Work: It Kills You

 I spent the past five days away from Manila, on a business trip. There was possibly only two good things that came out of it: I was in my favorite place in the country (Davao City) and I made a few new friends. Other than that, it was one of those things that I would very much rather forget.

While it is tempting to write a detailed account of the trip, this little should suffice:
Work is work. It should supersede any and every thing else.

Jay~

9/11 - Defining a Decade

9/11 Tribute Lights light up the Manhattan skyline.

It has been ten whole years since the world experienced one of the worst attacks on a nation in recorded history. It was an attack that painfully exposed the vulnerability of the world's lone superpower, and an attack that prompted two major wars and many more small-scale operations. It was an attack that affected the lives of virtually everyone, from policy makers to the average air traveler. It was 9/11, and akin to 12/7 (Pearl Harbor), it will forever be an event that can be summed up and remembered just from the date of its occurrence.

9/11 occurred when I was thirteen years old, in the first year of my secondary school. I remember watching it live on television, and as it unfolded, my young mind was understandably confused and scared at the same time. I grasped neither the impact nor the importance of this event at that time. Six years later, as I majored in International Relations, the 9/11 attacks virtually became the center of my academic life. As I wrote papers on national security, domestic and international policy-making, international law, and even international economics, 9/11 somehow, some way found itself in my work. It defined so many things that we are 'used to' now. Strict airport security measures? This stemmed from 9/11. "Terror" as a household word? Blame it on 9/11. Muslims around the world - radical and moderate alike - branded as "fundamentalists" or worse, "terrorists"? 9/11 played a big part. The attacks on America not only changed our experiences in the days that followed; lifestyles and mindsets changed as well.

Ten years on, the world is still experiencing two combat theaters, Iraq and Afghanistan. American involvement in these two countries - I have said this countless times on many academic papers - have strained the American (and in turn, global) economy and willpower to its limits. These wars have destroyed billions of dollars worth of property, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, alienated entire demographics, and claimed an appalling number of lives. Al-Qaeda, the group claiming responsibility for the attacks, has recently lost its mastermind, Osama bin Laden, after more than nine years of eluding international operatives. Has this changed anything, created an impact that can be felt? It still remains to be seen. What is important, perhaps, is that the world knows that threats can and may come from anywhere. A culture of paranoia has been created from 9/11.

9/11 represents, in my opinion, two sides of a coin. On one side, you have the United States and its allies, defending themselves and reacting to the terror attacks. On the other side, the radical religious groups, hellbent on bringing down democracy and everything Western. In the middle, much like the proverbial coin, is the very thin and small group of neutrals and fence-sitters, choosing neither side and risking the complete wrath of the other. Ten years on, this group division is still very much evident. Ten years on, we still remember, and we are still affected, whether we like it or not.

Jay~

External Links:
25 Powerful Images of 9/11

Run for Humanity

First run outside Manila!

Also, I've decided to keep a comprehensive blog on the runs that I will be joining from now on. Just so I know when I improve, and to keep tally of my participation :)

3k in 14:24, bib #0275

Jay~

Crying Out For Blood

You know a country has had enough when private citizens actively condone brutal, violent, and very public killings of criminals by law enforcement officials.

I have been in the Philippines for a little over four years now, and the level of violence here make the hardest Malaysian gangsters look amateur. Criminal organizations here have complex systems of organizations and even private armies; granted, these are the ones that present difficulty to the nation as a whole. Understandably, the frustration of the masses would blow over more to the petty criminals, the ones who operate on a much smaller scale and are either too unlucky/dumb/careless and were caught.

Reading the comments on this news report (see the number of "likes" as well!) has made me conclude that yes, many of these criminals have nowhere else to go but six feet under. Before anything else, let's not get anything wrong: I believe in human rights and I support it in principle and in spirit. In so saying, I also believe that individuals who would seek to deny another individual the very precious thing called "life" forfeit their claim to justice and their lives. When I think about it, I do not think that criminals who take away life deserve to keep theirs.

