, ikaw ay maaring gising sa panaginip ng isang tao.

Napaisip ako sandali. Kung sakaling may katotohanan man ang nasabing kasabihan, hinding-hindi ko siguro mapapatawad ang taong buong gabi ay ginawa akong laman ng kanyang isipan.

Marahil naman ay sabik lamang akong makabili ng MP3 player na Samsung ngayong araw, kung aayon sa mga iniisip ko ang mga mangyayari.

May exam ako in four hours, at hindi pa ako nakakatulog, maski idlip lang.

Epekto ba 'to ng kape kaninang hapon? Imposible.

Kaya ito, napagtripan ko tuloy mag-explore sa mga rooms sa Yahoo! Chat. At natutuwa naman ako sa mga tao. Masaya silang pag aralan, lalo na pag inapply mo ang mga communication theories. Akalain mong may mga tao palang nagdedefy sa Social Penetration Theory, at may mga taong hindi marunong tumingin ng context. They insist on being straight-forward, frank, and all that jazz. [Wahahah! Salamat kay Neo sa expression na 'yan: And all that jazz. At least, it's better than Nico's expression: And all that blah.]

So ayun. talagang hindi na ako dinalaw ng antok. Nakakatawa talaga sa chat room na 'to. Hindi sa pagmamayabang o ano pero hindi ko maiwasang mamangha sa takbo nang pag iisip ng mga tao dito. At masaya silang pagtripan. May isa ngang natakot kasi sabi ko lalaki ako. Inakala niya na bakla ako. What a homophobe. XD

Ngayon ko lang din na-realize na marami rin palang maniac sa mga chat room. Weird talaga.

Basta, masaya silang pagtripan. :D Minsan, try nio rin ^^;

Wala lang. Wala naman talaga. Wala lang kasi akong magawa ngayon sa dorm.

Nga pala. Pumunta pala ako kina Eizy sa Tarlac nung Biyernes ng gabi. Wahaha, maraming maraming salamat sa kanyang pamilya sa pagbubukas ng kanilang tahanan para sa isang nawawalang batang katulad ko. Salamat na rin sa masarap na manok at baka na inihanda nila. At sa lahat ng tao sa tahanan nila sa kanilang mainit na pagtanggap at pag aasikaso sa akin.

Kahit naubusan ako ng mahigit sa pitong daang piso, napakasaya naman ng naging karanasan ko sa loob ng labinlimang oras na inilagi ko sa Tarlac. Hindi matatawaran ng ginastos ko ang pakiramdam ng nakasakay sa tricycle habang pinabagtas ang isang mahabang kalsada: ang paghampas ng malakas na hangin sa aking mukha at ang mabangong amoy ng bagong tabas na damo. Isama na rin natin ang paghahabol sa mga bibe at kambing at ang pag aanggulo sa simbahan sa bayan para makakuha ng larawan, ang kaangasan sa paglalaro ng Tekken 5 at Para Para. :D

Natuwa din pala ako nang nahiram ko kay Eizy yung librong, "Tikaman ang Langit," isang aklat ng mga sanaysay patungkol sa bandang Eraserheads. Gusto ko tuloy pakinggan ang lahat ng album nila. ^^;

Kaninang umaga naman, nagsimba ako. Oo, nagsimba ako. Hindi dahil gusto ko bagkus dahil inobliga kami ng mga madreng nagpapalakad sa dormitoryo. Matapos ang misa, inobliga naman nila kaming maglinis ng silid-paliguan. Napakadugong trabaho; mabigat para sa sa anim na katao lamang.

