Dragon Wars

Craziest movie next to Death to Smoochie...

I was like, "Oh my gosh..."

Ok, admittedly, the teaser trailer looked too good to be a real nice sci-fi fantasy movie, and so, a dear friend who got too curious for his own good, bought a dvd copy and let me watch it with him.

Goodness! I... I'd rather not put down my comments here, for fear of detection and outright documentation which will lead you all to this blog, but in fairness to the makers of the said movie, the great Korean artist, Hyung Rae Shim, my salute to you for braving the all-too-hard-to-please movie-goers of this age, my highest regard for your bravery and courage for having the balls to go straight to the Hollywood bigshots to ask for their help and contribution to make this dream of yours possible {I watched the credits and the "the making" part of the movie, ok? Get over it.}.

So, if you really wanna know what I'm blabbering about, go ahead, watch Dragon Wars.

And don't tell me I didn't warn you.

**picture credits to Yahoo! Movies.

Mendiola Massacre (and others)...

One street. One bridge. One historical place that set the Philippines in the world map of violence and injustice. The need to be heard, the need to be seen, the need for reform. A just government is all it asked for. And yet...

In 1970, Mendiola became the sole witness to violent confrontations between during the Marcos regime where four student demonstrators were dead on the spot.

On January 22, 1987, police and the military open-fired on a protest rally of about 10,000 farmers who were demanding genuine land reform from then President Corazon Aquino. Thirteen of the protestors died and hundreds more were injured in that incident now called the Mendiola Massacre, with its anniversary being commemorated today by another protest in the Mendiola Bridge by farmers from Southern Luzon, still asking a decent land reform law.

And on May 1, 2001, supporters of President Joseph Estrada, marched to Mendiola after demonstrations outside the EDSA Shrine demanding the release of the then ousted President. A violent confrontation fired up between Estrada supporters and members of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who were then tasked by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to secure Malacañang Palace and the areas surrounding it. Casualties were high on both the Estrada supporters and government troops. Aside from several deaths and hundreds of injured, damages to surrounding property triggered some hard-knocks to take advantage of the situation and started looting the stores and establishments with damaged entrances. Later, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a State of National Emergency but lifted it after two days.

Today is the anniversary of this famed venue for protests, death, and injury - a certain and inevitable part of the history of any democratic nation, all we ask is this - let us not deprive ourselves of the honor of being known because of our talents, knowledge, culture, art, or even history but not because hundreds of people needed to sacrifice their lives just to be world-renowned.

the Heck?! (v.2.0)

I was a little annoyed.

More than a little. I was quite annoyed.

Why? Because! ...

Some jerk requested to be added to my YM list, and as stupid as I am today, I did. Almost half a day later, this person sends a message saying hi. I didn't answer just yet and instead asked him who he was - in tagalog, so I'd have a clue where he's from. What basically annoyed me was that he didn't answer for a while, but sent a smiley. Crazy idiot. And then he asked, without a question mark at that, what did you say

I don't usually get annoyed by little things, but this time, since I am fully aware that I'm way past the age of looking for virtual friends in chat rooms, I get irritated by those naive ones who think that all girls just want to look for someone to hook up with. Hmm, that jerk doesn't know I'm online for business, bless his dorky heart.

Anyway, for all of you, I want virtual friends in terms of readers and subscribers and frequent visitors for this blog - not for kinky fun as others term it.


*** for the peekaboo expandable post summary hack, special thanks to Ramani (Hackosphere)!!!

Focus on Work, Darn it!

I'm bored, I can't focus, and so I blog.

Yep, got that right, I can't seem to stay focused with what it is that I'm doing for more than an hour at most. Just lost that focusing ability when I left college and joined the workforce. Kinda scary, huh? It just so happens that .... that's it, I can't focus!

My brain's kinda groggy, from lack of sleep or excess of it, but I do sincerely believe it's the lack of sleep and the urge to find some new kind of adventure or maybe just take some time off and spend it relaxing. Again. After the Christmas break and all - just something to help me unwind and therefore keep me wide-eyed long enough to appear that I like what I'm doing. Hehe.

Anyway, I won't take up much of your blog-reading time, I just wanted to blurt out that I'm to darn distracted with God knows what.

Virus that Spreads thru IM!!!