A Vigilante Attitude?
Of course, the public condoning of criminal killing is obviously not a long-term solution. The last thing anybody wants are roving packs of armed private citizens mercilessly serving out a deadly dish of vengeance. No. This will breed disorder, discord, and a false sense of justice for the country. There is also the chance of making grievous errors; an innocent man may fall victim to this witch-hunt. In the case of rooting out and killing known criminals, the means does not justify the end.

All Down to the Individual
In the end, where does this bring us? Crime is still rampant in the Philippines and the death of several criminals, while high-profile, will actually not do much to reduce the level of overall criminal activity in the country. I suppose apart from distancing ourselves from crime, it is far more important to maintain the "us against them" mentality (id est, "us" being non-criminals and "them" being criminals). Also, it is my opinion that we, bring private citizens, should (as much as possible) allow the law enforcement officials to be the ones to enforce the heavy hand of the law - they are much better trained and equipped for "removing" the "unwanted elements" of our society. Our part, I suppose, would be to remain vigilant against threats to our social well-being and security. After all, a private citizen, no matter how good the intention, will be considered a criminal under the rule of law if said citizen commits a crime to avenge/reverse another crime.

A tooth for a tooth would sounds fair, but I know for sure I wouldn't give a tooth for a criminal. Not even a single skin cell.

Jay~

News article linked courtesy of Yahoo! News Philippines.

Math Says You Should be Married at this Age

Yes.

Professor Anthony Dooley of the University of New South Wales devised a formula to calculate 'the ideal marrying age'. I personally think it's very convincing.

The magic formula:

1. Take the oldest age that you would like to be married.
2. Subtract from it the youngest age that you would like to be married.
3. Multiply the answer by 0.368.
4. Voila! Your ideal marrying age, according to Professor Dooley.

The formula takes into account "maximum rewards for minimal costs" - which I assume tries to calculate the 'readiness' of an individual to tie the knot. Even if you're a skeptic, it's still pretty fun.

I got 28.2 years of age, pretty near my ideal :)

Jay~

Everything but an Infidel

An "infidel".

That is the latest alleged characteristic pasted on the Filipino national hero Jose Rizal. Whether true or not, the fact is that a Tweet was published as saying that Dr. Rizal was "an infidel".

The original Tweet actually said:

"@BikMama2U: @datozainab Biasala tu, @anwaribrahim mmg pro-Kristian, pemuja Jose Rizal si Melayu kafir tu! Oh ya, jgn lupa..."

The user @BikMama2U was allegedly claimed by user @datozainab (the wife of the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines) to be a fake account. Whether this is true or not, the Tweet is very offensive to any Filipino. Why? Because the Tweet translates as:

"@BikMama2U: @datozainab... That’s usual. Anwar Ibrahim is clearly pro-Christian, an admirer of Jose Rizal the infidel Malay! Oh yes, don’t forget..." *

I am not quite sure at which angle I should approach this very sensitive issue. On the one hand, my Filipino blood boils at this rude, inappropriate, and very classless description of a man who helped (in a huge way) bring down an oppressive and unjust Spanish regime more than a hundred years ago. On the other hand, I did spend almost half of my life so far in Malaysia, and my culture and sense is a mix of the two. I do know that racist comments can fly in a very off-hand manner in Malaysia (my Malaysian readers, please do not deny this.. not too vehemently, in any case) but for a racist comment to even be related to an envoy to the Philippines is perhaps a little too much.

As Filipinos, how should we react to this? We are a little notorious for our tempers (admit it; how many of us have witnessed hot-headed violence during inuman sessions?) and therefore, I think it would be wise - not to mention prudent - for us to remain more or less neutral in our reactions. Dato Zainab deserves the benefit of a doubt, as there is a chance that she was really not involved in smearing the good name of Dr. Rizal, and was merely tagged in a bad Tweet. I am sure that there will be due process in investigating this issue because 1.) this is a very sensitive and important topic for Filipinos, especially from a nationalistic, patriotic, and cultural angle, and 2.) because we expect foreign envoys and their families to always hold the utmost and utter respect towards the icons of their host countries. I can only pray that this issue does not get blown out of proportion, and that cooler and more reasonable heads prevail during this incident.

