PNoy is our monarchical symbol.

King PNoy

In light of the flak that the president has been receiving with regard his purported inefficiency as president of the republic, crafty critics has coined the term Noynoying.

Now now... my friend said that what she's happy about is the fact that PNoy has high trust ratings. She sees this as an improvement from GMA's term when the people had very low morale and took on a very 'defeatist' approach in confronting everyday problems.

She went on to say that PNoy symbolizes hope. That said, I was reminded of how monarchies function in other parts of the world. Could it be that PNoy's there to symbolize something good?

Is being a symbol for hope and a better, brighter future enough? Are we ready for a monarchy?

---
Image from Bulatlat.com

Holiday heroics

Great photoshop work replacing Jose Rizal's head with Pacman's

A semester ago I wrote a paper on Rizal and asked street children what to them are heroes. When asked about this, they all replied Rizal, hence, equating a proper name to a certain quality just as other kids would probably say Superman when asked what a hero is, except that Rizal is very real. Now my problem is, is Rizal really real for these kids? Or is he just a fictional comic book character?

~~~

Today we celebrate Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor). It signifies the surrender of the U.S. and Filipino troops in Corregidor. I don't understand why we call it as such when the day's all about surrendering. Why the need to commemorate one's fall? Do we lack victorious moments that we scrimp on other historical moments such as falling just so we be able to celebrate something? Or could it be that there's some wisdom attached to it like courage is not only found in continuous struggle but that it is also apparent in being able to accept defeat? Regardless, the working class see this as a blessing for the very long weekend it allows for them.

Another perspective on voter apathy

Math challenge: Without counting, how many paper hearts can be made
using the campaign materials during the election? 

Aside from the university fair that students zealously await come February, there also is the upcoming election of a new set of student leaders for the university. February could be the love month, but in my university, it's also the campaign period. Around this time, people don't only see red but also see other colors.

Blue, red, and yellow papers litter the campus. An aerial view of Palma Hall for example, would probably provide an interesting collage of colors. Some people start to smile more even if for the rest of the semester s/he didn't pay as much attention as glancing your direction. Sure, election is in the air!

I have so much respect for those people who had enough confidence to come forward and make themselves subject to criticisms and interrogations. It sure isn't easy to go out there and shake hands with people they barely know. They have to make use of the few seconds that they're given in order to establish a connection with the voter. Current strategies include;

1. Room-to-room campaigns/dorm tours
Here, the candidates along with their support group go to a classroom and speak to a population of about 20 to 30 students.

2. Distribution of campaign materials
This may come in the form of pamphlets, flyers, stickers, etc. distributed to students or huge posters and tarpaulins plastered around the campus.

3. Putting up of booths in every college
This is for anyone who wishes to ask some more about the party's GPOA. I think this also serves as a way for them to make themselves more accessible and visible to the voting population.

4. Handshaking
Candidates typically roam around the campus and shake hands with students.

5. New media campaigns
Supporters and/or candidates themselves create Facebook pages and invite others to like their page. Here, they post any information relevant to their campaign. Nice pictures, testimonials, and their projects are described here in detail. Videos that orient the voter what a specific party/candidate stands for also abound.

Aside from these, there are organizations that create a platform for the parties to engage in a healthy debate on a wide range of issues encompassing national politics, current events, and university-related concerns.

I recently got acquainted into another campaign strategy - the bedroom-to-bedroom campaign.

The idea is entertaining to some extent that with the more personal way of relating to the potential voter. But I beg to call it foul. The five campaign strategies they have along with several other talks organized by a third party is enough to say that they are in the air.

I understand the fact that they are driven by the need to make themselves more visible. I would go as far as saying that they believe that they have the best plan hence they have to be heard. I dare not question their sincerity, motives... Granted that they are all there for they believe that they can contribute to the improvement of the students, the university, the nation. I have but one sentiment, this tendency to unscrupulously expose themselves.

The bedroom-to-bedroom campaign, I find insulting as I consider the bedroom a private space where I relax, eat, and simply talk to my roommates. In the morning, we find flyers tacked on our door, that I don't have a problem. But to come to our room in the evening is too much.

