A year older.
Then, the most amount of rainfall in four decades happened. Wow! That's something in a very bad way.
What happened? Why did Metro Manila go through that? The usual culprits are global warming, corrupt officials and litterbugs.
Serious?
I mean, what about the quality of planning? or greed? As in - corporate greed!
Government exists, it seems, nowadays, to motivate economic activity. And by that, we mean business. The whole business system in designed to produce profit. Currently, a short-term kind. A kind that the PSE-philes follow, promote and hail as models worthy of emulation.
Nothing wrong with profit as long as we can put an apt accounting number on trees lost, on waterways abused and rising cancer incidence in the Philippines.
Serious, how much did we lose as a nation to produce a 7.6% GDP growth? What about a 15% growth in corporate profits? or 25% in top line growth?
And here's another thing, if the government spent money, in terms of relief goods and services in situations like these, is that money spent included in the GDP number? Seriously. Is it?
How much did we take from the future generation to produce the profit that we enjoy now? Of which by the way, we use to import goods. So in a sense, wealth that was created here is actually shipped again to where we import the goods. So, bottomline - wealth is lost again = )
Let's think about this for a moment.
What drives the decisions of policy makers? Economic activity? Does increased economic activity equates to the welfare of the Filipino people?
I mean, GDP has been growing ever since Apo died but the floods are really getting scarier. The number of deaths are increasing.
What gives?
Can business systems be in harmony with ecological systems?
If so, is it even discussed with passion and a sense of urgency in the classrooms of our future leaders? Of our current politicians?
What about asking our present crop of presidentiables on what will they do in their first 100 days in the office to solve this kind of problems? Or why don't we ask them what do they think is the country's top 3 problems and what will they do, as in a concrete 100 day schedule, once elected? Are they ready for that? Will their surnames be ready for that? Will their past accomplishment be ready for that? Will their ivy league education be ready for that?
I'm just angry.
Now, that the anger is expressed - let me think so that I can act and do something about this in my own little way = )
"... why think like mere men?"
Monday
the drawn line
For IE302
Miggy, take the finals for the experience
Lyndon, 32
Stebe Nash, 48
Cute Ako, 39
Keyboard, 24
Andrea, 50
BeepBeep, 13
Susan Roces, 35
Bogart, 39
Zafron, 28
Miggy Monte Negro, 39
Virus, 30
Anti-Virus, take the finals for the experience
Ginger, 30
Stripes, 45
Shang, 33
ezm26, 35
juni, 26
Rogue, 33
Black, 41
Gwapo, take the finals for the experience
Operation Research, 32
Miggy, take the finals for the experience
Lyndon, 32
Stebe Nash, 48
Cute Ako, 39
Keyboard, 24
Andrea, 50
BeepBeep, 13
Susan Roces, 35
Bogart, 39
Zafron, 28
Miggy Monte Negro, 39
Virus, 30
Anti-Virus, take the finals for the experience
Ginger, 30
Stripes, 45
Shang, 33
ezm26, 35
juni, 26
Rogue, 33
Black, 41
Gwapo, take the finals for the experience
Operation Research, 32
Sunday
the bright one
No names here. Just an event called disappointment.
I once said that failure is an event. Never a person. I guess that will also have to go for disappointment, too.
It was promising. But I guess, the student never had the courage to put everything together to make the presentation a coherent whole. Maybe the whole process never gave the student the chance to be courageous.
There were bright spots but that's the thing. Those were just spots. I was not hoping for spots. I was hoping for a beautiful whole. The student is suppose to be way past beautiful spots. The student was suppose to be in scenic grandeur. Graduation after all is a mere few weeks away = )
But please do not get me wrong. This student has a bright future ahead. But I guess, the student is not yet ready for the responsibility of the accolades given. I hope, the student remains a student and not be mesmerize by the titles that will be showered.
I guess in the student's mind, the acts and the decisions taken during the presentation was logical. Maybe even right.
In my opinion, a student defense did not happen that afternoon. Well, physically there was one. I mean, the laptop was there. The LCD was there. The presentation was there. The panel was there. The adviser was there. The student was there. The very act of presentation was there. But there was no defense.
It was close to a rout.
