An Encounter With the Morons

Foolish talks have always been a part of my daily living. Perhaps it’s a punchline of God saying how lucky I am that there where human-shaped creatures dumber than what I could ever imagine.

Scenario 1: On an oral defense of a thesis, a professor who’s in charge of the event asked to run her an errand. As the situation goes…

Prof: could you buy us snacks for the jurors? There where three of them so buy three drinks and sandwiches (then gave the money)
Me: right away ma’am
From the store, I came back to the moron to give her what she instructed.

Prof: (in a astonishing tone) oh??something’s missing. I told you these should be four iced tea and sandwiches..Hmmp..
Me: (to myself with my astral projection coming out of my body and dragging a knife towards her chest) You’ll be in hell soon.!!!

Scenario 2: The teacher discusses the latest discovery here on earth (screw you if you didn’t know this) the sun rises in the east every morning. Suddenly, a shit comes out from a butthead classmate.

Teacher: the Chinese wants their room to face east.
Stupid classmate: (sheepishly murmured something to his seatmate) is it true that in Alaska, the sun rises in east too?
Seatmate: Dies on the floor breaking her neck laughing.

Scenario 3: Professor approaching each of her students for an announcement.

To student 1: we’ll meet in room 311 @ 3:00
To student 2: we’ll meet in the AVR @ 3:00
To student 3: we’ll meet in the library @ 3:00
..And so on…

Conclusion: Mental health situation in the country is quite alarming.

Welcome to the Dirty Parade

• Let me share with you some of my experiences as a young leader aka politicians (I didn’t claim it although others insists). Five years ago, when I was just an ordinary teenage boy, destiny did something strange for me—the responsibility of being a leader in the community—the task of being an SK chairman. Out of nowhere, it just happened. For some reasons, the occurrence wasn’t really a total regret because it has opened so many doors leading to the reality of sophisticated life. If you think you know what I mean then I would like to congratulate you. Welcome to the nasty world of politics. To serve as an encouragement and also a disclaimer, here are some tips that I honestly said by heart. (Some items shouldn’t be taken literally) Take it straight from a certified sinner.
  
  The good part(I can’t use the word benefits coz it might sound absurd) of being a young leader based on how I perceived it are:
  


• Respect and self-esteem. But of course, a leader has to be ready for anything. A positive outlook towards self is one good start of a leader. He/she gains the respect of his/her colleagues.


• Friendship and camaraderie. Being a part of the group, you use to have your colleagues as companions in all your activities and goals. The experiences bind you more as you go ahead. For some other reasons, a partner in crime too.
  


• Places, places and places. I’ve been to a lot of places (local only), meet different people and had been through a lot of experiences.
  Fame. It’s already been given and you can’t take it away from you. You get to be recognized by people. Instant celebrity as they say.
  


• Money. This is true since it is mandatory in public office but it shouldn’t be the point of taking the lead unless you are willing to open yourself to greed and selfish ambitions.
  
  The other side of this is the irrefutable notions associated with this field that may open your gate to become a certified politician.
  


• 
  
  Politics. It should be the first since you automatically become a part of a certain party ever since you moved your feet in the hall of s/f(ame). The problem in our country today is that we kept on politicizing things. We kept on creating devices that will disunite our visions. Why can’t we just carry our own weight and become a leader, not a part of a shitty political act.
  


• 
  
  Money. This time it acts as your passport to hell. Especially when you’re in public office. At young age, you will be encounter bribery, corruption and red-tape. It’s a matter of choice. Remember that you’re in the position for others and not to develop greed. It’s not worth to have luxuries when you can’t say that you got it from the taxes.
  


• 
  
  Responsibility. It is hard to lead when you don’t know your reason. As a young leader, you have to balance time for study over service, commitments over wants. Don’t let your responsibility distract you in chasing your dreams. You are the son/daughter of your parents, a brother/sister, a student, a member of the community and now a public official. Many are waiting for what you will do.
  


