I've also sent an sms to my family: "Ma, baka mag-back out ako sa exam. Di na ako mageexam ngayon. Me dalawa ng nag-back out hehe." (Ma, I might back out of the exam. I won't be taking the exam now. Two have already backed out)
I received a reply from my father: "I'm disappointed when you show fear. So what if you fail. Trust yourself you can."
Hny also pep talked me about taking it once and for all ("we should be like the Spartans, hawoo hawoo! hawoo!), [I was pumped from the much-thought battle cry and] I realized that I really don't have anything to lose. If I fail then I failed trying which is more honourable than just quitting without giving a fight. Life is not always about certainties, you're not always on the winning end. You take the risk, stand your ground and when you lose and hurt your pride, you move on, you learn your lesson and try again. Sometimes we get so hung up with other people's perception about ourselves, we often get muddled with "what will people say?" and "what if" thoughts, we tend to miss the uncertainties and take risks which make life more exciting and fulfilling. There is a more beautiful life outside the box, beyond the norms, the gossips and the judgments. Live it.
And we do. That's why the day right after the exam we decided to fly to Palawan. :)
In the middle of our review (read: cramming) sessions for the exam next week, I can't help but take a quick break and share my thoughts about this issue that had taken the globe(oh yeah!) by storm. I won't add to the myriad of expletives and insults that had been said to her, she deserved each and every one of those and maybe more. Hny and I were talking and I told him that her President should do something about this, maybe declare her as persona non-grata and boot her out of the Philippines. If the government truly sees the OFWs as modern-day heroes, it shouldn't go easy on imbeciles trying to be cool by defaming its heroes. Obviously, she wasn't thinking when she wrote that crap. Didn't she know that the Philippines would have been long wiped out of the map without the OFWs remittances? Ignorance is a total bitch, isn't it Malu?
Maybe it's true that all Malu Fernandez wanted was to show off her "acerbic wit," and in doing so, incidentally ended her career and worse, got forever branded as "walang kapwa-tao" which if I remember my Psychology 108 (Sikolohiyang Pilipino/Filipino Psychology) class right, is the worst kind of label one could ever get in the Filipino society. Which leads me to the final point I want to drive at courtesy of the fine movie hny and I had finished watching just now (V for Vendetta): "You can kill a wo/man, but you can never kill an idea." And Malu's story just shows how potent and life-changing an idea really is, however brilliant or sickeningly stupid it is.
Got this from peyups.com, it's Malu's friendster profile, her friends names and photos blurred/covered up for the sake of saving them from further humiliation.
Guess who has 11 friends in friendster?
Sometimes, we have to learn our lessons the hard way.
I'm taking a short break from my hiatus to thank all the wonderful people who have made my 26 years simply amazing. Thank you so much. We may not communicate often but believe me I think of you not only on your birthday ;) Have fun, laugh a lot, travel some more, spend time with loved ones, change the world, save the cheerleader.
Much love to everyone!!
K
Last June, we found out that this semester is our last without incurring penalty subjects at the school. We thought that we're just gonna apply for a residency and take the exam in December, plenty of time to bum around and review of course. But, things don't always turn out as you planned. So we're on a "windang" mode once again (sometimes it just feels like you're too old for this) getting ready for the compre on the 29th of August. So much for travel plans to go to Palawan or even in Camarines to try out wake boarding.
A bit of good news though. I was offered a post in the UK and I'm quite busy sorting out documents for the work permit, etc. Hopefully the immig would find it believable that I've really 'bested' applicants from around the world and I'm the one for the post. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Another thing, if you haven't watched Transformers you're missing half of your life.
Lastly, to end this in a sober note, I've affirmed that sometimes we just have to face the consequences of our actions and live with it no matter how sad or painful it might be. It might take a while, years or even a lifetime to heal and forget, but life would always be a marvel to live.
I came back Monday afternoon and has been sleeping erratically since then. I have also developed a weird craving for meat which I don't understand since I've been eating sausage with poppy seeds every morning at the hotel as part of our buffet breakfast. It's buffet but it's the same food over and over again. Like mushrooms and tomatoes and croissant, etc. I found myself eating a Quarterpounder meal at 2.30am last Tuesday.
Doing some shopping and walking around the cityFrom a staff perspective, the WA this year is more organised compared to last year. We were not too stressed out (we had to rapporteur five or more sessions last year), we stayed in a very accessible hotel and we had time to attend plenaries and workshops and even network with guests and participants. There are still glitches but I'd say manageable, it's a lot of work to keep up with hundreds of people from 135 countries. And we had less volunteers this year.
The Opening Plenary at the Kelvin Grove Museum
Me and May-i with Socialist International President George PapandreouIt was also great to see my dear friends/colleagues in CSI and see old and new faces in CIV . We had enough time to catch up on what's happening with our lives, the project, and Johannesburg in general. Not all stories are happy though, there are concerns within the team and within the broader organisation just like in any normal organisation but I hope we'll all learn from those experiences and move forward.
Goofing around with Ben and JacobOh and lastly, we were given sufficient per diem this year that we spent in too much shopping. Woohoo! Ciao!
It's time for a phd.
Weekend was spent meeting up with group mates for our two papers on traffic impact assessment. I was able to squeeze in editing articles for my volunteer engagement with a South African organisation and finish the e-bulletin for the CSI. In the midst of all these, I was able to watch the previous episodes of Naruto and Bleach. Both had extremely long fillers which started even before I left for Johannesburg and lasted until January of this year I think. With Naruto, I skipped the fillers altogether and watched the new season where Naruto and the rest are all grown-up and the new battles will involve the Akatsuki.For Bleach, I'm backtracking to watch the Bounto episodes which I have to admit is too long and after a few eps started to get boring, I started with episode 70+ and the non-filler episodes will resume at episode 109(?).
I also found an interesting Japanese series titled Gokusen. Watched the first episode online which was subbed by a fan but can't find the second ep. Though there are lots of uploaded episodes for season 2.
I'm also quite busy researching for the best places to go in Kota Kinabalu and its nearby islands for our travel in May. Like I've said in my previous post, we're definitely going to Mt. Kinabalu but not for the climb. I'm sure we're not fit enough to conquer it even though we can still get in shape as we still have several weeks. Quitters ;) Besides I'm reading posts from the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum and a lot were saying that one doesn't have to be a climber or be extremely fit to climb Kinabalu. We'll see.
I hope our next trip would be in Cambodia or India, which reminds me of the beautiful fabrics I've seen in the Rosebank Sunday Market in Johannesburg.
