days of friendster blogs come to an end. i am now shifting to multiply!
therefore, you people will finally be spared of unnecessary mail notifications every time i post an entry that ultimately zeros in on my rants about this divine life that im leading *hehe*
so all you blog fans of mine (i’m shamelessly assuming that i have blog fans), here’s the new site to visit: http://goddesspam.multiply.com
see you there as i continue ranting! 
indeed,
this Libra woman lives with her rose-coloured glasses on.
remove that, she’ll be silent.
just silent.
but the setback runs deep.
and perhaps will never show
i have parents who have sacrificed a lot and provided for my needs.
i have sisters who are willing to support my ambitious thesis and more.
i have long-time friends who are there in spite of my absence.
i am surrounded with college friends who are always within my reach through all my ups and downs.
i am getting a good education.
life may be harsh, but im still being kept at the safe side.
for all of these… i promise to never lose sight of what’s right. i owe my life and personality to a lot of people.
i will not fail any of you.
never again
not in the near future.
Last thursday, hundreds of students from the UP Diliman expressed their utmost resentment on the proposed tuition fee increase expected to be implemented by next semester. If approved, the cost for an 18 units semester will raise from P6,000++ to P18,000++.
For the record, i was NOT one of those who joined the rally. While there were calls for class boycotts some days before thursday, i still went in to my anthro class and preferred to listen to sir Jocano. anyway, i paid for that class session right? when the rallyists passed by the corridor and shouted "i-boycott na yan!" to those who held and attended classes, i simply listened to them and not moved from my seat.
just to clarify, i am not an elitist. i chose not to join the rally because i have views that are not cleanly parallel to these rallyists’ views. hindi dahil maraming tutol, ganun na din ako. to start, i approve the idea of tuition fee increase (take note: IDEA).
seeing the state of UP for the past three years, i can personally say that it is time to do something about it. as the premier education institution in the country, we do not deserve to fall farther behind than our current status. try visiting schools in other countries and you’ll know what i mean. for one, when i went to Singapore last year, i was able to enter the library of one Polytechnic there. shit, i fell in love with it. parang gusto kong i-uwi sa Pilipinas. the books are all new and in good condition. the facilities are breath-taking and so conducive to learning. and Polytechnic pa lang nila yun, pano pa kung NUS o Nanyang yung nabisita ko?
UP’s long history of academic excellence still has the capacity to attract the brightest roster of students around the country, and that alone should spell further great potentials for UP. sadly, this institution could not boldly harness all their capabilities because of budget constraints. as with research, no matter how good your design is, kung kulang o wala ka namang necessary budget to implement your data gathering, sayang lang ang study mo na theoretically beautiful. as a result, we lose some bright minds to other institutions here and abroad who can accomodate their intellectual needs.
we can’t forever just wait for this wretched government to wake up and miraculously realize its long-forgotten duty to the education system. mahirap gisingin ang nagbibingi-bingihan. clearly, education is not anymore the priority of this administration even though it was stated in the Constitution to be so. that being the case, what should we do? stagnation is not an option, especially since we are an academic institution trying (in vain) to retain its global position.
in opposing the tuition fee increase, the perennial victims are not only the students but also the professors and the personnels who suffer from the meager budget the most. we are here to study, but they are here to support their living. not all professors are not born rich and could afford delays in salary. let’s not forget that professorship is also a job. so when the university could no longer keep up with their personal needs (as they are also human beings), the tendency is for them to go to other institutions where they will be well compensated. and they could not be blamed.
it is true that UP is not completely the "University of the Poor" anymore. let’s face it, wag na tayong magpaka-ipokrita. do we not have classmates and/or acquaintances who went to international schools like Brent, ISM, and VIS* plus the more prestigious schools around the metro like Ateneo, ICA, La Salle Greenhills, Poveda and Xavier to name a few? do we not see pricey cars in the parking lots and Iskolars sporting newfangled gadgets? i could go on and on with this line of examples but the point is, UP’s current and projected population includes smart yet "can afford" people (and mind you there are a lot of them) so let them pay. UP is an educational institution, NOT a charitable one.
this TFI issue also brings to the fore one important concern, and that is the STFAP** rebracketting. as we recognize the part of the UP population who can afford to pay higher tuition fees, we should also give equal attention to those who sincerely could not. pertinent to the looming tuition fee increase is the assurance that it would be fair to all concerned. when you look at the current bracketting system, you will find that the requirements for each bracket (especially in brackets 1-4*** where we’re talking about annual income) could be ridiculous. i mean in the first place, would your parents be really able to send you through college if they’re really earning that much? with the current state of economy and the usual family size of a Filipino family? baka nga hindi mo pa matapos ang high school niyan e, much worse, elementary.
i do hope that the administration will take a serious look at this and actually study the real situation and composition of the UP population nowadays. To Pres. Roman and Chancellor Cao, you cannot pronounce statements like "some parents think our tuition fees are ridiculuously low". support your statement with facts and not suppositions. do we not have statistics that would help us in these matters? what about those information that you ask upon applying for UP and every enrollment? are they just for formality’s sake? minsan pwedeng simpleng SPSS lang yan (given na ine-encode nga ang data).
now, i mentioned a while ago that i approve the idea of tuition fee increase. i mean, its about time already. at this point, we’ve already lost a lot by relying at the mercy of this stupid government. and besides, its been 17 years already since the last tuition fee increase. the P300 per unit cost can tide UP over in last decade’s economic situation, but not on the current’s. however, to say that a 300% increase should be implemented to answer the problem that UP is currently facing understandably panics a lot of people. 300% is too high and too abrupt. maybe the administration can take it little by little perhaps?
in conclusion, i believe that this issue requires a more holistic perspective in such that decisions have to be made while taking into consideration the past, present, and the future. we in UP are all bright individuals, surely we can open our minds to different options and actually give way for compromises? as i see it, both the administration and student leaders are adamant with their respective stand on the issue — and that doesn’t promise a peaceful resolution of the problem in the long run. keep an open mind and open ears. this issue is not a venue for pataasan ng pride. a lot are at stake.