The voter is weary. Yes, candidates lose their voice campaigning and the support group spend a considerable amount of time doing the best they can to be of help to the candidates. But it has to be acknowledged that the voter is exposed to a multitude of messages by different parties and individuals everyday. The parties need to be careful in their campaign as they're walking a very thin line.

I have heard so many complaints about low voter turnout during the election day. The voters are usually blamed for being apathetic. BUT, is this really the only reason? I admit that some students I know don't vote because of the lack of time, disinterest to participate, etc. This said, I don't think that the student didn't vote just because of that. It sure is a stock answer to the question "why didn't you exercise your right to vote", even so, parties shouldn't be content to simplify the low voter turnout by blaming the voter's attitude.

A self-check is timely. Did they engage the voter enough? Are their strategies really effective in making their message known? Is overexposure by saturating the environment with too many posters, flyers, and what-not a surefire way to introduce themselves to the voter?

Prospero Pichay didn't win a seat in the senate even if he consistently bombarded the voter with "Pangarap kong tuparin ang mga pangarap ninyo" (it is my dream to make your dreams come true). It helped for recall but it didn't translate to action.

The parties need to recognize that their work and purpose doesn't end in the announcement of winners. They need to be perceptive so as to answer the question what would motivate the preoccupied and weary voter to go out there and vote. A low turnout is not only a case of an apathetic voter, it might also be a case of ineffective, insensitive, and unimaginative campaign strategy.

Nice

By the bench where my friend and I sat, we got into talking about the word 'nice' and how its meaning can be construed in various situations.

We talked about how it probably is just a word to use for lack of anything better to say. It connotes that lukewarm treatment and careful detachment. We came up with several situations to illustrate our point.

photo lifted from here

Case 1. A girl who is going out with a guy carefully planned her outfit for the night. As she descends the stairs and approaches the guy, the guy tells her 'you look nice'. It actually could be the worst thing in the world to hear. Nice is used to coat any unpleasant feeling without really overcoating it.

Case 2. When a professor says that an idea I just shared in class was nice, I feel queasy. It meant to me like it never really means anything. Something the professor says out of courtesy of my effort to participate in the class discussion. 

Case 3. That nice feeling. Nice feelings aren't the ones that make you blush. A nice feeling is that comfortable feeling you get when you think you have done something right but wished to do otherwise. 

Case 4. A nice poem. A nice poem is neither ugly nor beautiful. A nice poem neither wins a Palanca nor gets published in a legitimate literary journal. A nice poem is placed on something irrelevant to be talked about for a while then forgotten. That's a nice poem.

Case 5. A nice person. Same with the nice poem, a nice person doesn't become a despot or a Ramon Magsaysay awardee. A nice person is someone you hang out with sometimes to feel... nice. Nice person doesn't challenge your opinion. Nice person is just there when you need someone who would be... nice with you coz nice person always says nice things. The moment you figure things out, you hang out with nice person less. That's a nice person's fate. Oh... and you don't really fall headlessly in love with nice people, you just settle into that nice stability that only nice people can give. If it's a good thing or a bad thing, only time can tell.

I'm pretty sure nice isn't intended to mean this way but when used in certain situations, it certainly appears to be this distant. Like how little something is thought of. An absent regard for something one has done would get this remark. 

More often than not, nice is only just another way to say that a person (or an idea) is second-rate and... much as I hate to use this word...dispensable.

james soriano and his thoughts on the common juan and the learned john

a few days before buwan ng wika ends, james soriano wrote a 'pahabol' commentary on the filipino language in his column ithink in manila bulletin that easily became the hot topic following mideo cruz's painting and chris lao's flood incident. i honestly don't know what to make of it because i can't be so sure what his original intention was; was it to poke fun at the filipino language by relegating it as the language of the streets? was it to glorify his upbringing as a child coming probably from an urban middle class household that uses english as the first language? was it meant as a form of irony on how widespread the use of english language is and how little filipinos use our national language?

regardless of his intention, he was able to create an excuse for readers to talk about filipino as a language. had it not been for him, facebook/twitter news feeds would be swarmed by 'what i ate today' statuses. with that, congratulations are due to this certain james soriano. good job on creating the article that reminded us of this long-standing debate on the relationship between language and identity.

