highlight my day.

EnglishTech: Photos of the Sunday Class Final Teaching Demo and Graduation

2010-11-16T10:51:00.003+08:00

Headshots 101 Photoshoot

2010-11-16T10:39:00.001+08:00

Headshots Unedited 101 Photoshoot

Make-up by Cher E. Nogara
Photographed by JR Sala
Location: The Room, Panay Avenue, Quezon City
Date: November 7, 2010

Back from my Blog Vacation

2010-11-01T10:06:00.002+08:00

Dear Highlighters,

How have you guys been? I am back from an undeniably loooooong blog vacation! Starting this month, I will no longer let each week pass without a post. This blog might not be the perfect life journal but it's still a great outlet to communicate with the world and share some of my most valued moments...

Patty Laurel posted in her blog that: "MEMORIES ARE TOO PRECIOUS TO BE KEPT TO YOURSELF."

Tama nga naman, 'di ba? So cheers to blogging! Like truth, PRIVACY, is relative. :-)

Sincerely,

Isabel

I am in Indonesia! :-)

2010-08-24T14:23:00.003+08:00

2010-08-02T14:38:00.011+08:00

Tomorrow's my 20th birthday!

So now that I'm saying goodbye to teenage life, is there any advice you want to give? I would gladly welcome all of your thoughts.

Yeah, I have no wishlist this year. The Lord knows me well. So I think there's no need for me to make one. I'm just soooo thankful to have reached this far.

Thank you. :-)

********************

"No more negativity in my life. Kung may hater, OK lang. Kanya-kanyang trip 'yan. Kung may magmamahal, THANK YOU! POSITIVITY, FTW!"

(posted via Twitter last July 17 at 8:57PM)

My Own List of ''Movies You Gotta Watch Before You Die'' (Part 1)

2010-07-10T06:29:00.006+08:00

Bored? Craving for some chips, soda and a good movie? No idea what movies to download and watch? Well, here's a list of good movies you might want to check out. Before revealing my list, I must tell you though that I love MOVIES with TWISTED ENDINGS so most of what's included in the list comprise a number of mystery films. This list is merely based on my own standard and preference of a "GREAT" movie. This is arranged in no particular order. No spoilers. Titles only.

Here it is:

The Count of Monte Cristo
Shawshank Redemption
The Prestige
The Illusionist
Pathology
The Village
The Secret in their Eyes (Spanish Film)
Pan's Labyrinth (both for kids and war film lovers)
Shutter Island
Seven Pounds
The Happening
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A Nightmare Before Christmas
Coraline
Harry Potter Series (all of it)
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Untraceable
The Bridges of Madison County
Jumanji
The Crime of Father Amaro (Spanish Film)
Stigmata
The Omen
Signs
Schindler's List
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Earthsea
Awake (really unexpected twist)
Hide and Seek
Hound Dog
The Secret Life of Bees
The Others
The Godfather trilogy
The Usual Suspects
Love Actually
Up (Disney Film)
Braveheart
Slumdog Millionaire
Avatar
One Night with the King
Finding Nemo
Ratatouille
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
How to Train Your Dragon
The Exorcist
Final Destination (all of it)
The Book of Eli
Epic Movie (comedy)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

More to come! :)

Jolly June!

2010-06-26T07:37:00.006+08:00

My June 2010 was pretty hectic but at the same time, FUN FUN FUN! =)

I was able to do an Outreach Program with my SK Council last June 15 and another one in Mimbalot Elementary School last June 21.

I gave my Mom a birthday cake on her 50-something birthday last June 18. SWEET!

I and my STAND-IIT family were reunited last June 20 for our General Assembly, just in time before I fix my Visa for the foreign scholarship I applied for. =)

I donated 450cc Blood Type "O" to the Red Cross last June 18 (yip, before my Mom's birthday salo-salo). Francis documented everything. That was my 2nd time! Pretty brave, huh? =)

My fast-food craving decreased... Thank God! I also went to Quality Hair and Nail Spa to get my nails manicured and pamper my feet with a FOOT Spa and my face with a Cleansing and Moisturizing Facial Treatment.

Kinth (my first BF in high school) and I went to Luneta Park last June 8. It was a good chat and "lakwatsa." Finally, nagkaroon na rin ng closure! Happy! So glad he'll stop bothering me na. =)

SK Officials attended the SK Fiscal Leadership Seminar sponsored by RFG at the Lotus Garden Hotel in Ermita, Manila last June 6-10.

I LOVE JUNE!

The month of May

2010-06-13T10:04:00.012+08:00

So where was I during the month of May?

What did I do? Let these photos tell you:

May 22, 2010

went swimming with my family

ate too much Jollibee again *super sigh*

May 2-3, 2010

Campaigned for the Nationalista Party (national slate only) and SaLi sa Senado Movement in areas where we don't have local candidates... We went to Tagitik, Kolambogan, Maigo, Kauswagan, many others. =)

***********************************************************************

May 7-9, 2010

What: Short Summer vacation with my bheiby Francis

Where: Dapitan City

at Fantasyland

The Fireworks of Fantasyland!

at the Rizal Shrine

breakfast in Ozamiz last May 7, 2010 (before the ride to Dapitan)

************************************************

Well, that's a glimpse of my MEMORABLE MAY! =)

How 'bout you? =)

Let's Close The Month: April Moments

2010-04-30T11:19:00.007+08:00

Well, konting photos lang na-take ko for April 2010.

Highlight activities I did for the month of April:

---visited Divine Mercy Shrine with my family for Easter

---ate *TOO* much Jollibee (sigh)

---campaigned for Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza and the Makabayan Coalition

---had the KASAMA 09-10 Pictorial at GMall Kodak Studio (April 10, 2010)

---visited Tinago falls with Francis (April 15, 2010)

---had the SK Planning at Maze Parks with my Council (April 25, 2010)

---had meetings with SaLi sa Senado Movement (every Friday)

---talked to a lot of youth orgs for the elections and

---attended one Barangay Session

:-)

2010-04-26T20:56:00.005+08:00

Here's a collage of the SK CY 2010 Planning at Maze Parks and Resort last April 25.
I have been made aware of the presence of a lot of SK critics and mind you (mind me, mind us, hehe), they're also making their presence felt over the worldwide web especially in the SK official blog.

I think they also read (and subscribe to?) my blog posts so here's my take:

"May you reap something good in what you're doing.
Ang saya-saya ko nang malaman kong may oras pa pala kayong
pag-usapan ako habang ang sarili n'yong buhay ay iniinda n'yo lang.
You're not getting any younger. So accomplish something
good for yourselves and your families. Leave a legacy. Prove your
worth. No, I'm not angry. I think you're just misinformed
(or most probably 'poisoned'). Bisita kayo sa bahay namin
one of these days nang makita n'yo ang dapat n'yong makita. Thank
you for making me stronger."

I won't GIVE UP. I will finish my term. :-)

What-I-Must-Do-This-Summer

2010-04-01T18:33:00.008+08:00

The semester has officially ended! This will prolly be my LAST summer as an SK Chairperson (and as a teenager) so I want to make it HILARIOUS!

TO DO:

...Go back to Dapitan (this time, with Francis).

...Organize the SK Buru-un Summer Palakasan of sorts.

...Travel to Camiguin (please?).

...Go swimming.

...Campaign for Manny Villar and the Nacionalista Party national slate.

...Vote during the May 2010 elections.

...NOT get F-A-T.

...Change my look (my hair, most specially) for the incoming semester.

...Have a picnic with *some* of the Circle of Ten gals.

...Plan and hold our elementary reunion.

...Watch a thousand movies! I mean it. I mean everything I say here. Hehe .

...Spend quality time with Francis.

...Take my family somewhere out of Iligan for a vacation.

...FINISH my scrapbook so i can start my SUMMER scrapbook na.

...Eat a lot of FRUITS.

...Spend a relaxing afternoon just reading a book.

...Hang out with my high school classmates this April (April only, hehehe).

...Cebu with Francis (for the nth time).

...Go to Divine Mercy.

...Chill and go drinky drinky with the SK Conscience Black pipz.

...Summer getaway and pool party with my STAND-IIT family!

...ENJOY MY SUMMER LIKE it's THE LAST I'm gonna have!

Ikaw? Any plans for your Summer? :)

Sometimes People Come and Go... :-)

2010-03-18T15:18:00.002+08:00

Sometimes people come into your life and you know
right away that they were meant to be there, to serve
some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help
you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a
neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a
complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them,
you know at that very moment they will affect your
life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible,
painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you
find that without overcoming those obstacles you would
have never realized your potential, strength,
willpower, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness,
and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of
your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they
may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight
flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and
comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the
success and downfalls you experience, help to create
who you are and who you become. Even the bad
experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are
sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in
whatever way you can, not only because they love you,
but because in a way, they are teaching you to love
and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your
heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn
about trust and the importance of being cautious to
whom you open your heart.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take
from those moments everything that you possibly can
for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk
to people that you have never talked to before, and
listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your
sights high. Hold your head up because you have every
right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and
believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in
yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in
you.

You can make anything you wish of your life. Create
your own life and then go out and live it with
absolutely no regrets.

And if you love someone tell them, for you never know
what tomorrow may have in store.

Learn a lesson in life each day that you live! Today
is the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday. Was
it worth it?

author unknown

Isang Taos-pusong pasasalamat mula sa STAND IIT :-)

2010-03-12T09:45:00.003+08:00

The Greater Half of the Struggle— Student Power Beyond Campus Elections
S T A N D – I I T Official Post Election Statement
March 2, 2010

"The purest expression of student power comes not only with the mere exercise of the right to vote. Rather it is measured in our effort to stand up for our rights and continue the struggle even beyond elections. The fight has just started."

We from the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in MSU-IIT (STAND-IIT) extend our most heartfelt gratitude to all our candidates, volunteers, supporters and sympathizers who sacrificed time and effort to make the "Students’ Agenda" heard. We also thank all the students who voted for our candidates. Your vote has shown that we are now in a time of transition, when a significant part of the studentry has shifted its attention to a platform-based campus politics a far cry from the past few elections when voters’ awareness is indubitably low.

This year’s elections created a dual effect on the campus political environment. On one hand, through the efforts of STAND-IIT the students are becoming aware of their rights and welfare and are steadily being resolved that their role in building a pro-student campus environment is indispensable. On the other hand, STAND-IIT had the opportunity to improve its platforms, considering the demands of the students which we haven’t considered before, but which we learned in the course of the campaign.

This is in line with the general objective of the party, that is, to raise the students’ awareness on campus issues, where they are the main stakeholders. With this objective, the party has formed a concrete, pro-student platform which essentially stresses greater student participation in campus matters.

This year’s elections also added a long chapter to the book of the party’s and the students’ experience. It was a year of harassments, black propaganda, intimidation, misinformation, even character assassination.

It’s somehow safe and objective to say that this year’s election is one of the worst in MSU-IIT. We went through disqualification cases, where the contending parties and even the Department of Student Affairs(DSA) itself tried all means necessary to prevent Maria Isabel Macasieb to run for the presidency. We have surfaced out of this quagmire, but this hasn’t prevented the other parties from spreading misinformation on election day that Isabel really is disqualified, proving how desperate they were to prevent us from taking the KASAMA. We’ve had our share of black propaganda, ranging from leaflets aiming to destroy the integrity of STAND-IIT to malicious accusations that STAND-IIT has a low opinion of General Education students to utterly foolish rumors that Isabel paid the electric company so as to cause the blackout on the day of the miting de avance and names of our SCS candidates for Board Members delisted in the actual ballots without any prior notice or disqualification case filed. That is not to mention the several suspicious cases of possible fraud, including the voter’s list irregularity in the College of Education.

We have proven however that despite all desperate efforts by the contending parties and the administration itself to intimidate and incriminate STAND-IIT and its candidates, the party has remained firm and determined not to sacrifice the Students’ Agenda. STAND-IIT has put on a good fight. For the party, there is nothing to lose.

But we are yet to enter the greater half of our struggle. It was clear from the very start that the struggle we are engaged in goes even beyond election time. Beyond elections, there remains the task to continue forwarding our rights and welfare a task in which student participation is but vital. With this in mind, STAND-IIT vows to carry the voice of the students even beyond elections, win or lose.

To the future officers of the KASAMA, we extend this message: Stand always for the students’ welfare. Party differences should be overcome, in the premise that we are all bound to one basis of unity, that is, to serve the students.

STAND-IIT will continue its role as a vanguard party, always observant and active in asserting the realization of pro-student platforms.

The realization of these platforms however not lies in KASAMA’s or even STAND-IIT’s hands. Most importantly, we have to recognize that the students’ participation is most vital in this pursuit for student empowerment. STAND-IIT and the KASAMA will only serve as instruments to make the students heard. In the long run, the students will issue the verdict.

The coming school year comes with a greater challenge to the students to get involved in the struggle for a more humane university environment where students’ rights and welfare is respected and student participation is of primordial importance in policy-making.

All these will not come if we keep silent and inert.

STAND OUT! STAND UP! MAKE A STAND!

I wouldn't vote for Noynoy too Man! :)

2010-01-14T19:48:00.003+08:00

just plain wrong

2010-01-14T13:27:00.008+08:00

This was emailed to me by concerned friends. I thought it would help increase awareness if I posted it here in my blog.

****************************************************************************

Denmark is a big shame!
The sea is stained in red and it's not because of the climate effects of nature.

