Partners for Resilience W-S

July 26-30 2011: Another learning experience for all of us! And its good to see Omer again. Pleased to meet the CARE partners, IIRR facilitators, and delegates from Netherlands. I hope I can really help Ms. Elle in whatever she needs for this project, I cannot do so much though.. But will try my best. :-)

Health Check Weekend

Woke up late last Saturday morning, had brunch with Will, then off we go to SM Fairview Medical Clinic. The doctor advised me to get a papsmear and she did it right away. Advised me to get ultrasound as well but I dont think t'was necessary.

Then in the evening, Will and I went to the place where we first spent our first dates - OFF The GRILL at Timog. Promised myself that for this night, Im gonna have my last bottle of beer and my last cigarette stick. The band played slow rnb music, with Duncan Ramos as their guest singer.. Despite the sleepiness and the slight colds and cough, which the doctor suspected is allergic rhinitis, I still managed to enjoy the night, talking with Will and reminiscing what were the first conversations that we had. :-)

Then on sunday, had a shot of Varicella Vaccine administered by a lovely Doctor in Healthway SM The Block. Dra. Lorenzo, if Im not mistaken, she even told the story of her first pregnancy where she had chickenpox while 7 months pregnant, fortunately, it didnt affect her baby.

Then off we went home to savour the last hours of the weekend, I cooked some vegetables for our dinner and watched a not-so-old film 'Point of No Return' starring Bridget Fonda. I have watched this film years ago and I always liked Bridget for her gentle rugged-feminine role as an assasin. As my colds worsened, I decided to sleep on the sofa, without the aircon that Will cannot sleep without. My god, sometimes, I feel like I wanted to smash the aircon and the fans so I wont have a problem. Haha..

Selected Quotes from Harold and Maude Movie

***Thanks to Joerg for telling me to watch this film. Weird couple though, but Maude is a revolutionary! And I do love her philosophy, minus the extreme ones though, but who cares, great ideas come from crazy thoughts.. The ones I liked most are in red.

---
Harold: What were you fighting for?
Maude: Oh, big issues. Liberty. Rights. Justice. Kings died, kingdoms fell. I don't regret the kingdoms - what sense in borders and nations and patriotism? But I miss the kings.
---
Maude: A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room.
---
Harold: Maude.
Maude: Hmm?
Harold: Do you pray?
Maude: Pray? No. I communicate.
Harold: With God?
Maude: With *life*.
---
Maude: Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much *life.* Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you're bound to live life fully.
---
Maude: Harold, *everyone* has the right to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much.
---
Harold: You hop in any car you want and just drive off?
Maude: Well, not any car - I like to keep a variety. I'm always looking for the new experience.
Harold: [smiling] Maybe. [more seriously] Nevertheless, I think you're upsetting people. I don't know if that's right.
Maude: Well, if some people get upset because they feel they have a hold on some things, I'm merely acting as a gentle reminder: here today, gone tomorrow, so don't get attached to things *now.* With *that* in mind, I'm not against collecting stuff.
---
Maude: [to a motorcycle officer] *Don't* get officious. You're not yourself when you're officious - That is the curse of a government job.
---
Maude: Consistency is not *really* a human trait.
---
Harold: So... you don't use the umbrella anymore?
[Maude does not hear him]
Harold: No more revolts?
Maude: [Maude is crying, and finally looks at Harold] Oh, yes! Every day. But I don't need a *defense* anymore. I embrace! Still fighting for the Big Issues, but now in my small, individual way.
---
Maude: I've collected quite a lot of stuff in my time. Yeah, this is all memorabilia — but it’s incidental, not integral, if you know what I mean.
---
Maude: Here we are. Oat straw tea and ginger pie. Excuse the mismatched saucers.
Harold: This is definitely a new experience for me.
Maude: Oh, wonderful. Try something new each day. After all, we're given life to find it out. It doesn't last forever.
---
Maude: Oh, that was fun. Let's play something together.
Harold: I don't play anything.
Maude: Nothing? Oh... Dear me. Everybody should be able to make some music. That's the cosmic dance.
---
Maude: What a fuss this is -- so unnecessary.
Harold: Don't die, Maude, for Christ’s sake.
Maude: Oh, Harold -- oh, don't upset yourself so.
Harold: I love you. I love you!
Maude: Oh, Harold... That's wonderful. Go and love some more.

