A Letter For You

Hello!

It’s been a long time since the last time we’ve met. How are you? I hope you’re doing fine. I just moved from Singapore to Darwin, Australia a few months ago. People here are warmhearted, so I don’t feel home sick. How’s Davao? I’m pretty sure that it is still green, still the same since I left my beloved hometown several years back.

You know what? I really miss you so much. I keep on reminiscing those sweet memories we have back in college. I can still remember the time when we first met. I was in bad mood that time. You know what our university has to offer during enrollment period. Students have to wait for their turn forever. I was losing my patience that time until I saw you. Those eyes… those pretty and expressive eyes. But I did not pay attention that much. You smiled to me but I did not smile back.

It was during the school’s annual sports event when I first heard your sweet voice. You were asking if I were a player. I was caught off guard. Of all people in the field, you chose me to ask some questions. I wasn’t even the committee head of that sports event! I was really intrigued.

As days go by, we keep on seeing in other, well, unintentionally. I was eating my lunch alone, as usual, in the university cafeteria. You came and we ate lunch together. We talk a lot of things and crack some jokes. Ah, you really have the sweetest laughter. Do you still remember when we broke the university’s rule by going to the building’s roof deck? It was such an amazing (and funny) experience. We almost got caught and apprehended by the guards.

Months have passed and I realized that I wanted to see you more often. There are days that I don’t meet you due to our indefinite schedules, but hey, it may sound cheesy but… you make my day complete, all the time.

After all these days of being with you, I just thought that I’m falling for you, but the thing is, I don’t have the courage to profess my love. I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t ready for this or what, but I think I just wasted every opportunities that came. But then again, I just keep on telling myself that “this is not the right time, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

Months before my college graduation, our batch committee decided to throw a formal party. I thought that this was the perfect opportunity, but I did not muster enough courage to invite you as my date. So, I sent you a text message. You told me that you should invite me personally. So I did it. After the party, I made a confession. You gave me an answer, but not the much-anticipated one.

It was a no.

You told me that you were already taken months after your 18th birthday. That was a year and a half ago. I was not mad at you for not telling me a part of your life. I respect it, I mean, I don’t have the right to know all personal things about you. I am just a friend, not a police officer or a CIA Agent.

I admit that I got hurt but eventually I moved on. Certain thoughts circulated my mind after that moment:

What if I asked her earlier?
What if I was courageous enough back then?
Is there really a future between the two us?
Will it really work as time goes by?

But I believe all those things happened for the reason. And with that, I am still happy that we remained friends.

Even if you already have a family there, you will always have a special place in my heart. I will never forget you. Ever. You were the first person to leave a mark in my heart. You were my first love… and I will forever cherish those happy moments that we have back in college.

Girl Power: Fight For Democracy

Last week, in our Asian History class, we watched a documentary film entitled “Inside Burma”. The documentary was produced by some independent journalists of Great Britain. It showed the real situation of Myanmar, an oppressive military-ruled country in Southeast Asia. Child labor and slavery is rampant to this country. During the filming of the documentary, the British journalists were highly guarded and even risked their lives.

This is Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced as Awn Sahn Sue Chee), daughter of the the Father of modern-day Burma. She went back home from England in 1988 to take care of her sick mother. Coincidentally, in the same year, the long-time military leader, General Ne Win stepped down. This led the Burmese people to revolt and fight for democracy which resulted to bloodbath last August 8, 1988 (8-8-88 Revolution). On 26 August 1988, she addressed half a million people at a mass rally in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital, calling for a democratic government. However in September, a new military junta took power. Later the same month, 24 September 1988, the National League for Democracy (NLD) was formed, with Suu Kyi as general secretary.

She was put under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from July 20, 1989 until her release on 13 November 2010. Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “Suu Kyi’s struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression.”

“In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.”

Today, Burma (or Myanmar) is still an oppressive military-ruled country. Despite being rich in natural resources such as oil and the availability of foreign investors from United States and France, the country remained poor. The country’s economy is controlled by its military government. According to my professor, the UN can no longer appeal or penetrate to Myanmar’s predicament since it didn’t affect its neighboring countries. Needless to say, attempts of attaning freedom and democracy in this country is futile.