i can't blame soriano for reflecting that the filipino language is a chore, after all, how many of us as students ourselves hated filipino as a subject back in elementary and high school? how many of us hated how long filipino words are and how difficult they are to shorten compared to english that when we text we type in 'bye' instead of 'paalam' or 'tnx' instead of 'salamat'. however, i almost choked on my coffee in the way he related the language to a society that is almost uncivilized by way of saying these;

"We used to think learning Filipino was important because it was practical: Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets: it was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed “sundo na.”


These skills were required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of this world. If we wanted to communicate to these people — or otherwise avoid being mugged on the jeepney — we needed to learn Filipino."

seriously, i expected better from someone who was given a space in manila bulletin (or any newspaper for that matter). the way he formulated the sentences was too insensitive not only to the language that helped him 'survive' in this world but also to the 'tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of the world'. i'm sure he won't mind being labelled a jerk and shit-faced by netizens for it.

forced is such a strong word to use to describe his interaction with the tinderas, manongs, and the katulongs of the world. it leaves a bitter aftertaste to the mouth when used altogether to talk about relating to these people. wala man lang ba pa-thank you kay manong na sumusundo sa kanya araw-araw, kahit anong oras basta 'sang text niya lang kahit na pagod na si manong? wala man lang ba recognition sa katulong nila sa bahay na linggu-linggong nililinis ang kwarto niya at nilalabhan ang mga damit niya? those small things though they do it in exchange for money, isn't he even grateful enough that those people are there to make his life easier? sana, before choosing the words he took all these into consideration. but whatever. his article is a testament of our sosyal problem - filipino as the language of juan, the common man while english belonged to john, the privileged few. ain't that view already too old to still be widely held? with that, i must say that there really is something wrong with the way we view our national language.

tonyo cruz made a good point by commenting that he might have been just a victim of this convoluted belief that the use, conventional pronunciation, and mastery (yes, the three are requisite adjectives) of the english language is a sign of sophistication and intellect (at least here in the philippines) - the learned john as compared to the common juan.

this guy is to be pitied really, for after so many years of education his view on the dynamics of the two languages remained the same. why after so much experience his approach to language and his views of its function is very limited.

but more than pitying this guy, it should also make us wary of what his article is telling us - the unequal value placed on the two languages and on a macro level, how and where the language is used becomes some sort of a cue card to know which class a person belongs to and where he/she is doing that exchange and with whom.

as a final note, a huge thank you to james soriano for his article that spoke volumes of how little progress the country has made over the years. hundreds of years have passed since the colonial rule and yet the belief that one language is better than the other still reigns. the article, on the very least, underscored the challenge to level both languages - neither putting them above nor below each other.

p.s. the article has been taken by mb but nothing really disappears permanently over the internet so here's a link of the article soriano wrote for ithink, http://rodmagaru.com/2011/08/26/james-sorianos-ithink/

Being poor in UP

A semester from now and I can finally call myself a UP graduate. I held on to the beautiful promise a UP education could give me; a good job that would allow me to help my parents put my brothers (I have 2) through college, a distinguished name for myself in our barrio (as most of my kababarrio find it hard to go to college because of economic realities), and a chance to learn from the people whose names I only read in textbooks and newspapers or watch on tv. The assurance of a life much better than the one I've always known has pushed me (and is still pushing me) to endure all the challenges that comes alongside choosing to study in an expensive school (in my family's capacity).

After all, what would I, a girl from an unheard of barrio, be had I not taken the risk and defied the laws of gravity by coming to Manila to study? I was even mistaken for a bisaya househelp by an airport security guard who helpfully showed me the way to the queue for a cheap, non-airport taxi. Five years after, I can still recall that incident. A lot has happened since then. I learned how to fix myself in a way that would make me not stand out so much in a crowd. I learned to at least "belong". 

