Holding the Gavel

           
Toastmasters International Division D, the first division to be hailed as "President's Distinguished", held its Installation of Officers and Induction of New Members last July 17 at Business Inn, formally opening another Toastmasters term headed by the new Division Governor Melinda Sisles.

Toastmasters men in their long sleeves and suits, including myself, and women in their flowing gowns, who graced the formal occasion with their elegant red-and-black fashion, came in to show their utmost willingness and blazing excitement to “hold the gavel” and to fully accept their responsibilities as new officers of their respective clubs.

Wearing a dark red long sleeves and necktie, I was inducted as the VP Education of First Farmers Toastmasters Club (a surprising promotion from VP Public Relations) and vowed to work towards the realization of my fellow members’ educational goals.

The program mainly consisted of the introduction of the past division governors, the installation of the Division and Club officers, the induction of new members, the valedictory speech given by the outgoing Division Governor Mhel Sillador, the inauguration of the new Division Governor Melinda Sisles, the inspirational speech given by the District President Vic Navales, and lastly the Giving of Toast for a successful year 2011-2012, which I did. (white teeth flashing)

Past Division Governor Mhel Sillador thanked his mentors for supporting him during his term as well as his fellow officers and co-club-members. District President Vic Navales, with his amusing speech, inspired everyone to keep the spirit of Toastmasters alive and to encourage other Filipinos to be part of the Toastmasters circle, primarily pointing out the huge difference between Malaysia and the Philippines in terms of membership number.

Toastmasters Leandro Severino and Rose Jessica Octaviano, the most funny tandem ever, were the main hosts of the program. The night was spiced up by veteran humorists who gave everyone laughter aplenty and a couple of entertaining intermission numbers from members.

Preceding the induction ceremony, the Communication and Leadership Seminar and the First Round of Officers’ Training were held last July 16 and 17 respectively at the New Government Center.

This Story Lives Forever

          That gripping scene, in which the green and the red flashes of curses emanating respectively from Voldemort’s and Harry’s wand collided, took my breath away for several seconds. Neville, drawing the Gryffindor sword up and slashing the basilisk, the last container of Voldemort’s ripped soul, became an unsung hero and helped defeat the most powerful dark wizard of all; in that glorious instance, the green flash weakened and the red one struck Tom Riddle who dissipated into a million pieces of black soot. And I was able to breathe.

          That was the end of it all. I thought I was going to cry but, hey, who doesn’t want to eradicate Lord Voldy? Some folks, with conviction, say their childhood ended with the last installation of the Harry Potter movies. But for me I can say my childhood lives forever with such epic literature. I admit I happened to be a late admirer when I’d started reading the books in the dark of the night – no, not the paperbacks nor the hardbounds but the electronic versions on my BlackBerry phone through a PDF reader application – just in November of 2010 and I’d read all seven books in about three months. And hell yeah, I couldn’t stop myself from devouring each page until four o’clock in the morning. I’ve come to realize that perhaps the reading experience would be much enjoyable when you are older and more capable of understanding the lengthy prose endowed with difficult words, some of which are actually of British origin. If you are thoroughly reading each book like me, you will find yourself grabbing a dictionary from time to time. And blimey, you won’t find a single tosh in every assiduously written chapter. Thus until now I don’t believe that the novels should be classified as children’s, not when there is an insistence of death as part of the theme and Ginny kissing boyfriends at dim corridors of Hogwarts, but they are certainly a coming-of-age story. Nonetheless, any twelve-year-old would want to grab and read a book front-covered with a vibrant, watercolored picture of a boy wearing glasses, holding a wand, and riding on a huge bird. Who wouldn’t be curious? Definitely I was when, for the first time, I saw the second, third, and fourth book in our high school library during my first year but I was more disappointed when later on I found out that the first book, The Sorcerer’s Stone, was not there. So I didn’t let myself be fooled, did I? Well I still enjoyed the read eventhough I was already in my early twenties. I can still tell my children someday that this historic novel was written during my childhood and who knows, there might be film remakes nineteen years from now.