I guess the student was simply being respectful but it could also be construed that the student does not know the presentation. Or maybe, the student did not have enough courage to speak for one's self. Or maybe, I am simply biased on how I see courage. Or maybe the plan was really to be meek that the panel will be merciful = )
That plan, has a very limited efficacy. And its efficacy ends during graduation = )
How do we learn courage? Do we learn it by not being one? By not trying to be one?
The student is a bright one. That needs no defense. But, in my opinion, he is still a student in the school of courage.
Hope springs eternal. As long as there's breath, there is hope.
"... do not fear. I (God) am with you!"
I once said that failure is an event. Never a person. I guess that will also have to go for disappointment, too.
It was promising. But I guess, the student never had the courage to put everything together to make the presentation a coherent whole. Maybe the whole process never gave the student the chance to be courageous.
There were bright spots but that's the thing. Those were just spots. I was not hoping for spots. I was hoping for a beautiful whole. The student is suppose to be way past beautiful spots. The student was suppose to be in scenic grandeur. Graduation after all is a mere few weeks away = )
But please do not get me wrong. This student has a bright future ahead. But I guess, the student is not yet ready for the responsibility of the accolades given. I hope, the student remains a student and not be mesmerize by the titles that will be showered.
I guess in the student's mind, the acts and the decisions taken during the presentation was logical. Maybe even right.
In my opinion, a student defense did not happen that afternoon. Well, physically there was one. I mean, the laptop was there. The LCD was there. The presentation was there. The panel was there. The adviser was there. The student was there. The very act of presentation was there. But there was no defense.
It was close to a rout.
I guess the student was simply being respectful but it could also be construed that the student does not know the presentation. Or maybe, the student did not have enough courage to speak for one's self. Or maybe, I am simply biased on how I see courage. Or maybe the plan was really to be meek that the panel will be merciful = )
That plan, has a very limited efficacy. And its efficacy ends during graduation = )
How do we learn courage? Do we learn it by not being one? By not trying to be one?
The student is a bright one. That needs no defense. But, in my opinion, he is still a student in the school of courage.
Hope springs eternal. As long as there's breath, there is hope.
"... do not fear. I (God) am with you!"
Monday
tag banua
When we were in Coron, our tour guide brought us to this islet at the middle of the sea. This is where Beb and I had our most delicious lunch ever! But what made this particular lunch even more special was the caretaker of this little piece of heaven. He is a tag-banua, a taong bato.
Our tour guide told us that the tag-banua are the original inhabitants of Coron.
As Coron's beauty slowly sipped into the tourist's consciousness as a place one should visit, the tag-banua slowly went deeper into the forests. Upon seeing this, the past Philippine governments had the sensitivity to reach out to them to socially integrate them to the ways of the world by training them to become tourist-friendly caretakers of this piece of paradise.
Manong knows how to speak Tagalog. With him in this islet are his two rumbustious sons, maybe a 4 year old and a 6 year old, who I would swear are seasoned scullers = ) For here we are at the middle of the sea and I witnessed them take out their little boat to sea. Apparently, to fetch their Mom from the other islet = )
As we left, our tour guide shared that the tag-banuas have it made. When I pressed for her reason in sharing this sentiment, she said that it is because the tag-banua spend there days seated in a beautiful place. When visitors, who arrives almost everyday, do visit, they shell out PhP 100/head to have this experience of being engulfed with so much beauty. And when there are lean seasons, the tag-banuas make a living by simply harvesting the "bird nests" high up on the ceilings of caves. Yes, the most important ingredient in a bird's nest soup. Our tour guide even shared the price per kilo of the bird nests, and it is a whopping one hundred thousand pesos per kilo. Now, if only I can learn how to go up and reach the ceilings of caves = )
As our boat danced to the waves and the islet became smaller and smaller, I have to agree to what our tour guide said. Manong had indeed have it made. Spending a day in a beautiful place. Enjoying the noise his sons are making and having money in the bank. Though this money may not be much in urban standards but who needs much if one lives in heaven's reminder of paradise = )
"... why think like mere men?"
Our tour guide told us that the tag-banua are the original inhabitants of Coron.
As Coron's beauty slowly sipped into the tourist's consciousness as a place one should visit, the tag-banua slowly went deeper into the forests. Upon seeing this, the past Philippine governments had the sensitivity to reach out to them to socially integrate them to the ways of the world by training them to become tourist-friendly caretakers of this piece of paradise.