It's because of the cruelty that's being shown by human beings (civilized humans) killing hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins.

This happens every year in Feroe island in Denmark . In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.

WHY? To show that they are adults and mature... BULLLLshit!

In this big "celebration," no one misses the "fun." Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator.”

Is it necessary to mention that the dolphin calderon, like all the other species of dolphins, is nearing extinction and they get near men to play and interact... for PURE friendship?

They don't die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hocks. By that time, the dolphins produce a grim... extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child.

But it suffers and there's no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood.

Enough!

We will help spread this act of cruelty until this arrives to any association defending the animals, we won't only read because that would make us accomplices, viewers.

"Alam mo ba ang pinagkaiba ng mga bulag at nakakakita?...Hindi alam ng mga nakakakita kung kelan sila bulag."
--Tessa in Kapitan Sino

1st Anniversary :)

2010-01-13T08:56:00.008+08:00

This post is for *our* belated celebration... So long 2009, Hello 2010… Cheers to the New Year and yep, my blog turned 1 last January 5! Happy birthday to my blog! :)

I’ve got a record of many of my adventures for the past year. I kinda feel sorry that I just never got around much to blog about EVERYTHING but I did manage to put up 91 blog posts! Not bad. Congrats to me! :)

Trivia time:

*Blogs I'm Following:

an overdose of life
bianca.
blOg.blOg.blOg
BLOGbuster.
Dunge0n LordCM
Echoed Thoughts
Foolish Ranting of a Deluded Soul
FREE 3gp 4all
GSP World Cafe
Kaubang Mich Shares
License to Trespass
Life is a bittersweet mudshake
M's twisted life

NVKTUS
Raz
salt tears in the sand of my dreams
sentimentalist
Snapshots of an English Major
Snippets
Unveiling Anna's Secrecy.
Up Close and Personal
vanvan

*and those I really appreciate: the HIGHLIGHTERS :)

acrylique
ako si jelai
angel
anna fatima centeno
archie morales
beyond 3GP
bianca
calvin
dio t'ama
dylan
elephant katol
flinch
francis
gab
gerald
germaine
girl scouts of the philippines
iris monterona
jepoy

jettro
kaubang mich (blogger)
kevin
kielai (ate jelai's blog)
kuya icon jen
kuya philip
kuya philip (epohcrite)
learn business
lhandz
lordcm
luis mario
ma'am mara
ma'am yen
manolo quezon
mar roxas (not my bet)
marlon
mich (multiply)
monaifah
my3Dzone
pepper
pheyth
raz
saudi look
scottiboy
sen. lacson (RP pres. for 2010)
shanne
snippets
te dyl (multiply)
te florence
te jade
te rei
tingog: the voice of a filipino
toni
van van
vylibra

******************************************************

Here's a little token which you can grab, of course for free, for the beautiful year we've shared as blogger friends:

It's from the heart:

*****************************************************

to the PolSci100 students

2009-12-05T11:05:00.002+08:00

This might help you in making your book reviews... Let this guide you but "nevah evah" COPY PASTE this 'cause Prof. Iking will still find out... You know how strict our department is when it comes to PLAGIARISM. Good luck to your very tiring semester... >.<>

A Review of

The Histories

Polybius

William Ebenstein (ed.) Great Political Thinkers: Plato to the Present.

4^th ed.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.1969

9 pages

Maria Isabel J. Macasieb

Political Science 100N A2

Prof. Enrique B. Batara

MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology

August 10, 2009

“The Histories” is divided into five discussions namely: The Forms of State, The Causes of Political Change, Advantages of a Mixed Constitution, Integrity in Public Affairs and The Decay of Political Glory. The main reason why Polybius published this book was to narrate the history of the Roman Republic.

I knew nothing about Polybius (the one who wrote the book) except that he was a Greek historian so his thoughts were like a breath of fresh air to my rather occupied mind on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle. The book is short and Polybius stressed out his discussions on distinguishing his history from the ordinary run of historical compositions. Below are the ideas or assertions I was able to extract from his work.

Greek historian Polybius outlines three simple forms of constitution--each categorized according to the number of its ruling body: monarchy (rule by the one), aristocracy (rule by the few), and democracy (rule by the many). According to him (Polybius), the best constitution is one which is a product of the three--- similar to that of Sparta which was written by Lycurgus. It must be also noted that Polybius acknowledged that there were still a lot of forms or varieties of constitutions and/or governments which lead him to assert that there are six (6) kinds of government: kingship, aristocracy and democracy and the other three forms which are naturally aligned to the three being mentioned.

Then, Polybius talked about the “causes of political change.” He said that Plato had left the cycle incomplete. The degeneration of his (Plato’s) ideal state ended up with tyranny. Polybius, drawing explicitly on Plato, completed the cycle, and made tyranny pass back into the ideal state, when the cycle would begin all over again. What drove the cycle was fate and that there are things which are inevitable or beyond human control. Polybius asserted that the course appointed by nature in which constitutions change---disappear, and finally return to the point from which they started. For monarchy, he claims, inevitably degrades into tyranny. Tyranny is then replaced by aristocracy, which in turn degrades into oligarchy. Oligarchy then is overthrown by democracy, which ultimately falls into its own corresponding distortion--- mob-rule. In Polybius’ analysis, the cycle then starts up again (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy). Switching from one form of constitution into another is unavoidable because of the inherent weakness of each simple form of constitution.

Polybius explains in detail that the mechanism in monarchies--- referring to hereditary succession endangers the state. When the crown and power are inherited generation upon generation, kings are no longer then chosen by excellence of leadership but by accident of birth (eugenics). When monarchs are born to privilege, they no longer have any incentive to serve the state since their privileges are no longer tied to their performance as leaders.

Upon reading the discussion on “The Advantages of a Mixed Constitution,” I realized that the “separation of powers” that is evident in the Philippine and American set-up (and many other governments) was an idea heavily from Polybius. Polybius believes that Republican Rome has established a mixed constitution, a single state with elements of all three forms of government at once: monarchy (in the form of its elected executives, the consuls), aristocracy (as represented by the Senate), and democracy (in the form of the popular assemblies) to avoid the endless cycle of political change. In a mixed constitution, each of the three branches of government checks the strengths and balances the weaknesses of the other two. Since absolute rule rests in no single body but rather is shared among the three, the corrupting influence of unchecked power is abated and stasis is achieved. In short, Polybius, as what I stated earlier, regards the best constitution as a combination of all these three varieties of aristocracy, monarchy and democracy. Also, Polybius made mention about the Senate and its powers and how those at the grassroots’ level can help and will be helped by the Senate as whatever they cook-up will be executed by the consuls.

Polybius also talked about the importance of integrity in public affairs. He mentioned that the laws and customs in Rome were better than that found in Carthage because open bribery performed by electoral candidates and unscrupulous gain are so much exposed. Carthage practiced deceitful cases. These unprincipled doings should not be emulated. Roman commonwealth, according to Polybius was distinctly superior in virtues.

As for the decay of political glory, Polybius wrote that if a leader puts himself first, that will be the start of the fall of the political glory of a state.

*****nothing follows*****

for the PolSci100 students

2009-12-05T10:53:00.004+08:00

A Review of

Politics

Aristotle

William Ebenstein (ed.) Great Political Thinkers: Plato to the Present.

4^th ed.New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.1969

34 pages

Maria Isabel J. Macasieb

Political Science 100N A2

Prof. Enrique B. Batara

MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology

July 14, 2009

Every time I hear the name Aristotle, “the search for the good life” comes to my mind. I have encountered his famous assertion that “man, by nature, is a political animal” but haven’t really grown any interest in reading his works for I know it will be lengthy and thought provoking.

I had quite an enjoyment reading Plato’s The Republic so I decided to read Aristotle‘s Politics as well in the hope of knowing and understanding why he said that the state was created to give the people the “good life” and why, up to now, a lot of people adore and emulate his thoughts as well as why did he become the “Father of Political Science.” In addition, I hope to know why his ideas are much appreciated than that of Plato.

Aristotle's Politics is a book divided into the following discussions: Nature and Origin of the State, Slavery, Critique to Plato’s The Republic, Property: Equality and Inequality. Citizenship, Political systems, Democracy and Oligarchy, Monarchy, Liberty and Equality, The Rule of Law, Constitutional Government, The Best State, Political Moderation and Stability: The Middle Classes, Causes of Revolution and How to Prevent Revolution.

Aristotle first discusses the origin of the state and its composition as a political community. He believes that the state is a community but it is not the highest community that aims for the highest known good. He then touches the issue on Greek slavery at that time. He seems to justify vast inequality and class stratification in Greece. Aristotle says that the existence of natural slaves or those who are as different from other men as the soul from the body or man from the beast is acceptable. This justification--- that slaves by nature actually exist--- is offensive, if you’re to ask my opinion. In his book, Aristotle paints a regime or an aristocracy of gentlemen composed of only a small class of elites which he dubs as citizens and that they share in the responsibilities of ruling, while the majority of the people are slaves, doing manual work to maintain the city and produce the necessary goods of the state or community. He contends that the slave and the freeman exist by convention only, and not by nature and being an interference with nature is therefore unjust. Like Plato, Aristotle concedes that “we are not all equal.”

Aristotle also believes that the city (or state) exists not only for the sake of living but rather primarily for the sake of living well and as a means to protect the citizens’ freedom. He compared the state to that of a family or a household where the man or the husband and father takes into consideration the safety of his own family for security is part of having a “good life.” The father or man symbolizes the ruler. When one rules and the other is ruled we endeavor to create a difference of outward forms and names and titles of respect. The relation then of the male to the female is of this kind, but there the inequality is permanent. He wants to say that men and women are equal, like citizens in a constitutional government or state, but permanently unequal which I personally find seemingly contradictory. The aspects or discussions of slavery and the place of women in the state are topics Aristotle does not handle well. But he’s Aristotle--- he has done many things worth noting--- so many might have not noticed this and appreciated his contention and justification of the existence of inequality (slaves and women) despite what are enshrined constitutionally. Aristotle's ideas regarding women are also rather controversial. I kept on asking what he’s trying to prove. What I got from his discussion was that a man is by nature superior and the woman inferior. Men rule and the women are ruled. Women are ruled, not as slaves, for the master's benefit, but for their own good---just as the rulers of a state must seek the good of the citizens, not the good of the rulers themselves.

It is important to note that Plato distinguished three parts of the human soul or the individual, the rational, the emotional part and the appetitive (desires i.e. biological, carnal pleasures and the like). Aristotle also makes a distinction of his own as he discusses the nature of an individual--- one part of the soul is reasonable in the sense that it deliberates and draws conclusions while another part of the soul is reasonable in the sense that it is persuadable by reasoning.

Aristotle wants to say that excessive inequalities of wealth causes imbalance to the state. This is why he praises a state where the middle class is strongest. Property, according to him, includes possessions and instruments, which he then distinguishes. Possessions are means to human activity and instruments are means to the production of the products being either possessions or instruments, for instance means either to further production or to human action. Artisans in the farming or industry are human beings who are means to production, slaves are human beings who are possessions, means to action (the domestic servants, secretaries). The slave "wholly belongs" to the master.

Aristotle advocates what is called "the rule of law" or "the rule of laws, not men."

Aristotle supports monarchy as the most ideal kind of government. The book discusses that democracy is based on the idea that those who are equally free should be absolutely equal, oligarchy on the other hand resides on the idea that those unequal in property should be unequal politically. Aristotle seems to agree with the Plato’s view that power should be held by the virtuous. Aristotle generally introduces and defines the “polity” as the form of government in which all the citizens take turns to rule the city and that complex of activities can be allocated to different social categories. Polity then is the form of government in which different organs of ruling in the government are controlled by different sections of the population---both rich and poor have a share of power or they can take turns in ruling or governing given that they are competent enough.

Revolutions, according to Aristotle, exist out of equality, inequality and ideas of justice. These are causes of revolution according to Aristotle --- insolence of courts, honor and dishonor, fear, disproportionate increase in some part of a state, election intrigues and difference of race.

While Plato searched for the perfect justice, Aristotle studied the issue between the rule of law and the rule of men. And to him, the good (best even) life, both for individuals and state is the life of virtue especially when virtue has peripheral goods--- enough for the performance or execution of good actions. The Politics Aristotle sketches out is his own "ideal state". Although it is unlike Plato's in many ways, both books and thoughts of Plato and Aristotle are designed to achieve ethical values--- virtues are given primordial concern above all in the case of ruling a city or a state.

*****nothing follows*****

First Trip Abroad: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2009-12-04T22:12:00.014+08:00

Do you have a Facebook account? Heck, who does not have? :-D

So you probably heard about SEACHANGE and the YES 2009 challenges which started two months ago in FB. Yes? Great then. Well, I won that free trip and summit pass to YES 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last November 16-18. The two-day summit was held particularly in Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC). 500 young and promising people from Southeast Asia were given a "once in a blue moon" opportunity to meet global icons and leaders to talk about CHANGE and many others.

Read this article: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20091120-237384/Young-Filipinos-say-YES-to-change

Better late than never... so these were some of the precious memories I had in KL... :-)

Don't forget to visit http://youthsays.com/ for the YES 2010 in Indonesia! And YES 2011 in our very own country--- Philippines! ;-)

To God

2009-12-04T12:40:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time, there was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.

One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting "to God" with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about.

The letter read:

Dear God,

I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension.Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension payment. Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?

