The Summer Experience 3: When Dorian Lord Became Mayor (An Election That We Want to See)

Mayo a Diyes Dos Mil Dos=May 10, 2010=Ika-Sampu ng Mayo Taong Dalawampu-Sampu

In less than 12 hours, me and some 50-million strong eligible Filipino voters from all walks of life will take part in the first ever fully-automated elections in the Philippines, choosing the leaders who will either make or break the nation's future. Indeed this is history in the making and I am honored as a first-time voter that I will be able to finally exercise my right of suffrage and get to see first-hand how the new system of voting will fare for the first time.

Sure, in the weeks leading to the May 10 national elections there have bee technical problems besetting the recently-held test runs of the Precinct Count Optical System (PCOS) machines with sprouting issues of "automated cheating", fears of possible hacking, and the like. Lemme say that never is there a country this crazy with elections such as ours.

Think of the whole situation like a soap opera, where everything is superficial. From lead characters with over-the-top personalities and says the cheesiest and corniest speeches to the recurring ones who never seem to possess two-way functioning brains and let their emotions take the best of them to the production and PR crew that makes sure that this soap opera is hitting big in the ratings.

I mean, is an elective position something to die for? Vote-buying, ghost voters, tirades, mudslinging, and varying forms of election-related violence, all of these for the sake of winning?

All these mess reminds me of Dorian Lord, a character from an American TV show called "One Life to Live". She's the type of person that people love to hate because of her self-centeredness, always maintaining a clean image despite having a very despicable personality. One good trait from Dorian is that she puts her family first, protecting them from harm at all cost.

There is this one storyline that she was a part of recently where she decided to run for mayor against Viki. She tries her hardest to win sympathy votes by pretending to be that she's a "lesbian" to woo in LGBT voters. She even went as far as "marrying" her campaign manager who is actually a lesbian herself. Although this campaign didn't result of her winning the vote, she became mayor when her closest rival and winner of the mayoral race, Viki, dropped out after her son-in-law was shot to death.

One thing I noticed is that as despicable and hated that Dorian can be to many, she knows her boundaries as a candidate. Never was there an instance of her throwing mud to the other candidates but merely presented to voters her platform as well as her charm to convince people that she deserves to be a mayor. Even on election day itself, she didn't do anything to have the electoral process fall into her favor but merely let the people decide on who they want to be as their leader. Even the way they vote was as simple as pulling down a lever that corresponds to their candidate of choice.

I could assume that the mayor election itself was not even fully automated and by the end of election day, the final tally of the results are made known right away. Dorian, despite having good vibes of becoming mayor initially conceded after learning she lost before she knew she won by default. She never called for a recount (because the votes were counted over several times) nor yelled to the local electoral commission that she felt she was cheated nor threatened to resort with a people powered revolution to protest the results. That's possibly the most mature thing a politician can do to maintain his dignity, pride and civility, something that I wish all the politicos in this country possess so that we could all move on with our lives and become a developed country right away.

We elect leaders to serve US and not to serve themselves.

As a voter voting for the first time, as a member of a generation who will be the first to experience a modernized electoral system, we hope that with one vote, there will be one decision and therefore one change that we want to see, the change that we want to be.

Ako boboto sa unang pagkakataon, kayo?

The Summer Experience 3: F-O-P Dito sa CSB!

Scorching hot outside and inside the house, I don't know how I could possibly make my summer's worth if I just laze and bum around the house. Fortunately I got to signed up into The Farm and that other thing I've been dying to try, being an freshman orientor in CSB.

Joining the Frosh Orientation Program is something I've been wanting to do since first year college but because of unforeseen circumstance, it's only now that I'm able to do the deed finally. Me being  a part of FOP is my little way of giving back to the very people who welcomed me and my batchmates when we were naive little froshes.

The actual workshop/seminar lasted only two days, the last of which was yesterday as I write this. Short as it may be, never have I expected to be this fun all-throughout. I got to meet a lot of new people, many of them at least 2 batches below me (ID's 109 and 108).

Gosh, I feel so old! LOL

It's been a while since I've met new people from the other courses outside SDA. Considering I have spent my whole junior year in the SDA building I have completely lost touch with what's going on in Main and in AKIC. Just recently, I got the opportunity to visit AKIC again. Once there, I was surprised to see that the lobby was undergoing an extensive rehabilitation. Surprised but necessarily unexpected since the campus was under renovation for quite sometime already the last time I was there.

