RPSBOR

"We should try live to live and should not live to not die." This is my somehow analysis on Randy David's article about the Art of Dying.

His article just sparked a thought in my head. As to Rousseau's understanding that an old man should learn the art of dying, for me, it would be useless if one would not know what happens after death though he may have had no fear of death itself. The art of dying should be learned in a way that one should know its gain for one who is in HIM.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 NIV

NOMINALISM: There is a Problem and You are a Part of It

To you, Juan dela Cruz, have you ever taken your citizeship on the level of really living out your title-- a FILIPINO? Or have you just been a liability for the nation, thinking you are doing your huge part as an individual? And if your nation have been in such a fiasco for the past 20 years or so-- STILL on the stage of endless beginning of development, haven't you thought of pointing your fingers to yourself? 

Last Tuesday, as I was on my way to the school, while inside the bus, two radio DJs were talking. I got to somehow remember the flow of what they said which for me is really sarcastic.

DJ1: "Aaaaah, yun ba yung madungis na punit-punit na damit?"

DJ2: "Hahahaha. E pulubi naman ata yung sinasabi mo e?!"

DJ1: "Oo nga. Yun nga."

DJ2: "Haha. National Costume yun ng Pilipinas e!"

DJ1: "Hindi naman."

DJ2: "Oo, mayaman kasi ang Pilipinas.... Mayaman sa Utang!"

And they both laughed hard leaving the conversation hanging, as they changed to another topic.

The country's status is not just a laughing matter. "Siguro kaya tayo ganito kasi lahat na lang tinatawanan natin." Indeed, there is nothing wrong with putting up humor in our lives sometimes, but having it too much is bad. It was so heartbreaking hearing that. And I just cannot help but to answer them in my thoughts. I cannot stand just the idea of how they share their corrupted ideas just to fish around sympathy from the masses. Yes, it may be a joke, it may be humorous enough for some. But the values aren't really there. It is a waste of time listening to your petty offensive jokes. You see, you are public figures and the whole Philippines may have heard what you just said. Some may be njmb enough to just laugh it off and go over their lives and some may be to nationalistic enought to react on it. However, most of them are fans of your programs and you should have been influencing values somewhere, somehow. But the thing is, it was seriously an insult for me. Yes, you are talking to the masses, and it may just be a view of the reality on your part. But it was just tedious to keep doing it and for you to discriminate your own country like that is a serious offense. Democracy has never been absolute. Instead of alleviating or addressing somehow the clamors of what you see as DJs, you instead unpleasingly delight yourselves with what you see bad. And you just leave it there. You take notice, you mention it, you comment on it, you exacerbate the clamor and you just leave it there. It is like a kid, seeing rubbish on the floor, telling it to his friend and now, leaving it just right there. 

This is reality. And most Filipinos have now stayed like this, feeling the hopelessness for the country without thinking the opportunity they have of being able to change the status quo. What happens now is that most Filipinos point their fingers to some politician or trapos to give the blame and saying that it is all their fault. But haven't you thought that you were also the one who put them up there? Or maybe if you were not part of the majority of votes, haven't you thought that you very much take part on what is happening?

I am not pointing my finger to just one sect or group in the society. I am pointing these fingers to myself. I am a Filipino and I am very much part of whatever may happen to my country, to my nation. And it is the worst heartbreak to see it stagnant in my watch, knowing I can still do something, knowing that this generation can very much change the course of history. And it is disheartening that there are still those numb young Filipinos who remain to see the Philippines as a falling, downgrading, backward moving nation.  More than they or I myself can think of, the country needs us.

And it is in our very hands to change the course of our nation by changing first what we, ourselves have been believing. Yes, it takes so much guts to go against the flow of what has been. But in a way or two, you should have taken a mark of your stand in this country.

We should not just take pride in what our country has been achieving in the positive note but we sould also take those disheartening truths and in our own ways, be truthful enough to make a mark and change them. Again, it has never been easy. And it takes real Filipinos to stand for them. 

[There may even be more opinions possibly spoken coming from my co-contemporaries especially talking about the feasibilities and sources.  :)]

Fun. Excitement. Adventure. Thrills.

Last Friday, we went to Enchanted Kingdom. We rode almost all the thrilling rides there was. And it was the best one. Finally, I got to write about this one.

