The Eye of the Tornado

My mood today is on a record low. I was excited to go to Quiapo and have my palms read by the fake fortune tellers, but my brother ditched me for his more eccentric friends. I might as well have ditched him when he had pharyngitis. That leaves me with nothing to do other than read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar for the second time around.

Really, this must be how the eye of a tornado must feel, alone and empty amidst the surrounding hullabaloo. Everyone I know have work, friends and family, the primary things that keep any normal person preoccupied. But I'm not bothered by any of those. I quit working, loathing my job. My friends kept theirs in the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder. And Mom and Dad live a hundred miles from here, oblivious to the erratic mental state of their own daughter.

It's a good thing I have this blog so I could keep track of how I'm feeling and be able to say Well Kat, from the look on things, you're still pretty normal. Like a leash I put on myself in case I lose grip on reason and things get out of hand. Things are still controllable now as I have one last thing to look forward to -- law school.

The day I decided to proceed to law school, I also decided to devote most of my waking hours purely for academic pursuits. This is something I planned but failed to do during college. However I honestly don't see any way for me to stop getting involved in whatever exta-curricular is out there. My bones are screaming to move. I have to do something. I need to get busy, to get motivated. Since my brother and I share nothing in common except blood lines, I have set a lunch date with some of my college friends next week at Makati. Hopefully they would provide some form of a solution to my mental slump.

Perhaps it's just the heat, but I've had it with summer. Though the thought of having to lie in bed till 10:00 am is comforting, I don't want to wake up every day not knowing what to do. I might as well swallow a dozen Valiums and never wake up altogether. There won't be any difference anyway.

Circles and Squares

Why am I so excited at teaching high school kids? I surprised myself this morning when I woke up and the first thing that entered my mind was geometry. Yes folks, circles, squares and the good old Pythagorean Theorem. I don't know how many questions will be allotted for geometry this year but I decided to teach this subtopic together with data analysis and basic statistics for this Saturday's Math class.

The idea of me standing next to a chalk board is a bit nerve-wracking. Not because I'm scared of a bunch of teenagers but because it would be weird being on the front end of the classroom as the teacher and not the student.

Age insecurities aside, I do like the idea of gathering UP Diliman graduates to help out kids who can't afford to enroll themselves on formal review centers in order to pass the UPCAT. Even though I don't believe a review is an absolute necessity for this objective, I subscribe to the idea of teaching willing kids in order to help them get into a good college.

I'm not exactly sure how the Camarin parish has gathered the students who will be taught but since it's my class and it's supposedly free for all, I would like to invite anyone interested for a Free UPCAT Review at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Camarin Caloocan this Satuday (May 1) afternoon from 1 to 4pm. The subject would be Mathematics.

If you have attended my friend Jill's class two weeks ago then I would presume you already received your advance homework. I emailed the questions last Monday so I'm expecting your solutions in class.

Torn Between The Boxer and The Jealous Guy

So I have a crush on Lee Dewyze. He's not really what I would call my type but with his raspy voice and genuine attempts at gaining self-confidence, I can't help but fall for him. Lee is very very cute. I've been watching his past performances and I notice that every time the judges praise him, he would smile just a little and then look at the floor as if he's shy. I find that part of him totally cute. He seems like the kind of guy you would want to hug and take care of.

Lee Dewyze (image source: chicagotribune.com)

Casey James, on the other hand, is a total hunk. He has this what I call a Brad Pitt factor, because somehow, I think he embodies the perfect American prince charming. Tall, long unkempt hair, lazy smile. I have a pretty good idea why Kara asked Casey to strip off his shirt and flaunt his abs the first time they met at the auditions. And it is not at all wholesome! Hahahaha

Anyway, I obviously like Lee and Casey for different reasons. But what is similar to them both is that they sing beautiful songs with ease. I first noticed Lee when he sang Fireflies and although I have seen Casey's hotness since the beginning of the show, I only truly noticed his vocal potential during his rendition of John Lennon's Jealous Guy.

