My sister told me that there was some news about Farah Fawcett last night but she did not give details. I was waiting for that this morning. Instead, I got a flash report about Michael Jackson.
Farah, one of the original Charlie's Angels may have started the very eighties trend of big hair. As far as I can remember, she was the first I saw with the huge curls on her head. Many girls copied that and soon big hair became the fashion. Even in later years she worked to keep her bombshell figure.
Michael jackson is of course known as the king of pop music. His successes and mistakes have been entertainment headline since I was a kid. Personally, I think he missed his childhood and tried to get it back with his ranch and playing with kids.
Now they are both dead, just a few days after another 70s legend David Carradine passed away. It's like somebody is turning the giant page of history and the decade is slowly disappearing from sight.
And tiem marches on
See the Children
I had lunch alone today but I sat at a table for four. I chose that spot because it looked out to the street and it had two couches instead of four stools for sitting. Eventually, two families sat with me one after the other.
The first one came via a three year old girl. She was exploring as all toddlers do. She was moving around and when she felt the soft seat of the couch across my table, she decided to climb onto it. She succeeded of course and sat herself straight. But when I spoke to her, she covered her eyes. The man with her scolded her for doing that and for not answering me.
She decided she did not want to sit at my table anyway and climbed down almost hitting her head on the table. She moved on towards another table until she almost walked into one of the chairs. Then she turned and went towards the table used by the staff for display sometimes.
All this time, the man was telling her to be careful and warning her when she was about to hit something. Between admonitions to the little girl, the man gave me an idea of her situation.
What was not obvious or maybe the reason she covered her eyes was that she could not see where she was actually going. She kept going anyway exploring like any three year old would, curious of everything around. The rest of the family became open when they learned that I was also born blind.
The second family had two kids, a fourteen year old boy and a six year old girl. Their mother was asking them what she should buy for them while they waited for the father who had a transaction in another establishment nearby. I offered the other couch at my table.
The two kids were at odds on what to get. The mother mentioned french fries; the boy clapped but the girl folded her arms. When mommy said fried chicken, the girl turned away but the boy looked eager for the treat. When the mother said ice cream, the girl smiled but the boy made a face.
Well, she finally made them agree on a set meal and went to the counter. The boy eyed my tray. The girl noticed and held back his hands. She had this idea that he would grab and finish my food for me. I offered them the remaining fries. He took some to the chagrin of his sister.
The girl went off to follow her mother, probably to report what happened. I offered the boy what was left of the fries and he grabbed it. Then he went for my drink but I moved it away just in time. I told him that he was not to drink from other people's glasses. I think he understood. Then I called a busboy to put away my tray.
I stayed until his mother came back then gave up my table to them. As I went out, I smiled at the toddler's family, they finally got her to settle down and eat.
They are special children but they are still children.
The first one came via a three year old girl. She was exploring as all toddlers do. She was moving around and when she felt the soft seat of the couch across my table, she decided to climb onto it. She succeeded of course and sat herself straight. But when I spoke to her, she covered her eyes. The man with her scolded her for doing that and for not answering me.
She decided she did not want to sit at my table anyway and climbed down almost hitting her head on the table. She moved on towards another table until she almost walked into one of the chairs. Then she turned and went towards the table used by the staff for display sometimes.
All this time, the man was telling her to be careful and warning her when she was about to hit something. Between admonitions to the little girl, the man gave me an idea of her situation.
What was not obvious or maybe the reason she covered her eyes was that she could not see where she was actually going. She kept going anyway exploring like any three year old would, curious of everything around. The rest of the family became open when they learned that I was also born blind.
The second family had two kids, a fourteen year old boy and a six year old girl. Their mother was asking them what she should buy for them while they waited for the father who had a transaction in another establishment nearby. I offered the other couch at my table.
The two kids were at odds on what to get. The mother mentioned french fries; the boy clapped but the girl folded her arms. When mommy said fried chicken, the girl turned away but the boy looked eager for the treat. When the mother said ice cream, the girl smiled but the boy made a face.
Well, she finally made them agree on a set meal and went to the counter. The boy eyed my tray. The girl noticed and held back his hands. She had this idea that he would grab and finish my food for me. I offered them the remaining fries. He took some to the chagrin of his sister.
The girl went off to follow her mother, probably to report what happened. I offered the boy what was left of the fries and he grabbed it. Then he went for my drink but I moved it away just in time. I told him that he was not to drink from other people's glasses. I think he understood. Then I called a busboy to put away my tray.
I stayed until his mother came back then gave up my table to them. As I went out, I smiled at the toddler's family, they finally got her to settle down and eat.
They are special children but they are still children.
