Time for the big switch! =)

Omi Castanar is the Program Director of ASLA for this year. As I said in my blog entry Entrusted to Serve. Entrusted to Lead. :D about the ASLA congress, " It allowed me to meet a bunch of inspiring people who really want to make a difference in this world through service." Kuya Omi was one of the people I was referring to.

When I was at a point where I thought there weren't much people in Ateneo who cared, they accepted me into ASLA. There I was convinced that there are people in this school who wanted to do something positive and were actually already acting on their beliefs. Kuya Omi presided over our congress and it amazed me how he together with the core could effectively bring together a group of strong people, all leaders in their own rights. They made each one of us think about our leadership, asked us to share our insights, give us the chance to assess our core principles and grow from all we learn about ourselves and from the other great leaders around us.

And so I think, he can do the same for the Ateneo community, the Sanggunian - bring us together, dig from our different backgrounds, utilize our respective abilities and help us learn from ourselves and others.

From what little I know about him, I am confident about 4 things:
- He is passionate about service.
- He has vision.
- He knows how to turn his vision into reality.
- And he gets the job done.

Kuya Omi knows what he wants for Sanggu. He has drafted concrete plans and still, he is willing to listen to those who care enough to speak up, about what they want Sanggu to do for them.

A vote for Omi Castanar is a vote not wasted. A vote for him means a school year not wasted for the Sanggunian. :) So let's all vote for him! :)

To read what he has to say and what he wishes to do, visit http://omi4president.multiply.com.

When I'm ecstatic.

Because Ray2 was going through old pictures and was observing her hair(haha.), i came across the pictures with AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon, back when he was newly assigned and he visited Pisay. Got these from Rob's multiply.

Just see how ecstatic I was. That's me there, behind Ed holding my file case. :) Nakakahiya pala akong mastarstruck. Hahaha.

Drawing the line.

'You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart;
you may surely reprove your neighbor,
but shall not incur sin because of him.'
- Leviticus 19:17

I guess disappointment in other people is a universal feeling. We have all probably experienced being let down by people we trust and love. Some of us hurt by people we barely know.

And like many, I believe this disappointment, the sadness we feel because of the wrong that others have caused whether to us, to others or to themselves comes from a love that we have for these people. Whether we admit it or not, we care. Because if we didn't, none of his/her actions would hurt us.

I admit my disappointment sometimes gets out of line. I sometimes expect too much and instead of care, I harbor the sadness and take it against the person.

God today spoke so clearly about how we should react to these situations. The feeling of disappointment is understandable but incurring sin because of it is not.

6:49am. =)

Got this from Jin. :)



You're the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it's not because you're lazy – it's because you know there's no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that's held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.

It's time to RAVE for HIM! :D

Psalm 66: 1-2
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth;
sing of his glorious name;
give him glorious praise

Because leadership doesn't need grand gestures. :)

ASLA: Student Leaders Assembly
brings you DARE IT FORWARD,
a campaign for everyday leadership.

We invite you to take part in a month-long campaign
of finding new ways of leading others
in even the most simple of ways.

Because here in ASLA,
we believe leadership doesn't need grand gestures.
We believe it happens everyday.
We believe it can be done by anyone,
even YOU.
Talagang simple lang.

Make a DIF. Be the DIF.
Join ASLA's Dare It Forward!

Seek us out at Kostka Extension
or the Doghouse
and SIGN UP to either
BUY a DARE (sponsor it!)
or randomly PICK a DARE (and do it!)

Make a DIF. Be the DIF!

WOW!

I don't know if this is an illusion caused by the fact that I'm experiencing the stress right now but I think I've never had as much to do as I have now. When they said the workload in college was different, I never imagined it to be like this.

Why ateneo? :D

I loved this article and I would like to share these to the people who are deciding which school to go to. Kung ang problema sa pagpili sa Ateneo ay dahil elitista ang mga tao roon at hindi ito “tunay na mundo,” I hope you read this. And if you want a copy of the entire article, I can type it for you or lend you this Guidon issue. Haha. It’s a wonderful article. And even if sobrang ikli pa lang ng stay ko sa Ateneo, I have come to agree with all that he has said kasi nakita ko na ang Ateneo na inilalarawan niya. =)

These are segments of a column that was published in the Guidon. It was entitled “To my colleagues: On the meaning of an Ateneo education” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ph.D. who is a associate professor at the Philosophy department of the Ateneo.

And the statements in bold are those which I found most beautiful.

I know that many of the teachers complain that Ateneans lead a very sheltered life in this campus. In an infinite number of ways that is ridiculously true. And some even say that there are majors that reinforce this alienation. I could agree with that. Some even say that our students are not really given the chance to open to these realities with our token gestures of solidarity with the “mga poor ”like immersions or work trials. Perhaps, in the end, the Ateneo is the Ateneo: a separate world from the world of the margins. But what most people don’t understand about the Ateneo, including its own faculty sometimes, is that the Ateneo is not just about the majors or the specific programs. It is about a spirit that pervades among its best people.

And if you take Ateneo education seriously enough, and if you are open to its opportunities enough, it will lead you to that realization and it will lead you to your first opening to the faces that you will have to serve. At its core, Ateneo education is an apprenticeship in the work of being a Filipino for others. This is only a slogan so long as one misses out on the living examples of alumni, scholars, administrators, maintenance and staff who show us the way to realizing the truth of an Ateneo education. Open your eyes to those who serve radically and they will radically educate your heart. And if one is open enough one can see that such people dwell in this school because there is a spirit in this school that cradles them and supports their vocation. It is intangible, but it is a spirit that guides the best of us.

Some people feel that we are an elite school that cultivates an elite rationality. Radioactive Sago’s brilliant third album is entitled “Tang Ina Mo Ang Daming Nagugutom sa Mundo Fashionista Ka Pa Rin.” In one gig, Lord de Vera was plugging their album and he said “Bilhin ninyo ang aming album ‘Tang Ina Mo Ang Daming Nagugutom Sa Mundo Atenista Ka Pa Rin.’” I could understand his sentiments exactly. Just listen to conversations in the smoking garden where people bitch about the heat, their slow laptops and their old school phones and anyone who knows anything about the hardships in our country will easily agree with Lord. But then, if you think abouit it, although many of our graduates are oblivious to the suffering around them and even if the most of them do reinforce structures that exploit the suffering, there is that core of Ateneans touched by the spirit of this school who choose to genuinely build communities founded on justice, to found enterprises that serve true needs, to lawyer for the oppressed, and to doctor for the poor. Many innovations of justice building in our country arise because of their apprenticeships in the magis of our service. We just don’t hear about these things because they don’t find their way into our tarpaulins. But the spirit is there and it is the spirit that defines us more than basketball championships or the number of CEOs we produce. Somehow, because of our formation, Ateneans still tend to be idealistic about service. And so I say “Dahil ang daming nagugutom sa mundo kailangan mong seryosohin ang pagka-Atenista.”

Again, I did not write this. These are segments of a column that was published in the Guidon. It was entitled “To my colleagues: On the meaning of an Ateneo education” by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ph.D. who is a associate professor at the Philosophy department of the Ateneo. :D