2008-10-31

tired. happy. excited.

tired. i have not had good sleep in the last two weeks. make that my entire stay in the netherlands, but the last two weeks were the worse. i have never studied this much for an exam, ever.

happy. working for something that never guarantees success has taught me that sometimes you just have to be happy with the process. and i think i have worked hard enough to learn and understand what was taughti n our classrooms. whatever grade i will get will never ever measure whatever knowledge i have been blessed with the last two months.

excited! off to prague tomorrow. i have always dreamed of traveling the world. crazy wanderlust. if only i can see every nook and cranny... well i can but i just can't afford it. and tomorrow, i get to go off to another adventure. yipeeee!!! dreams come true... little by little. but they do, they do.

aaaahh. i have a song in my heart. yipee. :D

tired. happy. excited.

tired. i have not had good sleep in the last two weeks. make that my entire stay in the netherlands, but the last two weeks were the worse. i have never studied this much for an exam, ever.

happy. working for something that never guarantees success has taught me that sometimes you just have to be happy with the process. and i think i have worked hard enough to learn and understand what was taughti n our classrooms. whatever grade i will get will never ever measure whatever knowledge i have been blessed with the last two months.

excited! off to prague tomorrow. i have always dreamed of traveling the world. crazy wanderlust. if only i can see every nook and cranny... well i can but i just can't afford it. and tomorrow, i get to go off to another adventure. yipeeee!!! dreams come true... little by little. but they do, they do.

aaaahh. i have a song in my heart. yipee. :D

2008-10-27

maligayang kaarawan mahal ko

hindi magandang ideya ang pakinggang ang jazz mix na gawa mo habang nag-aaral. nang marinig ko ang tinig ni julia fordham, may lalim ang lungkot at tumindi ang pangungulila. alaala nuong simula natin... patambay-tambay sa 1710 habang nakikinig kay julia. maraming kuwentong dala ang kanyang tinig. di lang sa atin kungdi maging iyong kasaysayan...

maari namang itigil at palitan ng iba pa na mas masaya. mas makakatulong sa pag-aaral. pero pinili kong yakapin ang nararamdaman. isang pag-papaalala na ikaw at ikaw pa rin.

alam mo naman na malikot ang mata ko. at di ko pinalalampas ang mga kuwento. totoo, may kilig, may tuwa. ngunit hinding-hindi nila maibibigay ang kapayapaan na naibibigay mo kapag ang ating mga palad ay nagkakadaupan. kapag nariyan ka lang sa tabi at tutok sa computer. kapag katabi sa pagtulog. payapa. yun ka. masayang kiligin paminsan-minsan, pero alam mo naman kapayapaan ang gusto kong hangtungan.

dahil hindi ko maipapadama ito sa pamamagitan ng hawak at yakap... ito na lang.

salamat at sinilang ka. dahil sa iyo, payapa buhay ko. :)

2008-10-23

super amigos

It's actually study recess at the ISS right now. This means we are given a week to study for the upcoming exams. I'm quite glad the Pinoy Mafia decided to take a trip to Prague after the exams and not before because my reading backlog is horrendous. All these partying and making friends are really getting in the way of studying. Oh wait. Studying is getting in the way of studying and making friends.

Anyways, today was dedicated to finishing my Global Politics paper. Thankfully, I have submitted it already. I just want to be rid of it so I can move on to other things. I also received good news that my Economics group was able to get a 95% on our exam. Yey! We could have gotten 20 if we really thought out the last question more. But I can not be more than happy with the results given we only had two meetings on it.

After I was done with my paper, I decided to watch a documentary showing at the ISS. It would have take a precious two hours of study time, but it seemed to have an interesting premise.

Super Amigos is a documentary on five masked men. From the left to right of the picture is Ecologista, Super Animal, Super Barrio and Super Gay. Fray Tormente is missing from the picture. Each one have their own advocies. Two of them were actual wrestlers.

Ecologista advocates for the environment. It showed him walking 500 miles for eight days, using a basket for his purchases leaving the plastic behind at the super market, giving yellow cards to those buying natural christmas tree and making a christmas tree out of junk.