* Anwar Ibrahim was a former candidate for the Prime Minister position until a sex scandal ruined his otherwise illustrious career. He is currently back in the Malaysian political sphere and is currently the leader of the Opposition.

Jay~

Full article and source here.

My Eye Looks High

Too much porn ruined my eye.

Just kidding. I was diagnosed today with a nasty little bugger of an eye condition called uveitis. According to that helpful Wikipedia link, "uveitis is an inflammation to the middle layer of the eye, called the uvea". It is not comforting at all to know that this is responsible for a tenth of the causes of blindness in the USA.

I woke up today at around 6am with my eye feeling as if it was being prodded by a toe. A crabby, pointed toe. Looking out of my window hurt even more, and by 7am, the pain was pretty much intolerable. I then gave my boss a call to inform him that it is quite impossible for me to attend work today as I could barely see, and I was not a very pretty sight.

A little later, I made an appointment with a Dr. Santos at the Manila Adventist Hospital (where I was hospitalized back in 2009). He then diagnosed me with an eye infection, and since a flare developed inside my eye, he concluded that I had the damn uveitis. It explained my heightened (and painful) sensitivity to sunlight and bright lights in general. I am, for all humorous intents and purposes, technically a vampire. LOL.

He prescribed a couple of eye drops, one to clean the infection and the other to paralyze my pupil so that it would remain dilated. If this was not so, the pupil could stick to my lens, which I am assuming is not a very healthy thing for a pupil to do. So not only am I sensitive to light, my left eye is also dilated. I am, for better or for worse, a high vampire. I don't even know where to begin poking fun at that.

As for the cause, Dr. Santos told me it's either I picked it up somewhere (damn you, infected person!) or it's in the season. Apparently, quite a few are turning up with various infections, not necessarily eye-related.

The pupil dilation will be for 2-3 weeks, and hopefully I do not get any "got grass" jokes during this time. All joking aside, the condition is very painful and the bright Manila sunshine is something I am not looking forward to for a change. I hope this gets better quick, because not only are my good looks - if any - are ruined, squinting painfully while crossing Taft Avenue on the way to work can also be potentially hazardous.

Wish me well, and please pray for my eye.

Jay~

EDIT: Just noticed this is my first post for August. What a way to start the month..

Class Suspension: A Battle of Perspectives

This is a direct response to the many people - Lasallians and non-Lasallians alike - who have bashed DLSU's decision on delaying class suspensions due to tropical storm Juaning. I hope these would enlighten many minds, because ignorance isn't bliss; it's an avenue for embarrassment.

Earlier today, a storm battered northern Philippines and the capital, Metro Manila, experienced flooding and heavy rain. Beginning around 9.00am up to lunch time, schools from the north (Quezon City) started suspending classes. Southwards, schools followed suit and suspended classes as well. My alma mater/workplace, De La Salle University, refused to suspend classes at this point, thus starting a Twitter brat-fest and online flooding of complaints. I will address this from the point of view of a former student and as someone who is aware of how the school administration functions.

We Care, So Stay
Perhaps the bashing that ticked me off the most was the accusation from many places that the university administration "does not care for the well-being of its students". This is simply silly to the point of stupidity. In the middle of heavy rains, suspending classes (and in turn, closing the campus) would mean thousands of students at and around Taft Avenue - one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila - would be subject to said rain and floods. I suspect that many students were simply lazy to attend classes, due to the well-known fact that many students just do not want to attend their classes YET still hang around the campus or in nearby establishments. I believe that the logical, responsible, and rational action - which we did - was to keep these students in their classrooms, safe, dry, and warm. What about those at home? You are in no pressure to attend your classes if you believe yourself to be in imminent danger from doing so. University students are young, thinking adults, capable of making decisions for themselves. Exercise those brain cells!

