Since I am in full blast with my summer masteral classes at MSU - IIT, Iligan City, I will be temporarily away from blogging. i am still adjusting to my schedule as full-time student...be back soon with so many write - ups i wanted to post. i unluckily ran out of time so hopefully i will be able to post them in-between my skeds. whew! this is terrible but i am sure gonna love this summer 2009...so hot and scorching...can't help but sweat...well gurl here i go, sweat it out! i will be back, promise...

just for fun

try these fun and interesting questions..thought might help you unwind especially this lent season...so untimely, but at least you have something to do to keep you busy this week...i actually got this from a friend so want to share it with you. First, get a pen and paper and reflect upon your answer before writing them down...

Has anyone told you they would never leave and left?
* hmmm...yes.too bad...
.
Do you know anyone who would just drop everything to come see you?
* yes! as in but there's no more chance...
.
What is wrong with you right now?
* i have so many things in mind...as if i want to do everything all at a time...i am such in a hurry...
.
What was the first thing you thought when you woke up today?
* i am so blessed today that i don't have to wake up early and rush to school..it's lent season, no office...yupeeeeeeeee!
.
Have you ever faked sick?
* honestly yes when i was young and i didn't want to go to school...
.
Who was the last person of the same sex you had a conversation with?
* bestfriends annie and pinky...we had a conference online...
.
Who is the longest crush you have had?
* orly.
.
What will you be doing tomorrow?
* Read. write. get online and blog around.text.chat with sisters and friends.sleep...
.
Bet you're missing someone now?
* yes...grabe...
.
Do you get along with girls?
* very much...

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
* from my closet.(lols)
.
Are your nails painted?
* exactly. it's a metallic purple paint.
.
Ever had someone you like tell you they never want to see or talk to you?
* not exactly someone i like, but it's more of someone i used to get along well then all of a sudden, broke off with our friendship just because the person doesn't like to talk to me anymore
.
Have you ever liked someone older than you?
* nope...most of them were younger than, if not just about my age
.
Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
* yes. i always treasure them
.
Can you whistle?
* a big NO.
.
Do you have a best friend?
* Pinkoy. Nikoy. Tere. Apoy.
.
Who was the last person you took a picture with?
* myself (lols) and elkenth (my baby nephew)
.
Can you skateboard?
* gracious, no!
.
Remember the first time you kissed the last person you kissed?
* of course.
.
Does it take a lot to make you cry?
* just talk about motherhood...
.
Does it annoy you when someone says they’ll call/text, but never do?
* a bit.it depends also on the importance of the person telling that
.
Have you ever hated someone but then ended up liking them?
* yes. crazy no? pero most of the time, oo.

Do you miss your past?
* in some ways yes. the past has done so much for me...
.
Are you happy with the way things are going?
* very, very very!
.
In the past week have you cried?
* last week, my 89 year old granny was so sick...
.
Today, would you rather go back a week or go forward a week?
* none of the above. i just want to delay this week because moving on would mean start of the class which i haven't recovered much yet...and if i go back it would also mean experiencing the same hardship and difficulty with my final paper...static cguro..
.
Last December how was your heart?
* beating!
.
When was the last time you went camping?
* did i ever have one? hehhe i guess 1995 pa...youth camp...
.
What was the last thing you purchased?
* dvd tapes.battery for digicam. an outfit and pair of shoes for my speaking engagements.
.
What are you wearing on your feet?
* nothing. just the purple paint. how can i wear anything, i am on my bed...
.
Any fun plans for today?
* eat super choco strawberry cake baked and given by colleague and friend maam rizz; watch movies; stay on my bed all day...
.
Will this weekend be a good one?
* it should be.
.
Is anyone interested in you right now?
* yes oi.kuno.
.
Rent a movie or go to movies?
* none, buy tapes and watch it at home.
.
What's your hair look like today?
* very long. slash v shaped haircut, a little blond. chic. it's disheveled. didn't comb it the whole day. hahahha
.
Are you a jealous person?
* to the highest level.

