Arwee?

Stream of consciousness

- used to chronicle the thoughts and feelings of the main character in a story as the character passes through a series of experiences. The character’s mind becomes the stage, looking at trivial thoughts and mental reactions. Details, moods,and analyses of the character, while jerky, are focused on.

(www.daffodil.ca/english/glossary_of_literary_terms_dir/glossary_of_literary_terms_5.html)

Just came from exercise. Back to zero after a torpid and aerobically listless May. Walked briskly around the oval for around 30 minutes. Will do it again tomorrow. Because I’m fat. There I said it. But being fatter doesn’t change the fact that I’m enormously famous and cute… and desperately trying to cover up the fact that I’m fatter with hyperbole and delusion. (Sige na nga, slightly famous and fantastically super cute na lang…)

May Jelly Tongue Apple na ulit sa Bacolod. Wanted to right about that but I kept on forgetting. Life is betterer with Jelly Tongue. I’d make a great copy writer… not.

Did my version of office work. Repurposed some graphics to become wallpaper, requested 3 giant Brother tarps for printing, sent several email, procrastinated.

Cross-country in the early morning. Came from wet Lipa, left around 4am to bring the birthday boy, my soul Brother batch mate, Richie to the airport. He flew off to GenSan. Arrived in Green Hills around 6:30am.

Today, I found out that the Lozada kids are fellow Avatar fans. Although it was a bit embarrassing to find out that I was more a fanatic than they were. Imagine, a 32-year-old professional-celibate follower-of-a-French-founder cross-dresser slash illegal recruiter being more knowledgeable in cartoons than kids who are barely into their puberty. But that is the beauty of life…

Anyway, I gave myself only a few minutes to meander in the stream of my murky consciousness… more streaming tomorrow…

Welcome back to school everyone…

P.S. Multiply is experiencing strangeness… my home page isn’t rendering properly… reverted to a non-CSS linear format while waiting for them to sort it out…

This prayer was first used at the launching of De La Salle Philippines back in June 2007. It has since then been shown on TV in the form of a short ad, distributed in small cards to all the District schools, printed in various media, used in our statement last December 2007 and lately, by Mr. Jun Lozada in his short speech in the mass at La Salle Greenhills this February 17, 2008.

Read it, make a copy so you can take it with you wherever you go. Share it with your friends, family, classmates and with the people you meet everyday. Let this little prayer go a long way in changing our lives…

Let us begin the change we want to see… Animo La Salle!

Lord, let me be the change I want to see
To do with strength and wisdom
All that needs to be done
And become the hope that I can be.

Set me free from my fears and hesitations.
Grant me courage and humility.
Fill me with spirit to face the challenge
And start the change I want to see.

Today, I start the change I want to see.
Even if I’m not the light, I can be the spark.
In faith, service and communion
Let us start the change we want to see,
The change that begins in me.

Live Jesus in our hearts forever!

Sharing at the Chapel of the Pearl of Great Price, De La Salle University-Manila,
January 24, 2008

Prudence.

Thought #1:
I was woefully unprepared for my trip up the mountain… [DUH.]

Next time, I will remember to bring the following things:   

• A real hiking backpack - waterproof, mud-worthy and ergonomic.   
• Hiking up a mountain is literally a backbreaking experience. A chest-strap and a waist-strap will keep the weight of the pack where it’s supposed to be–somewhere around your core… as opposed to your upper back and shoulders. It’ll allow you to carry more stuff safely… stuff like more water and the rest of the things I’ll be mentioning…
• Hiking up a mountain in the rain is literally a backbreaking and a dirty experience. When you finally reach the top and you have to set up camp. It’s very hard to set-up camp with your pack on your back. You have to set it down somewhere… somewhere clean preferably. But in the absence of a clean somewhere, you’ll have to put your bag down in the mud. So get a bag that is easy to clean… this is one particular instance where natural fibers are not better than synthetic fibers…
• However, if you don’t have enough money for a real backpack… you can affix straps to your existing straps (around the chest and near the waist) and you should bring…   
• Garbage bags… lots of garbage bags - Yes, that’s not exactly earth-friendly but they’re the novice hiker’s best friends. They’re extremely versatile and can be used as:
  
• a backpack rainguard: If you don’t have money for a “real” backpack, you can approximate its water-proof-ness by creatively wrapping your “fake” backpack with one or two garbage bag/s. That’s what I did. You can also keep your clean clothes and other paraphernalia dry and clean by putting them in these beautiful black bags.    •   
  
• One should also bring a waterproof jacket but if you ignore your gut feel as I did (sabi ko sa sarili ko baka hindi naman siguro uulan sa bundok… shows you what I know), you can fashion a semblance of a waterproof jacket with a trash bag… preferably the same one that you used to cover your “fake” backpack. This is where several other garbage bags come in handy. (It’s very Project Runway, if you ask me.)
• Butt guard: Let’s work with the following assumptions:    ⁃ 
  
