what goes around, comes around

Here I go again—thinking, planning…
Being a bum gives me so much time to contemplate. And I cannot bear it, because just lately, I realized that I am becoming a thwarting planner. I planned to be a law student, to be a student leader again, to go to Bora, to stay in Parañaque when I work. But as caused by some uncontrolled circumstances, all my plans have not been implemented. Funny. Or should I say, disheartening. Imagine, I would be giving too much time and effort just to weigh things out and to reflect on what I would really want to do. But in the end, everything would just be gone in vain and I would be left hanging. Furthermore, I would be obliged to do nothing else but to come up with another plan just to move on. Yet again, it would turn out that the supposed solution would be fruitless. Nice.
That is why I miss being busy. I miss those times when I could hardly mull over anything else because I had to accomplish all my tasks. I miss having sleepless nights just to carry out my academic or extra curricular duties. I miss going to class. I miss being terrorized by my professors. I miss doing papers. I miss attending meetings. I miss my thesis days and nights. I miss going to the library. I miss reporting. I miss educational discussions. I miss comprehending readings. I miss delivering speeches. I miss CSC’s. I miss performing. I miss mobs. I miss the enrolment. I miss walking from FC, to AS, to NIGS, to Math Building, back to FC, to Vinzons. I miss my orgs. I miss riding Ikot and Toki jeeps. I miss Oble. I miss UP. But I guess I just miss being preoccupied, and doing the stuff I used to do for the four years of my stay in my beloved Alma Mater.
I am glad that I am gradually letting go of the bits and pieces I thought I will never learn to let go. I did not plan this. I am simply going with the flow of my everyday life.
I will never know what I would do in the future. I will start working on July 16 (yeah right! over a month more to go! bum galore!) and I am not sure if I will desire to stay long in that company. Perhaps, after working for a while, I will pursue going to UP Law School or to Ateneo Law School. Or maybe, I will look for a much better local job. I can even possibly go abroad and try my luck there. Better not plan it. I will just grab any ‘good’ opportunity that will come my way.

sorta…kinda…

I was deleting some craps in my email account when I discovered that I long failed to notice a very interesting forwarded message. Subject: “parang kayo pero di kayo”. One word immediately flashed in my mind—fling. And true enough, the mail was about it.
Fling, to Mr. Webster and his associates, is (1) vb. to throw forcefully, impetuously, or casually, (2) vb. to place or send suddenly and unceremoniously, (3) vb. to give unrestrainedly, (4) n. a casual try or involvement, (5) n. a casual or brief love affair, (6) n. a period devoted to self-indulgence. Based on what I understand, a fling is not actually a person (as the Philippine pop culture dictates so), but a situation where an individual gets to be romantically associated with someone, without having any commitment at all.
I just wonder why there must be an existent circumstance, such as flinging, when specificities can rightfully be declared. Nothing in this type of relationship can be demanded, thus making each party prone to heartaches. If a legal, formal and real relationship will not be feasible, why not lay the cards down right from the moment the impossibility is discovered? Why do we have to draw out complexities when we can be straightforward? Why do we have to allow people to look stupid of being hopefuls for nothing, when we can always let them go, and let them surmise their viable pleasing future? Why do we have to be unfair when we can always defy the prejudice? And fundamentally, why can we be satisfied with flinging, when we know for a fact that the bliss will vanish sooner or later?
There are a number of factors why couples stay in the flinging stage, instead of taking their relationships to the next level: (1) either or both of them already has/have existent romantic commitment(s), (2) either or both of them just want(s) to play around, (3) either or both of them is/are afraid to face obligations, (4) peer pressure, (5) family expectations, and (6) status differences.
Many of my friends say that they fling because of the fulfillment they acquire when they feel that someone they like cares for them. “Damn the boundaries”, they would always say. At least, they have experienced to be loved and be specially treated by someone dear to them. Their primary concern is their own happiness, so they would not mind if other people would already see them as evils.
Flinging can bring happiness to anyone who opens the door for it. And according to a prominent cliché, everyone deserves to be happy. But is it really gratifying to realize that some things are endangered when you get to be happy in flinging? Morally, of course it is not. But if we dig deeper, we see that some people have to be selfish sometimes to keep them on their journey track. Nevertheless, no matter how long this journey could get, in the end, individuals still have to be rational. And being rational means learning to face the consequences resulted by being once selfish.

