Manny, Manny, Manny...

I will never be able to save myself from regularly blogging irregularly. Get it? Oh well, it's hard to break a habit.

For the sake of breaking the blogging silence, I am again going to talk about my beloved Manny Pacquioa. <-- I know it's misspelled, but I dont care! So he won his last boxing match again. I'm not surprised. Although his last opponent was by then undefeated while Manny had already lost four (not sure) times, the Pambansang Kamao had more wins and knockouts. Congratulations Pacman! I really mean it. By then I got tired of trash-talking about him. I felt the need to stop doing it 'coz it's immature, and it's not fun anymore. Everyone likes him. I think I was the only Filipino who by then hated him to death. I gotta give him credit for representing our country excellently in boxing.

But wait! What's this about Manny running for the Congress?! That's *&^#%@*&!! It's FPJ for politics Part 2! Manny is only for boxing!! It's his ONLY destiny! He can never be good for Congress!

I remember when he was interviewed about what he would do in the Congress if he wins, he remarked first that you don't have to be intellegent to be a politician; that what is more important is the passion to serve the people. And then he specifically stated his gameplan in the Congress: to listen to the bills that would be drafted by the other intelligent people in the Congress, and then vote for the bills that he thinks is good for his hometown, General Santos. Well, that's a job of a Congressman, but that's not his only task! The essence of being a member of the House of Representatives is to author or at least co-author a bill, not just to pretend to listen and understand the other congresspeople and vote for those he thinks is good for the country, General Santos in particular.

When rumors about Manny's plan to challenge the current Congresswoman of his hometown, political jokes about him being intellectually unfit for politics started to circulate. There was this comic strip in a national newspaper where a caricature of Manny was being interviewed by a member of the media. The reporter asked something like, "What can you say about Republic Act... (blah, blah, blah)?" And Manny's answer was something like, "Hello to my fans! Thank you for your support in the fight!" And then there were circulating text messages announcing that Manny was dead because of a politically motivated assassination. That was definitely a joke because unfortunately, he's still very much alive. But now, he's scared as hell that he even beefed up his and his family's security with more bodyguards. I now feel that there is a brotherhood of anti-Manny Pacquiao. Sign me up!

I will just say one thing about Manny pursuing a seat in the Congress: if he wins, I hope that God will destroy General Santos!

May the Philippines have not only an honest but also an intelligent election this coming 14th of May.

Commencement

A friend sent me a text message during the Baccalaureate Mass last Saturday. Aside from a congratulatory message, she also included in the message an insight about graduation day: Graduation is not the end. It is a beginning. That's why it is also called Commencement Excercise. Commencement means start - specifically the start of another journey, which is the journey towards a fulfilled life. That fulfilled life may include reaching the peak of one's chosen career path, a healthy, happy family that will actually last for a lifetime, or whatever one's deepest desires are.

Graduation, for an Atenean in particular, means leaving the nest of the Eagles so he can take flight and soar across the sky, which is what he is meant to do.

Well this Atenean would like to take a break for several months. I mean, even before the Mother Eagle kicked me out of her nest, I have been trained to fly non-stop for several hours for several times. My wings need a break from all the sleepless nights of finishing work for the thesis/research. Heck! I need a break from 16 years of schooling, from kindergarten to college. Two-month vacations between school years were not enough. I deserve to just lay around and savor nothingness for a while before I spread my wings and fly away from the warm nest to the cold and bitter reality out there. There would be hunters trying to shoot us Eagles down. But hey, we're above them. We can drop shit-bombs to distract them.

But for now, I need rest to muster all the energy I need for whatever career path I will choose. Honestly, I'm torn between a career in Software Engineering/Development and in the Call Center. Both are equally interesting for me. The Computer Science Department Head highly discouraged us from taking the Call Center path and encouraged us to pursue a job in a reputable IT company, which is most probably outside Zamboanga City. But the Call Center Outsourcing company called first and scheduled training this week (it just started this morning). Is it a sign that the Call Center is the path for me, or is it just a test of how much is my desire for a job as programmer, which I should ideally choose 'coz I'm a bachelor in Computer Science? Well, after the training, if ever I pass, I would be awarded with a certification proving that I am worthy to be a Call Center agent. I asked during a one-on-one interview with the trainer a while ago if the successful trainees are bound to pursue a career in a call center agency. He said that they are not. But he encouraged them to do so, as a sign of gratitude for the trainer. The training is free and they don't get profit from the trainees, even when they are already working as a call center agent. But they do get added points (figuratively) for their reputation whenever a call center agent trained by their company excels in work. So I am taking this training to prove if I actually have good oral communication skills as what I have included in my resume. Talk about taking advantage of free stuff...

Or, just like what my sister suggested, I can enroll again, in the same university, to undergo Special Program for Nursing... Nah! I hate the weird smell of hospitals and I think I would instinctively throttle disgruntled patients. But if ever I do enroll for SPN, I would choose WMSU over AdZU. I heard that WMSU has more competent Nursing professors and doctors than in my alma mater. Wait... I don't think we even have competent professors and doctors for the Nursing students in Ateneo - just Clinical Instructors. And I also heard that WMSU has a higher passing rate in the Nursing board exams compared to AdZU. And I also heard that there is a culture of cheating among the Nursing students in AdZU and I have heard that some CI's condone it. But those are just what I have heard. Heard! Heard! Heard! I have to enroll for SPN in AdZU to confirm these rumors. But as what I have said: NAH! I'll just give AdZU the benefit of the doubt. I have good friends who also graduated last Saturday with a degree in Nursing from the same university. I don't want to think that they just spent thousands of pesos just for a crappy Nursing education.

Why am I still typing!? I promised myself that I will be lazy as hell after graduation! Blogging requires typing energy let alone thinking energy. I have to stop now.

Another Resolution Goes Blooey!

So says Garfield to Jon when the latter once again put on pants with its back in the front. The fat cat's remark also goes for me - not for wearing pants like what Jon did, but for unfalteringly neglecting blogging. Oh well, New Year's resolutions are myths anyway. I mean, if you really want to change something, don't wait for New Year! Start now!

As for me, I don't think there is any resolution to late, irregular blogging. It's not in top 10 of my priority list at the moment, so this post is gonna be a short one. Actually, I should be stopping right now lest I will be late for my earliest class again.