Dove Evolution

My apologies for the recent storm of video uploads in my blog. I just can't resist posting this awesome video from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. It's quite old, actually. I think it's the first video in support of their campaign, and now they have two more. Check the Campaign for Real Beauty website to show your support or watch other videos.

Self-Esteem Is Worth Sharing

Biodiversity is LIFE itself

i found an old CD disseminated by the ASEAN Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation (ARCBC) in 2005. The video is old, considering that ARCBC is now called ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). But the issues are still the same: we need to conserve our biodiversity. I hope that through these videos, I could somehow help get the message across.


Coral reefs need your help now!


The environment needs your help now!


Money can't be eaten


Extinction is FOREVER!

ynseng highly recommends

when you're aching to tell somebody, anybody,
but you can't...

PostSecret.

October 15 is Blog Action Day!

2 more days...

don't hate me

"don't hate me because i'm beautiful...

hate me because i dug up your misplaced dink, passed a perfect ball to my multi-talented setter, jumped my usual 39 inches and swung so sweetly that for one split second... even you became a fan.

hate me because i'm good."

what we REALLY need to know

unfortunately, as Stephen Downes argues, schools (or even workplaces) do not directly teach us the most important things we need to learn in life. in his article “Things You Really Need to Learn,” he enumerated 10 things we all need to learn in order to be successful. here, i’m listing all ten and giving my take on each.


1. How to predict consequences
i have often referred to this as foresight. more than thinking ahead, or observing patterns and generalities, or focusing on what you want to happen rather than what might happen instead, i’d say that this could also refer to focusing on overall consequences of even small actions, rather than aiming for short-term and short-lived benefits.


2. How to read
i absolutely agree on Downes that everyone should master the skill of critical thinking. “reading” should not be limited to simply being able to make sense of letters and words, but also being able to understand deeply what is being asserted and “being able to cut through the crap and get straight to what is actually being said, without being distracted.”


3. How to distinguish truth from fiction
it sounds all too simple. Yet, i have several times encountered people, profound as they may think they are, who can’t tell when they are being fed with total BS. everything is not exactly what it seems. words, actions, and even facial expressions are so limited as to be able to express a whole plethora of emotions that any human being can feel. everything that happens in this world could be directly or indirectly associated to a lifetime of history and a universe of other occurrences. there is no limit to understanding yourself or others.


4. How to empathize
even if you’re learning this skill only now, be glad. it took me a while to understand how important empathy is and now its one of the few skills i truly am proud of, thanks to my great experiences outside of my comfort zone and to the gift of empathy that my husband rubbed on me). i can’t explain this any better than Downes did so here’s what he said:

It is important to at least recognize that there are other people, and that they live in their own world as well. This will save you from the error of assuming that everyone else is like you. And even more importantly, this will allow other people to become a surprising source of new knowledge and insight.

When you are empathetic you will begin to seek out and understand ways that help bridge the gap between you and other people. Being polite and considerate, for example, will become more important to you. You will be able to feel someone's hurt if you are rude to them. In the same way, it will become more important to be honest, because you will begin to see how transparent your lies are, and how offensive it feels to be thought of as someone who is that easily fooled. Empathy is a genuine feeling in yourself that operates in synch with the other person, a way of accessing their inner mental states through the sympathetic operation of your own mental states.

You need to learn how to have this feeling, but once you have it, you will understand how empty your life was before you had it.

5. How to be creative
i believe i am creative not because i can spring ideas out of nothing, but because, as Downes explains, i can respond to things/occurrences/problems by using or manipulating my knowledge in certain ways. difficult as it is, i do attempt to extract some creative juices when i do my work, recite in class, blog, or even when i communicate with my husband!


6. How to communicate clearly
i understand Downes here as saying that it is not enough to say what we mean and mean what we say. it is “a matter of knowing what you want to say, and then employing some simple tools in order to say it.” i believe that this is one very important challenge to everyone because everyday, every minute, we are faced with the need to look at ourselves and be able to show someone else what is actually inside.


7. How to learn
Downes explains that “when you learn, you are trying to create patterns of connectivity in your brain. you are trying to connect neurons together, and to strengthen that connection. this is accomplished by repeating sets of behaviours or experiences.” in a nutshell, he is encouraging readers to constantly make attempts to learn, learn, learn! i guess that’s why i enjoy blogging --- i always learn something about myself and about every topic i blog about. in my work, however, i tend to painstakingly try to make sure i understand every little aspect of what i’m doing. (hint: google is my favorite thing in the world!)


