i've always been a pig gourmand/food-lover. i constantly think about food, i LOVE to eat, and my friends even joke (though it may be true..hahaha! :p) that the way to my heart is thru my stomach.

i love sweets. i love spicy food. i love sour food. i love salty food. i think my tolerance is higher than most people in that what tastes just right for me is often to sweet/spicy/salty/sour for them. i most probably also inherited pop's strong stomach in that i can eat almost anything (though i will NEVER EVER eat frogs and other similarly unappetizing "delicacies").

i've eaten day-old french fries, days-old nuts that spilled on the car's floor, expired (but still tasted ok) food. in fact, just the other day my blockmate found a cockroach in her shawarma rice. she was so grossed out that when she returned it to the stall, she merely accepted a refund in lieu of a replacement. my reaction? i told her she should've gotten a new serving (notwithstanding the fact that the rice came from the same container...hehehehe). she now refuses to eat anything coming from the stall. i, on the other hand, have managed to buy from that stall at least once a day. in fact, being the shawarma addict that i am, i bought from the stall TWICE today and enjoyed eating shawarma and shawarma rice both times. i figured that what happened the other day was merely a fluke as i never discovered any cockroach body parts in my shawarma/shawarma rice before (not that i ever closely inspected. hehe). besides, when it comes to food (and a lot of other stuff), i subscribe to the philosophy that what i don't know (or see) won't harm me.

so yeah, i'm disgusting that way. i eat anything and everything and owing to my strong stomach (inherited from my dad), i barely suffer from any sort of indigestion or discomfort due to what i ingest. *knocks on wood

but i draw the line at sharing food with rats. or any animal for that matter.

this afternoon, i grabbed the first bag of chips i saw from my monthly junkfood stash (resolution after barops: start eating healthier!!!), opened it, and devoured all its contents in under three minutes. the chips were a bit makunat which wasn't normal given that they're sealed in foil packs to maintain their freshness and crunchiness but since i don't give much notice to what are to my mind minor details (hey, so long as it's edible, right? :P), i didn't mind too much. it was only when i was eating up the crumbs when i realized they were spilling due to no fault of mine. so i looked at the bag and saw that at the bottom there was a hole that looked very much like a rat bit it. ewww!!!! to think i practically inhaled the contents of that bag!

logically, i doubt the rat who bit it ate anything because it was only a tiny bite and the contents seemed intact. but the mere fact that i not only came into contact with something a rat bit but also possibly ate the same thing it did was enough to make me feel really sick. i took anti-bacterial medicine (well anything that has come into contact with rodents is most probably bacteria-infested, right?) as per my dad's orders. my mom told me that as soon as i felt a little discomfort they would rush me to the hospital. thank goodness i don't feel weird though i still cannot get over the fact that what i ate came into contact with a rat (incidentally, while i enjoyed the movie Ratatouille, i alternated between disgust and amazement. more of disgust, i think).

i learned my lesson. from now on i will inspect my food.

i went to AS today to return tara's digicam which we borrowed for Et tu, Brod?. since i was there anyway, i decided to drop by the CSSPSC office to check who was there and pick up my the buklod shirt i ordered (gaaahhh!!! i can't believe i missed the anniv night last saturday!!! talk about bad timing... hehehe!). i was surprised to find oout when i entered that our beloved albeit run-down former office is AIRCONDITIONED. after all these years, Dean Lee finally let the Council have one. if i could only count those sweltering days spent in the office due to lack of proper ventilation... hehehe. oh well. reminds me of the fact that the renovated and airconditioned the Poveda cafeteria the year AFTER my batch graduated. it's like they purposelu waited for us to leave (hehe, for more bitterness). boo! :P

WINLAW statement on the death of Cris Mendez

The University of the Philippines Women in Law extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Cris Anthony Mendez, a promising NCPAG student who passed away last August 27, 2007, allegedly due to fraternity hazing. This unfortunate incident reverberates the students’ decades-old call for fraternities and sororities to put an end to the vicious cycle of violence in initiation proceedings still embedded in the culture of some of UP’s Greek-letter organizations. This senseless attempt at propagating a skewed sense of tradition with the aim of uniting its members as “brothers,” negates the lofty ideals and noble purposes these organizations claim to stand for. The practice of hazing is pointless, hazardous, and most of all, inhuman. Such infliction of physical pain and torture as a requisite for membership meant a death sentence for Cris Mendez. Now we are left in a state of grief, regret, and devastation.