Sincerely, Edna

The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few pounds.

By the time he made the rounds, he had collected £96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman. The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.

Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.

It read:

Dear God,

How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift. By the way, there was £4 missing. I think it might have been those bastards at the post office.

Sincerely, Edna

:-D

STOP the KILLINGS!

2009-11-27T11:59:00.003+08:00

Spread the WORD!

I and hundreds - if not thousands- of people condemn the Maguindanao Massacre! If you are like us, this is our chance to be heard. Let us not be deaf/mute/blind by this abhorrent display of human rights violation!!! Let JUSTICE be delivered.

The link below is our open letter to President Arroyo. If you agree with the contents of the letter and feel led to sign the petition, please do so. But don't stop there, cut and paste the letter and circulate it on email. Eventually, it will find its way to her desk in Malacanang, Lord willing.

Sign the petition here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/DFletter/petition.html

In the same manner, you can copy/save any of the images posted and upload it as your primary photo in your profiles/blogs/websites as a sign of mourning for the victims of the Maguindanao Massacre.

This dysfunctional government has to ACT now!
~Mark Manlimos

Petition c/o Definitely Filipino
http://www.facebook.com/i.am.filipino

PICTURE EXERCISE

2009-10-01T19:39:00.025+08:00

1. A picture of you in your room.

2. A picture of you that shows what you do when you're bored.

iced tea treat hanggang sumakit ang t'yan... ;-)

3. A picture of you with a team or a club you're in.

proud SK! proud Conscience Black!

4. A picture of you in one of your fave outfit.

white's the best!

5. Youngest pic of you in digital form.

ala talaga... tsk tsk... wala pa kasi kaming cp o digi-cam nuon

6. A picture that shows the real you.

sentimental and contented of the little yet thoughtful stuffs

7. A picture of you being absolutely ridiculous

8. A picture of you making a goofy face.

9. a picture of you that you had no idea was being taken

10. a picture of a time when everything was changing.

SK changed my life...

11. A picture of you on your birthday or fave holiday.

19th birthday...two months ago...

12. A picture of you that you edited to make yourself more attractive.

N/A

13. A picture that makes you smile.

kay Jing-jing (last from left) ako natatawa kasi bakla na pala siya n'yan! ang kamandag!

14. A picture of a night that you regret.

tsk... digi-cam battery got empty... my one and only pic with Ma'am J (British-Indian volunteer)

15. A picture of you very drunk.

never been drunk. :-)

16. A picture of you with a new haircut.

17. A picture of a time in your life that's over but you wish it wasn't.

lakwatsa with Francis...

18. A picture of a time in your life that's over and you couldn't be more thankful that it is.

that "friggin' cheap pageant!"...haha, it's just soooo unfair!

19. A picture of you that you were anything but happy.

shot after the Palakasan o-nine Awarding Ceremony... finally I can concentrate on the KASAMA CBL Amendment stuffs... and siyempre I felt proud of everyone who did their part in the realization and success of the Palakasan... ;-)

20. A picture of you when you were different from the person that you are now.

(2nd from right) no sense of fashion whatsoever and camera shy...

21. A picture of you with someone that you love.

he likes the "wacky" pose...

22. A picture of how you'd like the world to see you.

a lover of books and happy endings... :-)

23. A picture of how you'd like to spend everyday.

kung pwede sana to spend each day with Francis

:-)

24. A picture that makes your heart hurt.

i miss my nephew... :-(

25. A picture of one of your best days/nights of your life.

a scanned pic... shot at Gloria de Dapitan's Fantasyland... mahal ng pic na 'to but worth it...
SK Lakbay-Aral ;-)

copied from Acrylique... :-)

Spirit of VOLUNTEERISM: Fighting against "Ondoy"

2009-09-29T02:32:00.002+08:00

Online Donations thru Paypal or Credit Card
Share to "Ondoy" victims:

To those who would like to donate money online,

using PayPal or Credit Card

(I will be updating this list from time to time)

ABS-CBN Foundation

http://www.abs-cbnfoundation.c...om/donate.php

Ayala Foundation

http://www.af-usa.org/donate_now_form.asp

Dynamic Teen Company

http://dynamicteencompany.org/

GMA Kapuso Foundation

http://www.kapusofoundation.com/

Philippine National Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/Default.aspx?S=48&SS=972ABS-CBN

bored. ;(

2009-09-21T18:10:00.002+08:00

Do you shower every single day?

hahahahaha, of course!

Where do you want to travel next?
France... *fingers crossed*

What would you do if Michael Jackson asked you out?
turn down the invitation... I'm no fan of his.

What is your favorite food?
paaaaaaaaasta!

What is your favorite place?
my room... ;))

If you could have one super human power what would you choose?
time travel... X_x

Have you had a beer in the last week?
I don't drink.

Vitamin Water or Gatorade?
gatorade (and it must be Pink)

Flip flops or sandles?
flip flops... very comfy...

What do you do on fridays?
go to school (?) seriously, it depends on my mood... one constant thing about my Friday is indulging into mocha frappe at Brew's Almighty ;p

What is your favorite song of all time?
Written in the Stars (Westlife version)

Prof. Santiago R. Evasco: A Man of Action and Dedication

2009-09-11T19:43:00.006+08:00

(photo taken during the Palakasan o-nine Awarding Ceremony last September 1, 2009 at the MSU-IIT Gym: L-R: Prof. Santiago R. Evasco Jr., MOE ---the Director of the School of Engineering Technology, me and Prof. Julius M. Torralba, MOE of the Department of Material Science Engineering Technology)

*** Forgive me for the late post***

I would just like to commend and offer my sincerest thanks (sort of in behalf of KASAMA) to this year's Chairman of the recently concluded Palakasan o-nine--- Prof. Evasco and his team for their dedication to the success of the Palakasan.

Everyone in the KASAMA is so impressed with him. Even at work, he has this sense of humour. He understands the officers whenever we have lapses during the STEERING Committee meetings--- parang Daddy kumbaga. He's dedicated to what he was doing, and is just a superb young man. Imagine, siya pay nag-panday sa backdrop sa stage for the Opening Ceremony! ;-) Kamulo si Sir ug dukduk sa likod while us were just very surprised at the display of humility. Grabeh na! ;-) Saludo jud mi nimo Sir.

He's always present sa mga night events--- making sure everything is fine, from the logistics to listening to GRIEVANCES. He would also go home late na. In other words, bilar pud si Sir during the Palakasan season.

For that, we in the KASAMA baptized Prof. Evasco as "THE BEST PALAKASAN CHAIRMAN IIT EVER HAD!"

Well-deserved. God bless you always Sir and may your tribe increase! :-)

living on my own

2009-08-30T01:12:00.005+08:00

it's been two weeks since i declared my own independence... moving out and trying to prove to your famiily that you can manage is fun albeit challenging and frightening also... but with the grace of our Good Lord, i'm doing good! ;-)

here are some photos just so you have an idea what i meant when i said i'm doing "GOOD"... haha!

i miss everyone in the house (believe it or not) although i must admit i SUPER miss my nephew (more than anyone and anything) and our "aringkiting" sessions before bedtime... these are the recent pics i took of him... ;-(

miss you enjie... advance happy birthday! i hope i can come and join the celebration when you turn 1 this november... :-(

my ASUS Eee PC

2009-08-30T00:25:00.006+08:00

NOT EVEN IN OUR NATIVE TONGUE COULD I ADEQUATELY EXPRESS MY EMOTIONS TONIGHT!

i now have a subnet book (according to Francis)---the ASUS Eee PC! *teary-eyed*

i asked Francis to buy this (august 26, 2009) in cebu. *thanks toy!*

you can be my OTHER BOYFRIEND AND BABY!

;-D

uhm, let's just say I'M CRAZY FOR YOU! ;-)

one more kiss for ya!

two thumbs up and a big smile for you my dear ASUS!

try nga natin... ;p

NAMAN! superb performance!

ahhhhhhhhh... I LOVE YOU na! ;p

IS IT JUSTICE?

2009-08-19T20:32:00.006+08:00

Humanity should be ashamed of such a horrible act.

Such a gross and disgusting act! Poor boy.... How could anyone allow this to happen? World wake up!

No religion can ever justify such a hideous crime!
Pass it on. Let the world know what's happening in the name of God and religion!

CASS Days- Extemporaneous Speech Contest 2009

2009-08-03T18:42:00.001+08:00

Date: August 1, 2009
Venue: Rm. 302, CASS MSU-IIT

We won! ;-)

in sickness

2009-08-02T20:18:00.003+08:00

-July 23-
I had to wake up early (5am) for our trip to Dapitan City. Our barangay captain emphasized how strict he is of time so we had to arrive BEFORE the actual departure sched. I was feeling the chills already. I knew it will come but I was hopeful it'll never visit me again. The trip, by the way, was for the Livelihood Seminar my SK Council and I had to attend.

-July 24-
I woke up with a headache and a fever. After breakfast, I had to rush to the comfort room. At the sight of my stool, I knew it was my amoeba. I guess it was because I didn't try to close my mouth when I took a bath when we arrived. I forgot that a single drop of tap water could still trigger my amoeba. :(

-July 25-
I was tortured, figuratively and LITERALLY... :'(

-July 26-
We decided to cut our stay. We headed back to Iligan. I was secretly relieved for nobody knew I had amoebiasis. I badly needed to see a doctor (confine myself to a hospital even) just so I could go to school by Tuesday.

-July 27-
How would you like to watch the SONA inside the Mercy Community Hospital Female Ward? The doctor there gave me Flagyl and Hydrite. :(

-July 28-
I still had the LBM but I managed to attend a meeting with my co-officers in KASAMA.
Unknown to them, I presided the meeting swiftly just so I could go home and treat my amoeba. But a lot of them noticed my pale and sickly look.

-July 28-
I went to get a check-up in the school clinic... The doctor advised me of a 5-day rest... Absolute bed rest to be exact. They said I was dehydrated. :(

-July 29, 30 and 31-
The LBM tortured me again. I collapsed twice on the 30th due to dehydration. My butt hurt so much already. Pabalik-balik ako sa CR. I was so disappointed with Flagyl. :(

-August 1-
I had to represent our department for the extempo competition... It's for the CASS Days. I decided to take 3 Flagyl tablets before the contest. I ignored the possibility of an overdose. Flagyl worked... But later at 3pm, I went back home to lie in bed until the pain in my stomach subsided.

Tomorrow's my 19th birthday, my health will be the best gift I would love to receive. Pretty please? I miss school already. :(

PGMA's SONA 2009

2009-07-28T16:36:00.003+08:00

Here is the full speech of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during her last State of the Nation Address which was held yesterday, July 27, 2009, at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City.

"Thank you, Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Before I begin my report to the nation, please join me first in a moment of prayer for President Cory Aquino. Senate President Enrile, Speaker Nograles, Senators, Representatives, Vice President de Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, Ambassadors friends:

The past twelve months have been a year for the history books. Financial meltdown in the West spread throughout the world.

Tens of millions lost their jobs; billions across the globe have been hurt—the poor always harder than the rich. No one was spared.

It has affected us already. But the story of the Philippines in 2008 is that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in food, then in finance and finally, economy in a global recession, never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact.

A few days ago, Moody’s upgraded our credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for our critics.

I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President. When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years.

Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating patakaran ay tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino. New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, and a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family.

Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back. It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on its feet—to where we are now because we took the responsibility and paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me and doing the right thing, thank you, Congress.

The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy. Nabigyan nila ang pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU na P40 billion itong taon, imparting strength throughout the country at every level of government.

Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.

We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the roll on/roll off transport system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law.

Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work.

Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.

In the last four years tourism almost doubled. It is now a $5 billion industry.

Our reforms gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system and our economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the west failed to anticipate.

They gave us the resources to extend welfare support and enhance spending power.

For helping me raise government salaries through Joint Resolution 4, thank you, Congress.

Cash handouts give the most immediate relief and produce the widest stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang 700,000 na pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya.

We prioritize projects with the same stimulus effects plus long-term contributions to progress.

Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang lupa, 700,000 na katutubo at mahigit isang milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong may-ari na ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na ipasa agad ang pagpapalawig ng CARP, at dapat ma-condone ang P42 billion na land reform liabilities dahil 18% lamang ang nabayaran mula 1972. Napapanahon, it’s timely because it will unfreeze the rural property market. Ang mahal kong ama ang nag-emancipate ng mga magsasaka. Ii-mancipate naman natin ngayon ang titulo.

Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion na microfinance loans.

Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi.

Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa programang pabahay at palupa, mula Pag-Ibig, NHA, community mortgage program, certificates of lot award, at saka iyong loan condonation.

Our average inflation is the lowest since 1966. Last June, it dropped to 1.5%. Paano?

Proper policies lowered interest rates, which lowered costs to business and consumers.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25 per kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil sa kakulangan ng supply sa mundo. Habang, sa unang pagkakataon, nagawa nating itaas ang pamimili ng palay sa mga magsasaka, P17 mula sa P11.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating mamuhunan sa pagkain—anticipating an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa tayo ng libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads at, kasama ng pribadong sector, natubigan ang dalawang milyong ektarya. Mga Badjao gaya ni Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa P 180,000 ang kinita niya mula noong nakaraang taon. Congratulations, Tarnati. We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion.

Dahil dumarami na naman daw ang pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo ng panibago sa ating hunger mitigation program na sa nakaraan ay napatunayang mabisa. Tulungan ninyo ako dito, Kongreso.

Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta tayo ng gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa. Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressmen Cua, Alvarez, Biron, Locsin.

Pursuant to law, we are placing other drugs under a maximum retail price. To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public.

Sa health insurance, sakop na ang 86% ang ating populasyon.

Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang 2008, di pwedeng lumampas ng 10% ang pagtaas ng upa taun-taon. Ayon sa kakapirma nating batas may isang taong moratorium, tapos hanggang 7% lamang ang maaaring pagtaas. Salamat, Kongreso.

Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan ng tig-P500 ang mahigit pitong milyong tahanan bilang Pantawid Koryente sa mga small electricity users.

Yung presyo ng koryente, ang EPIRA natin ang pangmatagalang sagot. EPIRA dismantled monopoly. Ngunit minana natin ang power purchase agreements, kaya hindi pa natin makamtan yung buong intended effect. Pero happy na rin tayo, dahil isang taon na lamang iyan. The next generation will benefit from low prices from our EPIRA.

Samantala, umabot na sa halos lahat ng barangay ang elektrisidad. We increased indigenous energy from 48% to 58%. Nakatipid tayo sa dollars tapos na-reduce pa iyong oil consumption. The huge reduction in fossil fuel is the biggest proof of energy independence and environmental responsibility. Further reduction will come with the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act, and the Biofuels Act.

The next generation will also benefit from our lower public debt to GDP ratio. It declined from 78% in 2000 to 55% in 2008. We cut in half the debt of government corporations from 15% to 7%. Likewise foreign debt from 73% to 32%. Kung meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kundi ang utang, iyong foreign debt. Those in the past administrations conjured the demon of foreign debt. We exorcised it.

The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all.

To that end, we improved our banking system to complement its inherent conservatism. The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank you, Governor Tetangco, for being so effective. The BSP will be even more effective if Congress will amend its Charter.

We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing loans from 18% to 4% and improving loan-deposit ratios.

Our new Securitization Law did not encourage the recklessness that brought down giant banks and insurance companies elsewhere and laid their economies to waste. In fact, it monitors and regulates the new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress.

We will work to increase tax effort through improved collections and new sin taxes to further our capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth. Revenue enhancement must come from the Department of Finance plugging leaks and catching tax and customs cheats. I call on tax paying citizens and tax paying businesses, help the BIR and stop those tax cheats.

Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa alak at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang mas maraming classroom at computers.

Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher.

Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa edukasyon at skills training.

Ang magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas magandang buhay, the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams.

Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro, naglaan ng P1.5 billion para sa teacher training, especially for 100,000 English teachers.

Isa sa pinakamahirap sa Millennium Development Goals ay iyong Edukasyon para sa Lahat pagdating ng 2015. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng nasa tamang edad ay dapat nasa primary school. Halos walang bansang makakatupad nito. Ngunit nagsisikap pa rin tayo. Nagtayo tayo ng mga paaralan sa higit sanlibong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan upang makatipid ng gastos sa pasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal natin ang miscellaneous fees para sa primary school. Hindi na kailangan mag-uniporme ang mga estudyante sa public school.

In private high schools, we finance half of the students.

We have provided college and post-graduate education for over 600,000 scholars. One of them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at MSU-IIT, then she went to law school, and placed second in the last bar exams – the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!

In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job, Jennifer.

The Presidential Task Force on Education headed by Jesuit educator Father Bienvenido Nebres has come out with the Main Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy. It envisions seamless education from basic to vocational school or college.

It seeks to mainstream early childhood development in basic education. Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we must make sure they get a healthy start in life. They must receive the right food for a healthy body, the right education for a bright and inquiring mind—and the equal opportunity for a meaningful job.

For college admission, the Task Force recommends mandatory Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It also recommends that higher private education institutions should be harmonized with state universities and colleges, and that CHED should oversee local universities and colleges. For professions seeking international recognition—engineering, architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and physical therapy—it recommends radical reform: 10 years of basic education, two years of pre-university, before three years of university.

Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way.

Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating overseas Filipinos. Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa.

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be found—in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work.

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a hard-working Filipino.

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang pinagsikapang suweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for Overseas Filipino Workers investing in property and products back home. Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.

Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong bayan at kanilang mga host sa buong mundo – mula Hapon…hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano sila matutulungan ng ating pamahalaan—-by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives and restoring liberty.

Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko.

Mula sa ating State Visit sa Espanya, it has become our biggest European donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa para sa ating mga namomoblemang OFW. Ganoon din si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain.

Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir Al-Sabah commuted death sentences. We thank all our leaders, our world leaders, for showing compassion to our overseas foreign workers. Salamat.

Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration. Kasama ng ating mga Together with our OFWs, they more than doubled our foreign exchange reserves. Pinalakas ang ating piso at naiwasan ang lubhang pagtaas ng presyo. They upgraded our credit because while the reserves of our peers have shrunk this past year, ours reserves grew by $3 billion.

Our international engagement has also corrected historical injustice. The day we visited Washington, Senator Daniel Inouye successfully sponsored benefits for our veterans as part of America’s stimulus package.

I have accepted the invitation of President Obama to be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet him at the White House, later this week.

That he sought us out testifies to our strong and deep ties.

High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism: how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in injustice or prejudice—and first and always how to protect lives.

We will discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines will chair the review of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation Treaty in New York in May 2010. The success of the talks will be a major diplomatic achievement for us.

There is a range of other issues we will discuss, including the global challenge of climate change, especially the threat to countries with long coastlines. And there is the global recession, its worse impact on poor people, and the options that can spare them from the worst.

In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink. Compare this to 2001, when some of my current critics were driven out by people power. Asia was surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Since then, our economy posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters; more than doubled its size from $76 billion to $186 billion. The average GDP growth from 2001 to the first quarter of 2009 is the highest in 43 years.

Bumaba ang bilang ng mga nagsasabing mahirap sila sa 47% mula 59%. Maski lumaki ang ating populasyon, nabawasan ng dalawang milyon ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per capita rose from a Third World $967 to $2,000. Lumikha tayo ng walong milyong trabaho, an average of a million a year, much, much more than at any other time.

In sum: 1. We have a strong economy and a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks.

2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.

3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.

4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.

5. International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.

As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not. The mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.

We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of its age old woe.

Patuloy naman iyong sa Camanava, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river basin ng Mindanao.

The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.

Namana natin ang pinakamatagal na rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo.

Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA. Naging kasapi sa regional White Area Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee Secretary. Nahuli noong 2006. She is now involved in an LGU-supported handicraft livelihood training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!

There is now a good prospect for peace talks with both the Communist Party of the Philippines and the MILF, with whom we are now on ceasefire.

We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war.

In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, “Sino ang mananalo?” kundi, bakit pa ba kailangang mag-laban ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga isyu na alam naman nating lahat na di malulutas sa dahas, at mareresolba lang sa paraang demokratiko?

There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao. It will be a blessing for all its people, Muslim, Christian and lumads. It will show other religiously divided communities that there can be common ground on which to live together in peace, harmony and cooperation that respects each other’s religious beliefs.

At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa, kailangan nating protektahan ang ating mga mamamayan kontra sa krimen’ — in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their communities. How shall crime be fought? With the five pillars of justice, including crime fighters. We call on Congress to fund more policemen on the streets.

Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next, more enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to be.

The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.

As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting!

In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state—to the very last day.

A year is a long time. Patuloy ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E’s ng ekonomiya, environment at edukasyon. There are many perils that we must still guard against.

A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not let our critics stop us.

As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk.

Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it straight on the course we set in 2001.

Ang ating taong bayan ay masipag at maka-Diyos. These qualities are epitomized in someone like Manny Pacquiao….Manny trained tirelessly, by the book, with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had to fight himself, his weaknesses first, before he could beat his opponent. That was the way to clinch his victories and his ultimate title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero sa kasaysayan. Mabuhay ka, Manny!

However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked out with a single punch. She must work with the problem as much as against it, turn it into a solution if she can.

There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve-a-government that works just as hard as they do.

A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime.

Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon.

And I have never done any of the things that have scared my worst critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows.

In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination. We know it as strong government.

But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat.

I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked.

I know what to do:

As I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order when it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all.

I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts.

I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it.

I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal profit. Many who accuse me have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime.

We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves.

Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.

Our administration, with the highest average rate of growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world recession, must be doing something right, even if some of those cocooned in corporate privilege refuse to recognize it.

Governance, however, is not about looking back and getting even. It is about looking forward and giving more—to the people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country.

From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the eminence it deserves.

Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can go. Believe in it. I believe.

We can and we must march forward with hope, optimism and determination.

We must come together, work together and walk together toward the future.

Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating harapan, nasa kamay natin ang malaking kakayahan. Halina’t pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan.

And to the people of our good country, for allowing me to serve as your President, maraming salamat.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas."

i realized... :-)

2009-07-28T16:21:00.005+08:00

These pics were taken at the Centennial Park in Dalipuga, Iligan City. My blogger profile pic is likewise taken from the said "infamous" park. A lot of people, the local people say, have taken their lives there. Well, I still find peace of mind whenever I do *muni-muni* in Centennial Park. Maybe because I love grasses, the sea and the breeze that sweeps my hair here and there. Corny. :-)
*******************************

Maria Isabel Juarez Macasieb cut classes, missed two prelim exams...but not worried. Abnormal na yata ako!!!

Florence Dueñas Lagcao : haha. di ka abnormal, u simply stand out! haha

Gener Betudio Macasieb: that's normal...no big deal!

Maria Isabel Juarez Macasieb : thanks guys... :p

Christine Arteta: don't forget yer priorities

Maria Isabel Juarez Macasieb: huhuhuhuhuhu. tama jud ka tin...guilty ko. ako na jud ang dakilang Miss Extra Curri-curri!

Florence Dueñas Lagcao: don't be overwhelmed with too much societal norms isabel, do the things that will later on define you.

Maria Isabel Juarez Macasieb: gosh... dili man nako sala te flo diba if dili pa nako priority mag-work? i mean shiftee ko sa polsci which means maka extend gyud ko'g one sem... hmmm, why am i listening to those people who keep forcing me to take extra units per sem just to avoid that sem extension?! i love what i am doing and where i am... thanks for making me realize that te. mwah!

That's the conversation I had 3 hours ago in FB. Obviously, I realized I do not have to be pressured by what "society" dictates... Go Isabel! :-)

july issue of kerygma magazine is in da house!

2009-07-09T17:36:00.006+08:00

Since kerygma has helped me a lot, I am encouraging everyone (including those who are not from the Christian community) to discover the magazine's wonders!

My Mom has definitely loved every single issue of Kerygma Magazine... I am feeling the same way! There are a lot of inspiring stories from which we can learn how to constantly communicate with God and grow in His teachings.

This month, Kerygma puts emphasis on family life... the kind I really look forward to especially now that a lot of our family members (from the Juarez clan) flew and will be flying abroad to look for greener pastures.

There's also a fun discussion about teenage life. :-)

Get your copy of Kerygma Magazine for only Php60 at your nearest bookstores.

They also have virtual mags. Visit them!

2009-07-09T17:16:00.006+08:00

My intriguing horoscope today (courtesy of facebook)... Hmmm... in fairness and in Fairview, tumama! :-D

"This is an excellent time to eliminate whatever is unnecessary and outworn in your life especially if it's an unhealthy relationship which keeps you from going after what you really want in life. You are also more perceptive than usual. You can see other people's true colors more clearly and you may discover a secret or the hidden aspect of some situation."

for Intsik: latest about my lovelife

2009-07-05T11:16:00.001+08:00

(This is where I totally suck... having to resort to my blog for comfort. You see, my bestfriend Intsik is in GenSan. She reads my blog regularly. She is not so wired to the internet and its wonders that's why she only managed to make an FS account and gets to visit this site to get updated about Iligan and the life of her ever emotional bestfriend. Intsik, pauli na'g Iligan.)

So Intsik, these are the latest news. (those who care can also read)

Today, I'm in the process of editing my social networking sites (esp. Facebook) because I am letting go of the "I and Francis" stuff. I know it's wrong to invade his FB account but out of curiosity, I did. I found out that he's said many things behind my back. Worse, he shared it to others. I admit I am a jealous girl... but that was long ago! That was when we were still wearing our Blue skirts and White blouses for crying out loud! We were in highschool then. I just don't understand why the issue has been resurrected.

His bestfriend thinks that I'm referring to her in my FB status about the latest 3rd party. She could've asked me! Of course it's not her I'm talking about. I'm pointing at the Cebu girl!

Oh well, I'm tired. I've done more than enough to make our relationship work. I've even hurt a person in the process. I know you'd ask if I'm happy with my decision. No, I'm not...to be honest. But it's better than being in a one-sided relationship.

Right now 'tsik, I'm keeping myself busy at school, SK and GSP tasks.

Please get your cp repaired. :-(
Got loads to tell you.

Miss you 'tsik. ;-(

birthday anxiety

2009-07-05T08:15:00.001+08:00

Some of you may have been used to silently celebrating their birthdays--- the ones where everything's already been planned--- from the food down to who's in and who's out in the Guests' list. Yeah, that to me is still a silent birthday... where's the thrill there? I mean seriously, a birthday isn't complete without surprises.