8. How to stay healthy
this, i guess, is obvious: we must all learn to minimize exposure to diseases and toxins, and maintain our physical body. Downes also reminds us that “you never have to justify protecting your own life and health. If you do not want to do something because you think it is unsafe, then it is your absolute right to refuse to do it.” check.


9. How to Value Yourself
notice how crappy people tend to be constantly validating their own insecurities? i believe that people who have a real sense of self-worth (and self-awareness, if i may add) are free from the burden of unsuccessfully trying to prove themselves to othersall the time, thereby making their own and others’ lives miserable.

IMO, Downes explains it in a very simplistic way, but i agree on the need to believe. believe that you are good enough to have an opinion, have a voice, and have a say, that your contributions do matter. the caveat, i guess, is that you must be careful not to put someone else down just so you could raise yourself up.

10. How to live meaningfully
have you read the quote at bottom of this blog site? it’s a quote from the same ancient philosopher who said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” (or was it Socrates? oh well.) Downes says it’s the hardest thing to learn and i have to agree. while i pride myself for attempting to live a virtuous life, life is not all that easy or simple, is it?

here are Downes’ recommendations: be dedicated to some purpose or goal, have sense of appreciation to the here and now, realize that your meaningfulness in this world is something you must create for yourself, decide what is worth doing and guide yourself to do it, and most importantly, realize that you have the power to control what you are doing and that consequences (even the bad ones) are, for the most part, a matter choice.



whew! i think i just wrote the most consuming self-help piece i’ll ever write! there’s nothing much left to say, i guess, except that we should all go and reflect, learn and live. now.


photos from deviantART.com.

best college pranks

here are a set of five videos (in no particular order) documenting the best college pranks in youtube, as collected by Thomas Bartlett in his article College Prank as Viral Video.

i recommend that you see all of them and be ready to laugh your heads off! and as i'm sure you'll be mighty thankful for this post, i'll demand that in return, you must post your comments and tell me which is your favorite!

...oh by the way, let this be my challenge to all current members of the UP Volleyball Club:
i think it's time that UP uploaded its own college prank in youtube, courtesy of the very dynamic UPVC! happy 10th anniversary!



Drinkin' Time
--a bit long but worth it!



Start-Up Sound



Upside-Down Room



Fun With Yellow Books



A Lecture Musical
--my personal favorite!

ynseng achieves new balance

i got new rubber shoes! my New Balance 708 was bought on sale – 50% off!!! hubby wanted to buy himself a pair and then decided to also buy me one as a birthday gift! it’s actually a women's running, all-terrain shoes but it looked good enough for both of us to use indoors – for volleyball and table tennis.

(i would’ve loved to buy new mizuno volleyball/indoor court shoes but they were much more expensive and not all that pretty. in fact i don't think i ever found a pair of mizuno rubber shoes that i liked more for aesthetics than function.)

this is what the New Balance website has to say about the M/W708:

A supportive trail shoe, the M/W708 will debut in the All-Terrain segment of the trail running category for August 2006. The 708 features Abzorb® cushioning in the heel and forefoot for exceptional shock absorption and medial and lateral posts for stability. Motion Core, an outsole feature that improves traction on rough terrain combines with the AT Tread® Outsole design to make the 708 appropriate for on- and off-road use. An N-Durance® Outsole ensures maximum durability and 3M® Reflective details provide an additional safety feature. MSRP = $75.00

my NB W708 will debut on sunday for UPVC’s vnight. and here's to hoping that i'll get back to improving my pingpong skills soon!

this blog is best viewed in any browser

if you have visited this blog prior to this post, you would have immediately noticed the changes in my title bar. here's the story...

i was recently pointed towards the website of the Viewable With Any Browser Campaign and realized that this is exactly what i was referring to when i blogged about the html problems in my title bar.

here's the idea:

"Anyone who slaps a 'this page is best viewed with Browser X' label on a Web page appears to be yearning for the bad old days, before the Web, when you had very little chance of reading a document written on another computer, another word processor, or another network."

so i joined the anybrowser forum and consulted with a subject-matter expert. his/her take on the matter (basically):

"The problem stems from your use of the marquee: it's a Microsoft-only tag, i.e it's NOT approved HTML - so Internet Exploiter is (I think) the only browser that fully supports it. It doesn't look that great in FF... it almost works... but not quite. It looks ok in Opera. In IE it looks great!