The two boys have received great reviews from the judges tonight and I hope they end up battling with each other at the end. The only person in the way is Crystal Bowersox, but I'm not gonna go and badmouth her here. The girl can sing and I like some of her performances as well.

Though I know I'm only day dreaming, I do hope Lee or Casey (or both) come to the Philippines after American Idol. I would definitely be one of their giddy fan girls holding up signs that say "Lee I Love You!" while screaming exactly the same thing. Since that's not happening any time soon, let this blog be my sign and scream at the same time. Lee, I love you!

What Really Happens After Graduation

First of all, I'd like to say my congratulations to all the iskolars ng bayan who graduated yesterday. I know how it's like standing at the Amphitheater with the sun scorching its way to your very flesh and yet still feeling light and happy at the same time. That's graduation in UP Diliman. But what happens now? Where do you go from here?

From the back of Quezon Hall to the freshly mowed grass of the Amphitheater, everything was ceremonial the day I graduated.

I graduated exactly around this time one year ago. Wide-eyed and brimming with optimism, I was like any of the young, idealistic fresh grads from UP. I fought my way till the very end of my Terminal year and as I turned my sablay to the opposite direction, I thought I was armed and ready for the real world.

I thought I could get any job I wanted, so long as the other applicants aren't my own classmates. I thought the job I would get would be mentally challenging and professional. I thought I would end up with the kind of work that will give me opportunities for professional growth, economic stability and personal satisfaction.

Yet it wasn't like that. Not at all.

I was called an Associate on my first job. By description, I was supposed to make financial models and do valuations. I was given a 2-hour long problem asking me to come up with pro-forma financial statements and their analysis. I had four sets of interviews and the guess what, the only other applicants they considered were my own classmates. I had so much respect for the company as it has maintained a very good reputation in our college. In fact, most of the people who work there came from the same university as I did, which was all the more reason why I was so disappointed when it turned out that the job I had was never what I bargained for. To cut the long story short, I was never given any opportunity for professional growth. So I resigned.

Thinking back at it now, if there were certain things I should have done before accepting the job, I'd say I should have had every single task I would be asked to do enumerated in my employment contract before signing it. The fact that it says "The company reserves the right to require you to perform such other tasks and assignments, apart from those enumerated thereon, and to transfer or deputize you to the Company's other branches/offices, affiliates or to other available positions, as business exigencies dictate" is just not justified when all you actually do are just the other tasks and assignments.

I should have listened to Professor Terry Agustin when she told our class to pick the work that would provide us formal training. She said if you had training in a reputable company and if you were given the chance to better your profession, then you will be an indispensable asset in which ever firm you will go. And when you become indispensable, that's when the money will roll in. I now completelyI agree with her.

Of course, there's no sure way of landing the best job on your first attempt. In my case, I talked to some accounting professors in my college, talked to the other employees who also graduated from my school and I asked serious questions. I did everything except the two things I enumerated above. Yet obviously, I still ended up with a work I didn't like.

But all these are in the past now. What happened happened and whatever the future may bring, I will continue to stand on my principles. Even if the job pays well if it cannot give any form of professional growth and personal satisfaction then it's just not worth it. The thing employers should understand is the motive why job applicants seek the position they are applying for. Never mind the lack of overtime pay. Never mind the unexpected cultural barrier. Never mind the emails I have to answer at home during one in the morning. All I was really after was a work that would respect the soft, grey matter wrapped inside my skull.

The Rise (and Fall) of the Jejemons

There has been a lot of stir lately regarding the rise of a seemingly new species of linguistically challenged netizens -- the Jejemons. This breed has gained popularity in search engines that Yahoo Philippines even featured it on its news stream. So what are jejemons? Urban Dictionary describes them as follows:

"(Jejemons are) usually seen around social networking sites such as Friendster and Multiply, jejemons are individuals with low IQs who spread around their idiocy on the web by tYpFing LyK diZS jejejeje, making all people viewing their profile raise their eyebrows out of annoyance. Normal people like you and me must take a Bachelor of Arts in Jejetyping in order to understand said individuals, as deciphering their text would cause a lot of frustration and hair pulling."

