Wondering, worrying

In this semester’s NSTP, our group was in charge of making a report about the Marikina watershed. Doing papers always require using your time reading and writing which is sometimes a hassle given that there are also other things that you have to do. But even so, it was actually a task worth doing. It gave me more of an opportunity to know about things I don’t usually take time knowing about. Overall, it was quite a good experience.

Most of us has probably already done research works, investigatory projects or theses, or at least has an idea of what these are. These always develop our understanding on things. It is actually quite visible today that people are more open to new things, studying about new things and giving innovations for, most of the time, the betterment of the society. Now we can say, more surely, that “nothing is impossible.” Though clichéd, I would like to reiterate that some of what was fictional before is already a reality today. In the next few years, I wonder what new things would be invented. I just wish that our environment wouldn’t be less safer to live in.

Don’t Forget to Treat Yourself

How long do you sit in front of your computer doing things which doesn’t have anything to do with school or work? How long do you spend time watching movies or talk-shows? How long do you sleep when there are no deadlines for the next few days? How much of your time do you spend doing random and unimportant things?

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” I saw this on the internet not so long ago and I thought: “What a nice quote to justify my slacking off.” But that’s just me trying to convince myself that it’s absolutely okay to be lazy and irresponsible. If I remember correctly, that was when I had loads of school work to accomplish before the week ends.

I was breaking down when dawn broke one time that week, it’s already five in the morning, my class starts at eight and I’m still not making any progress with a paper due that day, literally. Nah, just kidding, I was actually done with it but it did’t seem right at first. Well for me, no paper always seems right after being done when I do it (did that make sense?) so I always go through them and make revisions as much as I can. These things always stress me out, and at that particular time, I was absolutely stressed out.

The day ended and I was actually able to pass the paper. I was satisfied with it and was very happy that it’s over… NOT! I received a text message saying, if I can still recall: “Nagawa mo na ba yung assignment sa Econ 102?” I was screwed! The homework when I saw it on my e-mail was “imba-ly” very long. I panicked but then at the same time I thought: “‘F’ this, I’m going to sleep and do it after 3 hours.” I did sleep and woke up 3 hours later. I was able to do it and at the same time, play an online game (it’s how I relief myself of stress). Good thing there’s a manual for the book where the questions were taken which had the final answers in it, all I had to do was to give the solutions to arrive to the answers. I actually made it and glad that I was able to sleep and play a game.

Now, the semester is nearly over and looking back, I think I did not use much of my time efficiently. I believe this is the semester where I became the laziest, and I hope I won’t be even lazier in the semesters to come. At the same time however, I’m actually happy that I did not use all my time studying or doing academic activities. Perhaps I used a fourth of my time doing absolutely random things that may seem useless to others. At least however, I was able to treat myself and keep myself happy and I think that’s important.

How about you? How did you treat yourself this semester? I guess not one student actually uses all of the school period studying, but if there is, I hope he or she is okay and happy.

Young but…

I’ve always loved science camps. When I was a high school student, camping was the extra-curricular activity that I loved the most. Going to seminars, trainings, workshops, and competitions which aim to make young students more knowledgeable about the environment, its current condition and what one can do to help not to make its state worse, was very exciting. I wish there were more of these activities not only in the Philippines but in all other parts of the globe. These events make young people aware of what’s happening in a fun way and of course, make future adults less likely to do things that would harm the environment.

It’s not that today’s youths don’t care about what’s happening in their surroundings, it’s just that some aren’t being trained properly to actually care and some have no idea that something is actually happening. We should help in making them care, we should promote activities that make them know about the issues on the environment in a fun manner, science camps for example. Let’s make a society full of people who are aware even at a young age, with people helping in making the environment better and not just sitting there, waiting for something wrong to happen, before realizing that they have to act now.

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Is there an end to this?

The conflict between China and Philippines about who owns South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is quite long. Will it ever end with just a diplomatic approach or does an actual war have to happen? How would the two countries resolve the issue with a simple process of arbitration when people themselves of both look at each other as hostiles?