Sex -- As We Know It -- Works!

Sex -- As We Know It -- Works! Thanks to Ever-Evolving Host-Parasite Relationships, Biologists Find

ScienceDaily (July 9, 2011) — It seems we may have parasites to thank for the existence of sex as we know it. Indiana University biologists have found that, although sexual reproduction between two individuals is costly from an evolutionary perspective, it is favored over self-fertilization in the presence of coevolving parasites. Sex allows parents to produce offspring that are more resistant to the parasites, while self-fertilization dooms populations to extinction at the hands of their biological enemies.

Come Back to Me

***This is what happens when Im alone at home on a weekend, and its raining outside (plus the PMS).. Sabi nga ni Will, at least nakapagmuni-muni ako haha.

Come Back to Me

Who can feel what I breathe inside,
When I miss you?

Who can say how you miss me
When you are far from me?

Who dares to read my mind
When I smell your clothes
Just to remember your scent
When you don’t sleep beside me?

And who knows the distance
That bothers me when you’re somewhere
Like a dust
Out of billions of specks?

Can love fly
And travel space
Back to where it belong or
Just bounces back throughout the world over?

When you come back
Does your love weigh greater
Or lesser, when you know
That we can live without each other?

Or your coming just sweeps away
All the doubts I feel
When I feel the beat of your heart
Right beside my heart?

"Surface all Desaparecidos, Stop Impunity!"

OPEN LETTER TO ALL STUDENTS

07 July 2011

 

Tomorrow is the scheduled preliminary investigation on the criminal cases against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. et al, for the enforced disappearance of Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

 

Prosecutors will decide if there is probable cause against Palparan and the other accused. “Probable cause” is a legal concept which refers to facts or evidence that would make a reasonable person believe that a crime or wrong doing has been committed, and by the particular persons suspected. This is significant because a warrant of arrest may be issued after determination of probable cause.

 

Over the years, we have compiled key testimonies which state that our fellow UP students Karen and Sherlyn were last seen in the custody of the military, enslaved and tortured. The Supreme Court itself affirmed the credibility of witness and military abductee Raymond Manalo. The decision last May patently ordered Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Lt. Col. Rogelio Boac, 2Lt. Francis Mirabelle Samson, M/Sgt. Donald Caigas, and Arnel Enriquez to immediately release Karen and Sherlyn.

 

The accused are required to be present at the preliminary investigation. We know it will be a raw and unnerving time for Nanay Connie Empeno, Nanay Linda Cadapan, and the witnesses who will come face to face with the men accused of cruel human rights violations and heinous crimes. If you have time, please join the gathering outside the Department of Justice along Padre Faura, Manila at 10:00 am tomorrow, 8 July 2011 to give moral encouragement to the families and friends of Karen and Sherlyn.

 

Enforced disappearances have two main objectives: first, they silence opponents, critics, and other social agents of change; second, they also create uncertainty and fear in the wider community. By supporting the legal and political campaign against enforced disappearances, and for the prosecution of human rights violators, we create a safer, better world for all of us.

 

Surface all desaparecidos, stop impunity!

Krissy Conti, UP Student Regent

 

He Said It: I Want a Baby

One night, I arrived late, which I always do, around 9pm from work, and then I realized he just arrived as well, which I am not expecting. Usually, before, when we were still living in our old apartment, he comes home earlier than I do.

And I felt, there's something wrong, I asked him if there's something he wanted to tell me. He tried to brush away the question but I didnt yield. I figured out there's alcohol in his blood. And still he's not answering, stubbornly.

