English area goes to Pampanga

Picture Crazy teachers gets the opportunity for a shenanigan... ü

Application stuff

I used to be a teacher in my previous job and I used to handle the most fun subjects in that school Speech 2(Effective Presentation: Formats and Application) and Speech 4(Debate and Discussion.) Teaching is a very enjoyable profession. Well, you have to possess almost all the skills needed in every profession: designing, writing, PR, being computer-savvy, mathematical inclination, etc. Moreover, you have to be always at par with the stuffs that young people are into so that you can relate to them better, epecially when it comes to dressing up. I used to hate this profession before I embraced it. Being a teacher is more than coming to class and rattling on.

As a teacher, there are a lot of aspects in the job that I love, and there are little that I do not like. The functions that I love the most when I teach is researching for and writing concept papers and teaching inside the classroom. The duties that I hate the most is checking papers and proctoring examinations.

i love writing concept papers and lesson plans because I feel fulfilled everytime I got myself to write anything. I love research because i learn a lot of new thjings that can add up to my knowledge and talent. these two things makes my creativiy put into good use. Well, speaking in front of people and getting them to listen is something that I enjoy. Moreover, speaking to my students feels like talking to the little sisters that I never had. I believe that our discussions were the most productive conversations that I've ever had in my whole life. (They never knew these.)

Moving on, I am quite not enticed to do boring and repetitive stuffs. Computing grades and checking papers are classic examples of those tasks. Proctoring examinations is most unbearable. I have to stand and walk around for hours and wait for students finish the exams while guarding at your wits against any forms of cheating. All throughout, you just stare at them and remain speechless all throughout.

There are downsides to every occupation as much as there are many to expect positively. Well, so far, this is what I can share.

What happens on a Friday?

I will miss these Fridays.

BecaUSE there are other days in a week, months to a year and chapters to a life.

11 days to go.

Letter to Insanity

Dear Monica,

I don't really know how to tell you this, I dislike your eyelashes. I think I realized it last year when you peed your pants outside of your office and I saw you sit on My illegitimate child in Ghana. I'm sure you're middle-class enough to understand that I get turned on only by garbage men. I'm returning your Hannah Montana underwear to you, but I'll keep your photo with the moustache drawn on it as a memory. You should also know that I told my psychiatrist about the bruises and I have a passionate interest for mice.

Love always,

Diana

 

Here's how you do it:

Dear (someone you recently talked to),

I don't really know how to tell you this,(1). I think I realized it (2)(3) and I saw you (4)(5). I'm sure you're (6) enough to understand (7). I'm returning (8) to you, but I'll keep (9) as a memory. You should also know that I (10) and (11).

(12),
Name


Equivalent to the numbers are an array of sentences for your choosing. See below.

1) What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - I'm in love with your cat
Red - Our affair is over
White - I’m joining the Convent
Black -Our romance is over
Green- Our socks don't match
Grey - You're a leprechaun
Yellow - I'm selling myself for candy
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - Purple hedgehogs want to destroy you
Other -I dislike your eyelashes

2) Which is your birth month?
January - That night you picked your nose
February -When I quoted Forrest Gump
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on peanut butter
May - When I threw up in your sock drawer
June - When you put cuffs on me
July – When I saw the purple monkey
August - When you smacked my ass
September - Last year when you peed your pants
October - When we skinny dipped in the bathtub
November - When your dog humped my leg
December - When I finally changed my underwear

3) Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - When we skinny dipped in the bathtub
Chicken- In your car
Pasta - Outside of your office
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad – As you were eating Kraft Dinner
Lasagna - In your closet
Kebab - With Jean Chrétien
Fish - In a clown suit
Sandwiches - At the Elton John concert
Pizza - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a street light
Other - With George Bush and Stephen Harper

4) What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Ignore
Red - Put whipped cream on
Black - Hit on
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - bit of
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the pants off of
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive over

5) What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My boyfriend
White - My father
Grey – The Catholic Priest
Brown – The Montreal Canadian’s goalie
Purple - My corned beef hash
Red – My knee caps
Blue - My salt-beef bucket
Yellow - My illegitimate child in Ghana
Orange - My Blink 182 cd
Pink – Your ‘My Little Pony’ collection
Other --The elephant in the corner