• The Philippines is a tropical country prone to rainshowers and thunderstorms.
• This phenomenon is more felt in elevated areas such as mountains. These elevated areas generate their own weather patterns independent of what’s happening in the plains.
• Therefore, the ground in these elevated areas is, obviously, very very wet.
• This means that you have to have extra protection from ground moisture. Even if you’re “safely” ensconced in your tent, it isn’t enough to keep the water out.
• A garbage bag, after being a rainguard and a waterproof jacket, is an excellent way of keeping your butt dry
• Anti-mud foot forcefield (something like that): There are people who do not wish to spend time taking off the mud and dirt that your feet inevitably attract in the moist muddy mountains. A student actually wrapped his feet in garbage bags to keep his feet clean… but he also realized that:
• plastic bags on feet + mud + slippers + going down the moist muddy mountains = certain slippery death
  …so he had to bemuddy his feet on the way down.
• Replacement for tent flysheet: Because people inevitably misplace this important piece of the tent set… and because you don’t want to get wet in the middle of the night.

TO BE CONTINUED…

LET US START THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE
La Salle Green Hills Retreat House
National Heroes Day
30 November 2007
 
To all Filipinos of goodwill,
 
Profoundly disturbed by recent events, we the De La Salle Brothers of the
Philippines, have decided as a body to exercise our vocation as teachers and
guides by raising our voices in protest at the moral degeneration that has
infiltrated almost every aspect of public life since we called for a restoration of
faith in democracy in 2005.
 
In July of that year, we and our colleagues issued a public statement in response
to the crisis brought on by the Garcillano tapes and the ensuing controversies
surrounding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  At that time, we spoke out as
educators, charged with the moral guidance of the young and concerned with
upholding the values of honesty, integrity and truthfulness in public life and civil
society.  In that statement, we affirmed the principle that moral ascendancy is a
critical ingredient to effective governance, and warned that a leadership without
moral authority cannot realistically command the respect of a nation.  Today, two
years later, we are alarmed and ashamed that the situation has increasingly
worsened. The signs of moral disintegration abound:
 
• the escalating number of acts of violence against journalists, leftists and
members of the legal opposition, which according to a report of the UN
Human Rights Council representative have been perpetrated by some
elements in the military;
• unresolved anomalies in government, including the aborted ZTE-NBN deal
and the fertilizer scam, which involve billions of pesos in public funds;
• the large amounts of cash distributed in brown bags to some lawmakers at
Malacañang just as impeachment moves were being initiated and firmed
up in Congress and the facile efforts to hide the truth about their origins
and purpose;
• concerted efforts among some lawmakers and government officials to
block attempts at establishing truth and securing accountability;
• the corruption of the electoral system as manifested in various anomalies
related to the last national elections.
 
The net effect of these, together with past anomalies, has been to further
undermine confidence in practically every institution of government. Widespread
despair with these existing institutions can only spawn violence and increasing
military adventurism.  We need only think of the fiasco at the Manila Peninsula on
29 November 2007 to see that this is so.
 
What is even more lamentable is the degree to which many Filipinos have
become desensitized to the stench of corruption because of the unending stream
of government-related scams, cover-ups and scandals.  The unwillingness of the
public to engage in peaceful public exercises of moral outrage and to support
calls for government accountability bespeak a weary cynicism and loss of hope in
all possibility of meaningful change that is especially alarming for us as educators. 
This retreat from civic responsibility bodes ill for the future.  This is perhaps our
generation’s greatest crime: to rob our people, especially our youth, of the
conviction that noble ideals are worth every sacrifice and that moral principles
must prevail in public life.
 
For these reasons, even if it amounts to no more than a voice crying out in the
wilderness, we, the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippines, feel the need to
proclaim once again the same values we espoused in 2005: truth, justice,
honesty and integrity.  Without these, no government can be trusted, and where
there is no trust, governance degenerates into bribery and intimidation.
 
We join in the call of courageous religious leaders and of proven men and
women of conscience who seek a moral revolution.  But if such a call is to
become more than mere lip-service, we must translate it into effective action on
behalf of the values we espouse, keeping in mind the legal framework of the
Constitution.  We call on men and women of goodwill to act now to make real the
change they want to see.  
 
To all parents, teachers, pastors, religious and all those charged with the moral
formation of youth: God has given us the extraordinary privilege of mentoring the
young and laying the foundations of our country’s future.  Let us not betray God’s
trust.  Let us teach the young that what is happening today is wrong.  Let us
teach them that a life without moral virtue or principle is no life at all, but a
subhuman existence unworthy of their dignity as children of God.  Let us teach
them that we are all answerable to God for what we have made, not just of our
lives, but also of our nation.  Let us teach them, as one man showed us years
ago, that the Filipino is worth dying for.
 
To all Filipino workers here and abroad, farmers and fisherfolk, men and women
in business, entrepreneurs and professionals: your efforts and earnings sustain
the economic and political life of our country.  In solidarity with one another,
demand more from this government.  Come together to hold this country’s
leadership accountable for their stewardship of the taxes you pay.  Demand that
every centavo be properly allocated and accounted for.  Demand transparency
and fairness in all business transactions.  Consider the long-term goals and voice
your displeasure at lost opportunities and the abuses that squander our nation’s
wealth to the detriment of all, especially the poor.
 
