Spent a good part of the day repacking stuff and will probably be doing that again tomorrow due to the whole week suspension of classes in UPM.

There were too many people for the available tasks. When a shipment of stuff appears, it takes less than 30mins to repack all of it. People who volunteered for Red Cross say there's also a surplus of volunteers. Methinks a volunteer network/sign up tool should be created, at least for UPM. I know there's Pahinungod and virtually every College has the SC and an org for this kind of thing but there's this issue of coordination and resource (in this case, volunteers) allocation. How many and what kind of people (skills, experience, preferences) should be deployed to volunteering sites such as repacking areas, Red Cross/Crescent chapters, whatnot are things the coordinators would be tackling. I'm all about efficiency and maximizing the use of the volunteers' skill set. Besides, the time we spend waiting for new stuff to arrive could be spent in other ways.

I am truly amazed at the level of mobilization in the NCR right now. Milenyo and the other storms didn't generate this level of concern and activity. I don't know if this is the effect of direct damage in the NCR(literally every NCR resident was a victim or was close to someone who was a victim of Ondoy), the high coverage of the media or finally a tangible effect of all those "hip" commercialist nationalistic drives featuring fashionable accessories, shirts and whatnot (in fairness to those efforts, "pirated" versions of their merchandise has become widely available).

Facebook or multiply groups with sign-up applications. Mobile and SMS technology could also be used. Maybe I should suggest it to our formations committee.

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In the meantime, I've stopped studying for exams and resumed watching series online. Yey early sembreak. Too bad we have tests and a proposal to look forward to the next weeks.

 Bayang Pilipinas, utang muna ako ng aking oras. Marami pa akong dapat gawin. Oo na, masama na akong tao.

Because I don't know how to say no, I ended up walking from Monumento to Balintawak* fighting the wind and the rain with a broken umbrella. I also had to endure a full bladder.

The experience was so horrible I was tempted to pee in my pants. I figured no one will notice anyway. Luckily there were still some open establishments in EDSA and I managed to relieve my bladder.

However, I still had to contend with a broken umbrella.

Did I mention I had my camera and cellphone with me? Thankfully,  my mother bought a Logitech camera bag for it so it remained dry while I was wet, cold and numb.


The experience really tested my character. In one of the events I attended today, we talked about peace, war and conflict. I think I now know a little about the suffering they endure. Of course, their suffering is a thousands or a millions times greater but now I know what real suffering is.

The moral is when the weather bureau tells you that there's going to be a storm on a certain day, stay at home regardless of other commitments you have. But if you do that, you'd have one less funny story to tell your descendants.

And I really am grateful for having a home on a higher region where flooding remains a foreign concept. The highest "flood" we ever had barely reached my ankles and that is only on certain areas of the road. I feel sorry for those living in the lower regions though. Some residential areas are severely flooded and some are nearly underwater. Roads have submerged Balintawak has turned to a lake and Taft cor P.Gil waters achieved a new record: waters reaching up to the thighs (I heard one person say "abot panty.")

* - Actually, I walked a few more kilometers to Balumbato but you probably don't know where that is.

September is fading into October. I feel the end of this semester. Rhyme unintended. But seriously, I'm starting to feel that burst of energy one feels when a semester nears its end. I'm starting to adjust to not getting the scores that I want. And I'm starting to realize that research would be really good place to be in.

I've already achieved to of my objectives for this year: organize an event and work with disorganized people. Oh how I regret making that a 2nd objective. It's such a pain to work with those people. However I'm starting to find people I know I would love to work with in group projects. It's just too bad that many of these people are alphabetically too distant from me.

It sucks that I have to bring our mercury sphygmomanometer to school tomorrow. Have they forgotten how hard and dangerous to lug that mercuy bomb around?! And I don't understand why EVERYONE has to bring a BP App for the physiology exercises.

And I've got my lowest grade yet and for a subject I figured I'd be better at.

And my classmates still keep some respect for me, despite my subpar performance. It boggles but it's nice to retain a bit of clout.

So my Lolo (the non-MD) died a while ago. I'm okay. We weren't too close. I visited him in the hospital yesterday and watching him was painful. I wouldn't want to live that way nor would I want him to live in that state. He did have a full life unlike my Lola who died abruptly.

I do hope that my Lola(the one who is alive) is okay and will live for a longer time. I want her to see me get my MD and my take my oath as a registered physician.

I've been working on the training kit we'll be using for a seminar on the Mindanao situation. Looking and scanning through articles, I realize how messed up the conflict in Mindanao is. It's so sad that the Philippines really seem to be "running in place." Unfortunately, here in Manila we are too caught up in other issues to notice. Hopefully, we'll hear the strategies of the "presidentiables" for Mindanao in the coming campaign period. I doubt Noynoy has something though (noynoy bashing. hahaha) much less Erap (hahaha). Oh well, I'll give them time to formulate their strategies and wait for the debates.

Forgot to send something important.

Reading up on methods for cancer research.

Body aching from that training session.

Sleep deprived.

Another whole day exam looming... looming... looming.

Ah med life.

Another holiday spent studying. Not really...

Ok, pGMA is totally whack and being such a kiss-ass to the huge INC faction. Really, she should know that her support for a candidate is a curse rather than a boon. Even giving a holiday will probably fail to convince the INC leaders to command their followers to vote for GMA's bet.

Such stupid reasons for declaring a holiday really. I don't remember devoting a holiday for Cardinal Sin who is a the leader of the church of the overwhelming majority. I don't ever remember devoting a holiday for the death of a muslim leader. Really...

Okay, with that out I am kind of thankful of the holiday because it gave yet more time to study os201.

I've danced on stage again. I like how people are congratulating me on my performance but I don't want to perform again any time soon. I tend to stress about the performance for days. Not good, not good at all.

In other news, our Biochem exam got moved again. Now I have to study real hard. Hahahaha. No more excuses for getting a not so good grade.

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The Noynoy thing? How come I only learned he was a senator after Cory's funeral? WTF was he doing the past years? What law or program could he proudly stamp his name unto? Sorry Mr de Quiros but a person not wanting the presidency means he knows he is incapable of it. Don't go into the romantic BS. I also believe that Power attracts the corruptible but the presidency is such a big deal that he or she needs to have at least a vision and strategy for the country outside of motherhood statements such as no more graft and corruption or no more poverty.

And another Aquino in leadership roles reeks of Trapos and Political dynasties. Leadership doesn't necessarily run in families. I don't remember him being very vocal about national issues. If Noynoy were like Ninoy or Cory, I'd have heard of him somehow.

No desire, no vision, no to Noynoy.