Life is precarious

Life is precarious. It is indeed changing. Well, an old adage says, “change is the only constant thing in this world”, everything else is changing. From his perception down to his beliefs, outlooks and emotions, man is changing. Well they say that there is no other way but up and once you are up there, you go can’t go higher than up because it’s the ultimate destination. And while we are still battling with .life, with everyday challenges, and circumstances, we can’t do away with the fickleness of our hearts and mind. We can’t deny the issue on decision making, on weighing things out, on picking the right choices. Whatever. We tend to sway, and drift away from our stand because foremost the human heart is above all deceitful. We are supposed to guard our hearts in everything that we do.

I have a very relevant experience to life’s precariousness. I know there have been choices and decisions in my life which have total effects to the person that I am now today. And I am aware that there is SOMEONE greater than I am who is in control of all these happenings. But I wonder why, despite HIS being there with us all the time, man fails? Human err? People commit mistakes? Why can’t we just be perfect? No matter how hard we try, we can’t just be perfect!

I figure out there can be no other way to make things perfect for us but to LET GO and LET GOD. I could never forget how my life used to be. I was such a happy, carefree, laughing girl but inside I was grieving, searching and empty. When I started going with friends, I saw the difference in life. I saw how people should be treated. Fair enough if you got the money and the looks but sorry if you have nothing to show off for rejection would be your best friend. I felt that. I grew up trying to make myself loved and accepted but I always found myself sulking in my pillow, soaking it with tears, demanding for an answer to every question. Until I fell in love, got hurt and fell out of love. I trusted no one and not even myself. Then I got myself hooked into believing that there is really no hope for me. One day, I chose the road less travelled. I went to a Christian seminary, where I found myself. The many questions were answered and wrong beliefs were corrected. Yet somehow, I was still seeing some loopholes and I couldn’t seem to understand the purpose of my being. Life was so perfectly imperfect.

However, it was in that imperfection that I have learned to come and understand that God allowed these imperfections for me to need Him. He wanted to make me feel the emptiness so I would let HIM fill in the void inside; he let me see my weaknesses for me to need His strength.

I was lost. And He found me. I drifted but he kept holding me. I ran away like a prodigal daughter but he brought me home again. Again and again, I stumble and fall but he is always my Savior. So, no matter how precarious life could get with me, I know that God’s steadfast love is more than able to keep me holding still to His saving grace and love.

My education, my contribution to my future

I am once again invited as guest speaker on a high school commencement exercises. i couldn't say no because foremost, this school used to be my own and i treasure every single memory i have in this institution. anyway, this is my second time to have accepted their invitation and every invitation is always like the first time...the tension, the preparation, the excitement and apprehensions...all are there in a package...i actually have two speaking engagements this march 2009. One will be held on March 29, 2009 at Stella Mariz Learning Center and the other, on March 30, 2009 in Malinao National High School on its 36th commencement exercises. The sked is quite so tight that i have to rush home right after SMLC so i will have the evening trip going to Bukidnon. It's going to be, more or less, a 5-hour trip via bus but since i am traveling in the evening, i have to sleep over at Valencia City and take the first trip to Kalilangan the following day. Hmmm, sounds exciting and i guess i am going to lovit. i am pretty much inclined to experiences like these and i am sure i will enjoy the trip and savor the fun!

well, here is a glimpse of what i call my "partial" speech.

This year’s theme says: my education, my contribution to my future”, is a universal truth. It is not only true today, or yesterday, but it has always been true since time immemorial. Regardless of space and distance, this is always true, anywhere else in the world. My point is that, education plays a very crucial and significant role in the molding of the future generation.

