"Travel Documentary" Project for FLC class

As part of one of the Chinese FLC (Foreign Language Core) classes in the Ateneo, we were given a project/ task to create our own travel documentary  to showcase the different scenic spots in the Philippines.

All I can say is that this is one hell of a hassle and tiring project (given our heavy workload as college students) but also a fun way to bond with group mates and friends. I remember clearly how I had to squeeze in the production of this project into my already tight schedule that runs for about a month - literally a hell month of pure acads and a series of tests as we call it.

But eventually my group managed to pull it off, and we even got in to the Top 10 shortlist of the Chinese Department's best travel video! (awww yeahh!) There are a lot of nice, wonderful videos out there in the field but I am proud to say that our work/video, win or lose, is a product of our sweat and blood.

I may be ashamed of myself for being in the video and actually acting like a retard, but hey, give me the credit for trying and  braving the walk of fame that is sure to ensue once the video goes viral (in our campus or networks at the least).

Here's the finished product!

Top 5 Things To Do When Bored

All of us do get bored. Right? Everyone comes to a point in their life when they have nothing to do at all! A time wherein Facebook and Twitter just won't suffice to kill boredom. So what to do?? Here are some things to do when you're bored.

1. Write a Blog.  Writing a blog is awesome. It not only kills boredom, but it also helps you to develop your writing skills! And guess what? you can earn through blogs! Though you have to be of legitimate age to have a Google Adsense account. 

2.  Visit Sites. The Internet is full of wonderful sites to help you kill boredom! All you have to do is be vigilant enough to look for that wonderful site.  Stumbleupon is great website where you can find picture, videos and web pages that will surely spark your interest. Another great site is Tumblr , here you can fin great pictures and stuff that get you hooked for hours!  If you want to have a good laugh on how people are spending their days, why not try My Life Is Average, much like Twitter where you post feeds about what you did during the day, but the difference is what you post are funny and mostly random and retarded feeds.

3.  Play Games.  If your not into MMORPGs then why not try free online games that will help alleviate your boredom? Bored.com  is a great site full of addicting games that can keep you occupied for hours. 

4. Movie Marathon.  Bring out your DvD collection and start watching movies that you love! This will indeed kill the time as movies generally have an average of 1 hr and 30 mins. running time. To make it more fun, invite your friends over and have a sleepover! This will make it even more special. 

5.  Exercise. Bored? Then might as well exercise and keep those big buns shaking! When you've got nothing else to do, then why not exercise and keep your body fit. This way you won't just sit around the house and be a couch potato. Enroll in a gym and have a trainer turn you into an Adonis. But if you don't wanna spend cash on gyms, then do it yourself at home. Start an exercise routine that you can do everyday. Workout Box is a great site where you can find exercise routines that fit your lifestyle. 

These are the things I do when I get bored, and it really do alleviate boredom if not kill it. Holidays and vacation breaks are the times when people usually become bored, so keeping yourself busy even during breaks will surely help you not to be bored. 

Theo Alert! Dreaming and Faithing: The Uzumaki Way

Delighted to see my first ever Theology paper in Ateneo receive an A+. It's not much of an awesome paper, but yeah, publishing it anyway :3 Enjoy! 

Dreaming and Faithing: The Uzumaki Way

Perhaps one of the most well-known anime characters of this generation, Uzumaki Naruto has certainly touched the lives – if not influence – of many people, including me. Since its debut on October 3, 2002, the anime has not lost momentum and quickly gained remarkable fame. Why the success and huge fan base? I believe that aside from the wonderful storyline, Naruto’s character itself is the reason. It has revolutionized the definition of dreaming ‒ dreaming the Uzumaki Way.