Jeanray, Myself, Joane, (Eldar), Mariella and Ronell

Joane, Mariella, Ronell, Jeanray, Roy (Jeanray's boyfriend), and Roy's two cousins went with us. It was planned just almost a week before. At first, many wanted to come until later, just a few were left standing on the verge of coming or not. We were able to meet at about 9:30am in the Bus Station going to Laguna. We waited for Ronell until he came around 10.15am. And to our surprise, he came right in front of us while we were talking about him. So we rode the bus, and gosh, it was my first time to ride a bus going out of town. I just felt so much liberty in there. Jeanray and I sat beside each other. The travel was just a quick one and before we knew it, we were already at Walter Mart. We dropped by McDo to buy some food to eat and ate it while riding the tricycle. We were excited like little kids! But ofcourse not literally. :)) Haha. We arrived there around quarter to Eleven so we waited quite long for it to open at Twelve. We were first in line. As we entered the Park, we decided to have the Bump Car first twice. It was really fun. Especially after the stressful weeks we had the past semester. We rode the Anchor's Away (or Viking) next, we sat at both ends. Seating beside each other, Ronell, Myself, Mariella and Joane. And on the other end, Roy, Jeanray, Gen and Buboy. The ride took our hearts and ourselves away! Next in line was log jam, and we got a little wet and decided not to change clothes just yet because we would still be having the Rio Grande later. We took some group pictures on the ride and then we had lunch. We rested for like almost an hour and a half. So as to our stomachs not to give back what we ate. Haha. O__o We were joking that we should be taking the EKstreme right after we ate. But then, most of us are afraid to do that, ofcourse. :P For a breather, we rode the Flying Fiesta also to dry ourselves from Log Jam. It was quite a petty ride, though. But we also enjoyed it though. After that, we went straight to Rio Grande. The line was so looooong! Unfortunately, we got to share the Park with students having their fieldtrip. They are a lot! The surveyor told us that they have a 10,000 population in there that day. So that explains the chaotic looong lines.

The long line.

We also had time to rest a little in the long waiting for the ride in Rio Grande. Ronell and Joane kept rotating the one we are riding. So just in time our side faced this huge wave that entered our ride. I took a bath! And almost all of us got wet. We were dripping at the end of the ride. Haha.

Ronell after the ride.

Joane and Mariella after the ride.

After that, we decided to ride the Space Shuttle, if I am remembering it right. :) Mariella was so nervous. HAHA. We got a picture while in it as the shuttle plummeted and our faces were PRICELESS. Haha!

While waiting for the FUN ride!

While waiting, Ronell took some pictures of the ride.

 We decided to take the EKstreme ride this time. We really had fun. It was so funny that as we were going up the tower, Joane kept saying "All is well... All is well.. All is well.. All is well!!!" Until finally we reached the top and there the pulley lets go of us, Joane shouted, "All is weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee----" until she ran out of breath and the 'L' part was not reached. HAHA. I screamed my heart out! We were shocked after the drop for like 4 seconds until we could finally react and scream again as a reaction of the plummet. Funny. HAHA. Joane and I wanted to ride it again, but Ronell said that we can be feeling more dizziness afterwards. So we did not pursue anymore. After that, we got to claim our free snack. Jeanray, Roy, Gen and Bugoy stayed at the EKstreme. Ronell, Joane, Mariella and I decided to go to the TJ booth to claim our snacks. We waited for a while and ate there. We were planning to ride the Rio Grande again as a finale ride after the Ferris' Wheel where they (Jeanray and company) were already falling in line. After we eat, we went to the Ferris' Wheel and rode.

The Ferris' Wheel is so beautiful.

View from above. Sooo beautiful.

Joane, Ronell, Mariella and I were in the same car while Jeanray, Roy, Gen and Bugoy were in the other car. Ronell and I kept turning the car that carries us. Until later, Mariella and Joane kept exclaiming and asking us to stop rotating it. This is how they looked like:

While we were turning the wheel..

I really enjoyed this ride with them. :)

They were really dizzy, I guess.

It was 6pm when we got to Ferris' Wheel, so though we rushed to the Rio Grande right after we were not able to ride it anymore. But we were able to take some group pictures.

Roy, Jeanray, Bugoy, Gen, Myself, Mariella, Joane and Ronell

We had real fun. As we were about to change and fix ourselves, I got worried on my route going home. So they taught me how and it was still an adventure.




P.S. 
I also lost my earing. Haha. 

The Semester that Was (ii)

From the sleepless nights of studying and going straight to school sleepy, nervous and almost fainting is just one of the best experiences I had from the semester that was.

