Saturday, July 28, 2007

Si LQS (Part 2)

Ang nakaraan...isang pangkatang proyekto...isang pagsasaliksik sa kontemporaryong kasaysayan...isang napiling paksa...isang napiling tao...si LQS...at si sonofaditch...nagharap sa CM Recto Hall...katugnaw sang aircon hehehehe

Ang mga tauhan (Dramatis Personae kung gusto niyo sosyal; nalimtan sang ginasulat ang Part One)

Sonofaditch - Negrense, mag-aaral ng Masterya sa Kasaysayan, feeling freshman
Krisdel - mag-aaral ng Masterya sa Kasaysayan, nagmula sa Miriam College (shucks!)
Maricris - nasa unang taon sa pag-aaral ng B.A. History
Lovely - nasa nth(?) year na sa pag-aaral ng Education. Masayahing bata...sobrang daldal...may topak
Carlo - Unique ni siya...nag-aaral ng Business Administration...slightly autistic...mabilis mawala...("uy, 'asan na si Carlo?")
Lydia Quindoza Santiago - makatang de-kalibre
Isang masungit na propesora sa FC


so I faced LQS and asked her if she's available for an interview. And to my great relief she agreed to be interviewed and told us she'll be available on Monday, July 23, 2:30 PM at her Room at the Faculty Center (FC). So having obtained her "matamis na oo", I met with my groupmates the next day and told them of the news...

In my haste (or nervousness, or maybe its the aircon, or maybe its because i haven't read the newspapers lately...) I didn't realize that the SONA was scheduled on July 23, Monday. So what has it got to do with the interview, you may ask? well we're in UP for crying out loud and the SONA automatically means MASS PROTEST ACTION....the tibaks were mobilizing and there were rumors that classes will be suspended on Monday -- the day that we were supposed to interview LQS...patay...

Still we refused to be daunted by the expected suspension of classes...after all, it was still a rumor last Friday. So our group agreed to meet at Palma Hall on Monday morning, before the traffic becomes horrendous, and plan on our interview, and wait until 2:30 PM...

and so Saturday passed without event and without any announcement regarding Monday. Sunday came and a lot of text messages were arriving asking me if I heard anything about Monday...hehe the clueless asking the clueless...it was only around 2 AM of July 23 that a text arrived from the CSSP Student Council that announced the suspension of classes for Monday...Thank you very much for the prompt announcement grrrrr....

But our group still had to push through with the scheduled interview...we had to assume that LQS is expecting us on Monday -- it was the only time that she'll be available, and since we had no way of contacting her, we had no choice but to come on Monday....

Monday morning: I was standing outside of Palma Hall, and text messages were arriving...

Krisdel: here na Palma Hall, wer u?

Lovely: Kuya Michael, asan na po kau?

Carlo: wer u?

Maricris: andito na po kami...

We finally managed to find each other at the lobby amidst the crowd of tibaks preparing to march toward the Batasan...good thing I didn't wear red or else I would be swept into the crowd and automatically drafted into the tibak movement...

And so we met and discussed the outline of our interview and the information we have gathered so far on LQS...we had our books on hand, Krisdel had her tape recorder...Carlo had his video camera...possible questions were discussed and agreed upon...we were ready...as in...ready na gid ya...

it was around 10:30 AM, we decided to go to the FC and check if LQS was already inside her office, it might be possible that we might conduct our interview earlier so my groupmates could come home earlier before the mass protests go full swing...

when we checked if she's available in her room, we met "ang masungit na propesora". Actually I already had a run-in with Prof. Masungit (whoever she is...) when Krisdel and I first went to see if LQS is in her room on Friday. Most of the faculty rooms at the FC are shared by some professors -- in this case LQS and Prof Masungit are, shall we say, roommates...

I went inside and asked if LQS was in, Prof Masungit replied "No, she's on leave right now..." and before I could even ask another question she said. "Don't ask me, I'm busy..." pointing to her laptop.

well OK...sorrrreeeee

so when it was Monday and we had to come inside LQS' room, I did not want to be the one to face Prof. Masungit again. So this time, Krisdel went in and according to her, before she could even get a word out, Prof. Masungit waved her hand in a "No" gesture and pointed to her laptop, as if saying:

"Don't ask me, I'm busy..."