That's what I hate about my birthday. It'll always be planned! And worse, I have a part in the preparation. :-(

As a result, it's either I'll get bored (which was evident last year when I left the party and packed up to Bukidnon) or simply pig out so I could sleep early.
:z

I no longer want planned gatherings! I find the little thoughtful stuffs already enough for me to feel special on that day. Cards, flowers, a chunk of Toblerone will do. Top it with your sincere greetings of *happy birthday*. It doesn't have to be extravagant. Or something that's new... like inviting me to white water rafting in CDO? or climbing Mt. Agad Agad? or visiting Dapit Alim? Divine Mercy?

I hope someone will prepare a hilarious surprise for me on August 3. :y

And I hope the gesture's coming from the heart. :-)

Lifestone's recording of 'I am"

2009-06-29T21:12:00.003+08:00

***All thanks to Jiggy (Lifestone's lead guitarist and band leader as well as composer... keep up the good work Jiggy!) who owns a YouTube account.

***To my blogger friends, how do you find their songs? :-)

super thank you to my blogger friend ACRYLIQUE

2009-06-29T19:43:00.005+08:00

I'd like to thank Acrylique for this lovely award... It was fun reading and checking your coloring book. :-)

Thanks for liking my name. Hehe. Natutuwa ako at hindi pala ako nag-iisa sa mundo---akala ko ako lang nagagandahan sa pangalan ko. *clap clap*bow*

Mabuhay ang blog mo and hope to read more of your thoughts... By the way, your kinky eyes are kakainggit. :-)

Cheers to all winners and sa mga kagaya kong sumubok, sumali at nakakuha ng award kahit mali ang sagot. Haha. :-D
Better luck next time.

"I am" by Lifestone

2009-06-15T11:42:00.002+08:00

This is the OFFICIAL AUDIO of Lifestone's "I Am."

copyright by LIFESTONE & RIVERTRACKS MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTIONS.

Lead vocals - Francis Rey Balolong (my boyfriend!)
Lead guitar & backup vocals - Gill Sugapong
Bass guitar - Jasphere MAngubat
Drums - Paolo Nacional

They will have a video soon... :-)

Anti-ChaCha Rally on the 111th Philippine Independence Day

2009-06-12T15:17:00.011+08:00

I sympathize with all the movements organized against the FISHY FILTHY Constitutional Assembly (aka Cha-Cha).

I applaud the speakers who try their best to educate those who are very PASSIVE to even care to make a STAND in this issue.

I commend as well the ORGANIZERS of these movements for their bravery and initiative are crucial in making people realize that their *politicians* are no longer serving them (the Filipino people) BUT their own ASS-es.

I urge the Filipino youth to support the Anti-ChaCha movements for this is for the best--- yes, we need CHANGE... but not in GMA's cradle.

Lastly, I heard that Hon. Congressman Vicente Belmonte of our very own 1st District of Lanao del Norte signed in favor of ConAss. If this rumor is true, then I will be in the forefront on 2010 in campaigning that you be voted no more.

But if this isn't true, not to worry Hon. Belmonte.

As I end this post, I congratulate those who CARE and take the RISK just so this nation will be saved from the hell it's in.

I and Buru-un join you in this battle.

111th Philippine Independence Day

2009-06-12T14:51:00.003+08:00

These are snapshots of our participation in the 111th Philippine Independence Day Celebration in Iligan City.

(L-R) Ma'am D'Vincet Quijoy, Ma'am Juanita Lagcao, Ms. Mary June Faye Giganto, Ms. Mary Chirene Capa, me :-) and Ms. Genrose Gabaya

my SK Councilors with the Barangay Tanod (at the back) and Mafaye's Mom (front row; fifth from left)

This is me posing side by side with our very own decorated Kalesa

(plus I'm holding the Philippine Flag... and oh thanks to Ma'am Gloria and Sir Richard Tinggas of Glorious Fashion for the lovely Filipiniana they gave)

with my SK Council

shot before the Parade

get to know Francis folks! :-D

2009-06-11T14:26:00.007+08:00

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
- Bubble Gang (or anything funny) :-D

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
- mayo (O.o)

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
- this is N/A, lol

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
- same as mine... most of the time we have ICED TEA

5. Where did he go to high school?
- MSU-IIT IDS

6. What size of shoe does he wear?
- 9 (?)

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
- letters (he can be emo at times... he loves reading letters and people's thoughts.. hehehe)

8. What kind of sandwich does he like?
- all (!!!!!!) no specifics when it comes to matters on food.

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
- Nelusko Cake (yum yum!)

10. What is his favorite cereal?
- Koko Krunch (anything chocolate-flavored)

11. What would he never wear?
- swimming trunks! hahahaha

12. What is his favorite sports team?
- Lakers (he watches too much NBA, I tell you)

13. Who did he vote for?
- it's confidential. :y

14. Who is his best friend?
- Ate Faith Marie Melendres and his Rho girls and boys friends in HS

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
- blogging and using my Opera mini whenever he's around

16. What is his favorite color?
- green (i like green too!)

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
- chocolate cake

18. Did he play sports in high school?
- Yes... Chess and I think Basketball as well

19. What could he spend hours doing?
- sleeping

Photo taken last June 6, 2009

another tag ;-)

2009-06-11T14:16:00.015+08:00

Rules: Copy everything then erase my answers, enter yours, and tag as many as you like. Use the first letter.
I'm tagging everyone. Grab na! :)

Well, It's harder than it looks!

1. What is your name: Isabel

2. A four letter word: Ilok X_x

3. A boy's name: Ian

4. A girl's name: Iya...hahahaha

5. An occupation: Impersonator (O.o) hey, people get money out of it...

6. A colour: Indigo

7. Something you wear: Invisible Cloak (hahahaha, sorry. I could think of no other. Hello Potter fans!)

8. A food: I... I... Insect (?) haha
. why not? :-D

9. Something found in the bathroom: I... I... Injectibles? just kidding!

10. A place: Iceland :-)

11. A reason for being late: Intense lovemaking (?) harhar

12. Something you shout: I
natake sa puso ang kapitbahay! Tulong! X_x

13. A movie title: Inkheart :-O

14. Something you drink: Init nga tubig (*.*)

15. A musical group: I... Nah, ambot! *.*

16. An animal: I
NSECT again... (0.o)

17. A street name: I... I... Indi ko alam... X_x

18. A type of car: Ilisanan nga Crosswind (?) car pa biya gihapon na! Hehe.

19. The title of a song: Invincible (christian bautista)

20. A verb: I
tuklod siya (?)

Nauhaw tuloy ako...hahaha

I'm a Perky Blogger

2009-06-08T13:47:00.004+08:00

I thank Ate Jelai for this blog award. This is actually my VERY FIRST and I'm just sooooo happy... :-D and "touched" as well. :-)

At first, I thought a blog is merely a journal... JUST an outlet for the *seasonal emo* in me. But no, blogging is more than that.

Here, I met a lot of blogger buddies who treat me nicely as if we're next-door neighbors and some see me as their family. :k

Thank you to my blogger buddies and my friends in real life who read my thoughts even if they're mostly random and nonsense (?). :y

I thank, most especially, Ate Jelai for the friendship and this Perky Blogger Award. ;-)

Whoa. Still emailed by my Uncle (Tito Tats). He works in K.S.A.

2009-06-02T16:23:00.009+08:00

The Four Candles

2009-06-02T16:09:00.004+08:00

Thanks Tito Tats for sending me this lovely story! :-)

goodbye summer... I'll be missin' you...

2009-06-01T10:07:00.004+08:00

100 truths

2009-05-29T17:40:00.009+08:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 100 Truths about you. At the end, tag at least 3 blogger buddies. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. last beverage = four seasons at Aruma
2. last phone call = mama
3. last text message = from Dawn (telling that Sornie's badly needing our pics for the KASAMA tarp)
4. last song you listened to = Hey Stephen (Taylor Swift)

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. dated someone twice = yes yes
7. been cheated on = six times (?)
8. kissed someone & regretted it = yeah... :-( UBeeeeeeeeeeeeR Yuck!
9. lost someone special = many times
10. been depressed = suicidal man ko.... (HADLOK!) but i can pull myself up naman...
11. been drunk and threw up = just once... para kunuhay dili ma-ignorante

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. white
13. pink
14. green

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)
15. Made a new friend = FRIENDS, to be exact!
16. Fallen out of love = wa jud tawon... love is everywhere
17. Laughed until you cried = many times
18. Met someone who changed you = yes... hello Balolong!
19. Found out who your true friends were = yeah...
20. Found out someone was talking about you = almost always... mostly ENVIOUS people... ahw sohreh!
21. Kissed anyone on your fb friend's list = uu.

GENERAL:
22. How many people on your fb friends list do you know in real life = 95%, i'm friendly kasi so 'pag naay mag-add. ACCEPT ui... luoy pud... ahw.
24. Do you have any pets = how i wish! waz time to take care of pets!
25. Do you want to change your name = NOPE and NEVER!
26. What did you do for your last birthday = went somewhere... out of town...
27. What time did you wake up today = 7:30am... had to be early for the radio program
28. What were you doing at midnight last night = drinking with friends at Kapitan Glenn's resto in Pala-o
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for = engagement party namu... :-D
30. Last time you saw your Mother = three days ago... see? busy gyud...
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life = pagka suicidal...
32. What are you listening to right now = Hey Stephen gihapon...
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom = nope.
34. What's getting on your nerves right now = wala man...
35. Most visited webpage = my blog
37. Nicknames = LILIT, sab, isabel, bel, lit
38. Relationship Status = sana engaged... joke! in a relationship
39. Zodiac sign = Leo
40. Male or female?= female
41. Elementary? = Sgt. Miguel Canoy Memorial Central School
42. Middle School = N/A
43. High school/College = Iligan City National School of Fisheries/ IIT
44. Hair colour = black
45. Long or short= short (for now)
46. Height = 5'1''
47. Do you have a crush on someone? = yeah...
49. Piercings = ears
50. Tattoos = none
51. Righty or lefty= righty

FIRSTS:
52. First surgery = waz jud
53. First piercing = ears.
54. First best friend = my cousin Marsha...
55. First sport you joined = DaMath... hahaha. chess pud.
56. First vacation= May 2001 (Davao)
58. First pair of trainers = Puma (haha, gift from Engr. Bienes)

RIGHT NOW:
59. Eating = yes (Nelusko Cake, yum!)
60. Drinking = nope
61. I'm about to = email my picture to Sornie
62. Listening to = Taylor Swift's Fearless album
63. Waiting for = dinner, hehe

YOUR FUTURE:
64. Want kids? = siyempre! Just 2!
65. Get Married? = seven years from now...
66. Career? = continue serving in Buru-un and pursue Law School... no matter What and When! :y

WHICH IS BETTER
67. Lips or eyes= Eyes
68. Hugs or kisses= hugs! (i'm a fan of cuddling and snuggling!)
69. Shorter or taller= taller
70. Older or Younger = Older
71. Romantic or spontaneous = romantic
72. Nice stomach or nice arms = Nice arms (tawa man ka Bitoy? nice ba diay ka'g arms?)
73. Sensitive or loud = sensitive
74. Hook-up or Relationship = relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant = hesitant

HAVE YOU EVER:
76. Kissed a stranger = yeah, ahak! stolen!
77. Drank hard liquor = just once...
78. Lost glasses/contacts = wala jud tawon
79. Sex on first date = NOOOOOOOO!
80. Broken someone's heart = yeah...sorry na dong oi!
81. Had your own heart broken = yeah... many times, rowts!
82. Been arrested = never
83. Turned someone down = a lot of times
84. Cried when someone died = yes. crybaby ni...
85. Fallen for a friend? = uu.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself = yes!
87. Miracles = YES!
88. Love at first sight = yes!
89. Heaven = yes...
90. Santa Claus = before... nasakpan man nako akong mama gud atong 1995 nga December so after ato, wa najud ko mituo
91. Kiss on the first date = Nope
92. Angels = Yes!

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
93. Had more than one bf/gf? = yeah. Francis is my 8th... and last.
95. Did you sing today? = uh huh
96. Ever cheated on somebody? = yeah and he's my friend on FB... lol.
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go, and why? = just recently... i wanna go back to October 2008... ahak nga month!
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be? = my birthday
99. Are you afraid of falling in love? = nope.
100. Posting this as 100 truths? = yes yes...thanks te Jo for the tag! :-) (originally from Facebook)

I'm tagging Ate Jelai, Iris, Mich, Francis, Marlon and Ate Florence. :-D

buhay baboy

2009-05-29T11:42:00.004+08:00

kain, tulog. tulog, kain. kain, tulog... So unhealthy. My take? Whatever! :p This is how I reward myself for seven weeks straight of SK-triggered work. :k

school's fast approachin'

2009-05-28T16:38:00.003+08:00

where art thou Secret Notebook?

2009-05-28T15:46:00.003+08:00

Left with no choice, I read Louise Fitzhugh's *Harriet The Spy* while havin' pupu yesterday. ROFL.

Halfway through my reading, memories of my late childhood flashed before my consciousness. Oh, just ignore that I was in the CR while this happened. Hehe. So yeah, there... The past rekindled of how I became so fond of having a SECRET NOTEBOOK (just like Harriet's) where I jot down utterly honest observations about the people I encounter daily.

I'm sharin' some entries my memory could unearth:

"Ubanon man diay si Ma'am Catubig Diary noh? I wonder kung naa pud siyay kuto. Ana man gud si Mama, ang ubanon, kutu-on pud."