We join the UP Community in condemning this heinous crime. Cris Mendez’ death and the death of several others in the past because of fraternity-related violence should indelibly mark our collective consciousness of the evils brought about by this barbaric culture abetted by tolerance, fear and indifference. It is high time we stop pretending hazing does not occur and pretend we don’t see our classmate attend class bruised and swelled up from the beating he took from his brothers the night before. It is not taboo, it is reality. And nothing’s more real than the untimely death of a young man, which hopefully brought us back to our senses and made us realize that this is not the norm. This is WRONG. We also condemn the indifference of the fraternity involved. Their silence is an admission of their guilt, and it is difficult to extend reasonable doubt to those who do nothing to protect their innocence.


We, the women of UP Winlaw, therefore call on the UP administration, all UP students, and most especially the members of the fraternity involved in this incident, to exert all efforts to bring justice to the family of Cris Mendez. We would like to believe that these men, more than being “brods”, are human beings with conscience. Be accountable for something bigger than your word to your brother. Be accountable for the life you reprehensively took.


It is in our seeing to it that the perpetrators of this crime are held liable, and in our vigilance in preventing future Iskolars ng Bayan from suffering Cris’ fate, that the Mendez family will feel our deepest and earnest commiseration. Anything less than these, is nothing but a hollow expression of sympathy.





Andrea Celene Manalaysay
President



Milagros Evans Malaya Susana Grace Ojeda
Vice President for Internal Affairs Vice President for External Affairs




May Caniba Charlene Valdez
Vice President for Academics Vice President for Publicity



Janice Lee Carmela dela Paz
Vice President for Finance Barops Head


Eleanor Agnes Abellar Rowena Fatima Salonga
4th year Representative 3rd year Representative




Alessandra Maria Anna Gloria Reyes
2nd year Representative

we're supposed to fill this up for the intern's wall. i LOVE filling up surveys though admittedly this is harder to answer than usual...

1. SUPERHERO NAME - come up with a fun, creative and quirky name for your superhero alter ego; try to relate the name to your sector: ahhh!!! i have no idea! :( suggestions, anyone? right now all i have is THE HUMAN VACUUM CLEANER and i don't think that will suffice. hahaha! :D
2. Planet of Origin - come up with a name for the planet that represents your sector. e.g. Planetang _____uhhh... palaging gutom at haggard? :D
3. Human Identity - Arianne Reyes (hopefully hindi kailangan ng whole name :p)
4. Birthday -- April 21, 1984 Age -- 23
5. Specialized superpowers in (what are your strengths?): speed-eating! :D
6. First manifestations of powers (when did you first realize that you wanted to be involved in development work and in the sector you're currently working for?) : totality of experiences in high school, college, and law... (naks! hehe)
7. Believes in the power of... (virtues / ideals you live by - e.g. perseverance, unity, people's inherent goodness (hehe), education, efficient local governance, kahit ano!): God, hard work and merit, people's inherent goodness, efficient local governance, education (parang kinopya ko lang..hehe), high levels of social capital, dreams and vision
8. Desires to eliminate... anything you want to stop or change: immediate: frat violence, long-term: poverty, hunger, apathy, corruption, illiteracy, change the political AND electoral system, etc. (in my own little way. i harbor no illusions of singlehandedly being able to change the status quo)
9. If i weren't a superhero, I'd be... If I weren't in law school or involved in development work, I'd be... taking my master's in political science or international relations or working in an ngo focused on political and electoral reform
10. Driven to save the world by... what's your biggest reason for being involved in development work? OR why do you want to become a lawyer? that is the million peso question...
11. Biggest enemy / obstacle in saving the world (it may be a personal flaw or an external obstacle) : myself! hahahaha. :D
12. When i'm not saving the world, I... eat, sleep, read... basically i'm your typical sloth
13. My own superhero is... a LOT of people.my parents, my grand-uncle, cong. risa hontiveros-baraquel of akbayan
14. The best thing about being a superhero is... What do you gain from being a development worker or from being a lawyer? any perks? hehe, i wouldn't know. am not (yet) a lawyer. but it does seem to be very fulfilling. :)
15. Other powers i'd like to possess - What aspects of yourself do you want to improve on? What do you want to learn? the ability to turn back time! :D seriously, i would like to learn to be more patient with myself and others
16. Super words - i live by the mottos: "non omne quod licet honestum est (not everything that is lawful is honorable)", "Integrity means doing what's right,even when it itsn't popular. Popularity allows you to live with others,integrity allows you to live with yourself." "there's always tomorrow." "be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."- dr. seuss
17. Strongest/ most powerful when - i accomplish a difficult task, when i see my hard work pay off
18. Weakest when...there is chocolate in front of me. hahaha! but seriously, when i lose faith in myself.
19. My own meaning of SALIGAN - am still in the process of coming up with a decent answer for this one... :)

the sandiganbayan special division delivered the verdict on the plunder and perjury cases of former president erap estrada. guilty for the crime of plunder but acquitted of perjury (read the decision here).