Masaya ako at nagkita kami ni Tatay. Dumiretso ako sa hotel na tinutuluyan nila upang makipagkita sa kanya. Sa kasamaang palad, hindi kami gaanong nakapag usap; abala kasi siya sa kanyang tungkulin. Kung sa bagay, wala naman sila sa Baguio para magbakasyon. Narito sila upang idaos ang ika-limang pamabansang kongreso at ika-labinlimang anibersaryo ng kanilang samahan at bilang pangulo, asahan nang magiging abala siya. Kaya't habang hinihintay matapos ang kanilang pulong, tinulungan ko muna si Kuya Aries na mag ayos ng mga gagamitin sa eleksyon. Matapos ang trabaho, nakita namin sina Kuya Merck at nagdesisyon kaming pumunta ng Diplomat Hotel. Sarado na nga lang. Pagbalik sa hotel, dali-dali naman akong ipinakilala ni Tatay sa mga kasamahan niya. Nakakagulat ngunit nakakatuwa ang mga reaksyon ng mga taong pinagpakilalahanan niya sa akin. Lalong lalo na yung mga nagmula sa Japan. Tuwang tuwa sila nang magpakilala ako sa wikang Hapon.

Nakakalungkot nga lang at kailangan kong umuwi nang maaga. Bilang pampalubag loob, binili ko na lang ang isang litrato ni Tatay bilang souvenir. :)

Kaarawan nga pala ngayon ni Nico. :) Alam kong hindi siya gaanong masaya sa kanyang muling pagtanda, pero nais ko pa rin siyang batiin ng isang masayang kaarawan.

Before anything else, this will probably a looooong rant so if you don't want your spirits to be dampened or anything, steer clear out of this post. Though sympathies would be much appreciated.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I'm being piss off by the least kind of people I'd expect to annoy the shit out of me - the nuns.

I don't know where to start this rant, I'm just so pissed off. I'd never expected to get such kind of words from them, from people who's supposed to be the model of humane acts.

For the gist of the story, click here.

There was a discussion last night about this issue. I prepared myself in justifying my side. I'm not afraid of admitting my mistakes but I want to justify myself to point out that those violations were never really intended as an act of bad behavior or anything.

And so, I was given the chance to talk. They seemed to be overwhelmed in a negative way why I garnered a total of 15 unexcused late night arrivals as they wait for me to state my reasons. I explained briefly that it was org-related then immediately proceeded on explaining the root of everything  - misunderstandings and misconceptions.

And I was shocked, not just because they refuse to listen to my explanations but because it was apparent that they don't want to be blamed for our behaviors. And the worst part of it, they told me to shut up right in front of my face. So where's the RESPECT?

If they thought that I was deviating the discussions from my violations to my justifications, they should have just told me. I didn't need a "You shut up!" phrase shoved into my face. And to think I would hear it from a nun. Don't make me laugh.

So there goes all my respect for them. All the reverence that I have for them taught to me since grade school, it all vanished that one night, with that one phrase.

One blow I could let go, but another one? I think it's already out of the line.

We were required to submit a letter of apology regarding our violations, meant to be sent to our parents. It's really not a big deal to me; I could always talk to my parents about it and I know that they'll listen to what I've got to say. So, I was forced to make a letter. (Never mind the fact that the sister reprimanded me because I haven't got the letter made yet.) So I made a letter and handed it to her. And I couldn't believe what she said.

It wasn't a letter of apology she wants us to write, but rather a reflection of what we had done. In my understanding, what we should've written in the letter was not the explanation why we were late; she wants us to write a letter expressing how shameful and despicable we were by neglecting the rules they had set. She made us feel that we were sinners guilty of the most disgraceful actions.

And from this point, I couldn't really care less. She began on telling us that the dormitory serves as the school where we would learn character formation and things like that, and how would we be able to evolve into a better person if we violate the rules they had set for us. Well, fuck them. What kind of formation do they think they're talking about? What do they want us to be, in the first place? Passive people who don't know how to think for ourselves, only following what they had told us? Just their act of abridging our freedom to express what's on our mind, do they think it will help us as better persons? Fuck.

Everybody was telling me to leave this place, but I couldn't make them understand. It's a great help to my parents that I'm staying at a rather cheap dormitory compared to the sky-high prices of boarding houses. There's also free internet access, free daily newspaper, and washing clothes isn't really a problem. Moreover, I don't want to leave my roommate, Jap, behind. She's the most wonderful thing I have in here that I couldn't just leave easily behind.

I'm prepared to make sacrifices but I'm not that stupid to suffer the unreasonable sacrifices. I'll definitely find a way out of this dilemma. I'll show them that they can't keep me locked within their clutches. Let's see who gets the last laugh.