(So now it's possible to be a bitch both verbally and non-verbally...)

so we went outside and that was when we saw a note posted on the door addressed to LQS. It was confirmation that she was there -- all we had to do was wait.

And so the long wait begins...


Next time...the FINAL CHAPTER of this epic trilogy...kadto ko anay library...hehehe


Stand Alone 1.1o

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Si LQS...(Part 1)

yesterday I was afforded a rare opportunity to meet one of the brilliant minds of Philippine Literature. this encounter is an example of how serendipity and persistence combine to make a worthwhile experience.

First, the serendipity part: On assignment in our Contemporary Philippine History subject to conduct an interview exploring a certain period of Contemporary Philippines, our group decided to concentrate our efforts on researching on the Martial Law Period - with a "special focus" on literature.

A few days ago, we were still unsure how to proceed with the topic that we had chosen. As I have stated in my previous blog, we still have to figure out whom we should interview. We were told that UP is literally crowding with writers who were active during the Martial Law Period but the problem is none of us knew any who might be willing.

Here's where SERENDIPITY struck: Monday of the previous week, one of our groupmates, Krisdel brought with her a student research paper detailing the works of three women writers during Martial Law. And from the three, one name stood out: Lilia Quindoza Santiago...

The reason why we chose her is that based on the interview conducted by the student researchers in their work, she had actual experience of participating in the so called "underground movement", and have had to live in the mountains for several months before being captured and "man-handled" by the military; she has gone through a lot as a member of the underground and we felt that her unique perspective is what our research needed.

And so we did the research on our "target". Only when I have seen the books that she has written and read some of her works did I begin to appreciate that the person that we are about to meet is one "makatang de-kalibre". Dr. Santiago (a.k.a. LQS) is a feminist writer and many of her works touched on poetry with a "feminist touch"; her works on the discourse of feminist literature is a critical and revisionist look at how the role of women was viewed throughout history. I have read her two books of poetry and it an enlightening read - feminist poetry has a different perspective, a different "approach" when compared to the male, "macho" literature prevalent during the Martial Law Period. From her studies of radical literature I found several "gemstones" of protest poetry: from Pete Lacaba's "Prometheus Unbound" and "In Memoriam" to Jose Ma. Sison's "The Forest is still Enchanted", to Jose V. Vitug and Emmanuel Lacaba's works as well as the poetry of their other compatriots - writers both male and female, known and unknown, those who lost their lives in the struggle and those who survived to carry on.

Reading on LQS' works has already been enlightening, can't wait to meet her in person...and this is where PERSISTENCE comes in...

We were supposed to meet LQS during her book launching Thursday last week. That was the only time she was available in the University for she is currently on leave and will be going to the University of Hawaii next month -- our "target" might slip out of our sights if we don't get to her soon...challenge ni...we were supposed to be there as a group -- ang ending ako lang kag si Carlo, another groupmate, ang nag-attend sang book launching.

And so we had to sit there at C.M. Recto Hall for about 2 hours listening to LQS lecture on what she called "Daduma(sic) Pay" translated: "At Iba Pa" -- other perspectives in viewing Philippine Literature from Ancient until Present times. She spoke for about 40 minutes, and the impression I got was that LQS is a mild-mannered, soft spoken woman whose years of experience and her literary expertise did not make her an intimidating figure. This impression was confirmed when I approached her after the event and asked if we could interview her. Carlo was gone at this point for he had a class, and so here I was, the lone messenger of our group, facing LQS, Professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature, accomplished writer and literary critic, "makatang de-kalibre".....


