The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

Before Tunisia, before Cairo, before Tripoli, even before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, there was the People Power Revolution of 1986 in Manila, Philippines. 25 years ago, the Filipino nation proved to the entire world that peaceful revolution can topple a dictator. This was long before the age of Twitter and Facebook. Times were far more dangerous. But after 20 years of suffering under a tyrant, the Filipino people showed the world that ousting a dictator can be done through a bloodless revolt of the masses. 25 years later, the Filipino nation has yet to culminate its revolution against Corruption, Poverty and Inequality - modern-day tyrants that cripple a country. Like it? Share it. Get the Share on Facebook widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox ! Not seeing a widget? ( More info )Like it.

Since 1999, I would always give a Pre-graduation retreat talk to the Senior Batch of USLS-IS. For this year though, it will be the first time that I will not be giving this talk. We Filipinos always love gifts. Apparently, there is always an “excuse” to give and/or receive gifts. Almost every month of the year, there is an occasion for gift-giving: Christmas, Three Kings, Valentine’s Day, Graduation Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings, Christenings…kulang na lang Pista Minatay mahatagay kita regalo. Gifts come in various sizes, shapes and forms. But the act of gift-giving is not an exclusive human initiative. Even in Nature there is evidence of gift-giving. One classic example would be the Adele Penguins. During the mating season, all male penguins would scour the shore of the iceberg for pebbles. Once a male penguin finds the smoothest pebble, he would keep it and find his way to his female partner, lays the pebble on her feet as an offering and, should the female penguin like the...

The year 2010 has now been added in the history books. Personally, it has been one roller-coaster ride for me. It will remain however an unforgettable year for me. The “ups” were as memorable as the “downs”. One word though can encapsulate the entire year: Adventure. The year of travel and adventure started during the first quarter when I was blest enough to bring my own family to Hong Kong for a much needed R&R. It was our first travel outside of the country and perhaps a prelude to more travels abroad. The vacation came in the middle of so much stress especially from work. I was a former municipal health officer and while I loved my job and didn’t even consider it a job, some situations could always ruin the joyous exhilaration attached to the experience. It was definitely frustrating for an idealistic person like me to experience such political maneuvering from people who would think nothing except themselves. Such tragedy faced by many in public health service came straight for...

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Officially, on November 27, this blog will change titles. It will become The Freudian Slip: In Transition. Technically, it is going to be a transition for at least 6 months. A transition to where is not yet certain. As far as I am concerned I am just hitch-hiking on this free-wheeling ride called Fate, down the rocky alley called Life. One thing is for sure though, it is going to be one very cold Christmas, the first ever that I will be spending very far from family. I have faced many uncertainties in the past. This is not the first "Transition". Perhaps it is natural to undergo transitions. Change is nature after all. I face this transition with a mixture of excitement and sadness. Sadness because there are a lot of sacrifices that must be made for me to surpass this transition. Excited because the unknown is always filled with suprises. So I am packing my bags and I think I am ready to go. I made my goodbyes with my students, many of whom I will sorely miss. I entrust my f...

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Rarely does one get a chance to meet a diplomat. We were thankful therefore when we got a call from the U.S. Embassy in Manila, telling us that we are invited to a special meeting the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr, during his visit to Bacolod this morning. I immediately informed my SEAYLP students and told them to prepare a scrapbook of their U.S. trip last April and about their current community project involving the street children at Bacolod City Public Plaza. They were all actually excited to meet the Ambassador, looking forward to share with him what they have been currently doing as their commitment to the SEAYLP. When he arrived at the American Studies Corner at the University Library, he was greeted with a lot of people, from ordinary students to the Administrators of the University. After his short meeting with the Administrators, we were immediately ushered into the small office where we sat down with him in private. He wanted to know all ...