Much of my stay in college is marred by days when I didn't have much money in my pocket except for that candy wrapper. I always had to work. I jokingly tell my friends that I am the founder of private English teaching to Koreans. I was 16 when I braved the yet unknown to me Commonwealth Avenue to look for people who would take a chance on a public-schooled girl who was never able to read any high school classic readings like Beowulf or never had the chance to read Harry Potter in the comfort of her room until the pirated e-book versions came. There were times when getting a reading was hard I always had to borrow photocopies from my friend. There also were countless times when I had to borrow my friend's laptop just so I can type an essay due since going to a computer shop would mean I have to spend more than Php 20 just to type it out. My computer skills then was really bad. With a Bachelor of Arts undergrad, scholarships are hard to come by too. 

I cannot complain because I chose UP. So instead of crying (though I drop a tear or two in the safety of the comfort room as I defecate), I had to put on this "all is well" look. And though I have really understanding friends, it is hard to explain poverty to them who don't find it hard to photocopy a bunch of readings or buy a required book. In my first few years in UP, I sometimes asked why I had to be poor. At times when I am hormonal I even give in to tears. I wondered why did I choose to study in UP Diliman when I can go to an affordable state university in Davao City. The answer to that is still unknown to me and can only be determined by what happens to me in the next few years. 

Hardships here has tempered my otherwise emotional tendencies. Instead of wanting an ear to share my pains with, I kept mum and worked hard for the things that I need in school. When I see another UP student who does not find it hard to get copies of required readings, I learned to shrug it off. If this is a good thing or not, I don't know. But it has kept me sane throughout the years. 

I have no aversion directed to rich people studying in UP. It's just sad that the number of poor students studying here is not proportional to the actual number of poor people in the Philippines. I feel that the poor are outnumbered by the rich here when in reality, the poor outnumbers the rich. This is not to deny those who can afford a quality education; this is to bemoan the unequal access to quality education. 

It's still an honor to graduate in this institution that prioritizes honor and excellence more than anything else. To all those poor kids like me who want to study here (should there be any poor kid left dreaming of a UP education), prepare yourself to four years or more of paid work while in college. At times you would want to surrender but the world still turns and you can't be left behind. 

(note: I'm a bit busy right now so I'll write more about survival tips in a few days)

Rizal lifeline

Rizal is such a versatile personality that anyone, for any purpose, reinterpret his life, decisions, and writings based on intended effects. I am subject to that now. I haven't done 'reinterpretations' yet but I'm afraid I'm being utilitarian by reading him (or things about him) like a lifeline.

I am aware that a lot of people have it worse than I do, like those kids from Norway scarred by that crazy man who gunned down everyone that he saw or those children in conflict-affected areas who are not sure if they can see the light of day by tomorrow (I doubt if they want morning to ever come). Reading Rizal is therapeutic. It gives me a great sense of relief that great people like him were in a way or another just like me.

It's really great that Rizal kept his diaries, letters, etc. for the world to see. If not for that, we will be left to speculate about his life. But then, even if we have it, we still speculate and spin away so many theories about how he is as a son, friend, lover. All that he has left were really helpful to craft an image of a Rizal that we like to imagine.

Looking at him now through the eyes of my professor make my Saturdays easily the best and the only day I look forward for in the week. Things aren't going so well for me these days that I am comforted to be transported into Rizal's world, at least for a couple of hours.

Girl meets girl

Stayed with my friend for most time yesterday and had a fantastic time talking about the very thing that eludes us both, love.

Cheers to love!

The strip was created by my talented friend, the same person I spent time with yesterday.

Her musings can be read here.

Body art.

No I'm not talking about body painting where some girls get naked and wear only body paints as 'coverings'. I just realized that I want a tattoo. Years back I went to a talk with a friend because they said that there'll be free henna tattoo after. Curious and bored, I pestered my friend into coming with me for the talk. We were on the same floor where the event is happening, so why not, right?

Michael Andrada (one of the most loved profs in my university because of his intelligence, humor, and friendliness [he always says hi to his students and never finds it difficult to smile first to his former students! talk about awesome!]) gave a cultural perspective to the talk where he mentioned how important for it for the men in the northern part of the Philippines to have a tattoo as it is a status symbol. I cannot remember quite well but it goes like the more tattoo you have, the higher your status is. What's interesting is that it's a sort of a test for manhood too as the number of tattoos you have on your body is indicative of your level of pain threshold. Maybe that's why a lot of guys are addicted to tattoos. Tattoos, in my opinion, may stand for many things; boldness, hotness, courage, or rebellion. Whatever it is, it looks cool to me. Other than cool, it gives you something to remember to mark an important event in your life. Just look at how Angelina Jolie famously has so much tattoo on her body. The most interesting for me being the geographical coordinates where she got her adopted children from.