We would never have known Jose Rizal and other national heroes, had it not been for education. We would never have tall buildings, wide bridges, huge malls and amusements parks had it not been for education as these are designed by well-trained architects, and built by schooled engineers. Nobody could have seen the moon and its craters, explained the complexity of the solar system, discovered some mysteries of the universe had it not been for education…

Take note of our earliest inventors who have made a difference in our lives. The American inventor Thomas Edison changed the way people live when he invented the first practical light bulb wherein people in the 18th century used candles and oil or gas lamps for light. Thanks to Alexander Graham Bell who, at age 18 had developed the basic ideas of the telephone in the year 1876, with that, communication has become easier. Who invented airplanes? Ships? Who discovered that the world is round and not square? Was it not Christopher Columbus? All these have become possible because of education. They did their best in maximizing and furthering their knowledge. We would never have computers, no cell phones, no ipods, no cars and other luxuries that technology has given us, had it not been for education. Basically, these are all products of education.

We would never have known the genius Einstein, benefited from the theory of the mathematician Pythagoras, learned from different schools of thoughts from the famous Philosophers Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, or Confucius, had it not been for education. We will never have doctors to diagnose our illnesses, dentist for our dental care, lawyers to defend us and fight for our rights; we would never have pilots to fly planes and captains to maneuver ships, had it not been for education. We would never have passionate mentors to teach us how to read and recite our ABC’s. These and all other professions and vocations are brought about by education. We would never have books to read and learn thongs from had it not been for education. What is education then?

The school is just one aspect of education – we have a bigger school out there where the teachers are not the same with the teachers we are facing each day in school. The teachers back then are our own experiences…and how do we go about the process of breaking through these learning is what we call education… There are other ways wherein we can enhance and enrich ourselves to the person we can be best at...

Education is a continuous process of learning. It is not bound or limited to a certain stage or level of educational attainment…human as we are, we always seek for something better and that act is called education…when we continually seek for what is good, what is remarkable, what is advantageous, that is education. And while we do nothing, but wait for something good to happen is fatalistic. And it is contrary to education…it is ignorance. God has opened our eyes to see what is there to see and give us wisdom on what to do with what we are seeing…we just don't look into things, we have to use them…we should maximize them not only for our advantage but for others and of the greater glory of God.

the real essence of education is that something which is not bound to anything…no level of educational attainment can ever exactly define what education is because it is relative, when we say relative, it is not permanently fixed, but having a meaning or value that can only be established in relation to something else and will change according to circumstances or context thus, education largely depends on our experience. That’s why we vary. We differ in perspective and outlook. We differ in understanding because education is relative. It goes with the person’s experience, Level of understanding and his abilities.

Children are naturally curious and tend to be very inquisitive thus parents and teachers should not deprive them of the answers to every question they raise. Don’t ever stop them from asking questions because if we do so, it is equivalent to depriving the, of education. Remember there are lessons that are learned by asking, learned from home, church, friends and in school ,and lessons learned from anywhere. So let them ask to learn. According to Peter Usnov, “After all, what is education but a process by which a person begins to learn how to learn?”

It is our every obligation, teachers and parents and the entire community to work hand in hand in building a better and wholesome education to our children because it is then in this way that we can achieve the goal of quality education; the goal of reaching our destiny to excellence and reaping the fruit of our labor, our learned products. these students will be our future engineers, future scientists, defenders, government officials, teachers, entrepreneurs, computer programmers and analysts, bankers, managers, surgeon and dentist, nurses and writers…when we have done our best share in molding our youth, and the younger generation then we won’t be ashamed to ask the question to our children, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Remember that whoever and whatever they will become in the future is their own contribution to their future, to their country and to their generation and the generations to come.

(note: photos were taken during the actual commencement ceremony and posted after the event.)

CN144 students post your comments here...

Life: a matter of chance or choice?

Please read the essay below and post your comments here after reading...

affably,
prof. D

CT2 students post your comments here...

Life: a matter of chance or choice?

read the essay below before posting your comments here...

affably,
prof. D

Life: a matter of chance or choice?

