Campaigns and Divisions

So social media is awashed with posts on the elections, and suddenly everybody is an expert in the field of politics. I'm not condemning anyone and I find it amusing to see people politically engaged and exercising freedom of speech as each campaigns for his or her chosen candidates. As an exercise of democracy, the elections play a significant role in bringing out the voice of the masses by putting into positions the persons voted by the majority.

In the process, instead of cute cat videos and satirical "must make it until payday" memes, we see a lot of posts on the recently held debates. For once, as the fate of the nation hinges on the upcoming elections, and as people's votes are all equal regardless of social rank and status, it is nowhere in Philippine history where the exercise of democracy is thus manifested. This is aside from the organized People Power/ EDSA revolutions that ousted from power those deemed incompetent to run the country though funny how one still became Mayor of Manila after being removed from power.

Also in the process we see a lot of online bickering. People easily get carried away and we see friends turning into foes simply because they support different candidates. And here we see one of the ugly aspects of democracy: people become so engrossed in their idea of freedom, in their idea of what constitutes as "best"and become tyrants themselves, tyrants in the sense that they seek to dominate everything and prove people wrong when in fact, they themselves are not infallible. Countless times I had to resist the urge to counter these posts but I'd rather keep my peace and not engage. I still think that we need unity more than ever if we are to propel this nation to greatness and instilling conflicts definitely does not help.

Which then makes me think about how different the Philippines is compared to other Southeast Asian nations. We are never a mindful people, and we never care for rules. We are all little anarchists under the guide of a democratic system imposed on us by the West (i.e. USA). Imagine what could have been were Buddhism gained a major footing in this country. Then there will be tolerance and respect. (Of course this is just, broadly speaking, an observation. Being Buddhist does not necessarily mean being tolerant of others as we have seen in Sri Lanka and Myanmar where religious violence takes place.)

Which also reminds me of quotidian politics. In any group or organization, there will always be people who will create rifts in order to gain allies in case he/ she will need to mobilize people. This divide will rest on commonalities and more often than not, bitches (i.e. mean girls though boys are also capable of this) will unite and create an "enemy" by means of othering. I have seen manifestations of this and more so in the workplace. What is funny though is that you will hear them bash each other when one is not present but when they come together they seem like the best of friends. Oh well. (This is admittedly a digression and I can't help but write about this...)

So campaign for your candidates with all your heart and soul. It is your right. But never forget that in doing so, you should not expect a reward because for your chosen candidate, your existence is negligible. Never forget that having respect for your friends and for their choices, absurd as they may be, should be top priority. Practice respect, tolerance, and humility.

And speaking of, I have yet to make a final decision... @.@

November

November is a rather gloomy month mainly because of Supertyphoon Yolanda leaving most of Visayas devastated. The deadly typhoon has now been confirmed to have taken more than 5000 lives and many are yet to be found. What's heartbreaking is that relief operations are chaotic and donations were not efficiently delivered to those in need. Many, including me, suspect that those in office are taking advantage of this tragedy to pocket money for themselves since donations by corporations and nations were not transparently announced. Nor will the public ever know if the funds will completely be used to deliver relief and aid in rebuilding houses and lives.

It just happened so soon, and barely a month after a major earthquake that destroyed most of Visayas' heritage structures in October. I could still remember the disgust I felt upon hearing someone (certainly not a friend of mine) say "This is it! It's our time to shine!" It felt so wrong, to take advantage of the situation to uplift one's self. At that moment, I was repulsed by the hypocrisy and by the shallowness of that person. How different is she from those politicians who added to the delay in relief delivery by demanding that donations go through their office first? Or how about those who, despite much criticism from the media, still resort to packing goods with their names on the bags? Printing those plastic bags means more resources spent, not just money but also time.

As an environmentalist, I cringe at how relief goods are packed using plastic bags. It's good if people reuse plastic bags or dispose of these properly. But in my observations, Filipinos are not very good at taking care of their surroundings and random disposal seems to be the norm. In soup kitchens, I wonder how many disposables are used and end up as trash afterwards? Sometimes I don't wanna think about these but they haunt my mind.