to be continued....may class pa 'ko eh. hehehe


Stand Alone 1.09

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

English-Tagalog Dictionary

the recent new revelations of errors in textbooks used in public schools have caused controversy once again in the DepEd. Among the errors enumerated is a "ridiculous" translation of English terms into Filipino. Here's a sample of what happens if we're not very careful with our "translation" (taken from a reaction posted in a website I visited). Though I'm not sure if these were taken from actual economics or bookkeeping textbooks, you can see that the results could be hilarious. ~ ditch

asset - ari
fixed asset - nakatirik na ari
liquid asset - basang ari
solid asset - matigas na ari
owned asset - sariling pagaari
other asset - ari ng iba
miscellaneous asset - ibat-ibang klase ng ari
asset write off - pinutol na pagaari
depreciation of asset - laspag na pagaari
fully depreciated asset - laspag na laspag na pagaari
earning asset - tumutubong pagaari
working asset - ganado pa ang ari
non-earning asset - baldado na ang ari
erroneous entry - mali ang pagkapasok
double entry - dalawang beses ipinasok
multiple entry - labas pasok ng labas pasok
correcting entry - itinama ang pagkapasok
reversing entry - baliktad ang pagkapasok
dead asset - patay na ang ari

a friend commented that the above list is not actually found in any textbook but is a long-running joke among accountants and has been constantly passed around in chain mails. thanx for the clarification ~ ditch



Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Sunday, July 15, 2007

DIVERSIONS and DISTRACTIONS

every so often some event just happens to disrupt the "tranquility" of my academic studies, occurences often random and unplanned...to translate: kis-a sa akon nga pag-eskwela may ara gasinabad nga mga wala diri wala didto hehehe

being in a liberal academic environment has it's share of sudden "what the hell?" moments. You might be sitting quietly inside your classrooms when suddenly screams of indignation could be heard right outside the corridors, with the "tibaks" (UP slang for "activists") making "baka" (protest, as in "makibaka"), and then there would be a tibak propaganda officer entering your classroom with urgent summons for you to join their cause. there was one time the tibaks were calling for students to join them on a march to Mendiola for a demonstration against the HSA among other demands and concerns that they had (political killings, the "commercialization" of UP education, the whole shebang). I told myself, "You must be kidding, and layu-layo ng Mendiola..." and so the tibak P.O. gave his rousing harangue and left...nobody followed...

another time there was this convoy going around honking their horns while classes were going on, another protest perhaps...nobody seemed to mind, everybody seemed used to these disruptions...ako medyo ga manol-manol pa..."spontaneous" protests and mass actions are not very common here in the colleges in Bacolod...bilib ako sa mga student activists here who really believe in what their fighting for and I am just amazed at the different tactics they employ (from mass rallies to spraypainting garbage cans and walls)...but still, layo gyapon ang Mendiola ah...hehehe...goodluck na lang sa mga tibaks...keep up with the "distractions"...

From the unplanned "distractions" we move on to the "diversions" that I am a willing participant in. Now if those tibaks announced that there would be a book sale offering countless titles on world history, philippine history and classical literature -- with FREE books for the first hundred attendees at Mendiola, I would've jumped from my seat and joined them. To hell with diokno! To hell with classes! (but since when nagka-booksale sa Mendiola?, dreaming again!).

I mentioned in my previous blog post that the malls have been extensions of reading rooms in the library for me. Since the main lib closes at 5 pm, and there are no tambayans or lounges that are free for all (not exclusive for clubs and orgs) around UP, I have to find a suitable place to continue my readings -- with wide spaces, relatively quite atmosphere, kag kung pwede aircon? hehe -- and the malls are my refuge during these times. Lapad na, lapit pa kalan-an kag CR, but then I have to contend with the noise around me and the other "distractions" (PDA couples -- prev. blog pls). I am amazed that I am able to conduct a thorough reading of a book i've borrowed from the lib in the foodcourt of SM North -- the noisiest place i've read in so far. There was even a time last saturday that a barkada crowded around the next table where i'm sitting (imagine the seats in the foodcourt of Rob Bacolod, I'm occupying one side, while they were on the other side, and spilling over to my side). They were a bit rowdy but I ignored them (a great effort on my part). Suddenly I heard one of them say to their other friend, "'wag ka ngang maingay, may nag-aaral diyan sa tabi mo!" hehehe who studies during saturdays in the middle of the mall, by the way?