            Imagine being an orphan with no relatives. What’s worse is that everyone in town hates you. Just because. Naruto’s life has never been easy to begin with, yet he has a dream, a noble dream born out of thirst for affection. Nobody wanted to, for lack of a better term, have a relationship with him, and he found this peculiar. Why? Isn’t he just like any kid who wanted attention? Why is he treated like he was nonhuman?¹ Though this may be partly true because of the Demon Fox inside of him, the fact remains that he is human. He deserved as much as they did. ² The only way Naruto knew on how people would accept him is to become a ninja, specifically the most powerful one, a Kage. He did not just think of the dream, he pursued the dream.

            Like many of us who work hard for that one lifelong dream, Naruto took the necessary steps to fulfil his dream. He pursued the path to becoming Hokage and made it his vocation. But he did not fully understand what he ought to do, yet he still went for it. He understood things by doing it. He did before he heard.³ Though it may sound like what a muscle-brain would do; it is but natural for us to want to know the risks before we take action. We make sure that there is no repercussion.⁴ Nonetheless Naruto did it because he had faith ‒ Faith in his teammates and friends, in his sensei, in himself, in the eternal Thou.⁵ He not only believed by faith but acted on faith to reach his dream.

            “Dreaming is an uphill battle, sometimes you’re gonna have to lose”

            Naruto faced a lot of trials along the way but these did not stop him. There’s his psycho frenemy Sasuke and the Akatsuki, who’s after his head. He refused to settle for anything less than his dream despite these hindrances. He kept his dream alive. Perhaps one of the hardest trials Naruto faced was his fight with Nagato a.k.a. Pain, wherein he lost his mentor. Many of his fellowmen also died in the siege of the 6 Pains. Naruto witnessed the same unexplainable atrocities done by man to each other which he experienced before, even worse. The question remained: Why? Like how the Israelites lost meaning in life during the Babylonian exile⁶, Konohagakure’s complete destruction meant Naruto’s loss of meaning in life. To become the Hokage is all he ever wanted to accomplish, and with Pain wrecking havoc in the town and its people, Naruto is left with nothing. But what transpired in Pain and Naruto’s face off showcased his determination more than anything else.

It is important to note that Naruto’s dream began to unconsciously transcend to more than just becoming Hokage, but a call to true greatness. We slowly see the shift in Naruto’s place in society from one who is hated, feared and disregarded, to a hero who is loved, admired and respected.

             Your dreams create you. The individual choices you make in every step you take to your dream define your transcendental choice which involves your totality – your humanness.⁷ Naruto grew together with his dream. He grew stronger and more passionate in his chosen vocation. But what made it possible?  It is because of his faith. Naruto is reaping tenfold what he has sown in faith. It was a result of his faithing.⁸

            It is interesting to note that Jiraiya, the gutsy old pervert and Naruto’s sensei, played a vital role on moulding Naruto’s dream. Of all the “banal voices” ⁹ that surrounded him like Kakashi, Iruka, and most especially the people of Konoha, Naruto chose to heed the “call” of Jiraiya. And it turned out to be the right choice. Jiraiya has moulded Naruto’s perspective on how things should be ‒ on the ways of being a ninja – and in doing so moulded Naruto’s lifelong dream. Jiraiya’s words implied that Naruto was not meant to be Hokage, or to be just a Hokage. He suggests that Naruto is meant for something more than that, something greater¹⁰. What it is I don’t know. But what I do know is that it is very apparent Naruto has attained glory and honor more than that of a Kage just by stopping Pain alone. In short, his great dream has been achieved, yet there is an even greater dream for him.

In most, if not all of Naruto’s battles, we see his intrinsic ability to “connect” with people around him, either with his enemy or perhaps the people of a town. This, I believe, could be Naruto’s true greatness, his true vocation¹¹. It is the vocation to touch lives and to bring peace, at least in a fictional sense. And so far, he is doing a good job of sharing and spreading this greatness ‒‒ this greater dream, not only in the fictional world of the ninjas, but also in the real world. As much as faith is a gift from the eternal Thou, faith must be shared.¹²  

Naruto inspired people not to dream, but to dream big, bigger than what we are right now. He pursued this dream by doing, and kept it alive by faith. Not only did he grow with his dream, but he actually became the dream.  Naruto listened to his mentor’s call and heeded it. He did not choose his vocation rather the vocation chose him.  Naruto initially believed in a dream bigger than him, but then he was a called to an even greater dream. This is the Uzumaki way. 

~Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.~  -Vaclav Havel

~I am called to a dream greater than myself, and I will not dream anything less~  -Anon

  ¹ Cf.  Veling, “Ecce Homo” The Human Person: Holy and Like No Other. 1.

  ² Ibid., 2.

  ³ See. Veling, “We Will Do and We Will Hear.”

  ⁴ Ibid., 3.

  ⁵ Ibid., 4.

                  ⁶ Badion, Justin. Handout #3: “The Mythical Imagination.” 4.

                  ⁷ Badion, Justin. Handout #2: “Fundamental Theology: Revelation, Faith, and Sources.” 11.

 ⁸ Cf. Ibid., 8. ⁹ Buechner, Frederick. The Calling of Voices

¹⁰Cf. Ibid., 3.

¹¹ Ibid.

                ¹² Badion. Handout #2: “Fundamental Theology: Revelation, Faith, and Sources.” 13.

College blues

First day of sophomore year here in the Ateneo! I can't say that I'm stoked for another hell of a year but oh well, at least I get to study instead of bumming out at home doing absolutely nothing but sh*t. Seriously.

I should be calm and optimistic about today but I can't help but still feel that butterflies swirling around in my stomach. What the hell right? I'm like officially a soph now and i still feel blues? ugh. This post is actually turning to a rant post. Haha!

On another note, the InfoSys section of the library is packed! Take note that it's just 8 am! People are really excited huh? Everyone pretty much came to school early for their first day.

Gotta go to class.

Writer out.

10 Things I Know To Be True

In my 17 years of existence in this revolving sphere called Earth, I have learned this these things to be absolute truth:

• The feeling of getting turned down by the person you like really hurts
• Life is unfair
• Everything boils down to money, money, and money
• Whether we like it or not, we lie about everything
• Parents are not always right. 
• This world is full of jerks, assholes, etc. You name it, we have it.
• "How can something so bad feel so good."
• We are all attention whores
• Changing a habit....can never happen
• John Mayer is the best guitarist of this generation

What I Do To Fight Depression

Q: "When you find yourself in a depressed mood how do you get out of it?"

I listen to soothing music. When I say soothing music, I mean turning up the volume to max and then singing my heart out. From acoustic to anime songs, I listen to all of them. Somehow the loud noise shakes me back to my senses and more often than not leaves me powerless or with no energy to be depressed. If that does not work, I turn to my handy fridge and start rummaging for chocolates. In short, I stress eat. If after doing both I'm still depressed, I yield to my ever seductive bed and got to sleep. I sleep over the reason of my depression, with the hope that when I wake up, I've forgotten about it, which leaves me no more reason to be in such a down state.

http://soulpancake.com/questions/view/74415/when-you-find-yourself-in-a-depressed-mood-how-do-you-get-out-of-it.html

Birthday Turned Sermon

PESSIMISM

I may not know who this man is. But I believe he's some great Algerian Rai singer who died on the day and year I was born.

His name is Cheb Hasni, an Algerian crooner known for his taboo love songs. He quickly rose to fame in Algeria despite the censorship in the country, and became even more successful abroad. Apparently, religious groups like the Muslims, disapproved of his music. He received numerous death threats and several assassination attempts until finally he was murdered on September 29, 1994.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheb_Hasni (since all the other sources are in French @_@)

Another thing that happened on my birthday was the finalization of the jury members for the Oj Simpson murder case trial. 

Oj Simpson is a football star who killed his ex-wife and her friend. He was tried for two counts of murder and was acquitted after the of trial. The case was severely long (9 months) and media feasted on it; sensationalizing and stuff like that. 

