the manila peninsula incident

actually, The The Peninsula Manila Incident sana para mas tama pero parang mas mali, e.

pauso. stand off sa manila pen. may pinasok na tangke sa lobby. inarestong media. curfew.

opinion? o.a. pinauwi nga pala kami nang 5pm. bale yung mga hanggang 6 sana, hindi na counted as undertime kung lumabas na. pero kami ni rex, matibay na hinintay si boss. si jerome, bumalik din dahil walang masakyan.

anyways, on the issue of national concern? trillanes is overrated. it's rather stupid. people in the immediate vicinity were working. cash on the pocket and food on the stomach is a way better option compared to an unplanned revolution. he isn't enough to trigger the revolution this country needs at the moment.

wala namang natutuwa sa ginawa niya. galit lang siya sa pangulo. hanggang dun lang. wala naman siyang hinahaing alternatibo.

on the media and the police action, both sides are irritating. press freedom doesn't seem to be honored in this country. why the hell were the equipment confiscated? and the handcuffs? what the fuck?! i'm not pleased with the media's reaction on being questioned, either. it's simply a matter of security. but you still gotta hate the suppression above all.

the curfew? it's a matter of national security. propaganda? i don't think so. it's a matter of security darnit. i'd understand how people who lived through the marshall law era are afraid of this. but people my age should be a little bit more aware and reasonable since we are not victims of any curfew trauma.

above all, i think people should start thinking better. even the Holy Gospel puts good understanding above raw emotion. even good stories were thought of and not merely felt.

i'd agree with the government that the economy and security is of concern (though i still believe they're just secondary to some personal interests). and setting aside his unworthy revolution, i agree with trillanes when he said that it's up to the Filipino people.

Thoughts on the November 2007 Civil Engineering Board Exams

Statistically improbable?

It sounds reasonable enough in itself. However, given the related factors, arguments can be raised against this reasoning. For one, there are various claims on the ease of the exam. Then again, this is also contrary to the credibility of the exam. If the problems were very easy, it could raise question on the essence of regulating professionals.

The key word is regulate. I think passing the board exam is more than answering a good fraction of 90 questions. Isn't it supposed to be about qualification? Isn't it a further assurance that a civil engineering graduate is ready to be a vital part of the development of the contry?

Given the issues raised prior to this, I think there is no fault in the part of those who passed the exam. I still accept the reason "statistically improbable" assuming an actual statistical analysis was conducted. But where's the data that says the past examination's problems shouldn't yield such a passing rate?

The examinees are in no position to pay for something like this, nor does the country need "lucky licenses". There's a reasonable compromise here. i'm just not sure which is it. My fear is that there are two opposing sides with very opposed biases and that if no compromise is attained, the losing side is going to do something to taint the Civil Engineering Profession.

irony of the past six months

i've built up my confidence to the point that i have become paranoid. another one of those bitter-sweet sensations that i have. ah, yes. i should add this to a menu or something: confidence in the level of paranoia.

i'm not that confident with my english, though. someone please check if i used the proper prepositions. haha.

i'm less than 24 hours away from the least relaxing weekend ever.

i intend to blog about bombings and soap operas but i'll just do that next week.

thoughts on (the lack of) faith

may mga naniniwala; may mga hindi naniniwala; may naiinis o naaawa sa hindi naniniwala; at may natatawa sa naniniwala.

naiintindihan ko kung paaanong ang paghihirap ng tao ay nagdadala sa kanya upang piliin kung maniniwala ba siya o hindi. mahirap nga namang maniwala sa isang kabutihan kung wala namang kabutihang nangyari sa iyo. paano aasa sa isang hindi kilala ang isang taong tinulungan ang kaniyang sarili upang umahon sa kung ano mang malalim na suliranin o kalungkutan.

ang hindi ko maintindihan ay kung bakit may mga taong marami namang maaaring ipagpasalamat, wala namang maaaring ikagalit, o basta lang masaya, ay mapipiling hindi maniwala. kayabangan siguro. o kaya'y ituturing nilang tamang pag-iisip. katalinuhan. convenience? how convenience. (inside joke.)

starting off with that mindset, having no faith due to practicality is rather stupid. i think it actually is otherwise. faith is actually practical. i think having faith is as practical as hearing from a friend off to some land far far away that s/he'll be there when you're in need. seeing religious practices as constraints is quite lazy. it's more rash than these generalizations and self-righteous thoughts i have.

but above it all, it's just sad. we must be fair though. we believe what we want to believe. otherwise, we don't believe.

Exaggerated Melancholic Obsession

may nabasa akong isang post sa LJ ni neobie tungkol sa 10 recent happy things. parang ganun. kokopyahin ko sana kaso parang wala rin akong mailalagay na masaya. aww... emo. haha.

naalala ko yung sinabi ni venjo tungkol sa emo culture ngayon na may patungkol sa pagkukunwaring malungkot. tingin ko, hindi naman ako ganun. at hindi rin naman ako nag-i-indulge sa aking kalungkutan. siguro hindi nga ako emo. ewan. labelling.

di ko rin gaanong gets kung bakit hindi raw ako pwedeng maging emo ayon kina yot at ato. si arun, gets ko kung bakit hindi pwede. ganun ba kasaya ang personality/image ko? o baka madalas ko lang kasama si reggie noon e absolute emo yun. pero mas trip ko namang ma-label as unemoable o parang ganun. (imbento. haha.)

exaggerated melancholic obsession ang isang definition ko sa emo (partly in the tradition of gundam seed). parang yung sabi ni venjo, hindi genuine ang kalungkutan ng mga taong nile-label as emo.

dati, ang binigay kong defintion kay jeff ng emo ay enhanced melancholic opinion para may respeto pa sa opinion ng iba. e pangit pakinggan kaya tinawag kong obsession kasi nakakainis na rin, at para i-promote ko kay jeff ang non-emo o mas optimistic na outlook sa buhay. pero dahil sa poseur culture na kaakibat ng pagiging emo, exaggerated na, hindi lang basta enhanced.

wala lang. tila offensive, a. pero mga ideya lang naman at personal preference. hindi ko naman ini-impose sa iba.

*****

one week to go. ready? hmm... nice question.

time skip

dumaan lang nang ganun ang october. wala akong naaccomplish. nasayang lang ang oras ko sa pagrelax. tila hindi relaxing pagkatapos.

november rain na pala. parang kailan lang, wake me up when september ends. do you remember? (tama na. corny, eh.)

gusto kong mag-time skip hanggang sa birthday ng nanay ko. iyon ang araw pagkatpos ng board exam at araw bago ako bumalik sa trabaho. pero asa. ngayon na ata ang huling araw napwede akong magsimulang mag-aral. kung ipagpapaliban ko pa, huli na ang lahat. crammer to the end. hahaha.