admittedly, the decision as regards plunder did not surprise me. what with the 600+ page plaintiff's memorandum, 79(or so) witnesses and other evidence adduced vis-a-vis estrada's testimony. plus there's crispin remulla's political question angle.

i listened to the delivery on an AM station on my way to school this morning and was more than a little bit surprised to find out that in lieu of reading the entire decision, what was read was only the dispositive portion. so much for building up suspense. :s but seriously, what i found strange was that he would be convicted of plunder, but acquitted of perjury. i will have to brush up on my (little) knowledge of the anti-plunder law AND i'm pretty sure that the elements of perjury aren't included in plunder, but how can one who is guilty of plunder have, in good faith and without malice, filed his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth? oh well. i figured it was a token acquittal of sorts. but then again i could be wrong.

i just watched one of estrada's supporters on CNN. she said, in tagalog, something along the lines of, "there's no justice with gloria macapagal-arroyo, there's no justice with the sandiganbayan." of course if the verdict had been one of acquittal, we would have the anti-erap camps crying foul. on my way home today, i passed by santolan and as i was about to cross edsa to the other side, i saw a banner hanging by the fly-over. it was in tagalog and i don't remember the exact words but basically the message was about not questioning whatever decision came out. i'm assuming it was placed there BEFORE the verdict as a sort of foreshadowing of the imminent noise that would be raised irrespective of the outcome.

received this text message this morning:
Pag may kudeta sa Pilipinas:
American:We fully support GMA!
French:We will send troops!
Pinoy:May pasok ba bukas?

i have to admit i found it funny. but it's funniness stemmed not so much from its being inherently so but more of from its basis in fact. i may be over-generalizing, but i do not think the plunder trial garnered as much attention as it should have being an issue of utmost public interest. i can't explain why, but lately, that seems to be the trend. take this year's SONA for instance. some of us went to commonwealth for QRT duty and were surprised by the volume, or rather, lack thereof. two years ago, i attended the SONA and we actually had to WALK from UP up to Ever Gotesco because not only was commonwealth blocked from philcoa but it would have been impossible for any car to get by given the number of people. in two years the numbers drastically dwindled. i'm not saying that people SHOULD care when maybe they really don't or have other things to think about. that sort of thing cannot be imposed. it's just my observation that especially lately, interest in public affairs seems to have diminished.

today felt like any other day.

i received this text message a few minutes ago:

"character is not the ability to slam a paddle on bare legs, or the strength to endure it. character is not standing by a brod, right or wrong as they claimed they do. every man who bears the name of the this fraternity, or one who behaves in a manner similar to this is a man with blood on his hands. JUSTICE FOR CRIS!"

there are times wherein i wonder if i'm being unfair in judging the frat as a WHOLE vis-a-vis its individual members who may
(or may not) be responsible. there are members of that frat whom i considered to be my friends, and then this issue erupted. now, though it pains me to admit it, i have a hard time even looking at them straight in the eye. it's especially hard when these people have been nothing but nice to you. it's difficult not to feel guilt or even feel as though you are being rude.

but then that message came and it got me thinking. while it may be true that most of them most probably had no involvement whatsoever in cris mendez's death, what i cannot stomach nor tolerate is the fact that they have remained silent thus far. apparently, what happened does not bother them what bit, it is not repulsive to their senses, it has not elicited any feelings of remorse nor triggered any indignation over the inherent wrongness of what happened. all i hear as i walk by the halls of up law is this uneasy, almost-deafening silence. almost as though they would rather pretend nothing happened. that's one thing i fear i never understood about the entire fraternity system, the whole vow of secrecy and sticking by the brods no matter what thing they have going on.

a year or so ago, i had a very long conversation with a friend of mine from a frat on that very same topic. he explained it to me in terms of the nature of brotherhood, that even if you know your brother is wrong, by virtue of the fact that he is your brother, you will stand by him. that time, i merely pondered on what he said, but looking back, i cannot see the logic in his explanation. sure, i may not be a member of a frat (well, obviously. hehe), but i have brothers and sisters and i can say that when i see that they do something wrong, i am the first to call them on it. my not-so-baby brother knows full well what i am talking about. i am a firm believer that despite the varying shades of gray as regards certain issues, there are also those wherein there is no room for compromise, wherein it's always a toss-up between black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. i would think violence and death would fall under the latter category.