           My most favorite part of the recent movie, which didn’t come to me as a surprise, was the revelation about one of the hated characters in the novel Severus Snape, who, despite of his affiliation with the Dark Lord, turned out to be loyal to Albus Dumbledore and carried on with the plan to protect Harry sacrificing his own life in the end all for the love of Harry’s mother Lily. The expression of his fondness for the woman was admirable. After all, can we judge him based on his means alone rather than the noble ends of his actions? Does the moral conundrum “The ends do not justify the means” apply? Well I don’t see anything else he can do with his situation considering that he was once a Death Eater and eventually regretted it out of fear for the life of Lily when he knew that Voldemort, after learning about the ambiguous prophecy, was targeting to kill Harry Potter whom he had chosen instead of Neville Longbottom. Of course James and Lily were ready to die to protect Harry and their death was never put in vain for Lily’s love produced a protective charm that enveloped Harry. Voldemort had never understood such enchantment of love that transcends any form of magic and accidentally created a horcrux in Harry which explains the connection between them. In short, Voldemort had lost his brain at the same exact moment he ripped his soul seven times. For similar reasons, Snape, the halfblood prince, as Harry told his son Albus Severus, was discerned as the bravest wizard ever known and rested with his unrequited love.

              The conclusion of the story happened when Harry decided to break the Elder Wand into two. That was the most valiant thing for me that he, as a member of the Gryffindor house, did. He knew he deserved to be the most powerful wizard by winning the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows, and by becoming invincible but he refused to gain that prerogative and chose to live a normal life. The three Deathly Hallows – the Elder Wand for absolute strength and pomposity; the Resurrection Stone for revitalization and regeneration; and the Invisibility Cloak for evasion and elusion – are all means of defying death and are no better than Horcruxes or dark objects used for preserving a part of one's soul. The whole story teaches us about the beautiful mystery of death and why we shouldn’t fear the unknown. I learned that death is nobler when you have somebody or something to die for. We might have come to the demise of this story but this story will definitely live forever in the hearts of those who had been with “the boy who lived” from the very beginning.

Sheer Luck

I was sitting in a green-painted metal armchair corroded and too big for my small body struggling to finish a composition my teacher would evaluate in preparation for an upcoming press conference, a journalism competition among students of various schools, in which I would be joining. My teacher, sitting quietly a few feet in front of me at her wooden desk, was my coach for the national contest. I was eleven years old then, short and shabby, and was not yet wearing spectacles. I was on my sixth and last year of elementary in a public school where girls come in scarlet, almost blood-like jumper uniforms and boys wear khaki trousers and everyone is allowed to wear sandals or sneakers, that is to say any kind of footwear, and those who wear proper school shoes bring extra slippers to preserve their classroom’s well-maintained, shiny, red-waxed floor. Despite of its being a public school, it is regarded by many as one of the competitive schools in the city. My most accurate memories of elementary school include PS-PS – a game in which an “it” is chasing everybody else and in order to be saved one should bellow “PS” and place his arms in a crossing position above his chest at exactly the same time the “it” touches him – regular classroom cleaning sessions, menacing-looking teachers carrying sticks used to silence rowdy pupils during classes, late afternoon strolling in downtown malls with classmates, heavy backpacks filled with pad papers, Mongol pencils, Crayolas in 8s or 16s, decade-old withering textbooks and sundries, waking up before dawn to attend the class at 6:20 a.m., extensive reviews for the inter-school Math quiz bee with my teacher and my classmate who can do mental arithmetic with the use of her hands, lurking in the city library almost everyday to peruse astronomy books, joining journalism competitions that flared my interest in writing, among others. If memories could be kept in a vial and revisited, I would definitely come back to this point in my life. Time had passed too swiftly and I could never be a kid again.

The composition I was writing was a sports story in Filipino. Filipino Sportswriting was the category my teacher decided for me. Being an active pupil in school activities, I took every challenge and opportunity to excel in school. I did not let a single chance slip away to prove myself by engaging in endeavors that interest me most and one of these is writing. Although I had not been confident in my writing skills, I managed to place in competitions out of sheer luck and that encouraged me to discover and uncover the great wonders of writing. However, the real obstacle I had when I was younger is that I was afraid of the English language. I did not attempt to join competitions in English category not until I was in high school. Everytime I tried to start a paragraph in English, nothing would come out of my mind and later on I found out that that dilemma is called writer’s block. I had never had eloquence in English before and I had never trusted myself to have such. Thus I only limited myself to writing in Filipino which is a more intuitive language having its own intricacies and grammar different from the English language. I once thought it was an easier language until I realized it can never be underestimated for it can also make your nose bleed. After finishing the composition, I gave the manuscript, more than fifty percent of which were probably scribbles and cross-outs, to my teacher for corrections and tips to improve my writing style. After a while, my teacher told me something like “this should be ang aso ay tumatahol and not tumataghol.” Being a non-native speaker of the Filipino language as I was born an Ilonggo, I committed one of the many blatant errors in writing which made me a little bit discouraged but with herculean tenacity, I somehow managed to improve my writing style over the years. Even though the language used as a medium of communication is Filipino, writing appears to be a complex task and involves a lot of hard work to organize ideas in an altogether coherent, interesting, and elegant style. Language is just a form and once you mastered a particular language a fact remains that substance is another important aspect you should carefully study and apply in writing. While watching a certain Tagalized cartoon Jody, I remembered the scruffy-haired English professor telling Jody Abbott that grammar is not the topmost priority of a novelist and if one is to succeed in this field one should work more on the substance of a story and what would make it memorable.