Back to the topic, I met people, many of them 109 people, coming mostly from the BS-Information Systems program, several others being AB-CDA, SHRIM, and SDA students. I find some to be lively, others mysterious, while some are loud, and others literally loud. Interesting mix indeed.

Right now, I'm assigned to the logistics committee, the people who will make sure everything in the five days the FOP will run throughout, is going to be smooth sailing or at the very least minimize any unexpected twists.  But of course, me and some of my new found friends are preparing for something really special for the incoming freshmen and I can't exactly tell nor do I want to what it is willingly.

In two weeks, they will find out.

The CSB Experience 3: Closure

Finally, many of us here in CSB are now free from the bondage that is the seemingly unending school year 2009-2010. Junior year has been a drag and yet, despite the odds, we all persevered no matter what the circumstances were thrown at us for each term.

At this point, you know that there's definitely no turning back. I'm at this point when I know that the end is right in front of me but unfortunately, there are a few spikes scattered around the floor that I still have to passed on carefully or else I'll end up stepping on one by accident.

Feeling giddy, I am excited that in the coming weeks, I'll be stepping back into the shoes of a student for, hopefully, one more year before they kick me out and face the real world. AndI only have to wait til the final experience kicks off in less than 27 days from now.

Yup, you heard it right: Senior Year will start a few days late than usual as the school's higher ups apparrently moved the opening of class from the original 25th May date to the 31st. This somehow gives a lot of the older students a lot of time to make most of their month-long and well-deserved vacation, having had to experience the hell out of the recent school year due to the AH1N1 scare and the Ondoy onslaught.

One question though is how the school intends to end the school year the way it should be and at the very least, prepare for unexpected events that might led history to repeat itself all over again.

Right now, I'm officially going to enjoy my summer vacation starting tomorrow and school might still be my "hang-out" this season. I just booked a job to be an orientor-to-be for the upcoming Frosh Orientation Program (FOP) that will be happening sometime this month and not to mention my internship on 99.5RT's The Farm. Before heading off the road, taking a pit-stop seems like a good idea to do for the meantime.

And thus I officially end: THE CSB EXPERIENCE 3

The CSB Experience 3: Something for a Change (Part 2)

Back when I was starting out in college, I wrote on one of my first entries under The CSB Experience a set of goals and ambitions which I hope I could achieve when I reached the end of my collegiate journey. Not only that the things that I want to change within myself and the change that I want to share with others.

Personality-wise, I haven't seen much as happening on a grand-scale three years after but I feel that something within me have changed. A kind of "personal growth" as you may call it, I began to see things in a new perspective, a new viewpoint based from not just what other people see but from what I see it as I go on through life.

Not exactly wising up or anything but looking back, I think I have changed from the inside out.

 I may not be the same James/Jaime who first sat foot in M506 trying to impress people on the first day (gelled hair, contact lenses, fitting clothes, shades, etc) but I rediscovered myself, the kind of guy who admits that he's not perfect but is willing to take the risk doing so in order to better himself.

I have taken steps and missteps but regained foothold. I got into some road bumps and detours but eventually found my way through. By the end of the tunnel comes in the light to guide me as I walk amidst the darkness.

An example was when I took up the courage of visiting the exhibit of a student who I looked up to as a role model recently. You can't imagine how nervous I was into meeting him or actually being in his exhibit himself. I just never thought that I could actually do so for the sake of meeting him face-to-face, knowing he won't be around the school for much longer.

Embarrassed and speechless, I was amazed as to how he humble he actually is. A colleauge of his asked me, "Why so nervous?", and I answered with as much strength as I could gather and said, "I'm just like this, when I'm nervous I can't seem to speak well...".

Picking the pieces of my broken self (figuratively and literally), I knew that this is an action I will never regret having done so later in life.

I realized that in life, change does not mean having to change your personality entirely. Change comes from within, and change comes out slowly and unexpectedly than you could imagine.

Change does not mean having to wear a different set of clothes every fashion season that all the other people are wearing because it's the fad or uso, nor does wearing those fancy accesories or get-ups to feel that you belong nor even trying to have a smoke out of a cigarette because it looked very appealing to do so with the rest of these young'uns.

Change is discovering that things you never knew you are good at. Change of seeing yourself on a new light. Change that never you knew will come unexpectedly.

Something for a change, walk into a path you are hesitant to take and see where it will take you. I know because I'm walking on one right now.