sadly, what i have known all along but hoped against hope that i would be proven wrong is true: they will choose their frat no matter what. even in a toss-up between FRATERNITY LOYALTY AND WHAT-NOT and WHAT'S RIGHT, they will choose the former. the events of the past week have concretized my theory. they choose SILENCE and CONDONATION over COURAGE and SPEAKING THE TRUTH. they choose the COMFORTS OF COWARDICE over the possible drawbacks of STANDING UP FOR THE RIGHT THING. they choose SO-CALLED FRATERNITY LOYALTY over LOYALTY TO ALL THINGS GOOD AND JUST.

and these people, ladies and gentlemen, most probably harbor ambitions of running our beloved country one day. some might even succeed.

i echo the rhetorical question a professor of mine asked me the other day, "what's becoming of us?"

WHAT IS BECOMING OF US? :(

Labels: frat violence, local/up issues

this past weekend (and week, actually) was one of the most tiring and stressful ones i've experienced in recent months in more ways than one. the whole week went on like a blur what with last minute barops preparations, meetings, acads, council reunion, etc '(not to mention the tiredness that stemmed from being really angry about the frat hazing incident). the entire week, all i had was junkfood and chocolate for sustenance and i slept at 3AM practically every day and got up at 8 or earlier. save for saturday morning wherein i slept at 5 and got up at 8AM of the same day to take care of last-minute HR matters and to review for my torts class that afternoon. i had class til 5PM then headed home after the food i ordered for the volunteers got delivered so that my parents could take me to sheraton. from the time i arrived up to around 7:30-8:00AM of sunday i was a headless chicken since had to check up on volunteers and help with the other operations as well as with merchandising and requests of barrister. i was happy though because i finally got to experience what helping out in the different ops (except transop, though something tells me i'll be experiencing that too in the near future.hahaha) is like since all i got to do last year was help out in the hotel and drive around the manila area for breakfast orders (talk about adventure! hehehe!). i slept from 8 to around 9.45AM and then went back to barops duty, this time with winlaw and was on duty (save for a short nap in the afternoon) til around 6:30 PM when my parents picked me up.

it was funny (though stupid, too) since i got lost while delivering lunch orders. i decided to take a pedicab and go ahead of my friends since i was in a rush and thought it would make me arrive there at a shorter time. i thought wrong. taft was jam-packed with cars so i asked the pedicab driver if copytrade (where the up law tent was in front of) was near enough to walk to. he answered in the affirmative and charged me thirty pesos (imagine, THIRTY PESOS! and to think my friends who followed also in a pedicab were only charged FIFTEEN PESOS for both of them. but then, it was a desperate time. hehe.) so anyway, i got down and started to walk. after what seemed to be forever, i realized that a)none of the surroundings seemed familiar as i remember seeing starbucks, 7-11 and mcdonalds when i dropped by to check on tentops and nightops the night before, 2)no copytrade was in site, 3)i hadn't spotted anyone from up law, and 4)the number of tents and people seemed to be dwindling the further on i walked and came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, the up law tent was on the other side. so i crossed and was walking for quite some time when i saw that there was a barricade preventing me from going any further. SO, i had to go all the way back to where i had crossed from the other side and walk back to the point where i got off the tricycle only to see that copytrade indeed was on the other side of taft beneath the mrt station. how stupid could i be? hahaha. :D

this weekend and the days leading to is could also be described as this: a series of unfortunate events. i was perpetually stressed and haggard so i kept dropping things, losing things, forgetting things, etc. i also made the mistake of dropping my phone one time too many two days before the bar weekend and ended up having to borrow my dad's old phone just so i could remain accessible. however, since my phone broke i now have to guess everytime someone sends me a text message who it is based on the context clues. i really ought to have my phone fixed. it's just that the thought that it has to be reformatted breaks my heart as being the stupid person that i am, i didn't back up my contacts even if i have had my phone reformatted at least two times in the past. so much for learning my lesson. oh well. :( i remember talking with my blockmate, carmi, the other day and telling her that i needed a clone (or two), but if such was not possible, i'd settle for eight arms. i said that if i had eight arms, my life would be so much easier. in typical carmi fashion, she answered: "no, you'll have a hard time finding clothes with eight armholes." hahahaha! :D but seriously, i was quite happy though also sad for a number of reasons i don't quite feel like disclosing for now. but anyway, mostly happy. call me a masochist but despite the seemingly never-ending supply of stress, i like what i have been doing. uh oh, does that mean that that's my formula for happiness is: happiness = stress + more stress + headless chicken mode? hehehe! i hope not. but yeah, i'm one somewhat* happy (albeit headless) chicken/(almost) dead frog.