6) What do you prefer to watch on TV?
One Tree Hill - Senile
Heroes- Frostbitten
Lost - High
Simpsons- Cowardly
The news - Scarred
American Idol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Open
Top Model - Middle-class
Other -shamed

7) Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful you are
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That I get turned on only by garbage men
Angry - That your smell makes me vomit
Depressed – That we’re related
Excited - That I may pee my pants
Nervous - The middle-east is planning their revenge on you
Worried - That your Ford sucks
Apathetic - That you need a sex-change
Silly - That I'm allergic to your earlobes
Cuddly - That Santa doesn't exist
Ashamed - That there is no solution to you being a dumb kid
Other - That your driving sucks

8) What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your toe ring
Yellow - Your love letters to me
Red - The pictures from Vegas
Black - Your pet rock
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - Your car
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your nose hair clippers
Grey - Our matching snoopy underwear
Purple - Your old New Kids on the Block blanket
Pink - The cut toenails
Other - Your Hannah Montana underwear

9) The first letter of your first name?
A/B - My virginity
C/D - Your photo with the moustache drawn on it
E/F - Your neighbors dog
G/H - The oil tank from your car
I/J - Your left ear
K/L - The results of that blood-sample
M/N - Your glass eye
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X – Your sucide note
Y/Z - Your credit cards

10) The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Love your sweet, sweet ass
C/D - Always will remember the pep talks
E/F -Never will forget that night
G/H – Will not tell the authorites that you stole the whale from the backyard.
I/J – Mocked you behind your back constantly
K/L - Hate your cooking
M/N - Told in my confession today about the moose poaching
O/P - Told my psychiatrist about the bruises
Q/R - Always wanted to break your legs
S/T - Get sick when I think of your feet
U/V - Will try to forget that you broke my heart
W/X - Haven’t showered in a month
Y/Z – am better off without you

11) What do you prefer to drink?
Wine- Our friendship is ruined
Soft drink – I’m off to lead a new life as a lemon
Soda – I will haunt you when I’m reincarnated as an Eskimo
Milk - The apartment building is on fire
Water – I'm scratching my butt as you read this
Cider– I have a passionate interest for mice
Juice – You ruined my attempts at another world war
Mineral/Vitamin water – You should get that embarrassing rash checked
Hot chocolate – Your Cucumber-fetishism is weird
Whiskey - I love Oprah Winfrey
Beer – Thanks for the Cocaine
Other – you should stop picking your nose

12) To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand – Warm tingly sensations
Australia - Best of luck on the sex change
France - Love always
Spain - With tears of sadness
China – You make me sick
Germany – Please don’t hurt me
Japan - Go milk a cow
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
USA - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt – Kiss my butt
England - Go drown yourself

Focus

I need it, i need it and I mean it.

 

For the whole day, I continually failed to achieve focus.

Suspended Animation

Wake up. 30 minutes.

Shut the door.

Step in. 2 hours.

Bed.

 

Wake up.

45 minutes.

Lock the door.

Hail a cab.

It was dark when I came in.

Bed.

 

What happened in between?

What happened while I drift?

Dust gathers.

On the sticky dried up juice on the floor.

 

I was drifting;

Walking on muddy streets.

Forgetting the future.

Dust Fall - Orig Version

Dust gathers

On my desk, my books, envelopes

brown envelopes, pink matters.

Dust gathers

On my food box, vitamin bottles

used plastic bags, plastic matters.

 

Papers.

Notebooks.

Pictures.

Lay untouched. Piled up.

Either for weeks, months, years.

 

Our yellowing picture on the wall:

It smiled at me.

When did the clock start to stop?

I forgot that it never does.

Justice for Teacher Rebelyn Pitao

Justice for Rebelyn Pitao

Statement of the National Union of People's Lawyers

The brutal torture and murder of Rebelyn Pitao, a young school teacher and daughter of an alleged  officer of the New People’s Army, are condemnable for the heinousness of the crime and for putting another obstacle on the peace process.  The fact that the victim was abducted in broad daylight by armed men in front of many witnesses only points to the military as the perpetrator of another case of extra judicial killing.  The military has the motive, the means and the opportunity to execute the crime, important components in establishing the guilt of an accused in criminal law.