To all the people that use any kind of instant messaging service or software, please please please, beware of this new type of virus that kinda destroys your current hard disk. Well, not really DESTROY destroy, but the only thing you can do to be able to use your computer again is to have it reformatted. Of course, that means, there is a great possibility that you lose all your files! And if you use instant messaging in your workplace, then it might be spread to your local network and cause a system bog down - because once you've opened it, it then sends itself to all your instant messaging contacts, and the dimwitts might then be curious enough to open it and voila! Another wave of virus attack. The url that the originator has clicked is this: http://rapidshare.com/files/81941398/pinaycutie_scandal.zip.

SO be CAREFUL: DO NOT CLICK IT YOURSELF!!!!

It's crazy but it's true, I've received news already that a small company near our workplace got infested by this virus because of their friggin' IT person - I think he became too curious 'coz of the file's title - PINAYCUTIE_SCANDAL. Who, in his freakin' pervert mind, will not be curious?! Right?

So guys, be aware and take care.

PRC Official Resigns

PRC official resigns
By Mayen Jaymalin
Thursday, January 10, 2008

Amid allegations of more irregularities in the licensure examination, an official of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has resigned from his post.

PRC chair Leonor Rosero yesterday confirmed that PRC Engineering Board chairman Angel Lazaro has submitted his resignation.

Rosero, however, said Lazaro already served for 10 years and his quitting had nothing to do with the controversy over the November 2007 engineering licensure exams.

But when contacted for comment, personnel in Lazaro’s office said they were not aware that he already resigned from his post.

“We have not received any information that he resigned and I don’t think he should resign amid this controversy,” said one employee.

As this developed, Rosero said the PRC is pushing through with the Jan. 12 retake of the November 2007 engineering licensure examination despite a pending petition before the Court of Appeals.

“No changes yet, the retake will push through as scheduled,” Rosero said.

But other PRC officials said the commission is still waiting for the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) whether to push through with the scheduled Jan. 12 engineering licensure examination retake.

“PRC is still on a wait-and-see situation, we could not yet say whether the retake will push through or not at this time,” said a PRC official, who requested anonymity.

The PRC announced earlier that the retake would be optional but stressed it would not issue licenses to those who would not take the examination again since the results of the previous examination had been nullified.

After discovering anomalies, the PRC nullified the results of the engineering licensure examination held last Nov. 17 and 18 and ordered the 4,782 examinees to retake the tests.

Examinees will retake the examination for two subjects – Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering and Structural Engineering and Construction – since results of the previous examination were found “statistically improbable.”

PRC also reported that two examinees were caught in possession of mobile phones that were later found to contain answers to 30 questions in the licensure examination.

The examinees, however, filed a case before the court to stop the retake.



{posted in Ariel's Site}

CE Studes to Take Exam on May

{posted in: Ariel's Site}


Civil engineering studes want to retake exam in May

A group of civil engineering students who boycotted the retake of licensure examinations last Saturday said they would rather take the entire test scheduled on May.

Neil Erich Galicia of Civil Engineering Against Retake Students Union (CE-Agression) told ABS-CBN’s morning show “Umagang Kay Ganda” Monday that they would stand pat on their position that the November 27 board exams were clean.

“We’ve already promised that we will push this fight to the limit. At the end of the day all of the examinees, those who retook the exam and those who boycotted it, are all victims,” Galicia said.

He said they would rather wait for May to take the entire CE licensure exams.

“Kung mag-eexam ulit ung mga nag boycott mas gusto namin ulitin lahat sa May 2008 kaysa pumayag kami sa PRC (Professional Regulatory Commission) ng mag retake kami na di kami binibigyan ng magandang dahilan (If those who boycotted will be retaking the exam, we would rather retake the entire exams on May 2008 than retake with the PRC not giving us a clear explanation),” Galicia said.

The PRC ordered the retake of the two CE subjects-- Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering and Structural Engineering and Construction –during the November 2007 licensure test after discovering two examinees in Cagayan de Oro were caught cheating using their cellular phones.

Galicia noted that there is no need for them to get a temporary restraining order before the Court of Appeals, which already turned down their petition. “Di na kailangang mag-TRO, nagkaroon na ng retake eh (There’s no need for a TRO; there has already been a retake),” Galicia said.

Galicia also belied the claim of Labor Secretary Arturo Brion that there was a thorough probe into the case by the PRC.