I think that simply deleting the marquee section would ADD to (rather than detract from) the overall quality of your blog - and free you up to concentrate on the content, rather than the presentation."

--Daily Llama

i therefore opted to drop the marquee. i'd rather work hard on presenting my blog in a way that adds interest to the content itself, rather than detract from it. so now i can (i hope) place the proud little button in my sidebar links, declaring this blog as viewable with any browser!


oh, and by the way, i also recently revamped the sidebar to update my blogroll and links. i'm also in the process of organizing my multiply account as my online photo/music/video album. my next project: conquering blogger beta.

Lakbayan: How much of the Philippines have you visited?

Take the quiz at Lakbayan to find out
how much of the Philippines you've visited.
Here's my result:

Created by Eugene Villar

Close Encounter with the Tamaraw

I’m posting here an article by a co-worker and friend. She had the rare opportunity to see tamaraws in the wild... and she’s even more fortunate she came back in good shape after a very close encounter with the wild animal.

I’ll hopefully write more about the tamaraw, especially since very few people seem to really understand what they’re all about. (And I promise to give interesting and informative trivia since my hubby himself is considered an expert, having worked with the DENR Tamaraw Conservation Program for over five years.) For now, I’m glad Danee had the chance (not to mention the courage and the strength!) to battle Mts. Iglit-Baco in Occidental Mindoro and meet the fierce national animal of the Philippines.

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Close encounter with the tamaraw
By Daneelyn A. Querijero

Our team had a unique mission. That is to see the famous tamaraw up close. The mission theater of operation: a 16,000-hectare expanse within the 75, 445-ha Mt. Iglit National Park in Occidental Mindoro.

But before we could fulfill our mission, we have to figure out an equally formidable problem: how to dig deep into the wilds of Mindoro for the encounter……

All four of us from the Public Affairs Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) took the bold step of hooking up with a team of tamaraw “crusaders” from the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) of the DENR to witness how they take on the task of accurately counting the number of the elusive mammal within the expanse of that jungle.

That this was my first time to join the “hunt” only heightened my excitement even more and hardly gave a thought to what lay ahead of me in the four days that would follow. Little did I imagine that those four days at Mts. Iglit-Baco will give me more than what I bargained for……

Tourists, media people, and even students have trekked every summer to Mt. Iglit to be ``up close and personal’’ with an animal considered by the World Conservation Union as critically endangered since 2002. It normally takes an average of seven hours to get to tamaraw territory. It took us 10 hours – but only because we had to take a break during the journey and fell asleep in the process!

Our trek to Mt. Iglit started on a trail in a village named (or nicknamed) Poypoy in the town of Calintaan. From there we were to go to the top of Mt. Magawang, said to be the ``core habitat’’ of the tamaraw. As we started, the weather turned from refreshingly cool to periods of unbearable heat that we could feel intensely in our faces and back. We soldiered on.

As I walked, I felt pleased as it never crossed my mind that I could one day come face to face with a tamaraw --- in its own turf, no less. As I’ve heard, these are not exactly gregarious fellas -- even the mountain dwellers fear the tamaraw’s deadly horns and catlike speed. No doubt, they say, tamaraws are fierce, especially when cornered or threatened. Gifted with an acute sense of smell, the tamaraws use it to alert each other to the arrival of nosey human beings, whom they try to avoid as much as possible.

We were about halfway to our destination when someone exclaimed – “There they are!” Indeed, less than a kilometer away, an animal that looked like a cross between a cow and a carabao walked into an open clearing. Behind the beast walked three smaller ones, apparently wards.

Our guide silently ordered us to crouch behind the tall grasses as low as possible and not to move or make any noise. He didn’t have to say it twice -- we were so awestruck we dropped down on all fours for fear of spoiling the moment.

Our caution might have been a little late though. The mother bull started behaving less like the gentle carabao and more like an awakening bull. She struck a pose which told me she was definitely prepared for war – head lowered, horns shifted into a vertical position, head shaking. She appeared ready to charge. Our bodies frozen with fright, we looked at the hostile creature – but it just looked right back at us, for what seemed an eternity! I could swear all four of us were squarely placed in the angry tamaraw’s eyeball. Then, the unbelievable happened. Mother tamaraw started to look like a gentle carabao once more. The fighter-like look in its eyes and stance disappeared. She turned to her youngsters and seemed to tell them (maybe) that we were not worth a fight at after all. She started to lead the young ones further up the mountain. Whew! Good thing the tamaraw is not known to eat humans!

