Right now, I am remembering the rose in the Little Prince.

The Rose …..as a character …gains significance because of how much time and effort the prince has invested in caring for her, the rose embodies the fox’s statement that love comes from investing in other people.”

Now, given my past experience, do I actually allow myself to invest again?

I think I am overdoing things again.  My third working day after vacation (well, I didn’t even have my vacation because I handled the 2nd year SRP) was already tedious. I missed being really busy but I didn’t expect I will be doing several things at the same time. Hmmm…will there be time to slow down a bit?

I think I have to just look forward to my weekend. At least I will be out of town with my family and my mom’s friends and their families.  Night swimming. Eating. Chatting. Relaxing.

But I can’t get work off my head: the Independence Day program which I am heading, the seminar next Saturday, the topic outline due Wednesday next week, the meeting with SEALS, and maybe more tasks coming.

Ok…am not making any sense. I am tired.

It’s only been two days (second day of work after vacation) but I feel like the coming school year’s going to really eat up most of my time. Elected PRO of the Faculty Club, YLC for the AP Second Year Level, Class Mod, Org Mod…five classes plus committee works.

And now what is urgent is the Independence Day Celebration on June 12. I was asked to head it and I need to think of a good plan for that. I still have the PROMDI Instructional Materials to work on before the third week of May.

So where do I squeeze in reading? I want to concentrate when I read but I feel like I won’t be able to when I am bothered by the things I need to do. A matter of time management? My graduate thesis, too! Shucks!

Coffee breaks can still be done. I want to go out of town when I can. I also have a May 17 seminar to work on with my colleagues. Haha. Andami na hindi pa nagsisimula ang school year.

Good thing there’s David Cook when I need to unwind. Hehe.

Anyway, I have to go back to work…work…work.

Hmm…time management? Yes, I think I better learn to manage my time well.

These are blessings. Blessings are blessings. I have to focus on one thing at a time so I can attend to all of them.

See more progress on: finish my reading list for Summer 2008

I cannot believe I will be going gaga over this American Idol contestant. Andie’s fault!

I taught papa how to blog today. He’s very intelligent. He has a lot of things and infos to share about literature, debate, thesis writing, etc. But his favorite topic’s about the weather. He’s been seriously studying weather patterns on his own for years and I am confident to say that he’s a lot of things to contribute to this topic. So, I told him to start blogging about it.

I had fun teaching him how to work online. I check his e-mail for him regularly but today I taught him to do it on his own. Nakakatuwa siya. Haha. Bigla na lang, bumaliktad ang mundo - ako ang nagtuturo sa magulang ko! Haha. Anyway, I could not help but take pictures of him while he’s surfing the net and composing his own e-mail.

I taught him how to make his own blog at wordpress. He’s succeeded in creating his own blog site but he decided to think about what to write as his first entry first before publishing it. Haha. He said he’ll do it on his own. Hmm….

Hopefully, I can bring papa to the next iblog summit! That’s exciting! I am already excited at the thought of it!

Papa while composing his own message at gmail

My dad’s conquering the net!!!!

I attended my first iblog summit yesterday. Well, it’s already the fourth summit and I regret having only known this kind of event recently. I learned a lot from the summit. I met new friends/bloggers who are very accommodating and very willing to give tips and info to someone like me who is new at blogging.

To my new friends/bloggers: Jon, Jerome, Ian, Jason, KC, and Jaycee, thanks for being soooo warm and accommodating! I enjoyed volunteering/working with you.

I don’t have photos yet…except for one which I was able to take before my camera ran out of battery (and that’s before the summit started…haha)…

Hopefully, Jerome will be able to upload photos and I can grab some from his site or maybe link to them.

I successfully uploaded one photo of my handmade accessories at e-bay. I believe I need to start saving to pay for the books I bought and to save for a volunteer trip to the Himalayas if I will be permitted to go.

See more progress on: start selling my handmade accessories

Done reading this book but right now am distracted online over this new website I found. Hehe. I think I have to do reviews for the last two books I’ve read during my retreat.

See more progress on: read 50 books or more this year

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to have been invited to judge the project proposals of the youth leaders who attended the first Philippine Jesuit High School Student Leaders Convention (JSLC) at AHS. I was with Ma’am Estela and Ianne. The students were asked to present project proposals which were then expected to be implemented in their respective regions.