• 
  
  Vices. At a very young age, you will be prone to evil acts. It is also a responsibility to take care of your image(I can’t actually say its reputation though) as a leader because this will be your foundation of respect. Mention every vice you see on TV, sooner or later you will encounter situations. (don’t laugh because you’ll never know). Just remember to stay focus on your ultimate goal. Finish your studies, be responsible and always think of your moves. Because regrets are always in the end.
  

these are only the tip of the iceburg, I would like to end up saying that being SK chairman, there were many hardships because I’m on the process of growing then. It wasn’t really a total regret because I used this opportunity to develop myself. If you’re seriously devoted on serving the public, do it but then many will bring you down since you’re in the country filled with crabs. If you know you’re doing right then fight for it. Again, congratulations and welcome to the world of dirty politics.

A Leap Towards Inevitable Circumstance

I am bothered by the fact that young minds in the inception of making their own way are being claimed by the irregularities and misfits of this unreasonable society so I would like to give a few words to the rookies. We were born with individual intellect that we owe our creator worthy of use. Facing our lives in the midst of unstable steps might lead us to in either of the two phases. The good part is an experience a sense of self-recognition and the consequence of regrets. But these worth something for our own growth as a total person in the end. Along ways, we will encounter unfamiliar faces, different events that are new to us. These shouldn’t hinder us to take the leap. Instead it should be taken as a challenge of the cruel reality. The reality that pushes us to the limits of our strength, makes us realize out frailties and develops our individuality. The next pages are waiting to be uncovered so why fear? Why contain yourself in a shape insisted by the others? If you wouldn’t show off, it means a self-deprivation of opportunity to claim yourself. Don’t let the night come with a wasted hours of the sunshine. Venture yourself for something new because many of them were called but only a few of you were chosen. A mistake is a chance of building things more intelligently. Nobody tells you the right way unless you let others choose them for you. Life is a learning process only you can handle. Bridge the gap. Make a way. Life is unfair and it just sucks. It wouldn’t matter anyway coz you have yourself now.

Sheltered Dreams

I once dreamed of a house, a home, something more than to shelter my needs but to illustrate my perspective of a real living. Walls and roofs that envelope a what I valued most. A home for family. In Filipino “tahanan”. Literally speaking, it means a place to shed your tears. For most Filipinos, a home is a significant sanctuary for building the personality of an individual because the values are cored into the family which we all consider as the basic unit of the society. For almost five years of being involved in the practice of planning homes as an architecture student, I’ve found that that a dream house is indefinite. It is only defined by the boundaries of contentment of its inhabitants. As I have remembered in the book “The Most Beautiful House in the World” by Witold Rybzinski (not quite sure about the spelling) his boat-building project eventually became his house in the end of the story having the house as a concrete monument of his childhood dream of sailing.
This is my own interpretation of “tahanan” as of today. An evolution of my design abilities (my mentors say it’s not yet evolved), sense of taste, value for people and sleepless days and nights. It has four bedrooms, a balcony, library, a cozy family room, living room and maid’s room. Come and take it as an experience.

Fighting Temptations

Every architecture student undergoes a struggle for sleepy night temptations that if not properly handled may eventually turn into a nightmare. I believe that most of my colleagues who succeeded in this course did their best to fight the call of the bed. It’s funny somehow that out of these bedtime stories, you come up with so many things that you could talk about in vacant hours of the class. As I remembered, some of my classmates (hands clean now although I was a part of the gang) are engaged in these kill-time stories. I’ve been a victim of this hilarious incident for so many times (now you’re talking. To start with, by the end of the class I am looking forward on what I’m gonna be doing for the rest of the night right before the teacher gave the design problem (the design plate). “okay class,,that would be all.i’ll check your schemes by tomorrow.”So that would be the gun bang of the professor telling his good students to start working on the plate ASAP. Sitting now on the drawing table (just to show my parents how hard-working I am that moment), I literally create doodles on my head (so what’s the table for?) then i think of something..Ah..better watch the T.V. to get ideas.Hour after hour of getting neo-design inspiration from Flame of Recca, Naruto, Slamdunk, baki the grappler and oh..some meteor garden. I eventually landed back on the desk tired and empty-minded telling myself..I’ll just wake up midnignt performing the same joke again and again. This wasn’t the last time ever happened to most design students (I’m talking to you fine arts folks too.) But at the end of the dawn, you’ll find yourself doing the same thing until you finally succeeded to pass the subject. Perhaps the lesson is self discipline, a very hard thing to do especially these days that there’s a bunch of entertainment offered by the media and technology. If not start today, you’ll surely keep it counting on your schooyears.(excuse me..I’m just doing some sort of soliloquy now.)