PS: Burma - connotes freedom/ Myanmar - military ruled country, oppression

Of Activism and Leadership

I once asked a freshman student a few months ago about the role of the University Student Council in our university (UP Min). She frankly replied, "Kuya, medyo naiintimidate ako sa USC natin this year eh. Rally ng rally. Minsan, natatakot ako sa kanila."

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against with student activists who keep on rallying either inside the campus or in the busy streets of Downtown Davao about issues in privatization of the state universities, the never-ending budget cut dilemma and the 'ibagsak si (COPY-PASTE NAME OF AN OFFICIAL)' scheme. I respect their ideologies. I used to be a USC Officer (College Representative) last year and I just noticed that they only have one parallel goal, that is to fight for their rights as a student no matter what happens.

I admire their courage. It's not that easy to shout about the current (and dying) situations of our beloved university on the streets. It hurts when no one gives a fuck about what you're fighting (or shouting) for. I've been there. We cannot really invite all people to join the rallies. We cannot force people to join our pakikibaka para sa bayan, tungo sa kaunlaran. And most of all, we cannot really change people's perspectives and ideas about handling social issues.

The problem lies with the way they find solutions about these underlying issues of our country. They try to solve the national quandaries first before the issues inside the campus. I don't know, but there are more issues that need to be resolved inside the campus. Let's face it. No matter how hard we try to shout our concerns in the public, the officials would not really listen to it. Yes, hearing and listening are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. They hear our pleas, but do they give their time to listen, even for just a minute or two?

My point is, if we really want to help our nation, let us start addressing the smallest issues first. How about helping those flood victims in nearby towns? Or, how about proposing some ideas to the administration about promoting solid waste management and rain-water catchment system? Or how about conducting some outreach programs to nearby communities?

I believe that there are OTHER WAYS to SERVE our COUNTRY. It is not necessary to create placards and write national issues to it. It is not necessary to rally in the streets.

But then again, what matters most is respect.

Young and Old

When I was young I always wish that I grow fast and become an adult. I really want to know what it feels like to wear corporate attires and talk to different kinds of people everyday. I also want to know what it feels like to drive a car, to pay bills and to receive my monthly salary from the bank.

As we grow older, we encounter different kinds of problems. The degree of difficulty cumulatively increases over a period of time. As these predicaments continue to pile up, we tend to forget some priorities in life. We tend to forget about our being. We tend to forget that there are some people who care for us.

When we were young, we always get mad when our parents turn off the TV and force us to sleep at around 8 or 9 in the evening. As we get older, we sometimes choose not to sleep in order to finish some tasks.

When we were young, we always complain about the food we eat. We always want mom to cook fried chicken daily. Now that we're old, we always think what to eat and serve for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When we were young, we let the water flow freely from the faucet while brushing our teeth and forget to turn off the TV while we are about to sleep. Today, we worry about the forever increasing charge rates of water and electricity.

Now that I am turning 21 this year, I just want to become a kid again, where all problems are easy to solve. I want to experience the innocence again. This is the stage where I don't have to worry about the bills to pay, thesis to finish, research papers to pass, budgeting my daily allowance (and also daily expenses) and so much more.

Ahh. Life as we know it.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

A Little Thing Called Love / First Love (สิ่งเล็กเล็ก ที่เรียกว่า..รัก)
Directed by: Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin PokpongRelease
Date: August 12, 2010 (Thailand)
Runtime: 118 min.
Cast: Mario Maurer / Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol / Sudarat Budtporm / Acharanat Ariyaritwikol

I first heard this movie from Juan and I got curious since he had written a good review about it. This Thai movie was released last August 2010 and I just watched it on YouTube.

The movie is all about puppy love. Nam (Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol), a young and ugly girl had a huge crush with Chon (Mario Maurer), the school’s heartthrob since her freshmen year. With the help of her supportive friends, she somehow got the chance to have some brief, close encounters with her knight in shining armor. It was not an easy road for Nam, though. Some girls were more beautiful and more talented than her. She thought that she will have no chance to be with Chon. Eventually, she grew up and became beautiful and discovered something more about Chon.