"Inagaw ni Jamaica si Kevin! Ang aking Fernando Jose!" (haha,peace Jam... Kevin turned out to be she-male, hehe. Hi Kevs, are you gay? lol)

"Ang among iced juice sa canteen kay sa trash can daw timplahon ana akong Mama Diary du. Bad sila Diary! Dapat ingnon nako ang president sa Pupil Government. Ugma na lang."

"Dapat jud na mawala ng transferee danhi. Gara! Dili raba bright!"
(taklesa kid, eh? Sabta ang bata, hehe)

So far, those were the most I could remember. They made a mark because the said page where those were written got torn by my sister thinking my *secret notebook* was nothing but crap slash utility pad. I couldn't remember though why the said page reached the hands of my teacher Mrs. Catubig. She, of course, hilariously exploded! My my, kiddie fun turned kiddie plum! My classmates liked the notebook a lot 'cause they're also wonderin' if Mrs. Catubig's hair was infested with lice. Hahaha.

I buried that secret notebook near our very own Papaya tree. I tried to recover it earlier... I found nothing after two hours of digging. Haha. What a FOOL am I?! The notebook was buried way back 1997...

Lilit, that was more than a decade! But I hoped I found even just the "spiral" thing... Yeah, spring gud! Haha.

Where art thou? Buried and gone. Never to come back. In a good way. :-)

18th birthday present to Pika (May 8, 2009)

2009-05-28T15:12:00.002+08:00

mega erratum

2009-05-26T10:39:00.001+08:00

This is related to my May 24 untitled blog post about the *gun* and *game*...

After consulting the Peace and Order Committee Chairman and some Police officers, I learnt that the one who brought out his gun created more offense and should be jailed (?). Heavy! Basta, sayup ko nga dapat dili to mao akong naingon. Dili sala sa TIMER ang *kaguliyang* nga nahitabo.

Bow.

let's pull some ego buster :-D

2009-05-25T08:32:00.000+08:00

Malyn forwarded me this txt message early this morning: "The only reason why people try to discredit you is because THEY WANT to be JUST LIKE YOU." ;-)

2009-05-24T09:09:00.002+08:00

*why oh why?*

Last night's roller coaster turn of events will never be forgotten.

1. The best basketball match between Prk. 6 and Sitio Mimbalot had 2 extra periods. Yip, kaduha jud nag-overtime! Congratulations to both teams! Prk. 6, the defending champ of last Summer's tournament won and will advance to the Big Four.

2. Basketball on wheels. It was a first in Buru-un. From the start 'til the end of the exhibition game, the crowd was cheering and shouting with fear and excitement that our disabled brothers might fall off from their wheelchairs. No, they didn't. Great job! We'd like to thank Brgy. Captain Dan Salatandre of Pala-o for bringing the PWL players to Buru-un last night. Mabuhay ka kap! :)

3. This is related to no. 1. When OTs happen in a basketball game, the temperature heats up, right? The followers turn to WATCHDOGS, right? They humiliate the rival team's players, right? Yes, all of these happened last night. It was midnight already and the game's still on. With 5 seconds left and a 3-point advantage for Prk. 6, there's no way an assigned timer should leave the *Table*... But he left... And what's worse was he threatened to hurt, using a megaphone, a sixteen-year-old kid who teased him *OPAO* and *Gogoy*... The kid's father saw the incident and got angry at the scene so he went back to get a GUN aimed at the timer...

... and I bet you know what comes next when someone gets a gun...

Gosh! Chaotic is an understatement to describe last night's events.

*why oh why Kap have you forsaken us? why oh why did the SAF and the Police come late? come on! Redeem yourselves!*

2009-05-20T23:36:00.000+08:00

it's 11:42pm and i'm still up. i'm no insomniac/nocturnal creature. and now i'm pissed off that i can't get myself to sleep and REM (?)

starting to be cheesy and senti at the moment.

ahhh... Life! just when everything shapes into cloud nine, rain pours. it's as if bitoy and i didn't have a great time yesterday.

we're fighting again... we're breakin' up na pala dapat. :-(

what the hell is goin' on? :-( will we lose each other to the Summer wind? i hope not. :c

time to reflect

2009-05-20T22:15:00.002+08:00

Dear Diary (?),

another random rant from a depressed heart (just for tonight, don't worry).

i'm sayin' goodbye to mr. right (?).

i thought i found him. and i thought it would be him. :-(

for the 8th time, i was wrong.

move on Lilit. move on. :y

smiling still :-) (re: disco)

2009-05-18T11:53:00.006+08:00

This one's just a short post meant to relieve me of *darn* discouraging thoughts and recent events.

All the members of the Barangay Council (the SK, most especially) have had a tough week facing and answering dissatisfied querries from among those who got used to "open to the public" discotheques.

As public officials, we make sure you are safe and secured while celebrating the San Isidro fiesta. We may have the Special Action Force (SAF) and our very own Barangay Tanod to watch over Buru-un but we also need to help them--- and the best way is not to pursue the DISCO.

There are decisions that will make us unpopular, but at times, these decisions are the best. For your security, we chose to be unpopular. :-)

50 random questions

2009-05-13T10:31:00.001+08:00

50 Random Questions

1. Where were you 3 hours ago?

Francis' house

2. Who are you in love with?

hahaha... sa iya... kanang naa sa taas... :-)

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?

what?! nope!

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yes. the curtains.

5. When is the last time you went to the mall?

sunday.

6. Are you wearing socks right now?

nope.

7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000?

how i wish! :y

8. When was the last time you drove out of town?

april 1st

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?

nope...walay time.

10. Are you hot?

yeEEEEEs! haha. init man ang panahon gud unya wala pa pud koy ligo.

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?

water. (frustrating?)

12. What are you wearing right now?

red t-shirt and maong shorts

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?

i have no car

14. Last food that you ate?

saging...nah!

15. Where were you last week at this time?

buru-un still

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?

yep! for the talent and coronation night

17. When is the last time you ran?

yeaterday... i had to make habol of the jeep 'cause wala ko nasuklian.

18. What's the last sporting event you watched?

boxing

19. What is your favorite animal?

guinea pig

20. Your dream vacation?

mag-cruise bahalag Asian lang gud...

21. Last person's house you were in?

ila Francis

22. Worst injury you've ever had?

piang ra man

23. Have you been in love?

hurray!

24. Do you miss anyone right now?

yes

25. Last play you saw?

wala man... pobre ang Iligan bords!

26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?

i have no idea. XD

27. What are your plans for tonight?

attend the talent night of miss buru-un, kuyog ta!

28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment?

kuya glenn...

29. Next trip you are going to take?

off to PUERTO PRINCESA!!! Thanks Girl Scout friends!

30. Ever go to camp?

yah...

31. Were you an honor roll student in school?

HS? consistent. College? to be negotiated pa ang standing...hahahaha

32. What do you want to know about the future?

nothing really. i care about today.

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?

nope.

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit?

nope.

35. Where is your best friend?

in General Santos

36. How is your best friend?

she just celebrated her 18th birthday last April 25th

37. Do you have a tan?

nope.

38. What are you listening to right now?

charmed life by Leigh Nash

39. Do you collect anything?

letters!

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know?

si kuya t...hahahahaha

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?

wala pa man pud...harsh ba nimo? hehe

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?

yes...

43. What does your last text message say?

"DILI ni GM"...from te dyl... she forwarded te marl's msg

44. Do you like hot sauce?

yeah!

45. Last time you took a shower?

wala pa ko kaligo today so kagahapon pa... hahaha

46. Do you need to do laundry?

yes! but thanks to Carewash!

47. What is your heritage?

not sure kay walay klaro dari sa barren land... corrupt mga tawo dari!

48. Are you someone's best friend?

yes!

49. Are you rich?

nope. flat.

50. What were you doing at 12AM last night?

sleeping. hahahaha.

Credit Repair

MySpace Surveys and Quizzes

be back after the fiesta

2009-05-11T16:10:00.002+08:00

This is your BUSY girl promising to update her blog after all the work's done. :-)

we're okay now

2009-05-10T20:39:00.004+08:00

I promise this isn't a rant... :D

My Mom and I have been into tough challenges lately---misunderstandings, her inconsistencies, "trust" and strict compliance to "her" RULES issues. I thought we'll never be the same again. I even came to a point where I no longer "value" (not even ask) her opinions to help me decide on important matters.

Gee. That was horror in the making.

When I confided this to my friends months ago, one of them said that, "It seems that your mother is willing to help you, but you're insisting that the help be on your terms and on your timeline. You two should meet in the middle."

So there, I evaluated how have I been treating people in my inner circle since I became very busy with my work in the community (and all others).

I discovered I have been really (really really gani dapat, hehe) disrespectful to my Mom. I realized I have imposed her of something she doesn't deserve---to deny her of her right to be MY and OUR mother.

I'm happy we finally "met" at the "middle" (churva) Ate Jen was talking about.

Oh, I greeted her today. Give me Five! :-)

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

Welcome to IIT! :-)

2009-05-05T16:47:00.007+08:00

This is my first time to actually provide a sort of "shopping list" of what I did today. Haha. As if it's such a big deal. Uh okay. ;-)

7am. I was already off to Iligan and encountered a 15-minute traffic at Agus bridge (lecheng tig-bomba!). By quater to eight I was waiting for a jeep to IIT when Ma'am Caroline Sy of Primewood called me up. I have to go to her trophy factory (?) and see the designs so she can start working on them. Unsaon taman nga uber-close naman nako ang mga pipz sa Primewood so GO na! I got myself to Primewood immediately after the phonecall. Whoa. As a result, I failed Ate Mayang (KASAMA Sen. Maya Guro). Nagsabot mi nga musayo para maka-assist dayon sa mga magpa-enroll. Gladly, the Student Peer Facilitators (SPF) helped the KASAMA pala through Jergen (KASAMA Sen. Jergen Aranas). Thanks SPF! Savior of the Day Award etoh! :D Thanks pud sa mga EC Officers sa 7 colleges. Mabuhay! ;)

9am. I arrived at the KASAMA Office. And since Ma'am Carol destroyed (hehe) my sked, she offered me a ride to IIT. Whoa. Ops! Second time around. Ayun, hinatid n'ya ko along with Sir Tata (who's assigned to fix the KASAMA Landmark financed by Pioneer

Insurance). Thanks Ma'am Carol. :)

9:30am. The fun started. Ate Mayang and I thought of greeting every Freshman and parent we can find

(especially passers-by at the KASAMA Office) a big WELCOME TO IIT plus all-smiles and pa-cute-cute

eyes. Just imagine how embarassed we were especially when some would merely smirk or snob us. But we have to. When I was in their shoes, the

CASS EC (2007-2008) made a mark in my college life for giving me a fifty-cent-worth lollipop with a note that said "WELCOME FRESHMEN TO IIT." I know how if feels to be in an unknown territory. Thus, no matter how absurd were some of the students' expressions, we continued doing the "deed." yeah, I call it a Deed. We made many students smile and we got a LOT of "THANK YOUs" from them and their parents. Yehey! Operation Welcome to IIT: EFFECTIVE! :-)

11am. We got surprised at the increase of CED aspirants coming to the KASAMA office and our ASK ME station. Hmmm... Gov. Melvin Magsayo of CED ran out of receipts pala so ayun, taranta bigla ang mga estudyanteng nainitan ug gikapoy na sa pagbalik-balik sa CED pinangita ug deputized KASAMA Insurance collector. Sorry for the inconvenience po. Five minutes after (minus the time one consumes in going back to CED, hehe), everything got back to normal. :)

12pm. Lunch break. Believe it or not, nag-enjoy mi ni 'Te Mayang sa OPERATION: Welcome to IIT! Hehe. Ate Stifanny (KASAMA Sen. Stifanny Sol) kept on teasing us. Dili daw niya carry among mga gipangbuhat nga 'pagpakaulaw." Yeko ar. ;-)

12:45pm. We had our lunch inside the office with the rest of the ACTIVE (bisan gikapoy and kugang na, hehe) EC and KASAMA officers. Tubuan na daw mi'g pako kay manok pirmi ang sud-an. Basta, amo amo na lang. Inato kaayo among lunch (matud pa ni Ate Marl... Pres. Marlanie Piano) but enjoy japon. As usual, we had nonstop tabi-tabi over our graced and hearty meal.

1:00pm. Back to our ASK ME Assistance Desk. Wheeeee.... padayon japon ang pag-welcome sa Freshmen (apil daan, I mean, bonafide IITians who are taking Summer Classses ma-greet na, hehe). Boang lagi daw mi. Yeko ar again. :-D There's no harm in making people smile bitaw. Saern.

3:00pm. I decided to go home since by 4:00pm, my SK Council and I scheduled to paint our Basketball Court. Summer League naman gud sa May 7.

I should say this day made me happy. I accomplished a lot despite of my present health condition. Dili ko magsaba unsa nga health problem. To God be the glory! ;)

I'd like to end this post by thanking everyone who helped (in a way or another ;)) ) the people in IIT ganina. Sa mga Freshmen... WELCOME to IIT! ... where you can rest... REST IN PEACE! Just kidding!!! ;-)

"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot, irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."