A friend of mine tattooed the name of his partner in his *believe me you don't want to imagine where*. I just hope that they don't break-up because his body may look like a memorial park with all his ex-partners on it if it becomes a way for him to show his affection. One guy from a jeepney (this story was told by C) had his girlfriend's name tattooed repeatedly all over his body. His legs, arms, and face had 'Kate' tattooed on it. Talk about looking like a living Louis Vuitton bag. :/

During our high school reunion, I saw two of my batchmates sporting tattoos. I secretly liked the one with a tattoo on his neck better. It's dreadful to imagine how the tattoo artist had to run over the needles through his neck but it looks really good on him.

Most recently, T decided to have a tattoo too, on her chest! It was a Chinese character which means love. The tattoo made her all the more attractive in a badass way. You know the tank top wearing hot girl with a black bomber jacket? That's T.

Love in Chinese

Another friend of mine, V has tribal designs and inscriptions on her arms and nape. I like how I feel when I look at her tattoos because it brings me back to the time when we had a different alphabet and makes me think of how awesome it might have been if we had our own writing system. We'll probably have difficulty learning English as was demonstrated by Thais, Cambodians but if my country's as rich or is richer than Japan is (or was?) then everyone will have to learn my writing system. How terrific is that? The world making an effort to understand my country's language rather than take my language for granted just because the country speaks and understands English. English has its perks, I know, but it feels great when someone from a different country makes an effort to learn to speak a couple of sentences in my language.

What am I getting at? Goldfish slap slap

I want a tattoo too!!!except that...

• I'm scared of the pain. And the needle (the last time I had my blood drawn I got sick right after). 
• I'm pretty sure my father will freak out.
• To get a good (this means safe and hygienic in my dictionary) tattoo, money is needed. And right now, I'm a pauper. It would probably take my 3 months worth of weekly allowance before I can go to a decent (this means safe and hygienic in my dictionary) tattoo shop.
• I heard about tattoos making it difficult for anyone who wishes to leave my country (especially for the States) to get a visa. I still haven't confirmed this but just to be safe. 

If in case I do get one (in the farthest possible future), I'd probably place it on my left hand in between my thumb and my point finger. In alibata, I would like to have the word 'tibay' (strength) or 'tapang' (courage), I'm still thinking over the gravity of the two words, to remind me whenever I write (which would hopefully be most of the time someday) of these two important things that would get me through life.

mga bagay na nagsisimula sa P: pag-uusap, posporo, at pangarap

Sa pag-uusap namin ng aking kaibigan, merong mga bagay na matagal ko nang iniisip na nagawan ko ng kongkretong plano sa tulong ng inspirasyon mula sa aming pag-uusap. Hindi ko na muna isisiwilat kung ano ang mga iyon sa takot na baka mabulilyaso pa. Mapamahiin kasi akong tao pagdating sa mga bagay na may kinalaman sa goals, plano, at mga pangarap.

Bago ako makarating sa Malaysia, ang tanging pinangarap ko lang ay yumaman. Handa akong gawin kung ano ang sa tingin ko ay nararapat para lamang makamit ito. Hindi parin ito nagbabago. Subalit, dahil sa dami ng oras ko rito para mag-isip at magbasa ng kung anu-ano at makipag-usap sa kung sinu-sinong tao, meron akong mga napagtanto.

Kaya ko gustong yumaman dahil ayaw kong danasin habang ako'y nabubuhay kung ano man ang dinaranas ko ngayon. Saka na ang buong detalye kapag mayaman na talaga ako para mas maganda ang kwento. Gusto ko ring yumaman para makapagtapos ang mga kapatid ko sa kursong gusto nila. At panghuli, kaya ko gustong yumaman para makapagtayo ng kung anu-anong negosyo at makabili ng mga lupain.