To all artists, poets, writers and media practitioners: you are the vanguards of
culture. You bear the great responsibility of ennobling the soul and creating a
culture supportive of truth, justice and respect for human dignity.  Focus on this
task.  Create visions and words that inspire and move our people to live up to
what is best in them.
 
To all our men and women in uniform: our hearts go out to you for the ready
sacrifices you have made again and again in the service of our nation.  We
acknowledge with gratitude the selflessness many of you have shown again and
again.  Remember that you are called to be defenders of the Constitution and
protectors of human rights.  Please do not fail in this charge.  Let it be clear,
however, that we do not condone military adventurism for it is inconsistent with
the basic democratic values we hold dear.
 
To all civil servants, legislators and government workers: we believe that you
also dream of a better nation for our children.  We beg you to resist the culture of
corruption.  Help us build a future full of hope for our children.
 
To all our alumni and alumnae: we encourage you to take cognizance of the
education you have received from La Salle all these years.  As dark clouds hover
in the horizon, we challenge you to and make a difference.  Take heart from your
fellow alumnus, Jose W. Diokno, and his vision of “a free nation, where men and
women and children from all regions and with all kinds of talents may find truth
and play and sing and laugh and dance and love without fear…”
 
We end this statement by sharing with you, our fellow Filipinos, this prayer of
hope as we, the De La Salle Brothers look to 2011, the 100th year of the
Lasallian ministry of education in the Philippines: 
 
Lord, let me be the change I want to see
To do with strength and wisdom
All that needs to be done
And become the hope that I can be.
 
Set me free from my fears and hesitations.
Grant me courage and humility.
Fill me with spirit to face the challenge
And start the change I want to see.
 
Today, I start the change I want to see.
Even if I’m not the light, I can be the spark.
In faith, service and communion
Let us start the change we want to see,
The change that begins in me.
 

Tiring day today.

Accompanied the Grade 3 students to the Redemptorist Church for their First Communion Practice. That’s a brisk 5-minute walk if you’re by yourself but it takes fooooooreeeeeveeeer if you have to take along almost all of the Grade 3 students. You cross the street once and you have to pass by several internet cafes and a host of other stores and eateries. Add to that the collective curiousity of more than a hundred children to that mix and you see why I say it’ll seem like forever.

We started our journey around 8:15 and we went back by 11:30… in between, my task was to keep the boys from being too frisky during the practice and to try to channel all that pent up energy into singing and responding.

Suffice it to say that I was on red alert all throughout the practice and that I was the bad guy the whole time.

Ironic as it may sound I am at my strictest and meanest during masses with the students. I have to be the one to remind them that we aren’t in a playground but that we should be happy because we are meeting God in a very special way. Tough job.

As soon as we got to USLS, I immediately went on lunch patrol after buying my customary jelly tongue and a not-so-customary mango shake because the walk home with the most energetic and hyperactive boys took a lot out of me. I started with Grade 1 and worked my way up to high school…

All in all… I was on my feet from 8:00 to 1:30… around 5 hours…

After eating lunch, I promptly collapsed on my bed… but had to be up and about by 3 to meet with some college students….

By 4, I was in the high school in a meeting with the Gr. 11 teacher who will go to the Gr. 11 field trip to Bohol and Cebu… more yaya duty for me…

Then I dropped by the grade school to practice the caroling songs with the teachers… in Hiligaynon… didn’t understand most of it but I think I was able to follow our tune…

Finally, I went to the waiting areas to mingle with the students waiting for their sundo…

Now, after taking a bath, I will sleep…

It’s good to be home.

Am back in Manila! Am at my ancestral (naks!) home in Ayala Alabehng Geelage… am down with cough and cold (story to follow).

A quick thank you to the following:

Br. Dodo Fernandez (Brother Provincial of the soon-to-be-dissolved District of the Philippines) : for suggesting that I go to India and making it possible for me to go.

Kim Dy-Liacco Jeremiejczyk (Marketing Director for La Salle College of the Arts, Singapore): for taking me around the cool school where she studied and works in (see pictures… pray that I get to post the pics fast). Animo Zobel!

Anyway, will eventually provide more details… sensory overload… need time to process and categorize info…

Basta… galeng pareh!!!

My visit to DLSASMC’s workshop reminded me of my PracArts days in Zobel.

I never really appreciated Practical Arts back in Grade School and High School. I consistently was mediocre… in gardening (marcotting, grafting, plot-making, plant growing), drafting (isometric, 2pt/3pt perspective), woodworking, crafts (silk-screening, paperweight making) and automotive ekek.

Now that I’m waaay older, I know the value of developing your skills in working with your hands. There’s a certain freedom that one has if one is able to make things on his own. You’re not a slave to market forces and capitalist machinery. You can make what you want when you want it and how you want it to look, sound, feel, taste, etc.You could make a tshirt with your own design printed on the front (or any other part of the shirt, for that matter), you could alter existing clothes to suit your taste, you’d be able to build furniture that matches your exact specifications… the bottom ine is that you’d be able to do more with less…

I really should learn to buckle down and devote some of my time and effort in learning a particular skill. It’s a matter of self-discipline… something that I have yet to fully develop.