Tamaraws, how do I count thee?

After breathlessly exchanging our impressions on the surprise encounter, we decided to continue on with our climb, craving to see more tamaraw. We climbed, and crawled sometimes, but no longer saw any roaming tamaraw. We finally found ourselves at the TCP’s Magawang station. This was to be our home for another day or two. Inside was a man ---a member of the Bantay Tamaraw team – excitedly and animatedly talking about something to another guy, who turned out to be Rodel Boyles, coordinator of the TCP. It turned out that the Bantay Tamaraw team had just concluded the afternoon count of the tamaraw for that day – and that they had spotted 34 heads in all, an ``encouraging’’ number, as they told us later.

According to Boyles, the TCP uses the Intensive Concentration Count (ICC) method to tally the tamaraws. Eighteen pre-selected observation sites have been established within the 16,000-hectare section of the park where tamaraws are known to exist. Magawang is the major observation point. Armed with their binoculars and spotting scopes, two to three man-teams are then assigned at each site to conduct and record observations for five consecutive days from April 22-26 (the preset study period for the annual count).

A fixed observation time, from 5:30-7:00 AM and from 5:00-6:30 PM, is strictly followed by the tamaraw teams. “We use a pre-structured matrix or data form where we record the number of tamaraws sighted, the exact time of sighting, activity when seen including the direction they are heading when seen running or walking,” Boyles explained. Based on compass readings, the location of the tamaraw that was sighted is then plotted on a map.

Other important features which could help in determining the exact location of the animals were also noted as reference points. These include wallowing areas, rivers, hills, big rock, established trails and bunkhouses, he said.

Mission impossible accomplished

For the next three days, we had a taste of what it was like to be a Bantay Tamaraw volunteer as we enthusiastically participated in the counting activity. After all, it’s not everyday that I get to see these unique creations traveling in herds or grazing in their natural habitat. It amazed me how its small size and great strength enables it to push through dense jungle and climb steep mountains.

We went down the mountain exhilarated from the experience. We knew that only a few have had our experience of watching a beautiful creature roam freely amid man-made dangers like slash and burn farming, hunting through traditional means or the use of home-made shotguns, cattle ranching, timber poaching, among others, all major concerns for the Protected Areas authorities.

Unlike the Philippine eagle, whose beautiful head and figure frequently appeared in books, newspapers and television, the tamaraw has been absent from the limelight for many years, its survival uncertain. Then, in 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared October as Tamaraw Conservation Month in Occidental Mindoro, as embodied in Proclamation No. 273 dated October 14, 2002. Although the Tamaraw Conservation Program has been going on since the 80’s, the proclamation highlighted the earnest effort to protect surviving tamaraws so that they could multiply even more.

To date, a total of 239 tamaraws are still left in the wilds. With a little help from DENR’s conservation program and various pro-environment groups, the tamaraw could still make an amazing comeback in our hearts and eyes – just like the Philippine Eagle.

******************************

This article is a soon-to-be-published feature story of the DENR Public Affairs Office. Check the DENR Website for other related articles. Photos of the tamaraw courtesy of Jaime Lumanglas and the DENR Tamaraw Conservation Program.

For Women Only: Top Reasons to Live in Sweden

I’m not a hardcore feminist, really, but I have to thank my former professor, V.A. Teodosio of SOLAIR for showing me (and the rest of the class) the importance of understanding women’s rights.

But this is not about her or me. This is a celebration of the great opportunities provided for women in Sweden, where they are judged for their smarts and not for their gender. I’m not even familiar with the country’s culture, economy or social conditions (except I’ve read that the lifestyle is pretty expensive), yet I’d give anything to live my next life there. For now, I can dream of at least immigrating…

Here’s a list (in no particular order) of top reasons for women to live in Sweden.
Source: The World's Best Country for Women by Abigail Haworth at MSN Lifestyle

