Dusting it off

It has been a while. But I hope I can remedy that starting now. To those who believe in change, we often wonder by what measure should we be basing it on. It is definitely a valid point since without bases, how can we know if we're doing a good job?

But from a talk I watched in TEDtalks.com, an abstract goal like A worthwhile life can be indeed measured. So as you listen to this talk, I hope you find it in yourself to dare yourself to come up with something similar. :)

Happy living, and good luck on your goals.

what's your biggest priority now?

Work. Making something out of myself. That's it. I really want to find that thing that'll make me say the "Do something you're passionate about..." speech and people WILL believe me out of the sheer contentment in my eyes.

I have a few friends who already found it. I'm happy for them. Now it's my turn. :)

Ask the Joy

Rolling With The Changes

I'am finally EMPLOYED. Yes, it has been a long time coming, but I have finally bit the bullet and went into the world of 9-5pm desk jobs and menial office hours. As I have tried to live off of rackets, which didn't bode too well for me, so this change is indeed a welcome one. I realized that no matter how idealistic we are, we always need to keep in mind that we work under a certain framework, a certain reality. This does not entail that I am willing to just become a mindless robot. We change our immediate circles of influence to emit more and bigger changes. I learned something, of all places, from watching a glimpse of Oprah interviewing some person who worked as a waitress. That person said,

"If you do average great, then your dreams can become a reality."

Then it struck me. No matter how menial or normal a person's job may be, there is still room for idealism and greatness. I may not have the job of my dreams, but I plan to make it my greatest work yet. And as changes like this new opportunity keep rolling along, I keep thinking to myself that maybe the fates are starting to move my dreams closer to my grasp after all.

To all who have work, Be GREAT in it! It isn't necessarily what you wanted, but keep in mind that every little triumph in that workplace makes it worthwhile! :)

Thank you IPC! Glad to be aboard! :)

Change Doesn't Have An Age Limit

For someone to bring about change, it has to come from the most noble of ideas. And nothing says noble than that of the pure ideas of a kid. Being a kid means to be idealistic. When we were young, we all wanted to be heard, to be able to talk to the people that matter and say to them that our ideas are gold. That our ideas can and will change this world for the better. We just need to be heard and listened to with respect, not like some cute little baby who said his/her first word, but as someone who wants to have something better than what the world is currently offering them. Listening to the youth is an untapped resource on how to make the world a better place.

But for ourselves, bringing our voice to the people that matter is a difficult, if not entirely impossible, endeavor. We lose something  as we go through the gears and cogs of our society and end up "growing out" of this idealism. Then we see other people, more youthful than ourselves, thinking, or perhaps, regretting that we didn't do as much as we wanted with that enthusiasm that we had before. But all is not lost.

We teach our youth to dream BIG and live LARGE. We should create the world to cater to that humongous freedom we gave them. Believe in yourselves and in what you can do. It is not to late to talk to the people that matter and tell them you got some ideas you want to share. How can we give our children idealism when we ourselves do not possess it. Age is not a hindrance to positive change whether you're 12 or you're 60. Every person has an idea to make this place we are living in better. Listen to them and maybe, just maybe, that idea might just save this world.

To end, I give you a video I saw at Facebook. It's of Severn Suzuki, a then 12 year old girl talking to the dignitaries of states of the UN during the year 1992. Listen to her and you might find out that what she was clamoring for 18 years ago, is more or less similar to what we are clamoring for now.

Be agents of positive change everyone!!! :)

Fish Conservation Video that struck a chord

Brian Skerry reveals ocean's glory -- and horror | Video on TED.com

Being Part of A Change

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, I was tasked to attend the Asian Institute of Management Leadership Development Conference for Social Change. It was my first foray into the world of leadership development. It was awkward at first, but I really enjoyed the whole experience. It showcased the dialog between the different sectors of Philippine society (NGO, corporate, government, youth) on what leadership is and what type the country needs.

Here is a brief rundown of what happened to me during the conference!