Wala parin namang nagbago. Sa pagyaman ko, ito ang gusto kong gawin muna. Pero hindi pala sapat para sa akin ang mga ganitong hangarin lamang. Napakababaw para sa isang taong hinubog ng sari-saring ideolohiya ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas.

Meron pa akong gustong gawin maliban sa mga ito. At ito ang dagdag pang bala para mas itulak ko pa ang sarili patungo sa gusto kong marating.

Ito ang magiging dahilan kung bakit manonood ako ng mga pelikulang hindi naman ako masyadong interesado, magbabasa ng iba pang mga aklat maliban sa kasalukuyan kong binabasa, at mag-iinternet hindi lamang para makapag-Facebook.

Ngayon ko lang nadama ang ganitong uri ng motibasyon. Makeso man kung pakinggan pero ito na yata ang apoy na matagal ko nang hinahanap. Kung saan-saan pa kasi ako naghanap ng posporo.

Scaredy cat

Kung tutuusin, hindi naman talaga kailangang ikatakot ito. Sa pagkakaalam ko, pangarap ng lahat ng estudyante na makapag-aral under very chill circumstances. Sa lagay ko ngayon, sobrang chill na. Yumeyelo pa nga. 

Bakit nga ba ako natatakot? 

Kasi baka masanay e.

Sa UP kasi lahat ng tao harassed. Me kanya-kanyang magulong mundo, ke acads, love life, trabaho, pamilya, kasarian, etc. Sa kinaroroonan ko ngayon, wala masyado. Masaya ang lahat. Tahimik ang klase, tumitingin sa lupa ang mga babae habang tumatawa, halos lahat me kotse, at libre ang internet. 

Isa sa mga pinagkakaabalahan ko rito, kung meron man ay ang pagpaparaktis na magsulat gamit ang Filipino dahil sa sobrang pangungulila ko. Kailan ba huli kong ginamit ang Filipino maliban sa pagkanta ng mga OPM? Pangalawa ay ang pagbabasa ng kung anu-anong balita. Sa Inquirer, sa PEP. Ang labo kasi ng linya sa pagitan ng dalawa e - pulitika at showbiz. Basa ko abala na ang lahat ng kandidato para sa nalalapit na eleksyon. For once, gusto kong maging proud na Pinoy ako hindi lang dahil sa magandang kasaysayan kundi dahil na rin sa kung paano umunlad ang Pinas matapos ang mahabang taon ng paghihirap. Pangatlo, pag-eexploit sa libreng internet. Grabe lang. Hindi ko naisip na napakalaking bagay pala ng libreng internet  para sa mga mag-aaral (sa susunod na blog ko na tatalakayin kung bakit).

Pag-uwi kong Pinas, paniguradong maninibago ako sa kung gaano kabilis ang lahat. 

Dito kasi aabutin ka ng siyam siyam bago makasakay ng bus. Sa Pilipinas, makita lang ng mga driver ang anino mo, maghihintuan na lahat. Bubusinahan ka pa. Tapos pagsakay mo di dapat pagirl kasi baka maiwan ang isang bahagi ng katawan mo. Eto pa, ang mga studyante rito submissive to the nth power. Wala naman sigurong masama sa pagiging submissive pero kung ang paglawig ng kaalaman ang pakay mo, malamang hindi pwedeng tangu lang ng tango. Pag-uwi kong Pinas sari-saring competing ideas ang maririnig ko sa klase. Merong mga opinyong state-side, pinas-side, at paside-side (di alam kung saan pero go lang ng go sa pagsasalita papanig sa kung saan ang mas profitable na panigan). Wala na rin palang libreng internet pag-uwi ko ano pero meron nang bagong presidente. Di man lang ako makaboto.  Sana yung bagong presidente makagawa ng paraan para maging libre na ang internet sa mga state u. 

Siguro di na lang muna ako mag-iisip at mag-aalala sa kung paano papatayin ng acads sa UP pag-uwi ko. Enjoy na lang muna. Pagaling magsulat ng Filipino para naman sa susunod na magsulat ako, hindi ko na kailangang mamroblema pa kung ano sa Filipino ang "submissive".