Crying myself to let all the emotions out whenever things would just go from bad to worse, the feeling of overwhelmingly sensation of throwing up with the mixture of numbness and a touch of almost dying inside whenever our professor in our first class on a Saturday would now be in sight as he enters the room, the almost unexplainable feeling of make-it-or-break-it type everytime we would see the activities or the TO-DO-LIST for the week, from the death defying quizzes and exams we have to take for a week to the the feeling of togetherness as we would talk about our sentiments, heartaches from the quizzes, to the odd excitement we would feel in having unexpected grades or scores were just some of the things that made the semester that was really worth it.

I would love to have it all over again, seriously.

The Semester that Was (i)

It has been almost three years since I entered college. And I can say that at this point in time, I am in the verge of what has been and what is becoming to be.

For the first two years of my stay in the universities, I may say that I had it the easy-flow-with-comfort-zone type of life. I had debate organization, I had no grades lower than 2, I am okay, contented, and... 'okay'- as how I would describe it best not until this semester.

A lot has changed. From the lessons taught in school to questioning your stand as a person. It had been more than a semester. And I can say that it was not just a semester. For a student to study, one must learn, but most of the time students just study in order to pass the courses or subjects. But this, this semester that passed has taught provided us doors for realizations and even better views of what exists from what really does not. From what or how our decisions of who we choose to be have been affecting the large scale society to the smallest unit of it, our families, to even our own personal lives.

Now, on a personal note, let me not spoil this opportunity to express myself dramatically. And if you have been reading my past blogs, this is very contrary and argumentative of what I said before. But on this note, I believe this is the best part of what I have learned as a whole for the semester that was.

For the first half of the sem, I was not noticing the impact of the demanding changes I ought to have. And mind you, these are not the usual changes but for sure, it is for the better. My circle of friends have given me variating views of how a 'student' should live out his title. One can be very nominal and just have the sem as it is and then, pass it just for the heck of it- to pass a level. Or one can have this education system though sometimes fallible, but take heart of it and learn from it as how it should be taken by everyone which is to be 'educated'. Cheating has been a loud clamor ever since, and it may not even be undeniable for most. But for most of the friends I had and still have =) (let me do the drama, you know.) , it is much of a problem and a compromise to what this system has been imparting to all of us. And I am happy to say that as how Ate Joan have quoted it, "Grades with Integrity."; I have not cheated. Confidence. Honestly, before, I believed for myself that I do not have this. Seriously. And I know that these changes may take time, well, as for me. But I guess I am now not in the boat of seeing myself away from this. I am thankful to God that He has used my friends in such a way that I cannot resist their influence in a GOOD way. I will never forget that one time when Miah became so dialectic with me that we had a really overwhelmingly demanding-almost-annoying conversation. He started asking me about myself--- endlessly and I almost died (seriously. HAHA). He asked me why is it that I just always go with the flow and else. From my stand point months ago, I was still with myself that I am that kind so you cannot battle with me from asking who I am. I am that. I am that. From today's stand point, that conversations changed a thought in me. Telling about Ate Joan, who is a gentle ate that corrects me softly in a way but also MOST of the time, tells it to me right in the face made our friendship a wonderful one. She is indeed a blessing. I love it whenever she corrects me. Though sometimes, I am hardheaded, extremely talkative, wierd and... everything else in between that she knows, she guides me like an ate. Since I have no ate, I somehow see her as an Ate. A literal Ate-- part of myself. So there, her gentleness had paved ways for me to understand things better than what my comprehension can take but also, her, letting me have it all by myself knowing for herself that I can handle it changes everything. Those moments I cannot forget- as such in the sudden ambush interview of our PPC professor about my stand points in love. I appreciated it so much because they wanted me to learn. Another is taken in our daily experiences- talking with friends. And the rest is just history. HAHA. And for the rest of my friends, their expression of valuing the friendship just makes it complete.

Looking back, I am intimidated by almost everyone and just shut up inside a box made by myself knowing that no one would notice. That was me. But as I can see it from this view, now, these blessings has changed me a lot. And I guess it would not need enumerations to prove them. I am just so blessed that God has given me friends like them. But at the end of these all, I still have a lot to learn, still. And I am excited to have them step by step. <3

Space Pictures This Week: Mars Landing, Solar Flare, More

Space Pictures This Week: Mars Landing, Solar Flare, More