Networking for Marketing
Last night I attended a business forum sponsored by PLDT smenation at the Max Restaurant in Gateway mall. Apart from the presentation of the sponsor, we had a speaker.
Boom San Agustin is a Toastmaster, therefore a polished speaker. But it's always more interesting for me to hear people talk about how they succeeded. I'm not really going to listen to somebody boasting about being a self made man. I'm more into talks that make you set up and say "Yeah, he did it so maybe I can do the same."
Boom talked about how he turned his life around using social networks. I'm not going to repeat what he said, you can try visiting his blog and find the story for yourself. The thing is, my situation was not as bad as his was. I have the resources that he didn't have when he worked on promoting himself on the net. Yet, he's doing it better than me. And I'm supposed to be a techie.
Oh well, techies aren't known to be good businessmen.
I guess the real lesson is, and I take it from Jimmy of Bazaar sa Erod, "You have to be disturbed by your situation before you will strive for success."
Boom San Agustin is a Toastmaster, therefore a polished speaker. But it's always more interesting for me to hear people talk about how they succeeded. I'm not really going to listen to somebody boasting about being a self made man. I'm more into talks that make you set up and say "Yeah, he did it so maybe I can do the same."
Boom talked about how he turned his life around using social networks. I'm not going to repeat what he said, you can try visiting his blog and find the story for yourself. The thing is, my situation was not as bad as his was. I have the resources that he didn't have when he worked on promoting himself on the net. Yet, he's doing it better than me. And I'm supposed to be a techie.
Oh well, techies aren't known to be good businessmen.
I guess the real lesson is, and I take it from Jimmy of Bazaar sa Erod, "You have to be disturbed by your situation before you will strive for success."
Circle of Work
I guess I have finally come full circle in my work life.
A colleague remarked last Thursday that we seem to be understaffed this year. We are still lacking some teachers, particularly in the Computer Science unit. So, they asked me to take some extra load while they look for the additional portion. They asked me to teach CAD to the sophomores for, hopefully, one term.
It's interesting that I have been asked to teach this subject. When I was in college, one of the stipulations of my scholarship was to do a practicum during the summer before my last year. I got mine at CIS Inc., the IT company under the Meralco group.
The boss lady wasn't really going to give me any programming jobs because I was only scheduled to stay with them for a month. She probably thought I wasn't going to finish the available jobs within that period. Besides, I was enrolled that summer and she decided that I better do something I could take home and just report to her periodically.
The job? She had me study AutoCAD and prepare a training manual for the linesmen and technicians.
Now, so many years later, I'm again studying another CAD software but teaching kids is different from teaching adults. Really.
A colleague remarked last Thursday that we seem to be understaffed this year. We are still lacking some teachers, particularly in the Computer Science unit. So, they asked me to take some extra load while they look for the additional portion. They asked me to teach CAD to the sophomores for, hopefully, one term.
It's interesting that I have been asked to teach this subject. When I was in college, one of the stipulations of my scholarship was to do a practicum during the summer before my last year. I got mine at CIS Inc., the IT company under the Meralco group.
The boss lady wasn't really going to give me any programming jobs because I was only scheduled to stay with them for a month. She probably thought I wasn't going to finish the available jobs within that period. Besides, I was enrolled that summer and she decided that I better do something I could take home and just report to her periodically.
The job? She had me study AutoCAD and prepare a training manual for the linesmen and technicians.
Now, so many years later, I'm again studying another CAD software but teaching kids is different from teaching adults. Really.
Writing Less and More
This is my third post for this session. I don't think I ever did two in one day before and now I'm doing three. Cheers.
I checked my last post and I noticed that the sidebar was longer than the blog items. There was a time when I had more items on the sidebar and the posts were still longer than that.
Does that mean I'm writing shorter posts? Guess so.
I used to write for a daily bible reflection magazine called Didache. They would give us certain bible passages to reflect on and we would write our thoughts. Usually, we put in a small anecdote of how the message of the reading was applied in daily life. Those reflections were short, I don't think they went up to a hundred words. The magazine fit into the pocket of a man's jacket and we had to make sure our writing took only one page of that.
It was a great exercise in writing. You had to choose words carefully so that you could say all you wanted to say in that short space. You had to tell a story in a few sentences. You learned to communicate briefly and concisely.
But I have lots of space here. I could go on and on and on and . . .
I checked my last post and I noticed that the sidebar was longer than the blog items. There was a time when I had more items on the sidebar and the posts were still longer than that.
Does that mean I'm writing shorter posts? Guess so.