thank goodness that despite the countless glitches, we all survived the first weekend.

in any case, one weekend down, three more to go. woohoo!!! Congrats to everyone! :D

check out this article from today's inquirer. winlaw has a special mention. go winlaw! :D

--
* i would be more than somewhat happy if not for the existence of a certain cloud. or rather, clouds. don't get me started. :(

Labels: barops, haggardness, headless chicken mode

my heart broke when i read Howie Severino's blog entry on Cris Mendez. it was unsettling to see pictures taken during his wake and funeral. If you look closely, you can see his face thru the coffin's glass. i can't even begin to imagine what his family must be feeling.

i pray not only that justice be the outcome of all this, but that those involved or have any information find the strength to come forward, despite the fear of possible repercussions.

Labels: frat violence, local/up issues

Another life has been claimed by alleged fraternity-related violence. Another life has been snuffed out by men, claiming to be brothers, yet inflicting pain like beasts. Another life has been sacrificed, killed by a senseless ritual that degrades humanity.

It is ironic to think that our University, hailed as the best hope for our country's future, can be the same place where these hopes end. Some inflict pain, maim and even kill fellow students, all in the name of brotherhood. It is absurd these barbaric acts exist side by the side with the University's lofty ideals, an aberration that escapes our intellect.

What makes it worse, is when the indignation and protests have faded, this death will be another statistic in the vicious cycle of campus violence.
Forgetfulness and tolerance will replace indignation and protest, until another victim has been claimed.

We are one with Cris Anthony Mendez's family in their time of grief. Cris' death is not just their loss; it is also ours, as fellow Iskolars para sa Bayan and members of the UP community. His death is also the nation's loss; every scholar killed is a part of the country's hope gone.
We vow not to forget, as we vow to seek justice. Our administration and justice system must ensure the perpetrators of this senseless death pay for their crimes. More importantly, we vow not to let our indignation slip into tolerance. We declare enough. Enough of this violence. Let this death be the last.

- UP ALYANSA ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran

--

during the candelighting/prayer vigil in law last friday evening, i was asked by mike (alyansa president) to read our party's statement re the hazing and death of cris mendez. i wasn't too keen on doing so as i have this terrible stage fright magnified when i use a microphone and am speaking in from of a camera, both elements being present that night. however, because i was the alyansa member most accessible at that time, i acceded albeit reluctantly. as i was reading the statement, the same outrage i have been feeling recently became even more acute. after reading such, i had so much to say. however, i felt that was neither the time nor place to express my anger. so i just said thank you but what i REALLY wanted to say was this: you pigs! after all you've done, you have the gall to go around acting as though nothing has happened. i neither sense any remorse nor sorrow. don't your consciences bother you? don't think we'll ever forget this. BECAUSE WE WON'T! AND DON'T EVEN THINK YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING BY TRYING TO SCARE THOSE WHO HAVE DARED TO STAND UP AGAINST YOUR WRONGDOINGS! ANG KAKAPAL NG MGA MUKHA NINYO! of course, the foregoing is a much milder, shorter and simplified version of what i was dying to say, but as i said, it was neither the time nor place. i would've ruined the solemnity of the event had i verbalized the angry thoughts going on in my mind which i so desperately wanted to do and that would not have been fair to cris mendez. even if i did not personally know him, my blood boils every time i hear/read news as regards this "incident," most recently that his friends and orgmates have allegedly been receiving threatening text messages. he deserves more than anger (though not directed at him). he deserves respect. he deserves justice at the very least because he deserved to live. but they killed him and thereby violated his right to do so.

Labels: frat violence, fury, local/up issues

first year law student.kid at heart.idealist.optimist (except about myself).hopeless romantic.daydream believer.dreamer.klutz(hehe).


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{AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel}
{UP ALYANSA}
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"I don't care if I never grow up
Don't want to shrink in a suit
Don't want live just to suck someones bones dry
I'd rather die."
- Chris Trapper, Waiting Watching Wishing

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