Come Sunday all academic pursuits are forgotten for a few hours. I go to mass at the Church of Holy Sacrifice, roam around the Shopping Center, go to the mall (SM North, or Trinoma, where I'm composing this blog at the moment), sniff around the bookstores (of course, Powerbooks...where else?), log on the internet...surf-surf, blog-blog...then if my budget allows it, a movie to cap off my afternoon... ahhhh relax ta anay ah...the hours pass by and you don't seem to notice it...then it's time to go home and face my tasks as a student...

Each day is just a balancing act between the "tasks" and the "diversions". And then there's the "distractions" that come once in a while...hay, hwat a layp.


Stand Alone 1.08

Thursday, July 12, 2007

QUIZ TIME!!!!

bagong gimik naman ito para mapansin ang blog ko. hehe Just as I said in my friendster bulletin post, time to get those neurons up and going. Hope you did that and used you neural networks...or maybe you just skipped the THINKING part and logged on to my blog...which was the primary intent anyway -- get you to notice my blog? hehehe

anyway...what is the answer to the question? what did I lose that I considered most precious and dear to me. Let's go through the options....

A. my SANITY? C. my MOST VALUED WRITING INSTRUMENT?

B. my WHOLE MONTHLY ALLOWANCE? D. my VIRGINITY?


OPTION A: almost...but not quite. Those who chose this may have thought that my brain has succumbed to the overwhelming mental strain of reading several books everyday. Or others may have already considered me insane to begin with. Hmmmm....

I'm beginning to feel the pressure of historical research. I have read about 4 books now (as in read the entire book--averaging about 250 pages per book), plus countless chapters from the different required readings in my subjects. But since last week I've been concentrating on my Kas 10 research -- and I'm still on the prowl for additional sources for my research. All this for just ten pages of historical essay, hay naku. And there are other research projects for my other subjects but they'll have to wait. I'll just finish reading for Kas 10 and then I'll jump into the next few projects 1) an interview with supporting documents -- no interviewee yet 2) a research paper on contemporary Philippine history -- may topic na, and I have read about 7 chapters from various sources, but this one's related to my Kas 10 essay so it wouldn't be too hard once I finish reading for Kas 10. I've been bringing my reading materials wherever I go -- even to malls. Trinoma and SM North Edsa are now my unofficial reading centers...may libre pa nga live show with couples making PDA around me...it's like being in the middle of a soft-core porn film. hehehe I'm already digressing...basta kaya ta ni ah!

OPTION B: sorry try again...but if I keep straying inside Powerbooks in every mall I visit, this just might happen in the near future. I'm being miserly this week until next week because I'm saving up for an academic booksale on July 25 (libro na naman!). My mother complains about my bibliophilia everytime we talk on the phone. And I keep telling her: "Na, kay ang bata mo maestro na, history pa gina-tudlo! Mayu na kay libro ginabakal ko kag indi drugs!" hahaha I'm expecting to bring home a TON of books when the semester ends. So far the list of books i've purchased include a book on Egyptian history, culture and art (wow! kanami sang pictures!) that I bought at Powerbooks @ the Mall of Asia at a BIG discount (mahal gyapon but worth it), a VERY THICK book of Philippine Epics (now I know who Lubaylubyuk Hanginon Mahuyukhuyuk is -- sister ni Nagmalitung Yawa Sinagmaling Diwata gale hehe), Sophie's World (that I try to finish reading -- damn those research!), two Pugad Baboy Books (13 & 14, additions to my Pugad Baboy collections), a book on Philippine Collaboration during WW2 (with some grammatical errors and inconsistencies in facts grrr), The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, the 500 People you'll meet in Hell by Jessica Zafra, The Comedies of Aristophanes, and more to come...others are photocopies of books that I had hard-bound "for reference". Addiiiiiiiict!!!!

OPTION C: CONGRATULATIONS! (cue music) You have fathomed the mind of Sonofaditch! Isa kang henyo and you deserve to be counted among the great minds of history! Gleng, sori wala prize, hehehe....