Wrecking spelling and grammatical havoc online, you would wonder, where, why and how on earth did the Jejemon movement begin? The description offered by Urban Dictionary above provides little answer, but if you have a Friendster account dating back since 2003, you would notice that the Jejemons aren't new.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Jejemons are a product of a generation born in the height of mobile phones and text messages. Rather than shortening the spelling of long words and using abbreviations, Jejemons have taken redacting to exaggerated levels.

Perhaps it is only now that we have paid closer attention to Jejemons because of the rapid circulation of the photo below.

Presidential candidate Sec. Gilbert Teodoro holding out a sign which translates to "I will send the Jejemons back to elementary school."

I have only copied this picture from a friend's Facebook wall which was posted yesterday and already, it has generated 40 or so comments of hilarity, hatred and dismay for our failure to wield the English language.

Honestly, I first thought that the Jejemons are just funny like some satirical fad out to tickle your brain cells. But after a while, people have been jumping in the Jejemon bandwagon and started posting more and more Jejemon literature on the web. It just became really annoying and I want it to stop.

Come to think of it, I really don't understand why anyone in the world would want to type like that and showcase just how inept he is of English syntax. As Filipinos, we have long prided ourselves with having excellent English instruction (I will leave the discussion on colonization to another day) and it's embarrassing that such idiocy would originate from us.

Unless you remove the annoying Jejemon from your friend list, you really cannot control what goes up your Facebook news feed. And even if you have succeeded in the heartless process of blocking the person, one or two Jejemons will still somehow irritate your eyes by leaving a harmless comment on one of your friend's status messages.

The fact is, a Jejemon could be anyone. He could be your friendly school mate back in high school. He could be your neighbor, your cousin, your crush. Heck, he could be you for all I care. While it is true that democracy allows us to express ourselves in the web in whatever way we want, regardless of how foolishly spelled out our thoughts are, I personally don't want the Jejemons to proliferate their literature and cause eye sores everywhere.

So whether they stick around or die off, I only have one request. Jejemons, please spare me my sanity.

Going Cheapskate at Greenhills Shopping Center

Pearl invited me for some cheap shopping yesterday at Greenhills Shopping Center. Armed with no more than Php 2,000 I agreed to go look at some swimming wear and a few cute dresses with her. Rjay was with us too, but the poor guy was bored 95% of the time. Well, that's what you get when you go shopping with us girls. Sorry Ron! ;)

Anyway, I found three great stores there. First stop is Abiti, where Pearl found a nice ballerina dress worth only Php 950. Abiti's current collection is mostly summer dresses and laid-back beach wears. Some pieces have bohemian touches, but most of them just resemble current summer trends.

Next is Pink Manila. Located at the heart of the intertwined web of little tiangges at the first floor, who would have guessed that this store is one of the most celebrated Pinoy brands for its quality, design and very low price? In fact, purchasing Pink Manila dresses at Greenhills is apparently much cheaper than buying them at The Ramp, Tiendesitas and Crossings Department Stores where the brand can also be found. I bought one for only Php 400!

Finally, there's Cocomo. Pearl was able to get a purple two-piece with detachable golden straps and metal hooks for only Php 900. Known for its fashionable swim wears, Cocomo has already been featured in magazines like Seventeen and Cosmopolitan.

Pearl wearing a dress

Me at Pink Manila

Dinner. Pepper Lunch is still way better, but Sizzling Pepper Steak is okay.

Bored Rjay, the afternoon's casualty

Of Theme Songs and Practiced Catwalks

Thinking I could cash in a few hundred bucks while killing time, I decided to apply for a writing position online. The job doesn’t require knowledge on a whole range of topics other than economics, business and more specifically the Currency market which is a plus considering my professional background. I thought I’d be asked to write an essay on the JPY/USD trend and how Greece is affecting the world’s foreign exchange rates, but I was stupefied by the question If you entered a room and a theme song played, what would your song be and why?