* special note to Jam. hehe
** Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program
the first time i used friendster three years ago, i never thought that it could serve far better purposes apart from personal advertisement. but then as it periodically evolved, friendster became more of a panoptic device rather than a simple "electronic billboard" for various people around the world –mostly filipinos* anyway.
as someone who has grown to love the act and process of researching (be it academic or otherwise), i can attest to the many information it can provide and has provided me so far even if you’re not really looking for it. you see, everything’s within your reach with this thing — that is, if you know how and where to look for it.
so as i go on with my usual fare of checking my homepage, i stumbled upon new things about my friends. apparently, a number are already parents (i’d rather not comment on the social implications of this. that would be outright geekiness), few already went to different places, a handful changed their looks, and some are *ding ding ding* really in a relationship. all in all, the resulting impact of these made me realize one thing:
people are having a life. apparently, im not. well, not as much as they do and i should do…
could somebody please bring me to life? i’ve been feeling devoid lately coz i sense that im missing out on a lot of things. and to add, i think i’ve been thinking too much about my thesis that it even haunts me in my sleep. argh!
i just hope that by the time i’m done with all these academic madness, life still has a lot of tricks up in its sleeves reserved especially for me coz if not, ill cry foul.
*http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/nov/12/yehey/career/20061112car1.html’
"mataas ang standards mo… demanding ka… eto ka, eto lang sila… you’re intimidating… you’re seeking for a perfect person and you won’t settle for anything less than that."
- jan claire luzarraga to me (nov. 16, 2006)
remember this: above are the words that finally opened the floodgates in my eyes. i don’t know why it happened at that time when usually it doesn’t but the thing is, my tear drops fell. voluntarily. fast. seemingly endless. *deym!*
—–
nothing in the hours before that night could have triggered the show of emotions that I have made. i’ve been fine all day long — no untoward incidents or whatsoever. in fact, i was about to call it a day by 4:30pm. however, a plan to have a good time was spontaneously made by my friends (as always) and so I abandoned my original plans of going home early and just read whatever.
the first hour that we were together is just great. as always, we’re laughing our asses off as we kid around. moments like these with my friends are always fun and probably worth looking back years from now. and as times like this usually go, stories are told.
this is where the drama began.
you see, leyah had this story about her that happened some three or four years ago. we were all surprised by what she related that we joyously made fun of her. di mo kasi akalain. hehe =) however, napunta sa akin ang direksyon ng biruan — and i can understand why, coz i’ve been known for my readiness in displaying angst for as long as they could remember whenever that certain topic comes to the fore.
and as one thing leads to another, a discussion and redundant session of pondering was yet again born to make sense of why the hell i am what i am when all the world seems to be able to find their respective matches (more or less). for the nth time, i heard statements such as "oo nga pam, bakit ganun?! ikaw pa of all people eh diyosah ka?!" and "kung si *blahblahblah* nga meron, bakit ikaw wala?!" oh well, my love life (or lack thereof) is such a big deal to other people, ayt? ha.ha.ha.
to cut the long story short (coz its so redundant anyway), naiyak nalang ako. napagod siguro ako. and jam was so good with the words she said even though alam ko na yun coz it has been said many times many ways before by many people. ganun nga siguro ako: perfectionist and intimidating. ayaw kong maniwala kasi deep down feeling ko hindi ako ganun pero kung yun talaga ang consistently na nakikita ng tao, then so be it. anyway im not willing to change anything for anyone coz its who i am. kung masamang ugali pa or something yun napapansin nila then its reasonable to change — but its not the case.
ayun.
bahala na.
i rest my case.
finding something and getting to keep it (because you found it) are two things that does not necessarily come hand in hand. while "finders keepers" is one of the most over used cliches out there, it is not, unfortunately, a law in human life.
so for someone who simply has the knack for stumbling over things and tracing/finding interesting connections, the statement above is nothing but a healthy source of frustrations.
grrr…!
1 sem is equal to 16 academic weeks
i can do it. last na ‘to (sana nga)
go pam!
CRS finally revealed the fruits of my labor for the past sem.
and to grin big time is all i can do right now :>
to note, the biggest surprise was THE CR195 grade. it was such a taxing subject, to say the least. apparently, she who has just obtained her kick-ass PhD from that Ivy League school in the U.S. is so used to stress, she doesn’t recognize it anymore. as a consequence, she gives off assignments like its just a piece of cake. that transpired for the whole sem, boy it did.
and now that it’s all over and im seeing the result, i just can’t help but feel that justice was served 
*Thank you Lord!*