The plot of the movie is simple. It’s all about infatuation and the struggles of Nam. Despite its simplicity, viewers will get touched by it. Like Nam, we will do whatever we can just to get noticed by our crush. Nam had tried her best just to be on top of the class, or be the lead cast of a play or be the leader of the drum band. Innocence, as a theme, also played a vital role in this movie. By just merely seeing our crush walking along the hallway or hearing their voice over the telephone will definitely make our day complete.

The movie is a great combination of laughter and tears. I definitely had a good laugh on the first half of the movie but as the movie progressed, especially on the 7th part of the movie, I shed a tear because the scenes were really heartbreaking. I thought Windstruck, A Moment to Remember and Hachiko were the only three movies made me cry. I was wrong. Even if the plot formula is similar to some romantic movies, like the I-should-have-told-him/her-I-love-her style, it will definitely leave a mark to the audience, regardless of the age.

Indeed, as what the movie trailer claims, it’s everyone’s story.

High school may not be my favorite part of my life, but I will always treasure those days when I look forward to see my crush in school. By just seeing her will already make my day complete. Ay, kilig.

PS: Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol really looks like Kim Chiu! Swear!

Let Go

Dear mom,

Dad left us when I was still two years old. You told me that he had to go somewhere else. I can still remember his face, but not his voice. You told me that he’s a great singer.

You know mom, I didn’t care about dad’s disappearance. I thought it was just normal. I thought every dad in the world has to go somewhere else, leaving the mother to raise their child alone. But, I was just wondering mom. Why did you scold me after seeing dad’s picture? I just saw it lying on the floor. I do not understand why you told me not to ‘touch’ the things of other people. He is my father, mom. But, you just ignored me and left me confused.

Back in third grade, we had this mini-program in our classroom called Show and Tell. All of us were required to show something, be a thing, a person or an animal and tell the reasons what’s so special about it. Nathan, my best friend, happens to be the first one to present in our mini-program. The weird thing was he didn’t bring a thing or an animal. Instead, he brought a man. Nate introduced the man. He introduced his father to the class. A father. I got confused. What was his father doing inside the classroom? He should not be here! He should have left Nate when he was young too, leaving his mother to raise him, like me! He has to go somewhere else.

Remember when I got back home from school and ask where dad was? You gave me a cold reply, “He’s too busy. He will never come back.” He will never come back. HE WILL NEVER COME BACK.Those five words will be forever etched on my mind.

As I grew up, I had troubles of finding my true self. You don’t have to blame yourself mom if sometimes I get into trouble. Yes, you provided me the basic needs as well as lots of material things. But those things won’t compensate the loneliness I had experienced. I really got envious to my classmates who were constantly accompanied by their father. And then it hit me. He left us. Well, I do not really care the reason why he left. Perhaps he had another family. Or maybe I was born out of wedlock. As far as I know, he never came back to us. He will never come back. I feel so sorry mom for constantly nagging about dad’s whereabouts. Deep inside, you are hurt. So am I.

Now that I’m almost 30, maybe it’s now time to establish my own family. But ever since I’ve introduced a girl to you, you’re always grumpy. You told me that Lexie was not perfect for me. Mom, I know you are afraid. You are afraid because I might leave you. Mom, it’s been 28 years since dad left us. You don’t have to be afraid. You have to move on. We have to move on. It’s about time to move on to the next chapter of our lives.

I know you’re still mad at me, but I promise that I’ll never leave you. I am not like dad. I swear that I’ll be the world’s best dad.

I love you.

The Curious Case of an Eggplant

Heretics are those people who do not wholly conform to the medieval Church's doctrines. Usually the punishments of heresy are either excommunication or death. Take Galileo Galilei as an example. He was accused of heresy by the Catholic Church because of his scientific claims regarding heliocentrism; that the Sun is the center of the solar system, not Earth as what the Catholic Church once believed. Even after his death in 1642, the request of erecting a mausoleum in his honor was denied by Pope Urban VIII and his nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini because he was condemned by the Catholic Church for "vehement suspicion of heresy".