The CSB Experience 3: Sa Pagturo ay Naging Makapangyarihan

Kanina pag-uwi ko, wala siya. Bigla akong napaisip: Dahil wala siya ngayong gabi, mari kong tignan ang isa sa mga gamit niya sa kuwarto. Ewan ko ba pero pakiramdam ko kailangan kong makita ang gamit na iyon.

Isa lamang iyong litrato, hindi naman kalumaan pero tagal-tagal na rin nasa maliblib na lugar. Nakita ko ang lalagyan kung saan iyon matatagpuan at binuksan ko.

Bawat litrato ay aking inusisa: "Hindi ito", "hindi rin iyon" ang aking iniisip. Hanggang sa matagpuan ko na nga ang aking hinahanap, ako ay nabigha. Hindi ito ang inakalang kong litrato sa huling beses na ito'y aking nakita. Gaya ng aking binanggit ay hindi ito masyadong kalumaan pero hindi ko inakala na malaki ang naging pagbabago, o mas mabuting sabihin ay "pinagkaiba", sa kung ano ang itsura ng taong nasa litrato noon sa naging itsura niya ngayon.

Kagulat-gulat man,  mas nakakagulat nang aking binasa ang nakasulat sa tabi ng litrato, at ni isang salita na nabanggit dito ay malapit sa kung ano ang aking pagkilanlan sa kanya.

May ilang aspeto ng kanya naman ay totoo pa rin man ngayon, mayroong iba na hindi pumapantay sa kung ano siya ngayon. Marahil, sa kanyang naging bagong pagtahak, siya'y naging bagong nilalang.

Malayo muna ang naging pagbabago ng kanyang itsurang pangkalahatan nais ko pa ring isipin na siya pa rin ang taong nakilala ng mas nakararami, na siya ay kagaya namin noon.

Wakas

The CSB Experience 3: Something For a Change (Part 1)

IT STARTED WITH A COMPLIMENT
by James Habitan

It started with a compliment...
It followed with a connection...
Then came a coincidental discovery...
With a flip of a page...
A curiosity developed...
An inspiration transpired...
Then there exists a model...
A mission was formed...
Fulfillment was reached...
A memory immortalized...
A legacy embedded to all...
A goal was achieved...
And the writer is finally happy.


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*This is something I've been cooking up since a couple of months ago. It first came about with the first few words that's been hovering inside my head for the longest time. Only now did I find myself thinking of adding a few more words into the canvas and eventually come up with this poem. Enjoy (~Durugtungan)

The Summer Experience 3: Prepping for Harvest

Summer is finally here and it's that time of the year to start my yearly blog series chronicling whatever seems to be off interested this hot-na-hot season.

As far as getting something to do, I thought of hitting it up a notch. Deciding to build up my resume, I joined The Farm, a training program from 99.5RT that aims to train young minds with the know's and the how's when it comes to radio.

In the past radio-related entries I've made for the past years, there's nothing as quite as unique with my relationship with RT, having known the station just enough for me to developed an emotional attachment to it (and this in a way traces back to its Campus 99.5 days).

Prior to joining The Farm, I was already working as an intern for one of the shows in the station, the RT30, for at least two months before I was dismissed due to conflicts with my academics. Having been exposed with the way radio works via the show, having been involved with research, scriptwriting, among other things.

I was relieved that being dismissed from my first OJT-venture did not affect with me being part of The Farm as I was assured of my place there as well as continuing my internship instead.

So far so good, the past two seminars have been enlightening but it would have been nice if I get to actually attend all the meetings if only the school year in CSB was already done and over with. Fortunately, it won't be much of a case in a matter of a few more days from now.

Koji Moralez, or what I grew up knowing him as Joe Spinner, is one of the driving forces of the program along with several jocks form the RT crew: Winner, Slyde, Ron, Inka and THE Jeremiah Junior/Sir Gerry Magnaye. I've heard a lot of good things about him, especially from the mouth of one of RT's top former honcho Mr. Mike Pedero. He had shared a lot of stories about Sir Gerry, and I actually had to witness it myself when, lo and behold, his presence feels greater that even my knees is feeling numb because of his awesomeness.

Lucky is me when I found out that I'll be placed under Sir Gerry's wing for The Farm's production module. Hardcore is what I'm expecting but for sure, it is worth it.

But what's important is that all of us get to have a good time: meeting new people, establishing friendships, re-establishing old ones, and forging a bond that we hope could last a lifetime.

Who would ever thought that from the moment I first sat foot on the RT Booth last September 1, 2008 (a day after my 18th birthday) that  I'll end up coming back to it for the next three years.

It really makes me feel alright,,,,