“They conducted a thorough investigation after they already nullified the results. They went to Cagayan de Oro, to Cebu but they did not find any evidence that there was a leakage,” he said.

In a separate interview, Brion said the PRC decided to schedule the retake of the two subjects to preserve the integrity of the licensure exams. He also noted that the PRC is now determining who were involved in the test leakage and is looking for ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.

On Saturday, the PRC said it conducted a successful retake of the civil engineering board examinations amid reports of boycott by the examinees.

PRC head Leonor Rosero said a total of 3,261 examinees took the retests, with only about 1,515 who opted not to retake the examinations.

Rosero said the retake pushed through as scheduled in testing centers in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi and Tacloban.

The PRC ordered the retake of the two subjects in November 2007 despite opposition, saying that the unusually high grades of the examinees were allegedly statistically improbable.

Success was Claimed by PRC: Should They Really?!

posted by: Vina Vanessa (http://vinegwapa.multiply.com/)

WHAT SUCCESS?

CE-AGRESSION DEEMED RE-TAKE A USELESS EXERCISE,

WILL ASK THE COURT OF APPEALS NOT TO RELEASE THE RESULT OF THE RE-TAKE

CE-AGRESSION whose members boycotted the re-take of the examination of subjects Hydraulics and Geotechnical Engineering and Structural Engineering and Construction last January 12, 2008 refute the statement of PRC and DOLE that the re-take was successful.

A total of 1,515 or about 31.72 percent of the 4,776 civil engineering graduates did not re-take the board exams nationwide, the Department of Labor and Employment said Saturday.

“The ‘success’ which PRC would want the public to believe refer only to the peaceful conduct of the re-take. Certainly, it does not refer to all the examinees having taken the re-take. 1,515 is considerably a big number. That only shows that one-third of the examinees did not want to participate in the re-take because in the first place it is of doubtful validity. We did not participate in the re-take for to do so would gratify PRC and give semblance to its claim that the examinees of the November 2007 Civil Engineering Licensure Examinations are cheaters. We do not want that tag appended to our name. We would rather take the regular examination than to participate in the re-take and be labeled as cheats.” according to CE-AGRESSION.

In the meantime, so as not to complicate further the controversy, CE-AGRESSION said their lawyer Jobert Pahilga will file a motion with CA on Monday, January 14, 2008, to ask the court to order PRC not to release the result of the examinations.

“It is just okay if the examinee passed both the November 2007 examinations and the re-take. It would be a different story if he passed the re-take and failed in the November 2007 exams. In such a situation, would he be considered to have passed the exams? Would he be allowed to take the oath? What if he was already employed as engineer but after the petition is granted and the result of November 2007 examinations is released, he failed in the said examinations? Is it not according to CA resolution, the result of the re-take, should the petition is granted, will simply be nullified? This was included in our argument for the issuance of TRO but which was unfortunately not considered by CA”, CE-AGRESSION noted.

TRO DENIED

The Court of Appeals on January 10, 2008 denied CE-AGRESSION’s application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to enjoin the re-take.

According to the resolution of Justice Ricardo Rosario, 12^th Division of Court of Appeals, there is no sufficient ground to warrant the issuance of a TRO.

“While petitioners fear the holding of retake examination might render the petition moot and academic in that those who passed the first examination might fail in the second. And therefore can no longer take the oath, such fear has no basis in reality. In the first place, if the petition is later found to be meritorious and granted, the second examination will simply be nullified ” according to the resolution of CA 12^th Division.

But in an Extremely Urgent Motion for Reconsideration, CE-AGRESSION insisted that the fear of taking the retake examination is not the issue in the application for TRO. “What we fear is for the re-take to proceed which will eventually tarnish our reputation”.

In the said motion, CE-AGRESSION also argued that the re-take will result to irreparable damage and injury to the examinees as the result can and will be nullified later on if the petition is granted. It would therefore only complicate matters for the examinees according to the group.

The Extremely Urgent Motion was not resolved by the CA for which reason the re-take proceed as scheduled.

RE-TAKE - A USELESS EXERCISE

“As stated in CA Resolution issued on January 10, 2008, if the petition is granted, the result of the re-take examination will simply be nullified. The re-take will then become a useless exercise. In which case, the re-take would be just a waste of taxpayer’s money not to mention the time, resources and effort of the examinees who took the re-take examinations.” according CE-AGRESSION.

