10 things I miss about being an Iskolar ng Bayan

It's been three and a half years since I left the premier institution, the University of the Philippines. The best days of my life were spent in UP and I can't help but to be nostalgic after watching the #OneUP video, which went viral on social media.

These are the things that made me miss UP.

Luntian at Pula. Sagisag magpakailanman.

The Papal Visit Experience

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No words can express how I truly felt when Pope Francis visited Tacloban City. Mixed emotions. This must be the reason why I was here in the first place. I never thought that I would have a close encounter with him. Seeing the pope smiling at the crowd and officiating a Holy Eucharist while battling the strong wind and rain was truly remarkable. Despite the inclement weather in Tacloban, he opted to pursue the trip and be with the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

That alone was a humble act already.

Even if he's the leader of The Holy See, he is still gentle and a down to earth person; never a condescending one. He inspired millions of Filipinos through his words and homilies.

It was truly a memorable experience to handle the papal flight here in Tacloban. It's not about the responsibility or the prestige on taking part of this historical visit, but it's a reminder of how to be merciful, compassionate, and to remain your feet on the ground no matter what.

November 25th

Isn't it redundant if I just name this blog post base on its published date? Me thinks it's more personal... and I'm too tired to write an appropriate title. Naming it as 'Untitled' is too mainstream in my opinion.

Anyway, I miss the old blogging days. Those were the days when one can just write lengthy posts yet people would still care to read and write comments. Those were the days when I met people online who share the same interests. Without blogging, I wouldn't have known a LOT of people. Blogging had truly expanded my network and made the world EVEN smaller than before. Today, the realm of blogging had changed. Blogging today had become too mainstream. Don't get me wrong, I am not against to it. It's really great that people have recognized how powerful blogging is when it comes to digital influence. However, most blogs these days are already event-centric and people blog JUST BECAUSE of events and other freebies. Oh well, I guess there's nothing permanent or constant in this world but change. Good thing is, some netizens have become more responsible in posting contents in social media.

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Last week, I received a call from my brother's batch mate. She called me for an important blogging project in Davao... AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS IT! I was really anxious these past few days because my senior told me that the shift schedule this December might change. I have already booked my flight to Davao (via Mactan-Cebu) and I don't want to pay for a rebooking fee should my schedule change. Good thing, it didn't except for some days of my shift, but it didn't really matter. As long as my day-off is still the same, it won't be a problem. Can't wait to be in Davao again next week!

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So yeah, my 'Project Tuna' has been forwarded to the appropriate authorities in the central office. All is well, except for one thing: I need a release letter from my current boss. Jeez. Now where should I start. Hmmmm.

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The spirit of sportsmanship is in the air. We already had teams and yey I belong to the blue team! We even had our personal jerseys for free (yey thank you Smart #LiveMore). LOL. Today, I played table tennis and I represented our team. I won the game however it wasn't really my best Table Tennis 'moment'. The last time I played was... uhmm.. last April 2013. One a half years of NOT playing this sport. Worse, my thighs hurt a bit. After the game, I got really exhausted, to think I only played two sets. Whatever happened to my endurance. I guess I should start exercising. But when? How? And the more important question: WHY? HAHAHA. Kidding. Even in swimming, I noticed that I couldn't finish one lap... naging half lap nalang coz I easily get tired and exhausted. Sigh.

I may eat a LOT and still retain my scrawny figure, but I guess it's about time to MOVE and sweat a bit. I guess the only thing in my body that's doing so much work is my brain. Blame it to my job which requires intense brain activity, 40 hours a week (excluding over time).

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Lastly, Christmas is just around the corner... but I never hear about our Christmas bonus. EHEM. Utang na loob!

November 18th

Time flies so fast. November's about to end in less than two weeks. Things have been great for the past weeks. I get the chance to travel with my mom and godmother in Saigon, Vietnam last month. That trip, despite being a short one and some bloopers, was rather awesome. It's great to be back in Saigon and just stroll around the city. I had the chance to spend millions of dongs at Saigon Square. Yep, they had great stuff there. I never thought that I'd enjoy shopping THAT much, even if my feet became sore due to over walking, if there's such a thing as over walking.