Playing Tough
Some have also accused DLSU of "acting tough" as we were one of the last universities to suspend classes (around 2.40pm). The sky was still bright and sunny - though it was still raining) - at around noon-time. I know this because many people, myself included, were still crossing Taft Avenue at lunch time, looking to grab a bite. Calling it off late was not intended to be an "act of toughness" - it was an act of prudence and patience. There's a big difference between the two, as any self-respecting rational human being would know. Suspending classes early when the day was still bright and that there was no direct mandate from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) would have displayed nothing more than hair-trigger decision-making, something the DLSU administration simply does not do. That's that.

Hypocritical Complaints
This must be the worst of the lot. It is no secret that many students cut their classes. Heck, I used to do it on a regular basis (though in my defense, I had unlimited cuts and absences for 5 terms). I do not understand at all the complaints of many students when they cried out for DLSU to suspend classes when many of them absent themselves from said classes on a regular, non-stormy day. I will have to say that more than half of the students crying out for class suspensions just did NOT want to go to their classes, for whatever lazy and selfish reason. Truth be told, the school is not chaining any one student to their classroom chairs; if you want to leave, then leave. Thinking persons would know if their respective lives are in danger - you are under no obligation to "subject" yourself to any form of "danger". Also, I do not understand why said students feel so pressured to attend their classes when, again, these same students would willingly cut classes for any random reason, from a DoTA session to "just because". Hypocrites.

Also:
Perhaps the worst critical thinking thought process I've seen on Twitter was the following premise rationale:

Premise 1: Heavy storm is directly causing many accidents.
Premise 2: DLSU is not suspending classes even though there is a heavy storm.
Conclusion: DLSU's non-suspension of classes will cause accidents, perhaps injuring Lasallians.

Um, I'm sorry, but your IQ is approximately 22.
No, make that 21.

For those who were genuinely troubled by the rains and the floods (this means you were literally staring danger - heavy rain and floods - in the eye), you would know by now that this is not for you. In fact, from messages to me and several conversations around the campus, I know that many of you are in the same thought-train as myself. Thank you for the non-bashing and supportive comments earlier in the day. It helped that there are thinking people out there :)

With those points said, I just really hope more would understand how difficult it is to suspend classes. There are processes to be followed, because a university's primary function is to provide education to the students within the halls of said university. Suspending classes at the first sign of rain is a decision devoid of rational and informed thought. And just to clarify, yes, it angered me that many acted bratty when it came to the delay in suspending classes. Yes, I know I have offended the delicacy of some students, but you know what? Please use the following checklist:

• What are you paying the university for, if not to attend school?
• Would you receive qualityeducation by hanging around instead of being in class?
• Are you a thinking adult who is able to make rational and logical decisions?
• Are you a thinking adult who is really concerned about your self-preservation?
• Are you aware that you are not obliged to expose yourself to danger?
• Did you know that patience is a virtue?
• Are you really in university, or are you still in high school?
• Do you like peanuts? I love peanuts.
  

If only the mouth (and the fingers) were slower than the brain :)

Oh, and when the university finally suspended classes?
The new complaint was that now, it was much too late. ROFLMAO.


Jay~

40 Lbs Later

So this is what losing 40 lbs looks like..


I like this :)

Jay~

Leanest Yet

137.8 lbs and a comfortable 30" waistline.

This is my leanest yet, but of course, the primary target of 130 lbs and a 28" waist is still alive.

This feels good :)

Jay~

Party University 2

My first gig in months :)

I needed this, and even though my skills and abilities have downgraded somewhat, I'm glad that I can still perform with the best crew/family in the world.

Over 70 members now :)

We are Skittlez Crew.

Ripping up the dance floor since 2007 <3

Jay~

Beatdown

This has to be the worst week of my 23 years.

Jay~