The precise military operation executed by armed men showing no fear of being accosted by the authorities or recognized by witnesses could only have been done by the military. The immediate denial of the AFP even before any investigation was conducted on the crime is one more evidence of the “denial” which UN Special Rapporteur charged the military with, in his report on extra judicial killings in the Philippines.  Pres. Gloria Arroyo who has long been accused with responsibility for this method of eliminating those who oppose her regime cannot escape responsibility by merely expressing outrage over the incident.  She must immediately order the relief of the highest AFP and PNP officers in Davao considering that the crime was conducted with impunity in their jurisdiction.  It would be hypocritical for Pres. Arroyo to relieve military and police officers if jueteng persists in their jurisdiction, if she would not similarly do the same in cases of extra judicial killings or enforced disappearances.

The NUPL demands, in light of the escalating cases of extra judicial killings, that Pres. Arroyo immediately relieve on the basis of command responsibility and investigate for complicity, the highest ranking officer of the AFP and the PNP in any area where extra judicial killing has taken place.  This “automatic relief” policy in cases of extra judicial killings should be a warning on government security forces who have tolerated if not participated in this insidious form of human rights violations. The attack on the innocent daughter of a suspected NPA rebel also violates various international covenants which prohibits such acts because of the danger of spiraling violence against civilians.  Even members of the Mafia have made an unwritten rule that civilian members  of their families should not be attacked  because the counter retribution against innocent members of the families will only worsen the violence. 

We welcome the  pronouncement of the NPA that it will not conduct retaliation on non-combatants who, under international humanitarian law, are not legitimate targets of attacks. Article 13 of Protocol II of the  Geneva Conventions and ratified by the Philippines provides that “The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilians are prohibited”.    This war crime was the basis for the warrant of arrest recently issued by the International Criminal Court on Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and will be the basis for holding Philippine human rights violators accountable in the future.

Even the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), the agreement between the Philippine Government and the National Democratic Front signed in 1998 also prohibits the same underArticle 4 (2)  “Civilian population and civilians shall be treated as such and shall be distinguished from combatants and, together with their property shall not be the object of attacks.”  The statement by Sec. Cerge Remonde equating the killing of Rebelyn Pitao to the NPA ambushes on military and police personnel not only shows the callousness of Sec. Remonde but also his ignorance of the international conventions treating civilians differently from combatants such as the military and the police. Remonde must be immediately reprimanded for such insensitivity and ignorance. The intentional killing of civilians, including relatives of suspected combatants, must be condemned.  The perpetrators must be immediately held accountable for  gross human rights violations.  The escalation of extra judicial killings only makes it more imperative for the government to implement the Alston recommendations and theautomatic relief policy.

Confusion

I want to shout jump and let the animated catharsis bloom to life! I'm full and heavy! Just wanna get through with it.

I would always miss NUSP

I would always miss NUSP. This is the position that I worked for the longest in the student movement. I was also in this org when I suddenly walked out and left. Contradictions and personal preferences took over me, and at that time, I did not have full control of my own life. I left to face my own contradictions and I never knew that going back is harder than arriving for the first time.

I would want to come back in the movement, not as a student anymore but as a young person who is yearning for her passions in life. I would want to march again in the streets with the people and shout with them to seek a society with just and lasting peace.

But then I would like to finish shaping the structure of myself as an individual. I need to undergo serious self criticism. For some reasons, I am not yet ready. I've become too preoccupied with trivial things, spent my nights and days crying over silly contradictions which any freedom fighter could easily resolve. I don't know why but it seems that I never learned. Being a revolutionary is different from living a simple and ordinary life.

Wherever I go, injustice prevails. I have encountered reality first-hand. I don't know how to get myself to face being a victim of powerful people and irresponsibility. Then I have to look back at the workings of how a revolutionary faces contradictions.

 

 

Pictures Taken last NUSP Alumni Home coming, September 20, 2008 at Former Cheif Justice Artemio Panganiban's Residence. he is the founder of this most esteemed alliance.

Below: Former PUP Student Regents: Gly Gotiangco (three terms before me), Henrie Enaje (My successor), Myself, Pia Prado (Henrie's successor). As student regents, we worked with NUSP to push for students' rights and welfare. Othr group pictures: NUSP members Noon at ngayon.

SISTER STELLA L @ 25: Tuloy ang Pakikibaka!

SISTER STELLA L @ 25: Tuloy ang Pakikibaka!