1. Female politicians make up around half of the Swedish parliament.
2. "Anti-Sexism Awareness Training" begins in kindergarten, where male toddlers are encouraged to play with dolls, and females with toy tractors.
3. In school, classes in cooking, sewing, metalworking, and woodworking are compulsory for both sexes
4. Women are free from traditional roles; there is no pressure to choose between a high-profile job and a happy home life or even give up being feminine.
5. Few Swedish men expect women to be domestic or subservient.
6. Swedish men do more housework than men anywhere else — an average of 24 hours per week.
7. Nearly one in three police officers in Stockholm is a woman, and female recruits now outnumber men at some police training academies. Stockholm's chief of police is a woman who uses psychology and negotiation in most cases but is not afraid to use brute force. Crime has dropped by 9 percent under her leadership.
8. Women are accepted as aggressors in relationships. There is also no stigma against women who've had many sexual partners.
9. Sweden has generous laws on parental leave. Swedish couples — women and men — get 13 months paid leave and another three months at a fixed rate. Of that, 60 days must be taken by the mother, another 60 by the father, and the rest can be divided however they choose. Employers must hold a new mother's job for her for the duration of her maternity leave.
10. Women's sports are given as much TV airtime as men's.
11. In shopping malls, pay-to-pee public toilets are often unisex to minimize those infamously long lines for women's bathrooms.
12. There are innovations such as the world's first "female-friendly car," unveiled in 2004 by Swedish auto giant Volvo. Created by an all-female lead team, the car is packed with woman-specific features: seats that auto-adjust to a female body shape, a special groove in the headrest for ponytails, and a high-heel rest near the foot pedals.

***************

More than having to pay equally with men during dates, or performing conventional courtesies like holding a door open or helping a women carry heavy stuff, these are concrete demonstrations women rewarded for being themselves. I had a glimpse of Sweden when I was an undergraduate in UP. Most guys (my friends, especially) did not believe in traditional gender roles and accepted girls as equals. I was a bit culture shocked when I left for work in the public sector. Where I work, men did perform conventional courtesies, especially for the more attractive women. Such perks are never enough for a woman who wants to be a top official in a very male dominated workplace. I’d like to see me and my female co-worker friends reaching the top someday, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’d have to break the glass ceiling the hard way in order to do that.

“Japanese women live longer, American women earn higher salaries, Greek women have lower rates of breast cancer, and according to one poll, Italian men are better kissers.” Even so... I’d still grab a chance to live a Scandinavian woman’s life... especially if it can be done right where I’m working.

This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer

This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer.

Here’s a screenshot of my blog when viewed at Internet Explorer 7:


Using the IE7 web browser, the heading appears as it should be --- the subtitle under the heading "…in pursuit of sensible sanity" is divided into six equally sized boxes, with text scrolling in different directions, at the same speed. I was able to customize the text content of this title bar when I sourced the code from an HTML tutorial site (which I can’t find anymore). At the time, my web browsing experience was exclusive to Internet Explorer.

Now that I’ve switched to the Mozilla Firefox web browser, the title bar turned into this:


My subtitles are now in a state of disarray --- the scrolling won’t work, boxes are randomly shaped, and some text won’t even appear. The title bar is now overwhelmed by the ugly and obviously erratic result of bad HTML codes.

My web designing knowledge is limited to my blogging experience – which actually means inadequate proficiency in HTML. I would only look at some HTML tutorial sites to copy creative codes or make logical revisions of codes based on my previous entries. I would also copy the codes from other interesting sites (using the view source command) when they’re simple enough.

Imagine my distress when I saw the Firefox look of my blog! I didn’t lose faith in the highly recommended browser; I considered instead the possibility that something was wrong with my codes.

Later I would find out that some codes are locked-in to specific web browsers or servers, or even operating systems. A web site design (or at least HTML codes) which adheres to long-established standards should work with any browser and can produce roughly the same experience in any browser since they’re vendor-neutral, cross-platform and standards-compliant.

I also found out about The Web Standards Project and their Acid 2 Browser Test, a test page written to help browser vendors ensure proper support for web standards in their products. Apparently, both IE7 and Firefox 2 failed the test.


Should I feel any less guilty [that the HTML codes I used in IE7 doesn’t work in Firefox]? I guess so. But Acid2 compliant or not, bad codes will lurk in websites as long as there are bad code writers (including guilty me). Hence, I’d be very eager to learn about basic standards-compliant web designing, if only to be able to tweak and pimp my blog for creativity’s sake.

Firefox 3 is in the works and they’re improving the web browser to pass the Acid2 test. For the meantime, I’d appreciate if someone could help me correct the non-compliant codes in my title bar...