PRC GIVEN TEN DAYS TO ANSWER PETITION

Although CA denied the TRO, in the same resolution, it ordered the PRC to answer within ten (10) the petition filed by CE-AGRESSION and to show cause why the injunction will not be granted.

“Although the injunction we prayed for is primordially to enjoin the re-take, we have also asked the CA to order PRC to release the result of the November 2007. We are and would again be asking the CA to order PRC to release the result of the November 2007 exams should PRC fails to justify within ten (10) days the resolution nullifying the results of the said examination.” according to Pahilga.

The petition filed by CE-AGRESSION asked the court to nullify the resolution of PRC that ordered the re-take and for the court to order PRC to release the result of the examination of November 2007.

“We are confident that the petition will be granted by the Court of Appeals. There is no irregularity or leakage in the November 2007 examinations. Only two (2) examinees were caught cheating. That would not be enough bases to nullify the entire result of the examination. After ten (10) days, we will see what evidence does PRC have in saying that the November 2007 was marred with irregularity for which reason they did not to release the result of the November 2007 examination and order the re-take.” added Pahilga

EXAMINEES ARE MULLING TO FILE CASE FOR DAMAGES AGAINST PRC

On the other hand, CE-AGRESSION said “After the petition is granted in our favor, we will deliberate if there is enough bases to file damages against the PRC, its commissioners and the Board of Civil Engineering.”

Meanwhile, Engineer Padilla, owner of Padilla Review Center, with branches at major cities nationwide lauds the examinees that boycott the re-take. According to him, "Doing the right thing in this country normally is not popular. Only minority does it. Most examinees wanted to do the right thing but lack the courage & boldness to do it. Commend yourself for being different!

Padilla Review Center had encouraged its reviewees to boycott the re-take. It supported the petition filed by CE-AGRESSION noting that there was no irregularity that marred the November 2007 examinations except for the two (2) examinees in Cagayan De Oro who were caught cheating.

“The four thousand seven hundred eighty other examinees should not be penalized for the misdeeds of only two (2) of their peers.” according to Engr. Padilla.

Name Meanings, Anyone?

What Cathy Laine Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

Cut your Energy Costs!

According to Holidays on the Net, today is the National Cut Your Energy Costs Day - which fairly means that if you all would like to participate, you just have to think of ways on cutting down your energy costs, like:

• unplugging all your appliances (the laptop runs on batteries, dumb**s)
  
• turning off lights when you have a hangover and you wanna sleep
  
• turning off your faucets when your sink has already overflowed
• walking instead of using a car 'coz you really don't have one
• and other such ideas withcrazy rationalizations (given there's anything like that)

Lunch Date

..... was a former noontime show of GMA Network, think we're still in elementary back then. Randy Santiago was there, Mahal also, and I think, Toni Rose (now in Eat Bulaga, is she still there?).

Anyhow, just had my lunch - brunch to be exact. And feeling full isn't that appealing at the moment. It just makes me yearn for my bed and memories of an afternoon nap. Hohum.

Saw a banner posted right on the fence of Bangko Sentral (Cebu City), it was for celebrating the National Week of ...sumthin'... I can't remember. Hehe.

Of Coffee, Coke & Caffeine

I'm currently having my second mug of coffee for the day - had one early this morning during breakfast. With my coffee WAS a pack of M&M's - I finished it ahead of the coffee. Hehehe, nothing can beat chocolates.

It's almost down to a few gulps now, I can freely gulp it down because our freaking airconditioning units are blasting away all the heat from inside the offices, and my coffee! grrrh. Sometimes, I hate airconditioning. Hohum.

Anyway, I was forced to have my intake of caffeine because - I'm getting a little groggy from being sleepy. I can't wake myself up with some interesting online game because an annoying officemate has taken it to herself to watch what everybody else is doing, and it's darn annoying. My other officemate, on the other hand, is kinda strange in himself - given that it can be rebuttable that he is in fact a HE. Hmmm. Almost everybody in the Finance Department has decided to doubt that self-proclaimed fact that he is a guy. Well, he can be a guy biologically, it's his choice to make it real. :) We all just keep our eyes peeled watching out for telltale signs that he might be gay. Sshhh.