There’s this thing about a “demonizing the enemy” approach as a step to win battles where one makes the other look bad to develop hate among people to unite and stand against the other. Take a look at this:

http://www.exposingthetruth.co/chinas-territorial-claim/#axzz2gAp7kXFZ

The writer talks about how Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, a Chinese military theorist, demonized Philippines on a TV interview in Beijing. At first this post gave me more of a reason to hate China and some people in it. But as I read through the article, I realized that even this Filipino guy is doing the same thing. I must admit, his “demonizing” trick was quite effective but his use of hateful, unnecessary, irrational statements nullified the effect of the first things he said.

Nevertheless, it would be better if non of both sides were doing stuffs like this “demonization” thing. The people concerned should act more like adults, be more honest with each other. Also, one should not inspire hate just because one’s country looks like it’s being bullied by the other, or something like that. One should always do one’s best to ONLY stick with what’s true and no other unnecessary plug-ins just to gain support for what one thinks is true. Just remember what the tiny green dude from Star Wars said: “…hate leads to suffering” so to end the suffering which I think everyone wants, we must stop developing hatred. But what can we do? when it’s all about money, all hell just breaks loose. If non of the nations were so greedy, and if what John Lennon said was true, the world will soon really live as one.

Taking the Lead

In most group activities, there’s always a person who would take the initiative, if not chosen, to be the head of the group. But how does he do his part at times like these? I’ve seen a certain photo about the difference between being a boss and being a leader on Facebook not so long ago which looks kind of like the one in here:

I don’t think what it’s trying to say is that every boss is an arrogant, self-righteous, self-seeking individual. I think it just wants to distinguish two kinds of people: one who’s like an autocrat and the other who’s like an egalitarian.

From my own observations, a group with a “leader” rather than a “boss” has a nicer atmosphere; the members are happy (except of course during crunch times and the like), people are nicer, and most of the time, the output is better. I’ve seen groups lead by “bosses,” and still manage to make good outputs. However, during the process of making those outputs, the members had to act like slaves (not in an “I own your lives” kind of slavery but more like a “Just do what I order you to do” kind). If you lead a group, would you like to be remembered as the “boss” who drove people around? Even if you say “well, good results are what matters,” still, I think it’s better if you would be nicer with the members of your group. Having a good relationship with everyone is, most of the time, better after all.

So are you a boss or a leader?

Inventors, Theorists, Informants

According to dictionaries, heroes are people admired for their courage. These are people who’ve taken the initiative to do something for the greater good despite the danger in doing so. But the term “hero” is used differently for every person; for some, heroes are those people who inspired them to strive specially those who’ve attained success despite some disabilities. Some may even say heroes are those who’ve helped others to attain their goals or that heroes are people who’ve saved one from possible harm or injuries. But one thing’s for sure, these heroes have done something to benefit at least one individual.

Since then, the people who I describe as heroes are the innovators, inventors, researchers and the like. That’s because they are the ones who’ve made life easier for the majority of the people of today. They are the reasons why the majority of the people are enjoying the lives they have at present. However, these inventors are blamed for the effects of industrialization. That due to these different devices, gadgets, or contraptions we have today, there are if not more, worse ecological disasters mankind has to face. Also people claim that these technologies are the reasons for less face to face conversations between individuals. But even so, one still has the choice whether or not to allow technological advancements completely takeover the ‘good’ lifestyle one had before. At least now, our knowledge about things is wider, even knowing about the side effects of the use of certain devices widens our understanding and helps us look for or create better inventions or ideas, and for me, that’s enough to call these innovators heroes.

If one was to consider current happenings globally, the ones who could be considered the heroes of today are the groups of people who don’t fail to give people information about what’s really happening in the community. Not the media since some news don’t cover most of the important details on certain events and some don’t even provide the information on important things people must now, but certain hidden but not-so-hidden groups in our society today. Those groups despite knowing they’re making some of the people with high positions in the society their enemies, help in making us aware and warn us of conspiracies and possible plans of the ruling class. The groups I consider as such are those who started and/or created the following:

•Wikileaks (http://www.wikileaks.org)
•Knowledge of Today (http://www.knowledgeoftoday.org/)
•Truth Theory (http://truththeory.com/)
•Freedom Informant (http://www.freedominfonetwork.org/)
•The Zeitgeist Movement Global (http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com)
•Global Illumination Council (http://thegic.org)
•Exposing The Truth (http://www.exposingthetruth.co/)
•The Idealist (http://theidealistonline.com/)
•The Unknown; but not hidden. (http://theunknownbutnothidden.blogspot.in/)
•Choice and Truth (http://choiceandtruth.blogspot.com/)
•Press For Truth (http://pressfortruth.ca/)
•True Activist (http://www.trueactivist.com/)
•Global Informer (http://theglobalinformer.wordpress.com/)

(By the way, each, listed above, has its own Facebook page and some of these groups have their own Twitter accounts if you’re interested.)