I gave up after some time. Then, going to sleep, he said, 'I'm sad, I want a baby'.

There it is, one of my greatest fears verbalized by the one I love, demanding from me something that I have been anxious ever since..

I just moved to Novaliches this week! All my things are in a mess.. It takes some time before things normalize, tapos sabay pa ng disaster and reorganization sa work, hay life!

Boracay Island Xperience

This is a blast! 2 days nga lang. And on the first day it was raining but we enjoyed the beach nevertheless. We arrived in Kalibo 18th June 2011 (Saturday), 7pm, then went directly to Caticlan via Van, trip took 1 and 1/2 hours with other passengers going to Boracay as well. Then, when we arrived at Tabon Port, it looks like a lot of passengers are stranded so we decided to check in to a lodge in Caticlan. Thats where we spent the night.

5am on Sunday 19th June, we went directly to Tabon Port to board the earliest boat going to Bora. It was a very short trip, and we arrived in Bora around 6am. A woman approached us offering help to get accommodation and we headed to Station2. After checking 5 hotels, we finally decided to check in at Sheena's Hotel - not so expensive, newly renovated room.

The whole of this first day, we took pictures, played on the white beach of Bora, checked the commercial stalls, ate sumptuous meals, swam on the ocean, experienced helmet diving, went to the other side of the island, and just be restless. On the evening, we took a short nap on the hotel, the went off to go partying at Summer Place and Epic. I liked Epic more than Summer Place. Sir Benjo joined us partying, even introduced us to the volunteers of RC of the local chapter, Board, and even the Mayor - who was at that time, celebrating his birthday at Summer Place. Thanks for the pulutan courtesy of Mayor, btw! The gay entertainers are just hilarious, the song Chikitita keeps on repeating in my head 2 days after. Hahaha! Then we enjoyed dancing and just being intoxicated at EPIC where a lot of tourists are also enjoying the great disco music. We went back to the hotel at 3am. :-)

We woke up Monday, around 9am, and headed again to the beach, this time, taking more time just sipping fruit shake while enjoying the sun and the waters, and the sand. And observing people around - Willy and I looked at every person who passed us (walking on the beach) and we would tell each other if 'Pwede' or 'Hindi Pwede'. This is naughty but we enjoyed it and honestly, there are a lot of really good looking people in this island.

We took a short walk along the stalls trying to look for souvenirs but I cant seem to find one. Finally I realized, the only thing that I want to take away from this island are sands - which is the reason why people come to Bora anyways. So I got some samples and I plan to make it into some decoration at home - that everytime I look at it, I will remember how we enjoyed our stay here.

We also visited the local chapter's office, thanks to Sir Benjo for that, I can see a very promising chapter developing in this beautiful island! Then at around 5pm, we board the boat going to Caticlan and then we took a bus going to Kalibo. we arrived around 7:30 at Kalibo and checked in at La Esperanza. Had a quick dinner at the local Food Festival happening in Kalibo, and slept soundly that night. Our flight back to Manila was 8:15am the next day.

I might not have seen Boracay at its best but I surely was never disappointed about the island's beauty.

I am tired, I need a looooong sleep until my back aches. I guess I'm starting to internalize what an NFR really means. I am motivated but Im still lazy. I need to pause and just be alone. This week, Im finally leaving Mandaluyong. :-(

If I'll be doing everyday what I just did today, Im gonna puke. I have to do things slowly but surely.

Im crazy about Mildred Pierce, because I like Kate Winslet a lot! I have followed her from Titanic, to The Life of David Gale, The Revolutionary Road, and to the Reader, and now Mildred Pierce, amazing performance!

Its Been a While

Im finally moving to Novaliches on the 24/25th of this month, I cant believe it, things have been running fast. Too many changes have happened, new arrangements in the office, new tasks I think I can live up to, RJ finally married and maybe soon will have a child despite my telling them to let me have my baby first before they have theirs! And we're both eyeing at the name 'Franco', whoever gets the first baby boy will get the name Franco - but it was me who thought about this name, as a tribute to my father and Will's mother. Its a nice name, simple but classic. I also want Simon (girl/boy) from El Filibusterismo. Or maybe Mandela for a girl.

Last Saturday, I was with Janus and her former student Mari, we were in Malate and had some fun. Im on the process of meeting up with friends again, I have been too focused on work, lovelife, family for the last five years and I just realized, I have forgotten to connect with some friends in high school, and college. I wish I can make it up to them. It has been going smooth so far. This week, I hope to meet Roxy and Loulay in Shangri-La for some French film.

Its been a while I havent written here, things that are personal to me, things that I have been contemplating by myself, sometimes sharing them to Will, some to friends. I just wanted to write. Anything, and I dont want to worry about what I say. :-)

CaLP Training 24-27 May 2011

A four-day event looking at the experiences and other possibilities of implementing Cash Transfer Programming in humanitarian work. Event participated by colleagues from ACF, Oxfam, ADRA, CRS, CFSI, IFRC, PRC and Save the Children.

My Only Brother's Big Day

May 18, 2011: It was indeed a happy occassion. Cant believe my one and only brother just got married. I hope for a future filled with lasting love for both of them and for their kids that are soon to come. :-)

'Life Satisfaction and State Intervention Go Hand in Hand' and othersfrom ScienceDaily

Life Satisfaction and State Intervention Go Hand in Hand

 

ScienceDaily (May 6, 2011) — People living in countries with governments that have a greater number of social services report being more satisfied with life, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher.

 

Dr. Patrick Flavin, assistant professor of political science at Baylor, said the effect of state intervention into the economy equaled or exceeded marriage when it came to satisfaction. The study is published in the spring issue of the journal Politics & Policy.

 

Free market capitalism has been championed by leaders such as the late President Ronald Reagan and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, while left-leaning political parties and labor movements argue for more government intervention into the market. But scholars have paid little empirical attention to the debate in terms of which leads to more satisfaction among citizens, Flavin said.

 

Flavin and two other researchers used data from the World Values Survey's 2005 study. Their research included 10,405 people from 15 advanced industrialized countries who were asked, "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?" On a scale of 1 to 10 -- with 10 the highest level of satisfaction -- the average rating for all respondents was 7.39, with respondents from the United States reporting an average of 7.26.

 

The study measured government intervention into the economy in four ways: government tax revenue as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP), government consumption of GDP, generosity of unemployment benefits and a country's welfare expenditures as a percentage of GDP.

 

"In many cases, less government intervention can allow for a more efficient economy, but greater economic efficiency doesn't necessarily translate into greater contentment with one's life," Flavin said. "If you get sick and can't work or lose your job and there are few social protections in place, you're more likely to be anxious and less satisfied."

 

The findings were consistent regardless of whether respondents were rich or poor and regardless of their political views, Flavin said. The findings rule out alternative explanations including individual characteristics -- such as personal health, level of education and marital status -- and such national factors as gross domestic product and unemployment rate.

 

The findings of the study contrast with the views of economists who are critical of government intervention and the welfare state in particular, arguing it can lead to inefficiency and wastefulness that will hurt employment, wages and economic growth.

 

Flavin said the research is focused only on the link between government intervention and life satisfaction and not whether intervention achieves economic growth or such goals as reducing poverty or violent crime. But "to the extent that it is a primary task of democratic governments to secure the well-being of their citizens, studying what government activities make citizens happier helps inform the 'politics vs. markets' debate,'" he said.

 

The United States had one of the lowest levels of state intervention among the countries in the study, but "we still certainly have a more expansive safety net than most developing countries," Flavin said.

 

The 15 countries included in the study are Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

 

The study was co-authored with Dr. Alexander C. Pacek, associate professor of political science at Texas A&M University, and Dr. Benjamin Radcliff, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.

 

Who Knows You Best? Not You, Say Psychologists

 

ScienceDaily (May 5, 2011) — Know thyself. That was Socrates' advice, and it squares with conventional wisdom. "It's a natural tendency to think we know ourselves better than others do," says Washington University in St. Louis assistant professor Simine Vazire.

 

But a new article by Vazire and her colleague Erika N. Carlson reviews the research and suggests an addendum to the philosopher's edict: Ask a friend. "There are aspects of personality that others know about us that we don't know ourselves, and vice-versa," says Vazire. "To get a complete picture of a personality, you need both perspectives." The paper is published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

 

It's not that we know nothing about ourselves. But our understanding is obstructed by blind spots, created by our wishes, fears, and unconscious motives -- the greatest of which is the need to maintain a high (or if we're neurotic, low) self-image, research shows. Even watching ourselves on videotape does not substantially alter our perceptions -- whereas others observing the same tape easily point out traits we're unaware of.

 

Not surprisingly, our intimates and those who spend the most time with us know us best. But even strangers have myriad cues to who we are: clothes, musical preferences, or Facebook postings. At the same time, our nearest and dearest have reasons to distort their views. After all, a boorish spouse or bullying child says something to the other spouse or parent. "We used to collect ratings from parents -- and we've mostly stopped, because they're useless," notes Vazire. What such data would show: Everyone's own child is brilliant, beautiful, and charming.

 

Interestingly, people don't see the same things about themselves as others see. Anxiety-related traits, such as stage fright, are obvious to us, but not always to others. On the other hand, creativity, intelligence, or rudeness is often best perceived by others. That's not just because they manifest themselves publicly, but also because they carry a value judgment -- something that tends to affect self-judgment. But the world is not always the harsher critic. Others tend to give us higher marks for our strengths than we credit ourselves with.

 

Why doesn't all this information add up to better personal and mutual understanding? People are complex, social cues are many, perceptions of others are clouded by our own needs and biases, studies show. Plus, the information isn't easy to access. "It's amazing how hard it is to get direct feedback," Vazire notes, adding that she isn't advocating brutal frankness at any cost. There are good reasons for reticence.

 

The challenge, then, is to use such knowledge for the good. "How can we give people feedback, and how can that be used to improve self-knowledge?" Vazire asks. "And how do we use self-knowledge to help people be happier and have better relationships?"

 

The first answer to these questions may be the most obvious, but not the easiest to practice: Listen to others. They may know more than you do -- even about yourself.

 

More Than 20 Percent of Atheist Scientists Are 'Spiritual', Study Finds

 

ScienceDaily (May 5, 2011) — More than 20 percent of atheist scientists are spiritual, according to new research from Rice University. Though the general public marries spirituality and religion, the study found that spirituality is a separate idea -- one that more closely aligns with scientific discovery -- for "spiritual atheist" scientists.

 

The research will be published in the June issue of Sociology of Religion.

 

Through in-depth interviews with 275 natural and social scientists at elite universities, the Rice researchers found that 72 of the scientists said they have a spirituality that is consistent with science, although they are not formally religious.

 

"Our results show that scientists hold religion and spirituality as being qualitatively different kinds of constructs," said Elaine Howard Ecklund, assistant professor of sociology at Rice and lead author of the study. "These spiritual atheist scientists are seeking a core sense of truth through spirituality -- one that is generated by and consistent with the work they do as scientists."

 

For example, these scientists see both science and spirituality as "meaning-making without faith" and as an individual quest for meaning that can never be final. According to the research, they find spirituality congruent with science and separate from religion, because of that quest; where spirituality is open to a scientific journey, religion requires buying into an absolute "absence of empirical evidence."

 

"There's spirituality among even the most secular scientists," Ecklund said. "Spirituality pervades both the religious and atheist thought. It's not an either/or. This challenges the idea that scientists, and other groups we typically deem as secular, are devoid of those big 'Why am I here?' questions. They too have these basic human questions and a desire to find meaning."

 

Ecklund co-authored the study with Elizabeth Long, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Rice. In their analysis of the 275 interviews, they discovered that the terms scientists most used to describe religion included "organized, communal, unified and collective." The set of terms used to describe spirituality include "individual, personal and personally constructed." All of the respondents who used collective or individual terms attributed the collective terms to religion and the individual terms to spirituality.

 

"While the data indicate that spirituality is mainly an individual pursuit for academic scientists, it is not individualistic in the classic sense of making them more focused on themselves," said Ecklund, director of the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice. "In their sense of things, being spiritual motivates them to provide help for others, and it redirects the ways in which they think about and do their work as scientists."

 

Ecklund and Long noted that the spiritual scientists saw boundaries between themselves and their nonspiritual colleagues because their spirituality facilitated engagement with the world around them. Such engagement, according to the spiritual scientists, generated a different approach to research and teaching: While nonspiritual colleagues might focus on their own research at the expense of student interaction, spiritual scientists' sense of spirituality provides nonnegotiable reasons for making sure that they help struggling students succeed.

 

Who Needs Motivation? The Rewards of Doing 'Something'

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2011) — People don't really care what they're doing -- just as long as they are doing something. That's one of the findings summarized in a new review article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

 

When psychologists think about why people do what they do, they tend to look for specific goals, attitudes, and motivations. But they may be missing something more general -- people like to be doing something. These broader goals, to be active or inactive, may have a big impact on how they spend their time.

 

When psychologists think about why people do what they do, they tend to look for specific goals, attitudes, and motivations. But they may be missing something more general -- people like to be doing something. These broader goals, to be active or inactive, may have a big impact on how they spend their time.

 

Author Dolores Albarracin of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says she started paying attention to people's different levels of activity in various countries and saw how much busier people are in the US relative to other areas. "People have this inclination to do more, even if what they do is trivial," she says. In recent years, she has been doing research on how people feel about activity, including how easily she could change the level of activity that people aimed for. In one set of experiments, for example, she found that getting people to think about physical activity made them more interested in political activity.

 

Experiments have shown that the desire for activity is quite strong; people will go to a lot of trouble to maintain their desired level of activity, which can include unhealthy behaviors. Many psychologists have "the idea that people have these highly specific goals," Albarracin says. "But quite often some significant proportion of our time is engaged in this global level -- we want to do something, but what we do ends up not mattering much. You could end up with productive behavior, like work, or impulsive behavior, like drug use."

 

Albarracin co-wrote the review article with Justin Hepler and Melanie Tannenbaum, also of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lenten Vacation (20-26 Apr 2011)

Ours was a simple celebration of just being together again as a family, united as one, no major problems as of the moment, some new decisions made based on unexpected changes, all in all, another set of days added in the journey.

Have met some high school friends, my dear Janus, Howard, ate Donabel (elementary) and Ate Shane. It feels like we're so young again!

And the food, grabe talaga, wala diet pag-uwi sa probinsiya, mommy cooks the best! And we had lechon, kase parang naglilihi ako, heheh, I only appreciated lechon since December 2010, and I crave for it so I requested, and dade approved. So is the saluyot and okra ni Inay, one of my favorite vegie dishes!

Looks Do Matter, Particularly When It Comes to Neighborhoods

ScienceDaily (Apr. 27, 2011) — It's an unfamiliar neighborhood and you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of streets and buildings you've never seen before. Giving the environment a quick once-over, you make a snap decision about whether you're safe or not. And chances are, that first 'gut' call is the right one, say Binghamton University researchers Dan O'Brien and David Sloan Wilson in an article published in the current issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

 

In a recent series of studies conducted in Binghamton, New York, evolutionary biologists, O'Brien and Wilson, set out to test whether we do indeed have the capacity to judge urban neighborhood safety just by looking at physical structures. It turns out that we do.

 

More here http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426111417.htm.

5 Years After_Meeting Zyra

I missed this girl, it felt like we were high school students again, lots of updates, my throat ached when we finally separated. Hope to see you again, mother..