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Work is so far good. I've never complained about my job. It's my lifelong dream to become an air traffic controller and I wouldn't trade it for any other jobs, even if the compensation is higher. Well, working on your dream job is supposed to be a dream come true... until you meet some people who would talk behind your back, and try to pull you down. I've kept on whining about it for the past few months but I've come to realize that there's no personal growth if people around you aren't diverse. Forgive me, it is my first time to experience working on the 'real' world. Being a slave of the government has its own perks, in all fairness, but being a slave to one's butt is another thing. I owe them to my personal growth, honestly speaking. Without them, I wouldn't be this strong and independent. Without them, I would probably be still immature. They have brought me to a world wherein I should try to fit in, not THEM trying to fit in MY world. It's a case-to-case basis. Well, it's all about being nice to everyone, NO MATTER WHAT. It's really hard at first, but you'll get used to it. I still consider these as blessings from God.

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Trustworthy

So far, 2014 is the year of realizations about love and life, generally speaking. It's all about meeting new people and learning from them.

It has been a roller coaster ride for me for the past few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I ain't depressed or on a verge of killing myself. No. It's not like that. Recently, I have learned to accept the fact that no matter how nice you are, there are people who would talk, or even stab behind your back. It really hurts because I easily trust people. Trust, for me, is an important commodity to establish a healthy relationship to people around you - be at work, at home, or at school. It's an emotional investment. Once you've broken my trust, it would be useless, like a piece of junk. It's like throwing all of my valuable resources to a deep abyss where no one could ever bring it back.

There are others who, at first be thoughtful and sweet to you. They've also promised that they're always there for you no matter what. Then after a few months of showing affection to you, they'll just leave you in an instant. Sometimes, I'd question myself whether if I did something wrong or offensive, but after a thorough check, there was none. Whatever the reasons are, I guess there are things that are never meant to be understood; some are meant to be accepted.

I am still thankful despite these. As what my mentor had once told me: The world wasn't made for you. They made me realize that I should learn how to adjust and adapt to new environment. Let's just focus on how to make Earth a better place to live rather than to wallow on these negative things. Cheers for positivity and I thank God for giving me strengths and wisdom all the time.

Smile. Life is precious.

15 Movies That Will Always Stay With You

Photo credit: Filippo Venturi | Flickr

Lately, several of my friends on Facebook tagged me to write this: 15 Movies That Will Always Stay With You. Since it would be a very long post if I write it on my timeline, I've decided to publish it in my personal blog instead.

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen films you've seen that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what films my friends choose.

Here we go.

The Greater Scheme of Things

Everyone knows I'm not religious, but there are some Christian songs that I really like. Pilgrim's Theme (Greater Scheme of Things) is my ultimate favorite. This song was written by Jesuit priests and I first heard this when I was still in grade school. I kinda liked the lyrics - so beautiful and so sincere.

"Through with chasing stars, that soon forget to shine. Through with going through, one more day what's new? Does my life still mean a thing in a greater scheme of things?"

And I also love this beautiful rendition by Marian Santiago.

Through this song, I have finally found the real purpose of my life. Thank you Lord for always guiding me in my life.

"I hope to find my place. So my life will fall in place. I know in time I'll find my place, in the greater scheme of things."

Satisfied

Everything went well in the past few days. Last weekend, I was in Manila, visiting my classmates/friends/colleagues who were assigned there. It was good to see them after three months? All we did was to eat, watch movies in various movie houses even at wee hours in the morning (lol), and caught up with the latest updates of our lives.

Today, I am happy. Happy because I have finally reached the goal of working as an air traffic controller at the age of 23. You see, I feel lucky and blessed because the qualifying exam and the training came in perfect timing. I know, I did a LOT of sacrifices but in the end, it was all worth it. I may not have traveled extensively for the past one and a half years, but hey! Look at me now. It feels surreal, to be honest.

Gonna maintain this positivity. I might as well consider of investing my savings in stocks. Hmmm, maybe I should meet some of my friends in Manila who are experts in this field. Through this way, my future wouldn't be that dull and my earnings would go a very long, long way.

Ta-ta! Have to sleep early today since I have to be up at five in the morning! And oh, I'm going home this Friday afternoon. Oh, Davao I miss you!