Most of the information they give aren’t completely covered by the media which should be, and most show the different points of view on current happenings which help in letting people weigh things fairly. Making us aware, helping us know what may be going on at present and what the possible agendas are or the hidden agendas themselves are of the higher ups are the reasons why they could be considered and called the heroes of today. Although most of the leaders and members of these groups are anonymous, which may not show bravery, they could still be and should be considered as today’s heroes.

Ganito ba dapat sa SONA?

Napansin ko lang na malaking porsyento ng SONA ng kasalukuyang presidente ay tungkol sa kanyang mga nagawa, para sa ilan ito raw ay isang “pagyayabang” ng presidente sa kanyang termino. Naitanong ko sa sarili: “Ganito ba dapat ang isang SONA?” Dahil dito, ninais kong tignan kung ganito ba talaga ang uri ng SONA ng ilan sa presidente ng Pilipinas. Aking ipagkukumpara ang ikaapat na SONA nang kasalukuyang president ng Pilipinas, Benigno S. Aquino III at nang dating president Manuel L. Quezon.

Ngayong ikaapat na SONA ng pangulo, mapapansin na tila halos ang buong naisambit niya ay ang mga naging pagbabago nang siya ay maupo sa puwesto. Hindi man kaaya-ayang sabihin ngunit halos naging pagyayabang lang ang nagawa niya sa buong SONA. Kita naman na ang ilan sa mga “malaking” pagbabago sa mga nakaraang taon sa loob ng kanyang termino sa mga estadistika, at sa tingin ko’y hindi niya na kinailangang sabihin pa ang lahat.

Ngayong ikaapat na taon niya na ito, dapat mas nagpokus na lang siya sa kung paano maipapatuloy ang mga magandang pagbabagong kanyang inumpisahan at nagawa sa bansa. Para sa akin, naging kulang ang pag-uulat niya sa pagapanatili ng “kaunlaran” ng bansa.

Kumpara sa ikaapat na SONA ng dating Pagulong Quezon ng Pilipinas, ang pormat ay ibang iba. Kung ating papansin, sa ikaapat na SONA ng dating pangulo, kanyang pinagtuunan ng pansin ang tungkol sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas, tungkol sa pagtanggal ng “sales tax” at ang pag-taas ng “income tax” sa bansa. At hindi mo maririnig/mababasa ang pagyayabang sa kanyang talumpati, kundi, iyong mababasa ang mga hakbang na kanyang gagawin para mas lalong paunlarin ang Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng pagbabago ng sistema nito lalo na sa usapin ng “tax.” Ang naging pokus nang dating pangulo sa kanyang SONA ay ang “social justice” na kanyang labis na pinagtuunan ng pansin sa kanyang termino, na may mas malaking epekto sa nakararaming Pilipino, ang mga mahihirap.

Kumpara sa ikaapat na SONA ng pangulo ngayon, ang SONA ng dating Pangulong Quezon ay mas pormal at mas prupesyonal ang dating. Ang pag-ulat ng mga tagumpay at inuumpisahag pagbabago ay nasa huling parte, ang mga ito ay nasa kanyang pagtatapos ng kanyang ulat o talumpati. Sa tingin ko, mas maganda ang ganitong uri ng SONA kumpara sa SONA ng pangulo ngayon, ang pagtuon ng pansin sa ilan pang problemang hindi pa nahaharap ng bansa at ang pagsabi ng mga hakbang na gagawin upang panatilihan ang pag-unlad ng Pilipinas.

Maaring basahin ang SONA ng dating Pangulong Manuel L. Quezon sa:
http://www.gov.ph/1948/01/24/manuel-l-quezon-fourth-state-of-the-nation-address-january-24-1938/

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