Super Animal and his sidekick Super Animalito fighting against bullfighting. They have had protests during the bullfighting season, attempts to meet with city councilors to remove bullfighting. I think he is still in quest to reach 50,000 signatures from Mexican voters. So if you know anyone from Mexico, tell him or her to sign!

Super Barrio helps people who are being evicted from their homes. He has helped people get together to stand up for their rights to shelter. What he said during his interview was quite moving and beautiful. I can't repeat it now, but I can't help but be moved and feel good about fighting for justice.

Super Gay is obviously one who fights for gay rights. In the movie, the culmination of his cause was the participation of more than 100,000 people in Gay Rights Parage. Love his pink spandex. His interview with a mother was also quite moving, though disturbing. Such violent forms of homophobia should be stopped.

Fray Tormente is actually a priest in mask. He is a real wrestler, who from his earnings from fights, was able to put up a shelter for boys. There he also teaches them wrestling. I find it a refreshing way to approach the priestly ministry. If only more priests can be that interesting and progressive. I do wonder how his Bishop is approaching his way of preaching.

I don't know if this movie can be downloaded or viewed online. Though if you have the budget, I saw buy it and support documentary makers and independent film producers. But I do recommend this movie to everybody.

The treatment was quite creative as it was presented in a comic book manner. There was a lot of animation and the music jived well with their characters and the presentation. I agree with Risa when she said she like the way how their characters were developed. Bits of their lives and histories were shown in the movie too. When they had their epiphanies to be fighters for the rights of others.

This is one movie I would like to show to the Filipino youth. It would be something that may get them interested in social justice.

So yun. Here ends my break for study. If you can find it, watch it!

2008-10-16

parang college

dahil nangingibabaw na naman ang extra curricular activities ko kesa sa pag-aaral. kaloka. kahit pa may paper ako na due na in a few days, wala pa rin akong nagagawa. 1500 words lang naman, pero lola ang research na kelangan gawin. di na puwede ang bola bola dito! hahay.

masaya kagabi kasi nagpintura lang kami ng bed sheet para sa banner sa stand up take action event namin bukas sa school. eepal ako sa harap ng maraming nasyonalidad ng iba't-ibang bansa para hikayatin na magsalita laban sa kahirapan. kaloka. kahit nung college, di ako umepal na hosting churvalu. behind the scenes lagi. pero sige na lang. kumapal na mukha ko sa mga nagdaang taon. at marami na rin akong natutunan kay toni gonzaga sa kakapanuod ng big brother. charing.

wala lang. masaya ako. sana okay ang execution bukas. marami kaming naghirap para dito. nakakatuwa ang teamwork kahit pa multicultural kami. sana ganun kadali ang united nations. harhar.

yun lang. bow. nagsasayang ng oras na dapat nakalaan sa research. tigang sa internet. hehe!

2008-10-11

sunny day

the last two days the weather was just wonderful. the sun was out and it wasn't that cold.

yesterday, after i finished with my temporary residence permit activities, i rushed to the schevinengen supposedly so i can read for class. supposedly.

i ended up just watching the surfers make do with the tinny waves and people walking their dogs or playing with their kids. as i walked the length of the beach, the sound of the waves soothed my spirit. though schevinengen looked nothing like suqui beach, it sounded so much like it. suqui beach was where i would usually go for some alone time when i was a volunteer in mindoro. i couldn't help but be energized. like i was a battery fully charged. the sea has always been my friend and it was a good one yesterday.

as i walked i couldn't help but notice that the birds were pairing up. mating season! there were a couple of swans floating by. then a pair of pigeons pecking out. and gulls flying in pairs.

then i loved the sight of the sun dancing on the waves. that made me feel good the most for some reason.

today... even if i just spent a few minutes outside, it also made me feel good especially since i did not feel the need to wear a jacket. a rare moment these days, and one i wanted to abuse but then classes had to start. bummer. tee-hee!

i just hope for more sunny days ahead before winter finally comes!