Gordon's proposed solutions

I've always liked Dick Gordon. He was able to make great changes in the Subic Freeport Zone such that it seemed like a world totally different from the rest of the Philippines. He came up with the WOW! Philippines program which has significantly boosted tourism. Bohol has especially benefited from this boom. He also has a very good track record as one of the country's senators. In a political system where corruption is the rule, it is refreshing to find a politician who is unafraid to speak his mind, set his goals, and actually achieve them.

Maybe, just maybe, there is hope for the Philippines.

an excerpt from an article on Gordon...

Untying the Gordon Knot

Dick wants to use this greater Executive-Legislati ve collaboration to address more effectively the major obstacles to accelerated economic growth to include the modernization of infrastructure in the country; the improvement of education; the improvement of public services; and eradicating graft in government.

"We have today many opportunities that could spell huge dividends if our infrastructure were only better. We can double our tourism arrivals if we had the rooms, the airports, flights and the facilities to host them... We could also spur greater growth in agriculture, industry and services if our infrastructure were up to speed...We could do many more things that could rival our high-growth neighbors if only we had made the necessary investments in infrastructure, like in an adequate and efficient national railway system, in earlier years."

Praise for the Filipino woman

finally! some good news about the Philippines and the Filipino woman. we're ahead in reaching one of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). We're the number 6 country to promote gender equality and have joined the ranks of other more developed European nations. Woohoo! Go Pinas

Here's to Women!

fall on me

Why is it so hard to just let go and fall?

"Ever The Same"

We were drawn from the weeds
We were brave like soldiers
Falling down under the pale moonlight
You were holding to me
Like a someone broken
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me
Tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you forever in me
Ever the same

We would stand in the wind
We were free like water
Flowing down
Under the warmth of the sun
Now it's cold and we're scared
And we've both been shaken
Hey, look at us
Man, this doesn't need to be the end

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same
Call on me
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same

You may need me there
To carry all your weight
But you're no burden I assure
You tide me over
With a warmth I'll not forget
But I can only give you love

Care-isms at 3 AM

now that i've got only about 7 weeks to go before i stop studying, i realize that lately I've been perfecting the art of bumming more than anything else. After so many semesters of working my ass off staying in this course, I'm finally taking a real break. Talk about the proper preparation for real life. haha...So what has my veg-ing produced?

1. overthinking
as is evidenced by my past entries. duh.
2. watching almost 10 episodes of coupling in one night
instead of doing my work for theo and philo, i watch coupling. good job di ba? after so many years of studying, cramming has truly become an artform perfected and work can now be done in less time. woohoo!
3. too much sleeping
i've already gone through the my insomnia can overcome sedatives stage. i'm now back to the i'm sleeping too much that i wake up early in the morning and sleep at all sorts of odd hours and always only for a few hours stage.
4. Too much uploading
my multiply is way too updated.
5. have been doing lots of other stuff but still bored
my brain is running too fast. hmm.. how do i make it stop?

hmm... ooh! what if i'm going to end up like mom and dad? living a retired lifestyle without really being retired. haha. that means i'm totally prepared for the future now.

i'm so happy this is my last sem of stupid theo. 7 weeks to go and several episodes of House season 3 and grey's anatomy season 3 to watch. :)

ok... time to work.

on the side: what is up with brits and australians? i don't get all the references

Bungee Jumping

Bungee jumping (or bungy jumping) is an activity in which a person jumps off from a high place (generally of several hundred meters/feet) with one end of an elastic cord attached to his/her body or ankles and the other end tied to the jumping-off point. When the person jumps, the cord will stretch to take up the energy of the fall, then the jumper will fly upwards as the cord snaps back. The jumper oscillates up and down until the initial energy of the jump is dissipated. (from wikipedia)

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random word = random thought

bungee jumping = Gourami experience

i dove fully into the experience, giving so much of myself into it. got to know a lot of people, got to have a really different experience, got to know myself better. but the jump is over now and i have to go back to my world. i have to take what i can get and i did but life has to go on. when one bungee jumps, the high will be experienced for only a moment but will always be a wonderful memory. that experience is over now. life goes on.

in a broader life application sense, many experiences are like bungee jumps. We fall. we dive. we crash. we plunge. but always with a string attached. always with a string to pull us back to where we were before the jump. after the jump, it may seem like eveything's back to normal but in truth, the high will always remain with you.