Undeniably, mastering the English language is indispensable to becoming a memorable, effective writer. Recently, I dusted myself off in my mastery of the English language and suprisingly, I learned some forgotten rules that even professional writers tend to violate. Well I’m not going to list down such rules here but if you have the patience to search for and download this particular e-book from the Internet which I did, you will find yourself gaping after knowing some of the tricky, often neglected grammatical rules. This e-book is entitled Collins Good Grammar by Graham King and is published in 2004. I personally consider this book a gem and it really helped me recall the basics of English.

My writing journey did not end in my elementary years. I continued getting involved in writing even during high school and college. In high school, I joined our publication Starlight and became one of the contributors and later on a Sports editor. I attended writing workshops, school press conferences and competitions to hone my skills, expose myself to the real world, and see how much I’m going to improve in the process. I learned a lot of things in journalism specifically in sportswriting such as the inverted pyramid in which the story is presented in a way that the most significant points are written in the first paragraph or the “lead” and the rest comes in an order of gradually decreasing significance. I also learned that the lead must consist of all the fundamental questions regarding the  issue that it introduces, the five Ws and 1H, and must be the attention getting part of the story. I came to know the difference between a news and a sports story. Even though both are structurally the same, the latter employs usage of vivid, lively action words necessary to drive the readers to feel the same vigor and energy as if watching a live sports match. Unlike news stories, sports stories often use a novelty lead which is more astonishing to the readers and motivates them to read further. I recalled I had only used this kind of lead once and astonishingly I placed sixth in a regional competition. Before proceeding to college, I had considered a career as a journalist apart from engineering and education but due to circumtances, I pursued a degree in Computer Science which is not one of my choices but eventually became something I learned to love. I had to deal with the only scholarship I had before to make it to college. During college, I had momentarily forgotten about writing for I was into a totally different concentration which was more on computers and programming and I had decided not to join the university publication even though I initially considered doing so. I discarded the idea that I could be a writer. It was only in my second year in college that I felt the passion going alive again. I was asked by my English teacher if I could submit a Starfish story, a make-a-difference-story, as an entry to a competition sponsored by the Ayala Foundation. I wrote the story in two days without editing or rewriting. I showed it to my English teacher for critic and she only said it was a good story and did not really give me concrete advices to improve it. Anyway I submitted the manuscript to the head of the student affairs and it was mailed to the sponsoring organization. After a couple of months, I was informed that I was one of the twenty finalists. I thought it was another sheer luck but somehow the feat awakened the sleeping monster within me. I once again started to believe that I can be a better writer and if this is not really my destined profession, why would I stop and give up writing? I realized that I can’t get over writing that is why I’m blogging to practise and fuel the fire. 

I don’t know if this is a silly thing to do but I’m contemplating to pursue a second degree in Journalism. Some people may say that Journalism is a useless degree because no one gets rich in this noble profession but all I can say is that it is never too late to do what I want in life. I know I have to work at the same time in an I.T. field to finance my studies and the whole experience may be tough but I just reassure myself that if you love doing something you won’t have second thoughts about it. I’m already in my early twenties and I feel that I’m already too old for undergraduate school. But I learned in the “Magic of Thinking Big” that age is never an excuse. So I will try next year. I hope that aside from sheer luck, things would happen to me deliberately.

4th of July

Today is the fourth of July and just one of the ordinary days we have. But formerly the date was the celebrated Independence Day in the Philippines until the late president Diosdado Macapagal issued a proclamation stating that June 12 must be regarded as the actual day of emancipation. All the same, whether we had won our freedom from the Spaniards or had been granted liberty by the Americans, we are still facing pressing issues in our present society, which threaten the freedom and sovereignty of our nation. This leaves a gaping hole in our hearts knowing that we are still bound by the rusty chains of poverty, corruption, maleducation and homelessness, which, in spite of being rusty, we couldn't seem to break due to dead tiredness and despondency.

The fourth of July as a matter of fact is the Independence Day of the United States of America - the freedom-loving superpower that has been a model and inspiration of all democratic nations in the world - and the Filipino-American Friendship Day. We cannot deny that America had woven a long lasting relationship with the Philippines ever since the first day the Americans stepped on our soil. The most revered promise had been made by General McArthur - the unforgettable line “I shall return.” Until now, Uncle Sam has been our refuge in times of trouble and has been a faithful military and economic ally. Many Filipinos have decided to chase the American dream and to find the so-called greener pasture, and have thus migrated to the States for a living. Today, the Filipino community is the second largest immigrant group in America next to the Cholas. We believe so much in the American idealism.

The American culture and influence in the Filipino society is an indispensable trace deeply etched on our lifestyle and attitude due to our frequent exposure to fashion, products, and media that are considered to be truly stateside. But beyond doubt the most important of them all is the love for education and the English language. I am not ashamed to say that apart from my mother tongue Hiligaynon, I love speaking in English more than my national language Filipino. Maybe the reason I feel I am fairly proficient in speaking Filipino is that I don't use it in everyday communication. True enough, eventhough I had learned it academically, I didn't have the chance to practise it because I am not living in a region where most people really use it. Ironically, that premise also remains true in the case of the English language if I only base my reasoning on where I live. Nevertheless, I feel I am much more determined to learn and master the English language because I think it has, as a universal language, a greater practical use. Speaking Filipino on the other hand is intuitive and the language can be incorporated into the vernacular.

I am pretty sure that the word America has been hardwired into our system whether we like it or not. We are a diverse people. We are concrete products of acculturation. We survived the trials of times and multi century-old enslavement and subordination to other races. We continue to prove we can do it on our own and we can cast our own identity as a people the whole world will admire and look up to. Keep the faith because a new dawn will be upon us. This moment will not just be remembered as the twelfth of June or the fourth of July. This time it's forever.

Today is just a cold and rainy fourth of July.

What am I looking for in my career?

I've been a Computer Science graduate and in two years of immersing in the real world, I have found that not half of the courses I have learned from college I have applied in actual work. We've been given a dozen of theories and been bogged by rigorous academic tasks, but only a few of them have been useful in practice. That's the reason I can say I still have a vague idea of what career I'm looking for. If you are a medical student, you are sure you're going to work in a hospital and treat sick people. If you are an architecture graduate, you will surely want to design buildings. But if you are a Computer Science student, there will be a lot of choices you can make for technology is a variety.

As a fresh graduate two years ago, I have ventured into a challenging work of business integration by learning TIBCO software. I have been eager enough to uncover its intricacies by perusing loads of documentations and engaging in actual projects abroad. It has been a very interesting job for me. But that did not leave me wondering about the what ifs, the possibilities of being able to work in other fields, such as programming or networking. At this point in time, I still think of pursuing my dream career of being a Java developer because that's what got me interested the most in I.T. when I was in college. As young as I am, I still have the vigor and energy to go out to the world, to explore, and to find my niche. At times, I have the tendencies to be lethargic and to be daunted by the outside world, but I still would want to be fearless enough to discover what is really for me, what feels right, and what would make me happy. 

You can't be a jack of all trades, master of none. The desire to explore doesn't make you want to have everything or know everything, you just want to know anything there is in the world. And how can you find something if you don't move out and search for it? At the same time, the desire to explore could mislead you to the wrong trail. Having a passion is something I admire from other people. I don't have a kind of passion yet and it may take years and years for me to know it. Lucky are those who have found it sooner in their lives. For now, I just want to find that passion. I don't want to be halfhearted or half-baked in a career. I want to be the perfect fit for a career. In two years that I studied TIBCO, I tried and worked hard not just to be a jack but to be master of it. But now, there are certain factors that sap my energy. It could be that it would not be the most sustainable career for me, but nothing is ever certain. It could be that that kind of job has lost its appeal to me. If I'd be given a chance to start over again, I will do it. I hope that one day the spark will come.