Day 1 aka The "I-don't-know-why-I'm-here" Day

• I went to AIM not knowing what to expect (but I read our primer and our programs so I hope I explained it correctly to anyone who asked)
• The Opening speech of Sec. Robredo was really good. It was a good way to start the conference as a whole
• I met a few people even before the program began: An NGO worker in Cagayan I think, and a representative of the AFP.
• AFP people are apparently very talkative
• The first activity was a world cafe. I was bunched up with a handful of people which names I forget
• We took turns talking about the leadership programs that we do and our most fulfilling moment during our work (cheesy)
• Among them were a particular group called Lubid (i think) which excels in outdoor leadership training seminars
• On second round of world cafe, the table I ended up in was more serious (due to the fact that most of them were old people..joke)
• They had a discussion (or should I say debate) on what leadership actually is
• After the world cafe, we had lunch

Day 1: afternoon aka youth sector talks

• It was a 3-person forum on leadership
• Oberta (i think) is the program head of AYLC
• A person who does a leadership/legislation academic practicum for muslims in Mindanao
• A commissioner of the NYC (National Youth Congress)
• During this time, I met with people in OUR sector that cater to OUR market
• Representatives of Ateneo Office of Student Affairs
• A company called asia21, which excels in providing mentorship of various fields
• Team Energy of AIM who seem interested in collaborating a more solid leadership program
• Jo-ar, A representative of the PMA
• Pam Banawa, a representative of the Comission on Youth of the Archdiocese of Novaliches also might be in need of a leadership program that caters to the spirituality of the youth
• She was my blockmate in College
• End of Day 1

Day 2: Just like meeting friends Day

• Had small group discussions on the major issues of leadership development of the country
• Youth group had three major areas of concern
• Identity - What is a FILIPINO kind of leadership?
• Organization - Frameworks and Marketability
• Sustainability - Continuous development after programs
• I was chosen to be one of the representatives of the youth sector at the overall plenary discussion of the different sectors
• I was nervous
• But they laughed at my jokes
• People said good job daw after our presentation
• I'm Happy

I really enjoyed the conversations, debates, and discussions on leadership development. since being an agent of change is what I aim for, this offered me a good avenue to share my mind with like-minded individuals. If anyone of you is interested in following this project please feel free to go to their facebook page for more information: (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leadership-Development-for-Social-Change/137306196296846)

P.S - That's me in the middle! :) Be agents of change everyone! 

Mamaw Geek Movie Trailer of the Week

It's not really a "of the week" kind of thing but I needed a flashy title for this post. haha

This is a movie trailer for Zack Snyder's (300, Watchmen) ORIGINAL concept movie entitled Sucker Punch. As far as original concept movies go, they have had a good track record so far. From Avatar (NOT THE M.Nightmare one), to Inception, and now to this. I feel really stoked and excited about it. And here's why:

• It's about girls in an asylum who want to escape (this is the basic premise I think)
• Girls turn into dancers in a brothel who wield guns of many varieties (and I learned they also sing and dance in the movie)
• Some girls wear japanese school girl outfits who wield samurai swords to fight armored japanese troll giants wielding gatling guns
• Robots/mecha suit girls that fight off a DRAGON and neo-nazis and their technology
• A LOT MORE

You might be wondering that maybe I'm describing different movies. Well, I kid you not. You be the judge!

Watch out for this one!

Weird Topics of Late

You might be wondering why the last two posts are weird. Well, I decided to connect this blog to my formspring.me account. You guys can ask me anything there then it will be published here as well. A little something to get to know me better. :)

bakit ka torpe?

Wow. straight to the point! hahaha!

I'll give you a straight answer then: I'm a really shy person. (I can hear the wehhhhhhhhhhhhhhs na). No really, I find it hard to confront people and say what I feel (even if it's not the romantic kind). If you would hang out with me, you'd know I joke around a lot (and some might think I'm doing well in the girls department because of it), but that's only because that's what I do to keep myself...for lack of a better term...interesting.

But the truth is I'm not all that outspoken. I always have moments where I stop and distance myself from a group. I don't know why I do it, maybe I have a knack of knowing when I know nobody's paying attention to me. And yes, I do make friends easily, but to actually say my intentions to girl I like? hahaha, asa. Again, that's my curse, I'm trying to rectify it, but I'm not there yet.

And if you think because I'm scared of rejection and whatnot, I actually welcome it because I know before facing that kind of pain, I'll have to go through happiness with "her".

So cut me some slack, I'm getting there. :)

Ask the Joy

when do you cry?

Only when things get REALLY unbearable for me. Like unbearable anger, pain, sadness, etc. I don't usually show it to other people, but I did have my moments.

On the lighter side, I do cry during scenes of unbearable emotion (i.e when mufasa died in lion king haha). Even some romantic teen comedies make me cry.