Al Gore's Electricity Bill: An Inconvenient (and embarrassing) Truth

I haven't seen Al Gore's Oscar-worthy film An Inconvenient Truth --- and i will, i promise --- except for the meantime, i'm more interested in the controversy over his Nashville mansion's electricity bill.


Apparently, the electric bill for this house averaged $1,200 last year --- quite hypocritical for the owner who's supposed to be campaigning against global warming.

Here's the statement from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, posted February 26, 2007:

Al Gore’s Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”
Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

my source: Yahoo! News

Singular Thoughts III

American Idol is back! Syempre Rockstar (INXS & Supernova) fanatic pa din ako ever pero AI6 should be good enough for now, lalu na kung wala ng 3rd installment sa Rockstar saga. I will definitely not get into recaps like I did with RS:SN Siguro pakonti-konting commentaries lang. Most likely, my links will be pointing to rickey.org, so far the best site for AI fanatics.

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I took a short YM (Yahoo! Messenger) survey recently and I realized how dependent this brain of mine has become to the global knowledge that the internet provides. One question asked how often I used search engines. I ticked the bottom option, "several times a day."

Ang masasabi ko lang… There’s really no excuse anymore for people who don’t do their research. So to everyone pretending to know so much about something when they actually don’t, I have 6 letters for you: GOOGLE.

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And speaking of Google, I recently read about Google winning top place in Fortune Magazine’s survey of Top 100 Companies to Work for in America 2007. Employees not only get the prestige and the free lunch. They also play as hard as they work.

Read the CNN article here.

Read the Top 10 Reasons to Work at Google here.

Watch the Today Exclusive (NBC): Inside Look at Google:

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Enough about Google. Here’s a recommended site if you wanna know the exact time here in the Philippines: PAG-ASA Philippine Standard Time

Cheers!

busy si ynseng

Hindi naman sa nakalimutan ko na ang blog ko… I have the best excuse in the world for not posting sooner --- I have in fact been awfully busy.

I’m [happily] juggling a little too many tasks right now. My fulltime job has been keeping my work hours busy. Fortunately, I now have assignments that I look forward to doing because they provide opportunities for me to truly challenge myself. Medyo nakakangarag lang kasi I have a whole year of IT training courses to design and finish ASAP, and a Trainers’ Training on Tourguiding manual to finish by the end of April. At syempre andyan pa rin ang backlog at intervening assignments.

I also have an interesting part-time knowledge-based telework job. This home-based editing job is challenging enough to keep me on my toes and discover taken-for-granted skills that I want (and need) to master. The work is also pretty innovative --- I actually find myself doing a little research about it. And despite the additional load, getting the job done actually feels kinda liberating!

I’m also in the second semester of my master’s course in Industrial Relations. I have so far enjoyed going back to school, despite the heavy study load. That is, 6 units worth of stress that includes an endless list of reading materials, hunger strikes for the sake of library time, megabites of html, pdf and doc files and other research materials saved in my USB, and never-enough time to read everything... all these for the sake of higher education and deeper social consciousness. I’m learning lessons that I could confidently say will benefit me for life as I learn realities I wouldn’t have understood had I preferred an apathetic life.

*************************

I remember the time when I first set up this a blog. It was about mid last year and I was shamelessly bored and unproductive that I had to find a way to extract some creative juices to fill the hours. (Not that there was nothing at all to do at work. I just didn’t feel compelled nor motivated to do them.)

Hence, my work hours were spent learning the art of web writing, or more specifically, learning to use HTML codes to improve the look of my blog. I’m no artist but this blog keeps me creatively challenged, what with all the innovative technologies booming every second. Nung una, pagsusulat lang ang inaatupag ko. Nakaka-conscious pa kasi hindi naman talaga ako sanay mag-journal. Then I learned how to upload photos and put links in my posts. Then came the scrolling lyrics and the tagboard. Kasama na jan ang pag-personalize ng sidebar ko. And of course, who wouldn’t upload yuotube videos? Nakakaadik!

I’m not sure about this widgets thing though that’s supposed to be the key to the new Blogger Beta. Haven’t used that yet because I’m afraid it might mess up the HTML codes I tried so hard to create. Feeling ancient tuloy ako for getting stuck with html codes instead of [supposedly] conveniently using widgets. And what’s with the BETA thing anyway? Yahoo has them, even webshots and photobucket? Hay. Pag ako lang nagkaron ng panahon, humanda yang ka-beta-han at ka-widget-an na yan...

I should be blogging more often... that should at least keep me sane.