So instead of giving money as donation, I chose to give old clothes and volunteer at UP National Institute of Physics. The department initiated PROJECT LIGHTLINE, which aims to create portable cellphone chargers from old and broken ones. The concept behind this is joule thief. (I'm no scientist and I only got to work on circuits when I volunteered for this project so I'm in no position to talk about how to make a joule thief.) What I understood from my own research though is that a joule thief gets energy from seemingly drained batteries and then give energy to power something. (Just how vague was that???) Anyhow, I was glad to learn parts of a circuit--- diodes, transformers, transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc. I also learned how to solder and desolder. For a while I thought how cool it would be to take up some TESDA courses to be able to hone my skills. (But I already have my hands full with calculus alone... Poor brain of mine.)

Photo taken here
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectLightline

a circuit I assembled (a masters student coached me on what to put together)

Another highlight of my November is that I got to finally donate blood!!! I was once rejected because I was "anemic". Maybe I just lacked sleep at that time. It makes me happy to be able to pay it forward. I may not be able to pay back the person whose blood was transferred to me when I got dengue many many years back but I hope someone will benefit from my blood.

And just when I thought that Ilocos would be last of my trips this year, I found myself happily joining my two office friends and their friends to Baler. The end of the month saw me suddenly buying makeup and having the desire to learn how to properly put on makeup.

The last day of November, the 30th, and also Bonifacio Day, was spent with a very dear friend. We had a quick lunch at Sci Fi Cafe. (I was disappointed with the Aligue pasta but I LOVE their nachos!) We watched The Addams Family Musical at the Meralco Theater. Having watched the cartoon show in my childhood days, I am reminded of how both strange and adorable this eccentric family is. This time, my favorite character is Uncle Fester. I can't stop laughing at his solo number about his love for the moon! (Fellow lunatics unite!)

Hoping that in December I get to at least finish studying Calculus. Though of course it doesn't mean that learning will stop altogether since I haven't fully mastered everything. Integration and antiderivatives are driving me crazy... I wonder what I'll be studying next.

On Different Interests and Human Relations

Today is the second day of the week-long workshop in UP. It pleased me to have someone finally interested in 三國, the TV drama series aired last year in a Taiwanese cable channel. For months last year, it ruled my life, making me rethink of human greed and ambitions, as well as the means employed by people to get what they want. This year they aired the series on the same TV channel (evidence of the popularity of this Chinese classic, aside from this funny video on a fan), which is just as perfect since I have been getting into Game of Thrones and the two series have many things in common with regards to politics. (The difference I can think of right now between the two series is that 三國 doesn't have soft porn, unlike Game of Thrones. That, and aside from the genre: 三國 is historical fiction, whereas Game of Thrones is fantasy--- though George says many of the scenes are inspired from history.) The thought of producing an article from this observation has been with me since I started Game of Thrones but I guess it depends if I can sneak it in my schedule.

And then just a random thought: perhaps the reason why I find it hard to be friends with other people is because I have weird interests. While many are into romantic J-drama or Western series, I am more into anime, action J-series, and Chinese period dramas. It's just strange that it's only now that I realize how I care very little for what is in vogue at the moment, but rather pursue that which truly interests me. And this has caused me to feel left out a lot because most of the time, I don't know what people are talking about and I get weird looks when I ask about things that I like.

Still, no matter how uncomfortable I am when people around me think I'm an idiot or a retard when they for example, talk about popular franchise movies which I largely ignore, I always think that life is too short to waste time on things I don't really like. So I end up watching obscure movies and series, and reading obscure books (eg. The Perfumed Garden) which nobody in my circles has heard of. I may have lost opportunities to quickly establish relationships based on similar tastes but at the end of the day, I feel like at least, I have my own secret silent sanctuary.

In the end, it doesn't even matter. (to quote Linkin Park)

So goodbye, bittersweet love. I am now free from these weird feelings I have for you. I truly wanted to understand you, to delve into your world, but I guess I love myself more to destroy myself for you.

Lincoln (2012)

When I heard that the film "Lincoln" is competing in the Oscars, I just had to watch it. It being biographical and historical gave the impression that it was boring and it sure is. Lincoln narrates the events surrounding the passing of the 13th Amendment is U.S. history. The major goal then is to secure votes to abolish slavery. And so lots of boring dialogues. But there is one particular scene which struck me as truly remarkable and well, memorable.

Tommy Lee Jones' role as the the sardonic yet charismatic Thaddeus Stevens gave life to the movie in this highly commendable scene:

From: http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/lincoln-movie-quotes.html#.UU-2Khenpvk

from: http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/lincoln-movie-quotes-1.html#.UU-3Rhenpvk

from: http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/lincoln-movie-quotes-1.html#.UU-3Rhenpvk