I used to write for a daily bible reflection magazine called Didache. They would give us certain bible passages to reflect on and we would write our thoughts. Usually, we put in a small anecdote of how the message of the reading was applied in daily life. Those reflections were short, I don't think they went up to a hundred words. The magazine fit into the pocket of a man's jacket and we had to make sure our writing took only one page of that.
It was a great exercise in writing. You had to choose words carefully so that you could say all you wanted to say in that short space. You had to tell a story in a few sentences. You learned to communicate briefly and concisely.
But I have lots of space here. I could go on and on and on and . . .
Bilib Ako sa Pinoy
Google's Aileen Apolo gave the idea for this blog.
You know that Influenza A H1N1 virus is said to cause a very deadly disease. In the Philippines, there have been an increasing number of confirmed cases. People are getting worried about being infected, specially since some noted schools have canceled classes because some of their students have caught the dread disease.
Did I miss anything here? From what I understand of the news, all the early confirmed cases are still alive and in fact have gotten over it. DOH even goes as far as saying that this flu variant is less of their headache than dengue.
Even with respect to dread diseases, Filipinos are truly resilient.
I hope this post holds true forever.
You know that Influenza A H1N1 virus is said to cause a very deadly disease. In the Philippines, there have been an increasing number of confirmed cases. People are getting worried about being infected, specially since some noted schools have canceled classes because some of their students have caught the dread disease.
Did I miss anything here? From what I understand of the news, all the early confirmed cases are still alive and in fact have gotten over it. DOH even goes as far as saying that this flu variant is less of their headache than dengue.
Even with respect to dread diseases, Filipinos are truly resilient.
I hope this post holds true forever.
Independence Day Thoughts
Tomorrow is June 12, the supposed day in history that the Philippines became independent. The question is are we really independent?
Considering the idea of globalization, we can no longer say that any country is truly independent. Even the United States of America, the de facto superpower of today can not say that it can stand on its own. Its policies are dictated by the world economy. One needs only read the news feed to understand how nations shape the politics of other nations.
I think it is more correct to say that the so-called independence day is the day we mark as the day in history when the world recognized our soverignity, that we are a separate nation from the conguerors Spain and USA.
Considering the idea of globalization, we can no longer say that any country is truly independent. Even the United States of America, the de facto superpower of today can not say that it can stand on its own. Its policies are dictated by the world economy. One needs only read the news feed to understand how nations shape the politics of other nations.
I think it is more correct to say that the so-called independence day is the day we mark as the day in history when the world recognized our soverignity, that we are a separate nation from the conguerors Spain and USA.
The Effects of a Flu Virus
Classes suspended. Already? We haven't even started.
The story is that because some students are refusing to impose self-quarantine, the school authorities have decided to postpone the start of classes to protect the majority of the population.
In a way, that is an advantageous decision. It gives the faculty one more week to prepare course materials. We can plan our days just a little bit better.
Well, we do need to plan well. The announcement means four days less of lessons without any adjustment to the end of term. Guess we will have to cram a few lessons together. In my case, I have already decided to remove one of my planned activities.
Still, I think it was a good idea. I can understand why one of those students would insist on coming to school despite the threat of the disease but I also believe this will be for his own good.
Sometimes, we really have to look at the effect of our actions on the bigger group of people around us.
The story is that because some students are refusing to impose self-quarantine, the school authorities have decided to postpone the start of classes to protect the majority of the population.
In a way, that is an advantageous decision. It gives the faculty one more week to prepare course materials. We can plan our days just a little bit better.
Well, we do need to plan well. The announcement means four days less of lessons without any adjustment to the end of term. Guess we will have to cram a few lessons together. In my case, I have already decided to remove one of my planned activities.
Still, I think it was a good idea. I can understand why one of those students would insist on coming to school despite the threat of the disease but I also believe this will be for his own good.
Sometimes, we really have to look at the effect of our actions on the bigger group of people around us.
Facebook Apps
I watched Q11's trivia show Ang Pinaka this evening. They featured the most famous games on Facebook. It turns out I have played all of the topy ten. I don't agree with their order but heck, I'm part of those monthly active users for all of them.
I'm not really "active" in all of them. I've sworn off Vampire Wars as too dark for my taste. I play Texas Hold'em Poker once or twice a month now. My farms have ruined crops by now because I have not visited in over a week. And I find Yoville loads too darn slow although I like the game really.
What does it say of me then? Well, I do try out many of the apps on FAcebook. It's a fun site. I have reconnected with people I haven't seen since college. I get to learn some new things too. Some of those games apparently help the environment and that's a personal advocacy.
Speaking of advocacies, there are a lot of causes on Facebook. It's a chance to raise awareness on certain issues and get people involved.