Last December 17, 2010 a similar incident occurred. No, the Catholic Church was not involved on it but it was the local government, who acted like Pope Urban VIII.

The local government had ordered UPMin to uproot all of its Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt) eggplants from its testing site. This is also the same day when almost all UPMin students and administration officers went to People’s Park to celebrate their annual lantern parade. Should the uprooting activity was held before or after the lantern parade, the invasion of the uprooters would have been prevented. It was truly one of the darkest days of UP Mindanao.

News and opinions regarding this issue have circulated over the internet. One article had caught the attention of the students and some professors of the university. According to that article, the writer said that UPMin should stop this stupidity as the exercise is nothing but a gross insanity (1). With all due respect to the writer, the university had meticulously studied this technology and has been proven safe, based on the experiments conducted by both local and foreign scientists (2). This technology will reduce the use of pesticides to kill the eggplant fruit and shoot borers. The gene inserted to the eggplant effectively protects it from these pests. I just cannot fully understand as to why the locals opted to believe the claims of an Indian scientist instead of a Filipino scientist.

Branding UPMin as stupid and arrogant is really demoralizing. The funny thing was, those people responsible for that derogatory claim do not EVEN know the science behind it. UPMin is mandated to do research and development for the betterment of the nation, ergo we know what we are doing. We are exerting too much effort with regards to addressing the current issues of our country. The university itself is not that stupid to pour all of its resources if they found out that the research won’t have any benefits to the nation.

No matter how hard we try to tell the science about it, even if it’s already in layman’s term, they won’t listen. They just wanted to uproot all the Bt eggplants from the field. All the hard work and pains of the workers and researchers did not pay off. They didn’t give us a chance to explain our side.

I am still hoping that this scientific endeavor will continue in the near future.

I do hope that the modern Pope Urban VIII will realize the importance of this project.

PS: Please take time reading these two articles, one written by Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco, Jr. and the other one, an editorial piece of a local newspaper.

All photos taken by Mr. Rene Estremera

High School Never Ends

I never really enjoyed high school that much.

I studied in a Catholic-Chinese school for almost 13 years (preschool to 4th yr High School) here in Davao. I have witnessed so many changes in my school - the administration staff, the developments and the students as well.

High school was really tough for me. It's not that I had difficulties catching up with the subjects, it's dealing with the people around me. I really had a hard time to adapt with their unpredictable attitude. Well, I should expect this due to the rage of hormones inside our system.

High school is known for its stereotypes. It's like India's Caste System. The Brahmas are the jocks and the pretty girls. The Kshatriyas are the student leaders. Fortunately I managed to be the part of the second to the lowest caste system - The Sudras (aka The Nerds). The commoners aka the-ones-who-is-easily-forgotten-by-students-and-teachers are the untouchables.

Back in high school, I always daydream to be one of those cool and famous kids. I just want to know the feeling of being famous. I wish to have the prettiest girlfriend so that all the people in the world will get envious to us. I wish to be one of the most influential students in our school. I wish to have more money so that I could afford all those 'cool' gadgets and with those 'cool' gadgets, people will brand me 'cool'.

I experienced being bullied too! As one of the nerds in our batch, some of my classmates will just get my assignment without asking permission, copy it and return it to me without saying 'thank you'. But wait, there's more! There was one time when my assignment in Physics got lost because of their negligence. Also, when I was in third year, my Chemistry teacher discovered my laboratory manual inside a trash bin. I got furious but didn't have guts to face those mindless bullies. I just kept it to myself and it hurt my ego.

But you know, I was really thankful that I had experienced those horrifying incidents. It made me a better and a stronger person. Just be yourself. Don't meddle with the lives of other people.

Four years later.

One time, I saw one of the jocks of my batch, carrying a baby girl. He's a single father and can't finish his tertiary education the soonest. I also heard the news of one of the nerds of my batch. He's currently studying in a prestigious university in USA.

Look, life is so unpredictable.