Lofty dreams (Nobel Peace Prize)

My friend and I were discussing Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace prize winner of 2006, and how he could possibly be the speaker for our graduation ceremony (grad in 3 months. last day of school in 7 weeks. woohoo!!!) We talked about how he got the peace prize through his micro-credit program in Bangladesh. As is typical of me, I got to thinking about what it takes to win the nobel peace prize. Haha.. I can see the headlines now "Daught of GL from small province in backwater Philippines wins peace prize." GL - gambling lord. (note: my dad's only a small time gambling lord and only for legal gambling i.e. cockfighting) More seriously... how does one go about winning the peace prize eh? kidding around with these thoughts is never going to get me anywhere.

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The Nobel Peace Prize for 2006

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006, divided into two equal parts, to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.

Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty. Grameen Bank has been a source of ideas and models for the many institutions in the field of micro-credit that have sprung up around the world.

Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.

Micro-credit has proved to be an important liberating force in societies where women in particular have to struggle against repressive social and economic conditions. Economic growth and political democracy can not achieve their full potential unless the female half of humanity participates on an equal footing with the male.

Yunus's long-term vision is to eliminate poverty in the world. That vision can not be realised by means of micro-credit alone. But Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that, in the continuing efforts to achieve it, micro-credit must play a major part.

Oslo, 13 October 2006

taken from: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/press.html

plunge

Is it time to take that plunge? Forget all mistakes done. Forget all past issues. Forget all questions. Is it time to jump in to the muck? Is it time?

.... still standing on the edge waiting for a push.

Restless

I'm back in manila from a relatively long break - relative only to other students here because 3 weeks really isn't that long. Once again I'm experiencing that "I hate that I'm back but I'm glad just the same" feeling. It's always the same right when I get back. I realize that Bohol is so much better than manila and yet I know that when I'm in Bohol, I also ache to get back to manila where my life is. As I always say, my life is in manila and it goes on pause when I'm in Bohol. Maybe there's something wrong with all this compartmentalization. Is it better to have some fluidity in life? Hmm.. how do I explain fluidity... Better to explain compartmentalization first. Fluidity is sort of the opposite of compartmentalization. Compartmentalization is basically saying that I have one life in this place and another life in this place. Basically, what happens in one place (the people, the experiences, the drama) stay in that one place and what happens in another is a different story altogether. Everyone, to some degree, compartmentalizes. There's the work/school life, the family, the religious life, and everything else. But the question I pose is that what if we take out these compartments and really allow the different facets of our lives to mix? What happens at work/school gets brought to the family and your friends know your family... everything gets together in this one messy pool and YOU are at the center of it all. Is this fluidity better? Could it be that my life is just way too compartmentalized? Or! is there a missing ingredient to put it all together (i'm alluding to God once again or maybe not... you tell me)?

Maybe this is why I feel so restless. They say that Asians (in my case, Filipinos) are naturally inclined to communities. The family unit, especially, is a very important part of our lives to the point that few Filipinos actually move out of their parents' home when they start working (there's an economic reason too but many just like being home) I have a different situation. My parents are in the province, my siblings are in another city, and although I love with my cousin and his wife, our schedules don't match. I can say, to a certain degree, I live alone. Now if there were many other people who live alone out here then this should not be a problem. But such is not the case since most people either live with their families or live somewhere near school (which I live far from). Perhaps, it is this situation that has brought out the strong compartmentalization. Even worse, it is probably why I always feel restless. thus bringing about the feeling that I talked about when I began.

Very long line of thought.... but maybe.. I'm just too lazy to actually push myself to go out and do things... I just really like being home, chilling with some people. It's probably the lack of a busy schedule that's getting to me. But I do have a point regarding compartmentalization... Like I said, you tell me what's better (at least for you).