And to me... it's an ACHIEVEMENT! :)

2009-05-03T14:30:00.003+08:00

I now weigh 48kg!!!! A month ago, 51 was the lecheng numero! :p

Making Us Proud: Pacquiao Wins via TKO on Round 2 vs Ricky Hatton

2009-05-03T13:47:00.007+08:00

Photo courtesy of : Pacland

Pacquiao is here... Now, amaze me!!! :)

Well done, Manny! (and thanks for the zero pollution and zero crime) oo nga din pala... nakalimutan ng world ang SWINE FLU because of your match against "the hitman." :z More power Pacman! :y :D

should i be a vegetarian?

2009-04-30T13:36:00.003+08:00

okay. so i'm very "masipag" today for publishing two blogposts. :-) put the blame on boredom. i'm actually "killing the time." the KASAMA will have a joint IEC and ILB meeting later at 5pm for preparations in the freshmen enrolment on may 5 and the insurance bidding on may 4. :k

re: title of this post. you read it right... i've been really confused if i should become a vegetarian na... two of my GSP friends (whom i met at the NSCC '07 in baguio) have been constantly sending me emails about the "benefits of vegetarianism." they're active members of the Animal Rights Movement (ARM). i must admit that they're quite persuasive.

i remember my highschool science teacher (mrs. garingarao) saying that "if we all go vegetarian, the animal population will increase dramatically. in fact, if there are too many animals, us humans will starve because the animals require a large amount of plant based food."

so, what now? to be or not to be? i want to live healthy and thus prolong my life. will vegetarianism really help me?

enlighten me please. :y

2009-04-30T10:07:00.005+08:00

Ate Jelai tagged me yesterday... :) So here's my share...

Rules:

1. Post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 5 facts about yourself. :)

3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Link the person who tagged you. :$

5. Leave a comment for each blogger.

Five facts about me:
1. I can't sleep with the lights ON but I am a COWARDLY girl who still screams at horrific characters in movies and comics at age eighteen. Wait, that's already two facts about me, right??? :y

2. My nickname's Lilit... taken from the word "buLILIT" 'cause I only weighed 6 lbs. at birth while the rest of my cousins weighed 8 lbs. or more. :D

3. :c yeah... kapayason ko... crybaby.

4. :d I'm a ONE-DAY MILLIONAIRE. :#

5. I detest reality shows. :p

Now I'm tagging Kuya Philip, Kaubang Mich, Monaifah, Iris and Ate Rei. :)

God bless everyone! :y :$

Laziness 101

2009-04-29T13:14:00.008+08:00

When I posted something on plurk about my being unproductive for the past three days, a fan immediately recommended that I read this site in the hope that I can do something if my being LAZY knocks again.

10 Ways to Make Laziness Work for You

1. Make not doing it harder. We lazy people hate doing hard stuff. So let’s use that for us. Let’s say there’s something hard that I need to do right now. Of course, I don’t feel like doing it. But if I put up obstacles that make it harder NOT to do it, then I’m going to do it, because I’m too lazy to do the even harder stuff. For example, if I’m prone to watching television instead of working, and I put the remote on the roof of my house, well, it would be too hard to get a ladder to get that remote. And being lazy, I hate to watch TV without a remote. So I’ll get to work instead. Same concept could be applied to the Internet — take your cable modem’s cable and give it to someone to hold until after lunch. Or tell people that if you don’t complete this project on time, you will wash their cars. Engineer a solution that will make you more likely to actually do what you need to do.

2. Be productive to avoid doing something. Now turn that concept on its head. It’s an idea called Structured Procrastination and written about much earlier by Robert Benchley in a great article called Getting Things Done from 1949. The basic concept is that in order to avoid doing something difficult, you’ll do a bunch of other things instead. A lot of those other things might also be important too, so you’re being productive because you’re too lazy to do the most important thing on your list. So, to implement this, put one really hard task at the top of your list, and a bunch of other important stuff below it. Now, tell yourself you really must, must get that first task done right away. If you’re feeling lazy, you’ll do the other stuff on the list instead. Now, when more important stuff comes up, the first item of the list gets pushed down and will get done.

3. Delegate. Lazy people like to become managers, so they can delegate things to others and look productive while doing that. Even if you aren’t a manager, learn how to delegate to your coworkers or even to your boss. Look at your to-do list and see if you can delegate half of it. If in doubt, route it and ask for input. Now you can cross off half the items on your list and you haven’t done anything!

4. Automate. Instead of doing the same things over and over, see if you can find a way to automate it. This will require that creativity that lazy people have. You can find ways for the computer to automate it, or give others the authority to do something following certain rules without your approval, or outsource something you really don’t want to do all the time. Great! Cross off more items from your to-do list without actually doing anything.

5. Eliminate. Now look at your remaining items on your to-do list (assuming you weren’t too lazy to write out a to-do list — if you are, it can be something you do to avoid doing something more difficult). How many of these items absolutely have to be done? Is there any way you can eliminate some of them, especially ones that you really don’t want to do? You can always go and ask to be removed from a project for one reason or another, or say that you have too many commitments and can’t do this right now. OK, more items off your list without doing anything!

6. Stall. Another good way to cross things off your to-do list without actually doing them is to not do them until they are no longer needed. I’ve done this many times — I stall and delay and procrastinate on something, doing other things I’d rather be doing, and then in a week or two, those things I was procrastinating on are no longer necessary. Turns out they didn’t matter anyway.

7. Simplify. If there’s something that you do that is complicated and difficult, find ways to make it easier and simpler. List out the steps, and see which can be eliminated or streamlined. Which steps can be done by someone else or automated? What is the absolute easiest way to do this?

8. Wait until the last minute. Sometimes when you stall (see above), it turns out that the thing you’re stalling on is really important, and needs to be done. If so, you will find this out when someone else who needs it done gives you an urgent call and 10 emails, asking for it to be submitted. This is when urgency comes into play, and it’s a great motivator. You’ll get the thing done. But that urgency didn’t exist until you stalled for a week. So the trick is to wait to do things until the absolute last minute, when you will be super motivated to do them. So don’t schedule some of your tasks until the last possible time you could start them and still get them done before deadline.

9. Lazy reward. I like to reward myself by telling myself that if I just do this work, I get to be lazy. This will motivate me, because I love being lazy. In fact, if I can finish the next item in five minutes, I get to go watch an episode of Gilmore Girls.

10. Go with what excites you. If you are too lazy to do something, it’s probably because that something seems boring to you. If so, move on to something more exciting. Come up with a list of things you could do that are important and productive and still exciting. And go with those tasks. You will be avoiding something boring, sure, but you will be motivated to do the other, more exciting stuff. Now, if you still need to do the boring stuff (and can’t stall, eliminate, delegate, or automate that stuff), then find a way to make it exciting. Rewards of sweet treats or laziness can make something more exciting, or try this technique: instead of thinking of how hard something is, think about all the benefits that you’ll get from doing it. Money, fame, gorgeous women, snacks … these exciting things can all be yours by accomplishing this task. By Leo Babauta :)

Thanks Steff! I sure have learned something. Now, back to the pile! Pile of paperworks... then the laundry! uh uh uh. lol.

HS Survey (because i miss the good old days)

2009-04-28T13:37:00.006+08:00

What high school did you go to?
Iligan City National School of Fisheries ;)
What was your school mascot?
isda, xempre na kulay blue :z
What were your school colors?
green (freshmen), yellow (sophies), pink (juniors) and red (seniors)
Did you have school spirit?
uu naman, lahat naman yata noh... GO PISCEAN!
Did you drive to school or ride the bus?
sahay...mag motor ko.
What kind of car did you drive?
hmmm...
Did you ever skip?
yah...di pud ko KJ... :D
If so, where did you go on skip days?
payag sa Circle of Ten :s to sleep
Ever have detention?
sayang...wa jud... :v
For what?
wala gani :d
What did you think of freshman year?
more on pamugas man ko ana oi...hehe :O
Was lunchtime fun?
yup! break time, flirt time... :r
Did you normally eat school lunch or bag lunch?
school lunch... :o
Were you ever part of a food fight?
uu...more like cake fight... :k
Did you attend the pep rallies?
NOpE, how i wish the school admin permitted us...
Did you have a crush on anyone?
yes and not just one but two glasses este marami sila...
Were you bullied by anyone?
Haha...subukan lang nila! :D wa jud oi, good girl man pud ko. di sila ka-copy assignment if ever, lol.
Did you play any sports?
chess :-)
Did you go to all the football games?
walay uso football...
Were you friends with the cheerleaders?
pakshet nga mga OA nga mga cheerleaders! hehe. ilang mga uyab mga basketball players...mang-aagaw!
Were you considered popular?
*humble effect* :z
Did you run for Homecoming or Prom King/Queen?
Miss Nutrition, laban ka?! :r
Did you win any awards or superlatives?
yah yah :)
Were you involved in any clubs?
yah yah :)
What was your favorite subject?
isa ra jud? sige, English
Who was your favorite teacher?
sir blair castillon
Who was your least favorite teacher?
all the math teachers, joke! :O
Who did you hang out with?
my girlfriends
Were you part of a clique?
yah yah...Circle of Ten...
Did you hang out with mostly guys or girls?
girls
Was there anyone you absolutely could not stand?anything siguro... not anyone... secret unsa...
Who were you dating?
dating? basta oi... mabasahan pa lang ni sakong mama... :x
What year did you graduate?
2007
Where were the parties held?
mostly restos
Who threw the best parties?
dami and jamaica...always the SOCIAL MANAGERS....
Did you drink? smoke?
nope :)
If you could, would you go back to HS?
DEFINITELY!

Crowning Glory??? Miss Buru-un? lol

2009-04-25T18:01:00.009+08:00

Haha. My uber-cool Ka-Circle Dami took all the pictures during the pageant (way back May 10, 2007) and even instructed her brother JAY-R to take the videos. On my 17th birthday, she made me a tribute video and a collection of pictures (like the one above) while wishing me (what else?) a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
They say when you do things for mere FUN, surprises will unfold---either to punish or bless you. Whoa. I got the latter. Blessed girl.
I'm posting this picture in gratitude to Dami (she's 9), Fredelyn (1), Jamaica (2), Jennylyn (4), Cynthia (6), Mary Jane (5), Aivah (7), Daisy (8) and April (10).

Ohhh... tama pud diay, plug nalang pud nako ang...

SEARCH FOR MISS BURU-UN 2009

Screening will be on the 29th of April (8am-5pm)

Venue: Barangay Hall

Pictorial at Mimbalot Falls: May 1, 2009 (8-11am)

Talent Night: May 12, 2009 (7pm)

Coronation Night: May 14, 2009 (8pm)

Venue: Brgy. Buru-un Civic Auditorium

Qualifications: *must be a resident of Brgy. Buru-un for at least six (6) months

*15-18 years old

*of good moral character

*single

*and recommended by the Purok President.

Fill-up the OFFICIAL PERSONAL DATA SHEET available from the SK Council.

'Til next post... :-)

who said debaters can't act?

2009-04-24T15:56:00.003+08:00

Mahal ni Mara si Philip, mahal naman ni Philip si Mark, pero mahal ni Mark si Mara... am I right? This pic is like the Monalisa... Pwede madaming interpretation. What do you think?

Manila Girl

2009-04-15T17:33:00.001+08:00

Quick post: I'm in UP Diliman now for the Philippine Inter-Collegiate Debate Championship 2009. Kalit kalit jud ni akong pag proxy kay Calvin. We're up until April 20. My flight back's scheduled on the 21st and it's gonna be first flight. So, I hope those who have important things to tell me won't hesitate to text. Just text. Calls are definitely not advised for I am certain... I CAN'T ANSWER them. I can't promise though that I'll be able to give a reply right there and then but I can assure you I'll consider your text. I know I left unfinished businesses in Iligan especially the Radio Program. Guys, you know na. In-demand si Kauban Bel. Wish us the best. Mamugas sa mi diri. Be back soon. I miss you all... :)

no matter how good or bad it turns out - it's just hair

2009-04-11T11:23:00.009+08:00

There comes a time in most every woman's life when she considers going short. Of course some women simply never let go of long locks, sometimes for cultural reasons. Others change their hairstyle regularly for fun.Well, for those who didn't like my new haircut that much, I'm sorry. My Mom is actually first on the list. When she walked me into the Salon, she was perfectly in good mood. But after two hours... when she checked on me after she did the grocery, I know she was shocked! I sensed that I'd be dead meat the moment we step in our house. Uh, my instincts never failed me. "Naunsa naman na imong buhok? Giusikan nimo. Naa kay kalagot sa kalibutan?" Later that day, I saw Ate Sol and Sir Ed. "Hahahaha, murag lampaso ang bangs!" was her greeting. Sir Ed, on the other hand, "Ah, yati ra! Mao nay dalaga! Pa-summer look man jud! Sexy ka ana tan-awon." He's heaven sent!

Okay, for starters, I didn't just cut my hair because I want to look fashionable and trendy nor to change my entire life or because my boyfriend insists he prefers short hair. And Mom, no, I have nothing against the world.

The point: I did this for myself.

I'm tired of my old look. I think my long hair dates me and makes me look rather too conservative. For a long time, I had that hair. I got the same style year after year. It's too safe and you know me, I'd like to keep things interesting. I don't agree that long hair translates to youth and vitality. Please, I need to liberate myself... even just the hairstyle preference. I don't want to be boring and all. As for what guys like, I've found that I've been able to change a few people's minds about what constitutes sexy hair. Needn't be long. Besides, if some guy turns me down (in case I venture into courting men, lol) because of my pixie cut, that's not the kind of close-minded boy I want anyway. :-)

Trust me, I'm still me. Just because I'm short-haired doesn't mean I'd be getting "slutty."#

(continued) I'm back... now short-haired!