Is life a matter of choice or chance? Is it a decision or destiny? All at once, we know just what to answer. And we are too good at justifying things. We give our reasons but which reasons are sometimes not reasonable enough. Or maybe sometimes, we give reasons which “reasons” itself does not know. We answer hypothetically, mathematically, theoretically, biblically and sometimes even ridiculously! We know, deep in our hearts the real answer to this question. However we allow ourselves to be influenced by our thoughts, our experiences, our beliefs and our ideals!
Observe how one of my students, a mechanical engineering student named Harold Rotor, answered this question in an essay i asked them to submit in my reading class. He wrote and I quote:

“Life is not a matter of chance but a matter of choice. It is the effect of what we did in the past. Destiny maybe compared to the algebraic equation Y=CX. Destiny is not constant (C). It is the Y or the independent variable. Y depends on the X, where X is the input. When X is small, the Y will also give a small value and when the X is big then Y will also give a big value.
The value of Y may also be positive or negative. When x is negative the Y will also turn out to be negative and when the X is positive the Y will also turn out to be positive. The principle is the same with destiny. The result maybe big or less, good or bad depending on our input. It may always necessarily be instant but surely it will happen as it should be.
Life on the other hand is a condition or course of living. Our existence in this world is life itself. A person is said to have a life when he/she still has the capacity to breathe.”

Mr. Rotor asserts that life and destiny are interrelated. Destiny is how we live our life. His life and destiny lies entirely on him. He believes that there is a God who has the authority in every individual, as well as believes that God gave us the freewill. He gave us the mind to decide on our own. God’s authority is like the traffic enforcer. He gives us the right way and the right timing but it depends on us whether we follow directions or not. But most often than not, human as we are, we tend to disobey traffic rules and so as disobey God. But then again HE is still there to watch over us. HE may sometimes use methods that we think are incomprehensible to human thoughts but surely God does not do anything that would totally harm us. HE always has the purpose for everything. We just have to follow the right direction, that is, wait for the right time and the right way to go.


Here's what I got from this site on what destiny is all about: http://www.akgupta.com/Thoughts/destiny.htm

"One of the greatest and everlasting debates of humanity has been about the role of destiny in the lives of human beings. There was a time when it was almost an accepted fact of life that each and every event was governed by destiny of human beings. Astrology was considered a science. Then with the advent of modern times the importance of role of destiny as a concept started losing weight. Today, belief in destiny is considered a superstition by majority of people. And rightly so, since there seems to be no evidence for the irrevocability of destiny.

There are three schools of thoughts about fate. The most prevalent these days seems to be the one which says that there is nothing called destiny or fate. This line of thinking says that human beings do possess free will. All our successes, failures and actions are governed by the decisions we take. If we take correct decisions and act accordingly, no one can prevent us from achieving what we want to. If we fail, it must be due to something wrong on our part. We have the option to take decisions using our free will. In this line of thinking, fate is considered a superstition at worst and at best one can regard it as a psychological defense system to cope with the failures in life. Whenever you fail in some endeavor or whenever something happens which is not in accordance of your wish, you use it as a convenient scapegoat. You say, it was your bad luck which caused you to fail. Otherwise, how could you fail? You are never ready to accept that it was you who was responsible for the failure. It may have been due to some bad planning, lack of efforts in the right direction or outright failure to correctly judge the realities of your goal. But since it hurts to accept that you were the one who committed the mistake, you take shelter behind the concept of fate and blame it on your karma. This relieves you of the terrible pain of knowing and accepting the defeat."

Well, what then is life to you? A choice? a chance? a destiny? fate? Whatever your answer to that question is, let us reflect to the ultimate truth, the Bible, which provides a wonderful promise and assurance about God's beautiful purpose and plans for our life. His plans are great. He plans a good future ahead of us... He tells us that our existence has a purpose but it's all up to us how to make this purpose in us be realized. His Word says, (in GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)"I know the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD. "They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope."

Then, Let's choose to hope in HIM, for nothing compares to a future filled with hope. It is said that "Life with Christ is an endless hope, without HIM , a hopeless end..."(anonymous)