Actually nadula ballpen ko sang Monday, and it's not just any ordinary ballpen mind you. Pilot GTech nga 4.0 ni nga kamahal pa sang refill. For a student (and teacher) losing this valued writing instrument is equivalent to a soldier losing his firearm while a battle is raging all around him. So I had to acquire a new weapon -- este, ballpen -- posthaste so of I off I went mounted on a UP-PANTRANCO jeep bound for the Shopping Center. With great speed I traversed the treacherous hallway of the Shopping Center, fought a thousand demon-beasts with my lightsaber, reached THE GREAT DOOR OF "PULL", and pulled...and went inside the mini-bookstore. Dios ko kamahal sang baligya nila sang GTech (damn you capitalists! or in this case damn you UP Employees Livelihood Cooperative who operates the UP Shopping Center! Damn youuuuuuuuuuu!) but no choice so I had to buy it or else my readings and notes would be stalled. So Moral Lesson kiddies: always remember where you put your ballpen -- and have yourself checked for Early Onset Alzheimer's...

OPTION D: Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Amo lang na mahambal ko...


Stand Alone 1.07

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

NEXT INSTALLMENT

OK here goes...updates from the previous week, Enjoy!

Transformers!


watched the movie at SM Mall of Asia and boy was I impressed! Growing up watching the Autobots and Decepticons duking it out on the television screen, I had many expectations about the live-action/CG film version of the cartoon series. And the film made good in its effort to bring the cartoon series into a whole new generation of kids and young adults (read: potential buyers of merchandise), and the liberties that they had taken with the original storyline was, on my part, bearable. If i were a sourpuss I would've screamed indignation that Bumblebee was supposed to be a Volkswagen, where the hell was the spaceship stuck in the side of the mountain that was supposed to be the homebase of the the Autobots, Megatron was supposed to turn into a gun not into - whatever the hell that was; and where the hell are the OTHER Transformers (the one that turns into a Space Shuttle, the female Autobot that turns into a motorcycle, the Oriental looking robot, the weird "pod-like" robots that had multiple faces...anyway may sequel pa man ah) Hahaha just recalling how much I remember...anyway, really had a great time and I felt like a child again. Seeing and hearing Optimus Prime (BTW, the voice actor for Optimus Prime was the original voice actor from the series and the 80's cartoon movie) gave me goosebumps...liked the scene where Bumblebee was helping Sam Witwicky pick up the gorgeous girl ("Baby come back!")...laughed out loud during the scene the Autobots were playing hide and seek with Sam's parents...laughed at the references to "lubrication"...and loved/hated the small imp-like robot that turns into a CD player. The action sequences were AWESOME and the rendering of the robots were EXQUISITE. hope Dreamworks doesn't mess up the sequel...hulat naman ta mga three years for the next installment, hopefully!


106/110

That's my score in the map test for Kas 112. Wohoooooo!!!


P? N? P/N?

the choices in Prof Diokno's test. I was so confused and mentally exhausted that I went for a walk around Palma Hall after passing my paper. Even worse, I confused inductive with deductive during the second part of the test. hahaha, hope I get a decent score on this test, although I think Prof will chew my hide with the "deductive" mishap. God help me...


I.D.!!!!

may I.D. na po ako! Just took a few minutes to process the I.D. and there it was crisp, new and mainit-init pa. Although I was mildly irritated with the two guys who were before me having the I.D. pics taken. Daw malingaw ka man tani because they were doing unique poses para astig kuno kuha nila...but this second guy took about 5 minutes just posing...he was conscious of a birthmark on his face that he tried to cover up by doing a "Mr Pogi" pose (with the hand on the face at may pakindat-kindat pa!) Putang-ina, maraming tao ang naghihintay and just because you're insecure about your face doesn't mean you'll have to delay the rest of us. And so he finally finished, in the pic his birthmark could still be seen (wala namang masama sa birthmark, you'll have to own all aspects of you di ba? after all it makes you, YOU...hehe)

i have to admit that I had no idea that our pics would be taken again by a digital cam because the Registrar required us to pass a 2x2 pic so I thought that they would be scanning it. so in my official ID pic, the shirt I was wearing is not really appropriate for an ID picture. Good thing the background's orange for graduate students, for had it been red for undergrads, I would've been a disembodied head floating in blood. hehehe...

Stand Alone 1.06