I'm a very...uhhh...empathic person i guess, I get swayed by strong emotions easily. :P

Ask the Joy

M.Nightmares

There are times where the best is naturally shown through talent. Then there is The Last Airbender. Sometimes being the best means to look at the stuff that show otherwise so we are shown the right path. hahaha!

http://www.cracked.com/funny-5806-the-last-airbender-movie/

Thanks to maw for the link. :P

Lemme Show You How It's Done

I have always LOVED the show So You Think You Can Dance. Being a frustrated dancer (as in really frustrated), The show's contestants always amaze me on how much they can accomplish through movement. Sometimes, I like it better than American Idol (or maybe because I like to watch people dance rather than sing) in such a way that there's more to watch and the different styles are more diverse. But here in the show, when you see something amazing, it truly is AMAZING, no gray area of it's okay or it's good enough. An example of this is a person named Alex Wong.

He joined last year's season but couldn't continue because he was invited by the American Ballet Company. He is a REALLY good ballet dancer, no exaggeration. But when he joined again this season, He had to do a routine with Twitch, a REALLY good hiphop dancer. You guessed it, it was a Hiphop routine choreographed by none other than NappyTabs, A REALLY good pair of choreographers. So what do you get when you put together a REALLY good ballet dancer, a REALLY good hiphop dancer, and REALLY good choreographers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SAy_wEsXKg&feature=related

MAMAW! Alex Wong, ikaw na.

Of Absences and Beaches

I have been absent in posting these past few days because of numerous (albeit some of them geeky) reasons. For the most part, I have been entertaining my relatives who are visiting us from the U.S. That's one. The other is that as part of this entertaining role, I went on a family trip to Cebu and Bohol (which by the way are really AWESOME places to spend your vacation). Since I had an awesome time there, might as well tell the little details of my family trip.

First off, CEBU. I spent a total of TWO (2) days there and I liked what I experienced. It felt a little like Manila at times (uhhhh..Hi SM and AYALA) but overall, I like what Cebu offered me during my stay. My family and I stayed at Tambuli Resort East Wing. (http://www.tambuli.com/accomoeast.htm) The Resort was nice enough: they offered decent rooms, WIFI!!!, free breakfast, a pool, and a beach front. For a family on a budget, it's a great resort ALTHOUGH, transportation between resorts can be EXPENSIVE! Just a fair warning.

                               This was exactly the room I stayed in                                        Poolside

Then there was the second resort we went to:
Shangri-la Mactan (http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/cebu/mactanresort). Ang MAMAW nung place! Really awesome resort design, awesome staff and amenities (the service is so good, there is someone literally greeting you a good day EVERY 5 yards or so...I counted :p). Although the pools and beach fronts are supposedly exclusive for hotel guests, as my friend would say, "just pretend that you belong."

                                                                 LANDSCAPING WIN!

Next Stop: BOHOL!

Bohol (Panglao to be exact), is what Boracay was 10 years ago (relatively). The white sand was there, the island-ish and isolated vibe was there too. I liked it actually. Felt homey unlike Boracay now which for me feels like one big Embassy. Most of the people there are either Koreans or Americans, which I got to talk to during my stay (wassup STEVE! :p). 

We stayed at Lost Horizon Resort (http://www.losthorizonresort.net/) while my balikbayan relatives stayed at Amarella Resort (http://www.amarelaresort.com/). Lost Horizon was a really nice place considering it was only 1.7k a night. It had WIFI, an LCD television, Aircon, Pool, and was located near the beach. Not bad for a burgeoning island paradise. The beach located near it is not much but the thing about Bohol is that you need to ride a boat to get to the pristine turquoise colored water beaches the province offers. The boat ride, amidst haggling like mad, comes down to 1.5k but you can bring around 10 people so it's not that expensive. Once we got a boat a lot of things became available: Dolphin Watching, Fish Sanctuary Snorkeling, Sand Bar Swimming, etc. It's a days worth of stuff to do! I recommend it actually. If you have at least 3 days in Bohol, I'd suggest devoting one day in beach tours, then a day land tours (chocolate hills and tarsiers, which are really small by the way) so you can get the most out of your stay.

But like the movie The Beach, even paradises like these are discovered eventually. Our resort was dubbed, "Mini Boracay" for its nightlife. Small eateries and bars open at night and some even have dinner entertainment like jazz singers and bands. It was still nice to walk around, but it was getting eerily close to the boracay set up. Add to this the news that Bohol is building an international airport in Panglao, then I guess the it'll catch up to the Bora style of things in the coming years.

Either way, I really had a blast. It was four days of relaxation and fun. I needed it actually, I'm glad I was able to go. So that's why I haven't been able to post here. Don't you worry, I picking up the slack as they say. I'll be posting more stuff soon! Can't wait to go back with my friends! Yes, it's a lot of fun with family, but it'll be awesome with friends.

And who was the one taking the pictures?

Until the next time!