Manong knows how to speak Tagalog. With him in this islet are his two rumbustious sons, maybe a 4 year old and a 6 year old, who I would swear are seasoned scullers = ) For here we are at the middle of the sea and I witnessed them take out their little boat to sea. Apparently, to fetch their Mom from the other islet = )
As we left, our tour guide shared that the tag-banuas have it made. When I pressed for her reason in sharing this sentiment, she said that it is because the tag-banua spend there days seated in a beautiful place. When visitors, who arrives almost everyday, do visit, they shell out PhP 100/head to have this experience of being engulfed with so much beauty. And when there are lean seasons, the tag-banuas make a living by simply harvesting the "bird nests" high up on the ceilings of caves. Yes, the most important ingredient in a bird's nest soup. Our tour guide even shared the price per kilo of the bird nests, and it is a whopping one hundred thousand pesos per kilo. Now, if only I can learn how to go up and reach the ceilings of caves = )
As our boat danced to the waves and the islet became smaller and smaller, I have to agree to what our tour guide said. Manong had indeed have it made. Spending a day in a beautiful place. Enjoying the noise his sons are making and having money in the bank. Though this money may not be much in urban standards but who needs much if one lives in heaven's reminder of paradise = )
"... why think like mere men?"
Sunday
fairly smart students 2.0
Last night, the School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management of Mapua staged the annual Convergence entitled: In White, Unite or something like that = )
As the evening unfolds, I caught myself enjoying the revelry, the energy and the passion that was presented. But this positive vibe bridged into something sort of a kill-joy realization. A curiosity. A query. A wonder.
How come this same passion and energy of the youth can not be transported into the classroom? I did not mean in the same physical manifestation but in the results of their work. And I do not mean to imply that this is limited only to Mapua. I mean, the rivalry, the passion and energy of the Ateneo-La Salle (in alphabetical order) in UAAP Basketball is already legendary but how come this same passion and energy can not live and flourish away from the basketball courts?
I mean, the alumni of these schools are suppose to be our business leaders and yet can we name products that are truly world class? A product that is not a Filipino version of a western product. I mean a product that the whole world can trace to our shores.
I know basketball and everyday life is different but what is it about basketball that get all of us crazy?
How come the energy and passion can not infect how we go about our daily lives?
Which brings us to my two new advisees this term.
The research topic is promising yet it is daunting. It will truly differentiate them but it also means that they will be alone for there are only a few students who take this path. And these students are far in between, so effectively these two fairly smart students will be... alone.
I will give advise. I will guide. But in the end, they are the ones responsible.
I am hoping and praying they own up. That they take responsibility. That they blame no one, except themselves when everything falls apart. For it is also true, when everything falls into place. They only have themselves to congratulate.
"... why think like mere men?"
As the evening unfolds, I caught myself enjoying the revelry, the energy and the passion that was presented. But this positive vibe bridged into something sort of a kill-joy realization. A curiosity. A query. A wonder.
How come this same passion and energy of the youth can not be transported into the classroom? I did not mean in the same physical manifestation but in the results of their work. And I do not mean to imply that this is limited only to Mapua. I mean, the rivalry, the passion and energy of the Ateneo-La Salle (in alphabetical order) in UAAP Basketball is already legendary but how come this same passion and energy can not live and flourish away from the basketball courts?
I mean, the alumni of these schools are suppose to be our business leaders and yet can we name products that are truly world class? A product that is not a Filipino version of a western product. I mean a product that the whole world can trace to our shores.
I know basketball and everyday life is different but what is it about basketball that get all of us crazy?
How come the energy and passion can not infect how we go about our daily lives?
Which brings us to my two new advisees this term.
The research topic is promising yet it is daunting. It will truly differentiate them but it also means that they will be alone for there are only a few students who take this path. And these students are far in between, so effectively these two fairly smart students will be... alone.
I will give advise. I will guide. But in the end, they are the ones responsible.
I am hoping and praying they own up. That they take responsibility. That they blame no one, except themselves when everything falls apart. For it is also true, when everything falls into place. They only have themselves to congratulate.
"... why think like mere men?"
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