when UPcentricity strikes

some of the things you must learn in UP:

1.) suggested readings are mandatory
2.) you can know everything yet still fail an exam
3.) all your classmates are brilliant, others are just not studying
4.) teachers are impressed with no one
5.) your best effort could still get a 5.0
6.) every class is like a thesis defense; it is not enough that you understand…you have to know how to explain everything as well
7.) seatwork sa atin, finals na sa iba
8.) aminin natin, mayabang talaga tayo! hahaha! bongga! may aangal pa diyan… honest lang daw talaga… :D

U-ni-ber-si-dad ng Pi-li-pi-nas
matatapang, matatalino
walang takot kahit kanino
hinding-hindi magpapahuli
ganyan kaming mga taga-UP!!!

Prove Narra’s Strength

I was quite in denial when I found out that the Narra Residence Hall will soon be closed. The administration was saying that some sections of it are already infested. Hence, the dormers’ safety will be at risk for some portions of it may collapse any time. According to the admin, UP has no fund to repair the damages. Thus, there will be no better solution but to bring Narra’s accommodation to an end. And just to continue the housing services Narra has established, the present Narrehans will be disseminated to other dormitories (i.e. Yakal, Molave).
Narra Residence Hall has ascertained its own legacy in the campus. Losing the only all-male dorm in UP Diliman entails the loss of a number of practices Narra has been known for. What will happen to Narra’s way of welcoming UPCAT takers? to Narra week? to Narra’s rule defiance? and most especially, to my most favorite Narra dorm tour during University Student Council campaign period? These will certainly vanish in a snap. The traditions that have been founded from one generation of Narra dormers to another will all be gone in vain.
After implementing the Tuition and Other Fee Increases, we again hear the cliché “UP has no fund”. Come on! Where will the “profit” the UP administration has been boasting go? Well, TOFI cannot really fill in the whole 80 billion UP requires, for we know for a fact that this TOFI is definitely not the solution for the lack of funds, but the greater state subsidy… However, known that TOFI is already instigated, the administration has obviously the capacity now to give premium on UP’s immediate needs. And housing, especially of students, should really be one of the priorities in any amount of fund that can be obtained from TOFI.
Although it will be the ideal set-up, I am not saying that the whole Narra must be fixed. Why not just secure its wings that are less or are not damaged at all? This will absolutely require fewer expenses. These secured wings will then house more dormers, in a sense that a room which was good for 2 persons before will already admit 3 individuals. I bet the location will still be comfortable. At least, in this set-up, the Narra Residence Hall will still be able to continue its heritage. Also, the other dorms will not be jeopardized of being overcrowded.
The closure of a dormitory in UP is not just a dilemma of its dormers, but a crisis of every UP student, and every Filipino who truthfully pays his/her taxes. Let us keep up our fight for our rights! Make Narra Residence Hall, being ‘NARRA’, regain its stance and uphold its supremacy over its intruders.

To Whom It May Concern

Ewan
Di ka naman kagwapuhan
Rally nga’y hindi mo pinapatulan
Ayaw mong makialam at maging maalam
Ni hindi ka nga nagmomodang maging
US o CS diyan
Idol mo pa si Dolphy kung sa
pambababae lang
Loser ka talaga, aminin natin yan
Likas ba sa ‘yo ang pagiging ganyan
Ano pa bang kabahuan mo ang
dapat kong matanto
Upang ako’y mamulat na nang todo
Ramdam ko naman ang kagagahan
ko sa ‘yo no
E di lang kasi umuubra ang dikta
nitong utak ko
Lumipas na sana ‘to… titiyakin kong magsisisi
ka sa pagiging lipas mo sa buhay ko…