Maybe FAcebook causes could be the next topic for the show. Which ones do online Pinoys support?
I'm not really "active" in all of them. I've sworn off Vampire Wars as too dark for my taste. I play Texas Hold'em Poker once or twice a month now. My farms have ruined crops by now because I have not visited in over a week. And I find Yoville loads too darn slow although I like the game really.
What does it say of me then? Well, I do try out many of the apps on FAcebook. It's a fun site. I have reconnected with people I haven't seen since college. I get to learn some new things too. Some of those games apparently help the environment and that's a personal advocacy.
Speaking of advocacies, there are a lot of causes on Facebook. It's a chance to raise awareness on certain issues and get people involved.
Maybe FAcebook causes could be the next topic for the show. Which ones do online Pinoys support?
On Giftedness
Catch up time. I haven't blogged in about two weeks.
During the last week of May, the PSHS faculty in Luzon hied away to Baguio to discuss how to handle gifted children. When my bosses asked if I would be willing to end my summer vacation early for this affair, I grabbed the chance. I don't have an education degree so I take these events as opportunities to improve in a profession I have decided to get into.
I'd say it was a rewarding experience. Of course, I knew there were different kinds of giftedness. Being gifted is not always academic excellence. There are those gifted in the arts, literature and music. That is the usual area people look at when being gifted is discussed. There are also those that are gifted in public speaking and interpersonal relationships. Probably, they are the ones who conduct assertiveness training sessions.
What surprsied me was the discussion about TEPs or twice exceptional persons. These are gifted people who also have mental or physical challenges. The thing about the physically challenged was not news to me. I could possibly be in that list with my eye problem. There are many individuals who have gone to college in wheelchairs with accomodations by their schools. I've had a student in one of my workshops who brought his own chair along with two helpers.
The thing about the mentally challenged being gifted was what got me. I have to admit, I never looked at autistics, Aspergers and ADHD as possibly gifted.
But why not? Those that used to be called idiot savant were obviously gifted otherwise they would not be called savants. Incidents when attention deficiency manifested could have been griggered by boredom in class because their teachers were not posting enough challenges.
Really, one should not be quick to judge the capabilities of anybody.
During the last week of May, the PSHS faculty in Luzon hied away to Baguio to discuss how to handle gifted children. When my bosses asked if I would be willing to end my summer vacation early for this affair, I grabbed the chance. I don't have an education degree so I take these events as opportunities to improve in a profession I have decided to get into.
I'd say it was a rewarding experience. Of course, I knew there were different kinds of giftedness. Being gifted is not always academic excellence. There are those gifted in the arts, literature and music. That is the usual area people look at when being gifted is discussed. There are also those that are gifted in public speaking and interpersonal relationships. Probably, they are the ones who conduct assertiveness training sessions.
What surprsied me was the discussion about TEPs or twice exceptional persons. These are gifted people who also have mental or physical challenges. The thing about the physically challenged was not news to me. I could possibly be in that list with my eye problem. There are many individuals who have gone to college in wheelchairs with accomodations by their schools. I've had a student in one of my workshops who brought his own chair along with two helpers.
The thing about the mentally challenged being gifted was what got me. I have to admit, I never looked at autistics, Aspergers and ADHD as possibly gifted.
But why not? Those that used to be called idiot savant were obviously gifted otherwise they would not be called savants. Incidents when attention deficiency manifested could have been griggered by boredom in class because their teachers were not posting enough challenges.
Really, one should not be quick to judge the capabilities of anybody.
More Content
I realized about a week ago that May 2009 was my busiest month as far as blogging is concerned. That doesn't say much about me as a blogger but in a way I am happy that I was able to sustain it as nearly regular as I could. That is really one of my aims this year, consistency in blogging.
Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to write. It's been an outlet of my feelings, whether I did poetry or fiction. My mom kept most of my early works though I admit that at least one of them was a sort of direct criticism. Mothers don't really see that. Most of the time, they see it as a good thing because their kid has done something that many other kids can't.
I look at blogging as a sort of public diary. Since it's public, it's also a practice for good writing. I mean, it should be understandable. Good grammar is important, as well as proper construction. I've always been more comfortable writing in English and what you have here are some of my practice sheets.
Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to write. It's been an outlet of my feelings, whether I did poetry or fiction. My mom kept most of my early works though I admit that at least one of them was a sort of direct criticism. Mothers don't really see that. Most of the time, they see it as a good thing because their kid has done something that many other kids can't.
I look at blogging as a sort of public diary. Since it's public, it's also a practice for good writing. I mean, it should be understandable. Good grammar is important, as well as proper construction. I've always been more comfortable writing in English and what you have here are some of my practice sheets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)