The cursor on my laptop screen blinked twice and I blinked with it, wondering if this was a real question or a mere joke. I thought Well, what the heck, it’s an interesting question anyway. So I typed Beautiful Ones by Suede.

Call me vain or narcissistic, call me whatever you want, but I have always fantasized walking in slow-motion with an air of nonchalance like Victoria and the other villain vampires in the teeny-bopper movie Twilight. In my head, Brett Anderson’s distinct raspy voice would re-echo the line Here they come, the beautiful ones, the beautiful ones. La la la la as if announcing the arrival of some demigod.

source: http://www.fanpop.com/

I would then sashay into the room feigning a natural casualness as possible and thinking of an imaginary wind that would slightly waft through my hair making it look flowy but without the frizz. Of course, I will smile at no one as vampires had always had that snobbish air around them, but deep inside, I will be wearing a wide idiotic grin for having accomplished such a meticulously planned feat.

I will then relish every step I will take as I walk into the room. This moment would be perfect and I would finally live the daydream of being Victoria. Disinterested. Elegant. Beautiful. Hahahaha.

My Vote Goes To Dick

The May election is just around the corner and it appears -- from the TV ads to the SWS survey results to the ABS-CBN TV Patrol features -- that the battle for the country's highest executive position is only between self-made entrepreneur MannyVillar and goody two-shoes Noynoy Aquino.

This is perhaps the reason why people revert to the old method of voting which is, choosing the so called lesser evil. I personally do not buy into this idea at all for choosing the lesser evil (if there is such a thing) means limiting the choices between Villar and Aquino alone. I am not voting based on winnability or popularity but on platform and vision and on an unbiased evaluation of each candidate's past performance.

So winnability and popularity aside, my choice for President is Senator Richard Gordon. I personally think he has proven himself worthy of the presidencial seat through his performance as Olongapo City Mayor, SBMA Chairman, Tourism Secretary and now Senator. Unlike his contemporaries for the presidency, Gordon has experience in both executive and legislative branches of the government, and with above average results on both.

He authored 185 bills, 13 of which are enacted into law, among which are bills on sin tax, biofuels and the abolition of the death penalty. He has made Subic the economic force it is today and he has promoted the Philippines in the international tourism market through his brainchild WOW Philippines.

He does not rely on lineage like Noynoy Aquino, but on his past accomplishments. He does not horde radio and TV airtime like Manny Villar, rather, he rests on frugal advertisements and relies on word of mouth. He may not have the impeccable academic standing as the bar topnotcher Gilbert Teodoro, but they both graduated from the same law school and let's face it, while it helps boost your own ego, you really don't need be the Valedictorian in order to be the President.

Above all these, what was most striking for me was the time he cried in national television when some foreign Red Cross volunteers were hostaged by the Abu Sayaff in Mindanao. The issue hit home and I think Dick Gordon fared well in handling the situation.

I am not saying here that Dick Gordon is the saving grace of the Filipino people as what the masses are looking for in a President. All I’m saying is that in my opinion, among the candidates, Dick Gordon is the next best thing we got.

What Makes A Filipina: Breaking Out The Entrenched Stereotype

Over the years, Filipinas working overseas have been greatly stereotyped and put in a negative light. This documentary follows a collective group of global Filipinas who have been deeply affected by these issues and how they chose to respond by sharing the positivity, and the advocacy of a common mission -- uplifting the morale of Filipinas everywhere.

I Have A Blogger!

So apparently, I really do have a Blogger account. I found this out when I was trying to register and realized that my email address is somehow already in Blogger's database.

It's been around two years since I last blogged (I used to be at Blogdrive) and the recent development you see here is due to my recurring afternoon boredom. I'm not going to promise anything here folks. I'm not going to try to sound intelligent or grammatically correct or anything, I'm just going to type whatever I feel like typing. I'm not even going to promise regular updates. God knows how irregular I am when it comes to that.

School's going to start this June so my future presence here might not be as stark as it is now when I'm doing nothing. The point is, there is no point to this blog. It is nothing more but a mere sounding board of my ego. But being exactly that, I do hope to keep you folks entertained.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat