Halalan 2007

It is twelve days to Election Day, and yet I haven't done my shortlist of candidates (the one I promsied to write a month ago). I have picked senatorial candidates in my mind, and I am convincing myself that - yes, these are the people I trust to make laws for my beloved country.

A year in graduate school has taught me to think within a context and to evaluate using a framework. Doing otherwise results in shitty papers, believe me. Anyway, I thought of applying the same in choosing my candidates, and hence, this set of criteria:

Track record
A person, to be credible and trustworthy - of a community, a city, or a country, must have a consistent track record. I refuse to use the term clean to describe a politician's track record, because in this country, I am quite convinced that nobody has one.

Consistency is somewhat equivalent to integrity. To be able to hold on to and to stand up for one's ideals and principles in the face of criticisms is a mark of a respectable man. It could be as simple as giving free textbooks to high school students when he/she said in his/her campaign that he/she "will give textbooks to high school students." Or it could be something as debatable as sticking to his/her opinion of the fall of the Estrada administration in 2001. We have to able to hold someone responsible and accountable for his/her word.

The morality of one's track record is subject to one's own set of beliefs, and thus is considered to be out of context in this entry. And hey, the objective here is to make a list, not to cross out names in 10's.

Competence
Someone running for public office ought to have a good CV, as he/she can be considered to be applying for a job: a job that puts him/her in power at that. Thus, he/she is expected to have a good educational background and a relevant working experience. A person running for senate must have an adequate understanding of the law and must be an advocate of what is right and just (now if that doesn't make you cross out Chavit's name - lintek wala akong kamag-anak o kaibigan na iniisip siyang iboto! WALA! - then you're probably out of your mind or just really really stupid). A person running for a local government position must know his/her area of responsibilty - the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the place, its primary needs, and its people - to be able to serve the community more effeciently.

Advocacy
A candidate must have his/her platform organized and prioritized according to his/her advocacy. This is where a political party could be of help to voters. Members of a political party must agree on important issues and must think and act according to their set of principles. But in this country, where a political party is simply a collection of individuals who stay together (as much as possible) during the campaign period for logistics and financial support, voters ought to be more critical of each candidate's cause. This goes back to competence, as a candidate must have the capability to carry out his/her advocacies.

Approach
This simply refers to a candidate's strategy and paradigm (i.e.,way of thinking). I am looking for people with a fresh approach. They don't necessarily have to offer something new, but they ought to have the audacity to break free from the usual hulabaloo of Philippine politics. It is about time for us to demand our leaders to be direct, to deliver and to be proactive.

I usually say to my friends "wag kang magrereklamo kung hindi ka naman bumoto." To vote is both a right and a responsibilty. So I appeal: Vote on May 14. You owe it to your country. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to your future.

Know more about your candidates through their podcast interviews: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/podcasts/

What part of NO didn't you understand?

I have this theory that (some) men (and women) are born with the difficulty of understanding what "No" means. That, or they are just very persistent. It could also be that they are not really listening, and simply want to have things their way.

Well, if you're in for some harsh truth, welcome to Rejection 101.

1. What does "No" mean?
According to Merriam-Webster, "No" can be defined as a noun - "a negative vote or decision" or for the purposes of this entry, it could also be an adverb - "not so -- used to express negation, dissent, denial, or refusal".

2. Could it mean something else?
This is a trick question. As I cannot speak for everybody, I shall answer this in the simplest and most honest way that I know: Yes, but not all the time. You see, the key is having what we refer to as "a little sensitivity".
If you know the person you're dealing with, or at least have established the basics of getting-to-know (a friend, a teamate at work, a neighbor), then you ought to know when the person might mean something else when he/she says "No." Otherwise, take enough time to know and just rely on what is given to you. If the answer is No, then it most probably means No (please refer to no.1).

3. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Now, this is not as easy as it may seem. What we could do is to make sure that we're in the same context as the person we're talking to. Again, that's not a piece of cake (especially when you're dealing with people who don't have a clue themselves). But whoever said this was easy, right?

4. Take things as they are.
If No.3 is about giving, this is more for the receiving end. Simplify your life. Don't read too much into things. (And now,I wonder: pano na yung mga "what if" sessions natin? Hahaha.)

5. Clarify, if you wish.
It is okay to ask when things are unclear to you. But remember: once is enough, twice is a shame, thrice is a crime.

6. Know when to stop.
Like in any goal-oriented activity, you should set a sort of deadline for yourself. Time is gold, as they say, and it is upto you to use/waste on waiting, moping, or fooling around.

7. Everything's in black-and-white (You wish).
There will always be gray areas in life. Some say that these are where the excitement comes from - the idea of not knowing. But I believe that discovering is much more fun than guessing. Choose your adventure wisely.

8. Learn to accept.
Acceptance, for me, is the enactment of humility. As only those who are humble enough are able to accept, without questions if (humanly) possible.

9. Grow up.
This could be the summary of this whole entry. People who are "mature enough" would know better than to blame everybody except themselves when they are rejected. Something painful or difficult as rejection could serve as a lesson. Maybe something better will come for you. Prepare for it. Do better next time.

10. Move on.
As cliche as it may seem: Rejection is not the end of the world. Don't dwell on negative things too much. They will only drive you crazy. I reiterate the last part of No.9: Maybe something better will come for you. Prepare for it. Do better next time.

SYJHTSU (Sometimes You Just Have To Shut Up)

I left with an ugly-looking rash on the right-side of my mouth. I haven't had enough sleep for days. I crammed for our last paper and for the finals the day before. The 3 hours of brisk hand-writing (Professor's instruction: Write legibly. I give very low points for answers I can't read.) for the final exam didn't help. I was in no mood at all, especially for the stares at the airport. I screamed in my head: Screw you people! My cousins said I looked like a terrorist with the face mask and the dark eyeglasses (that comes with pointing while laughing their heads off at me). Haha. Funny.

My mood relaxed a bit upon landing on the Busuanga airport. I say 'a bit' coz the 2-hour dusty rough road to Salvacion triggered the not-so-happy me again. I was at my breaking point. I got bitchier by the micro-second. Oh, and did I mention that the doctor said I had to refrain from eating seafood for a while because of my infection? Great. Palawan without seafood. Just great.

I was surprised to find the world painted in a different shade the next day. And I mean literally. The sky was bluish gray at 5:00AM (Yes, I woke up around this time for the rest of my vacation), and it slowly changed to a mixture of red, orange, pink and yellow. The moonset was beautiful. Its parallelism with the sunrise on the other side of the island was breathtaking. I found myself ranting less as the days went by. I slept better (and earlier! weeeeeeeeeee!). I ate slower. I smiled more.

Everything was timely, as it was holy week. Time for reflection, as the elders say. I reflected in my own way - a little different from the usual prayerful means that my Mom expects us to be in. We went to a lot of beaches - one island per day. My cousins and I were in our "skimpy bikinis". How in the world are we going to be prayerful in those outfits? Huh. You tell me. But you see, amidst all the antics, the crazy fun while swimming, snorkeling and picture-taking, all of us will fall quiet. For a long time. In our own time. It's as if we knew when to keep quiet, and not to bother each other. We just sat on the powdery white sand, and stared at the wonderfulness that surrounded us. We took in all the beauty that we can - from the countless white-sand beaches in the islands nearby, to the vast blue waters, to the bright sky, to the yellow and black cardinals. We did that, even by the pool at the resthouse. Stared at a distance. Sighed in awe. Thanked the Lord for the blessings of family, beauty and relaxation time on top of peace and quiet.

The 6 days in Palawan was more than a vacation to me. It was a renewing experience. It reminded me that sometimes, you just have to shut up. I hope the Lord understands that we simply had to do it in our bikinis.

Critical Uncertainties

I am quite caught in the foresighting exercise that we're doing (cramming actually) for our Strategic Technology Planning class. Here, we are tasked to discuss the plausible scenarios for our assigned industry - Amusement Parks (Weeeeeeeeee!). We're through identifying predictable variables and critical uncertainties that will affect/influence the development of amusement parks. Sa wakas, natapos din ang pagaagam-agam tungkol sa lintik na Impact vs. Uncertainty matrix. Darn, that was a loooooooooooong discussion.

(Note: The ff. conversation is not a verbatim transcription.)
Kuya edmund: Mali ito e..mali itong graph. Dapat i-multiply natin yung impact at uncertainty para makuha natin yung value.

Vaj: Oo nga, mali yung graph. Kasi if you'll look at this variable....(malditang chinita tries to follow, looks at the graph and searches the text for description of variables)

Chickboy rogel: Nalilito nga rin ako e. Dapat ba unahin yan o yung pag-eliminate?

Ayie: Oo nga noh, kung mag-eliminate na lang muna para konti na lang yung lalagyan ng impact and uncertainty. Pero wait, anong basis ng elimination? Dapat yung impact and uncertainty.

malditang chinita: E kung baliktarin na lang kaya natin? (All looked at me as if I were some idiot.)

I was referring to the matrix, by the way - to measure certainty instead of uncertainty. Whatever. Blah, blah, blah.

This happened after a 5-hour meeting for another group's project (Marketing Plan), 2 hours of isaw+fishballs+tambay, and 3 hours of foresight discussion over latte. So I am entitled to a weird remark or two. Or maybe, as Vaj has said "It could be the coffee talking."

Now I am inclined to identify my own critical uncertainties:
- Will we finish our projects on time?
- Will we get our well-deserved 1.0?
- Will I survive the next 2 weeks of sleepless nights reading, cramming, and writing?
- Will I finish TM in "flying colors" as I have declared over lunch yesterday?
- Will the Boracay trip with the girls push through? (Sana, sana, sana. Kahit December. Haha.)
- Will Richard Gomez win the senatorial elections? (God forbid.)
- Will Melinda Doolittle win American Idol? (Yes, please.)
- Will I fall in love again? (Ah..eh..busy ako eh. :-P)
- Magkakatuluyan ba sina Jackie at Ely/ Celine at JB sa Maging Sino Ka Man? (Shucks di na ko nakakanood. Yuck, baduyness.)

Mga tanong na walang sagot. Or, as I have learned, wala pang sagot pero pwedeng meron. Basta ganun. Hay...patience is a virtue.

cheers

If sadness were taken in shots
and not in one big gulp,
then I must be an alcoholic.