Source: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/simpson/simpson.htm

Two events that claimed lives. While on the other side of the world a new life began, mine. Somehow it made me contemplate on the ever cliche "cycle of life" and "life is short; make the most out of everything" quotes. It's damn true. Even if I become someone great, awesome, and successful someday, my time of death will come; replacing the space I left vacant on this giant spaceship. So why bother aiming for success in this life if everything's gonna be gone anyway? 

My indefinite answer to my own question: Set a goal to have direction and purpose in life. Indeed everything will be gone, but I think it would be stupid to waste all the time we have in our life even if , ironically, we say life is too short. A day is a day; a month is a month; a year is a year. My common sense and philosophical side dictate to me that I can choose to be "patapon" and don't give a damn about life. But being "patapon" requires  a person to have a fall back; like be an heir to a billion dollar company or something. That gives you the OPTIMAL reason to be a douche. However, I'm not fortunate enough to be one of those richie rich. So I am left with no choice but to deal with life practically if I want to bum out.

I am amused but at the same time irked by how vague this post of mine is. Forgive me. 

I guess researching and writing about events that happened on my birthday made me over think things again. Till next blog!

My Innocent Drink

The weather has been so unpredictable these past few days. Sunday was mild rain showers. Monday, it was raining cats and dogs. Tuesday, SCORCHING high temperature you'd be sunburned the minute you step out into the daylight. Oh, Mr. Weather why so moody? Maybe you're too stressed?

Stress. Stress, stress, stress. Stress everyday and everywhere. Everyone is stressed, even the weather. Stress became a part of me ever since I came to college. It creeps through the veins until your heart pumps stress instead of blood . I live and feed on stress. I am stress. Okay, that may be a bit exaggerated but you, as a fellow college student, MUST DEFINITELY know what I mean. Stress can be overwhelming at times that we, most often than not, act like retards because of it. Having that freedom as adults isn't that fun after all. What we wanted was enjoyable/ happy-go-lucky freedom, and not the kind that required us to have responsibilities.

A cup of hot chocolate 

My tiny bit of sweet escape from my hell weeks (or hell months as we call it) every now and then is drinking a warm cup of my favorite chocolate drink (MILO! FTW!) It brings me back to my senses and calms my over-excited nerves and brain cells, who are always working on the double. It provides me with the adrenaline I need to defeat my workload. Contrary to many people who prefer coffee over this sweet and delicious drink, Milo keeps me pumped up till the wee hours of the morning. Coffee makes me sleepy. Yes. At times, coffee may keep me wide awake like an owl, but most of the time it acts as my tranquilizer or rather my sedative. A cup of coffee makes me woozy and really groggy. Funny how its effect on me is the reverse to what is the norm. I might be a freak! O_O That's why I prefer the chocolate-y goodness of Milo than Nescafe or Starbucks' Frappuccino. Forgive me Starbucks fanatics.

But now that I think about it, I may have another reason for choosing the former than the latter. I've always drunk Milo back when I was a kid. Back when I was innocent and stress free, who worried about nothing but what color of crayola to use. Somehow, drinking Milo makes me think and feel like I'm back to being a kid again. Drinking coffee makes me feel like a sir. HAHA. 

Not that I don't want to be an adult, but who ever said being an adult was so nerve-wracking? As cliche as it may sound, indeed we yearn to be kids again when we're adults and vice-versa. Ironic isn't it?

Chocolate drinks relieve me of the tension and pressure I feel. I want to get my innocent life back. A life without stress. A life where I can enjoy even the tiniest and sweetest bits of it that I seem to be always euphoric. It is only through this that I reminisce the past. Though they may make me stronger, I can never fully appreciate the bitter things in life if nothing sweet comes out of it.. Like how I don't enjoy coffee without putting two tablespoons (or perhaps more) of creamer. 

After all that I have said, I believe that the simple act of drinking a hot cup of chocolate means a lot to me. Vague as it may seem to others, I dare say it is a part of me. It is who I am before, but is now and forever only a shard of memory left by a catastrophic event in my life as I transition to adulthood: COLLEGE