The projects presented to us were very promising. I have observed that they were optimistic about the future. They had good project proposals. They were very positive and very resourceful. The projects were presented to us systematically…there were timetables, projections, and even budget plans! The projects focused on encouraging more youth participation in public service and leadership which for me should be taken positively. Given the current situation we are in, indeed we need to encourage our youth to get involved in local governance and leadership opportunities found in their immediate communities. Hopefully, encouraging them to give more time for these things will allow them to get rid of indifference and apathy. These attitudes are poisoning most of the youth now given the individualistic approach to life that’s promoted by technology and commercialism and even by lack of adult intervention.
Yet, I have also observed that these set of youth remain to be enclosed in a certain mindset. It is not their fault. When given suggestions, they were very open and very receptive. They were eager listeners and they positively reacted to criticisms. The event confirmed that as a teacher, and as an adult, there is a need to seriously work closely with them. If we are serious, too, about saving our future generations we can help guide them to think deeply about the current problems, listen to what they say about things, and support them, too, in their plans for the community. I have noticed how most of us adults still put a demarcation between them and us which right now I believe must at least be lessened if not removed.

When reviewing all the projects presented, I have noticed one thing. None of them mentioned any part of their projects that touches on the environment!

Whoever thinks of the environment nowadays anyway? I believe we need to act about this with such urgency!

The student leaders presenting their proposals.

Judging with Ma’am Estela and Ianne

Photos taken from the multiply account of Gerard V.

After finishing another book, A Thousand Pieces of Gold by Adeline Yen Mah, I decided to check my e-mail. Tin, my colleague in the department and now my boss, sent an e-mail about the Commencement Address of Ms. Cheche Lazaro. Upon seeing her name, I was brought back to my old days in UP Diliman as a student of Broadcast Communication. Then, I was hoping to have Cheche Lazaro as my Broadcast Journalism teacher. I was disappointed when she wasn’t available to teach when it was time for me to take the course. However, I did not have any regret taking the course under Ms. Nessa Valdellon, another very competent teacher and someone who worked under Cheche Lazaro’s Probe Productions team.

When I started reading her commencement address to graduating students of ADMU, I could not help but think again about my undergraduate course. I did not pursue a job in the broadcasting industry. I remembered so well when I embarked on an individual project about Nara Dormitory, an all male dormitory inside UP, researching about the funds provided for the dorm, checking the facilities and bravely taking footages alone of its basement rooms and areas which were not allowed for students to occupy because of frequent flooding, and conducting interviews with UP authorities about plans for the dormitory and why it has remained unattended to for quite some time. Then, I also remembered when I made a documentary of the streetchildren of Monumento immersing myself into their “culture” and following them around doing their daily activities as kids and even as “young vendors” helping their families augment the family income and pay for daily basic expenses. I can still clearly remember when these street children, given their very limited time to budget everything that they have to do (they study and at the same time work) still manage to find time to visit their friends who are admitted at an institution for the abused…still trying to cheer up their friends even if they themselves were quite tired from all the day’s activities and they need to still head home to do some more work. I remembered almost forgetting that they’re still kids…because at the last day of my visit, Pau and I decided to bring them to Glorietta and allowed them to enjoy one whole day of fun and games! Then, I saw in their eyes how they were really starving to play mindlessly and to just enjoy without even having to worry about time and basic concerns.

I remembered these things similar to how Cheche Lazaro narrated the life of Victor. Her speech reminded me of what I used to dream. I wanted to make documentaries and investigative reports then hoping to expose more similar stories and touch the lives of the people to avoid indifference and continue advocating generosity for others. I saw myself then as an instrument of communicating for them. Ms. Nessa even told me when I did my own on-cam narration that my strength lies as an on-cam personality - I can deliver my messages well on-cam, both as a newscaster and as a correspondent/investigative reporter. It was flattering and I was very hopeful then to continue pursuing my undergraduate course and land a job in a broadcasting firm.

However, Cheche Lazaro’s statement is right:

“When we are young, we spend time thinking of how we can achieve our dreams. As we grow older, we turn our focus on how we can enable the dreams of others … much like what this great university teaches, to be a “man for others.””

I realized that as I got older, I wanted to reach out more. Although a part of me still wants to produce documentaries/investigative reports I am sure that I can do this even if I have pursued my current job. In fact, I know I can reach out to more people and interact more with them especially the young. The shift to a teaching career was something my mind was trying to oppose then especially when I saw my batch mates already earning more and easily acquiring cars or even traveling abroad. Yet, my heart conquered my mind! I still allowed myself to pursue teaching and to hone myself at it! I still pursued it and remained idealistic even up to now that one day I will also achieve the material wealth I so desire for myself and for my parents, and still get the chance to travel and to see the world. I told myself I will be rewarded because I am doing what I love to do and, in the process, I am extending my talents in a challenging profession that most do not see anymore as noble, but as a profitable profession and a means to go abroad.
Right now, the speech was my reminder. It reminded me of my past which I hold so dearly in my heart. For without my experiences then I would have not been able to think and act like this now. It reminded me of the people in the past who humbled me and who continued to inspire me to pursue my dream. I still am positive that one day I will be able to extend my helping hand to the likes of the street children in Monumento or to even give back whatever I can to my college alma mater. It reminded me that right now I have indeed achieved a higher level of maturity over priorities in life which I feel proud I have achieved - being able to think and to do something beyond what I want for myself…but most especially for others!