2009-04-01T16:17:00.006+08:00

"Nahulog ka sa imong higdaanan?"

"Nagbulag mo?"

"Mu-graduate ka?"

"Unsay okasyon?"

"Pawala sa malas ang tirada nimo Bel?"

"Nikaon na ka?"

"Mao nay resulta sa INC?"

"Igang kaayo Girl?"

And tendedeeeeeeeeeeeeen...

"Kinsa ng commercial model?"

Opo, short-haired na ang lola n'yo! Thanks to the stylists of Jerma Beauty Salon. Overall, a very great changeup hairstyle that is short and sexy. Humanda sa Summer! (*-*)

WELCOME Back!

2009-04-01T10:33:00.026+08:00

For 3 weeks now, I've been running away from problems. LEMME rephrase that... I've been a coward. Oh gosh, again, I've been avoiding my problems! I don't confront (and my Mom really hates me for this). Confrontations, for me, would only worsen things up.

So why have I been in constant melancholy? Why wouldn't I answer the phone? Why can't I textback to an average of 300 messages I receive per day? Not even a single text for 3 weeks now?

Problems. Pagsulay. Rocks. Eklavu. Whichever works for you.

1. I received two INCs this sem. It only means goodbye DL! Or the dream to graduate with flying colors. So much cliche. My heart sank.

2. I said goodbye to a large sum after I helped a friend who said she'd use the money for her tuition fee and now, is nowhere to be found. (di na jud ko mag co-maker, SWEAR!)

3. I lost two precious people---a family member and the other's a "friend." The latter, by the way, said his goodbyes due to another person I gained back. I thought I could just pretend that I'm happy with him. Well, ganun talaga. 'Pag love mo, dun ka mag-si-stick. Hurayt? :-)

4. I realized I need to give time for Francis for he'll be going back to Cebu on the 18th of May. Sad. He has to... because of that brain-frying BOARD EXAM on October. Review na pud ug todo!!! Really sad. Oh, I already said that.

5. May 15's fast approaching--- Fiesta na pud sa Buru-un nga gimahal...bow. Got loads to do for the Summer and the Fiesta Celebration. So, I took a week's VACATION. An early one. A short one. Last year, I didn't get the chance to travel some place (i.e. Camiguin, Baguio AGAIN, Boracay AGAIN, Antipolo???, Palawan) where the Summer Season could be felt.

In other words, I lost half of myself last year to stress brought by work. I don't want that to happen this year. Oh yeah, I'm back from my vacation. I went to SECRET Island. Hehe.

Now that I'm back... expect the flood of gazilion messages from me for the rest of the Summer! Sadist, eh. ^_^

wicked Queen stealing my HAPPY ENDING

2009-03-29T18:32:00.010+08:00

She wants her son to do this to me. Argh!

For more than two years now, I acted like a woman who's waiting for a diagnosis of my illness. The doctor being his mother. She constantly gives me dour expressions whenever I visit him.

I should've known better. The mother will never like me. Yeah, NUNCA.

My efforts have been thrown that easy by a jealous mother. Oedipus complex, they say.

From what I see, this is more than that. This is like being caught up in a desperate struggle against soon-to-be-in-laws. Guess the battlecry: I'M NOT A SLUT!

It's so UNFAIR for her to impose me with such punishment just because she thinks my relationship with her son is a carbon copy of her own. Pwede ba? Ang layo namin sa inyo ni Tito. We may be happy-go-lucky kids but we always conform because we know that's the best way to survive and please you guys (not just you, my family included). Why be angry and jealous? You're still the mother. Nobody took that away from you.

I'm tired of wanting to please you. I'm done with this approval game.

No matter what you accuse me of, it's still what he says and feels that truly count.

Mao na ni... Nganong ni-enter?! Welcome to this ODYSSEY then. (evil stare)

AGAKA Youth Hour talks about HOMOSEXUALITY

2009-03-26T23:27:00.007+08:00

the anchors

the guests (CAMPUS CORRESPONDENTS as well)

*Due to examinations and the hectic schedules of some of our anchors and campus correspondents in AGAKA Youth Hour, we decided to have everything recorded for Friday's episode.

Guess what?! We're finally granting the request of our avid listeners! This week's topic is on HOMOSEXUALITY.

We invited Kauban Earl and Able of St. Michael's College and Kauban Dexter of Iligan Medical Center College to share their views, experiences and practically EVERYTHING they went through when they discovered they weren't STRAIGHT males at all!

The discussion was fun! It took us only an hour to record the radio program. Yeah yeah yeah, TAKE ONE lang!

We'd like to thank Kauban Earl, Able and Dexter for being our guests. I'm certain that the youth will get something out of what they imparted... especially those who are still in the stage of denial.

Listen to Love Radio107.1 every Friday from nine to ten in the morning. :-)

I'd also like to invite you all to SIGN UP in our official NING tambayan, that's www.iliganspeak.ning.com or you can email us at agakayouth@hotmail.com for your topic concerns and suggestions.

Happy weekend!*

An Afternoon with Anna and Charise

2009-03-22T11:38:00.003+08:00

I am so glad I have friends who can afford to exchange an exam with an hour of FUN! Oh YEAH. I'm supposed to attend a quiz in English2, Anna has her major exam in HRM and Charise still has to deliver an oral presentation in History3 yet when we saw each other at the Mall one Friday afternoon, WE CHANGED OUR MINDS! We ditched those exams. After all, we haven't seen each other for TWO weeks already. Flat. Too bad Jing-jing and Emman missed this GET-TOGETHER brought by mere coincidence. xoxo.

just watched Bridges of Madison County

2009-03-06T14:02:00.003+08:00

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not the man less, but nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Apostrophe to the Ocean from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Canto 4 stanza 178
Lord Byron

Bridges of Madison County starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.That was an awesome movie. Really did touch me. I could perfectly relate to the characters, the love, the pain and the dilemma. Let’s say that, drawing parallel to my life helped me relate to that movie. I am Francesca's husband... Well, to some extent, hehe. I don't know how to make a person feel loved. I'm not the showy type. But I am "uber" faithful just like her (Francesca) husband. Francesca’s story, by the way, read by her grownup children, touches them too and they take stock of their life and start working on their marriage. That was great! The film was directed by Clint Eastwood. Both Meryl and Clint acted so well that I got so involved in the movie.

“In a world full of ambiguity, a certainty like this comes but once in a lifetime” - Clint Eastwood to Meryl Streep in Bridges of Madison County.

Thanks to Sir Jojo for letting me borrow his copy of the movie. Sure made my eyes puffy!

boredom can sometimes entice insanity, hehehe

2009-03-04T21:01:00.004+08:00

this video shows how people end up hosting their own and imaginary tv show because of perpetual boredom during a cozy weekend... voila! here, my ate was flabbergasted yet she managed to pretend to be my guest. hahahah.

KASAMA Senator: More Than Just a Title

2009-03-04T11:33:00.009+08:00

Many won't deny this: most candidates, unconsciously, invested their emotions in the outcome of the campaign. Failure to deal with the right issues such as prejudice, hardcore party affiliation to the extent of patronizing character assasination, mistaken belief that TINGOG was supported by an outside political party and the controlling power of their founder's SPEECH-a-loca were the reasons why everything heated up. We had lapses, too. But we didn't start the fire... Nor ignited anger against anyone. We are Clemente supporters. February 28...most of that day remained a melancholy blur, but one experience left a vivid impression: VP and all Senatoriables won and the party dominated the collegiate run. The silliest prefabricated analysis of the election was the notion of a "failed" TINGOG vote.

But we proved them wrong.

IITians proved them wrong.

Those days are, thank God, finally over.

I'm bound to forget them. No more recycle bins.

New beginnings for KASAMA Senator Maria Isabel Macasieb...

To serve in the KASAMA and IIT is an honor, a privilege, lots of hard work and fun, and just a tremendous opportunity to make a real difference in one of the Philippines' best student bodies. I like to think of it this way--- as a Senator, you are granted the title and the position where you can share whatever expertise and skill you have.

Now, go crazy. Meet phenomenally passionate and talented youth leaders across the country. Cook up whatever ideas you have to advance youth and student involvement---and get them done!

In a nutshell, being a Senator means being more of a deliverer of student services. It needs serious commitment. On top of my personal and social life, I will have to represent the students of IIT.

I know that it is an undertaking that is deemed impossible by those against us. But it is a responsibility that I (and all of us) take very seriously and strive to meet.# (Photo courtesy of Dan Garcia)

Our Deepest Gratitude: Stand-IIT and TINGOG Coalition

2009-02-23T19:54:00.000+08:00

*Congratulations are on!*

Sa tanan candidates sa TINGOG, institute and colleges, congratulations for a job well done! You've proven that this election has not just been a fight but a journey of friendship, loyalty, trust and meaningful changes and growth. Let us not forget that we are not just merely a group... As CASS Vice-Governor elect, Karen, puts it... "We are a FAMILY and a TEAM."

*Ate Joanne's reminders*
Dili magpadala sa position. Value humility. Dili mudako ang ulo dapat sa mga nakadaog. Dapat mupatigbabaw ang students' welfare and interests. Cooperate. Ask help. Seek for guidance and advice magkinaunsa man gani. Remember asa mu gikan--- sa TINGOG. Ang TINGOG nga pureblood... dili mubiya sa iyang kauban, dili pasagdan iyang kauban and ang iyang trabaho, dili mapasagaron and most especially... dedicated sa pagpanerbisyo.

*Kuya Marvin's Turn*
Tabangi ninyo ang usag-usa. Ang sakit raba sa KASAMA, maayo lang sa sugod. You shouldn't be like this. Sustain the energy and the enthusiasm. Remember, one year inyong kadugayon. So, help each other jud. Check each other's performances.

*Official Punching Bag*
Naa ra ko diri if you need my help. Gitagaan ta'g chance sa mga taga IIT. Ayaw i.put to waste. Be committed and loyal to your responsibilities and TINGOG. Kung naay problema, open up. Balance pud ang tanan with your academics. Mga estudyante japon mo. Magtinabangay mo. Kung naa mo sa sakto, barugi inyong prinsipyo. Ayaw kahadlok. Basta, have confidence and trust in yourself. Do good always. Try to be role models. OK man mag lingaw lingaw like nightlife but ibutang sa lugar. Salig ko ninyo.

*Our DEEPEST AND SINCEREST PASASALAMAT*

... Una, kay Lord for being with us in all our undertakings and showering us with countless and priceless blessings,
... Sa mga supporter sa TINGOG nga nituo sa among advocacy and kakayahan,
... Sa mga parents, friends, boardmates and better-halves of the candidates and supporters for helping in the campaign and boosting the morale of the party,
... Sa YAPIS, YES Party, Students' Party, some STAG members, MSU IIT Debate Varsity, STAND-IIT, MASALIGAN-YMCG, ROTARACTORS, Sir Ezra, Sir Buseco, Kuya Long and Kuya Makring and tanan nga nag-endorse sa TINGOG,
... Kang Sir OJ the second for the snacks sa panahon nga maghimo mi'g campaign paraphernalias ug sa hideout,
... Sa mga nitabang ug raise sa funds para magka-tarp lang jud ta,
... Sa mga nag-pray jud sa success sa party and pagka-peaceful sa elections,
... Sa mga VOTERS nga nituo namo sa CASS, CBAA, COE, CSM, SET, SCS and CED,
... Sa mga naningkamot nga makumbinsi ang mga decided and undecided voters nga mubutar sa ato,
... Sa mga nitabang ug bantay during the canvassing,
... Sa mga inspiration sa matag candidate,
... Sa mga incumbent officers and TINGOG members nga wala juy kupas ang suporta labina kang Kuya Marvin Galeos, Ate Keith and her bf, Kuya Earl, Ian and Paul,
... Sa mga SK and MIMSA members, CWTS, ROTC pipz,
... Sa mga generous muhatag ug advice and dili mandaot sa TINGOG,
... Sa mga nalimtan, aw, pasmo na man gud ko, hehe, notify me para ma-edit ni nako kung naa man gani koy nalimtan,
... Ug sa mga wala nibutar sa TINGOG

among mainiton nga pagpasalamat. We couldn't have done this if not for you guys. Salamat jud. Hinaot nga dili lang sa election period taman ang atong panag-uban. Let us cooperate kay ang atong tumong, muhatag ug igong serbisyo sa mga IITians.

*May God Be with us!*

1st Varf Belmonte Cup (Seminar and Training for Debaters and Adjudicators) some moments, anyone?

2009-02-21T16:14:00.001+08:00

The preschool teacher would ask, "What day is today?" And the kids would shout, "Today is Saturday." Heheh.

It felt awkward raising my butt as early as 6:00am. Whew!

*i love debate*
oh yeah, sauna pa. but it's reached another level. why? oh oh oh, i forgot. joke! i'm more passionate with my debate career now because i'm willing to accept that responsibility of continuing the varsity's legacy to IIT and the debating world. let's face it, our Seniors will graduate soon. well, i kinda just realized this a moment ago. I LOVE DEBATE AND MY MIDV FAMILY [plus the "CHANGE THE WORLD" T-shirt]! Hehe...

*i love the debate tournament*
there are cutie adjudicators and debaters... awp! alert!

*good luck to all competing teams!*

*regards to Germaine and Gab. Mwah!*