Music to make your heart stand and your troubles leave

I just came from a REALLY awesome gig last night! Kudos to Stories of Now for producing a night of celebrated artistry and overall good times. The bands who participated were all awesome in their own right: some up-and-coming while others seasoned veterans. Can't wait to hear more from them in the future Songs and Stories productions.

But one band in particular stood out. Maybe because it has been a while since I got to watch them perform. But after months of not seeing them, One Walks Away is as electrifying as ever! (and I'm not talking about the electrocuting that was happening that night haha :p) It's good to see them back in their game. And to think, they went on a break because some members of the band were fathers-to-be! haha! MAMAW talaga! If these guys start doing regular gigs again, you guys owe it to yourselves to catch them.

To give you a taste of their awesomeness..here is a video from their "acoustic phase" back when they were called streamline. This is an original by them entitled Leave. Hope you enjoy the song (or appreciate what the song talks about hahaha)! :)

*To all aspiring musicians out there, just continue to play, no matter what!

Smile!

Everyday, whenever I walk around the city, I see people walk with their "outside" face on. Now when I say "outside" face, I mean like a game face without playing any game. It's like everyone is gonna bite you when you greet them or something. To be fair, they just have walls to protect them from strangers, after all, we are not safest city in the world. But it is here that I see a chance at changing people's lives at the small scale.

A simple smile can turn around anyone's day for the better. A smile from people you smile to can actually guarantee it. That smile they gave you can make them more up beat for work that day, or make them forget about a problem and help them focus more on what's at hand. It's an imprint that you make, although not permanent, that will change the course of that day for them. I try to do that all the time. Letting someone take your spot in the elevator while smiling at them. These are actions that people shrug off at the end of day, but what they remember is that the day was different. You made it different. It's not a lasting change, but hey, it's something to be proud of.

Being the best at what you do is one thing, helping people be the best at what they do is another. To end, here is a video that I find really inspiring. Get a group of friends and try it out! Enjoy! :)

To start of my "new" blog, here is a video of a REALLY awesome violinist who not only is a geek, but makes geek look really cool. Enjoy!

*Thanks to "maw" for showing the video to me. :)

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Welcome to my "new" blog.

I've decided to make this my general purpose blog and gear it towards a more "positive" direction. I got myself a new look and decided to write anything I'm interested in. More importantly, however, is this little goal I have for myself and this blog. And since this is a rebirth of sorts, I'm going to explain the new concept now:

MAMAW.

A colloquial, Filipino word used by people in my generation (kids these days don't actually use it anymore...I think they use "imba" now). It means, literally, monster. Applied to skills and talents, it means one has monster skills and talents. That word is reserved for people who excel. To people at their best. Now you know the concept, now to share my goal:

To make myself and others MAMAW.

I won't be including this theme in all of my posts, but I will direct them in this general direction. So not everything will be inspirational, but most of it will be positive. Not everything will be relevant, but most of it will be interesting. Being the best, and sharing the best, so that others will be at their best (sounds like a tagline haha).

So stay tuned for this new direction. And welcome. Mamaw starts now. :)

This is the beginning of a new age for my blog. Call it a rebirth if you will.

Stay tuned.

Hi again. :)

Wow! now, It's really been sooooooooooo long since my last post. I just remembered to write out of sheer boredom. But as I look back at my previous posts, it seems that boredom really does fuel my passion in writing in this very old and ancient blog. hahaha

Another chapter in my Chronicle that is my life. I already graduated from Ateneo. It's been a good 6 years of very eclectic college education. I can't say I have enjoyed all of it, but it was indeed a big experience I wouldn't change if I were given a chance. It was different, much how different everyday of our lives are, and because of this, it sort of prepared me for rough (and mostly boring) times ahead.

I have inadvertently taken a year before realizing that being delayed in school doesn't bode well to the would-be employers of my future career (of which I still haven't figured out just yet). I have dabbled in some rackets to keep the money train chugging. Fortunately, all of them were good experiences for me. I still am not jaded from work like most post graduate workers feel.

But aside from that, my social life has gotten a tad bit different than last you heard from me. and NO, the elusive girl for me is still being elusive. I have seen a particular one actually, let's just say that her smile is one of the things I really want to protect. After all, all girls get prettier the moment they start smiling. What I meant, actually, was I found a semi-niche group of friends. We hang out most if not all the time now. It feels great. For a person who wrote emo (I'm sorry, they were still called senti) poems in high school, I'm really grateful for being able to share memories with them. It feels...right.

Wow, this entry seems like a long one. So I'll stop right here. Until the next spurt of boredom then. Oh wait it's valentine's...demn...deja vu. :P