Oh, and we've found a way to be able to chat with each other through our LAN. Had to find out how because we simply can't do backbiting while the person we're talking about is just a few inches away from me. I can do that, but some of them can't, and the crazy thing is, very few of us has internet access. hehehe. Frustrated IT person - could be me.

So, let me finish off my now tap-cold coffee, while staring at a can of coke, and wishing it's already time to go.

:)

Above 3,000!

Wooohhoooo!!!

My visitor taps have reached 3,000!!!
I'm soooo happy....


{Isn't it obvious?!}

Wahahahaha!
{Crazy person.}

Candy and Eyeglasses

I'm really not in the mood to be a hero today being too "obssessed" doing office work. I can't believe some people love what they do - and well, as of the moment, I don't.

It's human nature really. There just comes a time when a person gets bored. Bored with work, bored with relationships, bored with life. Right now, the boredom and the politics of my workplace is taking a toll on me - fast. I just hope this doesn't reach depression.

Another thing that kinda annoyed me early this morning was the thought that I should be looking for a new place - and that means that I have to look for the new place that's big enough and comfortable enough for my tastes, a transport vehicle to move my things, and the darn money to pay for 'em. Hohum. Crazy morning. It's actually correct that it might be a little more convenient if I move instead of paying more for jeepney fares, but the thing is, I have to adjust again to another person's annoying paranoid habits - I mean, the landlady/landlord! Of course, if you're just renting, you in fact do have a landlord/lady and that means you have to ride on to the flow his paranoia regarding your things, your visitors, your habits, your schedule - whatever! Ugh! Annoying!

Anyway, I think I'll just talk to my officemates son who's here in my office right now. I'd appear a little more sane doing so.

the 3,000 mark

My blog's nearing the 3,000 mark, just a little bit more it's, well, okay. Hehe.

Anyway, it's the week after all the Christmas parties and New Year bashes, and well, as expected I've gained a little weight from all the food that's available and free for consumption. And of course, exchanging gifts was also something to watch out for - ever since the battle cry "Hala, nindot ang wrapper...Watch out!" was born.

Crazy as it seems, I may have brought this slogan into life during our company Christmas Party. And I'm gonna share a little secret with you - the person I gave the gift to wasn't really the original name I plucked out from the envelope, my officemate traded with me because they really wanted someone crazy enough to bring the person down from her self-made pedestal - I was free, so I agreed. Wehehe...

It wasn't really such a bad gift, it was like a scrap book or something to that effect made out of recycled paper. It was actually really nice and I'd be delighted if I were to receive it, except for the quote or proverb that will welcome you on its cover page - It was something like, Put yourself in others' shoes before you do or say something and think whether it will hurt you or not. If it hurts, then the other person might also be feeling the same. Hmmm, it was better said on the thing's cover but I didn't quite manage to keep it in memory. Sorry - my bad. :)

I'll post something else some other time - I just dropped by to update my blog and ponder whether I'd like to change my header or not. Tata!

If I Were....

If I were a month I would be:
* March - after the energy of Love from Valentines, the right month for Academic Endings, and right before summer break... :)

If I were a day of the week I would be:
* Friday - end of the week but not quite a week end.

If I were a time of the day I would be:
* 10 pm - a little near the witching hour

If I were a planet I would be:
* Mars - red hot

If I were a sea animal I would be:
* a dolphin... no apparent reason - i just like to be one

If I were a direction I would be:
* West - where the sun sets

If I were a piece of furniture I would be:
* a recliner - relaxing

If I were a sin I would be:
* Pride. Don't let me elaborate.

If I were a drink I would be:
* Coke - sweet and thirst-quenching, yet silently deadly

If I were a tree, I would be:
* Balete - scary

If I were a bird, I would be?
* a hummingbird - so i can fly backwards.

If I were a flower/plant, I would be:
* Orchids - difficult to grow, lovely to look at, expensive

If I were a kind of weather, I would be:
* cloudy - not quite sunny, not quite rainy

If I were a musical instrument, I would be:
* A Guitar -- not everyone knows how to play it

If i were an animal I would be:
* a Cat

If I were a color, I would be:
* blue- cool to the eyes, indicates the hottest part of a flame

If I were an emotion, I would be:
* Confusion

If I were a vegetable, I would be:
* hmmm, no idea.

If I were a sound, I would be:
* ticking of a clock