Dreamers Don't Dream Only

This week started with a BIG IDEA. Our boss opened up about his plans to come up with a breakthrough innovation that will change the world... Something that will turn us into instant billionaires; not a get-rich-quick-scheme one but a sensational technology the whole world will get crazy about, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, or eBay.

Not bad, is it? It sounds like a great idea although too ambitious. To get us all motivated, he asked us to read a book entitled “Disciplined Dreaming” by Josh Linkner. The book is amazing and covers about real-world experiences and stories of how creativity in the workplace has significantly contributed to the success of every big business.

I have not entirely read the book yet but after perusing more than half of the pages, I have realized nothing is too ambitious. A big idea always starts with a small one. Facebook started as a very badly constructed website and evolved into what it is today. The main idea behind it is to find ways on how to connect people: old classmates, friends and colleagues. It was a plain and simple idea that turned out into something phenomenal. They may have gone through a lot of difficulties and challenges but that did not let them get stymied from their big dream because they have that blazing passion within them.

Dreaming is not about imagining what you want in life. In fact, it is not as easy as that. You have to make the steps to fully actualize your dreams. These steps, as detailed in the book, are ASK, PREPARE, DISCOVER, IGNITE, and LAUNCH.

I consider myself as a dreamer. As stated in my blog profile, I am a dreamer for myself, my family, and my country. But the question I have in mind is, if I will be able to realize my dreams and get rich, but still, there are a lot of poor people in the Philippines, what would be next? There is a huge difference between dreaming for oneself and dreaming for others. I am just glad that one organization, Gawad Kalinga, is gradually realizing the dream to end poverty in our country. I am also overwhelmed that I have been a part of that dream that will surely be made into reality. If I am able to dream big for others and my country, I have also the power to dream for myself. And, dreaming for oneself should always include others.

Some people say that if you are going to dream, don't settle for something small. There are also certain things I consider as big dreams. The spark to come up with this big idea might have originally come from my boss and since I am working for him, I have to become part of his dream also. His dream may not be the same as mine but this should not make me cynical about his dream. I have a different set of dreams but I think what I can do for him now would inspire me to follow my own way also.

One Mother

I was strolling in SM mall when I passed by booths selling different kinds of gifts. There were accessories, wallets, and picture frames. I was plainly curious and was delighted by some of the fancy items. I saw a picture in one of the picture frames; a mother, in her bosom, a sleeping baby. And then I remembered... Next day would be Mothers' Day!

In a daze, I disappeared in my head and was taken back to a place more than four years ago. It was our house during a hot summer day. The heat was scorching and my mother was lying on her bed having a difficulty to move, just trying to lie a little sideways. She asked me to massage her foot. And I did so obediently. I loved to massage her foot and although we were both silent, I was trying to relay a message to her that in my own simple act, I would be able to let her know how much I care for her and love her.

Having a mother is one of the best things that happened in our lives. Of course, no one will ever forget her mother. I admit I have never been a perfect son to my mother. There were rough moments between us when, I know, I had deeply hurt her so much emotionally. There were times we were having a row and I was answering her back. I had also hurt her physically. I didn't fully understand the way she loved me during those times. But now I realized she was a special person who truly cares for me, the only person you can call as your own MOTHER.

My mother was a nagger and I believe all moms are. That was one thing I hated about her. She always noticed every bad thing I do. At the same, she was the type of mother who never failed to express her genuine concerns for me. She was always kissing me in my private parts when I was a child and her touch often irritated me. She was not a “stage mom” type but every time I got an award from school, she was the one who pinned my ribbon or put the medal around my neck. The last time she accompanied me on stage was during my high school graduation. She was always proud of me. I was a conceited kid back then but she taught me the importance of being humble and keeping my feet on the ground. She was right all along.

Bad things always happen everyday. One of those things happened to my mom. She got ill from cystic teratoma, a condition in which a mass/myoma grew somewhere between her urethra and anus resulting to difficulty in urinating and pooping. She was also diagnosed with first stage cervical cancer. I wouldn't forget every semester break of my first two years in college, every month of October, I would spend my vacation in the hospital with her.

As I write this, my heart feels so heavy. I badly miss my mother. I was not able to give her any good gift before and now I know I still cannot give her any present even though I have all the money in the world. You can have only one mother. If you still have her, please don't fail to say “Thank you. I love you. Sorry if I've hurt you.” Do it now before time runs out.