Quarter of a century later, the rage of Sister Stella L remains as pertinent as when it was released in 1984. The proof, alas, is in the death toll. To date, 850 mainstream journalists and other public figures have been killed in the name of the Philippine government’s 2001 "War on Terrorism" campaign. Human rights violations number to 169,530 individuals, 18,515 families, 71 communities, and 196 households. One person is killed every three days.

 

The terror of Sister Stella L knows no boundaries, not even the four corners of the silver-screen. It is real and present. And we live it.

 

Thus, with urgency, the University Film Institute of the Philippines and the Vilma Santos Solid International celebrates the 25^th anniversary of Sister Stella L with a screening in the UP Cine Adarna on March 20, 5pm. The event will also feature an exhibition of production memorabilias and a forum with the esteemed cast and crew, including Governor Vilma Santos.

 

Directed by Mike De Leon and written by Pete Lacaba and Jose Almojuela, Sister Stella L tells of the socio-political awakening of a nun (Vilma Santos) as she helped workers on strike against an oil factory in Barrio Agoho ran by an abusive administration. Cautious, Sister Stella’s enlightenment was hastened upon witnessing the torture of political leader Ka Dencio (Tony Santos).

 

The strength of the film Sister Stella L lies in the nuanced study of the transformation of a common citizen. Beyond the blatant display of rarara activism, it reveals and resolves layers of conflict of Sister Stella: as a nun committed to serving God, as a woman struggling to reconcile feelings for an ex-lover, and as a citizen slowly seeing the truths of a brutal system.

 

Simply put, Sister Stella is everyone of us, in various shades of restlessness from living in a system that has consistently let its people down. Mike De Leon’s masterpiece is not so much an invitation to see a well-crafted film but a call to action. For really, the film is just a mirror of our realities. And Sister Stella L makes us turn the other way around, so we can start seeing, from reel to real, with eyes wide open.

SISTER STELLA L @ 25: Tuloy ang Pakikibaka!

SISTER STELLA L @ 25: Tuloy ang Pakikibaka!

Quarter of a century later, the rage of Sister Stella L remains as pertinent as when it was released in 1984. The proof, alas, is in the death toll. To date, 850 mainstream journalists and other public figures have been killed in the name of the Philippine government’s 2001 "War on Terrorism" campaign. Human rights violations number to 169,530 individuals, 18,515 families, 71 communities, and 196 households. One person is killed every three days.

 

The terror of Sister Stella L knows no boundaries, not even the four corners of the silver-screen. It is real and present. And we live it.

 

Thus, with urgency, the University Film Institute of the Philippines and the Vilma Santos Solid International celebrates the 25^th anniversary of Sister Stella L with a screening in the UP Cine Adarna on March 20, 5pm. The event will also feature an exhibition of production memorabilias and a forum with the esteemed cast and crew, including Governor Vilma Santos.

 

Directed by Mike De Leon and written by Pete Lacaba and Jose Almojuela, Sister Stella L tells of the socio-political awakening of a nun (Vilma Santos) as she helped workers on strike against an oil factory in Barrio Agoho ran by an abusive administration. Cautious, Sister Stella’s enlightenment was hastened upon witnessing the torture of political leader Ka Dencio (Tony Santos).

 

The strength of the film Sister Stella L lies in the nuanced study of the transformation of a common citizen. Beyond the blatant display of rarara activism, it reveals and resolves layers of conflict of Sister Stella: as a nun committed to serving God, as a woman struggling to reconcile feelings for an ex-lover, and as a citizen slowly seeing the truths of a brutal system.

 

Simply put, Sister Stella is everyone of us, in various shades of restlessness from living in a system that has consistently let its people down. Mike De Leon’s masterpiece is not so much an invitation to see a well-crafted film but a call to action. For really, the film is just a mirror of our realities. And Sister Stella L makes us turn the other way around, so we can start seeing, from reel to real, with eyes wide open.

dust fall

On my books

 

on my desk

they fell.

Like autumn leaves in a deserted park.

 

They pile up.

I just pass them by.

Every day, every month, and the years coming.

I never knew that time does not stop.

fIRE eXIT

With my occasional to rampant leaking moments at the edge of the thin staircase overlooking the side streets of my city, I lean on the hip-high ledge.. stare at the 3 inch thick metal steps of the stairs..beckoning the chance that I may fall off to sleep or simply get a delusional visual dis-balance as my body gravitates to the ground, six storeys below.